Chapter 9:
June 2028, Berlin Germany
Jaune Arc sighed as he sat on a bench, quietly reflecting the past six months. First his family dies, then he gets dragged into the fight against the GLA under the Wolfsrudel until about a month ago when the Chinese army, who came to Europe's aid, manage to expunge the GLA from Germany, but not without long reaching consequences.
He didn't know much of this world, but he knew that the loss of a city like Hamburg under nuclear hellfire that he could see at night in Berlin wasn't something that should ever happen. Then with all the radiation and chemical fallout from both the Chinese and GLA weapons massive cleanup efforts were underway, but Jaune had overheard that it would take decades before it was fully cleaned up, at best.
During his time under the Wolfsrudel, Jaune had made a name for himself as 'Das Panzerknacker' or 'the armor breaker' for taking out so many GLA tanks with the Panzerfaust 3 that he got. However, while others celebrated the defeat of the GLA, Jaune simply felt disgusted with himself. He didn't want to know how many people he sent to the afterlife, only knowing it was in the hundreds. His only conciliation was that he did it to protect himself and those around him, which still felt hollow to him.
But alas, his time fighting had seemingly come to an end, and he was now sitting on a bench outside a makeshift orphanage, as he was still 15 years old and without anyone to go to. He saw some Chinese aid workers handing food out to the younger children, who seemed hollow from the children Jaune knew back on Remnant. He sighed; these kids lost their families like him, only at a younger age.
"If only this fighting didn't happen, they would have their families," Jaune muttered to himself, unaware of someone standing behind him.
"Ja, tis a tragedy that so many children are without family," a accented male voice said. Jaune jumped and turned around, facing a tall man with brown hair, fair skin, and wearing a pair of glasses with a grey uniform that Jaune learned belonged to officers of the German Army.
"Ah, sir," Jaune hastily snapped a salute, the habit ingrained when he served with regular German army officers and later Chinese officers, who demanded subordinates salute them. The older man shook his head.
"At ease son," the man said, and Jaune assumed what he could recall was a parade rest, only for the man to sigh. "You're a civilian, you needn't act like a soldier, so please, be at ease." Jaune put his hands to his side.
"Um, what are you doing here sir?" Jaune asked, his curiosity about why a German officer was here at an orphanage.
"I came to check on the orphanage, make sure the children are well cared for," the officer said. "That and I was looking for someone that a volunteer told me about."
"Oh, who are you looking for?" Jaune inquired before pausing, realizing he didn't know who he was talking to. "Um, sir, what is your name?"
"Ah, well, my name is General Wolfgang-Maximillian von Kuerten," the officer answered, causing Jaune to remember a discussion a few members of the Wolfsrudel having. Apparently, Wolfgang was well liked in Germany because a few years ago, he refused direct orders to mobilize his armored units when Bavaria seceded from Germany. Most in the Wolfsrudel looked up to the General, as his was a fair and compassionate man to his countrymen, and was willing to defy orders if they would cause unnecessary deaths.
"Crap, sorry General, I didn't recognize you!" Jaune yelped, realizing suddenly he was in the presence of a General. "I'm not from this country you see, and I-"
"Calm yourself young man, I care not for my rank as all it has done is caused me to be buried underneath a pile of paperwork," Gen. Wolfgang said. "Besides, I was told to find a Jaune Arc by Frank Jaeger, who is signing up to join the Bundeswehr."
"Um, why are you looking for me sir?" Jaune asked, worried he fucked up somehow during his time in the Wolfsrudel. Wolfgang looked at Jaune for a moment before chuckling.
"Don't worry Mr. Arc, he told me about your situation, how you lost your family in Berlin to those GLA dogs," Wolfgang said, snarling at the mention of the GLA. "He asked me to help you out, as despite not being German and not needing to fight, you still shed sweat and blood in defense of the Fatherland."
Jaune didn't say anything, as he quite honestly thought he didn't do anything to merit any kind of aid after the war. There were several others who could use the General's aid more, such as Hans who lost his left arm due to a GLA sniper. What help did an other-worldly kid like himself deserve from a General who probably had bigger responsibility?
"Why?" Jaune asked quietly. Wolfgang saw the sadness in Jaune's eyes and his frame. He rested a hand on Jaune's shoulder.
"While it might seem odd, you are clearly out of your depth, with no one to turn to, and no one to trust in. You have no money to buy what you may need, no family to take you in, and frankly no skills outside of fighting to help you out," Wolfgang outlined. "Frank told me that without you knocking out the GLA's tanks as well as you did, the Wolfsrudel could've collapsed under the weight of the GLA's relentless assault, or be forced to abandon the elderly, the children, and the mothers that they were protecting."
"Therefore, I wish to offer to adopt you," Wolfgang stated quietly. "I know what it is like to lose comrades in front of you, but you also bear the pain of losing your family in front of you in an instant. I couldn't live with the thought of a young man forced to endure the hardships that would break other men on his own. But I also know that if I didn't offer to adopt you, you would be passed by due to your lack of speaking German and your age. It would make finding work difficult, and the road to recovery will be a long one for everyone in Europe."
Jaune remained silent for a moment, knowing what the General was saying to be true. Despite half a year fighting in the Wolfsrudel, he could barely understand German. And add to his age as a teenager, no one in Germany would want to adopt him. He however was about to decline when Wolfgang said something that caused Jaune to change his attitude towards his life and situation.
"I would wager you feel you are undeserving, or rather no deserving enough, to accept my offer, but let me tell you something. After Frank spoke to me about you, I interview others within the Wolfsrudel, those they protected, and you know what they told me?" Jaune shook his head.
"They told me that you would give your rations to the young kids who were starving, you took risks others wouldn't take to protect those around you despite them being strangers, and that despite the hellish conditions you found yourself in you never abandon the fight, you never assaulted a fellow comrade, and you never complained about your circumstances. That there tells me you are more than deserving a second chance at life. You shouldn't force yourself to be miserable due to a misconception about yourself."
Jaune was shocked that the others in the Wolfsrudel payed that much attention to what he did, and it humbled him that they thought so highly of him when he thought he was lucky to be even alive. He took a breath to steady his nerve before looking Wolfgang in the eyes.
"Then I accept your offer sir," Jaune said. Wolfgang chuckled, smirking afterwards.
"Very well then Jaune, then let's proceed to check on the others less fortunate than us and make sure they are getting the care they need, ja?"
Present Time, Military Base 'Schwarze Ritter', exact location classified, Atlas (two weeks into Operation Sandstorm)
Lisa Lavender resisted the urge to sigh as she waited for the bullhead to finish landing. She decided to take a break from the fighting in Vacuo, which she could only say regretfully somehow managed to get worse.
Despite strong urging from Maj. Zero and Gen. Ironwood to cease the operation due to unsustainable casualties, both Gen. Dwight and Gen. Eisenbrecher refused to back down, and instead double down on their efforts. Both demanded more men be pulled from their respective kingdoms to 'compensate for the causalities inflicted', which were staggeringly high. The Atlesian's losses were sitting now 45% of the initial wave, with almost all of the Atlesian knights destroyed, and the loss of an air frigate and air light cruiser heavily impacting Atlas's efforts.
Vale meanwhile had over 75% of the landing force decimated, but surprisingly the forces on the ground managed to secure a beach head, and through capturing of VNA defensive position, managed to secure a safe zone for Vale to insert troops into Vacuo without incurring losses due to airstrikes. The threat of the VNA tanks and artillery remained however, and soon Vale began to dig in, a series of trenches sprang up to attempt to keep casualties down.
The only reason both kingdoms haven't revolted was because before Lisa could publish her report on the front-line, the Council intervened and demanded 'all news report go through them', effectively censoring her. However, Maj. Zero managed to keep Lisa's footage from getting edited and they were on her person. Hence she decided that if she couldn't report the truth about the war effort at the front, she would go report on another aspect of the war effort she was less likely to get edited; the formation of Jaune Maximillian's military unit.
"Ma'am, we've touched down, the Colonel is awaiting you," the pilot said, breaking Lisa from her reverie. She nodded, remembering that Jaune told her that he was holding the effective rank of Colonel while in command of his unit, taking direct orders only from Gen. Ironwood. She motioned her crew to collect their gear while she grabbed her bag. As she stepped out of the Bullhead, Lisa gaped at the sight before her.
When she was informed of Jaune's base, she expected it to follow Atlas's or maybe Vale's base design; be as imposing as possible while also being grandiose. She had expected something, while not as impressive as Beacon, along those lines.
Instead she got what she could only describe as ruthless utilitarian and pragmatic. The perimeter were nearly two stories of what appeared to be earth reinforced, with towers at every change in angle. The buildings were all square, designed to maximize space and protection, with the doors reinforced and the roof edges lined with razor wire. Several pits house cannons that aimed towards the sky, and the fortifications all looked like they were designed to take a serious beating.
In addition, you could clearly tell everything had a purpose and was geared to the purpose, with direct pathways between buildings that enabled one to efficiently move around without having to take contrived paths. Finally, she could see units of thirty men performing drills, be it marching, firing, equipment maintenance, or exercise drills.
"It may look impressive up here, but down there it has little comparison to the civilian world," spoke the voice of Jaune Maximillian. Lisa turned and saw the blonde man, only this time wearing his full uniform, which if she was honest made him kind of sexy. She didn't recognize the medals or ribbons that he wore, but everything screamed he had experienced and more than earned his rank.
"Good afternoon Col. Maximillian," Lisa said. "Thank you for offering to my crew and I to do some reporting here."
"Nonsense, it is what we agreed to in the first place, I'm merely fulfilling my word," Jaune said. "But I assume you and your crew are tired from the flight?" She shook her head.
"No, we got some sleep, the weeks before…" She paused, unsure how to explain what she saw at the beaches.
"It was hell over in Vacuo isn't it?" Jaune rhetorically asked. "Figures; warn the higher ups about the threat and they chose to indulge in the arrogance, and it's the poor foot soldiers who pay the price."
"You make it sound like you were expecting the VNA to be as bloody as it was over there," Lisa said, not being accusatory but rather stating a fact.
"Yeah, my experience with Qahira Zaima told me that the VNA would fight extremely dirty and show no remorse or quarter," Jaune said. "I just wish that the generals in command would listen to their subordinates more and recognize when to call off a failed operation. But I heard Vale is sending another ten thousand men into the meat grinder and Atlas is sending in all the Knights they can, a quarter of the airfleet, and 3000 soldiers."
"They are, but of course the Council refuse to let me inform the public about the losses," Lisa laments. "It's like they rather cover up their mistakes than find a solution."
"That the council are," Jaune agreed. "While we could discuss the afternoon away on the landing pad, how about we get you guys settled in?" Lisa nodded, and she and her crew followed behind Jaune, heading into the command center.
As they walked through the hall, Lisa was reminded of a sci-fi film that took place on a space ship, as everywhere you looked, there was someone performing some task, wires ran the length above and alongside them, and it seemed like someone could do maintenance without needing anything to remove a panel. He eventually lead them to a room with a couple of beds, foot lockers, a private bathroom, and standing lockers.
"I apologize for the lack of privacy, but this regional command center was designed with sieges in mind," Jaune said.
"It's no big deal," Lisa said, and it wasn't. She could remember one time having to share a single bed in a hotel in Mistral.
"Alright then, if you need anything, push that button," Jaune began, pointing at button near the door. "And one of the privates in training will respond. Don't waste their time; keep it to things you need like food and drink, or medical should something occur. Otherwise, you'll be escorted around the base, as I suspect you will want to look around and understand what I'm doing with these men and women."
"Understood," Lisa said. "Although would it be too much to ask for a brief…interview for the want of a better word."
"Very well, follow me to my office," Jaune said. Lisa nodded and walked behind Jaune. As they walked to his officer, Lisa noticed that despite most of the base personnel being from Atlas, she made out a fair number of Faunus, which was practically unheard of in any of the militaries, especially Atlas's. This was in part due to the friction between Faunus and Humans being on edge due to the White Fang becoming more violent.
However, before she could ponder on this unusual development, they arrived at Jaune's office. As he opened the door and walked in, Lisa noted that instead of a picture perfect clean desk, his was covered in papers that while organized was everywhere. But of most interest to Lisa was a picture of a younger Jaune standing in a uniform like the one he was wearing with…
Lisa paused; in the picture was someone that Lisa would've swore as being her doppelgänger. The woman was slightly shorter than her, her hair was a bit longer, and she wore a blue suit, but overall, it was like looking into a mirror. As though sensing her imminent question, Jaune spoke.
"That's Eve, my late wife," Jaune said, picking up the picture. "I remember always carrying this in my pocket, thinking it was a lucky charm. But I guess it wasn't lucky enough." He sat down, taking a long look into the picture before setting it aside. "So, what were you wanting to discuss?"
Lisa took a seat before getting ready to start the interview. She took a moment to clear her mind of the image of Jaune's deceased wife, realizing how it might've been painful for Jaune to talk to her when she reminded him of his late wife.
"So, what are your thoughts on the progress made during Operation Sandstorm?" Lisa asked. Jaune sighed.
"To be brutally honest, I'm disgusted with them," Jaune said. "Gen. Dwight and Eisenbrecher should be stricken from history for allowing such a disaster to continue to unfold. The VNA not only knew where we were attacking due to media broadcasts, but they managed to make the beaches a killing field. To make things worse is they are giving us the impression that we've managed to secure a foothold."
"What do you mean?" Lisa interrupted. "I thought the Vale army managed to create a safe zone to unload troops and supplies." Jaune nodded before pulling out a piece of paper. He quickly drew up a rough 'map' to represent a section of the landing assault.
"Well, anyone that knows a thing about defending against a beach assault knows that either you have to force the enemy back into the sea completely, or you concede the beaches to the assault element, but then force a defeat in the mainland. However, what the VNA is doing instead is trying to inflict as much casualties as possible."
Jaune drew a couple of blue zones to indicate the pockets of 'safe zones' that Vale secure, then made an area red.
"The VNA are here in the red zone, with fresh troops, defenses, and artillery, which they can use to bloody the areas that Vale's army has managed to secure," Jaune said. "The VNA willingly gave up the beaches, only resisting to give those higher up the impression they were making progress. They probably will use their air force and artillery to pound those safe zones, while keeping the vast majority of their army inland, outside of any air or naval support Vale could give their ground forces, and mercilessly crushing any attempts to move inland."
Lisa frowned; it seemed rather counter intuitive. Wouldn't the sane thing for the VNA to do is keep an iron grip on the beaches? She asked this to Jaune, only to hear him chuckle.
"Sadly no; if they were to try that, then we could harass all along the beach front, forcing them to reroute forces to try and stop our invasion, opening themselves to further invasions. But alas, with Gen. Dwight foolishly stating where he was going to attack, the VNA simply had to defend that beach heavily enough to deceive the general that what he was facing was the full force of the VNA, when in reality it was merely the first echelon. I am certain that as he forces his army to push inland, the casualties will mount, and it will seem that the VNA is without end. As someone once said, 'My strategy is 1 against 3, my tactics is 3 against 1'. What we've seen is only a small extent of the VNA's capabilities."
"If that's true, then what should the army be doing?" Lisa asked. Jaune sighed.
"They should've called off the invasion after the first three days, and form a better plan," Jaune stated. "Then the army should focus on improving their equipment to better approach the fight. As I've seen, the LVT-1 has too thin of armor and no effective means of supporting the troops it is carrying. The Bullheads also need better armor, firepower, and countermeasures, and the soldiers need some protection against the bullets and fragmentations they are encounter, and a suitable replacement for their aging rifle."
"In addition, we need to get intelligence officers into Vacuo and gather information about the VNA. We are fighting the VNA without knowledge of their numbers, where they've deployed, and what they are planning. In essence, we're fighting blind which is only going to serve to increase the causalities we are facing."
"But isn't that what the hunters that were deployed supposed to be doing?" Lisa inquired. Jaune shook his head.
"No, they were deployed to try and act like the vanguard, striking at the capital of Vacuo and holding out while the armies of Vale and Atlas move in," Jaune answered. "They refused to take medical and radio equipment, thinking this would be a quick fight. Instead, they are probably way over their heads dealing with the VNA's reprisals."
"What do you mean?" Lisa asked. Jaune paused, trying to decide how best to explain what the hunters would be experiencing before thinking of a suitable example.
"Tell me Lisa, how does Atlas respond to snipers?"
Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for not updating, but I had wanted to do another section, but I kept coming up with blanks, and I want to publish this chapter before Christmas. Hopefully the next chapter we can see some combat of Hunters vs the GLA, but not this time. But the fight with Pvt. Sanders will make another appearance, as will a flashback of one of the engagements that Qahria Zaima fought. But onto this chapter.
Not much really has happened in this chapter but character and plot development. I know it's sad, no combat to salivate over, but we see how Jaune became close to Gen. Wolfgang, as well as developing Lisa Lavender and the status of Jaune's forces.
I decided to have the developing fight on the beaches explained by Jaune because the next chapter we'll see Pvt. Sanders and the Valean Forces begin to push in earnest, and not strictly speaking be on the defensive. And before people say that you want to keep the enemy off the beaches, I'll say this much; this strategy, while I can't find a proper name, has been done but a numerically and technologically inferior force to bleed a much stronger enemy into a defeat.
For instance, during the Maori wars of New Zealand, the battle of Gate Pah had a Maori force repulse a superior British Force by digging in, weathering the British artillery with trenches and bunkers, and then surprising the British when the British entered their encampment. I'd recommend watching Lindybeige's video on the battle of Gate Pah for more details, but suffice to say, the GLA are not trying to contain or repulse the Valean and Atlesian armies, but make them bleed a unsustainable amount of casualties.
That's all I want to discuss for now, as I felt that was the biggest point that needed clarification. Until next time guys, please read, review, follow, and favorite the story, and I'll catch you guys later.