Chapter 17: Shock
The bombshell that Eric dropped on the princess shocked her to her core at first, but she sets that shock aside to analyze the scene objectively. "Your power is finite, is it not?" She says as she realized that only some of the vehicles were on. Most sat there like ancient ruins. Eric sighs, not wishing to discussing any weaknesses or strengths. That was the commander’s job. "I apologize, princess, but I am not at liberty to discuss our strengths nor our weaknesses." Ayeolla nodded as she turned towards the command tent. "I understand. Let us proceed." Eric sighed in relief as he led her into the tent.
Commander Milano stood inside of the main part of the tent, both SGM’s off to their side as the princess entered. "Princess Ayeolla," Milano said after a slight pause. "My name is Lieutenant Colonel Milano. I assume if you’re here, the situation is worse than the reports suggest." Princess Ayeolla sighed and with a grim expression nodded. "It is as you say, commander." She confirms as she looked around. "I am afraid we both need each other, else we will perish within the year." Silence pressed into the room after her words, and Milano looked around the rroom. He gave his men the "Quiet, you fools" look. The princess then continued, looking distressed as she gave a brief overview.
Milano’s eyebrows creased as he heard the tension in her voice. He also realized that both he and her were still standing. "Please have a seat, let us discuss the situation in detail." He said as he looked at her, pondering if she had an alternate angle to exploit them. She continued speaking after she sat down and those thoughts disappeared, replaced by shock. It was clear she was desperate, and her last words shocked him. "A herd of dragons wiped out an entire city 100 miles away?" Milano asked as he sat back in his chair.
Princess Ayeolla confirmed the truth as she looked at Milano. "Indeed commander." She said while keeping her voice even. "It had long since been thought the dragons would remain in seclusion as they have the last hundreds of years since the last war. It is clear, however, that something has forced their hand. Given the timing, I believe that your appearance on this world may either be the cause, or the effect of their actions." Milano thought of her words while they began outlining what each side needed. The meeting lasted well into the night, occasionally, the two parties would argue over rations, supplies, and then training schedules. Finally, a plan was set in place. It was then that the dragons were brought up once more. "Commander, you hinted that you may have a solution to the dragon issue. Might I hear your true thoughts on the matter?" The young woman said pensively.
Milano looked around at his officers and senior enlisted. "Fires," he said, "how many MANPADS do we have, and what’s our missile count?" The fires officer didn’t hesitate, he looked at his ammo count and called out: "Sir, we have eighteen Stinger launchers currently operational. Forty-six missiles total, including reserve stock." Milano nodded once, rubbing his face. "Not enough," he said flatly as he looked at the princess. "If we were on our home world, taking out a herd of dragons would only be slightly difficult, here, however, it would seem that we will not have that luxury. Milano then looked at his S3 Sergeant Major while musing over a thought he had. If this were Earth, we would not show the full force of capabilities, but with fantastical entities out there like dragons, holding back will only get us killed. I am sure killing the dragons will still be slightly difficult, but I think it is time for us to bring out ’that’." He says to the ops commander.
Princess Ayeolla hadn’t understood most of what had taken place when the men were speaking amongst each other, but when Milano had told her that killing dragons would only be "slightly difficult." She scoffed. "Surely you jest, commander?" The princess says in shock. "Dragons are capable of leveling entire countries." She says, slightly hysterical.
Milano raises his hands gently, urging the princess to be calm. "Please be at ease, princess. Rest assured, we have capabilities to counter the numbers you reported. Perhaps it may be best to show you instead of telling you." Ayeolla turned to Milano and narrowed her eyes. "If this is false bravado, commander, any thought of partnership will be annulled." Milano nodded back to the young woman, as he stood up. "Ops, radio in to the pilots to ready their beasts." He says with a grin. "Follow me, princess."
Ayeolla thought that she couldn’t be shocked any further that day, but the scene before her eyes showed her how far from the truth she was. Down in the valley, large machines flying with spinning blades maneuvered faster than her eyes could follow. Milano chuckled inwardly while hopping on the net. "Sidewinder 1. Fire one round." Even though each round was impossible to replicate in this world, the princess had promised full support of trying to replicate all forms of ammunition the batallion had, and this demonstration was meant as a show of force to prove how powerful the battalion assets were. A large explosion followed Milano’s command, and the sound rattled Ayeolla even more. When the shockwave reached them, she stood there stock still. Her mouth stood agape, shock causing her eyes to widen and her body to shiver involuntarily. If the commander’s word was true, the battalion had eight of these beasts. She tried to speak, but words would not escape her mouth. She pinched her fingers together, forcing her body to focus before regaining her composure. "Very well, commander. I apologize for my tone earlier. All terms discussed in our negotiations are agreed to. The alliance soldiers will be here within the week for the proposed training." The princess said as her eyes stay focused on the machine flying in the valley.