December 31, S.1204

Noble Alliance Camp, west of Heimdallr, Empire of Erebonia...

General Aurelia Le Guin of the Lamare Provincial Army looked on from her Panzer Soldat as the enormous tower that had risen over Heimdallr fizzled and faded away, the dark clouds gathering over the capital dissipating with it. By now, night was falling.

Brigadier General Wallace Bardias, whose troops had regrouped with hers, joined by remnant stragglers from the Provincial Army units stationed within the city and Imperial Guardsmen stationed at Karel Imperial Villa.

"I think that's all the units we can recover," Bardias reported. "If they're not coming by now- they're probably not coming at all."

Le Guin sighed as she looked at the Pantagruel and remaining Noble Alliance airships hovering overhead. "Still too few. And no word from the Duke or Rufus?"

"Nope- what move shall we play next, I wonder?"

"I'm sure our little mastermind has some idea..."

As if on cue, Aurelia's radio buzzed, and she let a small grin come to her face as she realized who was calling. She excused herself from Bardias scooted across the field in her Soldat until she could get better reception.

"Good to hear from you, my lady. I trust you are alright?"

"I think so. I admit the giant castle thing caught me totally off-guard. It must have been like the tree in Crossbell, but to think it could suck the mana from so many people..." The young female voice on the other end sounded a bit shaky. "But enough about me. How are your forces holding up?"

"The truce with the Imperial Army is holding, but we haven't let our guard down. No word from Duke Cayenne, Chief of Staff Rufus Albarea, or Miss Clotilde either."

"I'm afraid I just had a word with Miss Clotilde. She came to help restore my mana. As I feared, the duke... seems to have fallen victim to his own arrogance- he won't be coming back. And apparently, Rufus Albarea is a traitor, a double agent planted by the Chancellor to undermine the Alliance. And the Blood-and-Iron Chancellor himself is still alive."

"I see... then things are much more dire than I had thought. It seems your suspicions were correct. Any advice, my lady?"

"I thought there was something fishy about his apparent 'death', but I could never figure out just how he did it," The voice mused. "I'd like for you to take over as Acting-Supreme Commander, General."

"My, and not you?"

"Not now, I'm afraid. There are still some things I need to... take care of in the Empire. That just might tip things in our favor. Will you be the public face of the Alliance?"

"I suppose I can do that... What of our armies?"

"Strategically, you should retreat west and hold the line there. With the east having fallen, the Imperial Army will have an advantage for some time, but it won't last long. I believe the Chancellor will probably divert a lot of forces east to occupy Crossbell before Calvard can seize the opportunity. It will be time that the Lamare and Sutherland provincial armies can use to regroup and reorganize, recruit and rearm. I've also talked to Vita so we may be able to receive more help from Ouroboros, as well as look into bringing in more Jaegers."

"I see," Le Guin nodded grimly. "I'll do the best I can, my lady."

"Thank you, General. And good luck."