Somewhere in the Nevada Desert

10 A.M. Local Time

May 18, 2019

Henry looked down at the desert below as he banked his F-35A to the right. “Damn, it’s real hot out here. I can see the heat wave, man.”

Trailing behind him, Lieutenant Ron Owens responded. “Sure is, sir. Makes me wish we were back in Germany.”

“Yup. See that over there? Towards Bald Mountain?” Henry angled his craft to get a better view of the shimmering, distorted view of the landscape.

Ron followed Henry’s plane in formation. “Gotta be a mirage, sir.”

Henry shook his head. “Well I’ve never seen a mirage look like that. I mean, we’ve only been here in the desert for a few months, but still…”

“Maybe we should ask the base, sir? Could be that they’ve got some experiment down there.” A small smile grew on Ron’s face. “Maybe they’re finally testing out one of those alien ships,” he said.

“Heh, is that an attempt at humor, Lieutenant?”

“Perhaps, sir.”

“Hoho, I am proud of you Owens. I’ll check in with command,” Henry replied as he switched frequencies. “Groom Lake Command, this is Valkyrie One. We’re seeing an unusual phenomenon toward Bald Mountain. Is there anything scheduled there?”

“Valkyrie One, uh, I don’t think there’s anything planned for today near the mountain ranges. Let me go get some confirmation.”

“Solid copy. We’ll be on standby.”

“Roger.”

While they waited for a reply from Area 51, Henry and Ron moved their jets in for a closer look. The spherical anomaly looked like a distortion of the environment, similar to a botched panorama. From the jet canopy, it was hard to see the distortion itself, but it was certainly moving, as if building up in intensity. The region shimmered, glowing brighter as time passed.

“Groom Lake Command, this is Valkyrie One. Do you read?”

“Valk— One, — again?”

Henry frowned. Switching to internal comms, he said, “What’s going on with the comms?”

Ron shrugged and glanced out his canopy. “If I had to guess, that thing down there’s causing the interference.”

Henry nodded. “Let’s get closer to base and try again.”

With that, the two F-35s turned around and headed back toward Area 51, hoping to get a clearer signal. They turned on their afterburners, sensing the danger posed by the increasing intensity of the phenomena below. In a minute, their jets were clear of most interference and they received a communication from Area 51.

“Valkyrie, do you copy?” The transmission was slightly garbled, but coherent.

“We read you, Groom Lake Command. What’s going on?”

“Sir, there is no scheduled experiment. The base is now on high alert and I’ve got some of the techs here along with General Harding. With all this interference, you won’t be able to send us the data in your camera pods. Can you describe the situation?”

“It’s some sort of mirage ball, it’s been getting brighter and—” Henry recoiled as his ears were filled with a sharp cracking noise. The heads-up display in the cockpit went offline, alongside most of the electronic controls. Thankfully, both he and Ron didn’t lose control of their wings and fins, so they continued to glide. They angled their planes so that they could see Bald Mountain and noticed a bright flash of light over the valley in the area.

Henry hurriedly activated his jet’s electronic countermeasures. As his plane’s systems rebooted, he stared in awe at the valley down below. Seemingly out of nowhere, a division’s worth of metal-clad warriors appeared. Bearing great resemblance to knights, the warriors stumbled around, visibly disoriented, before quickly regaining their senses and rallying around a more ornately dressed individual. Dozens of dragons flew around the small army, each one carrying a knight. Suddenly, they looked up at him and with a hefty flap of their wings, soared upward to give chase to a strange new type of target.

——

Fourth Invasion Detachment

Nobian Army

10 A.M. Local Time

Expert Norlan was blinded by a light as he and his comrades were transported by Kelmithus. The transportation was disorienting; he staggered for a few seconds, his vision blurry and head dizzy. He knelt on the ground, regaining his focus as he looked around. His comrades were similarly dazed, some of them sprawled on the ground. Their wyverns and wyvern knights landed with minimal casualties, with most injuries sustained from crash landings.

Norlan curled his fist and stood up defiantly, fighting the feelings of dizziness. He casted a minor restoration spell on himself in order to collect his thoughts faster. As an expert ranked wizard, he was the highest ranking mage in this Nobian force. He thus assumed the position of commanding officer. He grounded himself back to reality and went to check the body of Kelmithus.

“It appears he still has a heartbeat. He will most likely wake up within a few hours.”

An officer approached him. “What shall we do with him, sir?”

Norlan looked at the Sonaran wizard in disgust. He waved his hand dismissively and said, “Leave him. We will be gone before he wakes, and he shall be stranded here. I laugh at the irony of his predicament… This barren land where there is nothing but the scorch of Sola will be his deathbed. Sola’s light will indeed guide him to his demise.”

With Kelmithus unconscious, the Nobians began to reorganize and strategize. Norlan looked around. His forces were transported to a small mountain range in a vast desert. “Damnit,” he muttered. Is there no way back home?

His thoughts were interrupted by a roaring that came from the skies. He looked up and spotted two peculiar objects, shaped somewhat like arrowheads. The sun’s glare glinted off these objects as they flew about, leaving a white trail.

He commanded two wyvern knights to chase after the metal dragons, reasoning that the objects were of artificial origin and likely meant that there’s civilization nearby. He then turned to face the rest of his men, who had organized themselves. “Mages! We must survey the area. Cast clarity spells and report to me once you have discovered anything of interest.”

The mages convened and discussed their plans before creating ethereal birds and sending them in predetermined directions. After a few minutes of scouring the lands, Norlan was informed that a group of mages discovered a strange town about 10 miles south, populated by metal beasts and strangely clothed men. Because of these metal beasts, they assumed the territory to be one of the Sonarans’, with their famed sun forges.

“Sir,” a mage reported, “We have also taken notice of the flag design that is present throughout the site. The design does not match any of the known Sonaran member states, but shares the overall design choice of stars upon a blue background.”

Norlan tapped the ground with his boot. “Hmm, maybe it is a design for one of their secret forces? Regardless, the utilization of stars upon a blue background is something no other state does, aside from the Sonaran Federation. Therefore, this village must also be treated as the enemy.” He pointed in the direction of the discovered town. “Send another party of summoned scouts, and glean as much information as possible.”

Soon enough, the Nobian mages determined that the town had about a thousand souls, so they pressed forth with the planned attack, sourcing confidence from their numerical advantage.

——

Skies above Area 51

“Owens!” Henry fidgeted with his helmet. Most of his plane’s systems were operational again, except for communications. “Owens!” He called out again.

A garbled transmission replied. “Sir?”

“Comms are back? Thank goodness. Owens, we have two bogies rising up to meet us.” He analyzed the winged reptilians soaring upward. “Dragons, looks like. And the guys down below are also starting to move. We need to gun it back to base and report what’s happening.”

“Roger that, sir.”

Henry and Ron hit their afterburners, speeding off at speeds unimaginable to the surprised wyvern knights behind them. Despite the immense distance the two jets put between themselves and the anomaly, communications were still difficult to establish. Only when the jets were essentially on top of the base could they achieve a connection. Hurriedly, Henry informed the base of the incoming army.

——

Outskirts of Area 51

“Be wary of the metal contraptions. The Mekkanese may have allowed the Sonarans to use some of their mechanical weapons.”

Norlan’s orders were received by his forces through a magical channel created by the mages. Heeding his caution, they sent a couple wyvern knights to scout the base and test the capabilities of their opponents. As the dragon knights approached, they heard a loud roar that split the skies. Paying attention to their flanks, they noticed that the two metal dragons from before had taken up a position near them, trailing them as a hunter would to a deer. The mysterious metal beasts matched their speed. They maintained their distance, but they were close enough for the knights to notice the humans sitting inside, much to their bewilderment. Sensing no hostility from the metal dragons and reasoning that they were too far to attack them, the knights pressed onward toward the base. As they approached, a slightly distorted, but immensely loud voice thundered.

“This area is restricted by order of the United States military! Turn back now or you will be shot!”

Lonos looked to his partner. “That doesn’t sound like the Sonaran language…”

“What could it mean?”

“It’s probably another Sonaran war chant?” Lonos surmised.

The dragon knights ventured further, trying to catch a glimpse of large dragon stables that housed the metal dragons. Unfortunately, they ventured too far into restricted airspace. A Patriot missile system locked on to its targets and fired.

“Lonos, what’s that light over there? It looks like an arrow… Evade! Eva-”

Lonos watched in horror as he caught a glimpse of the sizable metallic arrow that obliterated his partner. “How…?” One question was all Lonos was able to contemplate before his ability to think was terminated by the unforgiving MIM-104 missile.

Norlan, seeing the explosions in the sky, attempted to re-establish contact with his scouts.

“Sir, we cannot contact them! It’s likely they were killed in those explosions!”

Norlan could not fathom that a force as powerful as the dragon knight could be decimated so quickly, and seemingly with such ease. His subordinates couldn’t believe it either, but their sight told no lies.

Norlan shook his fist at the defenders. “We must avenge them! Push in formation and leave no survivors!”

The orders were relayed by war horns and flags. As the Nobians approached the strange wall, they were again met with a thundering voice.

“Drop your weapons and surrender now! This is your final warning!”

The Nobians figured this was some sort of warning, but emboldened by their sheer numbers and history of victories, they pushed onward.

Norlan raised his staff. “All mages, initiate standard defensive shielding!”

A translucent bluish dome covered the attackers. The Nobians began to close the distance, pushing forth with a wedge formation.

The same thundering voice now directed its messages toward the defenders, no longer content with providing warnings to the Nobians. “Engage!”

About 200 meters from the fencing, flashes of light began to spark throughout the lines of the defenders, emanating from their dark staffs. Grim expressions of realization plagued the charging Nobians as time seemed to stand still. The defenders were waiting for their moment to cull.

Thunder filled the atmosphere as the Nobians faced a hail of lead. The Nobian shield was able to hold against about a hundred rounds before the kinetic energy of continuous impacts overpowered the defenses of the Nobians. The mages were almost depleted of mana and the bluish dome faltered, becoming more transparent. The mysterious defenders, sensing victory, intensified their barrage as they started shooting large metal arrows and strange shapes that all exploded. Indeed, the Nobians faced 40mm High Explosive rounds, hand grenades, and rocket propelled grenades.

The Nobian forces were torn apart. Shieldbearers in the front of the formation died with looks of shock on their faces and holes strewn throughout their shields and armor. With their defenses gone, the Nobians charged. Archers let loose their volleys, only to see the arrows harmlessly bounce off the metallic constructs of the defenders. The mages who hadn’t collapsed from mana exhaustion were few and far between. They attempted to lob fireballs at the defending forces, but were quickly picked off by unseen assassins from afar, their heads exploding into bloody roses.

Norlan was terrified. He looked around in a daze, his ears ringing from the seemingly infinite number of thunderclaps and explosions that the enemy was capable of unleashing. The tightly packed formation of his army was disastrous, as each explosion killed dozens. Body parts and pieces of smoldering armor flew into the air, puncturing and hindering his other forces. He witnessed a slaughtering of his men. Many were screaming for salvation, for their mothers, but their prayers would go unanswered as their bodies were ripped apart by metal and fire. This was not glorious combat. This was void of honor. The hellish destruction he faced was horrible; it was an efficient extermination rather than a battle.

In the skies above, his wyvern knights fared no better. Without the protection provided by magical shields, they were wiped out almost immediately. A swarm of metal dragons in the distance let loose their unavoidable weapons. Like the arrows of light that decimated the two scouting wyverns, they followed their targets. Norlan took his eyes off the sky, having seen enough of the merciless elimination of his most powerful troops. Having lost much of his infantry and all of his wyvern knights to metal dragons and light arrows, he gave the order to surrender.

Several messengers ran to the back lines, where trumpeters, drummers, and flag carriers awaited. Fortunately, the enemy did not target these harmless units. As soon as the messengers relayed Norman’s orders, horns blared out and the flag carriers hoisted plain white flags. Across the battlefield, Nobian soldiers dropped their weapons and raised their hands. Thankfully, the act of surrendering was a method of communication that easily transferred between worlds. The defenders with the dark staffs ceased fire, and began to round up survivors, immediately administering medical care to the wounded. To his surprise, Norlan could not find a single injured defender. His troops could not even reach the gate.

Hanging his head down in defeat, Norlan could only mutter in surprise, “Where did the Sonarans get access to this kind of power? Are they in league with demons?”

His thoughts were interrupted by a soldier wearing a sand-colored uniform, who brought him to a group with other Nobian officers, who were distinguished by their more ornate armor. After securing all the prisoners with handcuffs, the desert men directed him and his officers into a peculiar building, made of hardened rock. The majority of his troops were left outside, with the wounded being ferried toward a group of tents emblazoned with a large Red Cross.

As he followed the desert men, he took a moment to analyze the infrastructure. To his left and right, he saw several large stables aligned in neat rows — the ones that housed the metal dragons which annihilated his wyvern knights. His gawking was interrupted by a shove on the back; he continued walking. As the desert men opened the door to their abode, Norlan was met with a cool breeze originating from within. Although he wanted to relay his surprise to his comrades, he dared not utter a word because everyone else was walking silently.

The construct they entered was illuminated in an arcane fashion, by bright white lights hanging from the ceiling. Thinking back to his time in the Emperor’s Palace, he assumed these must’ve been some sort of magical lighting. They walked through numerous hallways without seeing much else, as all of the doors were closed. Some had windows, but they could not stop to peer through them, only catching glimpses of furniture and peculiar screens mounted on tabletops.

Eventually, they reached their destination. Norlan was led to a plain room with a mirror, table, and two chairs. Left alone, he put his head down on the table in solitary reflection.