"Contact the commander of Alve Primes ground forces"
I ordered Einherjars AI that upon hearing my order hacked into Alves Primes databanks, found the person I was looking for, and dialed him up through the galactic net network.
The holographic table in front of me flickered to life, and the face of General Maris, the commander of Alve Prime's ground forces, appeared on the screen.
"General Maris, do I need to fill you In or do you already know who we are and what our purpose is?"
I asked not at all enthusiastic about explaining everything all over again, luckily the general turned out to be a competent one.
"No need commander Dracula I have already been briefed by your employer"
I nodded in approval, relieved that General Maris was well-informed.
"Good then first things first how many boots do you have on the ground?"
Hearing my question the general's face turned sour.
"3 infantry divisions"
Hearing this my right eye twitched.
"Send me the coordinates where we can land our dropships"
I said as I disconnected the call not seeing any point in discussing any further tactics, the words 3 infantry divisions said all that I needed to know, no wonder they had to call in mercs those 3 infantry divisions were going to get slaughtered in no time.
...
As the dozens of dropships descended through the tropical-type planet's humid and thick nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, the inhabitants of the capital city of Alve Prime which was originally a desert planet terraformed by the first wave of colonists in a span of a decade couldn't help but react with a mix of curiosity, apprehension, and hope.
They had heard of the impending orc invasion and knew that their world was under threat, but the sight of these heavily armed dropships brought both a sense of unease and a glimmer of hope.
Citizens gathered in the streets, on rooftops, and at windows, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the descending vessels.
Children clung to their parents, and conversations hushed as the eerie silence of the approaching dropships filled the air.
Some speculated about who these mysterious reinforcements might be, while others whispered words of prayer, hoping that these newcomers could indeed turn the tide of the impending battle.
As the dropships touched down in designated areas throughout the city, their heavy doors opened, revealing the heavily armored figures of the marines within.
The people of Alve Prime watched with a mixture of awe and trepidation as these imposing soldiers disembarked.
The marines wasted no time, they immediately began setting up defensive positions, fortifying key areas of the city, and coordinating with local ground forces.
The citizens, though still anxious, began to feel a glimmer of hope as they saw the determination and discipline of their new defenders.
In the face of the approaching orc threat, the capital's inhabitants knew that their fate hung in the balance.
But with the arrival of these imposing mercenaries, they felt a renewed sense of determination and the belief that, just maybe, they could withstand the coming storm.
...
As soon as I stepped out from my dropship with my fully geared up marines assigned as my escort detail spreading out to secure the surroundings the middle-aged elvan general with a nasty scar on his face jogged over to greet me instantly with his command staff following closely behind him.
"Commander Dracula"
"General Maris"
We both shook hands which seemed to be also the way the elves greeted others just like humans did back in the Milky Way.
The surprise in my appearance, height, body mass, and the strength in my handshake was all over the general's face, but after all the galaxy was big and wide so he wasn't too shocked in the end.
I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the same pattern and color field uniform that the 7 feet tall which seemed to be the standard average height for elven males general was wearing.
It seemed like the elves didn't bother to make distinctions between the army and navy in the uniform department or the elves were just too poor to afford it?
While the general was surprised at completely another aspect, he couldn't help but do a double take on my space uniform-covered body without any fully-enclosed helmet on, only a black beret adorning my head.
"Huh? Commander Dracula, could It be that you forgot to bring life support masks, if you did we have a few spare ones"
Afterall their planet was specifically terraformed to perfectly suit their species so It was more or less common for xenos races visiting other xenos planets to wear fully-enclosed helmets or life-support masks because their bodies would find it difficult to function normally, some would only feel lightheaded, others would find it hard to breathe and extreme cases would result in people collapsing on the spot in the end it all came down to their natural compatibility and adaptability.
Hearing this I wawed my hand.
"Dont need It me and my soldiers can survive even on almost uninhabitable planets, thanks to our extensive augmentations"
Hearing my answer general's eyes widened because although It wasn't unheard of for him, but such augmentations would only be reserved for only the most elite soldiers, and only the most wealthiest and technologically advanced interstellar nations could allow themselves to do it.
"Say got any private place where we could talk business?"
I asked as I lit up a cigarette and offered one to the general who gladly took It and lit it up with his lighter.
"Please follow me"
The general said as he started leading the way.
General Maris led us to an underground command bunker, a more secure location for our conversation.
I took a seat on the worn-down holographic table, and as I lit up another cigarette, I didn't mince words.
"I'll be frank, General. Your soldiers, as they are now, are essentially dead men walking,"
I said bluntly, exhaling a plume of smoke. The gravity of the situation required honesty.
The general's expression remained resolute, though his eyes betrayed a mix of concern and determination.
"We are aware of the odds we face, Commander. But we are here to defend our planet to the last."
I nodded, acknowledging his commitment.
"I understand that, General. And we're here to assist you in any way we can. But we need to be realistic about our chances. We must protect the planetary shield generator and the anti-orbital canons as long as possible."
I took a final drag from my cigarette before flicking it away.
"We need to concentrate all of our forces on the capital, where the shield generator is located and most of the ani-orbital canons, we dig in, retreat dig in, and repeat until we cant after that we hold the line for as long as It takes"
The general's jaw tightened, but he didn't dismiss the idea outright.
"And what about your soldiers, Commander?"
I took another cigarette and lit it up.
"Obviously were gonna be the meat shields while your soldiers support us from behind, frankly I doubt that even in this way they will last longer than a week, and the damage that they can cause with the infantry weapons you have well based on our scans Its not gonna do much to orcs"
After I said this all that remained was silence, hearing the silence I decided to break it with a few questions of mine.
"Say your government should be aware of an orc invasion, they had a whole 6 months to send reinforcement so what gives?"
I couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"They did but the bureaucrats decided that it was not worth the effort, I wouldn't be surprised if they had already written the KIA list with our names on it"
The furious general said as he kicked the holographic table in a fit of anger.
It seemed like no matter the race, galaxy, or world to those in power the lives of common people were just numbers, It was f*cked up, but that was the reality luckily for these elves I accepted the job.
"Well sucks to be you, but look on the bright side situations like these keep us mercs afloat, and let me tell you, If I say that Iron Wolf Private Military Company is second when it comes to ground warfare then no one can claim that their first, so cheer up, in a month the orcs will be dropping like dead flies from our plasma rifles"
I said while smoking as I lightly patted the generals back yet the general actually lost his balance and fell on the holographic table.
I grinned evilly at the thought that orcs were about to meet an enemy that was about to make them feel fear for the first time in their lives.
"Now then who got booze?"
I asked while scanning the room, only to see that the command staff was looking at me like I was a madman well they weren't wrong I certainly was one.
"Tch! Youre no fun, Ill be in one of the nightclubs or bars whatever you have that serves alcohol around here, also here's the contact info of my second in command on the ground, if you got any questions about our deployment call him first"
I said as I stood up and walked out of the command bunker leaving behind the flagerbasted elves.