8. Chapter 6 : Une hospitalité rarement vue

In memory of all the innocent victims of the Nice massacre.

The tactics used by the Empire's military were really similar to those that were used during the last years of the Roman Empire. Even if there was some differences, the military historians clearly identified strategies of the early Middle Ages. Our technology was already an advantage, but knowing what your opponent will do for a given situation is the best advantage any general could dream of. Those tactics also influenced the construction of Camp Alnus. The apparition of modern artillery made the walls around cities and bases fall, but facing someone who only has catapults made us choose to build concrete fortifications around the base. We didn't modified the configuration of a modern FOB, but all around it we built a 10 meters tall wall in the shape of a Vauban Fort. Not having dead angles is in itself a pretty good thing, but when those walls are protected by mounted machine guns, tanks, artillery and AA guns and that the supply comes from the inside, you can say that your base is siege proof. That, and an area 10 kilometres in diameter patrolled by motorised infantry, assured us that everyone in this radius would be safe.

That's why I accepted Coda's refugees : this area was really big, so finding a small place for 60 people wasn't difficult. Saving them was one thing, but providing them with a shelter, food and water really built a relation of trust between NATO and the locals. In a way, they wanted to pay us back, to give us something in return. So when we asked them questions about their world, they always answered really precisely. Some may say that accepting refugees is a mistake because they are something that consume precious resources, but the value of the intel we got was too important to pass.

Extract of General LaPointe's interview for french TV, November 2026

Alnus refugee camp, East of Camp Alnus, November 11th, 1400 AT

The sight of the massive fortress impressed everyone. For the refugees, the enormous wall made of something different than stone was a display of power from the men in green that put them on the level of a lord. For the soldiers of the third reconnaissance team, it was a display of the efficiency of modern engineering. But for "safety reasons", the refugees that didn't needed medical treatment weren't allowed to enter the walls. Instead, they were lead to a small terrain at the border of the forest surrounding the hill, right next to one of the access road that has been built to make the crossing of the forest way easier for wheeled vehicles.

On this terrain, a group of Génie soldiers was already putting up tents as a temporary lodging. The day after, as the refugees were registered, those tents were replaced by prefabricated buildings.

Name : Lelei La LelenaRace : HumanSex : FemaleAge : 15Occupation : "Mage", Student of Mr. El AltestanSkin : WhiteHair : Short, silverHeight : 163 cmWeight : 55 kgNote : Willing to learn French and already knows a few words. Can be a translator.

Name : Kato El AltestanRace : HumanSex : MaleAge : 70Occupation : "Mage", "Master of the Lindon School of Magic", Teacher of Ms. La LelenaSkin : WhiteHair : Short, whiteHeight : 175 cmWeight : 67 kgNote : Seems to have become the leader of the refugees.

Name : Tuka Luna MarceauRace : ElfSex : FemaleAge : 165 (!)Occupation : HuntressSkin : WhiteHair : Long, blondHeight : 176 cmWeight : 70 kgNote : Might need psychological treatment due to visible early signs of PTSD.

Name : Rory MercuryRace : HumanSex : FemaleAge : Unknown (According to Ms La Lelena : "Too scary to ask. Don't want to die.")Occupation : "Apostle of Emroy"Skin : WhiteHair : BlackHeight : 152 cmWeight : 39 kgNote : Has some kind of religious influence on the refugees, but doesn't seem to abuse it. Always carry her axe with her. According to RCT3, she can throw it at long distances. Don't look hostile but caution is advised.

While the five other recon teams had to leave base to perform other recon missions, the soldiers of Recon 3, Recon 4 and Recon 5 had the luck to guard the refugee camp.

The camp in itself was just composed of two long military prefabricated buildings. On each side of the improvised street, the white walls were cut by grey doors situated at the same distance of each other. Each door was leading to a lodgement with one or two beds, an eating table, chairs and a big closet. For someone in our world, it was the bare minimum to live, but for the villagers it was more luxurious than their dreams. On top of that they were given three good meals a day and they had access to what felt an endless reserve of water, so it's not hard to understand why a lot of the refugees were happier here than in there homes.

The whole camp was surrounded by a metallic fence that prevented anyone from leaving, even though no one ever had this idea. Entering and exiting the camp could only be done by a single entrance guarded by two men of the Recon Team currently in service.

When the villagers were moved from the tents to the solid buildings, Recon 3 had the "honour" to be the first team with guard duty. Anthony decided that every one hour and twenty minutes, the two soldiers guarding the door will change, fully knowing that this guard duty was a real joke and that they could relax.

As Gomez and Elkader got into position after picking the shortest straw, the lieutenant sat down on one of the camping chairs that were next to the picnic tables installed in the middle of the "street". Almost immediately, Marc did the same and was about to tell something about working on the 11th of November, but the voice that was heard by everyone in the vicinity was the one of Kato El Altestan, the spokesman chosen by the villagers.

« On the behalf of all the villagers that are here, I sincerely thank you for accepting us. You helped us in those difficult times, you managed to fend off the mighty Fire Dragon and now you give us lodging better than the Emperor's. There is nothing in this world big enough to represent our gratitude. »

The old men bowed, revealing behind him a group composed of his apprentice and other adults.

« You don't have to thank us, replied Anthony, taking off his helmet and putting it on the table. We're just doing our jobs. »

« But we don't know anything about you, continued the old man like he didn't heard him, and with all due respect we would like to ask you some questions about you and your world. »

The two French soldiers looked at each other, not sure of what to do.

After a few seconds of a heavy silence, Marc nodded towards his officer.

« Well... If I can answer them, I don't see why I shouldn't. » answered Anthony, turning his head in the direction of the group. « What's your first question ? »

Obviously, the first question asked by Kato was "Who are you ?"

« My name is Anthony Marceau and his is Marc Sostat. We're soldiers in the army of a country called France. » answered the Lieutenant, pointing the French flag that was on his right shoulder.

« Are all of you coming from Fran-se ? I saw other banners on the shoulder of some of your group. »

This time, Marc decided to answer.

« Most of the NATO soldiers here are French, but soldiers from other countries are deployed with us. For example, Trevis is from Great Britain, Clark is from the United States and Moltke is from Germany. » he explained, pointing the soldiers as he gave their names.

« What is "N-A-T-O" ? It's written everywhere but no one explained what it mean. » asked a young man with a bandage around his right arm.

« NATO... It is an acronym that stand for "North Atlantic Treaty Organisation". To simplify as much as possible, it's a powerful military alliance in our world. »

« Are all the armies in your world equipped with such machines ? »

« Yup. Even the small armies of the poorest countries have at least a few armoured vehicles. But you haven't seen everything we can do. You haven't see our... flying machines. »

This last statement attracted the attention of everyone that could hear the voice of Marc.

« You have unlocked the secret of the birds ? » asked Lelei with her same emotionless voice. « Without using any form of magic ? How ? »

« I can't tell you that... You'll see for yourself when the engineers will finish the landing areas for the helicopters. Even when you know how it works, it's always impressive to see one. Do you have more questions ? »

The discussion continued for at least a hour. Each question from the villagers on subjects like electricity, hygiene, education or politics getting an answer. Everything said by one of the soldier was listened by focused and amazed refugees. Things like cars, running water, soap, schools or democracy were completely unknown concepts.

But this improvised Questions and Answers session was interrupted by a P4 stopping in front of the camp's entry. The driver turned off the engine, got out, quickly got at the level of the left back door and opened it, revealing General LaPointe.

By reflex, Gomez and Elkader passed from their relax position to the military salute while the rest of the team tried to look as serious as possible, despite the lack of seriousness since the start of the guard duty.

LaPointe quickly saluted the two privates guarding the entrance and entered the refugee camp. As he was walking along the camp's "street", the general was attracting curious looks. Who was this man ? On his clothes was the strange green pattern of the warriors of France, and even the soldiers of other countries were saluting him...

He stopped in front of Anthony. The two men first exchanged a salute before shaking their hands in a military way.

« My general. » started Anthony, following the protocol.

« Lieutenant Moreau, responded LaPointe before shifting his attention towards the group of refugees that was chatting with Anthony and Marc before he arrived. I came to see how our guests were doing. »

Feeling the numerous eyes that were all turned towards him, he tried to present himself in the local language.

« I am General Pierre LaPointe. I am the leader of this Task Force. I am happy to see that everyone here seems in good health and happy. You must be Mr. El Altestan if I am not mistaken. »

LaPointe rose his hand in the direction of the old man, but the Mage didn't knew about what was called "a handshake". Trying to imitate what Anthony did a few seconds earlier, Kato rose his hand not exactly sure of what to do next. The scene was a little awkward for the soldiers observing it, but the case was closed when the General grabbed the hand and shook it.

« Yes, I am Kato El Altestan, Master of the Lindon School of Magic. As I said to Sir Mo-ro, we really thanks Nayto for welcoming us here. We really owe you. »

« One of the mission of the French Army is to protect populations, including foreign countries'. You don't owe us anything. But if you really want to assist us, we accept any useful information about this world. »

« So the powerful warriors on their majestic iron steeds only expect informations in compensation of such a luxurious lodging ? started a giggling juvenile voice coming from an unknown place. Things so pious are rare this days. »

Everyone looked up to see who was the source of those words. The soldiers of Recon 3 and the locals weren't surprised to see Rory, sitting on the metallic roof of the building behind the general, her head on her knees, just like how a child would sit. But for LaPointe, it was a premier. Sure he had read the all the refugees' files. Sure he saw written in it that a girl was manning a halberd taller than her. But when it comes to Rory Mercury, nothing beats the surprise and the bizarreness of the first real encounter.

In a swift movement, she jumped off her platform and landed lightly and without a sound in front of the commanding officer of the NSRTF.

« But I forgot the etiquette and I didn't introduced myself. »

Grabbing the sides of her black and red dress with the tip of her small fingers and crossing her legs, she bowed like a princess in an over-the-top historic movie taking place in the renaissance.

« I am Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emroy, the God of war, violence, madness, crime and darkness. It is always an immense pleasure to meet the leader of powerful armies. » she continued, keeping the same voice full of giggles despite the seriousness of her words.

This demonstration was enough to put a veteran of the most important military operations of the last decades into an uneasy position.

« Well... Huh... The pleasure is shared, Miss... huh... Mercury... » he tried to come back while searching a way to escape the eyes that seemed to search in the deepest part of his soul.

And he found a way.

His driver had received a message on the radio and he had to transfer it to the general. When the man approached, LaPointe almost jumped on him.

« What is it ? » he asked, trying to mask his uneasiness.

« Sir, there is a problem at Checkpoint Bravo. »

Earlier...

Checkpoint Bravo, 5 km south of Camp Alnus, November 11th, 1453 AT

Playing :

The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

The small speaker was spitting the iconic bass line as the soldiers were trying to fight boredom.

Every trail entering the 5 km radius around the NATO base were the location of a checkpoint. A group of ten soldiers from one of the four countries, an infantry fighting vehicle, a Humvee and a sign stating that the NSRTF was controlling the area was, according to command, enough to guard those small roads.

Checkpoint Bravo was situated at the south of Camp Alnus, on top of a small hill. This hill wasn't as big as the occupied one, but it offered a good visual on the empty plain that laid between their location and another set of hills.

The sign, installed at the right of the road, was written in French, in English and in the local language. The thing is that everyone expected the locals not knowing how to read, and thus everyone had written down on a paper the most important sentences to make everyone understand what they have to do.

On the other side of the trail, the M2 Bradley and the Humvee were parked, their engines completely silent, like sleeping behemoths. The three crew members of the IFV were still in their box, their head out of their hatch, smoking and chatting with each other. Under the shadow of a lone tree, three of the soldiers were sleeping and two other were reading a book. Next to the car, the rest of the group was trying to look like they were actually on-duty soldiers, checking their ammunition, making sure their weapons were on safety and looking through binoculars searching for any "threat".

Breaking the monotony of the day, every hour was the radio check.

« Checkpoint Bravo, this is Overlord. What's the situation ? Over. »

The captain of the group made his look sweep one last time over the landscape. To be honest, he himself didn't really knew why he was doing that... Maybe it was to be really sure nothing was wrong...

His last verification finished, he grabbed the microphone of the long range radio.

« Overlord, this is Checkpoint Bravo. Everything is clear. We didn't saw anything on the road since we're here. Copy that ? Over. »

« Solid copy, Checkpoint Bravo. Maintain surveillance. Overlord out. »

The usual sound of ending transmission was heard, and everyone went back to their laziness.

And in the blue sky of the Special Region, the song faded away.

« Shit, groaned the soldier whose phone was plugged in the speaker, my playlist ended. So it means two hours passed. »

« Only two hours ? It's going to be so fucking long. » complained the driver of the Bradley.

« When I think about my old man saying that guarding checkpoints was something really intense. » commented another soldier.

« Yeah... It's intense when the enemy is equipped with RPGs. But now the only thing really dangerous are arrows, so I don't want anyone complaining. »

The silence returned as the improvised DJ was looking for another playlist in his phone.

But he didn't had the opportunity to launch his "Playlist of Awesome".

A private that was watching the area with his googles saw something moving on the other side of the plain, directly at their south.

« Am I the only one who sees something on the hill at 12 o'clock ? »

Everyone that seemed to care enough grabbed their binoculars to look at whatever it could be.

The answer to the "what is it ?" question came when the Bradley's commander used his magnified optics.

« Huh... There are three men on horseback, they look lightly armoured and armed and they don't wear an Imperial uniform. »

The captain nodded, his eyes glued to his goggles.

« Hum... They're maybe bandits or someth... »

« Wait ! interrupted the commander of the fighting vehicle. They're coming towards us. »

« You sure ? »

« Dude there ain't shit between them and us, so yeah I'm pretty sure. »

The captain nodded and started to yell at his soldiers, just to make sure to wake up the ones taking a nap.

« Alright ladies ! We have our first guests on their way. I want everyone in their designated position before they arrive. I don't want to make a bad impression. Understood ? »

A general « Sir ! Yes, Sir ! » showed to the officer that his orders were heard and he himself got into position in the middle of the road, between the sign and the Bradley.

Behind him, the other nine soldiers formed a group that was ready to deal with anything.

In the meantime, the crew of the infantry fighting vehicle dived into the giant box of steel and made it come back to life with the usual roar of the heavy engine. The gunner made the turret move left and right, then up and down to make sure everything was working for what appeared to be the only highlight of the day.

In only a few seconds, everyone went back to the reality of their jobs, repeating in their head the standard procedure.

They were professionals, and professionals always do their jobs right.

Deep inside their concentration, no one felt the time passing before the three riders reached the checkpoint.

« Stop ! » yelled the captain. « This area is controlled by the NATO Special Region Task Force. Identify yourself and state your business. »

The three men were all equipped in the same way. A simple leather armour, an iron helmet and a small sword. As described by the Bradley's commander, their uniform wasn't similar to any known Imperial ones : their clothes' main colour was purple and not red, like the numerous torn apart shirts found on the numerous corpses of the army that tried to retake the hill.

The rider in the middle whispered something to the other two before making his steed take a step forward.

« We are only... pilgrims coming from Elbe and making their way to the holy Hill of Alnus. We have nothing to hide. »

Not a single soldier was buying it. Why would people do a pilgrimage to a hill where the only structure is the Gate in itself. The only trace of human activity was the remains of the Imperial Army's camp.

« Well I'm sorry, but for now we don't let anyone pass. You and your friends must leave now. »

The turret of the Bradley turned towards the group, the 20mm cannon ready to shoot.

The sudden movement of the behemoth's snout took the horsemen by surprise, but the leader seemed to be more experienced and went back to his men.

After a new exchange of whispers, the group turned around and started to leave. But after a few meters, the head rider turned his head and shouted in the direction of the checkpoint.

« Thanks you for telling us. We will tell our numerous friends about it. Good day. »

And, way faster than they arrived, they left and disappeared behind the hills.

« Went better than expect. » yawned the Bradley's driver.

« Am I the only one who thought they were acting weirdly ? »

« Yeah, nodded the captain. They weren't legit... Be cautious everyone. »

A group of soldier went back under the tree, the vehicle engine was turned off and boredom reappeared.

Until a real swarm of flying beasts appeared from behind the hill.

A swarm of mounted flying beasts.

Followed by a tide of men in armour.

Tens of thousands of men.

Without a word spoken, the captain rushed on the radio and everyone entered either the IFV or the Humvee.

« Overlord, Checkpoint Bravo ! We have a massive enemy force coming our way from the south ! Several tens of thousands ! And a lot of small dragons ! We need immediate support ! »

I'm usually happy when I write my notes at the end of each chapter. But now I'm not.

The french television channels are repeating the same informations over and over again.

At least 84 people were killed by a man with a truck in Nice last thursday.

ISIS claimed this attack, and already the politicians are criticising the government for no reasons.

Everyone is depresed right now, but we must continue to live, no matter what.

So here is the sixth chapter of Gate : OMJ. It's basically the fourth episode of the anime, but with a small modification : this is were the Allied Nations' army shows up. I think it makes more sense for them to show a few days after the crossing of the Gate instead of them being there almost immediatly.

MODERN ARMED FORCES - If by "lame", you mean the whole harem thing that appeared in the second season, don't worry. I'll try to focus more on the politics that got rushed in the last four episodes.

Major Simi - Thanks !

The Tundra Fox - Wasn't it clear that the checkpoint scene was Lelei's point of view ? Did I wrote something that made you think it as the point of view of a peasant ?The emergency state PLUS an attack by another sovereign nation... My god I don't know what it could really do to our society...Btw I don't know why, but when I was watching the parade on TV, I imagined a delegation made of knights from the Rose Order, Imperial soldiers and dragon riders parading down the Champs-Elysées... Am I weird ?