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Quick note: A new section indicates a perspective switch

June 20, 1927

Imperial Capital Berun

"Colonel von Lehrgen," he heard from his door, accompanied by knuckles rapping against wood a few times. It seemed his peaceful morning was over. He glanced at his watch. Eight o'clock exactly. He looked up from his papers.

"Lieutenant Colonel von Degurechaff," he greeted her. Having completed her current assignment in the east, she had been recalled to the capital. "Congratulations on your recent successes," he continued.

The Federation line had been pushed back over a hundred kilometers already, and every day they were gaining more ground. Much of it was due to her decision to smash the supply networks on the very first day of the offensive before the Federation got a chance to dig in and regroup.

"Thank you, sir. Should I offer you congratulations in return?" she asked, fishing for information on his own project.

It was still moving along. After the Empire's recent performance, the Ildoans were ready for a commitment, but there were still many terms to be agreed upon. How many troops the Empire would withdraw from the south and how any territory gains would be split were major points of contention.

"That would be premature," he replied.

Not wanting to let her continue on this topic, he moved on to the official purpose of their meeting. "Any preference on your next assignment? You aren't going to ask for rear-line duty again, I trust?"

The debacle after her request from a year ago was something he hoped to never see repeated. Being stuck in between her and Zettour as the older man loosed his anger, enraged at her obstinate refusal to provide a satisfactory answer as to what she meant by it, had made him want to crawl under his desk.

She cracked a world-weary smile that didn't fit on a face as young as hers.

"We both saw how asking for what I want went last time," she muttered, her expression turning into a frown, "and if you pass along the request again, it might put you in the line of fire with me. Letting an ally fall out of good graces on my behalf would be short-sighted."

...Ally? Did she say ally? In what world were they allies? Aside from wearing the same uniform, few things could be further from the truth.

"I'll do what I can to honor your wishes," he said, noncommittally.

She gave a genuine smile at that. "I don't doubt it, sir."

The slight relief she betrayed on her face along with the expression of trust gave him pause. It was like she really did think they were friends. He had to figure this out.

"I don't believe I've been all too successful in altering the course of your career," he said truthfully, hoping she might volunteer what she thought he'd been doing.

"I appreciate the effort to keep me out of the worst of it because of my age, nonetheless," she said, dipping her head slightly. "Though I hope I haven't given you reason to doubt my ability just because I'm a young girl."

"You are an exceptionally talented soldier," he reassured her before he let himself turn over the meaning of what she'd just said in his mind.

Somehow, by some providential stroke of luck, no one had ever told her. She honestly thought he was trying to help her. He was flooded with relief at the thought that she had no reason to personally antagonize him.

You can use this, he thought, quickly formulating how he should respond. Really, he should tell her the truth. Or at least some version of it. These things always had a way of catching up with you if you didn't. But what then? Utter destruction of whatever working relationship they did have? Mutual distrust and enmity?

Now was not the time for any of that. If it was for the sake of winning the war, wasn't playing along with this deception, no matter that it left a bitter taste in his mouth, no matter that it made him feel like he was no better than she was, using people who'd let their guard down, the better choice?

He kept in the sigh that wanted to escape. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they'd said in the Commonwealth during his time there. If she really trusted him, she might be willing to let the professional mask come off as well. He might finally get the evidence he needed to persuade his superiors of how very dangerous she was. People have a tendency to make mistakes when they're at ease. If he encouraged her delusion, there was a chance he'd witness a moment of weakness.

He doubted he'd get the truth by asking directly. She'd gone to great lengths to disguise her awful nature. Aside from personal curiosity, it would be useful to know how to prevent another anomaly like her from being created again. He might also figure out which branch of psychiatric specialist they'd need to entrust her to after the war. He pitied the doctor that ended up with her case.

"Colonel von Degurechaff," he said, trying to keep his tone even, "I do hope you don't feel the need to keep up appearances for my sake. It's only natural to feel in conflict with orders at times. Please feel free to be candid. It's results that matter and I've yet to meet another soldier so capable of producing them. I would hardly let your talent go to waste over what is discussed in private conversation."

Talking in half-truths didn't sit well with him, it really didn't, but he knew if their places were swapped, she wouldn't hesitate to press her advantage. She considered him carefully for a few moments, and then, to his surprise, she relaxed.

—

Shit. Dammit. I messed up. Tanya kicked herself mentally for letting any image beyond professional soldier slip through. He'd seemed like he might be giving up on his efforts to help her because they weren't getting anywhere.

While I am usually appalled by fruitless labor, even something with a minuscule chance of getting me off the front has to be encouraged. Showing appreciation and subtlety highlighting Tanya's youth had been calculated to send a renewed pang of guilt, but that was all he'd needed to see through the act completely.

While it's nice to have a boss that's intelligent, someone so perceptive can be dangerous. If he's that smart, I'll have to keep on guard even more than usual.

Wait. No. I can use this, she thought, as he finished speaking. How nice it was to find common ground so unexpectedly. It was unbearably annoying being rated on such qualities as patriotism and enthusiasm. Here sat a man with refreshingly modern sensibilities, who knew that her organizational value lay not in how she felt about her duties but in her ability to produce the best outcomes regardless.

If only I'd been allowed to bring along some of my books on how market principles could be used to explain and improve human relationships. It would be a delight to have someone to discuss them with again. It's a shame that my complete collection of Gary Becker's works probably ended up going out with the burnable garbage instead.

Tanya felt she could trust someone like Lehrgen, who not only showed such an astute understanding of the world but was benevolent on top of it. Some amount of honesty on her part could only benefit her. He wouldn't hold a lack of enthusiasm for fighting on the front against her. In fact, if she showed how much she really hated it, it might make him double down on his efforts to remove her from it.

I don't particularly like being pitied, but if it keeps me alive, I'm all for it. I let some of the soldierly stiffness ease out. I have to keep in a small laugh, though, at the thought of what his reaction would be to real candidness.

Hello, Colonel von Lehrgen. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I was once a Japanese businessman a bit older than yourself. I'm from the future of a slightly alternate timeline. I am here on account of an argument with a supernatural entity that believes itself to be God. Care to join the fight? I can't offer compensation or benefits, but the experience will look great on your resume.

Well, if he heard something like that, he'd probably drag me directly to a psychiatric hospital. Not that I would blame him. If temporary insanity could get me off the front, I might be willing to try it. Unfortunately, that level of disconnect with reality would likely result in my next sixty years being spent locked in an asylum.

—

"So," Lehrgen continued, "what sort of role would you prefer to have?" She considered for a moment.

"I'd take your job if I could," she said with a laugh. Was she…threatening him? Maybe she had no reason to specifically hate him, but he doubted that would stop her if she felt he was in her way. "Training," she said, after a short pause.

"Training? You want me to recommend the most effective group of soldiers in this entire army as an instructing unit?" She was definitely trying to get him removed from the General Staff, if not dishonorably discharged from the army itself.

She stiffened up again and he remembered that he had to play at accommodating her. "If you can come up with a reason that sounds plausible, I am willing to consider it," he relented.

"The problem is precisely that my unit is so effective," she said steadily, looking him in the eye.

"Go on," he encouraged.

"It's unsustainable to have to rely on a single battalion. If we want to effectively make use of my Kampfgruppe idea, we'll need other commanders and other units capable of forming them."

He had to concede she had a point there. "You'd like to train other aerial mage units to do the same," he concluded.

"I'd like to recommend that Captain Weiss be in charge of leading the 203rd in training the other mages. He has proven to be capable of command," she replied.

After meeting Weiss, Lehrgen could agree that the man had talent, but if Weiss was leading the training, that left the officer in front of him with nothing to do.

"And if that is left to him, what will you be doing?" he asked.

"You can't always expect mages to form the core of the Kampfgruppen, there aren't enough of us. I will oversee the instruction of any non-mage units who are thought to be likely prospects," she responded promptly.

And that will take you away from the lines, Lehrgen thought. Mages were in scarce supply so were often close to action, but other troops were rotated away from the front as often as possible to avoid fatigue.

"Your proposal has merits," he told her, "though I'm still not sure now is the time for this."

"Sir, if I may, if not now, then when? What use is there until waiting until the war is over? Events are going in our favor for now, should we not take advantage of the lull?" She was right, she was right, of course she was right, it seemed like she was always right.

"I will support your proposal, then," he said, and she gave a happy smile and then a…bow? Why was she bowing to him? This was weird. They were in the military, not at a court function. She straightened and didn't seem to think anything of it.

"May I make an additional request?"

"You may," he said.

"Please allow my adjutant to accompany me," she asked.

"Very well." She gave a nod. Lehrgen wondered if Lieutenant Serebryakov hadn't become something of an older sister figure to Degurechaff. He could only hope that the older girl would rub off on her.

"I can't promise you won't be pulled from training immediately if the situation changes," he warned.

"Understood, sir. I think I have demonstrated that my unit is capable of being called up at a moment's notice," she said, a touch of pride leaking into her voice.

"You should receive your orders within the week. Dismissed." With a precise salute she turned on her heel and strode out.

He was left to wonder over why she was so adamantly trying to avoid being sent back to the front. Maybe she was growing up, he mused. Maybe what had seemed like a game to a child was no longer so entertaining now that she understood what she was involved in. But had she ever given any indication she wasn't completely cognizant of the reality? She'd never been childish in the first place.

Maybe she was simply looking for a way to prolong the war. It seemed the more successful the Empire was, the more nations joined in on the other side. Perhaps Degurechaff was concerned that if she was kept too long on the dangerous areas of the front, she wouldn't live long enough to see the conflagration burn up the entire world.

He lit a cigarette and tried to drop his train of thought. Everyone else seemed to accept that she was abnormal and move on without giving it further consideration. He should try to do the same.

A/N

Hooray, real plot finally starts! I tried to get through writing the setup chapters as quickly as I could to make it less painful. Thank you for bearing with me :) I wish I could promise to continue updating as frequently but unfortunately I did not win the last Powerball drawing so I have to like...work.

Hopefully Tanya's first/third person isn't too confusing to follow. The LN does it so I tried. When things are action-based, she is usually referred to in the third person. When the action is only in Tanya's head, it often reverts to first-person, which is more her internal, Salaryman persona still maintaining separation between itself and Tanya as a physical entity. To me she's almost irrationally averse to letting her Tanya identity merge into his/her overall sense of identity, but presumably that's a facet of her ongoing fight with Being X.