Sinar was a nation that lay directly beneath the Empire's territory. Due to its latitude, the climate was rather temperate. In years gone by, that place would have been afflicted with year-round heat, and sotis small dust storms would whip up into tornadoes. For those who didn't live in big cities, the temperature range was quite disturbing, with dayti sun bringing with it bursts of heat and nights bringing freezing cold. Despite this, however, the agricultural production of this nation was quite flourishing, since it was crossed by large rivers fed by a nearby mountain range which allowed farming even in those harsh conditions.
However, recently the environnt had started to change. The weather had grown cooler and the sand and parched earth were slowly giving way to adows full of grass and flowers. If you looked closely, you could see the shoots of so bushes and trees that would one day grow tall and strong.
Such changes were obviously due to the activity of the dinosaurs. Although Sinar was not part of the Eden Union and had not started any reforestation projects, much of the rest of the world had. And the climate was changing accordingly. The excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was decreasing thanks to the now almost absent use of fossil fuels and the trees that were reabsorbing it and converting it into oxygen. Thanks to this, the greenhouse effect and climate change had visibly decreased. The rains, scarce until a few years before, had returned to wet even the innermost part of the continents. Furthermore, the seeds and spores carried by the wind were deposited in increasingly large areas, including Sinar, accelerating the restoration from nature even more. One day, even the pockmarked land of Sinar would be replaced by dense virgin forests.
However, at the mont the plants still had to contend with the fury of the elents. The desert would not give up its dominion of goodwill.
"Goddamn… another dust storm coming," grumbled a man sitting atop a wall as he watched a cloud of dust rise on the horizon.
That man was a sentry at Carson's fort, precisely where he was. Though the wars on Eden had ended more than a century ago, Sinar had always been at loggerheads with the Empire over issues of territoriality, economics, and ideology. With the rearmant of the nations due to the appearance of the dinosaurs, and subsequently with the collapse of the NMWA caused by the Eden Union, Sinar had preferred to prepare and had begun to reinforce its borders again. After all, many other nations had fallen into conflict as a result of the dismbernt of the old world order, so it was wise to co prepared. Carson's fort was one of those preparations: located right along the border with the Empire, it could be considered one of the first lines of defense.
The man continued to complain: "It is the fifth this week! One would think that now that the weather is cooler and the grass has started to grow again there should be fewer storms, but no! They lash this wasteland every day and we are forced to stay here, decked out like Bedouins, as if soone would be crazy enough to attack in the midst of all that sand…"
"Oh, stop complaining!" grumbled his companion, a stout man at least ten centiters taller than he. "If it bothers you so much, go back inside. I can do the rounds by myself"
"I was crazy! Then who hears it to the commander! You know how dutiful he is, he would yell at all evening"
"Well, at least start from a sa level field"
"What are you insinuating?"
"I'm saying that you are also a champion at breaking balls! Mine, especially!"
"Ha ha, how witty! As if it were who…"
"Sssh!"
"What!? Did you just 'sssh' to !?"
"Yes, shut up! Look!"
The sentry looked at the point indicated by his companion. All he saw were two bees collecting pollen from a nearby flower. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"The bees… they're still there," his companion replied with a frown. "Why didn't they run away as usual?"
It took the sentry a few seconds to understand where his companion was getting at, and when he did he suddenly beca serious.
The soldiers stationed at Carson's fort, being in the middle of the desert, were used to watching the mice and rats to know when a dust storm was coming. After all, animals sensed danger long before humans. Normally, when the animals disappeared, a cloud of dust would begin to form in the distance after just about ten minutes.
Now, however, rats and mice had beco intelligent, and like all other animals they had vanished from the desert. The only creatures left were insects, so the soldiers had learned to use them to sense the approaching storms. After all, as the flora of the place increased, insects and other invertebrates had also visibly increased, and it was possible to hear their buzz even from the ten-foot-high walls. When their buzz stopped, the soldiers knew they had to prepare for the storm to co.
But this ti it didn't happen. The insects had remained there, and to witness it were the two bees who were collecting their pollen completely oblivious to the cloud of dust that was forming in the distance.
"Sothing's wrong" the sentry growled. "Give the binoculars! Imdiately!"
His companion wasted no ti and handed it to him. The sentry looked up at the cloud of dust and realized it wasn't a storm at all: it was the dust kicked up by the passage of hundreds of military vehicles. Military vehicles that bore the coat of arms of the Empire.
The sentry's heart skipped a beat. "They are invading us!" he exclaid.
"I sound the alarm imdiately!" his companion yelled, then ran to a nearby button and pressed it with all the strength he had. In an instant, a deafening sound spread throughout the fort and the soldiers inside poured out in a swarm. A man with several ranks on his uniform rushed to the wall. "What the hell is going on?" he snapped.
"Commander, they are attacking us!" the sentry explained, handing him the binoculars. The man gritted his teeth as he saw the hundreds of military vehicles with the emblem of the Empire.
"They outnumber and outnumber us…" he whispered, then turned to one of the soldiers: "Sergeant! Contact the command center imdiately. Tell them the Empire is attacking! They must prepare for defense!"
The sergeant nodded and ran inside the fort, where he would deliver the ssage. The commander turned to the rest of the soldiers: "Listen to ! I'll be honest with you, we have no chance. They surpass us in every respect and we don't have ti to escape. None of us will see the sunset. Therefore, for the sake of your families, your friends, your parents, or anyone you hold dear on this earth, I ask you to take as many enemies with you to your grave! Hold on until your last breath!"
"YES, COMMANDER!" the troops shouted in unison. Each of them had an expression of terror painted on their faces and was sweating cold, but their gazes were firm and determined; despite the knowledge that they were going to die, there was no sign of hesitation about them.
The commander turned to the outside of the fort, where enemy military vehicles were now visible to the naked eye. He knew it was only a matter of ti before the tanks started shelling them. "Soldiers, it has been an honor to serve alongside you!" he exclaid.
"EVEN FOR US, COMMANDER!" was the prompt response of the troops. The soldiers prepared for the battle they knew they could not win, so by whispering a prayer, so by inciting their companions, so even just by smoking a last cigarette. Then, the enemies were close enough, and the attack began.
**********
"Mr. President, these are the reports we receive from the front"
A man sitting in a refined armchair was looking at the docunts that his collaborators were placing in his hands. That man was Raul Aghire, the president of the Republic of Sinar. "Why did the Empire choose to attack now?"
"We don't know, sir" was the only reply. "There was not even a declaration of war from them. They started the invasion without any warning"
President Aghire looked at the map in front of him. The Empire's onslaught had been so swift and unexpected that there hadn't been ti to organize any kind of defense. All the neighboring towns had been occupied and the forts and military bases destroyed. In total, the nation had lost nearly a seventh of its territory in a single day. "What is the strength of the enemy?"
"Apparently, they shouldn't exceed fifty thousand n. The Empire hasn't sent even a fifteenth of its effective army. But they are much better ard than us. Furthermore…"
"Furthermore?"
"These are just rumors, but… so of the surviving soldiers reported so… strange events"
The president's brow furrowed: "Strange?"
"They claim that so of the enemies… appeared out of nowhere, as if they could beco invisible. And even that so of them were mortally wounded, but got up after a few seconds. Apparently, the only ones who remained on the ground were those shot in the brain"
"Are you kidding ? What are you trying to tell , that the Empire would send a horde of zombies against us?"
"We… don't know, sir"
President Aghire put his hands to his face and rubbed his forehead. He had a very bad feeling. Sothing told him that this invasion was by no ans accidental.
What did those mad imperials have in mind?
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