As they were about to leave the Hangar 3 to head to the Command Center Building, they were stopped by a number of personnel.
"What the heck is this?" Albert muttered as he came across a bunch of soldiers but not part of Atlas, but the United States government.
The man in the center was impossible to miss.
Six-foot-five, slab-shouldered and built like an overturned anvil. Close-cropped hair, sharp jawline, eyes like flint. He wore a standard Marines' Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) uniform, along with the fifteen other men who stood behind him.
"Mr. Spencer, may we have a word," he said with a deep voice.
"Who is this?" Spencer asked, glancing at Ward who should know every non-Atlas personnel that came into their base.
"The one who was speaking to you now was Major Jack Claes, he is a Marsoc, along with those men behind him. They were in our base because they have a joint-operation with us."
"Don't tell me, even those who aren't part of Atlas were summoned here in this world?" Spencer muttered under his breath as he looked at the Marines who definitely had an expression of demanding an explanation.
"What the hell you got us into?" Jack asked sternly and continued. "Making a deal with a Goddess? What kind of bullshit is that?"
"There must be some sort of a misunderstanding from the Goddess. I didn't know that you would be part of the summoning," Albert explained calmly as if defusing a bomb. "Look, I was told that only Atlas personnel would be summoned, I didn't expect you would be tagged along too."
"Well whatever that is we want out of here," Jack replied adamantly. "We are supposed to be back from our deployment next week and you are saying we are stuck here with you in this world?"
"Yeah right! Send us back!"
"We have a family back home!"
"You better do it or else!"
Things are getting heated from the side of the marines as they were already reaching for their guns. Albert glanced behind him and saw his men doing the same too. It's escalating fast and the last thing he wants is a confrontation among themselves.
"Look, don't do that. Let's keep this civil. It's not like we are trapped in this world forever, there is a way back and that is through killing all of the demon race. We find our target then and exterminate them. Which is what we are going to do right now."
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
"We found a village 250 clicks northwest of our position. We get intel from them about this world and eventually the demon race. Once we have valuable intel of their location, we are going to scout and see if we can destroy them at once."
"Village huh?" Jack clicked his tongue, seemingly starting to get calm. "Okay, in that case, allow us to come."
Ward was surprised by those words but Albert didn't flinch. "I don't mind if it's to establish partnership. Look when we finish this mission I'm going to give you your share. Now, looking that they are government soldiers present in the base, I assume that it's not only you in this predicament?"
Jack nodded. "We have a B-1 Bomber from the Air Force that was supposed to be conducting close-air in our joint-operation with your men. They are also summoned in this world."
Hearing that, Albert sighed. "Understood, we are going to verify all non-Atlas personnel. For now, we should focus on getting to that village. Come with us to the command center and we will brief you of our findings."
As they have decided that, Albert led the way outside of the Hangar 3 where the awaiting JLTV M1279 Utility is parked. There are three of them, each capable of carrying eight troops.
They boarded the vehicle and proceeded to the command center building.
***
Five minutes later, at the command center building. The men were stepping out of the vehicle and immediately entered the building. Once they were in the building, Albert began the briefing.
"So, the village that our ISR Pred looked to be a rural one but there was no indication of contemporary outfits and were definitely not in Afghanistan given to their outfit," Albert began, showing them the feed of the ISR Pred through multiple screens on the wall.
"Our goal is to make first contact with the denizens of this planet and get information about this world and possibly the Demon Race. There will be twenty of us, 10 from Atlas, including me and this gentleman here named Ward, and 10 and ten from your MARSOC unit," Albert concluded, looking between the men. "We move at 0400 hours."
Claes furrowed his brows. "Two hundred fifty clicks? That's a hell of a distance. What's our transport, Commander? You planning to drive that in JLTVs?"
Albert shook his head. "Negative. We're inserting by air." He tapped on the touchscreen console beside him, pulling up a holographic schematic of two large rotary aircraft. "Two MH-53M Pave Low IVs. Long-range special operations helicopters. Range is over a thousand kilometers with internal fuel and additional tanks if needed. We'll fly two clicks south of the target and move on foot from there."
Claes raised an eyebrow. "Two clicks on foot? That's close for a first contact, isn't it?"
Albert met his gaze. "Close enough to respond fast if things go sideways, far enough not to scare the locals with a squadron of aircraft roaring overhead. We'll land in the treeline, establish a temporary LZ security perimeter, then move into the village in two staggered teams — Alpha and Bravo. I'll lead Alpha. You'll lead Bravo."
Ward nodded beside him. "We'll go in light. No heavy weapons, just carbines, sidearms, and minimal plates. We're there to talk, not to start a war."
Claes crossed his arms, thinking. "And if they're not friendly? You saw their walls — palisades mean they've got enemies. Could be bandits, could be something worse. What's the ROE?"
Albert's tone hardened slightly. "Rules of engagement are clear. This isn't a combat mission. You fire only if fired upon. We're not here to make enemies out of ignorance. If they show hostility — we disengage, fall back to the LZ, and exfil. No unnecessary casualties, civilian or otherwise. If someone raises a weapon on you, take cover, return fire, but don't escalate. Understood?"
Claes gave a short nod, but his expression stayed wary. "Copy that. Fire when fired upon. Non-combatant contact rules apply. Still… I don't like walking blind into medieval territory."
Albert smirked faintly. "Neither do I, Major."
He turned to the wall display, which now showed drone footage zoomed out from the village.
"The terrain around the settlement is a mix of forest and open farmland. We'll use the treeline for cover until we're sure of their disposition. Predator One will maintain overwatch at twenty thousand feet, relay thermal and visual data in real time. If we need rapid extraction, the Pave Lows stay on standby with engines hot. Now, any more questions before we dismiss?"
Albert swept his gaze on them but none replied. "Okay, dismiss. See you later in the morning."