Saint of Letzenbourg Part 4
The Southern Battle Pt I: Positioning the Pieces
40 Years after the Great War
Londinium
According to contemporary scholars, the Southern battle officially refers to a series of skirmishes and battles that occurred between General von Romel's Afrika Corps and Major General De Lugo's Free Francois forces throughout late 1925 and early 1926. However, in the eyes of the general public, the term is often synonymous with the First Battle of Boulaaba, where the two sides clashed in full force for the first time.
It is important to note, however, that the lead up to this engagement was just as important, if not more so, than the battle itself. Each side expertly manoeuvred their troops into position for the confrontation, in what military scholars often liken to a game of chess. Indeed, the battle of wits between Generals De Lugo and von Romel are still studied intensively in almost all military academies around the world.
In the months preceding the battle, General De Lugo had been making a slow but dogged advance on Romel's base in Turus. With a firm advantage in numbers, in part due to the reorganizing of the Francois Foreign legion into his command, the Free Republican forces advanced from all sides, seeking to gradually close the net on Romel, to seemingly limit his movements.
The so-called Fennec was not idle however, and although numerically inferior, the Imperial forces had great success with lightning raids on isolated portions of De Lugo's forces, slowing the advance. It was during this time that Romel earned his reputation as a master of mobile warfare. However, De Lugo's actions were not arbitrary, and it is known that the Francois General was setting a trap for the fox.
Recently declassified files show that De Lugo, working in conjunction with Albish intelligence, had been attempting to mislead the Fennec. As De Lugo closed on the Imperial forces he hastily redeployed so that the Imperials would face a force much stronger than they anticipated. To supplement this, false intelligence was planted by the Albish and local separatist groups, meaning the allied commanders were confident they had outwitted von Romel.
Indeed, even Von Romel himself praised the plan in his memoirs; stating that if not for the intervention of a very talented officer, the desert war may have been lost that day. The name of this officer remains unknown, however, and with the passing of the Imperial general some years ago, it has become a mystery that many researchers struggle to uncover. – Andrew WTN Special Correspondent
March 1st Unified Year 1926
General De Lugo's Temporary Command Centre, 30 miles from Boulaaba, Southern Turus Desert, 17:30
"Report!" General De Lugo barked as the messenger he'd been expecting entered his makeshift headquarters. He knew he was being impatient and he'd perhaps been a little hard on his staff lately, however, this operation had been long in the planning and he was eager to finally see if it was finally yielding results. He'd been patient long enough, he yearned to finally take the fight to the enemy and avenge the loss of his homeland.
Several months had passed since the fall of the mainland Republic and the capture of Turus by the Imperials. The war on the Southern Continent had turned into a series of skirmishes as De Lugo's forces mounted a gradual decentralised advance towards the Fennec's new forward base. Meanwhile, Romel had been leading harassment raids on his forces and covered spectacular amounts of ground to repel his efforts; manoeuvring his forces with such mastery it often seemed as though he were directing them from the sky rather than from his command tank.
De Lugo had earned a newfound respect for the Imperial General. The man had proven he was a master of the art of war. More than once his forces had been fooled by the fox, quickly finding that the reinforcements sent to aid Romel's attacks had been the true targets of his raids. The man could not be underestimated, but slowly but surely they were closing in on him. No matter how cunning the fox was, he couldn't run forever.
There had been times during the advance that De Lugo had begun to doubt the wisdom of his plan. The attrition from Romel's hit and run attacks made for grim reading and had prompted him to consider concentrating his forces early to reduce losses and the strain on the supply train. However, to do so may have allowed Romel to slip the net. If he'd brought his forces together any earlier, the imperial general could have seen what they were planning and moved to counter them. He couldn't afford the risk.
In order to drive the Imperials out of the continent. In order to give them time to prepare for an invasion to liberate their country. They had to take the Fennec out in one fell swoop and dash any hopes the Imperials might have of seizing the Free Republic's colonies.
Thus De Lugo had been forced to face the terrible decision all commanders had to make during wartime and decide how many of his brave men he was willing to sacrifice to set up this victory. The advance had been difficult, he knew; almost as many had fallen to the heat as the enemy but he considered it worth it if they could finally get the better of Romel and his expeditionary force.
"We've confirmed that General von Romel has left Turus and is headed towards Boulaaba at speed." The messenger, a young lieutenant grinned as he snapped a salute. "It's just as you predicted sir."
De Lugo thanked the young officer, feeling his own lips curl into a grin under his moustache before turning towards the map splayed across a table within the makeshift headquarters. He searched for the small village and felt a surge of triumph as he noted the small wooden blocks that denoted the location of his troops. For once, it seemed that things were going to plan; they'd outwitted their prey.
The route into Boulaaba was dangerously narrow for an army, but it opened out into a large open area that Romel must have thought would be perfect to entrap and encircle what he expected to be a few isolated brigades. However, he would soon find it was he who would be surrounded. Although the Free François forces had been dispersed throughout most of the journey, De Lugo had hurriedly concentrated as many men as he could at the last moment for this operation. Romel wouldn't be facing a few isolated units, but the main force of the Free Republic and De Lugo was determined not to be outplayed this time.
De Lugo had studied his enemy. The wide-open spaces that Romel liked to use to manoeuvre could be used just as effectively by his Free Republic troops. Additionally, they held a numerical advantage and had been able to use the space to help conceal their movements. By the time Romel realised that the bulk of the Republican forces had moved in and surrounded him, it would be too late to pull his forces out. The narrow entrance to Boulaaba would cause a bottleneck preventing an organised withdrawal. He would have no choice but to fight or surrender.
This was checkmate, his forces would be wiped out as the hounds surrounded the cornered fox. The troops that had been lost to lure him out would be avenged and De Lugo's decisions would be vindicated.
"It looks like he fell for it." Colonel Severin Vianto, his trusted right hand observed, sounding equally pleased about the news. However, he frowned slightly as he added. "It seems the damned Albish actually pulled through for once with their intelligence and misinformation campaign."
De Lugo ignored his subordinate's disdain for their Albish allies, he'd made his displeasure of their handling of the evacuation of Turus known on many occasions by now and he'd grown used to his anti-albish sentiment. Although De Lugo agreed with him on several of these criticisms, the simple fact was they needed the Albish right now. Although their forces were still busy licking their wounds after their loss at Alealmayn, they were still their primary source of their supplies, weaponry and funding for this endeavour. They would have to suffer them for now.
In this case though, Severin was right, the Albish intelligence service had been instrumental in laying the ground for this action. Not only had they been able to feed the Imperial's false information on troop movements and locations but the nomadic tribes they had hired had been able to keep accurate reports of the enemy position. Additionally, these itinerant horsemen had been kicking up dust in the desert sand to fool any enemy aircraft in the area. Any pilot performing reconnaissance would assume that the dust could only have come from the Free Republic's forces on the move.
They'd set the scene for this fight perfectly.
"We have him in our sights but we cannot allow ourselves to celebrate yet." De Lugo replied raising his voice so that the rest of the officers present could hear him. It was important to keep everyone focused on their duties until the fight had truly been won. They'd seen what happens to those who celebrate prematurely during the disaster on the Rhine, they could not allow it to happen again. "What is the status of our forces?"
De Lugo listened silently as his officers produced their reports on the readiness and dispositions of the troops. He was pleased to hear that most were up to combat strength, approaching their prescribed positions and ready to punish those that had driven them from their home soil. Soon he found himself envisioning how the troops would move in his mind. He knew that no plan survived contact with the enemy and that Romel was sly enough to try any number of tactics to break out but he could see in his mind's eye how they would win this battle.
He wondered if this is what his foe did to outwit so many talented opponents; how else could he manoeuvre his troops so readily? At times they seemed more like an extension of his will than independent troops under his command.
"Judging from the intelligence we've received about their supplies, we expect him to move out of the village around dawn tomorrow." The officer briefing him finished, breaking De Lugo from his thoughts. If all went well, dawn would mark a new beginning for his task force.
"Very good, see to the deployments. Colonel Vianto will be leading the vanguard. I want everyone ready to move by sunrise." He replied before striding out of the tent, he needed a few moments to himself.
He winced as the light of the setting sun dazzled him, he'd been secluded inside the tent with his officers and maps so long that it seemed almost blinding. As his eyes adjusted, he found himself gazing out over the dunes, watching the breeze whip up the sand in the orange glow of the evening. It was beautiful in its way, but it wasn't home, it wasn't the Republic.
Unconsciously he reached into his pocket and took a cigarette from a silver case and put it in his mouth. He paused for a moment as he studied the ornate container gifted to him by his daughter. It was not particularly rare or expensive, many thousands had been produced for the 50th anniversary of the Third Republic, but it was treasured nonetheless. It was decorated with the familiar emblem of the republic. A lictor's fasces upon branches of oak and laurel, and a ribbon with the Republic's proud motto of Liberté, égalité, fraternité emblazoned upon it.
It had once made him feel proud, however now he felt empty when he looked at it.
They had already lost their liberty, it had been stolen from them with the fall of the mainland, and in wartime, the chain of command put an end to all notions of equality. Now all they had left of the once-proud republic was their fraternity; he could only hope that it was enough. It was a sorry state of affairs to think how far they had fallen, he was glad his family were safe over in America so they did not have to see for themselves. He hoped that they could return to their founding principles when the war was over.
His thoughts were broken by the sudden appearance of a lighter proffered to light his cigarette, which he accepted graciously as he recognised it as belonging to Severin. The colonel must have followed him out of the command tent, he suspected he knew why.
"Sir, I'd like to stay with you in the command centre for this operation." He began as De Lugo took a deep drag from his cigarette, enjoying the rush of nicotine despite Vianto's objection to his order. "Lieutenant Colonel Bouvet is more than capable of taking my place."
"For what reason?" De Lugo asked, continuing to stare out over the dunes. There were few he trusted more than Severin Vianto, and as one of the most seasoned combat veterans in the army, he knew better than to disregard his advice. However, he couldn't see why the man wanted to hang back. After all the losses he had endured at the hands of the Imperials, he had expected that he would be eager to finally give them a bloody nose.
"In short sir, I'm worried about your safety. If something were to happen to you, the war would be lost. At least for the Republic."
De Lugo remained silent. This was high praise from his subordinate and given the sorry state of the colonial generals he had needed to supplant, he feared the man might be right, although he'd hoped by now the people would fight on regardless. Still, he was not afraid for his own safety, not when he had put so many at risk to get here.
"You talk as if you expect this plan to fail." De Lugo observed, raising an eyebrow as he turned towards his subordinate. If the man had seen a flaw, he needed to know about it now.
"Not at all sir, since all of Romel's forces are together we will finally catch them." The man replied, a hint of fire in his eyes as he thought about finally driving the invaders off. However, his expression soon turned serious. "But, they have a habit of doing things that we could not possibly predict. You know what they say about a cornered animal. I'd rather be close by, just in case."
De Lugo held the man's worried gaze for a few moments. In truth, he thought Vianto was being overly cautious and for a moment he wondered whether perhaps the man had suffered one too many defeats at the hands of the imperials. However, he soon shook the thought from his head. Severin was right, they'd fallen to complacency too many times and paid for it dearly, there was no such thing as being too careful.
"Very well, make sure that Colonel Bouvet is ready to go." He ordered eventually turning back towards the sands. Tomorrow they would be rid of the Fennec, and they would be one step closer to home.
Tomorrow, they would make the Empire pay!
March 1st Unified Year 1926
Patryk Kulig's office, Potsdamer Platz, Berlun 18:00
Patryk Kulig hummed happily as he pushed his way through the front door of his darkened offices. His cheerful tune only occasionally interrupted by a grunt as he hauled his heavy case inside and past the ornate sign proudly displaying the words: "By Royal Appointment of HRH Prince Wilhelm von Hozollern."
He had good reason to be pleased, after months of hardship, it seemed his luck had finally turned around. The contents of this case might be enough to erase his bad luck altogether. After all, there was no sounder investment than gold.
As usual, it had been that bratty prince and his enforcer the Zerbist woman who had been at the heart of the tragedy that had so cruelly befallen him; leaving him all but penniless. It was their fault he'd lost all that money on the American deal; their fault the factories he had invested had been switched to wartime production, losing him potentially millions of marks in his investments in luxury goods. They must have known that the war would continue and the Allied Kingdom would join the war, there was no other explanation! They must have been manipulating the market somehow and they hadn't bothered to keep him in the loop!
The prince ordered him to move his money, knowing full well that the prices were as high as they were ever going to get! Patryk however, did not receive whatever insider knowledge the boy or the Zerbist woman possessed, so only saw a ruinous decision that he wanted no part of. It was obvious to everyone that it was foolish to cut yourself off from the American market!
Instead, he'd carefully invested in the American and several other foreign markets, relishing the chance to finally show up the little brat and quietly suggest he handle the financial decisions from now on. But it had gone dreadfully wrong.
The Allied Kingdom's blockade stopped almost all trade from the outside world, he'd lost everything in those deals! It wasn't right, as the prince's accountant and financial advisor, he was entitled to some of the windfalls too, wasn't he? He was supposed to be making careful moves with the boy's money on his behalf, not acting like a puppet that held onto the purse strings for appearances.
That was why he wasn't feeling especially guilty about the contents of the case. Some might consider it theft, but Patryk liked to think of it as compensation for all his hard work and effort. Besides, the Letzenbourg banks weren't expecting to get any of it back, they wouldn't miss a couple of bars.
He placed the case by the door, wiping the sweat from his brow before poking his head out of the door to check for anyone following him. The police were still investigating the train robbery and you could never be too careful when the Zerbist woman was involved; he'd heard a lot of rumours about her less than pleasant friends. She might have been far away with the prince, but she still might have people watching him, that was why he'd taken so long to bring the case back here, and under cover of darkness.
Once satisfied the street outside was clear, he carefully locked and bolted the door before casually flicking on the light switch at his side, illuminating the room in a warm glow.
"Hello Patryk." A soft, silky and familiar voice purred behind him. "You're working late I see."
Patryk spun in a panic, almost tripping on the case by his feet as he saw the beautiful lithe figure that both captivated and terrified him.
Captain Zerbist was sitting crossed-legged on his desk, casually leafing through what he recognised one of the "special" ledgers he had thought were safely hidden away. Unusually, rather than her military uniform, she wore a fashionable dress and jacket, complete with a wide-brimmed hat. Anyone who did not know better might have thought her a wealthy heiress ready for a night on the town but Patryk knew better than to underestimate the woman simply because of a change of clothes.
Finally, his gaze reached her face, where she wore her usual confident, and slightly intimidating, smile. However, something seemed a little odd about it, as though her usual perfection was marred by a hint of sadness.
"What are you doing here?" He spluttered instinctively, immediately regretting it. Taking that sort of tone with Captain Zerbist could be very dangerous.
"Now now Patryk, that's no way to treat an old friend and valued customer, is it?" The woman replied with an exaggerated frown of faux rebuke. "It's been a while since we've been able to properly catch up, I thought it was time that I dropped by for a visit. Besides, I wanted to know how things went with the train."
Does she know about the gold?! Patryk thought in a panic resisting the urge to look down at his treasured case. No, it wasn't possible, was it? He'd been too careful. But why else would she be here now?
"I'm sure you know better than I do. You must have heard it all from the people you sent." Patryk replied doing his best to keep the nerves from his voice. "As for me, I'm told that Illdoan terrorists attacked the train at the imperial border and took all the gold. A great financial shame for both countries I'm sure."
The second part he had been practicing since the whole thing began, fearing that the police would be knocking on his door soon after the incident. He'd tried his best to remain as far away from the actual crime as possible, but he could still be counted as an accomplice. Particularly because of the spoils he had taken for himself.
Captain Zerbist simply smiled at his answer, like a teacher pleased that her student has done his homework, or perhaps a lioness that has just seen a particularly fat gazelle that it might eat for dinner. Patryk wasn't sure which.
"I want to hear your story Patryk, the real one if you don't mind." She replied eventually, idly picking up another book that Patryk realised was likely to get him in almost as much trouble as the gold.
"I did exactly as your sister asked!" He said quickly, hoping to distract her attention away from the ledger.
"Then, describe it for me please Patryk." She countered, her voice suddenly losing its jovial tone as she placed the book back on the table and fixed him with a cold stare.
Patryk swallowed nervously, stuttering slightly as he began his explanation.
"It went just as planned, the Letzenbourg volunteers disguised themselves as one of the groups opposed to the Illdoan unification and robbed the train." He began struggling not to stutter under the woman's cold stare. "I met them with a truck on the imperial side of the border and took it back to Letzenbourg, the paperwork from the prince made sure that no one searched the van. The whole thing went off without a hitch, or almost without a hitch at least…"
His sentence trailed off as the woman's stare bored into him. He almost cracked there and then; and considered returning the gold to her simply to spare himself whatever punishment those evil eyes could produce. But at the last moment, he found a small piece of defiance within himself. You wanted to put one over Zerbist and the prince, right? This is your chance!
"You see it seems some of the gold was lost during the heist." He began, silently praying his lie would see him through. "I checked it at the rendezvous, and we only managed to gain around ninety-five per cent. I hope it isn't a problem."
In truth, the disguised Letzenbourg soldiers had been surprisingly professional, if not a little overzealous, particularly when speaking of the bratty little prince. As a result, everything had been accounted for once the soldiers reached the rendezvous point. Fortunately, the exact amount of gold there should have been was only known to a few people, himself included courtesy of the other Zerbist sister. He'd been able to sneak a few bars and stash them in the country on the journey to Letzenbourg, using the robbery as a cover for whatever was missing. Now wished he'd left the gold hidden a bit longer instead of sneaking out to retrieve it.
The room was silent for a few moments and Patryk did his best not to fold under Sophia's gaze. For a moment, he feared she had seen through the deceit but eventually her usual terrifyingly captivating smile returned to her face.
"Well that's to be expected I suppose, I doubt the prince will mind too much." She replied dismissively causing Patryk to let out a sigh of relief. It was not to last long however, for as soon as the words left her mouth, she seemed to search the room with her eyes before they finally landed on the case at his feet.
"And how is the Prince?" He cut in, quickly stepping in front of the case. "I had thought you and your sister were with him on the southern continent."
The woman's smile fell from her face abruptly, only to be replaced with an intense sadness that Patryk had never seen or even thought the woman was capable of. She seemed smaller as she looked away from him, no longer brimming with the endless confidence and quiet threat he had come to associate with her.
"There was… an incident." She began softly, her voice cracking slightly under the weight of her words. "My sister has been injured. She has been sent to a private hospital in Berlun, I need you to make funds available for her treatment from the accounts."
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Patryk replied, understanding the sudden change of tone. So, her real reason for being here wasn't because of the gold heist at all, he might just get away with his little case of embezzlement after all. "I hope it isn't too serious."
Silence filled the room, telling him everything he needed to know. The prognosis was not good for the maid.
"She's strong, I know she'll pull through." The woman said eventually although Patryk could not decide if she believed it or not. "But, it's difficult not having her around… for all of us."
"I'll make sure everything is taken care of as soon as possible, I'm certain the prince would want no expense spared." Patryk replied quickly, feeling uncomfortable around the usual confident woman. This whole situation made him feel even more unbalanced than he usually did around the Zerbists and their master.
"Thank you, Patryk."
The words should have meant nothing to him. This was a woman who had bullied and controlled him ever since they had met, one that had forced him into performing illegal activities in the name of her prince! Or at least more illegal than he was used to. Yet somehow, he felt his heart ache as she so honestly thanked him. For the first time ever, he had seen one of these devilish women vulnerable and he found he didn't like it.
No! This is no time to get sentimental! Think of the gold!
"As I said, leave it to me. I will see that she gets all the care that she needs." He replied firmly, making sure he remained between the woman and the case. "You must be eager to get back to the prince's side."
The woman winced as if she'd been stabbed as he spoke his words and Patryk knew immediately, he had said the wrong thing. But why? From what he'd seen both of the sisters endeavoured to stay close to their benefactor whenever possible. Sure her sister was injured but they all knew all of their fortunes were tied to the bratty little prince playing soldier. Surely she would want to be back at the boy's side; if for no other reason than to keep him alive so that his fortune could pay for her sister's treatment.
"The prince sent me away…" The woman replied sadly squeezing her eyes shut as tear forming in the corner of her eye threatened to fall down her cheek. "He doesn't want me by his side anymore."
Again, the sadness in the beautiful woman's voice tugged on his heartstrings. Before he knew what he was doing, he had crossed the room and gently taken hold of the woman's hand to comfort her. When his brain did finally catch up to his body's actions, he found himself quietly terrified of what the woman might do. However, she allowed the gesture, shooting the man a sad smile before turning away again.
It didn't make sense. Why would the boy send her away? Worse still, he now had two major problems on his hands. First, if Captain Zerbist wasn't going to return to the prince, she would undoubtedly keep a closer eye on him and find the true extent of what he had taken from the boy's accounts. Secondly, without either of the sisters to keep him out of trouble, the bratty little prince might be killed in action! His fortune would return to the Imperial Royal Family and his extra income would be gone!
"It's obvious the prince cares deeply for both of you." Patryk said comforting the woman, now resolute that he needed to do everything he could to get the young captain back at her master's side. "I know that you both think a great deal of him, and he's certainly very intelligent, but he's just a boy, too immature to deal with this sort of thing alone."
Patryk had never been one for this sort of thing. He had little experience with crying women, usually they simply slapped him in the face and told him to go away. However, perhaps because of the treasure in the case at the other side of the room, he felt inspired and continued to use captain Zerbist's moment of weakness to protect his prize.
"The poor boy is he's grieving and not in his right mind! You must go back to him, no matter what. Even if it means disobeying him, I'm certain he will forgive you when he's well. As awful as all this is, perhaps it will finally persuade him to stay away from the worst of the fighting."
Maybe all of the clandestine tasks that this woman had given him over the years had started to pay off. He fancied he'd been quite persuasive, particularly since the sisters seemed almost like surrogate parents to the boy. He knew that deep down neither were happy about the boy putting himself in such a dangerous position all the time. Surely this was something they could use to control the spoiled royal and put him somewhere safe. It was madness to send a child to war after all.
Besides, it would also save him the worry that his benefactor might disappear in a puff of smoke one day and with the other sister out of action, the captain would have to take over her babysitting duties. She might still be closer, but surely she wouldn't have the time to keep an eye on him, her injured sister, and the boy prince. He could finally take full advantage of the brat's money.
"You never learn do you Patryk? You always manage to underestimate him." The woman replied with a heavy sigh, "Only he and Major Degurechaff can allow me back into the battalion, he would never allow it to happen. He bribed a doctor to get the Major out of the way to be sure she couldn't interfere. I'm certain he'd do it again if he needed to. And I'm not about to let you cut off his funds."
Patryk didn't understand the sisters' desire to follow whatever the boy told them, he was just a child, he didn't know better! He was not a parent himself but even he knew that sometimes you had to be cruel to be kind. They should cut the boy off, force him to take captain Zerbist back and then take him somewhere he's less likely to get killed. Preferably somewhere far away so that Patryk could continue syphoning off his wealth in peace.
"Surely there must be something you can do?" He persisted, his worry that his ability to keep feeding off the royal cash cow would dwindle with Captain Zerbist around increasing as she sounded more forlorn.
She turned and stared at him for a moment, flashing a small smile at him. Unlike before this was not filled with the terrifying confidence and threat he knew her for, but a genuine thankful smile. For a brief moment, he did not see her as the bully that forced him to do the prince's bidding, just a depressed woman that was genuinely thankful for his support. Suddenly he couldn't help but feel guilty.
"It's sweet of you to try to make me feel better Patryk, but I'm afraid you're stuck with me." She said holding him with the smile, preventing his heart from sinking with her warm gaze. "I suppose I better take a look at your books while I'm here."
Her second sentence snapped him out of it and he felt a rush of panic.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! She'll find out how much I've been stealing from the prince again! There's no telling what she might do to me.
"It's a shame you can't go over his head, speak to the Emperor or something." He laughed nervously, as the woman picked up one of the ledgers.
Any moment now and she'll see, it'll be the end of me!"
She paused and shot Patryk an amused look.
"Honestly Patryk, if the Emperor had any sway over Prince Wilhelm, he never would have joined the army in the first place." She smirked with a hint of faux rebuke. "As for going over his head, I told you, he'd do anything to stop the major from taking me back and since they are attached to the General Staff, she has no direct superior to…"
The smile slipped from her face as her words trailed away. Her thoughts seemed to drift off with those lost words as she turned and stared off into the distance for a moment. Patryk didn't know what to do so stayed silent, silently thanking God for the intervention that may have just saved both his financial and literal life.
"I can't believe I've been so foolish." She said softly to herself before the fire returned to her eyes and her usual confident smirk returned to her face causing Patryk to instinctively tense up again.
Maybe comforting her wasn't such a good idea after all, he thought wondering if he'd made things worse for himself.
"Thank you, Patryk." She said leaning over and kissing him on the cheek before climbing off the desk. "You can be quite sweet in your own way. Even if it is all in the name of greed."
Patryk stood stunned, his face reddening as he slowly brought his hand up to his cheek. Had she really kissed him? He wasn't sure what he'd done ore said that had warranted the reaction, or indeed the sudden return to form for the terrifying young woman. But now that she was back, he was deeply confused.
"Just this once, I'll let you get away with what you've tried to hide away in those books." She continued as she strode towards the door. Had she known the whole time? Had she been playing with him?
Patryk's eyes widened as she stopped by the case.
"I will be taking the gold, however." She smirked at him, picking up the heavy case much easier than he had. "You have a terrible poker face Patryk, it would be better for you if you didn't lie."
With a wink, she left, leaving him with nothing but his dodgy ledgers. Somehow, she'd done it again, she'd robbed him of all his hard-earned cash. Curiously though, as he touched his cheek once again, he found he didn't mind so much this time. At least she'd left him the remaining assets he'd liberated from the bratty prince.
He sighed as he returned to his desk. I should arrange for the funds for Miss Sophia's treatment, then I'll move what I have left into something more profitable. Perhaps the iron mines near the Russy-Dacian border.
Yes, with the war in the south, an investment in the east would be the safest place for my money.
March 1st Unified Year 1926
General von Romel's Temporary Command Centre, Boulaaba Southern Turus Desert, 18:00
"Permission to lead a night reconnaissance mission, Sir!" Tanya proposed with a salute, struggling to maintain her usual professional demeanour as a smile threatened to form on her face. She'd been handed a golden opportunity that was too good to pass up and she was ready to seize it with both hands.
After assessing the tactical situation and the plan for the upcoming engagement in the general's HQ Tanya had noticed a convenient reason to quietly place herself away from the most dangerous part of the assault for once. Better still, she could achieve this in such a way that her reputation would remain unmarred and no one could accuse her of being a coward. Not only that, but her suggestion would also reduce her workload while making it appear like she was eagerly volunteering for more; further promoting her value to the general.
It was perfect! A chance to endear herself to her superiors with only the minimum effort required. Chances like this only came along once in a blue moon, perhaps it was a sign that Being X had finally given up and her misfortunes were coming to an end.
"You think that's necessary?" Major Broklaw, one of the analysts on von Romel's staff asked with a raised eyebrow. "Intelligence actually came through for once and the information from the scout planes seems reliable enough. There's no point wearing yourselves out before the fight even starts."
Unfortunately, the man had a point, but she wasn't about to let that stop her.
In Tanya's opinion, Major Broklaw was a solid officer whose advice she would usually be more than happy to listen to. He had a much more pleasing attitude towards overworking staff compared to many others in the military, often arguing that troops should be rotated out more frequently despite the limited personnel they had available. He was also very good at managing matériel and had proved to be pleasingly cost-conscious when it came to panning military operations.
In her opinion he should have been assigned to the service corps; he had proved to be quite adept at allocating just enough of their sparse supplies for each engagement so that nothing went to waste. Much like herself, he seemed to dislike any misuse of resources, so she felt a little bad for making his job more difficult by arguing against him.
However, since she and her battalion had been forced to be the vanguard of so many of their recent actions, she felt at least partially vindicated. There were plenty of other troops that could fulfil her role, particularly in such a small engagement; it was about time she got one of the easy jobs for a change. Besides, she'd built up a great deal of goodwill with the general, it was time to spend some of that capital.
"That may be true Major Broklaw, but our scouts have yet to make direct contact with the bulk of the enemy forces. I believe it prudent to confirm the air fleet and intelligence reports." Tanya replied unperturbed by the staffer's objection. She was willing to admit that intelligence had done a decent job for once but their reputation for failure was well known by now, particularly since Wilhelm all but crippled them by disgracing and murdering their previous leader. Looking at their track record, no one could completely trust anything with an Abwehr eagle as a letterhead, so she could comfortably use their dismal reputation to her advantage. If she could give her and her men an easier time as a result of the intelligence department's failures, then why not take it?
"But Major Degurechaff, this isn't like the Rhine, the size of this theatre means we can't always gain concrete intel before engagements. The intelligence we have is the best information we've had since our arrival on the continent, I really don't see the need for this." Broklaw persisted much to Tanya's chagrin, she had never realised it could be so annoying dealing with a competent officer. "Surely it's better that you and your officers rest up for now?"
"I believe it is a necessary precaution General." Tanya replied, changing tack and addressing her superior personally. Broklaw had to counter her suggestions because it was his job to provide an opposing view, however, he wasn't the one she needed to convince.
Romel remained quiet and thoughtful while his staffers engaged in a heated debate on the pros and cons of Tanya's suggestion. She supposed she couldn't blame them, they were the analysts that would have to manage her reports and her sortie would result in landing them more unpaid overtime. If their positions had been reversed, as she often wished they were, she would probably be screaming internally at the field officer that brought it up.
On the other hand, they couldn't argue with her, they knew she was right. Even with the reports from the scout planes, it was risky to base the entire attack plan with just the data they had on hand. They may have done it time and again on this campaign but no one was dumb enough to publicly admit that they'd been essentially working off guesswork the entire time.
"Let her go." Romel cut in eventually, proving that all the work she had put in getting on his good side had paid off. "I trust your instincts for war Major. Get to it."
Tanya thanked the general and snapped a crisp salute before heading out of the tent to prepare the battalion. She finally allowed the smile she'd been holding to cross her face, but stopped short of skipping, as she revelled in her success. She had to maintain some decorum.
Normal reconnaissance was a far cry from the recon-in-force missions that she and the battalion had so often been forced to perform on the Rhine, particularly at night. Recon-in-force was simply military jargon for "attack as deep as possible to test the enemy defences" while noting any strongpoints you encountered on the way. It was arguably one of the most dangerous operations a soldier could be involved in, thus one of Tanya's least favourite, and she'd been involved in far more of them than she cared to remember.
This time however, she would simply be performing area reconnaissance; the only expectation should she make contact with the enemy would be to fall back and report her findings. If all went well, she would be left out of the bulk of the fighting and return in time to help the mopping-up operation. It would be the perfect chance to avoid the more onerous tasks while still racking up the achievements.
She might even be able to go one better. Since they'd be operating under the cover of darkness, they might be able to get the jump on some of the enemy forces. An enemy that was unable to fire back was her favourite sort, risk-free and still counting when it came to totalling up the scores.
She wasn't sure what the general had meant about her war instincts though. She was certain she had no particular gift for discerning possible enemy actions, had she really given him the impression she was especially gifted in military matters? All she did was apply some simple logic, she wasn't a war manic like so many of the others that surrounded her.
Still, she shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth; she would just have to be careful not to appear overly enthusiastic for battle in future. They might get the wrong idea about her.
Eventually, she reached the battalion command tent and was greeted by both her adjutant and deputy, each of whom were busily seeing to their own duties. After a salute and a greeting, she quickly briefed them on her plan and set Weiss off to rouse the men.
She was about to dismiss Visha and get ready herself when the older girl shot her a look as though she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to proceed. By now Tanya and her adjutant had built enough trust with each other that nothing work-related would give her pause when reporting to her. She'd even been willing to converse on more personal subjects that Tanya would have preferred not to get involved with. The source of her hesitancy could only be one thing: Wilhelm.
The little captain had become a great concern for the entire battalion in these past months, not to mention a major drain on morale. Hers included.
Since the incident in Tripoli, and the subsequent injury and dismissal of the Zerbist sisters, Wilhelm had been morose and withdrawn. His mood had been like a black hole that had brought down everyone around him; almost as though the entire battalion was sharing his grief. It was strange, even she felt a twinge of regret when she was around him. Not that she'd seen all that much of him recently. He had been doing his best to avoid her again; in truth, it seemed as though he had been trying to avoid everyone.
As well as making himself unavailable as much as possible, he had also moved himself out of her tent, having now procured one of his own somewhere or another. He'd also ceased following her uninvited to meetings with the general and his staff. She'd initially been pleased about that but soon found it felt strange without him annoying her and dogging her every step; it felt almost empty.
Although he still attended the briefings required as a company head, he rarely spoke during them, instead lurking unseen in a corner until called upon. He even seemed to ignore the rest of the close combat company until they were deployed. It seemed he no longer wanted to have anything to do with anyone around him.
More worryingly, he continued this melancholy behavior even on the battlefield. Gone were the annoying impassioned pleas for peace that he used to unsettle the enemy, replaced instead with near-silent and almost mechanical assaults. It was unsettling for everyone to watch, including her. She had never taken any joy from killing, but she was always happy to see the enemy make a mistake, it wouldn't be untruthful to say that even she could muster some emotion on the battlefield.
However, Wilhelm now seemed strangely devoid of it. She used to think the small glint of manic pleasure that crossed his eyes as he killed was a sign that he was unhinged, but now she wasn't so sure. Somehow, being devoid of any emotion made him seem more unbalanced; wrong somehow. Part of her wondered if she was someway responsible, after all, she'd always wished he'd act more professional. Perhaps he'd finally tried to change. No that's irrational, if I were able to change Wilhelm, I'd have done it a long time ago.
She'd expected a drop in efficiency in his company and had resigned herself to the fact that she would need to step up and take over the majority of the boy's duties while he grieved. She wouldn't let it be said she was a cruel superior. Besides, she suspected he'd had the sisters do most of his work for him in the past anyway, he probably didn't even know what he was supposed to be doing.
However, she'd been stunned to find that Weiss and the other company commanders had quietly stepped in and essentially taken over the running of the close combat company for the boy, with the assistance of Sergeant Litz, who had irritatingly refused to be promoted to take either of the sisters' place. She'd even found Visha checking over some of his paperwork. When she'd questioned them on this, they simply admitted that they thought it was their duty to do what they could to help him through this.
Tanya had been puzzling over that ever since. As far as she could see they had no obligation to him, they weren't being compensated in any way. So why were they doing this? As his superior, only she had any duty to make sure he adequately recovered. In a strange way, she almost felt robbed.
She pushed those thoughts aside before sighing and dismissing Visha, promising she would see to Wilhelm. She took a breath to steel herself for the trial ahead before pushing out of the tent to search the camp for the wayward little captain.
She avoided the more crowded areas of the camp, as well as his accommodation for that of his company. If Visha's wary attitude was anything to go by she wouldn't find him there. Eventually, her search brought her towards the edge of the camp, and she had to force down a flare of frustration at the boy. This was hardly the safest place in the camp for someone who had so recently been the victim of an assassination attempt. She would never forgive him if the stupid idiot managed to get himself killed while sulking out here.
She found him standing on a sand dune near the perimeter, barely aware of the world surrounding him. He had drawn his sword and was staring at the blade intently, as though it would somehow change before his eyes. At first, she assumed he hadn't noticed her approach, but a subtle movement of the blade told her that he was at least aware enough of his surroundings that he could tell when someone was approaching from behind.
"Faithful." He muttered before she could open her mouth, "What does that mean? What do you think faith is exactly, Major?"
Tanya paused in her tracks; the question had caught her off guard and she felt off balance by the sudden inquiry. The topic bothered her too; it was an exceptionally strange subject for Wilhelm to ask about given his apparent tumultuous relationship with Being X. However, on the few occasions she'd been able to have a private conversation with him recently, questions like this were becoming disturbingly common.
She had often questioned Wilhelm's mental fortitude, but it was only since his bout of depression that she had seriously feared that Being X might prey on him.
"You're not telling me you've found God have you?" Tanya snorted derisively and slightly more aggressively than she had meant. She felt a genuine fear in her stomach that Being X might have somehow gotten to him. The Wilhelm she knew might have already been absorbed by mad zealotry, just like Dr Schugel. Although, on reflection, Schugel hadn't been much better before his "divine revelation." But Wilhelm may have already had what little rational thought he maintained stripped from his mind, replacing him with a puppet wearing his skin, praising the infernal creature that had sent her here.
"God" Wilhelm growled clenching his free fist, which Tanya took as an encouraging sign. It seemed that Wilhelm still had no love for Being X, perhaps he could still be brought back from the brink.
"Faith is imaginary, the invention of infantile minds." Tanya stated quickly, hoping it was possible to bring some sort of rationality back to the boy. If she were able to wrestle the boy's mind back from Being X, it proved that she would be able to keep her sanity out of his insidious clutches. "Faith is nothing more than a delusional state, caused by people who are unwilling to believe in empirical evidence."
"But we have evidence that thing exists." Wilhelm stated quietly, still not breaking his gaze from the blade of his sword.
"Being X isn't a god Wilhelm, his actions and the world we live in are proof of that." Tanya replied, struggling to temper her anger as she thought about the oppressive presence that had landed them here. "I admit he's something powerful, but it's more likely to be the Devil than a god."
Silence filled the air between them as the boy considered her words.
"Is that any better?" Wilhelm responded eventually in a depressed tone but Tanya found she had no answer for him. She simply wanted to survive and prove to the supernatural creature that it was wrong about humanity. That its irrational and illogical notions were nonsense, and that mankind had no need of so-called deities like him. She had never considered precisely what it was, she had never seen the need to speculate. Regardless of what it was, it didn't change her goal.
"But what about other kinds of faith, do you think they count?" Wilhelm continued, sounding almost hopeful as he lowered his sword and turned to face her for the first time. His eyes were red and puffy, it was clear he had been crying not so long ago. "Like faith in yourself, an organisation or even your comrades?"
Where has all this nonsense come from? Tanya thought, feeling increasingly uneasy about the boy's ramblings.
"The first is simple confidence, something I know you know all about." Tanya replied, hoping that discrediting this foolish faith idea might see the boy return to his senses. "As for the other two, as I said there is empirical evidence for their effectiveness. I don't follow the General staff due to blind faith, but because they have proven themselves to be rational and logical. As for my comrades, I've seen them perform multiple times, I know what they are capable of. I don't need faith in them; not even an idiot like you."
She'd expected, perhaps even hoped, that the last comment might shake him out of this strange mood. Usually, it would have escalated into another round of irritating bickering between them, but that was much more preferable than Wilhelm's confused philosophical questioning. At least she would have her Wilhelm back. However, the boy wasn't quite finished yet.
"But…What about faith in those that you care about and look up to. Faith that they can keep doing the impossible?"
"No one can do the impossible Wilhelm." Tanya replied instantly, slapping down the insane notion. Wilhelm needed to rid himself of these strange flights of fancy if he were to recover, she wasn't about to let him believe in fairy tales or heroes. Those things get people killed. However, she knew she also had to use a little tact in this situation, he was obviously still worried about Christina.
"It isn't impossible for Christina to recover, quite the opposite in fact." She added as a way of conciliation, "That's why you didn't need to send Captain Zerbist away with her."
On balance, she probably shouldn't have added the latter part, however, sometimes she found it exceedingly difficult not to chide him for making such foolish decisions.
Wilhelm seemed not to notice however and simply stared at her for a moment with a strange expression on his face before glancing back at the blade again one more time. After a moment more, and much to her relief, he let out a heavy sigh and sheathed his weapon, before turning back to her expectantly.
"I don't suppose you were here for the view." He said, his glum tone still present in his voice as he gestured out at the desert. "We have new orders I assume?"
Tanya nodded and quickly filled him in on the reconnaissance mission, ordering him to be ready as soon as possible. Again, she had hoped that the news might rekindle something in the boy. Although by design this mission would likely be light on any combat, she had hoped that the flight itself might pique his interest at least. It wasn't so long ago that he had begged her to join him for a recreational flight back when they were stationed on the Rhine. However, Wilhelm remained as still and mopey as ever.
"I doubt you'll have much need for close combat support on a simple reconnaissance run." He replied with a heavy sigh, turning and drawing his sword once again to stare at the blade. "It would probably be better if I stayed here and supported the General's advance."
Tanya felt a wave of anger run through her, and before she realised it, she'd surged forward, grabbed the boy's wrist and wrenched his arm down, almost causing the boy to drop the sword.
"I've had enough of this pathetic self-pity! It's time you pulled yourself together!" She spat before her brain could intervene; while Wilhelm tried to step back in shock only to be pulled back by Tanya's grip on his wrist. "I gave you an order, not a suggestion; you coming with me whether you like it or not!"
For the first time in months, a sliver of something from the old Wilhelm seemed to reappear in the boy's emerald eyes. Where patience, understanding and cold logic had failed, one thing seemed to spark some reaction from deep inside the boy. Fear. And accompanying that fear, a spark of defiance.
"What happened to following orders that are rational and logical, Tanya?" Wilhelm countered, the sadness melting from his voice as the real Wilhelm fought his way through. "What is the point in bringing close combat specialists on a mission where you only expect to encounter the enemy at a distance and then withdraw?"
"I'm not obliged to give any reasoning to you Wilhelm!" Tanya replied, inwardly pleased she'd prised something of the boy out of his miserable shell, even if it was only for a show of disobedience. "And if I was I would point out that one: there is the chance we'd be able to raid the enemy while they were unprepared, something you and your rabble are surprisingly good at. And two: in case you forgot, you're here so I can keep an eye on you and stop you from doing anything stupid that could damage the empire's chance of winning this war, so I want you in my sight as much as possible."
She'd given her reasoning without thinking and realised that by allowing the boy to stray too far away from her recently she'd made an unforgivable error. She'd allowed him to shirk his duties and spend time alone and for what? He wasn't a normal soldier that needed recuperation after a difficult time. This was Wilhelm, the cunning little bastard that had orchestrated a coup against his brother and brought down the Imperial spy network over a grudge. Who knew what damage he might have done while she'd let him off the leash.
But even as she thought this, she could see the defiance slipping from the boy's eyes as he sank back into himself and she began to doubt it.
"Get yourself suited up on the double. Sergeant Litz and your company can support the General." She said willing the flicker of Wilhelm that remained in those eyes to remain. "You however will be flying with me."
XxxxxxX
Dear Andrew,
I've finally arrived in the Republic of Germania and I must admit it's more beautiful than I imagined. After the way you described it as it was just after the war, I almost believed the place was still a pile of rubble. Thankfully, it seems the rebuilding effort not only restored the place but beautified it too. It feels more like a vacation than a working trip.
Not that I'm getting too much work done of course. Frau Ansbach is apparently a very busy woman and her personal assistant Frau Ivanovana seems to contact me every other day to postpone our meetings.
It wouldn't be so bad but I seem to have hit the limit of how much of her background I can unearth. Truth be told, I can't even find where she found the money to start the Urodela Corporation. I know the records were a bit spotty after the Great War but this seems a little ridiculous!
Anyway, since I had some free time, I thought I'd spend some time working on your project. I thought I might have another crack at interviewing some of the retired officers you talked about. I tried that Dr Schugel before I left Londinium but I couldn't make any sense of anything he said so I've started working through the list you gave me.
But honestly Andrew, I can't make any sense of your handwriting! Is the retired General Lergan or Rerugen? And where pray tell is Berun? Anywhere close to Berlun perchance?
Fortunately for you, I'm very good at my job, so I might be able to decipher something from your chicken scratches. I'll let you know if I find out anything new and I hope to see you again soon.
Kind Regards
Maggie
P.S I'll make sure to bring you back some blackberry schnapps. I haven't tried any yet, but I hear it's to die for!
Author's notes
Hello everyone and as always thank you for reading, reviewing, favouriting ect.
I meant to add end of part three to the last chapter as it was kinda the end of that arc of the story, with this being the opener for the next phase. That is in part, the reason it's taken a little bit to get this chapter ready, as starting is always a little slow going.
I also ended up rearranging things a little bit and moved something I'd already written into the next chapter. Hopefully that will mean that I should get the next one done a little quicker, but no promises.
Other than that I have little to add this time other than my usual thanks to Vickers and all you who read this.
Xanen