Additional Operations III: Project Shroud
September 4th Unified Year 1925 08:00
Prince Wilhelm's New Residence, Berlun
Christina allowed herself a smile as she looked down at the letter in her hand fondly. Its sender had been tireless in his efforts to make sure at least one of these notes was delivered to her every day for the past few months. Whenever an envelope with the familiar handwriting arrived, she felt a warm giddy feeling and her heart rate increased as she pictured the man who had sent it in her mind. She felt silly and perhaps a little embarrassed, but because of him, there had been a near-constant smile pulling at her lips since the party.
The then First Lieutenant Matheus Weiss had first tried to catch her attention when they were all deployed together on the Rhine. At first, she didn't think much of him, although tall and admittedly handsome; he hadn't seemed all that different from any of the other soldiers who had taken an interest in her in the past. She'd encountered his type before, another overconfident mage officer that thought too highly of himself.
Being a woman serving in a primarily male-dominated environment had its drawbacks, and unlike her sister, she didn't much enjoy the attention that her presence attracted. She had grown used to brushing off the periodic advances of brash troopers and had taken precautions so she could take the appropriate action with those who wouldn't take no for an answer.
Matheus however, had proven to be different and it had caught her a little off guard.
Usually, confidence and determination were the hallmarks of a soldier, especially mages. They were qualities that were instilled into anyone that went through military training, no doubt the generals believed them to be essential characteristics for anyone who was required to charge headlong into a machine gun or fortified bunker. Unfortunately, in Christina's experience, this inflated sense of self-assurance did not cease when men exited the battlefield and many seemed determined to attempt to repeat their "conquests" outside of battle, whether their "target" was interested or not.
Weiss had been a little peculiar in this regard, however. Although she had observed him being exceptionally brave on the battlefield and a diligent and dutiful officer, his interactions with her had been almost comically timid. She could tell from the shy glances he threw her way that he was attracted to her, but unlike the men who had tried to get her attention before, he had stayed quiet and nervously avoided her gaze whenever they met.
She had to admit she found it quite funny that he could deliver reports in a crisp, clear and confident manner to Major Degurechaff, and chat comfortably with both Lieutenant Serabryakov and Sophia. But whenever he was forced to speak to her, he stumbled over his words and could barely manage a greeting before scurrying away with embarrassment.
It had felt a little strange. Her only real experience interacting with the opposite sex was the near-boundless confidence of the Prince, the distant professionalism of the late Captain Hausmann and the unwanted advances of gruff soldiers who thought they were better than everyone else. By comparison, Wiess's nervous behaviour and shy compliments should have been easy to ignore. Instead, she found them oddly endearing.
Then came the fall of Letzenbourg and the Prince had been gravely wounded. This, along with the Prince's and Sophia's quest for vengeance against Admiral Canaris had almost made her forget about the man as her worries for the future grew and threatened to consume her. She had no time to dwell on his bashful advances while those she cared about were in so much danger.
It had been during that time, just before the now-infamous battles on the Rhine, that she had received her first letter from the man. Perhaps it was her anxiety over the situation, but she had chuckled when she read that he had been nervous about getting in touch and had rewritten his letter several times before sending it. The confession was oddly comforting, and she felt her worries begin to melt away a little as she read his note.
He wished the Prince well of course; he had seen the extent of his injuries as they had bundled the injured boy onto a train back to Berlun. But he had also expressed a great deal of concern about her own wellbeing. Between some slightly awkward but well-meaning compliments, he had described how worried he'd been about her when he had last seen her, and he pleaded with her to make sure she looked after herself and got enough rest while looking after the Prince.
He sympathised how difficult things must have been for her and even offered to be a confidante if she felt the need to talk about things. He told her how much he empathised with having a superior with such a quick mind but fragile body and shared that privately he dreaded ever seeing the Major injured like the Prince. He had concluded that if their positions were reversed, he would want someone to talk to, so had reached out to her to make sure she was ok.
She had been moved, far more than she had ever expected. Until Matheus had offered, she had not realised how desperately she wished for a shoulder to lean on.
She had become accustomed to everyone assuming that she was capable of dealing with any crisis that came her way. The Prince and Sophia were perhaps the worst offenders of this. The Prince trusted that she would be able to carry out almost anything he asked with minimal effort, while her sister had become accustomed to leaving anything she didn't understand in her hands. It was as if they couldn't conceive of a situation she could not handle. Even now he and Sophia had run off to practice the use of Dr Schugel's new device, leaving her behind under the assumption that she would be able to master it later before they would be deployed with it.
Although their confidence in her was reassuring, it was also an ever-present source of pressure. The things she did for them didn't come as easily as they believed; she worked very hard to achieve everything that was asked of her. She loved both her sister and the Prince deeply and owed them everything but sometimes their unconditional trust was difficult to bear alone.
Matheus had offered to help her with that burden.
Weiss had finished the letter by telling her how much he was looking forward to seeing her again and left a shy request that they meet up again when he was next back in the capital. She'd found herself sending a letter back almost without thinking and it wasn't long before they were exchanging messages more and more frequently and even the occasional phone call when their duties allowed it.
Gradually trust began to grow between them and she began to open up to him. She felt relieved to have someone she could share her worries with, who would keep her secrets and not judge her for her fears. Before she knew it, she couldn't imagine what it would be like without his quiet support and she realised she had developed feelings for him.
For the second time in her life, she thanked God for sending her a saint.
Unsurprisingly, Sophia had found out about their exchanges almost immediately, there was no keeping secrets from her. Meanwhile, the Prince had quietly given them his blessing with a cheerful smile. Other than that, they had done their best to keep their liaison private. Both wanted to maintain a professional appearance while at work, so had kept their relationship strictly business while on duty. But Matheus still insisted on sending her letters expressing his feelings for her day after day, it was almost as if he worried that she would forget about him.
It was a little embarrassing to admit but Christina looked forward to receiving her daily messages and her schedule now revolved around their delivery.
When they were allowed some time together, they did everything they could to make the most of it. In the evenings they visited the cinema or one of the city's famous cabaret clubs. It had turned out they shared a love of jazz so Berlun's cabaret scene had proven to be an ideal escape for them to unwind. She was sure those who knew them would find it funny to see them both let their hair down and lose themselves in what was considered rebellious music. But when she was with Matheus, she found she didn't care what they might think.
If they found time to spend together during the day, they visited the capital's museums and art galleries or went for lunch in one of the luxurious restaurants near the Brandenburger Tor. Other times they simply walked together along the banks of the River Spree and enjoyed each other's company. It was one of the few times they allowed themselves the opportunity to show much in the way of intimacy, although they had also given in to temptation in the festive atmosphere of the Prince's party.
It had been a wonderful few months.
Her feelings of happiness and contentment had been further aided now that they had been assigned to Major Degurechaff's battalion. Aside from having more opportunities to meet with Matheus, she had found that her own duties had lessened now that Canaris had been disposed of. The Prince had decided to take over the administrative roles of the close combat company that she had previously been looking after, and he had moved out of the embassy and into a smaller apartment closer to the 203rds HQ, so her duties as the Prince's maid had been reduced too.
Her worries about Prince Wilhelm had dramatically diminished too.
At first, she had been furious at the Major for her treatment of the Prince at the High command meeting. How dare she disgrace him amongst the counties leading figures? After all the risk he'd put himself through for her!
She had assumed that the girl had a superiority complex and couldn't stomach the idea that the boy outranked her. It was obvious the girl liked to be in control so she schemed to have the poor Prince demoted so she had something to lord over him. But His Highness's behaviour at the party had puzzled her. Usually, he wouldn't take this sort of insult lying down and would find some way to get even but instead, he was supporting her and trying to show everyone he was content with the outcome of the trial.
Why had he accepted his unjust demotion so easily?
After the debacle with the statue, the life seemed to have drained from the Prince and she had tried her best to comfort him. He wouldn't accept it however and hid himself inside the embassy, forbidding her from seeing him. It bought a pain to her chest when she thought of him pushing her away.
As she was leaving, she was shocked to find Degurechaff seeking him out. Why would she? She'd gotten everything she wanted from him. That is when she began to wonder if she had made a mistake about the girl.
The Major had worn a look of concern, it was clear she wasn't going to gloat over her success as Christina had originally suspected. Perhaps after witnessing the incident with the statue she wanted to be sure the Prince was alright.
Was the Major genuinely worried about him? The girl knew more than most about what had been really going on and what the Prince had been through. As much as Christina hated to admit it, she probably knew him at least as well as she and her sister did and until that day, she had also been trusted almost as much as she and Sophia were.
More importantly, Degurechaff was the only person the Prince ever allowed to challenge him. She was the only person who could force her way into seeing him and she suspected the girl would put up one hell of a fight if he tried to order her from his sanctuary as everyone else had been. She might have been the only person who could get close enough to talk to him.
She began to wonder about the Major's motivations for getting the Prince demoted and assigned to her unit. What if she hadn't been trying to take his position away from him? What if she had been trying to take some of the responsibility from him that had been weighing him down? What if in her own way she was trying to protect him?
It was certainly possible, and it explained why the boy had accepted his punishment so readily. The girl knew how worn down the Prince was but also knew he would never voluntarily give up his duties. Everyone that had tried to talk him out of fighting this war himself had already learned how futile such a gesture was. Perhaps she had judged that the only way she could help him was to force him to relinquish some control and take the reins herself.
The image of the girl cradling the broken Prince flashed into her mind. That wasn't the action of someone who didn't care. Even if she was a little aggressive and disrespectful towards His Highness at times, she couldn't believe that the girl actually desired any harm to come to the boy. Not after everything she'd done to get him out of Letzenbourg.
Suddenly she felt sure that Major Degurechaff had the best interests of the Prince at heart and unlike Christina or her Sister, she had the capacity to give him what neither of the sisters ever could. Tough love.
She let the girl go and entrusted her with pulling her Prince out of the pit of depression he had fallen into. When they had later found the pair asleep at the party, she knew she had made the right choice by trusting her.
The effect on the Prince had been profound. Aside from the hangover he had endured the day after, the boy had been noticeably more cheerful and had started becoming more like his old self again. It was like a weight had been lifted from him as the boy threw himself into his new duties with enthusiastic fervour. He had even managed to get more rest as his night terrors subsided for the first time in years. Christina began to hope they would leave him forever and that he might attain the same level of happiness she now felt with Weiss.
That would require him and the Major to grow up enough to show their true feelings for each other, however, and that didn't seem like it would happen any time soon.
The Prince hadn't been entirely forgiving of Major Degurechaff since the Command meeting. Privately he may have been happy with how things had turned out, but it didn't mean he wouldn't seek some sort of retribution for the embarrassment that the Major had caused him, or at least that was the excuse he used to make mischief for his new commander. As such he had launched a campaign to do his best to get under the Major's skin whenever possible.
Technically he never did anything that was against the rules or gave the girl reason to punish him, but he did find a great deal of extra work for her. In public, he would adopt an innocent and ignorant attitude so that Degurechaff would have to spend her time dealing with whatever problem he conceived for her. Things like filling out equipment forms for each individual piece of kit the company had brought with them rather than a bulk inventory and intense questioning about the training the 203rd had gone through had become everyday occurrences.
This obviously irritated the Major, as she was forced to sign all the paperwork and answer every question the boy threw at her. She had tried to get out of it, but the Prince pointed out that Imperial regulations forbid her adjutant or deputy performing these tasks, although it was doubtful these rules were strictly enforced by the higher-ups.
In private, the Prince chuckled that it was retribution for the embarrassment she caused him but neither she nor Sophia believed that was true. He simply wanted to elicit a reaction from the girl and use the excuse to spend more time around her.
The Major herself was not a lot better. Although she could usually remain calm and patient with most others in her battalion, she consistently allowed the Prince's little rebellions get the better of her, which only emboldened him. Despite her protestations that she wanted him out of her hair, she continually summoned him back to her office to attempt to reprimand him for his actions. She had yet to succeed though, and by now, even Lieutenant Serabryakov was convinced it was an act to keep His Highness around. Although she had also shared her worry that the Major's temper might spill over if His Highness pushed her too far.
She supposed they shouldn't have been surprised, even though they were both prodigies, they were still children. Some adults didn't have the emotional maturity to properly express their feelings for one another, it would be unfair to assume they would be able to do it straight off the bat. Still, she was a little disappointed in her Prince, this was the equivalent of pulling Degurechaff's pigtails in the schoolyard.
It was probably for the best, they were both still far too young for any sort of romantic relationship anyway. It might be better to let them play their little games with one another until they grew up a little. Although, it might be wise to arrange some sort of talk with the pair. Perhaps she could ask Matheus to help, she wasn't exactly the best choice for the Prince to talk to on this matter.
She just wished that they could work everything out without dragging the rest of them into their strange little relationship.
Unlike herself and Matheus, the line between their personal friendship and their professional relationship was somewhat blurred. Since they both outranked them all militarily and socially, they were inadvertently forcing others to play along with their games whether they wanted to or not, especially her and Sophia. It was the latest in the Prince's attempts to provoke the Major that had left her waiting in the apartment on her own, at least in part.
Dr Schugel had finally finished the Prince's secret endeavour, Project Shroud, and he had gone to see it in action.
It hadn't been difficult for him to arrange an invitation. He had been one of Elenium Arms financiers and was highly respected by Dr Schugel, they had been happy to have the Prince help field test the device with the Grand Army units. Unfortunately, since his voluntary demotion, he wasn't allowed to leave without the permission of his commanding officer However His Highness wanted to surprise their new commander.
He'd been making the argument for some time that the close combat company needed additional training and requested that they be allowed to go to the countryside for some intensive training. The Major had argued against it however and claimed she saw no reason why any veterans of the Rhine needed further training, at least not the sort that the Prince was suggesting. Christina had taken this as a strange sort of compliment from the girl; in a roundabout way, she'd admitted the Letzenbourgers were as capable as the rest of the Battalion. She just wasn't very good at expressing it.
Undeterred by the girl's refusal, the Prince had redoubled his efforts to tease the Major and gradually worn down her resistance. Eventually, she became so frustrated with his antics that she told him to get official orders from the General Staff and practically thrown him out of her office.
The Prince of course already had the orders due to the invitation to test Project Shroud and chose to view the girl's outburst as permission from his commanding officer. So he left for the test site immediately, leaving Christina at home for when the Major inevitably came to demand his return.
The only good thing was is that it had given her and Weiss a few more days together.
Those few days were over now however, the sound of a car door being angrily slammed shut echoing through the open window told her that much. A glance outside confirmed her suspicions as she saw an annoyed Major Degurechaff marching towards the building with a look of fury on her face. While her panicked looking Adjutant hurried behind her, struggling to keep pace despite the size advantage she possessed.
Christina sighed and carefully placed her letter into a small wooden box on the table in front of her. Ignoring the angry pounding at the front door as she made sure her treasure was safely stowed away before she was forced to deal with her angry superior. She straightened her uniform and took a deep breath to steel herself before she crossed the hall towards the door.
"Good day Major Degurechaff. I've been expecting you, I'm afraid the Prince is not in at the moment." She said, bowing slightly as she opened the large wooden portal.
She spared a glance at the pair as she lifted herself back up to her full height. Visha seemed nervous and winced slightly as she heard about the Prince's absence. Meanwhile, Degurechaff radiated menace and Christina began to worry if the Prince's had taken his prank too far. The girl's pupils focused on her like lenses on a telescope, each orb directing her displeasure at the news via her gaze.
"Where is he?"
September 4th Unified Year 1925 14:30
Odenwald Forest, 10km outside Landsberg
Damn it, Wilhelm! Why do you have to be such a pain? Tanya growled inwardly as she flew over the forest, casting her eyes over the dense foliage anxiously. She'd been furious when she'd found out he'd ran off without her permission, but that fury had turned to genuine concern when she found out where he had gone and who he had been involved with.
The Odenwald Forest was the favoured location for the Military's secret testing, training and wargames. The dense woods hid numerous military installations to either hide or protect what was going on within, and she knew that any deviation from her prescribed route could result in immediate and likely violent repercussions. Friendly fire wasn't the way any soldier wanted to go, so she did her best to push down her frustration and focus on her flight plan as her eye twitched at every sign of movement below.
She also had a more personal reason for disliking the forest. The last time she'd been here she'd been crammed into a rocket and launched towards the heart of the enemy. Although it was doubtful anyone would try to stage a repeat performance of that today, she still felt a little uneasy being so close to the site; or anything else the Mad Doctor had been involved in for that matter.
If Shugel is involved in this Project Shroud thing, I will have to be careful. She thought with a shudder as she remembered the dangerous experiments she'd been forced to suffer through to test the Type 95. Anything that zealot touches is bound to be bad news and if Wilhelm is playing with it, it can only be more dangerous.
Following her in a loose formation was Lieutenant Serabryakov, her faithful adjutant, and Christina Zerbist who had been given the task of guiding her to the little Captain. Neither had looked especially comfortable since they'd taken to the skies, and Tanya could sympathise. Both she and the Salaryman had enough experience dealing with angry superiors to know how awkward it felt to be around them. That was precisely why she was doing her utmost to save the brunt of her ire for its intended target.
You've pushed me too far this time Wilhelm, I'm done playing nice.
It had been two months since the little Captain's demotion and reassignment to her command, and as she had feared the boy was proving to be just as difficult as she had expected.
At first, it hadn't seemed so bad and she mistakenly believed that her fears he might try to undermine her authority or be overtly disobedient might prove to be unfounded. It appeared that he had accepted his new position with as much grace as he could muster, and he seemed to be doing his utmost to make sure his troops integrated into her battalion. His behaviour at the party led her to believe it wasn't some sort of trick, and for a while, she dared to hope he might prove to be a useful and dutiful subordinate.
Of course, those hopes had been duly smashed by the irritating childishness of her new charge. Wilhelm hadn't grown up nearly as much as she'd hoped and had decided to enact his petty revenge on her in the most infantile and annoying way he could conceive.
It had seemed innocent enough at first, or perhaps she'd simply not noticed it after the embarrassment at the party.
As much as she would have liked to, she couldn't blame the boy for the mix-up with the drinks. She was still glad that the boy had opened up to her, but it did make her feel deeply uncomfortable whenever she thought about how they had been found together. She didn't want people to get the wrong idea and had even been forced to confiscate a compromising picture from Visha, much to the disappointment of her subordinate.
Tanya had tried to distance herself from Wilhelm since his birthday and had planned to limit their interaction to the official business of running the battalion. They may not have been actively deployed at the moment but there was still plenty of work to be done at battalion HQ, as well as various meetings they would have to attend at the General staff offices. She'd hoped they could both busy themselves until the discomfort passed.
She had been pleasantly surprised to find that Wilhelm appeared to be following orders and personally overseeing all his new duties as a company commander. She'd hoped that sense of professionalism would go some way to alleviate the awkwardness between them and help distract her from the humiliating memory of waking up huddled up next to the little Captain.
However, as the days passed, she found him visiting her office more and more often with seemingly infinite "pressing issues" that required her personal attention. He seemed to spend almost every spare moment with her, and his presence once again became an uncomfortable hindrance.
Initially, he had approached her for advice on the reorganisation and retraining of his company. At the time she had been a little annoyed that a former battalion commander couldn't handle something so simple but remembered that in the past he had delegated that work to the late Captain Haussmann and the Zerbist sisters. He'd likely never had to deal with the day-to-day issues of his troops before he was attached to the 203rd. Indeed, he'd originally been bumped up the ranks with very little command experience; perhaps he really didn't know what he should be doing.
Foolishly she had believed that approaching her for advice was a sign of maturity. Usually, it was a good thing when a subordinate realised their weaknesses and actively tried to improve themselves. Perhaps he planned on taking his responsibilities seriously for once, it would be foolish for her not to encourage this sort of behaviour. Since she was a gracious superior who liked to promote development in her subordinates, she'd cut him some slack on the matter.
After all, every organisation should promote talent management.
She had hoped to point him towards the newly promoted Captain Weiss, her deputy was more than capable of dealing with any operational concerns the little Captain might have. Unfortunately, Wilhelm had other ideas and pointed out that he was here to learn from her, not her subordinates. He had even raised the subject when Lieutenant Colonel Rerugen was visiting, making himself, and by extension, her, look bad in front of a superior.
This would not necessarily have been a problem, she was within her rights to delegate that sort of work to her deputy without it affecting the impression her superiors had of her. However, after the scene she had made at the command meeting about the boy's re-education, she feared that it might appear as though she was shirking her duties if she didn't take control of the matter herself. Especially if she refused Wilhelm in front of Colonel Rerugen.
She also thought she should be considerate to the diminutive royal, it would no doubt be embarrassing asking the advice of someone who had only just been promoted to a rank you'd been demoted to. Additionally, dealing with him herself it would clear up any misunderstandings with the higher-ups caused by Wilhelm speaking out of turn and give her the chance to make sure he was doing things correctly. So, despite how annoying the boy's pestering was, she had helped him with the reorganisation and integration of his company.
It was around this time she began to get suspicious of the little schemer's motives once again. The boy wasn't stupid, he shouldn't have found things this difficult. Before long, it became clear that he was using her kind gesture against her and was deliberately creating extra work for her.
Every day he managed to produce endless amounts of paperwork needing her personal approval. At first, she'd wondered how he'd manage to generate so much documentation, the Imperial army may like to keep a detailed written record, but this all seemed a little too much. Where had he found it all?
Upon questioning, while attempting to hide a smug grin, he later revealed that technically all Letzenbourg equipment and combat doctrine was nonstandard. Regulations demanded forms be filled out for everything that wasn't in the Imperial rule book and Wilhelm had taken this regulation very literally.
Rather than provide a single inventory, he'd filled out forms for each individual piece of equipment and uniform belonging to every member of the company. Additionally, there were personnel files for every member and dozens of documents and reports relating to the little Captain's combat doctrines. Worse still, he'd written them all in the awkward Letzenbourg dialect, making it difficult to read.
She'd wanted to make him rewrite them in Germanic but despite all his equipment being against the regulations, the use of his native language was not. When the Empire had started recruiting from the disputed regions, they had found that many did not read and write Germanic. At least not well. This had led to them allow paperwork to be filled out in a variety of languages, including those of its closest allies.
Despite how adept Wilhelm had proven to be at speaking languages, the brat claimed to struggle with the written version of the Empire's favoured dialect and said he was worried about filling out the forms incorrectly for her. It was a blatant lie, but he seemed to find an excuse for any objection she raised.
What could she do? He was technically acting within the rules, and she knew that if she tried to escalate this up the chain of command, he'd find some way to weasel out of it. For all she knew, that was his plan all along.
She could do nothing but scowl at his ornate handwriting as she deciphered the perfectly filled out forms. Each adhering to the letter of regulations in every way.
His precision was another problem. The regulations of any organisation evolved over time and since the war had started they had adopted several practices in order to help things work more efficiently. However, the official regulation book had yet to be updated to accommodate these changes, the higher-ups had more pressing worries than issuing a new one.
The little Captain had opted to do everything to the exact letter of these regulations, claiming to want to be sure that everything was completely above board. This meant was that there was an ever-increasing stack of work appearing on her desk. Again, technically nothing the boy had done was against the rules, so she could not refuse to do it, and she feared it would make her look bad if she refused the extra workload. So, she had no choice but to grin and bear it as he tried to use the rulebook against her. At least for now.
It shouldn't have been too bad, she could tell at a glance that many of these forms could have been passed through Visha and only brought to her attention if absolutely necessary. Visha was a good Adjutant and Tanya knew she could rely on her to work quickly and help lessen the amount of work sent her way. However, Wilhelm had other ideas and insisted that she personally read through all of them, citing an ancient regulation that even she had needed to look up to confirm its veracity.
He was testing her she realised, it was obvious she was doing all this on purpose. The way he grinned at her was proof enough of that. This display of malicious compliance was obviously his way of getting back at her for his demotion.
It was almost impressive, the brat must have spent hours working on all this. It was amazing how much of a nuisance he could make himself when he put his mind to it.
Unfortunately for him, she was no stranger to a little paperwork. It would be quite satisfying to see the look on his face when he realised that she'd finished it all. He would learn that playground tactics don't work in the real world and when he did, he would be forced to concede, she just needed to be patient.
However, Wilhelm was very good at testing her patience.
Along with his stream of paperwork, he brought a constant insistence on retraining his combat company. He claimed that he wanted to recreate the rigorous training methods she'd used when forming the 203rd but by now Tanya was more than a little suspicious of these motives.
Although she would never claim that his group were as professional as her faithful band of elites, they weren't exactly slouches. They were all veterans and certainly didn't require the sort of time-consuming exercises her troops had gone through. She'd laughed off his request and told him that no one that had served on the Rhine needed further training.
She firmly believed that was the truth, there was no better education of warfare than the trenches of the Rhine, her own training had barely been any preparation for it.
At the 203rds formation, only herself and Visha had ever served on that bloody front. The General staff knew they couldn't spare any of the veterans from that theatre for their pet project, so they had only recruited from the southern and eastern armies. That was why Tanya had been sure everyone else would drop out if she made her training difficult enough for them. Surely anyone with a choice would never put up with such conditions. Unfortunately, she'd underestimated the War fervour of the Imperial soldiery and the 203rd was born.
The Rhine, however, was on a completely different level. It was a miserable and dangerous place where only the strong could survive. Death stalked the trenches, cruelly proving the theory of natural selection while those who survived watched their comrades drown in a sea of blood and mud. Anyone who had survived that hellhole without going insane or dying didn't need any more education in war. They were either adept enough to survive or were incredibly lucky; either way, they were ready for anything and deserved a safer position.
However, the boy's continued insistence that his men were not ready and his pretence of lack of confidence risked making her look bad to the higher-ups again. Still, she wasn't about to waste unnecessary time and resources on the boy. So, she'd once again pointed the brat in the direction of Captain Weiss and told them to come up with some ideas for a short training course he could perform nearby while she dealt with the mountain of paperwork the boy had lumbered her with.
Unfortunately, this had backfired too. Even though Wiess had first-hand experience of her training, he claimed not to feel confident recreating it for the little Captain. It was an unusual lapse for her deputy, the man was usually reliable to a fault and it surprised her that he seemed so uncertain about this, he almost looked afraid.
She had only created the training from the half-remembered stories of special forces drills from her past life, it was nothing compared to real combat. True, she'd purposely made it as difficult as possible for the battalion in the hopes that they would drop out but Wiess and the rest of them had miraculously made it through without too much trouble. Between that and the Rhine, they had all proved to be utterly fearless. Weiss shouldn't be scared of anything!
Perhaps it was the little Captain's social rank or connection to the royal family that bothered him. It would be disastrous for anyone's career if something happened to the boy while training, so he probably wanted nothing to do with it. Tanya couldn't fault him for that, so reluctantly she had spent yet more time with the little Captain going into the details of her training and the reasoning behind each part. Leaving out the fact that she'd hoped everyone would drop out so she could spend more time in the rear of course.
Despite her best efforts, she found herself losing her temper with him day after day, especially when he was obviously being facetious and obtuse and eventually, she snapped. She told him that if he could get permission from the General Staff, he could train wherever and however he wanted, before throwing him out of her office.
She hadn't expected he would actually get permission; she'd been certain the General Staff would come to the same conclusion she had and see any extra training as a waste. In hindsight, she should have known that crafty little manipulator would find some way to get what he wanted. He usually did.
That was two days ago, and he and his company had all but disappeared. The only clues to his whereabouts were a copy of the forms he'd left after he had petitioned the General Staff and a note telling her that Christina Zerbist could lead her to him if she needed him.
She cursed herself for letting him out of her sight; he'd slipped his leash already.
Miss Zerbist had led her to an impromptu and undesirable meeting with Dr Schugel. Apparently, Wilhelm had been given the task of testing his latest project, hence his sneaky withdrawal. By now Tanya was doubtful this was the only reason for this, but she wasn't yet certain if it was part of his harassment campaign or part of some larger scheme. Either way, she was putting a stop to it.
She had asked Schugel to order the boy back, but the Mad Doctor had refused.
"You must find him yourself, Major! It's surely a sign of God's Grace if you find him!" He had declared zealously before adding "I have faith in you! So, I shall let them know you're on your way!"
She began to wonder who was the most childish out of Schugel and Wilhelm. Were they seriously expecting her to play hide and seek? Fortunately, the little Captain's maid had been more cooperative and had at least led them to his rough location in the forest. Although she couldn't be more specific about the boy's exact position.
Tanya sighed and rubbed her temples. Her plan to keep Wilhelm close in order to keep him in check was already falling apart due to his childishness. Worse still they had both been summoned to a meeting with General Romel, a man known to be tough on his subordinates. If she showed up without the Brat, it would call her competence into question; she could not allow Wilhelm to negatively affect her career.
She had no choice but to find him and drag him back. Whether he liked it or not.
If you insist on being a child, maybe I'll treat you like one! She growled to herself wondering if the rules on corporal punishment would allow spanking as an appropriate substitute for public flogging.
Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a burst of static in her ears before a voice cut through the radio.
"Attention unidentified mages, you are entering a restricted site. Identify yourself or prepare to be fired upon."
Tanya cursed, wondering if they'd accidentally strayed off course, there could be several secret operations going on in a place this size, it would be just her luck to fly into the wrong one. She glanced back at the bespectacled Zerbist sister and saw the woman nod, allaying her fears.
"This is Major Tanya von Degurechaff." She began called back, feeling a little strange to be using her name rather than her callsign over the Radio. "We're here with the permission of Doctor Schugel, I need to get in contact with Wil…Captain von Hozollern."
"One moment please Major, please maintain your current position while we confirm." The voice returned and Tanya let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as they complied with their instruction to halt. She felt a lot better now that she wasn't going to be shot at by her own people.
Still, this was wasting time she could be using to look for the bratty little Captain. She could at least start looking for some sign of him.
She waved a hand in front of her and made the calculations to summon an observation formula in front of her. Quickly the glowing, transparent spiderweb of diagrams and charts showing information on mana output and density appeared in the air in front of her and she began studying the data for any sign of her quarry.
The first thing she noticed was multiple mana signals appearing from all directions. This wasn't especially surprising, this was a testing and training area, after all, there would no doubt several mages from the instructor unit around testing any new prototypes. She ignored them and focused her efforts on searching for a more familiar mana signature.
Every mage emitted a unique mana signal due to their natural power emission, computation orb and flight gear. Every time a mage used their power, for any reason, it would emit a detectable signal that could be picked up by specialised equipment or a mage using an observation formula. The more powerful the spell, the larger the signal.
One of her instructors had once told her that: magic was a way of temporarily cheating scientific rules, it bent reality for just long enough for a mage to accomplish their goal. The more you bend and twist the rules that govern the universe, the more difficult it becomes and the more power you must expend to use to accomplish it.
As such even the simplest spells an ariel mage might use could be detected from several miles away. From flying or enhancing your own speed or strength to imbuing your weapon with a high explosive artillery spell, all were cheating the laws of physics so created a noticeable signal for any observer to see. It was impossible to hide it.
Some mages, like Wilhelm, had become particularly adept at regulating their own power flow for maximum efficiency, thus dampening their signal. However, not even Wilhelm could hide his signal completely, no mage could. In fact, the signal the boy produced was easier to spot once you knew what you were looking for as his conservative use of mana made his signal stand out.
The moment Wilhelm used any kind of spell, she would have him.
She looked up from her formula for a moment and gazed around at the overcast sky. She had expected to see some mages in the air considering the number of mana signatures her readings had picked up but the air above the forest was empty. Perhaps they were conducting some sort of operation on the ground?
She glanced down to confirm her suspicions but could make out very little through the dense foliage. If anything was going on down there, it was well hidden.
She knew better than to enquire about it however, she hadn't been given clearance and Schugel hadn't been very forthcoming about the details of his project either. She obviously wasn't meant to know about the details of this project so asking unnecessary questions would only get her into trouble. Especially since the radio operator had yet to get back to her.
What's taking them so long?
"Lieutenant, get the operator back on the line and find out what's taking so long. We haven't got all day," Tanya called to her Adjutant irritably before casting her gaze back towards her observation formula.
Huh? Are there more signals now?
She looked around again, but the skies were still clear, there wasn't even a bird in the sky. Where were all these signals coming from?
She pushed the question aside as her eyes caught the signal she was looking for. Wilhelm's unique signal shone brightly on the translucent diagram in front of her and she felt a cruel grin tug on her lips. He was close by, less than a kilometre to the north. She'd found him.
Her grin quickly turned into a confused frown as a second identical signal appeared to the east. It shouldn't be possible; no two mana signals were the same. Had she made a mistake with her formula?
"Major, we have confirmation but I'm getting some interference over the radio." Her adjutant replied but Tanya ignored her as she studied her observation formula with confusion.
Suddenly a third signal appeared to the south, then another from the west, then another and another. It was impossible, according to her readings there were now dozens of signals and they had her completely surrounded. Either there was something wrong with her formula, or Wilhelm had found some more doppelgangers; which was hardly a comforting thought.
She hastily renewed her formula; Wilhelm would no doubt know she was here by now and she couldn't afford to lose track of him over a simple mistake. As the glowing diagram reappeared it showed the same results, except this time the signals were converging on her in all directions. Wilhelm had set this as a trap for her, she was sure of it. She didn't know how he'd caused this strange interference with her formula, but it was most certainly his doing.
Instinctively, she grabbed her weapon as her spell dissipated and she searched her surroundings for the boy. This was a testing area and a live-fire exercise, he would have a barrier up so she could fire off a few warning shots to let the boy know she meant business. Then she would beat the little idiot within an inch of his life for his disobedience.
"Ready your weapons!" She ordered searching the skies frantically for approaching mages while wondering whether the maid behind her would remain loyal to her or their attackers.
The skies were still empty but there was no way even a mage could move so quickly through the forest, there wouldn't be enough room for even the most skilled mage officer to navigate through those trees at speed. Where was he coming from? Unless…
She snapped her head down as the tell-tale hum of flight gear began to fill the air and a grinning Wilhelm and his combat company racing towards her from the canopy. He had hidden in the woods directly below her for his trap.
There was little time to react and she was forced to jerk backwards in order to avoid a collision while Wilhelm sped past her with his sword in hand. She raised her weapon and aimed it at Wilhelm as he quickly flipped in the air before gracefully dropping in front of her. His confident grin didn't waver as he stared down the barrel of her looted machine gun and with a flourish of his blade, gave her a fencer's salute as he halted in front of her.
"Greetings Commander, it's a pleasure to see you here. Have you come to see Project Shroud?" He said cheerfully as his company fell in beside him.
The combination of smug smile and faux innocence was even more infuriating than usual, and it took a great deal of willpower not to give in to the urge to fire on him at point-blank range. She felt her eye twitch as her last nerve broke and her attempts to keep her temper in check. She dropped her weapon, trusting that the strap would catch it, and lunged towards Wilhelm and grasped him by the collar of his black flight suit.
"What the Hell do you think you're doing!" She yelled, spattering the shocked boy's face with spittle.
The little Captain was stunned by the ferocity of her outburst and stared at her open-mouthed for a moment before he attempted to babble an excuse. Tanya was not willing to give him an inch just yet however and she tightened her grip on his collar as she yelled at him once more.
"You abandoned your post and attacked a superior officer! I should have you put in front of a firing squad! What do you have to say for yourself?"
Wilhelm's expression passed shock and into fear as he realised how seriously his games had backfired. Part of her was pleased; he must have realised he'd pushed his little prank too far and he knew her well enough by now that he would receive a severe punishment for his actions.
"M…Major, I'm not sure what you mean." He choked with a hint of uncertainty. He'd obviously not expected her to be this angry.
In truth, she hadn't expected herself to be this furious with him. She felt angrier now than when they'd had their standoff on the roofs of Letzenbourg. Perhaps it was that she was disappointed that the boy had failed to mature when he showed so much promise, or perhaps she was annoyed with his cavalier attitude to his duties. Maybe she had just had enough with his bullshit. Regardless he had crossed a line and broken her usually calm composure.
"Major?" Visha piped up nervously, "Maybe you should put Prince Wilhelm down first."
Tanya glanced at her Adjutant who stared back at her pleadingly. Beside her, Christina was grasping her rifle tightly enough that her knuckles had turned white although her face remained calculating and impassive as usual. Meanwhile, the rest of the soldiers looked on anxiously as they wondered what her next move might be, including the other Zerbist sister who looked ready to draw her pistols. Tanya was probably lucky no one had tried to intervene yet.
She turned back to Wilhelm and realised the source of their concern. When she grasped his collar, she had inadvertently restricted the boy's breathing and he was now slowly suffocating. Amazingly he was still putting energy into his flight formula, but rather than using the energy to escape, he was holding his position. He must have not wanted to risk antagonising her any further. He was paying the price now however, as his face was starting to turn a worrying colour due to lack of oxygen.
She quickly released him, reasserting control over her lost temper as the assembled soldiers let out a collective sigh of relief. Wilhelm coughed and gasped loudly as he struggled to refill his lungs with oxygen, bobbing slightly in the air as his flight formula was briefly disrupted. He took a few deep breaths before straightening up and sheathing his sword before loosening a few buttons on his collar.
"I haven't abandoned my post Major" He began croakily while rubbing his wrist nervously. "We're here under the orders of the General Staff. We're testing Project Shroud, I thought you knew that much."
"And why didn't you inform me properly? I didn't give you permission to leave the capital" Tanya replied with a snarl.
"With respect Commander," He began with a hint of a smile as his confidence return. "You told me that if I obtained orders from the General Staff, I could train wherever I want. I thought that was your permission. Besides I left a message and Christina was on hand to lead you to me if you needed me for anything."
The boy finished with an innocent look and sly smile obviously, meant for their audience, and Tanya struggled to subdue her anger once again. The boy was stretching his interpretation of her words to it's very limit but just as with his actions with the paperwork, it could be argued he was technically correct. If it were anyone else, she might drag him up before a court marshal and let them decide if his warped understanding of her words were acceptable. But Wilhelm would doubtlessly talk his way out of such a thing.
"That's an interesting interpretation of your orders Captain." She warned, causing the boy's smile to waver slightly.
"And what about your attempted assault of a senior officer?" She asked, unwilling to let him weasel out of some sort of punishment.
"Hmm?" The boy replied with exaggerated puzzlement. "That little ambush? That was just a demonstration of Project Shroud, I thought that's why you're here. I apologise deeply for any misunderstanding; I would never try to harm you in any way Major."
He was probably telling the truth on this one, if he had wanted to hurt her, he could have easily gotten to her with his sneak attack. He had probably been trying to give her a scare. Still, she didn't appreciate his actions. She'd make sure he was punished for misconduct later, maybe a day of being shackled to the front gate of the headquarters followed by a month of latrine duty might teach him a lesson.
She glared at him for a few moments and she saw his smile crack slightly. He knew he'd gotten away with it for the most part, but it was obvious he now realised he'd crossed a line. A moment of silence passed between them and she caught a glimpse of anxiety in his eyes before he cleared his throat and began to speak once again.
"I'm genuinely sorry Major, it was very unprofessional of me." He said contritely with a bow, and Tanya could almost believe him. "I will accept any punishment you wish of me. Now let me tell you about Shroud."
"I don't have clearance and you shouldn't be giving away military secrets." She reprimanded him again before he could continue.
"Of course, you do Commander, didn't the good doctor tell you?" He replied with a knowing smile.
I'm sure you know full well that insane engineer didn't tell me anything! You probably told him not to!
The boy guided them down into the forest below where they were met by an infantry squad. After some brief introductions, one of the soldiers came forward with a large metal backpack similar to the long-range radio's they usually carried. With it, the Captain claimed, they could hide the movements of friendly mages.
This was Project Shroud.
Tanya was aware that both scientists and mages had been trying for years to find some way disguise mana signatures with a complete lack of success. It was simply impossible to hide the power emissions.
These devices worked on a different principle, however. Rather than trying to mask the signals, it was designed to create more in order to smother the true signals of the mage's using them. Designed to be carried by ground units and vehicles, it created fakes or mirrored existing signals before broadcasting them onto the airwaves in order to confuse any observation equipment or formulas.
"These can even be used the equipment to broadcast the emissions produced by certain flight manoeuvres or spells, that's why it looked like there were so many of us." The boy explained. "We can give the enemy a completely distorted impression of the battlefield and use this to disguise our movements and strike where they are weakest. Can you imagine the possibilities?"
It certainly did open up a potential way to outmanoeuvre the enemy, at least until they figured out a way to counter the new technology. Until then it would be excellent for hiding the movements of their mages. Best of all, she wouldn't ever have to use it! She naturally distrusted anything that came from that madman's laboratory so was rather pleased that it would be the infantry and tank divisions that would carry this stuff.
She wondered what Wilhelm's ideas were about its use were. He probably saw it as a way to get some easy kills to help pay his so-called debt to Being X knowing how bloodthirsty his motives were. Still, as long as he didn't do anything to prolong the war, she could allow him that. Even if it was only to get one over on the fake deity.
But they had more important things to worry about at the moment.
"This is all very interesting, but we don't have time for this now, we've been asked to attend a meeting with General von Romel." Tanya said after the boy had finished explaining before warning, "you had better be on your best behaviour."
"Does that mean we're being deployed?" The boy asked as his eyes lit up with barely concealed excitement.
Are you really this enthusiastic to get back to the front? She thought, wondering on the boy's sanity once again. Needing to kill for your own survival is starting to warp his personality, should I be worried about that?
She ignored him and took to the air once more as the rest of her subordinates fell in behind her. Once they had passed out of the more dangerous area of the forest, she glanced back and saw a thoughtful looking Wilhelm staring at his sword once again. The way he fixated on the blade couldn't be healthy but that wasn't her concern right now, she had another issue to deal with.
She slowed her pace so as to match the boy's and favoured him with a cruel smile. She was glad she had time to calm down, cold and calculated anger was much more useful than an explosion of uncontrolled rage. Upon seeing her approach, the boy sheathed his sword and smiled back at her nervously while she returned it with a glare.
"I really am sorry I upset you so much" he swallowed nervously. "I'll make it up to you."
"It's quite alright Wilhelm, you offered to accept my punishment, didn't you?" She smiled at him sweetly as the boy began rubbing his wrist absently once again. "I'm going to make your life Hell from now on."
September 4th Unified Year 1925 18:00
Office of General von Romel, Berlun
That was…. interesting thought Lieutenant-General von Romel leaned back in his chair while trying to gather his impressions of the two aces he had just met with.
Romel made a point of interviewing the senior officers placed under his command. Not only did it help prevent the personnel department dumping problem officers in his lap, but it also ensured that any newcomer would be a good fit for his command style. He had no patience for those that couldn't keep up with him and he knew he would need the very best he could get if he were to even come close to what command was asking of him
Romel had been appointed commander of the Southern Expeditionary force, something that on paper sounded like a great honour but actuality seemed more like a punishment. He had not been given a lot to work with, only two divisions of light infantry, some mages and some light tanks that were not designed for the desert. It was a meagre force to begin with, and although they were all veterans of the Rhine front, they were also not at full strength due to their losses. It was going to be a tough battle down there.
Initially, he'd been delighted by the addition of an extra mage battalion to the roster, magic officers could punch well above their weight in a fight and it would go some way evening up the power gap they would face. However, he had been less enthusiastic when he had found his new battalion contained the young Prince of Letzenbourg and a commander with a somewhat mixed record from some of the regional commands.
Major von Degurechaff had gotten a little bit of a reputation recently, officers had taken to calling her a Mad Dog while the line troops had twisted her moniker into Rusted Silver. He'd even heard that the Republicans called her the Devil of the Rhine. The enemy having a cruel alias for her was understandable but why had their own side had come up with such names for her.
Her record told a different story however, she'd been given glowing reports from both the academy and the war college and had been highly decorated with the silver wings with oak leaves. The General staff also gave her an outstanding evaluation, but western command said that although she was a skilled field officer, they would decline to evaluate her, as her achievements neutralized her bad points. Meanwhile, the Northern Command had severe criticism for her and claimed she had voiced clear objections to those in authority and he'd been informed that she'd disobeyed orders and attempted to attack the Republic during the armistice. What was he to make of such a confusing picture?
The Prince was no better, aside from any officer's natural reluctance to take a VIP into a warzone, the boy had a reputation for being overly sensitive. Although there was nothing wrong with a soldier maintaining a strong sense of morality, begging that the enemy surrender so that you don't have to hurt them was taking that too far. He'd even taken voluntary demotion to ease the burden of command. Many had expressed that the Prince was simply not out for the grim duties of a soldier.
But then he'd also heard that the boy was known to be a highly skilled warrior and very aggressive attacker, racking up almost as many confirmed mage Kill's as Degurechaff. His effect on battlefield morale had also not gone unnoticed and every assault he led seemed to spur the surrounding troops on.
He had no problem with assaulting fortified positions and had a long list of achievements to his name too.
He'd been interested to meet the pair to try and see what he would make of them. Usually, only Battalion Commander would be summoned but owing the unusual situation he thought it best to see them both. Besides Zettour seemed to think the boy's diplomatic experience could be used to help with any problems he might encounter with the Ildoans.
He had asked them to meet him in his office at 17:00, he already had a lot on his plate getting the expeditionary force organised and had preferred to get the ball rolling before he made the decision on the two misfit officers.
Unsurprisingly they arrived together, no doubt they travelled in the same car from there HQ. They also arrived with their uniforms in pristine condition and most pleasingly they had arrived ten minutes early. He appreciated when people didn't keep him waiting
They exchanged greetings, with both giving textbook parade ground salutes before they moved on to business. Romel was surprised to find, that like him, the young Major preferred formal, matter-of-fact exchanges. She seemed the sort to brook no-nonsense and he began to see why some had a hard time getting along with her. Some of his enquiries even earned a look that said: "Don't ask stupid questions."
As he continued to question her, he even began to understand why she had disobeyed her orders. She displayed several signs of front-line syndrome while still maintaining a healthy grasp of strategy and a keen intellect. It wasn't surprising that war had warped someone so young, but she had come back from the Rhine better than most and he felt sure she could use her. She could turn out to be a great officer.
Much to his surprise, the newly demoted Prince stayed silent throughout most of the meeting unless he was invited to speak. He wore a friendly smile throughout, but his eyes looked as though they were studying everything in the room as they spoke. When that gaze fell upon him, he found it slightly uncomfortable; until that discomfort was disarmed by the boy's easy smile.
When he did speak, however, he did not stick to the short answers of her superior. He gave long, well thought out answers that showed his talent as a diplomat. A lot of words veiled in probable double meanings that gave the General a headache. Zettour was right about this one, if there were any problems with the Ildoans, this boy could be useful.
The only time the Prince had spoken out of turn was shortly after the girl had asked that her unit be allowed to act independently, reminding him that it had already been authorised by the General Staff. Although not preferable as a commander, he had been told by Zettour and Rudersdorf that this would be the best way to use her so reluctantly agreed.
"I'm sure I can expect your unit to achieve great things, right?" he had said almost off handily, expecting the usual bout of enthusiasm that soldiers usually gave when their commander had entrusted them with such responsibility.
Degurechaff remained silent however, and he'd been forced to repeat himself.
"I merely omitted the effort of answering a question that was impossible to answer." The Girl had replied causing the young Prince to stifle a snigger before the Major shot him a threatening glare.
I'm a soldier sir, not a smooth talker. I'm afraid if I'm unable to explain our military capacity in words. Even if I were, I doubt it would satisfy you, sir; therefore, I am unable to answer you."
Romel stared at the girl, unable to follow exactly what she was getting at and feeling like he was somehow being talked down to for his lack of understanding. He had been ready to reprimand her when the prince spoke up.
"Permission to speak Sir."
By now Romel very much felt like he had lost the initiative, so he happily allowed the boy to continue. The boy flashed him a smile and bowed slightly before continuing, like a performer ready for a speech. But his eyes still betrayed something else, something much more than what he was seeing.
"I'm sure you've heard the phrase seeing is believing General, that is what the dear Major is telling you. Our actions will speak louder than our words and results will speak for themselves." He began confidently like an actor delivering a monologue.
"We cannot put into words what we have yet to achieve and we do not wish to misinform you General, isn't that Right Major?" he finished turning back towards her as a strange look passed between them.
Content that the pair would be officers he could work with at least, he'd given them the orders to meet at the muster point for the boat journey south. The Navy had provided transports for them to land in neutral Ildoa, from there they would enact his strategy to cause as much chaos down there as possible.
He leaned forward and studied the same map that had spent days studying and memorising. There was a lot of desert to traverse, the south was practically a giant dust bowl but if they were lucky, they could seize a huge victory.
What a strange world we live in he thought to himself as he lifted his eyes from the map and settled his gaze on the Imperial flag above his door. These kids could be the key to that victory.
Authors Notes
Hi everyone and as always thank you all for reading.
Wilhelm is back to irritating Tanya again so anyone who thought that ship had sailed, I'm sorry it seems they forgot to weigh anchor. They are a little closer now, but Will is a little too childish and playing with fire as far as Tanya is concerned.
I hope you liked the part with Christina and her thoughts about Wiess ect. I wanted to give something more to some of the side characters and since theses chapters are sort of extra fluff, I thought this was the time to add it in.
We are getting close to the deployment in the south when the plot proper will return, there will probably be one more chapter before then but I won't spoil what I have planned.
A quick note about the last chapter, I'm a little annoyed with Mary's letter. I had blackened out certain portions of it so that it looked like it had been censored. Unfortunately, when it uploaded to FF .net it removed it without me realising. I have a bad habit of not checking what has changed when it uploads so I didn't realise. That's also why some titles aren't underlined in some chapters, it removes them for some reason.
Again, thank you for reading and I hope you are still enjoying the story.
Xanen