The Original Beefcake

On the next day the whole strike force gathered in the training hall, the only room large enough to hold them all. Ronald Brahms stood on a makeshift podium in front of a large projected picture. "Our drones have identified the enemy's war camp." Marcus carefully scanned the aerial picture showing a large camp with huge fire pits. "Our conservative estimate is 100 enemy combatants." A murmur went through the crowd. That was a lot more than expected. It put them nearly one to one, if you only counted the class holders, Marcus thought. A raid party of that size… Marcus' brain stirred.

The muscular black man on the podium continued, "This is more than we originally expected, but we had ample time to prepare our defenses and to coordinate with the Finnish army." The picture changed and showed a tactical view of the area around the portal. A minefield, gun emplacements, artillery support and even two combat helicopters in reserve. Marcus also knew that the civilians in the area had been evacuated and emergency services stood ready to support the front line units.

If the orks had moved sooner, severe casualties would have been possible. And yet something wasn't right with this picture. But Marcus couldn't put his finger on it.

"We are going to use a dynamic defense, where half of our troops will be placed in a tactical defense position and the other half will be mobile and engage at hot spots as needed. Your commanders have been informed, prepare yourself!" Brahms ended the presentation and the troops scattered, murmuring and discussing the news. Talking about news. "We are part of the mobile squads. Given our team setup it makes the best use of our classes. We got a new, fast, armored car to engage and disengage when needed," Russo explained, as they walked over to the parking lot (some grassland now covered with all kinds of vehicles).

The new 'car' turned out to be a modern military light truck. The thing was armored and had a central armored turret, the perfect place for Janette. It also had handles and boards on the side to allow soldiers to 'hitch' a ride. Which was fitting for their mobile team.

The base looked like an ants nest, people running around, shouting and vehicles roaring. Marcus also caught a glimpse or two of Monika. He had to fight the urge to wave to her, or to find an excuse to talk to her. He understood the rules, his body didn't. The raw carnal attraction he felt for her was overwhelming and it actually annoyed him.

Hot memories visited him all too often, but he also felt a weird sense of discomfort. As wonderful as the night had been, Marcus slowly realized that this kind of 'pure fun' interaction wasn't what he wanted. When Lars or Pavel talked to their wives and children, when Janette spent hours talking to her love, then Marcus felt a longing that he would never be able to satisfy with Monika. This realization alone made him even more uneasy.

With every hour that went by the tension on the base grew further. Last word was that there were signs of increased activity in the enemy camp. It was after 11 at night and Marcus couldn't find any sleep. Thoughts about relationships and the coming battle filled up his mind. Why and how people choose each other, what was to gain and what was one willing to give. It was a mess of thoughts only a half asleep brain can produce. And then it clicked.

The thing that had bothered him since the meeting! Marcus jumped out of his bed and nearly tackled Pavel in the hallway. A minute later he reached the room of his team leader. Marcus knocked heavily and the door opened, showing Russo with a glass in hand. "Sir, the orks-" He started and then realized that Russo wasn't alone. He could see Cullen sitting in a chair. "Oh, I'm sorry I should not-" But Russo waved and opened the door fully to let him in. Cullen wasn't the only one in the room. Brahms sat on the second chair, holding a glass with both hands.

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Marcus' heart skipped a beat, but the door was already closing behind him. "We are going to be out of chairs soon," Russo joked and offered Marcus a small camping chair. "Now, what about the orks? And don't worry, speak freely," Russo smiled. Marcus felt like he had been thrown into a vipers nest.

He gathered his courage to speak in front of the men, "I believe the orks are here for us." The men exchanged looks, but didn't stop Marcus. "Why have they not already attacked? And what do they hope to get in the first place? I asked myself these questions over and over. Until I realized it is US." Marcus took a deep breath. "They want to farm us." The one thing that was worth anything to the orks in the area was the EXP from their dead bodies and their gear.

Brahms slowly turned the glass in his hands, "We know." The other men nodded and Marcus felt a bit silly. "Have you told anybody?" Brahms asked. Marcus denied that and the black man gave him a strong look. "Keep it that way. The last thing we need right now is a panic." Marcus suddenly understood why they hadn't said anything about this.

He thought about leaving, but there was one more thing he wanted to say first. "Sir, one other thing. I didn't want to raise the topic in the meeting, but do we have what it takes to take down an ork Berserker level 50 or higher?" This raised some eyebrows, only Russo chuckled. "This is about the power level I would suspect from an ork warlord with a war party of this size," Marcus added and his heart was pounding hard.

"If we can't take the warlord down with teamwork and concentrated fire, it will fall to me to best him or her. I'm a level 62 Berserker myself." Brahms smiled at the last words. Russo thanked Marcus for his initiative and led him out of the door. "Sleep, gather your strength," He said, sending Marcus to bed.

"That boy of yours is really something else. He got there only with the limited information he had." The strike force commander took some extra from the expensive looking bottle. "And he did put one of yours into the ward, Rian?" That comment went to Cullen. "It would have been a different thing in real combat, but I'm actually happy he did. The kids are too focused on the strength of their classes and they underestimate their opponents. Pierre learned a lesson that might save his life one day."

Russo took the seat Marcus had used before. "I want him to go far. I want to see what he can do. Imagine if he can change the Fighter class. What it would mean for the rest of the low ranked classes." "For that…," Cullen started while emptying the bottle into his glass, "...he first has to survive the next battle."

Marcus went to bed, but he only got two hours of sleep before the sirens started and everybody rushed to their units and combat stations. Team Russo met at their armored car. Overnight the car had gained some extra decorations. Large letters in red paint on the hood of the car read 'THUNDER'. Everybody instantly looked at Janette, who shrugged, "You know, Lars has lightning, Pavel brings the wind and I and Marcus can make a big noise. It made sense in my head."

"I like it, we are already known as the weird squad anyway," Russo seemed surprisingly unperturbed about this.

With this the Thunder Squad moved out. Pavel was the driver, he was the one who could move the fastest out of the car. Also nobody wanted Janette to drive. The rest squeezed into the back for the most part of the journey to the portal. Once they got close to their defense positions Russo, Lars and Marcus stepped on the outside boards. Janette moved up to the armored turret, together with her large rifle. They reached their destination about half a kilometer from the portal. Then they waited.

Only minutes later Russo reported: "It seems like they have pushed giant burning trees into the portal to widen it.

Portals are often just a few meters in diameter, far too small for any large-scale operation. Their size can be increased by delivering energy to the portal. In nearly any form. The first to blow up a portal to see if that would work were of course the Americans. But large burning trees would do the trick in time too. It also made it impossible for the defender to see what the orks were doing on the other side, Marcus thought.

In those tension filled moments Marcus thought about many things that weighed on his soul. The orks hunting them, the team maybe dying. He might die. The last thing didn't scare him as much as seeing Janette's dead body. He gripped his hold tighter and steeled his determination.

A massive explosion shattered the silence of the night. A blazing ball of fire appeared in the night, before the shock wave rushed over the Thunder Squad. The portal? No. The explosion was two or three kilometers away. Did the orks somehow sneak through the defense and attacked them from behind? But there was nobody. Marcus stared at the slowly fading fire ball and the truth hit him. "They have a portal stone! The orks have a portal stone!" He shouted and Russo's eyes widened as the glowing corona of a new 100 meters wide portal gradually became visible between smoke and darkness.