8/31 0345 hours, London, Earth, Sol System
"OZPIN YOU GODAMN TOMMY BASTARD WAKE THE BLOODY FUCKING HELL UP"
King John XXXVI of the United Kingdom and it's Galactic Empire of Commonwealth Nations and Planets was not given to religion. That said, voices in one's head do not usually cuss one out, especially when one is the King of one of the four largest superpowers in the Galaxy.
"Good. Jesus, wake up sooner next time. F.E.S.N.C. is active. They're about to nuke you and everyone else, including themselves off the face of the planet. Get yourself and your government into CGWHQ in the next fifteen minutes or you're dead. Oh, codename 00 Crow. Churchwitch said you'd recognize that."
His Prime Minister had once told him that if a crow ever talked to him, he needed to do exactly as it said. That said, he never expected that to actually occur. So the first thing he did was call Glynda Churchill. "I have received a report indicating the French Earth Strategic Nuclear Command is active and preparing launch procedures from an operative calling himself 00 Crow. He appears to have the ability to speak from within my head. He knew a red level codename."
Glynda Goodwitch Churchill (by marriage) sighed into the receiver of her scroll. "I got the same call. I was hoping I was wrong. You know the drill."
The British Home Office was inside Central Government War Headquarters in 13 minutes. In approximately 14 and a half minutes, most of the commonwealth governments were also within their respective bunkers, with the notable exception of the Canadian, Indonesian, and Australian Governments. Orders went out, and the great apparatus of the British Galactic Empire of Commonwealth of Nations and Planets, it's Royal Stellar Navy, Marines, and Army, and the largest strategic nuclear arsenal on Earth, began to prepare for renewed hostilities,
The French Nuclear Arsenal was the second largest on Earth. They pushed their button, and every spaceport, train station, port, and major military installation in the world went up in nuclear fire. That said, the other three nation superpowers made damn sure they took the French holdings with them. The City of Lights became the "City of Light" as four hundred megaton missiles killed over five hundred million people. Nearly all life on the surface of the planet was extinguished within a month.
When the Angel known as Salem of the Missionaries had contacted Emperor Napoleon LXVI (often called the Glorious), the French had been skeptical in the extreme. Many had called her a devil spawn, an extraterrestrial, and worse. Then she had handed them the dust generators, capable of driving a ship through a hundred jumps of a million light years or more before needing refueling, a communications system that moved faster than light, and outlined a plan to bring Catholicism to everyone in the galaxy. No devil spawn would aid them in such a way. She had suggested only that they kill all those people born with silver eyes, a sign of demonic possession.
If that was the price for galactic domination, it was a price the French were more than willing to pay. With the blessing of the Pope and a living, physically tangible angel, the time for the Seventh Crusade was upon them.
Codenamed Opération Accablant Fidélité (overwhelming faith), the surprise attack upon the Union of Soviet Socialist Space Republics, the British Galactic Empire of Commonwealth Nations and Planets, and Imperial Japan, remains the greatest operation in the history of man. It is estimated nearly 45 billion people were involved, nearly the entire Grande Armée. It affected everyone in the Galaxy, and though a census was never held, it is estimated from records surviving the era that that totaled out to approximately a quadrillion sentient life forms. This operation, unrivaled in the whole of history, was carried out in total secrecy, using the FTLcom system. Ships would be ordered to a warp point, then directed individually to each enemy position. This system of ships and handlers was entirely new, devised by Emperor Napoleon the Glorious. No force had ever attempted it before, and it allowed for an entirely new method of command. All decisions were centralized, allowing for real strategic command and redeployment. Only 103 people in the entirety of the French Empire were actually aware of the plan, the hundred ship handlers stationed on Sunbase Omega, Napoleon himself, Salem, and her personal Lieutenant, Cinder Fall. This made reacting to new situations slow and cumbersome, but during the Half Year War which followed Opération Accablant Fidélité, it proved that what it lost in tactical flexibility, it made up for in total secrecy, extreme firepower concentration, and strategic initiative. During the Operation, it was key. After the destruction of Earth, the French Fifteenth, Sixth, Fourth, and First fleets combined and annihilated all resistance within the Sol System. With the massive antiship missile resources of Earth neutralized, the ships had near free rein.
After establishing their HQ, the fleets each struck out, smashing core worlds and eliminating resistance. Due to the imposition of the Black Fleet and Admiral Schnee, and with them most of the AustroRussian heavy firepower, the AustroRussian forces under Premier Ironwood pulled back to the Fortress System of Atlas, parking 400 ships in and around the system while ferrying in enough labor to build the Starbases that would protect them against countless attackers in the years that followed. The nature of the Commonwealth, it's sprawl, low urbanization, and relatively autonomous government, meant that it was easy to control. That said, while overall the commonwealth wasn't urban, the few city planets it had made a point. It cost the Commando Marines of the Sixth Fleet nearly a million casualties to take control of Oum-4, capital of the sector containing Remnant. The British might be easy to control, but they remained British, willing to fight in their own small ways. The bulldog spirit never went away, it only grew frustrated under the French rule.
8/30 2415 hours Greenwich time- Deep Space, near the Remnant System
Lord General Admiral Wilhelm Schnee of the Union of Soviet Socialist Space Republics was having a very bad day. The French Fifteenth Fleet had managed escape his Black Fleet by making a triple jump to a total backwater more than a thousand light years from any major outpost. He had lost them until they exited hyperspace, then lost precious minutes double checking their apparent suicide. The Remnant System of the British Royal Commonwealth had nothing in the way of refueling stations, and modern fleets could only make four jumps before running out of fuel. Thus he was forced to jump to a refueling station and spend 8 hours refueling. Upon arriving, he had discovered that the French had landed on the planet, attempting to force his fleet to waste enough fuel to keep them on the planet. He turned to his telescreen, where several of his captains waited in terrified silence. Despite having been born speaking German, his Russian was perfect, without a hint of the heavy accent his youngest still displayed.
"They landed on the planet. That is the only possibility. We will launch a party to confirm this and pacify the planet. Winter, you have orbital command, remain in orbit aboard the Katyusha, and prep for planetary bombardment."
Her eyes widened considerably. "Nuclear bombardment is hardly-"
He cut her off. "Those ships must be found and destroyed. There will be no French survivors. Weiss, take your squadron down there and find those ships. Pacify the planet while you're at it."
Weiss looked coolly through her telescreen. "As you wish." She paused, then spoke in German. "Shall I leave the tommies alive?"
Wilhelm smiled. He had not misjudged when he promoted Weiss to Vice Admiral. He replied in Russian, challenging her further. "Those that will swear allegiance to the Premier may live."
She bowed low, her head nearly leaving the picture. "As you command."
He switched off the screen and turned to his captain. "Prepare to jump for Moscow-IV. Signal the fleet."
The Black Fleet of the U.S.S.S.R. turned, 300 of the largest, heaviest, spacecraft ever designed, and leaped into hyperspace, leaving 16 ships behind. All but one began the descent towards the tiny planet of Remnant-5. The most feared force in history's inaugural battle was to be a slaughter.
8/31 0000 hours Greenwich time, Town of Patch, Vale Principality, Remnant-5
The big idea of this section is: The current balance of power in the twenty second century is a direct result of the First World War, fought from 1892-1900. It established Catholic Napoleonic France, The Atheist Communist USSR (later USSSR), Shinto Imperial Japan, and the Protestant Republican United Kingdom as the premier states in the world. After the discovery of cold nuclear fusion in the early twentieth century, these divisions determined the course of the space race. Colonial armies formed during this period persist to this day in the form of the Royal Stellar Army and Minutemen.
Ruby sighed to herself as the recording clicked off, her "reading assignment" finished for the night, thinking about the Royal Stellar Army and the effect it had on her family. Her mother had died putting down the Great Insurgency, her father had fought so long he needed to drink nearly every day. Her step uncle and step sister were in now, acting as guardsmen on some fringe world called Mar Sara. Her sister had wanted to join the Royal Marines, but they were almost decommissioned at this point. She chuckled to herself, glancing at the many painted RSAS figures that decorated her sisters shelves. Her father barely noticed, but both his daughters were a crack shot with most civilian weapons and capable pilots, mechanics, and drivers. Ruby slipped off to sleep, thinking about Yang.
0300 hours Greenwich time, Town of Patch, Vale Principality, Remnant-5
Ruby was forced into wakefulness, her hololenses buzzing from her bedside. She groaned, reached over, and dragged them onto her face. The voice that came through was blurry. "Ruby? Hello?"
Ruby smiled and opened her eyes. It was Pyrrha. "What's up? Did you and Jaune get stranded somewhere and again?"
Pyrrha's face was hesitant, and the redhead ignored her jibe entirely. "Have you been outside recently?"
Ruby looked at her hololenses quizzically. "Pyrrha, it's 3 a.m. What on earth are you doing outside right now?
She didn't answer, only pointed her hololenses at the sky. "Is that what I think it is?"
Ruby was suddenly wide awake, pounding her way to the window, tearing off her hololenses, staring at the sky. It was lit up, huge glowing trails leading back from the unmistakable sight of ships entering the Remnan atmosphere without using the main entry vector on the opposite side of the planet. Shaking with fear instead of cold, she placed her hololenses back on her face. "Hold call." The call deferred, bringing up her rose themed background. "Message young royal scouts regiment 540 emergency number, message follows in five seconds." She exhaled, preparing her message as she walked towards her closest.
Then the tone came. Ruby spoke quickly, words drilled into her by years of practice spilling out of her mouth like spent ammunition as she threw on her combat gear. "Captain Summer Rose to all scouts. Enemy or unidentified fleet in the atmosphere and on attack vector for Mistral or Vacuo. The local militia and minutemen will need help. The armory will be at the corner of fourth street and main, mobilize to that location. Speeders will be available as well. Begin evacuation protocols 1-4 and 6. Global situation unknown, CCT's are up. If it's the enemy, they'll hit hard, hit fast, and leave no survivors. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. Hololenses, send message, priority red. Add recipients, Gold Winchester, Gem Arc." With the militia commander, mayor, and lead Minutewoman informed, she had done everything she could. She could feel the fear and panic sneaking in, but she still had to get the half of "armory" not aboard her ship out of her house and get the speeders. The ringtone was separated from the usual ones, so hopefully most of the scouts would wake upon receiving it. She opened her door and almost ran into her father, who was moving the other way.
Taiyang grabbed her and steadied himself. "I heared. Ish that bad, kiddo?" She could smell think drink on him still. Ruby nodded silently. He reacted quickly, moving to open the gunsafe, speaking over his shoulder, most of his intoxication somehow gone. "Get dressed, get your museum pieces, get the keys to Summer's Wing. We leave in 55 seconds."
The minuteman initiative was a revolutionaries originally, but they were now integral to the defense of the Royal Dominion, and her father had been a member since he left active duty, nearly 20 years prior. She sprinted down the hall, nearly knocking the door off its hinges. She grabbed her Mauser rifle, her PRTD-41, and threw her FN MAG out the open window, wrapped in ammunition belts. She ran down the hall, watching her father throw Ak-47s and Scar-H's out the window and holster his antique service revolver and FN FAL. As she sprinted out the door she behold her pride and joy, Summer's Wing, a modified hauler she had rebuilt from the ground up after crashing while learning to fly. It held the speeder bikes the YRS had available, as well as all their remaining civilian weaponry. The minutemen had some laser weapons and modern rifles, but because Remnant-5 was an unimportant backwater agriworld, they were not nearly well equipped enough to deal with what she assumed were Japanese shock troopers. She wasn't sure why they were hitting here, but the fleet still falling through the atmosphere was easily 15 ships. Even as she loaded into the ship and lifted it a few inches off the ground using her hololenses, she realized that there was no reason for the attack. Even with a couple billion soldiers on the fortress planet of Citr, the French Navy had only used 500 ships. There were under 200 million civilians on all of Remnant-5. To attack with 15 ships, and not just one, signified a serious military blunder, or extenuating circumstances. Her father jumped aboard the ship only seconds later, and she fired up the main engine, it's roar filling the night. She floored the accelerator even as she slid into the pilot's seat, sending waves of heat and force washing across their two story prefab home.
Little did she know that it was the last time she would see the house intact.
When they arrived in Patch Ruby circled the town once at Mach 2, then set the ship down on the corner of Fourth and Main. She could see CRDL, CFY, and JNPR squads waiting, along with around twenty noncombat members. She dropped the ramp and watched the well oiled machine she had helped create go to work in near silence. The squads stood guard while the other scouts unloaded the speeders they would use to direct the evacuation, along with a pile of bolt action rifles for self defense and to prevent looting. Pyrrha looked confident, Ren looked tired, Nora looked excited, and Jaune looked lost. Normal JNPR. CRDL were looking out of their depth, she would have to talk to Cardin and make sure they were combat ready. CFY was in their element, directing traffic and checking weapons as they were unloaded. Taiyang strapped on his service issued blast armor, the red plates painted with the yellow highlights of a Sargent. As soon as the guns and speeders were unloaded, the squads climbed aboard. Ruby took off 35 seconds after the minuteman troop transport, but the Summer's Wing was faster, by a noticeable amount. The squads stayed quiet as they loaded their weapons and checked their gear, the reality of the situation weighing on everyone. As Ruby roared over the outskirts of the city, the radio filled with chatter.
Ruby reached over, grabbed the dial and rolled it to Air Traffic control. "This is the Young Royal Scouts Regiment 540 actual. Permission to land on strip four? Over."
The radio responded immediately. "Belay that, Captain Rose. Lieutenant Port wants eyes on the enemy. You have the fastest YRS ship, get the hell over to ground zero. Vale YRS regiments 539, 538, and 529 will follow in the next hour. Radio frequency alpha 9 3 gamma is intelligence till the end of the op. Good luck, over."
The Summer's Wing exploded into noise as all three squad leaders, Nora, and Taiyang all started talking at once. Ruby threw the ship into a hard turn, using the G-forces to quiet them. Then she activated the radio. "Clear Copy command, switching to alpha 9 3 gamma now. Please advise of enemy coordinates, over."
The tense silence in the ship held as she received the coordinates and shut off the radio transmission. Setting the ship to autopilot, she turned in her seat, glaring at the group. "Orders are orders people. No argument. We are the Scouts, we will scout. Clear?" They nodded, and her father winced a little.
"Good." She sat back, glancing at her instruments. "Prep for a stealth insertion. I'm going to attempt to tail them once they level off."
0315 hours Greenwich time, upper atmosphere of Remnant-5
Weiss was standing on the bridge of the Mortal Knight when the Frogs opened fire. Three 457 mm shells streaked out the atmosphere, fired around the curvature of the planet. Obviously a single gunboat attempting to distract her, but still annoying. A rippling impact swept the side of the True Eagle, and the Knight shuddered from the impact.
Weiss smiled, a predatory glint appearing in her eye as she pressed her communication button. "Vice Admiral Schnee to all ships; Fire at will." She paused for a second, feeling the roar of Fifth Squadron's massed 39 railgun barrage echo through her bones. "Navigator, signalman, inform Katyusha of the enemy's location. 10 megatons should do it."
The signalman shuddered, probably at the ease with which she ordered the use of bombardment. She let that go, but not, the mutter about "crazy Schnees" in Bavarian.
Weiss drew her pistol, leaning over her command console to press it against his head. "Was that a mutter of disloyalty I heard? It would be a shame to have to kill such a useful officer."
He froze. "No Ma'am, I sneezed. My apologies."
She smiled again, placing the Makarov back in it's thigh holster. "Then you have nothing to apologize for. Get back to work."
He exhaled and typed in the rest of the coordinates. Then he frowned. "Incoming call from Katyusha bridge."
Weiss sighed. "Put her on."
Her sister's face filled the screen. "Weiss-"
Weiss cut her off without missing a beat. "Captain Saakashvili, open fire. That is a direct order, treat it as one."
The Captain's face was flat as he turned to his instruments and did his job. Winter's face was flushed and angry. "You cannot simp-"
Weiss silenced her with a look, bringing her father's favorite glare out full force. Her accent made her Russian nearly unintelligible to anyone not familiar with both languages. "Winter. I am following orders. You will follow orders, or I will have you thrown in the brig." Weiss hung up.
Her radar operator turned away from his screens, his face ashen. "The missile is away."
Weiss smiled again. She had been doing that a great deal recently, for some reason.
0318 hours Greenwich time, 2000 feet above the surface of Remnant-5
The flash lit up the horizon. It was blinding, overwhelming. The French Gunboat Achéron, sacrificed in the opening gambit to Opération Accablant Fidélité, had been destroyed by the Fifth Squadron's opening shot. The city of Mistral, housing just over five million souls, was subjected to nuclear fire without any warning besides a general mobilization. The that civilians died in their sleep turned out to be the lucky ones.
The Frenchmen died thinking they had helped bring down the U.S.S.S.R.
They were right, but it was only temporary. A new age had dawned for the Galaxy, and a new Tsarina would lead the way.
In a ship sitting on the horizon, and new light grew out of the cockpit, out of the eyes of a girl who was far more then human.
A/N; Hello everyone! This fic is weird as all hell, but I can't stop making shit up, so here goes. Pairings will happen and have already been determined, have fun guessing. Thank you for reading, and please shoot me a pm here or on reddit if you are interested in betaing. This story is in desperate need of feedback, reviewsare absolutely key here.