Cordelia looked across the river at Castle Gassenarl. The formidable fortress seemingly taunting them with all of the Imperial Soldiers stationed there.
It was the crown jewel in Borg's treasury of treason. What better prize than the ancestral home of your major political rival after all?
Cordelia turned to Welkin, who was standing beside her. "As expected. The front door is heavily guarded," she remarked.
Welkin hummed. "Thank goodness Audrey knows and remembers every secret passage in the place. That'll tip the balance."
Cordelia hummed. "I hope that they haven't closed them off," she murmured before handing him a pair of binoculars. "See you on the inside."
Welkin nodded and watched the Princess take her squad into the brush that surrounded one of the secret entrances. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he still harboured concerns about her fighting, but he could not deny that she had become one of their best fighters. He could not dwell on it for long though, as he had to distract the enemy and complete the battle before the Federal Troops began their own attack in five hours.
Giving a sharp whistle, he mentally thanked the defectors for bringing their mortars as they unleashed as much fire as they could before the main attack.
Cordelia heard the dull thuds as mortar rounds began tearing into the Imperial troops. She knew that every Imperial drawn to the sound would be one less that she and her team would fight, but she hoped that Welkin's forces wouldn't be overwhelmed.
However, she couldn't think long on it as they soon encountered troops and began to fight. Idly, she noted that they were near the Gassenarl vaults but she paid little heed to it as her concentration was entirely consumed with the firefight.
Later sources would debate what happened next. What is known, however, is that Cordelia rushed to an alcove ahead of her position, but she only made it halfway. Whether the bullet that struck her came from the enemy or was a stray shot from her squad is a question that will never be answered. What happened next, however, turned the tide of the war and the future of Gallia forever.
As the Princess fell to her knees, clutching her chest and faintly hearing her squad's cries, a blue flame engulfed her. It became so bright that no one was able to look at her for a time, but when they did, the Imperial troops who had been fighting were burned to a crisp. Yet, somehow, this flame still encompassed the Princess and, barring her gunshot wound, she looked relatively untouched.
Faldio rushed to her side, mind racing. He had heard the stories, as had every Gallian child, but he had never expected there to be any truth to the myths and legends. "Princess!" he called out.
As Cordelia slumped to the ground, she faintly heard Faldio call for her. She wanted to reply, to be strong for everyone, but her battle with consciousness was turning against her rapidly. He just entered her vision as her eyes slipped shut and her world faded away.
Outside, in the courtyard, Welkin had no idea as to the status of Cordelia or her squad. He had his hands full with a large number of Imperial troops holding them in a bottleneck. Edelweiss had been brought out for this battle and he was glad, since the Empire didn't station Anti-Tank weapons at Castle Gassenarl, the Gallians could hide behind them.
A loud roar from the heavens drew his and everyone else's attention skywards. There, a flying machine, more advanced than the plans Theimer had left Isara, flew surrounded by a dozen smaller craft. Suddenly, he saw several specks fall from the large craft and he gasped in horror as they came closer to the ground as he could then make out that they were, in fact, people. The lead person pulled something on his pack and a cloth of some size deployed and started to slow him down.
The other specks followed suit and unslung rifles from their shoulders and began firing upon the Imperials. Welkin, sensing an opportunity, ordered the Gallians to focus and they began to use the confusion of the flying men to make headway in clearing out the courtyard. Isara turned to him as she fired another High Explosive shell into the crowd of Imperials. "Looks like the Yanks have come," she remarked.
Welkin hummed. "Let's hope they can stick around and help us."
Another shell found its mark among Imperial infantry as Isara hummed in agreement. They mopped up the remainder of the Imperials quickly thereafter and Welkin approached the Vinnish soldiers tending to their wounded. The one who seemed to be in charge noticed and met him. "Lieutenant Wilkins, United States of Vinland 101st Airborne Infantry Division. Would I be correct in assuming that you are a member of the Gallian Resistance?"
Welkin nodded, "You would be correct, I'm one of the cell leaders, Welkin Gunther."
The Lieutenant nodded, "Excellent, even in Vinland, we've heard of your father's exploits and our Armor Regiments practically worship him, his drill manuals being their bibles." he mentioned, not seeing the grimace on Welkin's face, "In any case, Ambassador Rook will want a word with you regarding our future assistance. I never really understood diplomats myself but I trust their judgement."
Welkin nodded and bit his cheek, hoping that their assistance wouldn't cost Gallia too much.
As it happened, Welkin thought he was being taken for a fool. "That's it?" he exclaimed. "Equivalent Education Standards? Something that Gallia had been achieving in part for fifteen years? Just get our country back and get the other five percent of other classes up to snuff?"
Ambassador Rook shrugged. "Congress made it abundantly clear to the President, even though it was unnecessary, that we were not an Imperialist or Colonialist power, nor did the people support such measures. Moreover, the people made it clear that they felt strongly about the Invasions. When Congress floated an idea of intervention, all of or branches of the military saw a nearly tenfold explosion in recruitment."
Lieutenant Wilkins nodded. "There are over two hundred thousand soldiers prepared to storm ten proposed beachheads with millions more ready to reinforce once the beachheads and landings have been completed."
Welkin raised an eyebrow. "And how many would come to Gallia? And how can we be assured that it won't be another occupation?"
Ambassador Rook sighed. "Every time that Vinland has intervened between powers in the past, we have never had to use armed force. Furthermore, we have never imposed our will upon those we are intervening for," he replied before rubbing his chin. "It is likely that my Government will make demands of the Federation and the Empire upon victory, but I highly doubt that we would make any that would conflict with your own."
Welkin rubbed his brow, he really wasn't cut out for this sort of thing. "I'll pass it along to my Captain and Princess Cordelia," he replied.
Ambassador Rook's eyebrows shot up. "The Princess is alive?" he questioned, receiving a nod in reply. "That simplifies matters, we'll just announce that her government is the legitimate government and that it is still alive and that will take care of any concerns about negotiating with rebels."
Welkin thought it was rather ironic coming from the Ambassador whose country wouldn't exist without rebels but chose not to comment on it. However, before either of them could accomplish their tasks, Alicia rushed over to them. "Welkin!" she shouted, "Something's happened to the infiltration team. Faldio needs you right now!"
Welkin raised an eyebrow and hurriedly followed Alicia into the main Castle Hold. Weaving through the halls, she lead him to the Gassenarl Family Vault and showed him in.
Inside was a state of anxiety he had only felt from Graduate Students taking their last finals in classes they weren't doing well in. Medics stood off to one side while Faldio gripped one of the display cases as if it was the only thing keeping him upright. Deciding to get the story from his friend first, Welkin walked over to him and helped him to a chair. "What happened Faldio?"
Faldio groaned. "So much," he murmured, pausing to catch his breath. "The Princess was shot." he began.
Welkin spun around and looked at the Medics, "WHAT?" he shouted.
Faldio reached out and sharply gripped Welkin's arm. "I'm not finished." he retorted. "Cordelia was shot, but it seems that the stories about the Royal Family being descended from the ancient Valkrur were at least partly true as blue flame shot from her and struck the Imperials fighting us," he said before grimacing. "There weren't so much as ashes left of them." he grimly remarked.
Welkin slumped against his chair's back. But what Faldio said next paralyzed him. "We're lucky that the flames preserved her dignity because her wig burned away."
Welkin blinked several times. "W-wig?" he asked.
Faldio nodded. "Yes, turns out her natural hair colour is blue."
Welkin knew what that meant. Their Princess was a Valkyria and a Darcsen. So he did the only thing he could. He fainted.
Well over a thousand miles away from Castle Gassenarl, an officer stood on the deck of a Battleship. Within sight was the island of Delfziji, the closest substantial island of the Atlantic Federation to the United States of Vinland, though that wasn't saying much since it was well over ten thousand miles away. Behind him, a Petty Officer approached. "Battleline has reported in Admiral. We are ready to begin on your orders."
The Admiral turned. "Are the Aircraft Carriers ready?" he asked.
The Petty Officer nodded. "Carriers Yorktown and Enterprise are prepared to launch strike packages, Constitution and Republic stand ready to launch mixed squadrons with defensive fighters launching first."
The Admiral nodded. "Then let Operation: Crusader begin."
The Petty Officer saluted and rushed off to give the signal. As one, the twenty Battleships of the Vinnish fleet opened fire with their primary weapons. One hundred and eighty shells fired from the guns of the fourteen-inch guns of the fleet while the five remaining ships fired their sixteen-inch guns, sending sixty shells at the Federation.
And so they fired, for over an hour and a half they fired without pause. By the twentieth minute, various five and six-inch guns of the fleet began joining in from secondary batteries aboard the battleships or the primary armament of the fifty light cruisers or eighty destroyers when it became clear that the Federation wasn't responding yet with their own fleets. After eighty minutes passed, Vinnish Soldiers finished saying prayers, writing farewell letters home or otherwise making peace with the fact that they might well die in the next few hours. When the ramps went down at minute ninety, the beaches became Hell and men charged through the gates of Hell in droves for victory.
On the other side of the planet, in the Imperial Pacific holdings, a similar attack unfolded.
Operation Crusader had begun.