GATE - War of Two Worlds Part 1

V12 - Chapter 150 On the Way Home

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--- Fort Alnus, Helicopter Airfield ---

Lieutenant General Charles Stanford is standing on the base helicopter airfield. He is waiting for the arrival of a key prisoner, the Haryo who led the Alnus spy cell raid.

While Tyuule failed to recapture General Herm, she was able to secure the ring leader who freed him. He is hoping having the ringleader will answer many questions of this new enemy.

All around he sees helicopters parked. While most are American like the Ch-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Black Hawks, AH-64-Apache, and other Major NATO powers the United Kingdom, France, and Italy all have a decent amount here.

The other two major non-NATO nations, Japan and Australia both have a decent force stationed here. While many nations in the NATO Expedition Force are not part of NATO, it is common for non-NATO nations to work with NATO nations. The war in Afghanistan with the International Security Assistance Force or ISAF is an example of NATO's growing relevance on the world stage.

In 1949 NATO was formed as a regional defense alliance against the Communist bloc. During the War on Terror was the first real military war outside of Europe and laid the seeds to expand NATO from a regional defense organization to a more global defense alliance.

The threat of Russia almost pulled NATO back into a regional defense alliance but the Red Dragon of the east, China, and their allies scared many within the organization. While countries like Colombia, Japan, and Australia have always been close to the alliance, they have always been seen as cousins within the NATO family.

At the 2023 Athens NATO summit, it was agreed to prioritize China's presence on the world stage. While everyone was worried about China expanding into northern Afghanistan, military build-up in Pakistan, expansions all around Africa after many of the countries destabilized after the 2020 virus. The final push was how the Philippines nearly descend into civil war. While the Philippines didn't descent into civil war and become a puppet state of China, it was a wake-up call for many western leaders.

Then the Gate happened in the summer of 2025 and that changed everything. NATO triggering Article Five for the second time in its seventy-six-year history. Both times were because the US was attacked which is ironic because the alliance was created under the assumption that Europe would be the ones attacked.

In his recent conversation with President Potts, French President Fabrice Giraud, United Kingdom Prime Minister Oscar Lowe, Italian President Alano Velotta, and Canada Prime Minister Jordan Banks. They were talking about what if a second attack happened and how the alliance should respond and prepare. While nothing of substance came out of the meeting, there has been more cooperation then there has been for a while. He is just happy that politicians are taking the meaning of this war seriously.

He remembers his seven tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of the things that bothered him the most was watching American politicians treating the wars as a sideshow that they mention and then forget about. He was leading his soldiers into battle, watching them die with leaders who didn't care. He is hoping that mistake won't happen again and why he has been working hard not to make the same mistakes.

In the distance he sees the Ch-47 Chinook flying towards Alnus with its two AH-64 Apaches escort. Inside are security personnel transporting the Haryo that Tyuule captured.

He let Tyuule go to Italica to personally bring back Noriko's baby son. While she failed to capture Herm, she did prove herself in trusting him. He knows that must have been hard with her past, but she put duty before personal desires. He knows he has to respect and reward that. Besides, he trusts her to transport the baby back to Alnus.