Gate: Thus the Alaskan Republic fought | Season 1

Chapter 2

Lieutenant Claus Nosredna received his summons to report to the rail station. Being a hunter killer, the name of the Alaskan Republic Marine Corps advanced special operations unit, he was sent frequently on missions outside of Alaska.

He assumed it was another deployment, and he got out of bed in his studio apartment that was in the Buckner Building as they used to call the place. He guessed correctly how much it cost getting the structure back to habitable conditions.

Brushing his teeth, he pulled on his trousers and the rest of his uniform, a black polyester number. Then shouldered his M29 OICW, a weapon produced by the AR under license, and his trusty folding bicycle, Claus left his apartment and locked the door.

He of course lived in Whittier. A secluded town where the only two ways in and out was through a tunnel, and by ship of boat. He liked it though, namely to escape to be away from the weirdos that gave him heat for being one of those who were wired differently.

In the marines, he had the three things he loved: time on ships, food, and going bicycle tours---blowing things sky high, albeit legally. The coffee was also quite good, which was a bonus. That and his pay gave him the freedom to pick and choose whom he wanted to hook up with. As he saw it, Clause had it pretty good.

The ARMC's special forces did indeed use bicycles for their people. Everything was scarce nowadays, and a folding mountain bike had the advantages of not using diesel, was silent, and could be packed and carried as a piece of kit in a bag. That, and you to take it with you during aerial insertions. While not as awe inspiring as other vehicles, it did it's job.

Clause sipped on coffee and munched on bagels as he drove his bike to the rail station. Arriving, he dismounted and was greeted by his team mates. "So, the Alien arrives," said a female Sergeant by the name of Laura Dickerson.

And no Claus wasn't an alien, he said that as a joke decades back, and some nut thought he was serious. Of course it died with half of humanity a decade prior, but still some people remembered it, and it was a going joke. Clause looked towards the lady and said to her, "I thought I told you to never call me that."

"Can't you have a little fun, Niki?"

"We're here on orders. Not my choice of you being stuck with me," answered Claus.

"Any idea where we're going, sir?" Asked a private.

"I'm as much in the dark as you are, Henson."

"Oh," said the private.

The rest said nothing. They knew Clause wasn't one for small talk. He got results and could think on his feet where it counted. No good in situations of the heart, Clause only would scoff at such things under his breath and said nothing out of politeness.

He of course had a girlfriend who was wired the way he was, but he never really spoke of her. Soon, the train was ready to leave, and the group of seven boarded. It was then they learned of their destination: Barrow.

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The Imperial general awoke and found himself in a bed. The room was unfamiliar to him and surrounding him were devices that as far as he could tell must be powered by a magic of some sort.

The man found he was in a gown and both of his legs had been chopped off below the knee. He started screaming in Latin, and a few women in strange outfits entered and attempted to talk to him in a strange language. Of course this language was Esperanto. The ARG made Esperanto the official language given the variety of peoples from various parts of the world to ease communication. But their native languages were used also.

But it was clear this man didn't speak a word of Esperanto. And his reactions was a bit out of the ordinary, but not Unheard-of for those of their line of work as nurses to encounter.

Soon a translation device was produced, and the man heard in Latin, "Please be calm. Nobody here is going to harm you."

"Where am I? Where are my men? My Army?!"

"You were the only one alive that was found. Unfortunately, both of your legs were too far gone from frostbite, and had to be removed."

"The only one who survived?"

"Yes. The subzero temperatures made quick work of them, I'm afraid."

"So I'm all that's left?"

"My condolences for your loss."

The nurses his their concern well, both for this man's condition, and the fact he mentioned an Army. A foreign army, which in conjunction with him being surrounded by dead who match the definition of an army, could mean only one thing.

One of them made a phone call, and minutes later, two women from military intelligence arrived and entered the hospital room. "Hello," said one of them, "It's good to see that you survived. Mind if we know who you are?"

"Count Dorrel of the first army of Saderan empire."

"And may we ask where you are from?"

"The world beyond the gate"

The 'Interview' went on for hours. Using state of the art persuasion Techniques the female intelligence officers used, and buttering up this Dorrel using their feminine gifts, they learned quite a lot about the empire, and the most alarming news was that his intentions were dramatically different from a peaceful first contact. He was there as an invader.

This revelation prompted a stronger military presence around the Gate as this general called it. They counted themselves lucky it appeared in the middle of nowhere in the Alaskan Arctic during the dead of December.

It became understood that whatever this Saderan empire was, it has no interest in pursuing peaceful relation with any nation of what was left of Earth. Humanity was just coming out of survival mode, and the last thing anyone wished for was another front on Alaskan soil. It also became clear that these Saderans had declared war on the Alaskan Republic and military actions would need to be taken, especially given the empire had tens of more people in it than Alaska in population.

Calls were made, and it was decided the presence beyond the gate would have to be dealt with, then hunter killer teams would scout out the local settlements by bicycle to avoid drawing attention from the local populace that using Automotive vehicles would generally cause due to engine noise.

Further questioning of Dorrel revealed his world knew nothing of technology beyond the late Classical Era as indicated when he was shown flashcards of examples of modern vehicles, weapons, and other technologies.

So it was decided that the first to be sent in after the Saderan troops were dealt with beyond the gate was Nosredna and his crew. Nosredna was pretty bright with his 130 IQ, and was quite good at explaining things in simple terms, which would come in handy when having to explain things to the locals.

A day later, Claus and his crew arrived at Barrow. Class has been here during a deployment aboard the Kodiak a Corvette of the Horizon class.  It was BDM Duty Stint during the first years of the war when the USA was still a thing.

But having been in a special branch of the military. He volunteered from the then classified CECS program where he became a soldier that was digitally enhanced. So Dickerson wasn't exactly wrong about him being not human.

Getting off the train, Claus went to the hospital, and the enjoyment left his face as he saw it was her. "Ma'am," Claus mechanically said in deadpan.

She smirked and said, "Ah, Lieutenant Claus Nosredna himself. I have to say it's a....joy to see you."

"Likewise, Ma'am."

"Which brings us to why you're here." Said the intelligence officer as she handed Claus a photograph of the gate.

Claus looked confused as he asked, "Captain Alexson. What exactly am I looking at?"

"What if I told you it was a door to another world."

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