LOCATION: FORT GREELY
CITY: FAIRBANKS, ALASKA
DATE: SEPTEMBER 13, 2049 | TIME: 0500 HOURS
It took only three days.
When Graham Thorne and Li Wei put out the word within the million-member strong Peacekeeper Force that they were seeking five thousand soldiers for a high-stakes extraction mission, they received over fifty thousand responses almost immediately.
Grim thought about taking all of them, but even overwhelming force had limits to its effectiveness in hostile territory.
In the end, he and Li settled on a nice, round number: ten thousand.
The regiment was divided roughly into:
500 Healers
500 Portal Mages
7,500 Fighters
1,500 Rogues
They mustered at Fort Greely in Alaska. At 0500 on the morning of the fourth day since sending out the clarion call, all ten thousand were onsite and ready to go.
He stood on a dais in the large hall that had been constructed before the very first Peacekeeper Tutorial so many years ago. The troops were lined up in neat rows, and Grim smiled when he saw the expressions on their faces.
It was a look of anger.
A look of determination.
A look of ferocity.
Yes, Grim thought, that I can use.
He let the silence hang for a moment before he began his speech. His Interplanar General class had been upgraded after his Level 100 Trial, and with the extra boost in Charisma, his voice carried with it an even deeper sense of power.
---
Speech mode selected: Inspirational
---
“The Obsidian Empire may be vast and dangerous. They may overpower us in sheer numbers. But any of you who were in Special Forces before the integration know that numbers aren’t the only measure of ferocity.”
He stood absolutely still as he spoke, and his full attention was on the troops assembled in front of him.
“As you all know, they have abducted 1,092 of our own. We do not leave our fallen on the battlefield. And we sure as hell aren’t going to let an abduction like this stand unanswered.”
He paused and watched as many of the men and women nodded.
“The scout team that went ahead was able to apprehend a map of the planet. It’s been sent to your interfaces. You have studied it with your individual teams.”
He saw the team leads nodding, and continued.
“The southern hemisphere of Bastion is filled with tubes embedded deep into the planetary core. We believe these tubes house projectiles that have portal capability. That means they can be launched like missiles, open a portal in mid-flight, and explode at any point within that portal’s range.”
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Mumbles rolled through the crowd.
“Yes,” Grim continued. “It’s serious. Our first mission is to recover our own. The Fighters, Healers and Mages will be on that mission. But, Rogues! You have an important role to fill, too. Once we arrive, we need you to find out everything you can on the technology. How far along is it? What is the range of the portals? You’ve been briefed. I don’t need to reiterate it all for you now. But once you’ve gotten what you can, it will be time for some fun.”
A grin spread across Grim’s face.
“Sabotage. Break whatever you can. I’m sure they’ve sent the specs for the technology up the chain, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy to start over again. Destroy the data. Set the tubes for self-destruct. Whatever you can muster in the limited time we have.”
A few muffled fuck yeahs rippled through the troops. Grim let it go for a moment, and then grew serious again.
“We can’t set the mission clock until we arrive, but this is a Combat Force Projection planet. We should expect maximum resistance and maximum hostility. So be ready. We will update your mission timer once we all make it through the portal. I will say this once: Do not be late reporting to your portal locations for exfiltration. There are a lot of moving parts to this mission, but the exit will be inflexible. Now, are there any questions?”
He and Li spent the next hour answering every question.
At the end, Grim gave his final push. He infused his new skill “Rally the Troops” into his voice, and watched as the buff landed.
“Let me close this out with a few final words!”
His voice took on a booming effect that reverberated through the high ceilings of the enormous building.
“You are all among the best Earth has to offer for this mission. We do not leave our brothers and sisters behind. Let’s go get them!”
A rousing cheer erupted through the room.
“We do not sit idly by while our enemies develop weapons like those our scouts found! Let’s destroy them! Set them off on Bastion if we can. Let’s make sure they know that Earth and humanity will not be cowed. We will not be defeated. And we will not be dominated. Not by the Obsidian Empire. Not by anyone! Let’s gooooo!”
---
Rally the Troops:
Your speech was effective in boosting morale.
All stats for 10,031 troops have been bolstered by 16%.
Duration: 168 hours
---
Grim looked at the results. He had hoped for the full twenty percent, but it would have to do.
“Sixteen percent for seven days,” he said, turning to Li. “It’ll have to be enough.”
Li closed and opened his fists a few times.
“Any boost helps, and this is not insignificant. Let’s get moving. I’m itching for some payback. Stay safe out there.”
Grim laughed.
“Fuck that. Let them worry about their own safety. Let’s do this.”
The Peacekeeper Force ran drills regularly and often, so it was no surprise to see them line up in their assigned squads without issue.
The Mages began opening portals. They held them open as the Fighters ran through first, weapons at the ready.
Then the Rogues, covered in stealth, were next, followed by the Healers.
Li had run through with the first batch of Fighters, and Grim waited until the Portal Mages were the last ones in the building.
All but one closed their portals and joined Grim as he entered the final one. The last Mage stepped through her own portal and allowed it to quietly close behind her.
They were in.
Grim looked around.
The southern hemisphere of Bastion was a brown, rocky region, covered by grasslands punctuated by the missile silos.
He consulted with Li quickly and set the mission timer.
Everyone got the same message. Up in the top right corner of their interfaces, a counter began ticking down.
---
Mission Timer: 74:59:57
---
Grim sent a message to all the troops.
“We’ve got just over three days. The bridge to the northern hemisphere is two klicks to the northeast. Fighters first, then your teams are to follow. Rogues, you know what to do.”
Samir al-Mansoor, who had refused to be left out of this mission, had previously assigned the Rogue teams. He followed up Grim’s message with one of his own, just for them.
“Teams Alpha and Bravo, get to work on the tubes. Charlie and Delta, with me.”
And with that, the mission to free a thousand of their own was officially underway.