29Note: I am changing the year that this story starts in to 1968. I want the military to be trying to re-deem itself after its perceived failures in Vietnam (aka Tet Offensive). By 1968 the opinion of the public about the Vietnam war had shifted heavily to the anti-war viewpoint and many believed that the military couldn't win anymore (Walter Cronkite's famous report). Also, many of the soldiers in Vietnam were becoming more brutal and less caring (My Lai Massacre) and I may incorporate this mindset into this story.
12:45 June 26th, 1968
Over New York City, New York City
John looks out at the city, not too far away, he can see flames coming from some of the buildings close to Times Square. Turning back to his squad in the Huey he says, "Our LZ will be southern central park. We don't know if it will be hot so expect that we will be under enemy fire when landing. The first objective is to secure the landing zone and clear out nearby hostile targets. We want the lower half of the park cleared before we push out into the city". Switching to a more serious tone he says, "We cannot allow the LZ to get overrun or we are completely fucked. Once we disembark the Huey's will be returning to base to get more men and supplies. I don't know how long we will be here, but those choppers are our lifeline . . .".
"Uhhh, hey John", interrupts Robert, "What the fuck are those things?". Pointing at what appears to be a dead dragon laying on a rooftop.
"So, I was about to get to that. We have heard reports that the attackers are medieval knights and roman soldiers, but these reports have not been confirmed by any military personnel. We have no idea what is going on down there", gesturing to the city, "The phone lines are a mess, and the New York Police Department has no idea what is happening in their own city. I for one don't believe that the roman empire is attacking New York with assistance from medieval Europe. However, just because I don't believe it's possible doesn't mean it can't happen. Those dragon corpses down there are proof that there is some weird shit going on around here".
"How much you want to bet that it is the roman army", asks Robert jokingly.
"I'll take you up on that offer", says Paul not understanding it was a joke, "10 dollars says it's not the romans".
"I think Robert meant that as a joke, but I'll take you up on that bet. That dragon down there is speaking to me.", says Mark jokingly.
"Ok settle down anyone, just because it's a possibility we are fighting romans doesn't mean that we should joke around about it. Even if the bastards are using swords and arrows, those weapons can still kill. I want every one of you to take this as seriously as if we were fighting the Viet Cong. I don't want any fuck ups today". Pausing for a moment he remembers an important detail and adds, "Oh and additionally we will not have artillery support on this mission as most of you have probably guessed. Air support will be limited; however, I have been informed that a pair of AH-1G cobra gunships will be arriving about an hour or two after we land".
"Hey guys I see the park", yells Michael readying his m16.
"Everyone get ready and remember we got to get out of the chopper as fast as possible. Also, we are obviously going to be fighting in an area with lots of civilians so check your fire. But shoot anyone who looks like they have a weapon and are a threat, I don't want to get killed by a commie pretending to be a New Yorker", says John.
Everyone is checking their mags and making sure their guns are racked and ready to rock as the Huey's come in for a landing. As they touch down, John yells, "Get out, GO, GO, GO", as everyone jumps out of the helicopter and hits the ground. Immediately everyone quickly starts scanning their surroundings for hostile targets. Everyone knows that the unit is in its most vulnerable state right now, out in the open with no cover. However, seeing nothing, the squad begins to spread out around the LZ.
"Where the fuck are these buggers", asks Doug clutching his m16, "Everyone this side of the city must have seen us landing".
"I don't know I expected some resistance. Continue to move up with me", says John still scanning the park in front of him.
"This place looks abandoned", says Gary as he slowly advances with the rest of the squad.
"I know, its creepy right? I bet this is what it would look like right before a nuclear attack", reply's Doug.
Just as Doug said that an eerie noise started to emanate from all around the city, the nuclear attack sirens had started to blare their warning sound.
"Wow thanks Doug really jinxed us there. John, do we need to run for our lives?", asks Robert in an annoyed tone.
"Frank said to expect this. They got New York's Civil Defense department to turn the sirens on for a few minutes. I think they are doing it to make sure people stay put and out of the streets. We wouldn't want a shit-ton of civies in the streets", says John. "I would also hope that the soviets would nuke their own troops, but what do I know. Just ignore the sound and keep your eyes on those trees over there". Pointing to a grove that would be perfect for an enemy force to ambush from.
As soon as he said that from behind a small hill in front of the squad a group of armor-clad knights wielding great swords who were charging at them on pure white stallions appeared. As they charged, they yelled a strange language at the squad.
"WHAT THE FUCK", yells Michael as he almost dropped his m16 in surprise.
"Everyone, light those sons of bitches up", John yells as everyone opens fire with their m16's.
12:45 June 26th, 1968
Central Park, New York
Knight Felix and his order had been having a great day. They were some of the first Imperial soldiers who crossed through the holy Gate on Alnus Hill. However, he had been a bit annoyed that the Wyvern Corps led by his self-declared rival Cicero were the very first through the holy structure. The Imperial knights and the Wyvern Corps had always been competing for funding and recognition within the Imperial Army and recently the Wyvern Corps had been winning out. But Felix was hopeful that he could prove the worth of the Knights on this mission of holy conquest and reclaim their title as the cream of the Imperial military. So far, this conquest had been one of the easiest campaigns that Felix had had the honor of being a part of. The fight against the warrior bunnies alone must have been ten or twenty times as difficult. He and his knights had cut down hundreds of barbarians as they fled from his group. He noted that these people seemed spoiled by the grandeur of their city and were unready for war. The savages cowered before him and his order as they mercilessly cut them down, and he had enjoyed every second of the slaughter. Once it was over and the area around the holy Gate was secured, he was given the task of exploring the huge city they found themselves in by General Marcus.
After exploring street after street and killing a few barbarians here and there Felix found himself in a forest. Thinking to himself, this seems similar to the forest in the capital, I wonder if the centers of government are close by? Or maybe these people have some elven population in their city and have an area for them to live within it? But so far all he had found was a few grassy fields, some groves of trees, alongside a few ponds and bridges. Just as he was about to order his order to continue on from the strange forest he began to hear a faint sound in the distance. It sounded like a beating noise, maybe a kind of large insect or animal? He ignored it at first, but the sound continued to get louder and louder until it was all he could hear. Suddenly he saw a great number of flying beasts pass overhead. They created a great amount of wind as they passed over his order. He was almost thrown off his mount as the enormous amount of noise and wind generated by the flying beasts frightened his horse. Thinking again to himself, those beasts were in a formation, I wonder if they are like our Wyvern Corps? If they are part of the barbarians military, I must warn the General. Looking at his order he says, "Those flying beasts must be part of the barbarian's army, come knights we must report this to the General at once. We can then re-task our Wyvern Corps and they will vanquish those disgusting monsters". Soon after his order was in a full gallop back south towards the Gate.
Surprisingly as Felix rode, he noticed the beasts standing still in the air over a patch of grass. Much to his surprise they started to descend and land in the field. An even larger surprise was the fact that he saw men dressed in strange green uniforms jumping out of the beasts. He also noticed that the beasts seemed to be covered in metal, most likely to protect them against arrows. Speaking to his knights he asks, "What sorcery is this?", but they all look just as confused as him. As he examines the strange men jumping out, he sees they have no armor and only a strange black staff in their hands. These men must be part of this city's military, just as those beasts are. But why do they have no weapons or armor? Is this military underfunded or maybe they are just for show? But as he examines these soldiers an idea forms in his mind. If he were to surprise the enemy and defeat them his order would certainty become the most prestigious unit in the Imperial Army. Why report back to the General and let the Wyvern Corps and Cicero take all the glory? Looking back to his knights he says, "It seems like they have tamed great beasts, but they have no armor or swords. We will charge them and kill these weak soldiers like all the rest of these barbarians". As he looks around once more, he sees smiling expressions on his knights faces, they all know that it will be an easy fight. But just to be safe, and to get the attention of the General he tells his most junior knight to report back to the Gate. "Report to the General the position of these enemies and the fact that they have tamed beasts that fly. Tell the General that I am going to destroy the enemy and send a legion to back me up and to catch any barbarians fleeing from the battle", he says. Pointing his sword towards the strange men, he begins to charge forward, the rest of his knights following closely behind. Suddenly a loud roar began to sound all around them, maybe this is the enemies battle cry? Neither the less he and his knights continued to charge. Because of the hills the men in green will not see him and his knights until they are virtually on top of them. As soon as he crests the hilltop above the men in green, he let out a war cry, "FOR THE EMPIRE", to inspire his knights in battle. For a second, he sees expressions of surprise on the strange men's faces, but only seconds later they all raise their strange black staffs at him and his knights. He was surprised but happy that they didn't run away, at least these soldiers would die like real men and put up a fight, even if it would be pitiful at best.
However, things started to go wrong immediately for Felix and his order. As he charged the air became loud filled with booming noises. He saw the green men's staves spit flames from the end of their snouts in his direction. Looking around he saw his men thrown off their stallions by an unknown force, falling to the ground in puddles of their own blood. Soon a searing hot pain erupted from his chest as he fell off his horse. Now on the ground he noticed that his chest was covered in a warm liquid, reaching down he covers his hand in it. As he slowly raises his arm into his view, he sees his hand covered in blood. No, this can't be. I was never hit by a sword or spear. I didn't even see any arrows. What dark magic do these barbarians weld? These were Felix's last thoughts as his vision started to fade, the world turning black.
12:55 June 26th, 1968
Southern Central Park, New York
"HOLY SHIT", yells Michael as he fires his m16 into the cluster of enemy knights.
"Aim for the riders, conserve your ammo!", yells John.
As the squad switches to targeting the riders the knights start to fall quickly.
"Who the fuck are those guys?", askes Gary as unloads the rest of his mag into the remaining knights.
"Better question is what the fuck are those guys, because they looked like medieval knights to me", says George as the last knight falls to the ground.
"I have no idea, but I don't think they are soviets.", replies Bruce, clutching his m16 as the squad starts to advance towards the downed knights.
"I just want to know what the fuck those guys were thinking? That charge was suicidal, do they not know what a gun is?", asks Doug.
"Maybe they don't", says Mark, "They were using swords and it looks like they are wearing medieval style armor".
"Are you telling me that medieval knights just appeared in 1968?", asks Robert, "That is like some Twilight zone type shit".
"Reminds me of something that would be in an episode of Star Trek", replies Bruce.
As the squad stands around examining the knights and looking for any intel they might have they hear a familiar voice. "Holy shit what the fuck are those guys wearing", yells Frank as he comes over the hill, "I heard gunfire and expected you guys had been over-run".
"We don't know sir", he says, "They just came over the hill at us. They seem to be medieval knights and have only swords as weapons".
"Well god damn, those reports weren't lying I guess", chuckles Frank, "Ok continue to fan out and see if there are any others. After we have swept the immediate area we are going to dig in and set up some defenses. If those knights had any sense at all they would have reported our position before charging us. And even if they didn't, I would rather be safe than sorry".
After about 20 minutes of searching Central Park no one else from the 2nd Cav encountered any hostiles. While waiting for more of the 2nd to arrive Frank coordinates with the other platoon leaders and the Captain to set up a defensive perimeter around the LZ. On the side of the LZ closest to Times Square a few makeshift bunkers are dug into the ground. A few squads are sent out to recon the surrounding area and watch for enemy troop movement. However, most of the men are just sitting in their newly dug foxholes waiting for more troops to arrive so they could push further into the city.
After about an hour John starts to hear a strange noise emanating from 7th Avenue. It almost sounded like singing, but in a langue, he had never heard before. "Guys, you hear that sound", he asked the rest of the squad, making sure he wasn't going crazy.
"Yea I hear it, sounds like singing", you want me to find Frank and let him know", asks Jerry.
"Yea, better let him know, we might be attacked in a second. I know a modern army sneaking up on us would not be singing, but who knows what a medieval army would do".
Suddenly a few guys ran around the corner of 7th at a full sprint toward the park. When they got to John's squad they were completely out of breath. One of the men says, "The Romans are coming". Panting and out of breath.
"What do you mean the Romans are coming? I thought these guys were medieval knights?", says John.
"I don't know man", says one of the other scouts, "All I know is that there a few thousand of them right down 7th heading straight for us.
"Jerry, go tell Frank and the Captain about what these guys saw. Have them get all the available guys to this side of the LZ and bring as much ammo and as many of the m60's as they can spare", says John looking worried. He knew that if these scouts were telling him the truth this was going to be a hard fight. Maybe as bad as the Battle of la Drang.
12:50 June 16th, 1968
Times Square, New York
As the soldiers had started to bring back slaves, Formal looked at the pens with disgust. Those poor people don't deserve this treatment, especially the women. As the Count looked over, he saw a few Imperial soldiers leading a group of women into one of the nearby buildings. They all had looks of lust on their faces as they drooled at the terrified women. He saw one of the women was a girl who could not have been much older than his Myui. Seeing this sight, he grimaced, knowing what was about to happen to her and being powerless to stop it. And the empire calls them the barbarians. As he turned away from the pens, shaking his head in shame, he heard a commotion. One of the slaves, an older man, was yelling at a few soldiers. But what surprised him was the fact that he was speaking their language. How can this be? I didn't think they spoke Imperial. He walked over to the confused soldiers and heard the man yelling profanities at them in Imperial and asking what was going on exactly.
"Soldiers release this man to me, he speaks Imperial and I hope that he can answer a few of my questions", he says.
"At once Count", said the soldier as he handed over the rope tied to the man's hands to him.
Leading the man back to the command tent he sat the man down. "Hello, I am Colt Formal of Formal clan of Italica. I noticed that you speak our language, Imperial. I am intrigued as I did not believe your people spoke it?".
Speaking to him in Imperial the man said, "At least someone here knows how to be civil. If you want me to answer your questions could you untie my hands, these ropes are starting to get irritating. I don't think I pose any threat I am just an old man".
"I think that is acceptable". As the Count untied the man's hands he started to answer his first question.
"I do not know what you mean by speaking Imperial, I am speaking Latin. Not many people speak it as it is an ancient language that has not been used for conversation for hundreds of years. I only know it because I am a language professor at Columbia University".
"Since I can understand you would you be willing to answer a few of my questions?".
"I will answer yours if you answer mine".
"Those are acceptable terms".
"My first question is what is this city that I find myself in. I have never seen such magnificent buildings and architecture before".
Looking puzzled the man answers, "You're in New York City, one of the largest cities in the United States. You're currently in the Southern Part of Long Island and the exact location we are currently in is called Times Square. My question is where exactly do you come from? Are you Romans?".
"I come from Falmart and the Empire, specifically the city of Italic as I stated before. I am not of your world. I came through the holy Gate alongside the rest of the Imperial army. I also know nothing of these Romans you speak of".
"Very interesting. Your people speak Latin and look like romans. If I had to guess I would have guessed you were from our world's past, not an entirely separate one".
"You said before that this was one of the largest cities in the Ooh-nited States. Are there other cities like this? And what is the Ooh-nited States? Is it your kingdom?".
As the man was about to speak a loud wailing sound began to emanate from all around. The Count started to look around wildly in fear trying to deduct the location and direction of the strange sound. But then he noticed that his "guest" was not panicking like he was. "Are you not frightened? Do you know what that terrible sound is?".
"Yea I do. I haven't heard them in a while but those are the cities Civil Defense nuclear attack sirens. They sound to alert everyone that an attack is about to happen and let people know that they should seek shelter. If I had to guess your little attack is what caused them to go off. Most likely to get people away from your army and clear the way for mine to get here. Or it's other reason and we are all about to die".
"Well, that makes sense". Although Colt didn't know what the man meant when he said the "other reason" he decided not to ask about it. "Could you answer my previous question?".
"There are many cities like this one in the United States. Some are about the same size, while others are smaller, but they all look very similar to this one. The United States is my country and the one that you have invaded. We are not a kingdom, however. If I may ask, why did your Empire invade us?".
"The emperor is the only one who knows that questions answer for sure, but if I had to guess I would say for land, wealth, and slaves". At the mention of slaves, the man's eyes narrowed, and his expression darkened. "You mentioned your military when talking about the sound. I had a few questions to ask about them actually".
Looking at the Colt with a squint the man said, "I guess I can".
"Thank you. What I want to know is just how powerful your military is? How many legions of men do they possess and what types of weapons do they use? Do they have knights or cavalry we need to worry about? And were those very fast flying dragons that shot flaming arrows part of your people's military?".
"The United States armed forces is the most powerful military in the world". Said the man smugly, "although the soviets would argue with me about that. Our army does not use legions as a way of organizing troops anymore, but we have hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the Army currently. We also don't use knights anymore; they became obsolete when the gun was refined into a usable weapon. However, we do have tanks which have a similar purpose to knights. Also, we don't use swords anymore, no modern military uses melee weapons as their primary armament anymore. All our troops are equipped with rifles, which are much more effective at killing than a sword, easier to use, and can kill from a much further range. Guns have also replaced bows and arrows. While I am not exactly sure what you mean by fast flying dragons, I think you are referring to the f4 phantoms that were flying overhead not too long ago".
While the Colt did not know what half of the man just said was, he began to worry. Is this Ooh-nited States as powerful as this man claims? He did seem confident when saying those things. And come to think about it when he was explaining the noise, he seemed confident that his military was coming. if this man is correct about this Ooh-nited states having more cities like this one I could see how they would have a powerful military. As he thought about it more, he became even more worried. "What is a rifle? We encountered men in blue wielding strange fire spitting weapons when we first invaded, are those rifles?".
"I think I am done answering your questions. I have learned enough about your barbaric people. If I have come to the right conclusion, I have been taken as a slave? Correct?".
Startled at the man's rapid change in demeanor the Count says, "Well, yes. Even if I do not agree with it is common practice for the Empire to take captured barbarians as slaves. The men as workers and the women as sex slaves to fill the brothels. Is it not like this in your world? But I assure you that you will be treated well if you continue to answer my questions. I might even make you, my translator."
As the Count said this the man's expression turned into one of rage. "I am done talking to you, how can you keep a straight face while telling me that you're enslaving my people and selling women as sex slaves. It's barbaric. I have learned enough about you and your vile empire and I will not lower myself by talking to you anymore". Laughing now the man continues, "You people are all fucked anyways, especially when the military gets here, you don't stand a chance. We will avenge everyone you killed here today and come to liberate your world of the Empires vile practices. Now put me back with my people, I would rather be with them than be with a savage like you".
As the man was escorted back to the pens to be ferried back to Falmart the Count thought about what he said. Does this nation really not have slavery? And do they really have the power to destroy the empire?
As the Colt was thinking to himself, he heard a commotion outside of the command tent. When he walked out he saw a legions worth of men assembling ready to march down the street. He then saw the General talking to a Legate before beginning to walk towards the command tent.
"What's going on Marcus?", he asks.
"A knight from Felix's order reported that they were engaging the barbarian's army. He informed me that there were not many men, but they had arrived in strange birds covered in metal. While I am confident in Felix's ability, I want to make sure we crush these barbarians, so I am sending Atticus and his legion to make sure we kill all the barbarian's soldiers", replies Marcus.
"Oh, well that is worrying".
"How so?"
"I just talked with one of the new slaves who could speak our language and he told me some worrying things. He said that this country we invaded is called the Ooh-nited States and that they possess the most powerful military in this world. He also said that they don't fight like we do, and instead fight with something called a rifle. Although he didn't tell me how it would work. He seemed pretty confident that his kingdoms military would be victorious".
"Well, this kingdom has never seen the might of the empire. They will bow before our might in no time Colt. That man was probably just exaggerating and feeding you lies in order to make you doubt our abilities".
"I am not so sure about that. He also claimed that those strange birds that shot down our Wyverns were part of their military, he called them F-fours".
"Preposterous, no mortal could tame a beast so fast and deadly. He must be lying".
"I hope for our sake he is".
"Did he tell you anything else of use?"
"Well, when I told him that he and the others were being taken as slaves he seemed stunned and angry. He called us barbarians and the Empire vile for having it. After that he wouldn't talk to me any longer and went back to the pens".
"Strange, these people are less civilized than I thought. Not having slavery, now that's a funny thought. I do wonder how they built all this", gesturing to the city, "without slaves if what that man claims is true".
"As do I Marcus. I just pray that that man was senile, and this Ooh-nited States is nowhere near as powerful as he claimed".
2:15 June 26th, 1968
7th Avenue, New York
Legate Atticus looked at the sights in awe. Even though he had been in the city for a few hours he could not get over the amount of wealth that was present. This place must have more treasure than the entire imperial treasury in the capital. Surely after beating these barbarian army, I will have my pick of the loot. My house will finally get the wealth and recognition it deserves. Even though Atticus had been part of the invasion into the Bunny Warriors' lands he had been disappointed in the spoils of the conflict. After the Empire had smashed all resistance, they found that the hovels the bunnies inhabited had no treasures in them at all, no gold, silver, or jewels. All he got out of the months of work were a few bunny slaves. Although he had enjoyed their company immensely the invasion had not brought his house the wealth he had expected. When he learned of the expedition beyond the Gate, he signed up immediately. Maybe the gods had given him a second chance to plunder the wealth he deserved. The gods smile on me today. that store their looks as if it is filled with gold and jewels. I will have to remember to ask the general for the exclusive rights to loot that store after I smash these barbarians' army.
Nearing the wooded area where he had been informed the enemy were, he called out to his 5,000 men strong legion. "Men, we will slay these barbarians like we did the Bunnies in the North. They will taste our cold steel and we will come out victorious. Afterwards we will have our pick of the plunder and possible of the slaves. Now advance! For the Empire!". At the mention of the barbarian women, the men cheered and readied themselves for battle. They arranged themselves by Centuri and formed orderly formations of shields. These shields would protect them from any arrows that the barbarians sent their way and protect them until they got close enough to strike. The men were in high spirits, ready to bloody their blades. Admiring his soldiers' formations from the back Atticus was proud, his men looked unstoppable. Those barbarians don't stand a chance.
As they rounded the corner, Atticus didn't know what to make of the barbarians. He could see a few men sitting in freshly dug holes. The only things he could see that even resembles weapons were strange looking black staffs that were lying on the dirt in front of the holes. These barbarians must know nothing about war. We will slaughter these soldiers easily; they must be cowards. They haven't even gotten up to face us like men. They just sit there and cower in their holes.
But then something unthinkable happened. A loud roar started to emanate from the barbarian's position, and he saw the formations of men in the front of the Legion fall apart as the men inside them fell dead from an invisible force. These barbarians must be mages! This magic is unlike any I have ever seen, it kills so quickly. I don't think even the grand mages in Rondel have this amount of power. But there is no possible way they can keep this up for long. They just want us to break and flee like cowards. To encourage his men to continue Atticus yells, "Onward men, these mages cannot keep up this level of magic for long. We will get our victory, but we must press our attack!". But to Atticus's dismay the barbarians continued to cut down his pristine formations with their deadly magic. But as if the gods themselves had heard his silent prayers to them the magic stopped. The mages must be out of maga, we outlasted them! There is no way we can lose now. Yelling he says, "They have depleted themselves men! CHARGE! Get revenge for your fallen brothers!". As he kicked his horse it started to gallop towards the barbarians. Strangely they did not run away in fear of his charging troops like most mages would if they were out of maga. He could see the fear in their eyes as they fiddled with the strange black staffs lying in the dirt. He also saw other men in the holes raise smaller back staffs and point them towards his troops. Why are they not running in fear? Maybe these mages are braver than I thought. It will be enjoyable to cut them down though. And then the unthinkable happened. The roar started again as the barbarians stopped playing with their staffs and pointed them at his troops. He saw this fine men getting slaughtered by unthinkable magic once again. How can they still have any mana left after that first volley of spells? No mage can recharge themselves that fast! These people must be the best mages this world has to offer. Maybe this city is the Rondel of this world. But Atticus's train of thought was cut short as a bullet struck him in the chest and threw him off his mount. While lying on the ground he heard his men crying in pain, others in fear as they were mercilessly cut down by the barbarian's mages.
2:15 June 26th, 1968
Central Park, New York
The marching got louder and louder until John saw the enemy troops start to pour out from 7th Avenue. He saw that they were arranged in into box formations and had large wooden shields all around them. They also had shields above them, presumably to protect themselves from arrows. I should have paid more attention to ancient history in high school. I think that was called turtle formation or something? No matter, those formations should make the m60's even more effective. As the troops got continued to pour out into the street and got closer to the pre-established line where the machine guns would start to fire everyone tensed up.
"Holy shit that's a lot of Romans", says Bruce.
"Yea there must be thousands of them. Luckily for us they are bunched up like morons. This will be easy", rebuts Doug.
"I hope so, but that's a lot of guys. Do we have enough ammo?", replies Bruce.
"Well, we better. We brought all the m60 belts to the bunkers. There isn't any more ammo than what we got here", says Paul.
"Cut the chatter guys, they are almost at the kill zone. Mark, George, your guns ready to rock?", asks John.
"Yup, I'm good. I'm ready to waste these motherfuckers", replies Mark.
"Same with me. Just hope we have enough ammo to feed the Pig's, these assholes just keep coming around the corner", replies George.
Soon enough the first troops crossed into the kill zone and a chorus of machine gun fire erupted in Central Park as the m60's barked at the Romans. The wooden shields the Romans surrounded themselves in were useless against the 7.62 NATO rounds being fired at them. The bullets tore into their formations piercing through shields, armor, and men alike. Even though the Romans didn't know it their tight formations made the m60's more effective as one bullet could kill multiple men.
Stunningly the Romans continued to march towards their position even after hundreds of their comrades had been cut down in less than a minute. Although John had noticed that they had frozen for a second right when the machine guns opened fire, but soon after they continued marching. I don't know any army that would be able to march towards machine gun nests out in the open. These Romans must be either extremely brave, or extremely stupid.
"Is this what it was like in WWI?", yells Michael over the roar of the m60, "because this is brutal. There must be almost a thousand of them already dead and they just keep coming".
"I have no idea what is wrong with these morons, can't they see they are not going to get close to us?", asks Robert.
"Well I doubt they know what a machine gun is if they are just blindly marching into the fire arcs of multiple of them", relies Bruce.
"I don't know about that maybe they are all just slow", rebuts Robert.
"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, barrels overheating. Get me a new one Robert", yells Mark as he stares at the bright red barrel.
"Paul get me one too", adds George as he notices his barrel overheating too.
"Crap if everyone else was also firing as much as you two are their guns will be down too", John says worryingly, "get those barrels changed as fast as you can. Everyone else get your m16's ready. They might get closer to us than we wanted".
As if on que the rest of the machine guns go silent as their gunners try to replace the barrels as quickly as they can. The romans seem to take the break in fire as a blessing as they start to advance quicker towards the bunkers.
"Shit those motherfuckers speed up. They are going to in m16 range soon", says Doug.
"How are those barrels coming? We need those Pig's back in action pronto", yells John.
"It's going to be a minute. These barrels are a bitch to change. You guys might have to hold em off for us in the meantime. Ok?", says Mark.
"Got it", replies John, "You guys heard Mark get your guns ready we're going to need them".
As the Romans close in on the bunkers everyone brings their m16's to bear. After making sure they were loaded and charged of course. As they crossed into the range of the m16 everyone opened fire. Although the rounds weren't as powerful as the Pig's 7.62 the 5.56 NATO rounds still tore through the wooden shields and metal armor of the Romans. Luckily the rifle fire seemed to keep the Romans at bay as the gunners finally finished attaching the new barrels to the m60's.
"I'm done!", yelled Mark as he and Robert fed a new belt into the weapon. John noticed an evil smile form on his face as he racked the bolt of the Pig back and pulled down on the trigger.
Within seconds the other machine gunners had also opened up on the Romans and the chorus of death was restored. As John looked out of the hole, he saw the remaining Roman formations melt as hot lead tore into them. In the middle of all the carnage John spotted a man wearing ornate armor who was riding a horse at full gallop towards their position. That asshole is probably important, maybe he is the commander. I don't know why you would want to advertise that fact, but it's his funeral. Shifting his m16's barrel and lining his sights up with the man's chest he unloaded a three-round burst. The man quickly fell to the ground.
The gunfire continued for the next few minutes as the rest of the romans marched to their deaths, never even getting close to their enemy. After most had been dispatched Frank tasked John's squad and a few others to check out the battlefield. The mission was to capture any living Romans for interrogation and put any Romans who were mortally wounded out of their misery. Additionally, a few squads were also tasked with checking a few of the nearby buildings to make sure none of the Romans were hiding in them.
"This job sucks man, I got like 20 different dudes' blood and guts on my boots", says Mark.
"I mean it's only fair Mark, you probably killed half of these bastards. Those ancient battle formations definitely didn't help them against your m60", jokes Robert.
"Why couldn't these guys have invaded in the winter. These bodies are already starting to reek. The smell is going to be unbearable after a few more hours of sunshine", says Bruce.
"Hey Jerry, I have a live one over here", calls out Doug.
Rushing over Jerry, the team medic, checks out the wounded Roman soldier. He is mumbling some weird language that none of the squad had ever heard before. "di miserere mei", repeats the roman over and over in a faint voice.
"What the hell is that Roman saying? Anyone get that at all?", asks Doug.
"I ain't ever heard anything like that. But if they are Romans maybe it's Latin or Greek?", says Bruce.
"This guy isn't going to make it, he has lost to much blood and his intestines are shredded", says Jerry after examining the Roman.
"Well guess I should put him out of his misery", says John as he lowers his m16 at the man. With a pull of the trigger he silences the mans voice and ends his suffering. "Ok lets keep looking, at least one of these bastards has to still be alive enough to interrogate".
Suddenly from across the street the squad hears, "FUCK", followed by a burst of gunfire. Running over they see a soldier leaning against a car with a knife in his leg.
"What happened?", asks Jerry as he runs over to the man, medkit in hand.
"I was checking these assholes to see if any were still alive. I guess one of them was but decided to play dead when I walked past him. After I passed him the barbarian pulled a dagger and stuck it into my fucking leg. killed him before he could pull the knife out and stab me again luckily", says the soldier.
"Your lucky that guy had bad aim. Didn't hit anything important. You should be fine, but you'll need to rest for a few weeks to let it heal. I'll bring you back to the LZ. Use me as support and try not to put weight on the leg", says Jerry as he walks the soldier back towards the LZ.
"Ok lets keep checking, but be careful. I don't want any of these Romans to kill you guys. It would be pretty embarrassing to get killed by a guy pretending to be dead", says John as the squad continues to search through the battlefield for any survivors.
After looking for about an hour they didn't find anyone left alive. But maybe it was for the best anyways as John was doubtful that they could have gotten any useful intelligence out of any of the Romans anyways. As they headed back to the LZ to regroup with with their platoon and get new orders from Frank, he saw the the second flight of helicopters finally come in.
Back in the park the LZ was a frenzy of activity. John saw men unloading choppers as fast as they could. Throwing ammo, medicin, and other miscellaneous equipment on the ground to be carried away by others. Surprisingly he also spotted two AH-1G attack helicopters parked in the LZ, but it looked like they were firing up their engines and getting ready to take off. At least the Cobras got here. A little late though, it would have been nice to have had those as support when we were attacked. He then spotted Frank who was next to the Captain. It looked like they were both listing to a Radio. As he walked over he started to hear cries for help and frantic gunfire emanating from the speaker. "Where is that happening Frank, we going to help?", he asks.
"Apparently the Romans are attacking the UN building right now. It's a shitshow over there right now. The UN was in a assembly meeting about something when the attack started and they haven't had enough time to evacuate everyone. So there are still quite a few diplomats on site. It sounds like the security forces are starting to get overrun so the Cobras are going to go support. It also looks like two platoons of men are going with them. But don't worry the Captain is sending two of the Platoons that just arrived in the recent flight of choppers. Guess he wants to spread the love around to all of us", replies Frank.
As he says that the two Cobras lift themselves skyward in a rush of wind and noise and speed off south towards the UN building. "Well I almost feel bad for the Romans now Frank".
*The Pig is what soldiers called the m60 machine gun in Vietnam.