Hello there. Why don't you stay awhile and listen. Made yourself comfortable? Good. Well, before we start our story, let me guide you into this world.

It may seem the same but there are few alterations. Think of it as an alternate dimension reality of your world. Planet slightly bigger. People live longer. About 50 years longer. Records say that there was once a 200 years old man. Some even speculate that mythical creatures actually existed. Or maybe even exist today.

And USSR, the dreaded “Red Threat”. They are the good guys. Their government cares for everyone and their leaders are wise. Rumors say that original leaders of the Party are immortal and some of them are a 1000 years old.

Communist Party themselves though are not the ones who rules the USSR. They merely giving advices to the elected President on how to rule effectively, if President ever needs any. But most of the time people manage to govern themselves rather effectively.

Prologue: The World, just like ours. But not ours.

-Take cover!
-Wake and shake it! Russians are bringing you coffee! OFF THE STREETS! MORTARS!

Small group of soldiers stormed into nearby structures for cover, barely dodging artillery strike. Young Lieutenant(2nd Lieutenant that is) Jake Anderson, who went by call-sign “Master”, started talking.

“Alright everyone, I'm betting that Ruskies are moving in as we speak, using their artillery strike as suppressing fire. Once it stops we'll be attacked from all sides, so check your weapons and ammo while we still have time.”

Some moments after, the intensity of shelling went down and finally stopped. It was dead silent.
Jake used his comm-link: “This is Alpha leader to all units. All team leaders, report in.” Responses came immediately.

-This is Bravo. All clear for now.
-Delta here. Zero movement. I have a bad feeling about this.
-Charlie reporting. We're clear.

After getting reports Jake gave out orders. “Set up defense positions immediately, I think we'll be under attack very soon, over.” Radio crackled with simultaneous “Roger” and “Affirmative” from respective squad leaders. And just like Master guessed, attack came like a hurricane after brief moment of silence.

Lieutenant's HUD lighted up showing multiple hostiles. For a while firefight went lazily, one could describe it as exchanging punches. But then something unexpected happened.

“This is Charlie-leader! We are taking heavy casualties! They are breaking through the walls! OH GOD-” Their signal bursted into static and then gone silent. “Charlie, report! Damn it Kyle, answer me!” Jake started shouting into comm-link, but alas, signal was gone. “Damn. Charlie team is down. Does anyone saw what took out Charlie?”

“Negative, Charlie holed up in the far end of the street, by that church. It's too far to see anything.” Delta-leader reported, while shooting back at incoming hostiles. “Hold on, we've got visual... Oh shit! Alpha, they've got armor! It's a BMP! We're under heavy fire, they've pinned us down, need assistance!”

Jake started giving orders again. “Bravo team, can you take it out?” Tactical map showed that enemies were spotted literally everywhere, making map almost entirely red. “Bravo here, we've got your back. Try to draw their attention, we'll burn that BMP good!” Confirming this, Alpha team made it's move as well. “LIGHT 'EM UP!” Entire team started discharging their weapons in direction of the enemy, trying to attract as much attention as possible.

Loud explosion has shaken the area. “Hell yeah, that sucker is down! Whoo!” Apparently, they succeeded. “Cut the chatter Bravo.” “Yeah, and that explosion took out a lot of baddies, you're welcome.” “10-4” Jake started thinking. “We are too spread out. We need to regroup or we will be overrun.”

“Attention all units, disengage and regroup on my position. Our team will provide covering fire for your movement. How copy?” Response came quick. “This is Delta, roger that.” Then came one from Bravo “Bravo here, solid copy. We're just- Wait, what was that?.. They are inside! Return fir-*static*”

At the same time walls exploded inside the building. Coughing from dust last thing Jake and his teammates saw were dark shadows and with few short bursts everything was over. Jake's body dropped down with loud 'thump'.

2nd Lieutenant Jake 'Master' Anderson woke up.

Training simulation was over. And he just lost. He hated losing. Don't we all though?
Frankly, in today's training op he wasn't supposed to be a team leader, but captain called in sick and forwarded his second in command.
Jake was a combat engineer. But maybe more of an engineer than combat. Or maybe a Jack-of-all-trades in engineering field. He was known as “Blacksmith”, “Fixer” and even “Mr. Do-It-All”. In his 23 years he mastered everything related to engineering and technology and also learned a bit of chemistry, which allowed him to be a irreplaceable asset in the field. With enough materials and equipment he could create or fix almost everything, from making gunpowder and bullets to fixing cars and creating vehicles.
As a backlash, or maybe world balance stepped in, everything else was giving to him with significant hardships. His cooking skills, for example, was a constant losing battle. He did everything as recipe said but still it would end up in failure. Inedible failure that is.
Nevertheless, his cheerful nature just said “Whatever” and from then onwards his meals was military rations, meals served in garrison kitchen or MREs(Meal Ready to Eat) from local shop that he visited during his leaves. Mostly noodles.
His thoughts about who he is, and his life as a combat engineer were interrupted by closing footsteps.

It was the 'enemy' team leader, Siegfried 'Captain' Schultz. A grizzled veteran who've seen real action. A tall, intimidating man indeed, his scar on his face made him even more... well, intimidating. A skilled survivalist and scout, his leadership qualities were also top notch, never losing his cool even in the most fiery battles, earning him nickname “Iceman” from soldiers stationed at the base.

“Excuse me?” Jake sat down on his VR training capsule. “I'm saying that all your tactics, the ones that you used in today's training were exactly as is 'from the book', which made you very vulnerable to surprise attacks.”

“Surprise? More like totally random! I mean, who the hell blows up a wall just to enter?” Jake was a bit abashed. Siegfried chuckled and said “Exactly. Or did you think that everything on the battlefield would be 'by the book'? Whoever uses a most unexpected plan that works at the right time wins. This is how battles are won, lieutenant. Well, anyway, today was a good day. I bid you farewell.” With this Capt. Schultz turned around and went for the exit with the rest of his squad.

“What was THAT about? Ugh, those USSR folks sure are strange...” With this in mind Jake left Joint Strategies Center as well and went back for his barracks, along with his team-mates.

“Damn Kyle and boys, your asses got toasted way too quick! And what was that 'Oh god'? You crapped yer pants in a videogame? Ha-ha!” “Screw you! It just startled me, alright? I'd look at your face when you get rammed with APC, you dumbass.”

One of the few USA-USSR bases with regular joint ops and researches aimed at increasing level of trust and cooperation between those two.

After that training session 3 months have passed and there came December. A lot of people have come and gone and the only constant military personnel were 2nd Lt. Jake from US side and Capt. Siegfried with his “Wolf pack”.
Speaking of which, this elite team, this “Wolf pack” consisted only of four people, Capt. Siegfried included.
The first person he met(aside from Siegfried) was Vladimir.

Master Sergeant(or Старшина in Russian) Vladimir 'Drakon' Yeremeyev. Yep, it's Dragon but in Russian spelling. And Jake was constantly pissing him off with his accented way of pronunciation, something like “Drake-on”.
He was an interesting fellow, that Vladimir. First of all, he was from airborne troops, the infamous 'Knuckleheads'. But the strange thing №1. He wasn't stupid. Well, he wasn't a genius either but he had smarts, and apparently enough of them to speak fluently in three languages, and to be an expert at weaponry systems and maintenance. Another thing was that he sang. It was his hobby. He knew a whole lot of songs: Soviet, American, modern, pop, military, you name it. And the last thing, he liked order. When everything is planned. Something goes off, there goes his mood. And while he had a lot of opportunities for promotion he remained a sergeant. When asked why, he said:
“Don't like responsibility. I have my partner to command and that's enough. I'm no officer, that's for sure. I like to follow, not to lead. That's what I'm good at.”

Speaking of which,“Wolf pack” also had two more members: Wulfin and Nika.
1st lieutenant Hilda Schultz (form. Meier) AKA Wulfin was second in command.

Tough as nails, she and her husband Siegfried made “Alpha-pair” of the Wolf pack. They both were from GRU SpetzNaz and while he was adept in scouting and survival techniques, she was more on the support roles.
One of those roles were Geo-electromagnetic exploration for natural resources during long raids. She also served as radiowoman and scout-soldier. But even though she was a 'supporting member' one should not underestimate her as she can fight as ferociously as her husband. Working in almost perfect sync they are a force to be afraid of.
And while being German, they were, in fact, a Russlanddeutsche. Nor she, nor him can speak their native language. Hilda was from Altai Germans and Siegfried was a Wolgadeutsche. Despite being married for 10 years they still didn't have kids yet.

And the last one was Senior Sergeant Veronika 'Nika'(or Nike in English) Nikanorova, with codename named not so much after a Goddess of Victory but because there was a lot of 'Nika' in her names.

She and Vladimir make “Beta-pair” of the Wolf pack.
Veronika and Vladimir were childhood friends, born and raised in Far East Russia. Vladimir was loud, joke-cracking and Veronika was the silent one. Parties and everything just wasn't her thing you know. Surprisingly she enlisted along with Vladimir when he joined the military. But from there on their ways went sideways. He went for airborne courses, she took medicine.
Aside from medicine itself she was skilled in creating and handling various kinds of explosives. To top it all, Nika was also pretty good with her shotgun. And yeah, she was the squad cook. Nominally they all can cook, but she was best.

Uh, and final note. Captain and Wulfin were the only ones with actual active combat experience on the whole base. Strange huh? Well, mostly due to actual harmony spreading, all were well fed and well dressed. Mostly.
We humans are a creatures of chaos. And where's chaos – there's conflict, meaning soldiers will always have their place in this world.

But chaos is not always a bad thing. Chaos is a constant change. We move forward, we adapt, we evolve.
That's why this world sees less and less conflict. Soldiers are still needed but maybe someday...

Small briefing room was dimly lit.
“Okay, ladies and gentlemen, as some of you may have already guessed you will be assigned on a special mission. For some time we've been looking for optimal team. And that, my friends, is you.” Then Base Commander continued “I believe that for past 3 months you – the Wolf pack, have became friends with your new colleague for this mission, 2nd Lieutenant Jake 'Master' Anderson, and yes, you are being volunteered.” Drakon made a snort, followed by elbow poke from Nika reminding him to be quiet. “And I have another announcement to make, there is another addition to your team Captain. Meet civilian specialist Megumi Hayakawa. As of today she is officially a 'Wolf pack' member."
Young girl came out to the stand.

"She'll also gonna be providing support to the best of her abilities. She-" Introduction was again interrupted by Drakon "I've got two questions: first, what does she do and second, why civvie?" Nika poked him again reminding to shut up.

"Well if you just let me continue 'Tovarish' Starshina, I'll answer all of your questions in due time, alright?" Base Commander continued after slight chuckle "Miss Megumi here is one of the best doctors out there, and before you interrupt me again, I know you have Miss Veronika there, but while she is indeed a medic she's more a combat medic than an actual doctor. No offense." Drakon rolled his eyes. "And besides, it's better to have more medical personnel, just in case, don't you think? She's also going to be serving as expert on animals and, well, uhhhh, how do I say this? She's also in charge of logistics." Surprisingly, this time it was Jake, honestly confused "Logistics? Are we going on a mission to a shop or something?" Drakon didn't miss that and started laughing out loud "Haha, good one yankee!" With a sigh Wulfin and Nika pulled him out of the room so that he could calm himself down.
"No, it means she'll be in charge of the resource flow on your mission." Drakon snuck his head in, still chuckling "What, don't tell me she's also can sew us new threads to wear?" Megumi who's been silent all this time suddenly said "Ummm, y-yeah, I also can do that."
Drakon fell down to the floor laughing hysterically "Oh come on, Commander! What kind of mission could require that?" Nika frowned once again "You know that you're not funny?" At which he answered with more gurgling laughter "Uh-huhuhuh, ahahah-at-hahah-at least I am-hahah-having a-hahahah- a good time here!"

"Eheheheh-okay, sorry. Please continue." Drakon dusted off his clothes and finally sat down.
"Thank you master sergeant. So as I was saying - Miss Megumi here is quite capable doctor, one of the best in the world, and Command thinks that you gonna need the absolute best for this mission. Well, chances are you've not gonna require surgeon but you never know. Miss Megumi also have vast flora and fauna knowledge so she can make ingredients for medicaments, I believe that this'll come in handy. And please, have a seat now Miss Megumi."

Drakon raised his hand "Excuse me, sir. Introductions and all are fine with me but when will we get to actual mission briefing?"
Base Commander took out some documents "Alright, this is a non-disclosure agreement. I need all of you to sign it. As of now you are not permitted to talk to anyone about this mission until further notice. Captain, hand this out. After you've all done leave it here."

With Siegfried handing out sheets BaseCom finally started actual briefing. "Alright Wolf pack, listen up! One of our research teams had a major breakthrough in portal technology.
Not only it's actually working but it leads to destination deemed 'Another World' by research team. Initial tests brought good results. Air there is perfectly breathable and from the look of things land is rich in various resources. We are pretty sure this world is inhabited but we're still not sure of how do locals look like. Electromagnetic scans gave no results, meaning that electricity isn't present or at least it's usage is not that widespread. So for now we think that locals development level is between our middle-ages and Renaissance.
Your mission is, for now, a simple recon and building an outpost for future research. All kinds of scanning was done by remote-controlled drones, so this is gonna be first with human personnel. We're not expecting any trouble but don't let your guard down."

"When do we deploy?" asked Captain. "Right now research team is currently making more tweaks to the 'Another World' project to make sure you're not gonna get split into atoms by accident. I'd say it's gonna be another couple months. Use this time to improve your skills and teamwork. We'll keep you posted. That is all for now, dismissed."

Attention Wolf pack! Assemble at briefing room immediately!
"So I guess today is the day eh, Jake?" Drakon and Jake were talking on their way "Hm, I guess so. By the way, would you mind if I asked you a question?" Vladimir raised an eyebrow "Huh? Well, okay, go ahead."
"Are you and Nika dating or what?" This made Vladimir choke by surprise "*cough* What's it to you? Don't tell me that you are interested in her."
"What? No! No-no-no, it's nothing like that. It's just you two seem so close so I assumed..."
Drakon finished his sentence for him "That we are dating? Well, no. We're just good friends. We grew up together. And you know what? It would be too awkward for me if we started dating, you know. I've always treated her like my sister, know what I'm saying?
Even though our parents think otherwise, with something like 'Oh, you look so perfect together, like a pair made in heaven', ugh. And even though I think that she might be interested in me but... Let's just say that I'm not ready."
Jake was a little surprised "Huh, so that's how it is."
"So, what's with all this relationship stuff? Still no luck with Megu-chan?" Jake's face turned red. "Wha-? Don't call her tha-, I-I mean, what are you even talking about?!" In response Drakon made a wide grin "Oh come on, I've seen how are you eyeballing her and all. I think it's pretty obvious that..."
Jake's face turned even redder "S-shut up! It isn't... Well maybe it is but that's not important right now!"
"Oho, is that so? But don't you worry, just trust in uncle Vova to create you enough opportunities, you'll see, she'll be yours in no time!" Jake parried with dull voice "Says guy with no girlfriend."
Drakon's grin became even wider "That's beside the point. Eheheheh, this'll be fun!"

Vladimir's laughter and Jake's grumpy responses continued up to the briefing room.

Wolf pack finally arrived and when they took seats Base Commander started his briefing "Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is your final briefing before the mission. You will depart at 12 o'clock.
For this mission you will be provided with:
Transport - amphibious ATV, truck with large living and storage module trailer and a modified VPK-39272 "Volk". "Volk" comes with mounted 12.7 mm HMG turret for protection purposes.
Provisions - half a year amount of food and drinks of all kinds.
Weapons - you can bring your sidearms and you will be provided with PDWs and PDRs for personal protection purposes. And 1 rifle for hunting purposes.
You will be also provided with construction materials and medicaments.
All this will be stored in your vehicles.
Any questions?"
Drakon raised from his seat "Sir, isn't 'Volk' a little... Outdated?"
Base Commander continued "Yes it is, but our modifications are compensating for it. Maneuverability, passability and overall characteristics are tuned to be up-to-date with modern technologies. Oh, forgot to mention - all your vehicles will be running on pure ethanol. Because we highly doubt that gas or diesel would be available there. Producing it yourselves should be no problem.
Your job is to go in, build an outpost and get back home in 2 weeks. That is if all goes as planned. All those supplies are just in case if accident does happen. Chances of something going wrong are less than 1% because we checked and double-checked everything. And then checked it again. But hey, better safe than sorry.
And one last thing, this isn't a combat op, tread carefully, we don't want to spark a war by accident.
That'll be all.
Pack your things, bring spare clothes, civvies will be fine too. You can also bring with you anything you want, in reasonable lengths of course. Mp3 players, boardgames, laptops, etc. Because I'm pretty sure you'll be really bored when you finish building that outpost. If you wanna bring booze along it's fine too, but don't overdo it.
At 11:50 you all need to be present in Hangar 13.
Captain and Wulfine, come with me, I'll hand out instructions of what to do if something does goes wrong.
Everyone else, you are dismissed."

Finally, time has come. Team loaded up in their vehicles and drove to Hangar 13. Jake and Megumi on ATV, Vladimir and Veronika on "Volk", Siegfried and Hilda on truck.

There it was. The portal, part of that 'Another World' project. Lots of scientists were busy setting it up and doing final checks.
Portal looked like a big circle structure with lots of cables hanging around.
"Drive inside! We're almost ready. That 'Volk' is equipped with special communicator that allows us to stay in touch with you. Be careful with it, ok?" Drakon responded immediately "Roger that!"

11:55.
Tension was almost unbearable. It seemed that tension itself made strange sounds. Minutes seemed like hours. The only ones who seemed calm, as expected, were Captain and Wulfin.
And then it started. Those... whatever it was, those mechanisms inside began to spin, making bright blue lights to appear.
The portal was starting and revving up, making loud roaring noise.

Drakon was sweating bullets. In attempt to ease up tension he shouted "HEY JAKE! YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IS IT?"
Jake shouted back "WHAT?"
"ADVENTURE TIME!"

Hey-hey-hey! Hope it wasn't too long of a prologue.
Sorry in advance for any mistakes, chapter 1 is on it's way.
There is a slight delay because of power outage - almost all of my work is gone. :(
And my drawing tablet is acting funny, so no illustrations for now I guess. :((

Another World: Tale of Chaotic Adventures

by Maniac

Prologue, part 2: The World, just like ours. But not ours.