Henrietta could not believe her weary eyes. Standing right in front of her is her childhood friend. Louise, the young noble who was reported to have disappeared during the Tristain's Magical Academy's familiar summoning festival. Plenty of rumour have circulated around the campus and most people came up with the conclusion that due to her consistent failings in the academy to cast a proper spell, she used the familiar summoning festival as a means to run away from the academy in an attempt to save face from her peers.
Except, that is all there is to it. Baseless rumours. Henrietta herself did not believe it, she knew that Louise was too stubborn and too determined to suddenly disappear. Despite the heavy losses that they have suffered in the war, Henrietta was a little glad to know that fate gave her a sliver of hope. While Louise's sudden return and war-changing assistance won them the war, there was a question that was inside of Henrietta's mind.
"Where have you been?" Henrietta asked out loudly.
Louise looked up at her, a look of contemplation in her face. "I… I went to a very far place."
Tristain's princess perked an eyebrow, already taking note of how Louise is so out of character. "How far is this place that you are talking about exactly?"
"Very… very far, you could say that I went to a place that was out of this world."
A short giggle escaped Henrietta's mouth. "Come now, you're exaggerating."
Louise's only response was a nervous laughter that was picked up by the princess. Regardless of whether she wants to tell her or not, the main point of the matter is that Louise has returned, and she is happy that despite all of the responsibilities that were suddenly shoved to her when her mother abdicated the throne, there is someone that she knows who she could tell her burdens to.
"Surely you must have plenty of stories tell. You have been gone for months!"
Louise froze up. "Wait, could you please say that again?"
Henrietta looked at her, perplexed. "Indeed, it has been months since you disappeared from the academy."
Being a princess, Henrietta learned a few things whenever there is a massive event that requires her presence. Most of the time, she could tell the intentions of nobles whenever they walk up and speak to her from the look in their eyes. Greed, lust, and power were some of the most frequent things she picked up from certain nobles. Looking at Louise's eyes, she noticed that her eyes spoke of lies and… confusion? Confusion from what? Is what Henrietta is asking herself. But before she could further investigate what Louise was confused about, she paused and took a deep breath.
"One at a time Henrietta, one at a time." She told herself.
Meanwhile, Louise was having a small existential crisis. If what her childhood friend told her is true, she has been missing for a few months. While that fact alone is not enough to cause existential dread to her, it becomes an existential dread when she combines it with the fact that she had spent most of her teenage years participating in the Third Tiberium War back on Earth. She returned, with a copy of LEGION's complex A.I. matrix right after the Marked of Kane were activated using the only tower that the Brotherhood of Nod successfully defended from both GDI and the Scrin.
"LEGION, what is the meaning of this?" Louise asked him.
SCANNING ENERGY SIGNATURES DURING TRANSPORTATION TO HALKEGINIA…
There was a moment of silence that both of them shared. A silence that was broken when Henrietta spoke up. "Louise, we have completed our objective here and we are returning to the capital. Please, come with me, I'm sure you miss your parents dearly."
Memories back then began flooding back to Louise, she seized up realizing something. How would they react upon seeing her? She doubts her mother would react at all, she is stoic like that. But what about Cattleya? Her dear sister, the one who looked out for her during her childhood, the one who cared for her the most.
"LEGION, keep scanning those energy signatures." Louise said out loud making Henrietta tilt her head in confusion as to who she is talking to
COMMAND RECEIVED
QUESTION: ARE YOU RETURNING TO YOUR PARENTS?
Louise gave a short nod. "Do you need anything else?"
ANSWER: NEGATIVE, I WILL CONTINUE YOUR ORDER AND NOTIFY YOU IF I HAVE FOUND SOMETHING.
Louise gave another nod of understanding before focusing her attention back at Henrietta who looks completely lost, a look of concern on her face. "Is everything alright, Louise?"
Louise replied with a smirk. "Yes, everything is fine, your highness. Shall we?"
As the remaining army of Tristain slowly began to move, Louise noticed that all of the soldiers were already tired. Eager to help all of them out, Louise walked up to a heavily protected Henrietta. Agnes, quickly noticing the closing Louise, blocked her path and kept her at arm's reach.
"Halt, what business do you have with Her Highness?"
Noticing the tense look on Agnes' face, she decided to display a neutral look, a look that all soldiers know to create an aura of familiarity. "I wish to speak to her about providing transportation for all of the tired soldiers."
Overhearing this conversation, Henrietta stopped her steed and looked at Louise. "You mean to tell me that you could provide transportation for roughly five thousand soldiers?"
Louise gave a small nod. "If you are willing to wait for a few hours, I will arrange the transport."
A look of doubt spread across Henrietta's bodyguards, they all looked to the princess for an answer. After considering it for a couple of seconds, Henrietta decided to give Louise the benefit of the doubt. With a nod, Louise spoke.
"Thank you, your highness." She turned around and walked a few ways away until she was sure that she was out of hearing distance with anyone.
"LEGION, I want a convoy of Carryall aircrafts and Reckoners here as soon as possible."
CALCULATING TRISTAIN'S ARMY SIZE…
ANSWER: THERE ARE 5,083 TRISTAIN SOLDIERS, IT IS POSSIBLE TO FIT THE WHOLE ARMY. THE CARRYALLS AND RECKONERS JUST NEED TO BE REMODELED, THEIR AMMUNITION STORAGES AND SPARE WEAPONS WILL BE REMOVED TO CREATE SPACE.
QUESTION: SHOULD WE USE THE RECKONERS AND CARRYALLS THAT ARE STORED IN THE WAR FACTORY OR SHOULD WE BUILD NEW MODELS?
"Let's just use the stored ones, if there aren't enough, then make just enough." Louise said.
COMMAND RECEIVED
BUILDING 1 ADDITIONAL CARRYALL FOR THE REMAINING 83 SOLDIERS.
-LINE BREAK-
Plenty of soldiers had looks of confusion when they realized that they were still not moving and heading back home to Tristain. For another ten minutes, nothing much has changed aside from the fact that the soldiers started to sit down to rest their bodies, their minds slowly catching up to what had just happened. Plenty of people wore the face of regret, other mourned for the loss of their brothers-in-arms and some cried, the strain of the whole war taking a massive toll on their mentality.
Henrietta looked over to her subjects with a sad look on her face. Truly a grim ending for this war; they had won, but at a terrible cost. During this whole time waiting, Henrietta had some time to ponder about what she will do once she gets back to Tristain. At this point, announcing and glorifying their victory is the best way to improve morale around the kingdom.
"Brimir's name, what are those!?"
"I must be seeing this…"
"I must be dead… this must be what the afterlife looks like."
"Your Highness…" Agnes called out.
Her thoughts interrupted; Henrietta looked towards Agnes only to be confused seeing as her captain's attention is not on hers but on the sky. Curious as to what caught her captain's attention, she too looked up, only to stare in awe at what she was looking at. Numerous flying metal beasts with four circular wings flew towards them but that is not all, emerging over the hill where Louise and her golems came from were bulky carriages with no horses at all, the carriage was built in a way that it could hold out even from the breath of a fire dragon! All of these astonishing creations bore the similar black and red streaks pattern.
The carriages all parked in an arranged manner while the flying machines gently lowered on to the group a few ways away from the carriages. Both carriages and flying machines entrances lowered, both were located at the backside respectively. While the sight that stood before her was nothing but magnificent, she still managed to tear her attention away in order to look at an approaching Louise, a smile on her face.
"Just tell everyone to enter any one of these vehicles and once everyone is inside, we can make the trip back to Tristain." Louise said while gesturing to the vehicles that stood before Tristain's army.
-LINE BREAK-
LEGION had remodelled the Reckoners and Carryalls to accommodate for more capacity. Usually, both Reckoner and Carryall had a decent stash of weapons and ammunitions. For Reckoners, this design is a good choice since Reckoners are usually set up as temporary defences until the real defences were built, the ammunition stored inside of them ensured that garrisoned Nod soldiers would have the capabilities to defend a spot for a while and even contest against GDI armour support.
As for Carryalls, the purpose of the stash of ammunitions and weapons is to help reinforce Nod soldiers who are constantly moving from one battlefield to another. During the Third Tiberium War, one of Nod's strengths was their superior numbers when compared to GDI and because of this ammunition expenditure was relatively high when it was being distributed between the Brotherhood of Nod's troops. Carryalls in particular are capable of carrying large surplus of ammunition to supply soldiers whether they are being airlifted from base or being redesignated to a new battlefield, a Carryall would be able to resupply soldiers when their weapons run low or provide weapons to those to lost or broke their weapon during battle.
With that exposition out of the way, LEGION knew that the Reckoners and Carryalls that were being used by Tristain's army did not need these features so therefore he removed them. The change provided a substantial amount of free space that proved useful when accommodating more than five thousand soldiers. Now, the Reckoners were used to house cavalry horses while the Carryalls transported all the soldiers, meanwhile they are being safeguarded by Griffin Riders and Venom aircrafts.
Inside one of the Carryalls contained Louise, Henrietta and her bodyguards and Awakened bots. An awkward silence graced everyone in that particular carriage. Agnes and her musketeers showing signs of caution, their eyes never leaving the Awakened bots. Fingers tense and ready to pull the trigger in the event the bots stepped out of line. Now they were forced to be close with each other, Agnes and Henrietta had more time to look at the bots with intrigue. Looking at its construction, the plating that covered its body was made of a metal that they did no recognize, they both looked at the arms, attached was a cannon capable of unleashing a scalding beam that could melt metal instantly.
No matter how they looked at it, the Awakened bots were created to incite terror into the heart of the enemy. Its face was a black metal skull signifying that they were harbingers of death, the weapons it carried is capable of incinerating its targets to mere ashes and bring a gruesome death to those wearing metallic armour by cooking them inside the very thing that protects them from any outside harm. Agnes gulped nervously when she realized this. In the event that Louise becomes their enemy, she wondered with slight fear if there was any way for them to stop these mechanical monsters.
While Agnes mulled over the bot, Henrietta's attention was now at Louise. She watched as Louise fiddled with her laser rifle, disassembling it, checking for anything that could potentially damage the weapon before putting it back together with practiced ease. Her attention moved to the interior of the Carryall. For all intents and purposes, the aircraft that they rode on looked a little similar to a carriage; the walls were made of a thick metal to ensure the passengers inside are safe from any outside attack, three rows of seats with the middle row having back-to-back seats to ensure more passengers could ride.
"Louise." Henrietta called out.
Louise perked up when her name was called, "Yes?"
"Where did you get all of this?"
A question that piqued everyone's interest. Louise took a moment to process that question before looking sheepish. She nervously scratched the back of her head, a habit that Henrietta didn't know she developed. Louise took a sharp inhale before talking. "It's a long story. Maybe another time when we're free?"
Henrietta looked at her for a few seconds before agreeing. "Very well. For now, I am just glad to see you."
A smile spread across Louise's face. "Me too"
-LINE BREAK-
After a few hours of flight, they finally reached Tristain's walls. Everyone was impressed by the speed at which these vehicles go. It took a week for Tristain's army to reach Tarbes, but Louise's transports managed to cross that same distance in a matter of hours. Reactions were lesser than stellar when it came to the citizens of Tristain. Since the declaration of the war, people were completely nervous. So, to suddenly see multiple flying vehicles accompanies with large carriages, people truly believed that their beloved country has been beaten. Fortunately, all of those worries completely disappeared when the people saw the Henrietta leave the Carryall that she was riding. Tristain's remaining army reassembled to, and they marched down the street. Their march down the street was demoralizing; wounded soldiers walked side by side. The fallen were carried using wagons that were lent by the citizens in Tarbes but since their casualties were too many, plenty were left on the battlefield.
Families who saw their loved ones rushed past the mourning crowd and hugged them tight, the ones who could not find their loved ones wept and mourned for their loss. Truly, it is a dark day for Tristain. Aside from all of the mourning, whispers and gossips circulated amongst the crowd when they noticed Louise sticking out like a sore thumb. Of course, Louise was wearing her helmet so the people could technically not see her face but that is beside the point. Most soldiers who were greeted by the arms of their loved ones broke off from the march and simply went with them, most likely back to their homes.
The army marched back to the barracks were plenty of water mages awaited to heal the wounded. While the army recuperated, Henrietta's group continued on until they reached the castle. Henrietta turned around and faced Louise.
"This is goodbye for now, Louise. Perhaps once this dark cloud leave Tristain, you could grace me with where you have been. I will be very busy for these next months. Tristain is vulnerable at this moment and rebuilding the army will be a lengthy and expensive process. In the meantime, I will contact you family, I am sure that they would be looking forward to your sudden return."
Just before Henrietta could enter the premises of the castle, Louise spoke up. "Your Highness, is it possible for you to be available tomorrow?"
Henrietta gave Louise a tired and confused look. "It is possible… why do you ask?"
"I believe that you and I can strike a deal that would benefit Tristain as a whole… perhaps even make it powerful."
A contemplative look showed itself on Henrietta's face. With the current state of things, there is no shadow of a doubt that Tristain is currently helpless; with their army down to the singular digit thousands, there is no country looking to conquer them at this very moment. Germania being one of the first candidates that she could think of, if what she heard from rumours is true, Germania's emperor is greedy. Galia is another contender with the king being rumoured to be mad. Last and Tristain's most recent opponent, Albion. Although, after recent events and Louise's interception Henrietta doubt that they would be hearing from that country anytime soon.
Regardless of this victory, when Henrietta looked at the scenario in a bigger picture, their victory is rather small. Another army from a different country could easily overtake their country or she could just be forced to hand it over. After contemplating her choices, she gave another tired sigh before looking at her.
"I will make some time tomorrow, how about during the afternoon? After the first bell has struck."
"After the first bell… so that's 1 PM in the afternoon. I can do that."
Henrietta looked at her quizzically before letting it go. She gave a bow to Louise to which Louise replied with a bow of her own before both of the parted for the day.
-LINE BREAK-
That's chapter 2! I sure hope that you guys liked this one. It was a little difficult for me to write this one because I really wanted for Louise to show off, but at the same time I didn't really want her to just pump out machines of war like Avatars or, god forbid, a Redeemer. The progression for Louise's army growth will be slow and methodical; Louise will only build certain units if she requires it or if she is forced to.
Another thing I want to mention is the direction of this story, I'll be heavily making use of the Global Conquest game mode from Command & Conquer: Kane's Wrath.
That will be all, thank you so much for reading my story and I will see all of you in the next chapter.
