Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyria Chronicles. Special shoutout also goes to Chidoriprime for motivating me enough to write this. Enjoy.

A light snow sprinkled down from the gray skies above as deep winter had set in over the Principality of Gallia. The air had grown cold and the bite of winter nipped at all the soldiers who remained outside marching about and carrying on their long grueling war. As the chilly wind whistled over the ground that morning, Lt. Kurt Irving emerged from his warm tent to attend a meeting of officers. A large number of units in the Gallian Army had gathered to carry out an operation and it was starting to look rather involved.

As Kurt trudged through the snow and made his way across the campgrounds, he passed over the people of his own unit, Squad 422. The Nameless, as they were called was a penal unit in the Gallian Army and while they normally were not allowed to bivouac with the regulars, the harsh winter conditions merited an exception.

He passed the squad's tank and gave a wave to Carissa Contzen who was already busy tinkering with some of the treads and making efforts to keep the gears from freezing. Nearby, other members of the black clad unit gathered around a large fire to stay warm while Private Giulio Rosso used it to cook up some breakfast. Kurt took a deep whiff of the tempting aroma and wished he could join in with the cooking. He reminded himself his work came first and he continued on his way to the large tent that served as the battalion's temporary HQ.

As he continued to make his way onward, he was surprised when he was approached by another member of his squad. She was an attractive young woman with long reddish hair and an athletic if buxom figure to boot. Private Riela Marcellis greeted him with her trademark bright cheerful smile as she carried some assorted objects in her hands, "Good morning Kurt! You're up early, aren't you?"

"Hi Riela, I'm actually on my way to a meeting with some of the camp officers in a little bit," he said apologetically, "I'm afraid I can't stick around and chat right now."

She waved it off seemingly unphased, "Oh that's okay. I was on my way to come see you anyway and bring you this."

she presented him with a thermos and a small thermal container, "I came by Giulio's campfire early and picked up some breakfast. I thought you might want some."

"Ah... that's really sweet Riela," Kurt said in mild confusion, "I appreciate the gesture, but I'm kind of in a rush. This is an important meeting after all."

She gave him a mild frown and gently scolded him, "Lt. Irving, you may be the commander of the squad but you shouldn't push too hard and starve yourself either. If you're going to lead this squad, you have to be on top of your game and that starts with eating right."

For a moment, Kurt felt like he was getting lectured by his mother, or perhaps even a scolding wife so he opted for the quick easy route to diffuse the situation. "Right. Sorry. Why don't you leave that in my tent. As soon as I get back from my meeting, I promise I'll eat. Okay?"

Riela seemed to relent and gave a satisfied nod before heading off, "All right. I'm holding you to your word Lieutenant. Have a good meeting."

He watched her depart for a moment and simply scratched his head before hurrying on his way, "What an odd girl."

Eventually, Kurt reached his destination with time to spare. As he made his way inside the warmth of the tent, Kurt brushed off some snow from his dark hair and headed over to a large table that was being used to plan a battle strategy. The other senior officers who were already present turned and barely acknowledged Kurt save for a few quiet looks of disdain at having to be around someone from a disgraced unit like him Once upon a time, this sort of treatment would have bothered an aspiring young officer like Kurt, but he had grown used to the derision, until he got his chances to prove those people wrong. He approached the colonel at the table who was acting as the commanding officer, Kassen. He was a tall graying man in his forties with a weathered appearance and sharp features. Although he didn't seem that outwardly expressive, Col. Kassen possessed a quiet but fierce gravitas that had earned him the nickname of the Winter Wolf among his fellow Gallians. "Col. Kassen. Lt. Kurt Irving reporting as ordered."

Kassen nodded in acknowledgement, letting the officers get settled before addressing them.

He stood at the head of the table and gestured across the map of the surrounding region, "Gentlemen. As you know, we've been ordered here with a very critical assignment. Almost one week ago, the fortified city of Walencourt was attacked by Imperial forces and our small garrison there was overrun. Our orders are to launch a counterattack and seize control of the city back from the Imperials."

"What is so important about Walencourt, sir?" one of the lieutenants asked, "Couldn't we make a flank attack on the Imperial frontline in a different spot?"

Kassen folded his hands behind his back and shook his head, "Although Walencourt is not a particularly large city, it holds some strategic significance. Walencourt is located at a major crossroads and serves as a critical juncture for the movement of supplies and troops. As long as the Imperials hold that position, they will have a logistical advantage over us in this area,"

"All right. That sounds pretty straightforward," one of the captains chimed in, "Let's steamroll the Imps there and get out of the cold."

Kassen grimaced slightly as he laid down a map of Walencout, "I'm afraid it won't be as simple as you think captain."

Kurt took a moment to study the map and he noticed several layers of intricate overlapping earthworks and fortified walls that surrounded the citadel of the city. "Sir? It looks like we'll be in for a big fight. Those fortifications will not be easy to get around."

The other officers glared at Kurt but Kassen nodded solemnly, "Lt. Irving is correct. Those earthworks are designed to slow down and stymie the advance of direct infantry attacks. As the Imperials have seized them, they will have more troops to man the walls now."

"Unless we plan to bleed ourselves white, how do you propose we break through the city's defenses?" another officer asked.

Col. Kassen gave a grim smile, "For this mission, we're going to get a little creative. I've been made aware that there's a young officer whose squad specializes in unconventional warfare and he's volunteered for the operation. He's what you might call a hard charger in his approach."

From a side entrance of the tent another young man dressed in the uniform of the regular Gallian Army entered. He had fair handsome features, blue eyes, blonde hair and a brilliant smile that would likely charm the East Europan Emperor himself. he carried himself with a confident but easygoing air and he wore his uniform in a more casual less buttoned down manner. By the looks of his rank insignia, the others recognized him as a captain, but Kurt stopped and stared as he recognized the newcomer to a greater degree. It was one of his old classmates from Lanseal Academy.

"Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to one of our rising stars, Captain Bernard Fontaine of the Army's 117th Assault Squad," Kassen said, "Their unit has trained in joint exercises with the Edinburgh Ranger Corps and their experience has yielded a string of great successes with the 117th acting as a special forces commando group."

Bernard gave a breezy smile and strode forward with a casual salute, "Colonel. Thanks for the opportunity. I'm happy to help."

He stopped and turned when he recognized Kurt standing there. He flashed another grin before offering a hand, "Kurt? Kurt Irving? Is that really you? Wow, small universe!"

Kassen looked on in amusement as Kurt shifted uncomfortably. He suddenly felt very self conscious and embarrassed given his current status as the commander of a penal unit, "You two know each other?"

"Yes sir. We were classmates at Lanseal," Kurt answered.

"He's right," Bernard exclaimed, "Kurt here was pretty amazing and graduated at the the top of our class. I'm kind of surprised to see you still wearing 2nd Lieutenant pins... and what's what's with the different uniform?"

"It's... a long story," Kurt muttered with a grimace before Col. Kassen stepped in to restore order and focus to the meeting.

He looked to the two young men and gave a nod, "It's fortunate that you two are acquaintances. I was planning on having your squads work in tandem with each other in order to affect a breakthrough."

"And by that you mean have the 422nd soak up all the enemy fire for us and prevent our units from suffering casualties?" one of the other officers scoffed in derision toward Kurt.

Kassen gave that officer and glare before looking slowly to Kurt, "I understand The Nameless have their uses and will acquit themselves as they should. The rest of us will remain here and go over some other logistics. Lt. Irving? Captain Fontaine? I leave the planning of the first stage assault in your hands. I expect a written recommendation by 0700 tomorrow morning."

The two classmates saluted, "Sir. We won't let you down."

After departing the tent, Bernard clapped Kurt on the shoulder, "How about that? It's been a while since graduation, but it looks like we'll get to fight an official battle together."

"Hmm. I can't wait," Kurt muttered before Bernard scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Now... like I was saying. What's with that whole Nameless thing, and why the black colored getup? You look like you're masquerading around with the penal units and..."

Kurt remained silent and glanced away slightly. Bernard frowned slightly, "Wait... you're not... are you?"

Kurt took a deep breath of resignation and reluctantly led his old colleague back toward his tent. There was probably no point in trying to cover up his shame any longer. "Come on. We have a lot to talk about. I've even got food if you're hungry..."

Late the next morning, Kurt and Bernard stood together near the Nameless' tank as the penal unit gathered together for a briefing. As the squad got settled, there was random chatter and speculation among the ranks, "Why do we have to stand around in the cold right now? / Who's the new blonde guy? He's cute. / What hair-brained operation does the Lieutenant expect us to pull off this time?"

Kurt cleared his throat and called his team to order, "All right, listen up everyone! We've got a new assignment. We have orders to attack the nearby city of Walencourt and the key to it is taking a heavily fortified citadel protecting the main approach. For this operation, we're going to be working with Captain Fontaine of Squad 117 who is an old classmate of mine."

Bernard nodded and took over, "The earthworks and walls are formidable so we're going to be sneaking under the Empire's noses and doing demolition work to clear the way for a larger push. Your commander has come up with a very thorough plan to attack the target with alternating movement and covering fire from our rear line artillery."

"A thorough plan? Sounds like our leader to me," Felix Cowley commented wryly to some of his other squadmates nearby.

"We'll go over the details now..."

After laying out the plans of the initial assault that would be carried out the next day, some of the squad stuck around to greet the officer and ask some questions. Naturally, Alfons was the first to start inquiring, "So Captain, you were an old friend of Lt. Irving from school?"

"Ah... I'm not exactly sure friend is the right term," Bernard chuckled, "We certainly weren't enemies. More like rivals. Kurt here seemed a whole lot more interested in being the best officer cadet in Lanseal history and for good reason. He probably was."

"Did he get lost in thought all the time and stress out over the smallest details?" Riela teased gently as Kurt rolled his eyes.

Bernard laughed, "All the time. When we were creating our battle plan the other night, it was like things hadn't changed one bit since our Academy days. But I could never do it quite like you Lieutenant can."

"Oh? Why is that?" Imca asked curiously as she finally spoke up.

Bernard grinned proudly, "Plans are all well and good, but me? I'm a man of action! I need to be on the move! Seize opportunities! And every once in a while..."

He turned and waggled his eyebrows playfully toward Riela to make her blush, "Stop to smell the roses."

Kurt frowned slightly at the exchange and cleared his throat again to restore some order. "Speaking of smelling the roses..."

He glanced over and pointed something out on Bernard's uniform. On the captain's lapel was a large pin with a red rose flower design, "I am curious about something. Colonel Kassen said that you had volunteered for this particular assignment. Why is that?"

Bernard paused and put a hand over the lapel pin self consciously before putting on his cheerful smile again, "Me? Oh... well, I saw a great opportunity so I decided to go all in and jump on it. You can understand that, right?"

Kurt wasn't exactly sure he believed his old classmate but decided not to push any further for now. He gave a shrug, "I guess so. Sure."

"Great! So let's get set and prepare to kick those Imps in the teeth tomorrow!" Bernard exclaimed with renewed confidence before heading off to see to his own squad.

Kurt watched Bernard leave before Felix pumped a fist with a grin, "All right, I'm feeling ready for that attack tomorrow too! Captain Fontaine seems like a pretty cool guy who knows how to fire you up!"

"Yeah. If you say so."

Riela tilted her head with a curious look as she asked quietly, "What's wrong Kurt?"

Imca crossed her arms and added bluntly, "You don't seem to happy to be working with your old classmate?"

He shook his head and put on a neutral expression as he walked back off to his tent, "Never mind girls. It's probably nothing. Let's just focus here and get ready for tomorrow, okay? I have a feeling we'll have a big day ahead of us."