It was two o''clock in the morning in the mountains of Uamsan. The chirping of the cicada and the rustling of the leaves were all that could be heard. In a certain clearing, the Righteous Army and the Special Forces of the Ruthenian Empire were preparing themselves, wearing their equipment and checking their guns.


    Vasili was observing how Chosonese are prepping up, waiting for mistakes. Fortunately, there were none and he gave a small nod to the Chosonese who smiled at him with pride and excitement while raising their Mosin Nagant bolt action rifle. Vasili smiled at their giddiness before turning back towards hisrades.


    "Sir, we got a message from Overwatch, the 32nd airborne battalion will be para dropped in thirty minutes and link up with us two hundred meters southwest of our position."


    "Were they briefed about the operation?" Vasili asked.


    "Yes sir, once theynd in the mountains, it''s go time."


    "That''s great. Now, I don''t think I''ll have to remind myself that I don''t tolerate mistakes during the operation. Should you have questions about our operation, say it now." Vasili nced at the special forces who only looked back at him in silence. "So I''ll take your silence as a no. Very well, I''ll do onest mission brief with theirmanding officer. Look after the Chosonese, they might encounter problems with their equipment and ask questions."


    "Yes sir!" the nine special forces intoned together with a salute.


    Vasili walked away and headed into the tent where Gang Eun-Ae, themanding officer of the Righteous Army in the Gyeonggi province.


    Moving away from the curtains of the tent, he found her sitting behind a wooden table with the map of Hanseong lying on top of it. His eyes followed her finger as it moved across the map as if studying it.


    His footstepsing closer to her, she lifted her head only to see a man looking at her. Her eyes widened a little bit. She stood up slowly with her legs wobbling.


    "Captain Vasili."


    He noticed this and chuckled lightly.


    ''


    "Look you don''t have to stand and stop whatever it is you''re doing just to greet me, I''m not a king," he jested lightly.


    "But you are an important person…sir," she said shyly with her hands on the back of her neck. He saw how red her face became and couldn''t help but chuckle again. He ambled towards the table and looked at the map.


    "I see that you''re busy studying and reviewing the operation. May I suggest that we go over the n one more time?" he suggested, looking at Gang Eun Ae who looked at him with a confused face, wondering why they should do so.


    Nevertheless, she agreed,


    "Of course, Captain." She sat down and motioned for him to sit. The two sat opposite each other and before Vasili began, he looked at his watch.


    "It''s two o five in the morning, which gives us fifty-five minutes to prepare for the operation but we will leave at two thirty-five along with reinforcementsing. Now, the Ruthenian Army is going to conduct an airstrike at facilities they believe the Yamato are using. The attack will alert all the Yamato troops garrisoned in the capital, thus creating a diversion for us to extract your king, who is under house arrest in the Gyeongbokgung pce. We''ve intercepted a radio transmission that the Resident General of the Choson Empire is going to evacuate your king forcefully, we can''t let that happen. So the airborne battalion of the Ruthenian Army will suppress them in their location to prevent them from responding to the pce. We and the Righteous Army will head toward the pce, neutralize enemy troops in the way, and extract your king," Vasili finished. "We take Hanseong, we take the whole Choson. Do you have any question?"


    Eun-Ae nodded her head. "Why do the Ruthenians want to take our king? And where are you going to take him?"


    "The Ruthenian knew how crucial your king was to liberate and unite the Chosonese people after the war. We have to ensure his safety by taking him away from the warzone. As for your second question, the king will be transported to divostok where he''ll stay until the war is over," Vasili answered. "Do you still have another question?"


    "Yes, I am wondering why you made contact with us. From your military capabilities alone, which I have witnessed from your men''s discipline and equipment, I don''t see a need for your government to team up with us. So why?"


    "I apologize, I cannot answer your questions as I don''t know the reason. But I believe it has something to do with politics, which I won''t bother tackling."


    "I see," Eun-hae bit her lower lip as she looked down. She didn''t want to press him any further as it could damage their rtionship. She just sighed inwardly and hoped that Ruthenian won''t be the same as the Yamatos who would force their country into submission, making them a colony or a protectorate.


    She wants to live in a free country, a country that is not governed by foreign powers but by the people living in it. It was her dream and she is ready to die for it.


    ***


    Thirty minutester, the Chosonese and the Ruthenian Special Forces were marching down the mountain and they noticed something falling down from the sky. An umbre-shaped canopy slowly descends down the earth. They also heard a faint roaring sound in the sky.


    The Chosonese reacted immediately by pointing their rifles at the mysterious men.


    "Tell your men to stand down," Vasili simply asked Eun-Ae


    "Stand down!" Eun-Ae shouted.


    The Chosoneseplied immediately and lowered their rifles but their fear of the unknown still linger in their minds. After all, they had never seen such an act before. One man walked out of the darkness and approached the group warily.


    "Are you Lieutenant Colonel Niki Yudenich of the 32nd Airborne Battalion?" Vasili asked in the Rutheniannguage.


    "And you are Captain Vasili? The man we are supposed to meet."


    Soon after, he revealed his face to Vasili. "Yes, we are from the 32nd Airborne Battalion," he extended his hand, offering a handshake.


    Vasili took it in kind and gave a firm squeeze. "It''s good to make your acquaintance. Now shall we get a move on?" he nced behind him, revealing more paratroopers who were putting their used parachutes into a bag. "Anyways, how many men do you have?"


    "I have 300 here, it''s a damn long flight from Akmolinsk. Who is that youngdy beside you?"


    "Her name is Eun-Ae, themanding officer of the Righteous Army of this province." Vasili introduced.


    "Well, nice to meet you, ma''am," Niki offered a handshake.


    Eun-hae didn''t understand what he just said because he said it in his nativenguage, but since he is extending his hand, it probably means that he wants to shake hands. She took his hand hesitantly.


    "So, you know what to do right?"


    "Yeah, we are to attack a hotel where the Yammies are staying, right?"


    "That''s right," Vasili affirmed.


    "We''ll move once we hear the code word from the radio."


    "What''s the code word?" Vasili asked.


    "Anastasia," Niki revealed and one of his men handed him something. "This is a gift from the Army, they''d like us to use this for our operation...they call it the M25 LAW."