Dark Side of the Moon

Nanako

Nanako repressed a quiet shudder as the man pressed a bloody palm against the wall, the familiar chill of a blade setting her heart beating just a little faster. Her large, fluffy tail swished back and forth absentmindedly as she watched the wall reassemble itself. That presence deeper inside started pushing more insistently against Nanako's mind too, the squirrel girl frowning for a moment as she watched the man curiously.

"Huh. Neat trick," Nanako remarked, tossing the cueball back onto the table, "You must be great at parties."

Miho and Yukari

Yukari eyes glittered with admiration, but Miho was becoming flustered by all the attention they were getting. The two ladies were drawing attention just by being within close proximity of Johnny when he launched the cue ball, and the Captain's old nervous personality was being triggered by the crowd surrounding them.

The owner of the pub, a bear of a cyclops, was giving the now four of them such a stink eye now, and was making his way towards them. "Uh, Yukari?" Miho whispered to her friend, "I think it's about time for us to head somewhere else."

Yukari looked disappointed and a little confused, not really being one to read the atmosphere. "Hey, Johnny," she called out to her new acquaintance, "I guess we're going somewhere else. Wanna come with?"

Costin

Costin raised an eyebrow and scoffed, totally in disbelief. He was totally picking on her for that, and having a blast doing it. "Ha! Don't they teach this stuff in pre-school?"

Amused, quite amused, he rubbed his chin and faked having to think for more than a few seconds, smiling wryly all the same.

"Wait, no, that ain't right. I guess this is a parallel world. Silly me..." He chuckled a bit, a dark glow seeping from his cadaverous vessel. "It was many, many years before what we call World War 2. Man, that takes me back though, those days were a blast. Now that you mention it, I was a mercenary for a while then. They stationed me with my private platoon in Okinawa. Heh heh... man, now that was some of the best amusement I've had since the Ottomans invaded!"

He chuckled to himself when he said that, as if remembering the way those monkeys scrambled once he entered the fray.

"What makes you so curious though? That was a long time ago, you know?"

Miho and Yukari

"Well," Yukari began as she took her shot.

CLACK!

And with that, she was only one ball to go before she can claim the solid black 8.

"Where I'm from, the old wars on Terra are ancient history," the fluffball explained, "And much of it has been forgotten. I only learned about the Two World War and the United States from an old propaganda magazine my uncle collects, and some of the things it brought up has me curious."

Costin

Costin flinched in surprise, but a stifled chuckle slip past his lips. Then a wheeze, and then a hearty laughter that rang through the bar.

"KHAHAHAHAHAH!! You humans can't stop cracking me up! That's it... good... your accuracy is better than most artillery I've torn to shreds. Yes! This'll make good sport! But don't you think this is over, I'm just getting started kid! Try not to break on me got it?!"

He twirled the puck with the viciousness of a hunter, grinning from ear to ear. They might as well call him the milkman, because he was about to go to town with those maggots.  He slammed the seven in the opposite direction from the hole it was so close to, impacting it against the border before sliding it riiight into the hole, nice and tight.

"This land, you still call it the Nexus right? Heh, sorry if I'm sounding like a dumbass bitch, but I'm new to this world. Hope you don't mind showing me the ropes, you badass kid."

Compliments like that weren't usually his style, but Costin felt awfully nice today. He might as well make her feel a bit better about herself before he mopped the floor with her teeth.

Two Tankers in a Bar

"Ah, a newcommer!" Yukari chirped, leaning forward onto the table as she took aim, "Welcome to the club! Yep, this place is called the Nexus. This is the town of Oakridge, in the Dunham district."

Her cue struck the white ball, which made a resounding 'clack!' when it struck the 2-ball. However, she didn't put enough strength in the motion - the 2-ball stopped just short of the hole. Yukari took on a mildly disheartened look, "That's gonna set me back."

Treadheads' Night Out

"Erm...Thank you?" Miho somewhat nervously said, not being really sure how to take that particular compliment. Yukari, meanwhile, tried to stealthily sniff her own right shoulder, gears working in her brain as to how the smell of shell propellent lingered on her body even after her showering.

The two women then carefully eyed the newcomer, sizing him up and trying to figure his ultimate motive. Yukari's opponent, breaking down from the unintentional pressure this man was giving off, shakily handed him his cue.

Roadrunner, Pegasus Scout Vehicle of 5th Company
South of Phillipsburgh

The wind whipped around Sergeant Emily McKinsey's face as the Roadrunner tore down the highway. It was a simple joy for her, to have everything from the shoulders up sticking out of her armored steed's cupola. This feeling reminds her of when her father took her out around Dunham with his motorbike.

"Auspex is picking up contacts1 Three, maybe four footmobiles at ten o'clock, two hundred meters out!" Speer's voice over the comms broke her reverie.

McKinsey looked in that direction, but could only see woods. Time for a closer look, then. She pressed the communication device's button and barked "Pierre! Bank left! Head into the treeline!"

The scout commander glanced at the sister-Pegasus, the Raptor, as the Roadrunner made its way towards the forest. "Pegasus-2, hold back! Cover our escape path!"

Aye aye, ma'am!" her counterpart, Sergeant Bethany Schmidt, affirmed. Though they shared rank, McKinsey held seniority and thus called the shots.

Emily ducked back down into the scout vehicle's hull, locking the hatch as she did so. "Park up ahead and kill the engine, Pierre." she ordered, "Can you get any better readings, Speer?"

"No, ma'am. The trees are mucking up any clearer Auspex readings. I'll take a look around with the thermo."

"Do that. I don't want to accidently shoot up some hunters. Tanaka?" McKensey turned to the gunner sitting in the turret, "I want you to also switch to thermo."

"Y-yes ma'am!" squeaked the rather mousy specialist.

"Ma'am, I think this is them!" Speer turned to her commander, "I-I mean, it's not a hundred percent clear but-Oh, damn! The camera's going haywire!"

"M-mine, t-too!" Tanaka added.

"I thought I told you two to make sure everything was up to task this morning!" bellowed Emily as she once again rose up behind Tanaka's seat, magnoculars in hand.

"I did! I did!" Speer called back as the sergeant flipped open the cupola's hatch.

Emily grumbled a response back to her subordinate. Whelp, nothing to do now except to take a look with her own eyes. She barely brought the magnoculars to her eyes when a sudden blur of movement dashed right by her, startling her. "Shit!" she yelped, almost stumbling back into the wheeled tank as she fumbled for her sidearm.

"Wha-what is i-it?!" Tanaka heard her shriek, looking up to her NCO with a worried look.

"I=I don't know!" McKinsey shouted as she stumbled back into the crew compartment, closing and locking the hatch, once again, above her.

She only got a look at whatever it was for a split second, but her mind was quickly analyzing what she briefly saw - blue and steelcolored outfit, golden hair. Wait, could it be? "I think it was Americana! Pierre! Back up, back up! Take usback tot he highway!"

As Pierre started up the Pegasus, McKinsey tried hailing the other armored scout vehicle "Schmidt! Schmidt! Americana just ran passed us! She probably didn't recognize us, and she's heading your way!"

---

"Schmi-....-ca jus...recognize...your way!"

Sergeant Bethany Schmidt couldbarely understand anything Emily was saying over the static over the radio. "Say again, Pegasus-1? I didn't read that. Over."

"Ma'am, auspex is picking up a footmobile running our way, ten o'clock! Contact in five seconds!" her assistant driver called back to her.

"Gunner, take aim at the tree line!" Schmidt didn't hesitate, shouting the order as she rose up to her cupola's periscope.

Sure enough, a person emerged from the treeline, a person any Dunham citizen knows all too well. "HOLD FIRE! HOLD FIRE!" Beth frantically yells, stopping her gunner from making the biggest mistake in their unit's history.

Prodigal Child, Command Tank of Fifth Company
Phillipsburgh

Phillipsburgh was a moderately-sized town of roughly 23,000 people. It largely owed its existence to the intersecting highways running through the forested south-east of Columbia, being a hub for the various lumber companies operating in the area. Such a hub, in fact, that the northern half is dominated by the industry - saw mills, truck stops, and warehouses line both sides of Highway 44, the northeast-southwest road. Highway 13, the east-west roadway, is the primary boundary between the industrial zone with the rest of the township.

The southeast quarter of Phillipsburgh is known as "The Bricks" or "Old Town," where the small city kept not only the older buildings, but the older brick roads as well. Aside from local governance, it is also the site of many of the shops as well as where the wealthier citizens call home. The southwest quarter of the small city is where the majority of the populace lives, a largely middleclass assortment of small neighborhoods and cul-de-sacs that expands out to the woods. Most of the people living here either work the shops, or, more likely, make their living in the mills and distribution centers to the north.

That was all Miho deigned to read about the town from her data pad. History and local attractions meant little in a combat situation like this one, even if her curiosity is a bit piqued. The 3rd Heavy Armor already encountered elements of the 7th Cavalry, who were in the middle of securing the city hall and the police station (Especially for the armory therein), as well as putting up barricades and checkpoints for the major roads. Maho directed them to aid in these efforts, and so Miho was deploying her company to the southwest half of Highway 44.

Nearing the city limits, she saw a group of 7th infantry men piling sandbags and extending razorwire into makeshift barricades. "Pull over here, Suzuhara," the brunette ordered, "I think these are the guys."

"Yes, ma'am."

Once the tank stopped, Miho opened the command hatch and raised herself halfway out of the cupola. She waved a pair of soldiers over, "You guys Echo Company?"

"Yes, ma'am!" One acknowledged as they both saluted, "Allow me to get Captain Matthews."

---

Makeshift Forward Operating Base
Parking Lot of Liberty Lumber Mill, Phillipsburgh

Though Maho's face appears to be stoic to the average soldier, those who knew her are able to pick up the minor expressions that indicated the colonel was, in fact, fuming as she climbed down from the Baneblade Indomitable with her staff.

The 7th were building a makeshift base of operations her at this saw mill, more or less due to its centralized location just off from where the two highways meet. And that was where their commanding officer was. Maho entered the command tent, quickly scanning for the highest ranking individual in the room. Her eyes landed on a golden oak leaf insignia - a Major - who was standing over a radio set holding a microphone up. "-I repeat, we are not here as conquerors. Our stay will be temporary. There will be no enforcement of Dunham laws onto your populace, nor will we make any demands of you. We simply ask for you to not interfere with our operations. We will make every consideration for civilians, but we will also defend ourselves if need be - "

Maho could hear what he was saying from the city loudspeakers outside. The 7rth must have hijacked the local radio stations and are trying to pacify the population of Phillipsburgh. Not like it really matters, though - the Columbians will, in the end, be a belligerent population to them. This is all hostile territory for the soldiers of Dunham. The populace will start off by feeding Columbian military their numbers and positions, and, once the military arrives, the civilians will be taking potshots at their backs. This will then only escalate to militias cutting off their escape routes as the Columbian Army closes in for the kill. In the end, Maho knew that this was ultimately territory that neither the 7th Calvary or her own 3rd Heavy Armor could hold.

Once the Major finished, though, that was when the brunette approached him. "Where's Lieutenant Colonel Wright?"

The man, a Major Knights, barely looked at her before leading her to an enlarged map of the surrounding area, "We left him behind in Dunham, ma'am."

"What?" This surprised Maho, shock noticeably showing through her otherwise stern face."

"I know you might have a lot of questions, ma'am, but now is the time for preparing. Just know that this was all my idea and you can line me up against a wall later."

"This was your doing?" Anger started to well up inside her, not just for Knights dismissal of her (despite her being ranking officer now), but now that they basically have a war on their hands that many will see Dunham initiating, "What the He - what were you thinking?!"

Knights turned to face her, his voice low, "I was thinking that Americana has to be returned to us at all costs, that she is more important than anyone of us, and that not acting was a betrayal onto her."

"And so you bucked orders, broke formation, and invaded Columbia?"

"Without Americana, Dunham is nothing."

"Invading Columbia will reduce us to no-" Maho remembered herself then, noticing how the enlisted were paying attention to their squabble. Gritting her teeth, she changed course, "I am now the ranking officer here, and will be taking control of this operation until General Sawyer arrives. Is that understood, Major?"

The older man was silent for a moment, before acknowledging her authority.

---

Highway 44 South Checkpoint
Phillipsburgh

First Sergeant Aoi approached the officers huddled around a makeshift shack - Captain Miho Nishizumi, First Lieutenant Mutsuki (Miho's XO), and Captain Matthews. "Captain Nishizumi? Colonel Nishizumi is hailing you and Matthews on the vox."

Miho looked up at her, thanked her, and started walking back to the tank with Matthews trailing behind her. Aoi heard him ask "Vox?" as they walked away.

It was a few minutes later when the two officers returned. Miho spoke "Mutsuki, you are going to be under the temporary command Matthews here. Just got new orders - I'm to take one of our squadrons, the two Pegasi, and one of Matthew's platoons down south."

"The colonel is sending you out to rescue Her?" the XO asked, a combination of worry and faint jealousy falling across her face.

"Yes," Miho affirmed.

Over the years, Miho has picked up some of her sister's stoicness - her nervousness about going deeper into enemy territory only being shown by a slight shaking of her left hand. She turned to her 7th counterpart, "Have your selected platoon meet us by the wire in about five minutes. May Americana grace us in our endeavors."

A few minutes later, five tanks, three IFV's and two scout  vehicles left the city limits, heading southwest to where Americana dropped off of RADAR...

Prodigal Child, Command Tank of Fifth Company
Woods near Lancaster Bridge

The 3rd Heavy Armor Battalion set up shop in these woods late last night as a part of a larger formation, protecting Dunham's side of the Lancaster Bridge in the event of a Columbian invasion. Things were getting too hairy these past few days not to, especially with those two attacks with the major powers Dunham was stuck between. This ultimately meant that First Sergeant Abhuraya Aoi has not gotten anything to eat or sleep for at least twelve hours now.

Captain Nishizumi Miho was currently away at the officers' meeting with command, leaving Aoi and her four crewmates - Privates Guso and Swanson, Corporal Akiyami, and Sergeant Suzuhara - to make a small camp by their tank as they await orders. The camp itself wasn't much, really, just a few folding stools surrounding an electric stove. Aoi herself was sitting on one of those GI Assholders, leaning forward and paying rapped attention to Guso as the private brewed the nectar of the gods on the stove - hard coffee. Bitter, bitter coffee, a drink beloved by every soldier that has the power to uplift even the most weary of hearts. "No matter hard you stare at it, it won't get finished sooner, Ma'am." Guso's trademarked deadpan brought her back down to reality.

"Tch," Abhuraya muttered, shifting her attention to her next need, "Hey, Swanson, Akiyami, you two finding the rations?"

"Got'em right here, Abhuraya-dono!" came Akiyami's cheery voice as the two subordinates crawled out the tank's side hatch, arms filled with MRE packaging, "Breakfast Menu Twelve, coming right up!"

"Coffee almost done?" Swanson's voice wasn't as lively as the Corporal's, looking like she's about ready to collapse from exhaustion herself.

"About another minute."

"Good..." The blonde private dropped her load of MRE's nearby the camping stove collapsed onto her stool as Akiyami started preparing the food.

Aoi could only stare as her subordinate started humming with a smile on her face as she tore into the packaging. "I don't get it," she started, "How are you always so...springy, Yukari?"

"Oh!" Akiyami looked up, "That's because -"

"Pack everything up!" Miho's voice suddenly rung out.

The Auburn-haired captain was practically sprinting up to their camp, a serious look plastered her face, immediately setting everyone on edge. Aoi met her as she entered the camp while the four others started shoving everything into the tank's myriad of crates, storage boxes, and armored containers. "Something happened, ma'am?"

"Americana's been kidnapped about forty minutes ago," Miho started explaining as she started climbing up the tank to the command hatch, earning gasps from her subordinates, "She's been taken somewhere into Columbia near here, and the 7th Calvary broke formation and crossed the bridge about fifteen minutes ago."

As everyone took up their positions inside the tank, Miho continued "High Command is treating this as an attack by Columbia, and we're to follow the 7th across the bridge."

First Sergeant Abhuraya Aoi's day is about to get even worse...