Rise of Evil 2

Note: I could not fit the entire story into one file so here is the second half. It will also contain a number of short side stories that go along with the World War plot.

1095 AD

Civil war. The thought entered the War Lord’s minds over and over again. The Muslims, followers of the religion of Islam had seized the Holy Land of Jerusalem. Now the Pope Urban II had ordered all the Christians across Europe to retake it from them. Only one problem there. The Muslims were lead by War Lords as well. Now they would have to battle each other in an epic struggle.

1097 AD

Merkuto lead a long column of Christian Crusaders as they were being called through the desert. They were moving toward the Muslim controlled Holy Land. They had already assembled tens of thousands of knights from all over Europe and had marched to the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. From there they had siezed a major Mulsim fort and were not continuing their advance through Asia Minor. He was now heading toward a small town called Dorylaeum where there was supposed to be a substantial Muslim force. Merkuto’s advance army of only a few thousand men eventually reached the area and camped for the night. The next morning the battle would begin.

But the Muslims struck first. They ambushed the Crusader force early in the morning surrounding them. The real commander of the Crusader force, Duke Bohemond, began issuing orders. Merkuto was here to assist not to lead and he did just that. He helped organize defenses and blasted away at Muslim warrirors. The Muslims came at them from all sides on horseback and killed Crusader after Crusader. Then they began firing arrows from an enormous distance and in an astonishing quantity. For hours they held out in the sweltering heat until it seemed as though they would be defeated. The Muslims, under their War Lord, Kilij Arslan, were closing in for the kill.

Then somone shouted "Look at the top of the valley!" It was Voktor accompanied by Duke Godfrey and Baldwin, had brought reinforcements in the form of the rest of the army. All the suddent the Crusader force swelled from only a few thousands to over 50,000 knights. They poured down into the valley and crashed into the Muslim ring set up around the advance Crusaders. The Islamic warriors fled in terror and the Christians continued their advance toward Jerusalem. They were getting closer and closer.

Voktor looked at the city of Antioch from his base. If the Crusaders took this city there was nothing between them and Jerusalem. The Crusader force was about to launch its attack and Voktor was going in with them. They had been outside the city for months and somehow the Muslim commander had sent word out for reinforcements which he had learned were coming quickly. They had to take the city of be annihilated.

But he had an ace in the hole. One of the Muslim commanders of the towers that defended the city, had sold out to him. Now his men quietly approached the towers. "Move!" Voktor urged them. They threw ladders up against the wall and worked hard to climb up without breaking the silence of the night. Voktor himself flew to the top and changed back into human form to greet his new allies. "Are you ready?" he asked them. They nodded. Then, one of the ladders broke making an awful racket. Voktor swore. "It's now or never men, attack!" he shouted to those who had assembled in the tower. They swarmed out the bottom, rushed the gates slaughtering the guards along the way and with the help of the defectors threw them open. The rest of the army poured into the city and by morning Antioch was in Crusader hands.

1098 AD

Within days however, the Muslim reinforcemens arrived and the War Lords went from being the besiegers to the beseiged. Day after day, week after week, month after month, the War Lords and the leaders of the Crusader army would go up onto the walls and see if they could find a way to break out and there was none. Their men were becoming restless and were running low on food and water. Then one day, when all hope seemed lost there was a commotion at a Church across town. When the War Lords arrived, they learned that a Priest was inside the Church and claimed that they Holy Lance, the spear that had pierced Christ's side on the Cross, was buried in the Church and had gone in to find it. He had been in there for hours digging with a group of 12 men, his "apostles." The War Lords waited a few hours to see what would become of it and then the Priest burst froth from the Church with the Lance! The knights fell to their knees and praised God. Then inspiration struck Voktor. They would only have one chance at this. "Brave knights!" He called out. "This is a sign from God that we shall triumph! Gather your weapons and march to the gates of the city. We will attack the Muslims with the Lance in our possession and will be unstoppable!" He cried. The knights jumped to their feet and stormed off towards the gates. "My God, I hope you know what you are doing." Merkuto said. "Just trust me." Voktor said as they raced toward the entrance for the battle.

Outside the city, the Crusader force drew itself up. They were about equal in numbers, but the Muslims were more rested and had far more horses. Even with the renewed fervor of the Crusaders, it seemed like they would be defeated as they charged the Muslim lines. Then all of the sudden, hundreds, maybe even thousands of men on white horses appeared alongside the Crusaders. No one knew for sure what it was or if it was real, but most claimed that they were reinforcements sent by God to save the army. The Muslims were sure able to see it and they turned and fled they city walls and the Crusaders. They had eaked out another victory. The next stop would be Jerusalem, the goal of the Crusade.

1099AD

Jerusalem. They had finally reached it the Holy City. Many of the knights bowed down toward the city and prayed in thanks of surviving to see it. Now they would have to take it. Easier said than done. The Crusaders had to cut down every tree for miles to construct two siege towers to take the city. Then they had to locate the walls weakest points. After all the details were hammered out, they agreed to launch their final attack that evening. This would be the ultimate battle between the Crescent and the Cross.

Voktor’s tower moved toward the wall. Opposition was strong here and the Crusaders were taking heavy casualties. He rallied his men as best he could as it inched toward the walls.The tower was nearly at the wall and it finally caught fire. "Out!" Voktor shouted and the Crusaders poured out or were destroyed in the inferno. The assault at this part of the city would surely fail. The best they could do was move to assist the other tower and pray it broke through.

Merkuto’s tower had better luck. It had attacked the weakened part of the tower and the Muslims were not as strong here. The tower inched nearly to the wall and the Muslims nearly set it on fire. "No!" Merkuto shouted. He transformed into his terrible dragon form and torched the defenders. The Crusaders then poured out onto the wall. The battle still hung in the balance for a few minutes as they struggled to extend their control of the wall and battle their way toward the gates. At last, the War Lords threw them open, as before the rest of the Crusaders poured into the city and Jerusalem fell. Minutes later Voktor arrived with the rest of the attackers. The Crusaders killed anyone they could catch that was not a Christian and thousands died. Voktor cut down the Muslim commander of the city and looked at the curious curved sword he carried. "I don’t think he’ll be needing this anymore." Voktor said as he took it as his own. The Muslim crescent that stood over the city was then torn down and replaced with a cross. "We won this one." Voktor remarked calmly the next morning over the smoldering city. "It would seem so for once." Merkuto said and smiled. "We should probably get back to Europe," Voktor said, "We are needed there more sorely. The Crusaders are good men, at least as good as the Roman legions, they can hold the Holy Land." Merkuto agreed and they set back for Europe. Little did they know the trouble this area would continue to cause them.

1147 AD

Before the War Lords departed the Holy Land, the Crusaders built massive fortresses to help them keep control of the area and established a new elite order of knights, the Knights Templar. Not long after the War Lords left however, news was received that a Muslim War Lord known as Saladin had taken Jerusalem and that the whole of the Holy Land was falling to the Muslims again. A Second Crusade failed miserably to retake Jerusalem, saw many of the Knights Templar killed and narrowly averted total disaster. More serious action was required. The Christian War Lords organized the Third and greatest Crusade of all with over 100,000 soldiers to retake the area once and for all. To lead this mighty force they chose three kings. Barbarossa, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, drowned after losing the Holy Lance of Antioch in a river. The King of France left after disputes with the other leaders of the Crusades, and ironically enough the War Lords were left with an English King named Richard III.

1189 AD

"Here we are again." Voktor remarked as they rode toward Jerusalem once more. Merkuto looked disgusted. It was hot and they had lost many of their soldiers on the way here. But Richard was relentless. He had brought the entire English navy to support him as well as massive siege engines and heavily armed troops to fight the campaign. He continued to press on until they finally met Saladin’s army and the battle began to decide the fate of the Holy Land once and for all. The Muslim War Lord was attacking a critical Crusader outpost known as Acre. The city had largely fallen except for the fortress in the center of the town. Richard and the War Lords gathered up a few dozen of their best men and led a desperate attack into the town.

Voktor killed a Muslim warrior but backed off when an arrow flew past his head. Soldiers were falling on both sides and the fighting seemed thickest in the center where Saladin himself was fighting. Voktor had never battled another War Lord before. He believed it would be interesting as he fended off more attackers and rode toward Saladin to find him already fighting Merkuto. Saladin was a large and strong man battering Merkuto back. Voktor joined in the chaos and assisted Merkuto. An array of curses and insults filled the air as the three most cruel figures in the world at the time battled each other. Soon Richard rode in and rose the total to four. Saladin was finally forced to back off and his men pulled out of Acre after hours of continous battle. Finally, the armies broke away from each other as the sun had set long ago. The Crusaders had triumphed but Richard had lost too many men. He simply did not have the strength to retake Jerusalem. The campaign was a draw and the Christians and Muslims came to a peace agreement. Once more the War Lords departed the Middle East for Europe only to learn that Saladin was dead the next year. It was too late for them to go back now and as new troubles arose in Europe they had to watch the Empire they had built up in the Holy Land dismantled piece by piece over the years.

1242 AD Lake Peipus Russia

Another Freedom Leader in the tradition of Arthur had arisen. This time in Russia. Prince Alexander Nevski had taken the throne and now wanted to be independent of the War Lords and their Dark Age. The War Lords once more utilized Germany and their Crusaders. Some of the knights had returned to Europe and formed new orders one of which was the Teutonic Knights of Germany. Now the War Lords had led an entire army of Teutons into Russia. They captured a number of key cities and then turned on the capital of Novgorod hoping to quash the rebellion as quickly as possible. Finally, Nevski gathered his forces to fight them at a body of water known as Lake Peipus.

Merkuto, disguised as a priest, watched from a distance as Voktor and the Germans advanced across the ice toward Nevski. They were far more organized and better equipped than the Russian soldiers standing against them. Up at the front of the line Voktor said" You shall have your victory Von Bach." "I had better War Lord." He replied. Before Voktor could speak again the battle had started.

The Teutons crashed into the Russians and pressed them back. Nevski’s line began to bend and his casualties were far greater than the War Lord’s. Then more Russians appeared and repaired the line pressing the Teutons back who formed a defensive wall. Then the Russians seemed to lose steam and fall back once more. The Teutons regrouped and attacked again. This time much more fiercly. Voktor himself moved into the fray and began cutting down Russian soldiers as he hunted for Nevski. At last, Voktor could see him and began to battle his way toward him. Kill Nevski and it was all over. Then Voktor noticed something strange. They were no longer on snow or solid ground, they were battling over ice. And he ice was far too thin here. Then he turned around and his eyes widened to an impossible size. Nevski’s cavalry had just appeared out of the woods and had begun to hack away at the ice. It was a trap! "Everyone out!" He cried. "It's a trap! Retreat!" he yelled. But it was to no avail, the Teutons could not hear him or were unable to do anything to obey him. Then an emourmous crack appeared in the ice and it broke. Voktor did his best to try and escape but it was hopeless, the ice beneath his feet cracked and he plunged to the icy depths of the lake and the Teutons fell with him. The Russians showed no mercy, killing anyone who escaped the main trap and preventing the Teutons from escaping the frigid waters. The last thing Voktor remembered seeing was Nevski plunge his sword into Von Bach who then fell into the freezing water as well.

Merkuto and the other priests were fleeing Nevski’s army with the few survivors. Defeated by the Russians! He thought angrily. Then he noticed something was wrong. Voktor was missing. "Where is Lord Voktor?" He asked a common soldier. "I’ll find him sir." A few hours later a small band of soldiers rode up to Merkuto’s wagon with the War Lord’s half frozen body. He was still alive! Merkuto was deeply relieved. His only ally in this long struggle would be sick for months before recovering. And this would not be his last run in with a serious illness.

1347 AD All of Europe

1347 was simply the year it started. The Bubonic Plague better known as the Black Death. None knew where it came from but it had reached Europe and spread to the whole of the continent. Before it was over a third of the Europeans somewhere between twenty and thirty million people would be dead. The exact number of deaths would never be known. The Plague would make certain Europe would remain in the Dark Ages for some time still. However the Plague would not treat the War Lords kindly. Merkuto fled to the countryside from Rome with the Pope along with many of the nobles of Europe and other privledged allies of the War Lords. As for the common people, they were left in the cities to meet their fate. Merkuto and the Pope had heard that fire would protect against the Plague and set up huge piars of it in their office in order to keep out the dreaded disease. Voktor would not fair so well. And with the War Lords so preoccupied, France rebelled as Russia had. The War Lords countered by using England to quell France and the conflict which would become known as the Hundred Years' War, caused even more death and destruction. More on that tale later. As for now, the people of the world could not break the stranglehold of the War Lord’s evil and terrible misfortune.

Voktor held is stomach and moaned. He found being a War Lord was not enough to avoid the Plague. As many died around him he continued to live. Boils covered his body and his eyes retained only a feint ember rather than the flames they once had. He constantly spat up blood and a terrible purple substance that killed anyone instantly who touched it or even inhaled it. No one knew why the War Lord reacted this way but none cared to be close enough to him to find out. Voktor continued to wander through Rome on his errands despite this illness. Often he would lose consciousness and awake later in the street only to have to continue on. As he struggled to survive, thousands died in city. Every day, carts would come by and take the dead away to be buried in mass graves outside the town. For weeks he remained in this state until he finally recovered. But the Plague had taken its tole. He was weak for years still and scars covered much of his flesh for decades.

In the meantime without the War Lord’s guidance the Church enforced new measures to halt the plague and civilians blamed the Jewish people and turned on them killing them wherever they could find them. Finally however the murderous Plague that destroyed Europe ended and the wars ended with it. The people had taken the last straw. They were tired of the all powerful Church the War Lords had created and soon began a revolutionary idea, secularism. They began to use their individual wealth and talents to weaken the Church. They could not defeat it but they were trying to free themselves of it. The War Lords were forced to leave the Church to fend for itself as the Freedom Leaders united with Ottoman Turkish soldiers to attack the War Lord’s capital in the East, Constantinople. The stage was now set for the end of the Dark Ages and the start of the Renaissance.


1453 AD

Merkuto and Voktor had come full circle from the beginning of the Dark Ages to nearly the end, they were back in Constantinople. For a millennium they had ruled nearly unchallenged but it was all about to end. Constantinople was surrounded by sea and land and under siege by forces ten times stronger than the War Lords could muster. Yet they still chose to defend to the very end against the Freedom Leaders. The final battle of this age was about to begin.

Voktor stood on the seawall of Constantinople. He watched the naval battle develop. The Freedom Leaders rammed his outnumbered ships, set them aflame, or blasted them out of the water within a few hours and were soon in the harbor trying to land soldiers. He would hold this wall and Merkuto would hold the larger land walls against that attack. When the walls fell they would retreat to the palace in the center of the city and hold to the end. Here came the first wave. They began to scale the wall. Voktor fired blast after blast into them while his men pushed over ladders. But it was to no avail. The Freedom Leaders and their soldiers stormed the wall and overwhelmed them. Then he heard and enormous crash on the other side of the city. The enemy cannon had smashed the walls and were breaking through there as well. It would all be over soon now.

Merkuto ran back to the palace with his last group of men and found Voktor waiting for him. The posted a few men to hold the gates and retreated to the roof with about half a dozen others. They took a moment to look out at their city, their capital as it burned and collapsed around them. "Well, Merkuto, I must say that this has been quite an adventure. I hope we have done something for the world through all this." Voktor said. "Yes, my friend, so do I. Perhaps, however, we may be saved by another miracle as we have been so many times before." Voktor nodded and said a quick prayer with the cross he still held with him. Soon they saw the enemy come up to the gates and batter them down. Within minutes they were on the roof. The War Lords fought literally for their lives and killed many of the enemy soldiers as their final followers were destroyed. At last they stood alone surrounded by the Freedom Leaders. Then the Council of Truth, the mightiest assembly of Freedom Leaders ever, came to the roof and formed a ring around them Eight in all. They then raised their hands toward the War Lords and light poured forth. Merkuto closed his eyes but Voktor continued to stare at his enemies with hate and screamed in pain as the light scared his eyes permanently and irreparably. Within seconds the War Lords were incased in a golden crystal of light. The Council took them away and hid them far under the city which they nearly destroyed to prevent their being found. Then they used the rest of their power to create a golden orb that they hid at the top of the Earth that could seal the War Lords away should they rise again. The Dark Ages were over, the Renaissance began and the War Lords were defeated. For now.

1991 AD

Over the past five centuries the War Lords lay dormant under Constantinople. Yet wars and evil rulers were far more rampant and terrible than ever. In their defeat they proved again that good cannot exist without evil as their evil came back stronger and stronger each time it was defeated. Now the Soviet Union a large nation that controlled all of Russia and a over a billion people through a political idea called communism had fallen. Yet another evil was destroyed and yet again another would rise to take its place far more terrible than even the Dark Ages and it was brought about by human folly.

A group of archaeologists were working in Constantinople. In celebration of the fall of the Soviet Union an excavation was being conducted by Turkey the country that controlled the city. But after the War Lord's defeat, Constantinople was renamed Istanbul. "Hey look at this!" shouted one of the diggers. The whole team came running over and gasped. Two creatures they had never seen before were encased in a thin golden crystal, weakened by time. Now exposed the crystal fractured and the team backed off very quickly. Then the monsters awoke. The researchers barely had time to scream before the monsters launched terrible blasts of power at them, eliminating any trace except for few fragments of clothing.

"We’re alive!" Merkuto said to Voktor. "I, I can barely see you." Voktor said. Then it all flooded back the fight and the terrible light. Then his hatred and anger flowed back. "Those damned cursed heathens!" He screamed. "They’ve nearly blinded me!" he shouted in a rage. "Just stay calm." Merkuto said. "We don’t know what time period this is, what countries exist, or even who we just killed!" he finished. "Alright." Voktor said. They then stumbled out of the pit they were in and found a massive city above them. They were shocked at the clothes the people wore and the advanced tools they used. "Where are we?" Merkuto said. They went back inside to inspect the few remains of the team they had destroyed. "Look at these!" Voktor said as he picked up the small metal frame with two pieces of glass in the middle. Then he looked into them and everything became clear. "I can see again!" He shouted in triumph. When he removed them however he could not and figured out he had to keep them on to see. "Well you will just have to get used to them." Merkuto replied when he complained. "Ahh, this seems to be a name. It says Victor. You just got a new name for this age, Voktor. I will simply go without one these people can’t see me in this form anyway." Then Merkuto looked more closely at the small plastic card. "My Lord!" he shouted. "This says 1991!" "Impossible!" Voktor shouted and came over to look at it. "We were trapped for five hundred years!" he said in shock. "It would seem so." Merkuto replied. "We have to learn more about this world. Let’s get out of here there are bound to be more of those people. And perhaps, we shall find someone who has found some trace of us and will help us." He finished.They then left Constantinople, Istanbul as they soon learned it was called now and secretly began to move across Europe.

Over the next decade years the War Lords would fill in the gaps. Learning new languages, studying history to find that despite their absence more and more powerful War Lords rose. They also learned of new enemies and Freedom Leaders from over the ages. Soon they had enough information to develop a plan. They would use their political skills to cause turmoil and force the older Freedom Leaders into retirement leaving a young inexperienced generation to take over. They would then take the form of male children and use the children (primarily males, what else could they do with a mindset of the Middle Ages?) who the adults would not harm to ambush the great powers of the world and subdue them. Now they would have to build and train this army. They set out to fulfill their new plan.

Voktor looked at the targets the hypnotized children had fired into. They were getting better and better. But they would have to get better in combat now. This was their last training session before they launched their bid for world conquest. Everyone was sworn to secrecy, had perfect alibis for being away from home and left no trace of their actions. It was perfect. The world was ripe to fall into their hands. Then the phone rang. Voktor answered it and it was the Supreme Leader, Merkuto, himself. "The final meeting will be held in thirty minutes sharp. Be there." He said and hung up. "Christopher get your papers together," he addressed his new aide, "I have an important meeting and you will have to record it and go through the paper work." "Yes, sir." The Captain said and soon they were outside the meeting hall. "Wait here." Voktor ordered and went inside taking his place at the table. Within minutes the other top generals entered and took their places. Voktor looked across the table at them in the dimly lit room underground in The United States of America. Then he began the meeting, "Well gentlemen, the time has nearly come for our attack...."



January 1, 2003

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean

The storm was growing worse and worse. The waves smashed into the Imperial cargo ship time and time again. The Imperial sailors struggled to keep the ship under control as it lurched under the pressure of the massive waves from the dark depths of the ocean. Rain pummeled the windows as well and without radar guiding them, it would have been impossible for the crew to find their way.

"Hold it steady." The Captain ordered over the loudspeaker. "We still have a ways to go and you know damn well if we lose this cargo and the storm doesn’t kill us that General Voktor will." The cargo was inside a waterproof, fireproof, bulletproof, and practically everything else proof case that could float and was being held by an undercover agent of the Empire. The Captain glanced over nervously at it. He had to get it back to America and the heart of the Empire before New Year’s Day was over. It was a gift from the Supreme General to the Supreme Leader.

The ship lurched yet again. Then disaster. Something slammed into the ship that was not wave. Immediately the ship rocked and caught fire even under the hammering it was taking from the sea. "Damage control to the lower decks!" The Captain shouted as he struggled to maintain control of the ship that he knew was going under. He glanced over to where the agent should have been but he was gone. Then he saw him toss his case overboard seconds before the entire ship exploded when the flames hit the ammunition locker.

"Take her up." Commander Megan Parks ordered to her crew as she peered through the scope towards the Imperial freighter her submarine had just destroyed. The sub had been sent out into the Atlantic to prey on Imperial shipping by the Republic and now surfaced amidst the terrible storm. "Wow, looks like we got them pretty good." a sailor remarked. "Yeah, there isn’t much left." another added. But what was left was valuable beyond their wildest dreams. "Hey! What’s that?" The same girl cried out. "Haul it in!" Megan ordered the crew. She held it up and it was a badly battered but intact case. "Let’s take it below." She ordered. They took the case back into the submarine and submerged without a trace, other than the burning wreckage now sinking into the Atlantic.

Supreme General Victor Voktor was pacing his HQ in Europe nervously. He needed confirmation that his package had gotten to America safely before he could rest. He had gotten all the bad news he could take. First his defeat at Volgograd and the loss of the army, the loss of confidence in him by his men, and he was being grilled by the Supreme Leader for all of it. He had everything riding on that package. It would stretch both he and the Empire to capacity but it was their last chance to stop the Republic and win the war easily.

Then his aide Captain Christopher Cartwright came up to him. "What is it?" the War Lord snapped at him. "Sir," he paused to gather himself. "The freighter was sunk, my Lord." "What?!" Voktor roared in a rage. "How?" he demanded as he shook his frightened aid about. "A submarine, sir!" he shouted. "We know it is to make port south of our holdings in North Africa." he added, remembering the piece of news he hoped would calm his angered commander. Voktor released him and calmed considerably. "We must move quickly and catch them off balance." He said. "What exactly was on the ship, sir?" Christopher inquired. "My campaign plans for the whole of this year! My grand plan to snatch victory from those damn Freedom Fools and their pitiful Republic!" He screamed infuriated once more. "If we move quickly we can catch them in the jungles of central Africa. They raid our lines up to the north and they won’t notice us slip across to ambush them and get the plans back if we move quickly." Voktor said bringing himself under control once more. "How do you know they will take that route?" Christopher asked. "They will not take a longer route for fear of not being able to use the plans in time and they will want them as soon as possible. Hence the shortest route through central Africa up through the Middle East into Russia and their capital." Voktor answered. It wasn’t really a short route but taking into account all other possibilities it was the best option the Republic would have.

Voktor continued, "And as an insurance policy we are going to enlist some help. And I know just the person who can help us." he finished and laughed evilly as Christopher looked on and then began to prepare for whatever their next mission would bring.

Megan Parks was riding through western Africa in a Republic Army jeep with a Republic secret agent that she knew as Samantha Dark. Megan herself was a short girl with brown hair, hazel eyes, and a frail structure. Samantha had to be her opposite. She had blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and she was quite tall. They had been introduced only a few days ago and Samantha was responsible for protecting her on their way to Egypt where she would continue through the Middle East up through Russia to Moscow. Megan was then to hand over the plans to Dart Smalls and Rose Calumberry, the leaders of the Republic. She couldn’t believe she had gotten so lucky as to capture Victor Voktor’s battle plans. But she had to get them to Moscow safely. She had no idea what kind of ride she was in for as her protector said, "We’ll be entering the Congo soon, the jungle gets wild here but we should get through without a problem." "Oh, joy." Megan replied grimly.

Agent Amy Anderson was on what was supposed to be a simple mission. She was slim, had brunette hair, and green eyes. She felt her features were subtle enough that she blended in better, but maybe it was all in her head. Anyway, Amy and her team would break into the Imperial complex in Libya, sabotage the Imperial tanks and get out. It had something to do with the Empire’s plans for this year’s campaign and if it wold hurt the Empire she would do it.

"Hand me those wire cutters." She whispered quietly to another agent. She calmly cut through the wire and they were in the perimeter of the fort. They snuck forward evading searchlights and sentries until they came to the building they were looking for, the largest one in the entire complex. Here we go she thought as she pushed open the door and her team rushed in ready to silence any guards quickly before they could sound the alarm. But something was wrong. There were no tanks here at all! The entire building was empty! "What the?" she began but then all the lights flashed on in the building. Heavily armed Imperial combat troops opened fire as the door slammed shut behind her team. Within seconds it was over she had dove to the ground as her team was slaughtered and was waiting to die, not understanding what had happened. Then she heard someone walking toward her. She looked up and there Supreme General Victor Voktor himself stared down at her with his cold, cold grey eyes.

"What do you want?" she stammered mustering all the courage she could. "Your friend Megan Parks, you know her right?" he demanded. She couldn’t stop herself from nodding yes. "She has something that belongs to me and you are going to help me get it back." he said. "Why would I ever help you?" she snapped at the War Lord. "Because you have no choice, if you don’t you will die and so will your friend. I care not about you. I simply want what is mine returned and you can go free to continue on with your little saboteur missions." he answered. He was right, she had no choice. She didn’t think she could trust him but it was her only hope. "Deal." she said.

Megan clung to the case she was holding as the jeep jostled through the thick undergrowth of the jungle. It was terribly hot and muggy and dark too.. None of this seemed to affect Samantha as she continued to drive through the forest. Another jeep was in front of them and a truck full of soldiers was behind them as well. The convoy couldn’t be too large to attract attention, Imperial aircraft could easily reach this spot (if they could see anything) and Imperial raiders sometimes snuck behind Republic lines into the jungle.

As they continued their drive, the jeep in front of them suddenly crashed into a hole in the "road" that no one had noticed a moment earlier. Samantha swore and got out of the jeep to see if they were alright. Then the Empire sprung its trap. A squad of raiders in the area opened fire on the convoy. "Get down!" Samantha shouted at her as she dove for cover. The soldiers in the truck began to return fire but they could tell they were being beaten, the attack was too sudden and shocking. "We need reinforcements, an air strike, anything!" Samantha shouted into the radio she was holding as bullets snapped around them. A voice came over the radio, "We can provide only a few artillery rounds depending on how far the enemy is from you. Over." "Who cares how close they are?" Samantha demanded. "We are maybe dead if you hit us but definitely dead if those raiders get us." she finished. "Rounds incoming in sixty seconds take cover as best you can." the voice answered. "Better get down." Samantha said to Megan. Luck was on their side for in less than a minute the rounds came crashing down on the raiders. Megan heard them cursing as they dragged their wounded comrades off and retreated. "Well let’s keep moving, we can’t stay here." Samantha said as she got into the shot up jeep and restarted it. Megan stared in disbelief before following her into the jeep. They rolled on closer towards their objective with the case in tact.

"You didn’t tell me they had artillery." Voktor snapped at Amy Anderson. "I didn’t even know there was any in the area." She retorted. "Its been treason enough already for how much I’ve helped you." she added. "You had better get used to it. We are going after them again as soon as they enter Egypt." Voktor told her. "We’ll need you again and this time there had better not be any mistakes." He said as he glared menacingly at Amy. She simply stared back at the War Lord as his men prepared to move forward.

Egypt, the land of the pharos. And the land of heat and dust Megan thought as the convoy rolled toward Cairo. "We should be safe when we get into the city. Then its on to Jerusalem." Samantha said to her. "Hopefully we won’t have any more pro" Megan was cut off in mid sentence as an Imperial fighter plane strafed the Republic’s convoy guarding them. Here we go again she though as Samantha violently twisted and turned to avoid being shot to pieces like many of the soldiers around them. "How did they avoid all the anti-aircraft defenses and spotters?" Megan asked. "I don’t know." Samantha replied as she executed another daring maneuver. Then more bullets began to riddle the convoy from the ground as it tried to get to Cairo. "Oh great." Samantha shouted. A group of Imperial scouting jeeps (unusually far behind their lines) had come up beside them and was shooting what was left of the convoy to bits. The jeep finally gave out and crashed. Megan and Samantha got out and began to return fire as the Imperial vehicles and planes circled around what was left of the guards, closing in for the kill.

"Finish them." Voktor ordered as he looked on at the surrounded enemy forces about to be destroyed. "No!" Amy shouted clinging to his arm. "We had a deal Voktor!" "So? I want those plans back and I’m not letting them get away and cause me more trouble." he answered coldly. Then the War Lord was knocked off of his feet by a large blast that decimated his small temporary HQ. More shells began to scream in seconds later. "What in the world?" he asked as he pulled himself together. "Sir! Republic armor approaching from Cairo!" Capt. Christopher shouted. The War Lord screamed in anguish, then grabbed the radio. "I want those plans back. All aircraft concentrate on stopping their armor. Ground forces, get me that case!" he shouted into the radio. But it was too late, Republic fighters were on the scene and his planes were at a disadvantage to do battle with them and his jeeps were being decimated by the enemy tanks. "Sir, what do we do?" a soldier yelled in his direction. He hesitated for a moment then said, "Fall back. We have to try something else." Then he swore and began to get on one of the remaining jeeps before stopping. Where was Amy? He saw her a few feet away holding her head. She looked stunned. Voktor grabbed her hair and dragged her back to the jeep as she kicked and screamed. "We are done with you yet." he said as he threw her into the jeep. "Let’s move." he ordered as what remained of his forces withdrew.

"Something is wrong here." Megan said to Samantha as they rested in Cairo. It was now January 7th and they had been ambushed twice trying to get Voktor’s plans back to Moscow. And both times it was behind their lines. "You’re right about that." Samantha said. "I suspect they have someone on the inside who has intricate knowledge of the way our forces operate." she finished.

"You mean a spy?" Megan asked. "That’s exactly what I mean. And I intend to report it in the morning. As for now get some rest. We leave for Jerusalem in the morning and I don’t expect the Empire to give us a free ride even this far behind our lines." Samantha said. Megan obeyed but didn’t think she would have much luck sleeping tonight or any night until she had gotten rid of the case with the stolen plans.

Amy stared at Victor Voktor as he paced nervously around the small confines of the submarine. Well, she stared at him with one eye, the other was covered with ice to help it heal after the Cairo incident. "Our last chance to stop them is at Jerusalem. The Empire simply can’t stretch any farther with effective force." Voktor said to her. She continued to stare at him. "We still require your assistance to penetrate the city. I have only two teams remaining, one of which I will personally accompany into the fray." He said to her. "And then will you let me go?" Amy asked. Voktor rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, of course. All we care about is me, me, me isn’t it?" he said to her in a whining voice before storming out. Amy’s jaw dropped at the hypocrisy. He had to be joking. Didn’t he? Amy wasn’t so sure with someone like Victor Voktor.

Another convoy, another desert, and the same old Samantha, Megan thought as they pressed on toward Jerusalem. At this point they were on full alert and were ready for anything. But they got closer and closer to the city until it was in sight and there was still no attack of any kind. Then there was a snap and the tire on her jeep went flat. "What could have caused that?" Samantha angrily said. The convoy began to form a perimeter around the broken down vehicle. A soldier looking at the tire pulled out a small piece of metal. "It’s a bulle-" she never finished the sentence as a sniper killed her with a single shot. "Everyone down!" Megan shouted beating Samantha to it this time. Another soldier fell. There had to be at least half a dozen of them from the amount of bullets snapping around them. They were held down for fifteen minutes taking casualties before soldiers in the city flushed the snipers out or killed them, the rest withdrawing from the scene.

Megan was finally in Jerusalem. "We're almost safe." she said to Samantha. "Yeah, keyword-almost." she replied. Then Megan saw something that shocked her. "Amy!" she shouted running up to her friend. "Why are you here?" she asked. Her friend hugged her before replying. "I’ve been assigned to take you up into southern Russia to safety and then to Moscow where you can deliver the plans." Her friend told her. "Where to?" she asked Amy. "A warehouse on the other side of the city. We can get new vehicles there and then continue on." Amy replied. Megan looked at her suspiciously. Something didn’t seem right about her friend. "Are you okay?" Megan asked. Her friend hesitated. "Yeah, it’s nothing. Just been a rough week." she replied. "I can relate to that!" Megan said. "Come on, let’s get out of here." Amy said as they moved toward the warehouse.

Amy Anderson sweated nearly the entire way to the warehouse. Not because of the heat of Jerusalem but because of the Imperial sniper she knew was following her, waiting for any chance to kill them all if she gave any warning to her friend. Finally they reached it. Amy opened the door and followed her friends inside. The door slammed shut behind them and the lights came on in another empty warehouse. "What the?" her friend Megan began. "I’m sorry." Amy said as tears welled up in her eyes. "For what?" she began to ask Amy and then she saw. A squad of Imperial soldiers with the War Lord Victor Voktor in their stead stood with their guns aimed at them across the warehouse. Megan couldn’t understand what was happening. It was too much too soon, her friend dropped the precious case and collapsed. Her bodyguard was the next to act she reached for her gun and even squeezed off a shot in Voktor’s direction but it was no good, he fired once and she was dead on the spot. "You have done well Amy." He said as he picked up the case and found the plans safely inside. "We had a deal Voktor." she said to him again. "Of course, we mustn’t implicate you in any way." Voktor said as he withdrew a device from his belt and it began to emanate a blue beam. "When you wake up it will look like we knocked out you and your friend and killed the other one and you will be totally innocent. If you can convince Megan that is." he answered. Then he slammed it into her chest and she tried to scream but nothing came out. Then, blackness.

Megan Parks woke up with a number of soldiers around her. "Where’s Amy." she asked. "She’s right here. We’re trying to wake her up." A soldier told her. "What happened?" The soldier, an officer she noticed, asked her. "I, I don’t know." she admitted. "Amy said we were going to continue toward Moscow with the plans from here and, the plans!" she shouted. "They are gone, we searched the entire building." the officer told her. Megan groaned. "There were Imperial soldiers," she said as it came flooding back to her, "and Victor Voktor was there, then I feinted and after that I have no idea what happened. He must have taken them." She finished. All that running around and nearly getting killed for nothing. Then Amy began to come to. "What in the world happened?!" she shouted angrily at her friend. Amy groaned then said, "Voktor knocked me out and killed your friend. He must have taken the plans." her friend said in a dazed voice. "What were you doing here in the first place?" The officer asked her. "We have you marked as missing in action." she said looking at Amy suspiciously. "I got back from my mission and reported a failure, then came here to help my friend!" Amy said defensively. "It must be on record!" she added. "Well we don’t have it but you can file another report." The officer told her as she left with the rest of the soldiers seeing Megan and Amy were fine now. "Well, we lost the plans no matter what the details." Megan said to her. "I’m sorry I shouted at you but this was all just too weird." "Its fine." Amy replied sheepishly. "One more thing, why did you say I’m sorry, to me when we came in?" Megan asked. "Well I noticed the soldiers first and I was upset I fell for the same trap I did in my last mission." Amy replied. "Oh, I understand. Well let’s have some fun before we have to get back to the war." Megan said to her friend. Amy felt like throwing up rather than doing anything but she had dodged a bullet here and was relieved. "Alright, let’s go!" she said to her friend as enthusiastically as she could manage. Then they departed, trying to put the defeat behind them.

Meanwhile, Supreme General Victor Voktor was back in Europe. He laughed to himself as he paced around his HQ making the final preparations to put his plan into action. Those fools had no idea what kind of opportunity they had missed. He would make them pay dearly for it this year. It was a good start, a precursor to ultimate victory he hoped. And they would pay Oh yes, they will pay Voktor thought to himself as he laughed evilly once more and turned back to the large map of the world displaying the plan that would stun everyone.