Avan: Hey man, didn't think you'd be back so soon.
KS: Yeah, well, I've been thinking about and I decided to make another chapter. Don't worry, you'll be meeting Baldren and Audrey soon enough.
Zeri: You mean to say we'll see them in the next chapter?
KS: Exactly.
Cosette: Oh, I'm so excited! (squeals)
KS: (laughs nervously) Okay, someone's excited. On with the chapter!
"I'm struggling to understand this," Gilbert said. "Why would you two want to be deployed together? You're more than capable of crushing our enemies on your own."
Recently, Baldren and Audrey requested that they accompany each other on Darcsen purges, much to their father's confusion. Although, he was completely unaware of the true reason as to why they requested to be together.
"Father, think about it," Baldren said. "We firmly believe that if we combine our two forces, there is a likely chance that Gallia will finally be liberated from the Darcsen scourge and overthrow Cordelia before the end of the year.
"Is that so?" Gilbert turned to Audrey. "And how were you persuaded by this request, Audrey?"
"While it may sound reckless, it can prove to be effective," Audrey responded. "And as a bonus, it may even catch those Lanseal brats off guard and completely demolish their morale. Wouldn't you agree, Father?"
Gilbert thought about this for a brief moment. On one hand, it does sound like sound like a large gamble, but on the other hand, two of the strongest commanders working side by side might be just the thing to tip the war into the Revolutionary Army's favor. He then made his decision.
"Very well, then. From this point forward, both of you will be deployed to secure a key position in the Kloden Wildwoods. Intel suggests that Lanseal will be deploying troops to attack our supply base. If we lose that, then ammunition and Ragnaid will be stretched thin until we can set up a new one."
"Thank you, Father," Baldren said, forcing a prideful smile. "I assure you, you will not regret this." He and Audrey left his private study and walked towards the armory. Along the way, Audrey let out a light sigh, which he managed to notice. "What is it?"
"Out of all the things you could've said, it had to be 'you will not regret your decision'," she growled. "Baldren, if he found out what our true intent for being paired together was, he would've shot it down completely, let alone regret it."
"It was all I could think of off the top of my head," Baldren countered. "And for the record, the atmosphere was palpable in his study. I swear the Valkyrur I was going to faint at some point."
The very mention of the Valkyrur made Audrey wince a little. "Baldren… I would appreciate it if you didn't bring up the Valkyrur anymore. After reading Mother's note, my opinion of them is not very pleasant."
Baldren nodded. "I understand completely. To be perfectly honest, my opinion of them isn't very good either. Guess we're both in the same boat, huh?"
Audrey chuckled. It was nice that they were having a conversation without any tension in the air. "Yes, it appears so."
After their visit to the armory, they headed outside the castle where a medium-sized force stood. There were at least thirty scouts, twenty shocktroopers, fifteen lancers, ten fencers and five tanks, including Audrey's personal tank, the Narcissus. A few of them noticed the walking towards them.
"What are Lord Baldren and Lady Audrey doing here?" a scout whispered.
"I don't know," a lancer whispered back. "Maybe they came to wish us good luck or something."
"Luck?" a shocktrooper scoffed. "Who needs luck when we have the the blessing of the Valkyria on our side?"
"Yeah, you got a point there," a fencer agreed.
Baldren and Audrey walked over to the large group with neutral expressions. The last thing they needed was to raise any uneccessary attention to themselves.
"So… is this all?" Baldren asked. A few soldiers looked confused by his question.
"What do you mean, sir?" one of the shocktroopers asked.
"What he meant was is this going to be enough to defend our supply line," Audrey answered.
"We believe so, ma'am," a lancer answered. "But just to be safe, we're thinking about letting the V2s assist us."
It took every nerve in the siblings' bodies to shout in protest. Their plan was simple. They would remain at the base camp while the soldiers were scattered around, keeping the cadets away from it. After their forces were stretched thin, the two of them would surrender to the cadets. Hopefully, the note they have will give them a reason not to shoot at them. But throwing Artifical Valkyrur into the mix will complicate the plan in more ways than one. They had to change their minds right now.
"Hold on, now," Baldren said, keeping his composure. "It's only defending a supply base. I doubt we'll be needing them for something so tedious."
"But sir, those cadets have been a thorn in our side long enough. If we take the V2s with us, our victory will be assured!"
Sounds of approval came from the other soldiers. Baldren was about to protest, but Audrey beat him to it.
"What is your rank, soldier?" she asked swiftly.
"Captain, ma'am," he responded.
"Captain, you say? Well, I am certain that there is quite a difference in our ranks."
"W-What do you mean?" He began to shiver in fear due to the aura Audrey was giving off. The other soldiers felt it and started to shiver as well. Baldren was the only one who was uneffected by this, although he did show some signs of concern for the soldier who was about to receive a tongue lashing from his sister of all people.
"You say that you are a captain, correct? I am a commander, as well as my brother. Therefore, it is our decision whether or not additional soldiers are needed for a mission. If we find out that you have already done something without our permission, you will suffer." Audrey walked closer until she was an inch away from the lancer. "Understood?"
The lancer gulped. "Yes, ma'am."
Audrey smiled, the tense aura around her dissolving. "Good." She walked over to the Narcissus and faced the rest of the soldiers. Baldren quickly followed his sister and grasper her shoulder, getting her attention.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"What for?" she asked.
"I was literally drawing a blank back there. If you haven't step in like you did, those fools would have suspected something."
Audrey cupped his face in her hands and gave him a soft look. "Baldren, don't overthink this. I understand that going through with this plan is nail-biting, but worrying about it is not going to make things better."
"But I can't help but worry. What the soldiers find out what we're up to? What if the cadets don't accept our surrender? What if some fool actually deploys V2s with us? What if-"
Audrey stopped his questions by hugging him. Baldren managed to calm down and breathe normally. Eventually, he hugged her back.
"I won't lie, Baldren. I admit that our plan will not go off without a hitch, but that doesn't mean we cannot try. We need to be confident that it will work. I want this chance at redemption, and I am certain you feel the same way."
Baldren nodded. "Of course. Before I found Mother's note, I always thought that it was the Darcsens that were ruining Gallia. But now, I realize I was mistaken."
"That makes two us," Audrey added. "If you haven't read that note, and if you haven't shown it to me afterwords, we could have caused more damage. We would be no better than the Empire with their treatment of Darcsens."
Baldren scoffed. "Treatment? Try punishment."
Audrey nodded. "Right. Now, let's go make Mother proud, shall we?"
"We shall." Baldren turned to the rest of the squad. "Forward march, men! This will be our day of glory! We will make Lanseal regret the day they stood in our path!"
There was a roar of approval from the soldiers as they headed for the Kloden Wildwoods. If only they knew what was in store.
"Wonder what Brixy called us down for," Avan said, leaning back in his chair. For some reason, he and the rest of Class G were ordered to go down to the meeting room, but no details were given as to why.
"I don't really know," Cosette answered, looking down. "I busy redecorating my dorm room before I was told to come here."
"I was in the library, studying," Zeri added, glancing at Avan. "Unlike some people."
"Dude, you suck when it comes to subtlety," Avan deadpanned.
"I wasn't trying to be," Zeri countered.
"Hey, will you two shut up?" Franca snapped. "Everyone here tense and your bickering isn't helping in the slightest."
"She has a point," Helmut agreed. Franca turned around and glared at the Imperial, who flinched at the intensity of her gaze.
"Shut up. I don't remember asking for your opinion."
Helmut lowered his hat over his eyes and muttered to himself.
Pretty soon, the meeting room erupted with anxiety. Apparently, they class were doing something important before they were interrupted. Chloe finally got inspiration and was doing a sketch of a flower she saw near the training grounds, Joachim finishing the rest of his physics assignment, Sofia was flirting with some sucker from Class B and was close to getting him alone in her dorm room and Melissa… well, she was stalking Zeri as usual. The list pretty much went on from that point forward.
"Alright, settle down," Brixham ordered as he walked the room. The class went silent as soon as he was in front of them. "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why you were called here all of a sudden."
"No kidding! What's the deal?!" Erik called out rudely, causing Alexis to punch the side of his head.
"As I was saying, we have gotten word that the rebels have a large supply base out in the Kloden Wildwoods. Capturing it now will guarantee that their supply line is severed."
"Hey man, not that I'm complaining or anything, but what makes this so urgent?" Avan asked.
"There have been reports that two rebel commanders were spotted alongside the squad assigned to defend the base," Brixham answered with a grim expression. The class nearly dropped their jaws hearing this.
"W-What?!" Anisette shrieked in horror.
"Is this for real? Man, as if our luck isn't bad enough," Joachim moaned.
"This is indeed unfortunate," Mischlitt muttered.
There was a large amount of negativity coming from Class G. Two commanders allied in the same squad? That was bound to lower some spirits. Except for one.
"Don't tell me you're just gonna throw in the towel!" Avan exclaimed, facing the his classmates. "Look, I know this looks difficult, close to impossible, even. But that doesn't mean we can't try. As far as I'm concerned, the moment that we give up, we've already lost the battle. I don't want to lose to these commanders without putting up a good fight and I'm sure you all feel the same way."
The room was silent once again. The rest of Class G started to mutter amongst themselves, realizing that Avan had a point.
"He's right!" Cosette added, facing her classmates as well. "We won't know for sure if we'll succeed unless we give it our best shot!"
There were now sounds of agreement among the classmates.
"Honestly, I expected more out of you people," Zeri sighed, remaining in his seat. "I thought you wanted to prove that we weren't the worst class in Lanseal history. If we pass up an opportunity like this, none of the other classes, especially Class A, will let us hear the end of it. You don't want that to happen, do you?"
A large amount protests rang out from them, showing that they were obviously against the idea of being considered the worst class. Brixham let out a small grin at this.
"I take it that your all ready then?" He asked. Avan, Cosette and Zeri turn to him with determined looks.
"You kidding? We were born ready!" Avan answered.
"Good to hear." He opened his eyes and raised reached his arm towards the cadets. "Lanseal's bell has tolled! Squad G, move out!"
KS: Alright, the three of you get to the woods, I'll start writing on the next chapter.
Avan: Got it, dude.
Cosette: Okay!
Zeri: Understood.
KS: Hold up, Zeri, I need to speak with you for a minute.
Zeri: (turns to Avan and Cosette) Go on. I'll catch up.
(Avan and Cosette run off)
Zeri: What do you want?
KS: I have something important for you to do in the next chapter. (leans toward Zeri and whispers in his ear)
Zeri: You want me to do that?
KS: Yeah. If you get the chance, show it to Mischlitt or Magari. I'm sure they'll want to see it as well.
Zeri: I understand.
KS: Great. Now go catch up with those two.
(Zeri runs off)
?: I'm certain you haven't forgot about us.
KS: (turns around and grins) Come on, I wouldn't even dream of forgetting you... No. 7.