A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it.
EMPIRE
TWENTY FOUR
Northern Sahara, Approximately thirty five kilometers west of pre-war border
North African League
May 6, 2015
Harry fought the urge to sigh as he scanned the western horizon with his naked eyes. He had a pair of binoculars with him, but the ocular device was secured around his neck with a lanyard, which was a good thing because his right hand was enclosed around the pistol grip of his AR22 assault rifle – with his index finger inside the trigger guard, just a few millimeters away from the trigger – while his left hand was over his head, keeping his cover – a desert camouflaged campaign hat – from flying off of his head.
The young commander – he certainly was one of the youngest in the history of the Holy Empire – knelt on one knee while beside him, two marines – both armed with the same rifle as Harry – kept their guns pointed westward. He knew that both marines are ready to open fire, and he knew that those marines would open fire without hesitation once they are given the command.
Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on the point of view – this was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission. The members of the Marine Force Recon – combined with Imperial Navy SEAL's and Ground Forces Engineering units – had been sent out to examine the ground that would soon be the scene of epic fighting between the Britannian Eight Army and the remaining North African League forces in the area, though as much as possible, Britannian counter-intelligence is trying to keep the exact date of the launch of the offensive a secret from the North Africans.
Strictly speaking, Harry need not go out with this unit, him being the commander, but he had decided to go out anyway, allowing him to divide the nearly fifty men under his command this time into three groups. Harry retained command of the second group, which is the close cover for the largest of the three groups, the ones that were doing the actual examination.
The first group is under the command of Harry's old partner, Lieutenant Edward Brooke, and was deployed slightly ahead of the second group. Their mission was to watch for approaching unknowns and to report the same to Harry who would then decide what to do. Owing to the distance-related assignment of that group, all six of the snipers that were deployed with this unit were under the command of Lieutenant Brooke.
As Harry removed his left hand from over his head, he finally let out a single sigh. He turned his attention toward the two men with him – he had deployed his twelve man squad on the cardinal points of the compass, three men each direction – and motioned for them to lower their guns. If the North Africans are coming, Edward would have them in his sights first, and Harry had no doubt that his old partner would give them enough warning, not only for the men and Harry to raise their arms again toward the direction where the North Africans are coming from, but also for Harry to arrange all of his men into the optimal ambush position.
The events of the past ten days had been hectic to say the least. Two hours after Lord Alexander had promoted Harry to his current rank devoid of any ceremony, Hermione woke up from her medically induced coma. Harry, of course, was the first person inside her room, overtaking even the emergency doctor who was alerted to her regaining consciousness via wireless feed.
After Harry had made sure that she was fine – really, it was after she had admonished him after he started to make a fuss over her – Lord Alexander and Lady Emma entered the room to check on Hermione themselves. The Archduke and his Archduchess are not really that interested in knowing who the person that Hermione had recognized, but Hermione volunteered the information even before the Archduke could steer the conversation into the attack.
'It was a schoolmate of mine,' Hermione had said, 'an older Gryffindor student, Cormac McLaggen.'
Harry had not met the man during the few weeks that he was deployed to Hogwarts, but that was not surprising considering that Hermione and the man ran in different circles. It was just that the man was an upper-class of Hermione who was her housemate that she recognized him.
'He was disguised,' Hermione also said, 'The kind of disguise that I would not have expected from a pureblood, and he is a pureblood.'
Needless to say, the former Gryffindor was now one of the most wanted men in the whole of the Holy Empire with a bounty of a quarter of a million pounds hanging over his head. It was a bounty that was larger than the one of the head of Professor Severus Snape and Alastor Moody combined.
At the same time, Lord Alexander had tasked an investigative unit – a combined unit from the Imperial Investigation Bureau, the Imperial Security Agency, and the Imperial Central Intelligence Agency – that had secretly flown in from the mainland to investigate McLaggen and his connections with both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters. Harry also suspected that Lord Alexander had ordered the unit to keep an open mind in regards to third parties actually trying to enter the secret war, though Harry had not actually heard his liege lord say as much.
What Harry does know – from the letters that Hermione had sent via secure electronic link – is that Hermione is now attached to that unit as the embassy liaison. Any and all results of the investigation of that team would go through her after she had been appointed by Lady Emma for the position.
At the same time that Harry was sent back to Cairo then the frontlines – two days after Hermione had been released from the hospital, and just three days ago – he had been informed of sightings of several Order members in the British Isles, but because the report came in while Harry was planning for this operation, he had not had the chance to look into the report just yet. He promised himself that he would look into the report after he finish debriefing his men and General Neville Tovey – who is now present in all debriefings together with Major General Anton Carleton, the commander of North Africa Theater Special Forces Command – of the situation.
As his thoughts drift to the man who is in command of the Eight Army, Harry could not help but think about the situation at the frontlines. Elements of the Eight Army – specifically, XXVII Corps, with its two armored division and its two mechanized infantry divisions – had already moved to the designated start lines, although most of the men that form the corps are, as of yet, unaware of when the offensive would start.
At the same time, the Imperial Fleet had increased their operational tempo, hoping to catch a few more elements of the North African Fleet in battle, but since their disastrous defeat at the hands of Lord Alexander, the North African admirals had kept their ships close to port and had refused to venture out.
Harry knew that the loss of their armored cruisers had disturbed the North African League Admiralty. Of course, with their fleet closed at hand, the North African Admiralty could use them to support defensive efforts, though there is somehow doubt that that would happen owing to the presence of the Britannian fleet.
With regards to Lord Alexander's planned offensive from the west, there was no news, though that was hardly surprising given operational secrecy. In any case, Harry knew that his job was not to think ahead of his liege lord, but rather to support him to the best of his ability when the time comes.
One of the supports that Harry was expected to give Lord Alexander was advice on the North African mage unit. Following his promotion to Commander, Lord Alexander had specifically chosen Harry to be the officer in charge of the unit that was investigating the North African mage unit.
What was originally a unit that was set up in order to investigate the likelihood of a North African mage unit had became a unit that was tasked with locating and dismantling the same. It was not an easy job given the secrecy that still shrouded the magical world, but though Harry – and the men under his command – would acknowledge that their job would be easier if the shroud of secrecy was lifted, none of them would suggest the same given the possible consequences of such a decision.
A sigh escaped from the lips of Harry before he returned to the present. He fought the urge to once more take his binoculars and scan the horizon in front of him. He knew that if there would be a problem, the unit under the command of Lieutenant Brooke would do exactly what they are supposed to do.
Harry hated not doing anything and that was the reason that he turned his attention away from the west and back to the east, toward where the largest team was doing their job. A good twenty meters separated Harry and his two man team from where the third team was, but because this was desert, there was really nothing that was preventing him from watching the Ground Forces engineers poke the desert with their sticks. Exactly what those men were trying to do with those sticks, Harry could only vaguely understand, though he knew that those sticks measure the consistency of the sand, or some such, to make sure that they could support the weight of heavy military equipment.
Harry glanced at his wristwatch and noted the time before he returned his attention to the west. 'Half an hour or so more before we have to get out of here,' he thought. The timetable was dictated by circumstances, because it was well known that the North African League sends regular patrols along this route. Harry privately thought that he and his people could take out the patrol, but at the same time, doing so may alert the North African League of the impending offensive.
To be sure, they are already probably aware of the coming blow of the hammer, but they do not know exactly when that hammer is going to fall.
"Sir," the voice of one of the men in his team tore Harry out of his reverie, and the young naval commander turned his attention back toward the west. A questioning look was on the face of Harry as he regarded the young marine who got his attention, though before Harry could say anything, the young rifleman pointed toward the horizon.
Harry turned his attention toward the direction indicated just in time to see someone approaching at a run. His first instinct was to raise his rifle and order the man to stop, but Harry did not do that because he was able to – albeit belatedly – recognize the uniform that the man was wearing.
The approaching man was one of the men under the command of Lieutenant Brooke.
Waving his arms, Harry ordered the two marines that were already pointing their weapons toward the direction of the man to lower their weapons. At the same time, Harry broke into a run to meet the approaching marine. If the marine was running, then there surely was news and Harry could not wait for the fifteen second that it would take the man to cross the remaining distance to hear that news.
"What's going on?' Harry asked as he intercepted the marine.
"Commander," the marine said, "Lieutenant Brooke sent me, he reports that there are approaching vehicles, fifteen in all, from the direction west, markings on the vehicle indicates that they are North African."
Harry fought the urge to curse at the same time that he turned his attention toward the marines under his direct command. His first instinct was to order his men back at the same time that he would order another messenger – not the one that had just made the report – to get Lieutenant Brooke and his people back here, but before he could make up his mind, another thought blossomed on the mind of Harry, and as it did so, a deadly grin creased his face.
Headquarters, Britannian Imperial Grand Fleet
Gibraltar, Holy Empire of Britannia
May 6, 2015
Hermione gently rapped her knuckles on the wooden door that marked the entrance to the dining room here she knew her liege lord and his lady were enjoying their breakfast. The sound of someone from the other side – and it was a male voice, so it was Lord Alexander – telling her to come in was all that Hermione needed to hear before she used the same hand that knocked on the door to turn the knob.
Hermione gently pushed the door after a few moments – after a bit of hesitation, for unlike Harry, Hermione was still not that used to dealing with Lord Alexander, though she is very used to Lady Emma – and was staring at the make-shift dining room where Lord Alexander and Lady Emma were having their breakfast.
That the room was not usually a dining room was evident owing to its size. Hermione knew that the dining room was downstairs at the ground floor and it was filled with tables for the sailors and soldiers that were assigned to this place. The dining hall also serves buffet rather than sit-down, but certain accommodations have to be made for Lady Emma – and Hermione knew that it was for the Archduchess because she knew for a fact that Lord Alexander and his staff made it a point to have breakfast down at the dining hall.
A small table – it could seat four – was placed in the center of what was clearly a spare bedroom. A makeshift table cloth was then thrown over the same in order to hide the fact that it was probably a simple desk or planning table. Over said table cloth, four sets of utensils were placed, complete with four platters of breakfast dishes at the center of the table with a pitcher of juice and a pot of coffee.
Hermione had to admit that this was not what she had expected when she was told to join Lord Alexander and Lady Hermione for breakfast and for her presentation of her report. That was the reason why she hesitated once more when she saw two of the most powerful nobles in the Holy Empire seated beside each other at one end of the table, but a quick smile from Lady Emma made Hermione decide to stay.
That this was an informal meeting was advertised by the fact that both Lord Alexander and Lady Emma were wearing informal clothing. Lady Emma was wearing a white shirt – which Hermione suspected she nicked from the cabinet of her husband – and a long pair of blue jogging pants – 'that also probably came from his wardrobe,' Hermione thought – while Lord Alexander was wearing a Fleet Physical Exercise Uniform – a white shirt with the insignia of the Fleet on the upper left hand portion of the shirt together with a pair of gray jogging pants – that most officers often use as their nightwear.
That does not mean, however, that the General-Admiral was unarmed, as Hermione could see the pistol grip of the non-standard – and actually foreign-custom – sidearm of Lord Alexander – 'He's the General-Admiral, so he gets to decide what kind of pistol he gets, and Lord Alexander chose the P11(S),' Harry had told her once – poking out of his jacket which hung from the backrest of the seat of the General-Admiral.
"Set to," Lord Alexander said, forcing Hermione out of her reverie. She turned toward the Archduke of England just in time to see the man motion for her to take one of the seats at the other end of the table.
Hermione hesitated, and she could tell that Lady Emma had expected her hesitation. The Archduchess smiled at Hermione before she nodded, telling Hermione that it was alright to join them, but there was still some hesitation on the part of the young witch.
After a few moments, she did finally take a seat, choosing to sit in front of Lady Emma – since she was more used to the Archduchess than her husband – though she still was not sure what she should do next.
"Try the eggs," Lord Alexander suddenly said, "They're very good," and with a slight smile, he turned toward Lady Emma and said, "I really should conscript your chef and have him placed aboard my flagship."
Lady Emma let out a small smile before she replied, "He's Spanish, dear."
"Then I would offer him citizenship if he would consent to serve aboard the Iron Duke," Lord Alexander declared. He returned his attention toward Hermione and said, "You really should eat something, else not only would your doctor, but also your boyfriend would be coming after me."
Hermione managed a blush at that, but she hurriedly hid the redness on her face by bowing slightly and reaching for the platter with the eggs. Her action precluded her from seeing the amused smile on the face of both Lord Alexander and Lady Emma, and because both have removed the smile on their faces a few moments later, Hermione did not actually see the look on their faces.
Once Hermione had filled her plate – not only with eggs but with the other breakfast selection that was on the table – Lord Alexander said, "I know we asked you here to hear your preliminary reports on the bombing in the Embassy, but we could discuss that over breakfast."
"First off though," Lady Emma said, glancing toward her husband with an annoyed look – and Hermione suspected that that was as close as she would get to witnessing a private moment between the married couple – "How are you?"
It was a question that Hermione had expected from Lady Emma, but because the Archduchess had been personally monitoring Hermione over at the Kingdom of Spain since she was released from the hospital, Hermione instantly realized that the question was asked for Lord Alexander.
"Not as good as I was before the incident, my Lady, admittedly," Hermione said, "but I am getting better."
Lady Emma smiled at her before she said, "I was worried when you volunteered to take charge of the investigation, Hermione," she admitted, "You had no experience in such investigations before, and there were a few snags with the investigation committee, but you have proven them wrong and you had impressed a great number of them."
At that, Hermione had reason to blush. She had kept that fact from Harry, the fact that she had volunteered to take charge of the investigation. At the time that she made the request, she was just newly released from the hospital, and she had to admit that she was not thinking properly owing to the effect of the drugs.
As an added afterthought, she did not really think that Lord Alexander would consent to giving her the job, and no one was more surprised about the appointment than her. Of course, those members of the two intelligence agencies that were investigating the bombing – Imperial Intelligence and Imperial Investigative Bureau – rarely got along, so they saw her appointment as an attempt to get a neutral person over them.
Lady Emma, though, was correct. Hermione knew that in the last few days that she had worked with the composite team that had been tasked with the investigation, she had impressed a great many of the members of the composite team, spotting things where most of them would not even look.
Hermione supposed that it was the function of experience. The men and women that she are working with have had years of experience, and while, in general, that experience was something that they could rely on, it also meant that they are looking – subconsciously or not – at established patterns. Sometimes, that is a mistake.
"It helps to have a fresh set of eyes," Lord Alexander said as he put down his knife and fork over his plate. The Archduke then lifted his cup of coffee and sipped from it before he returned his attention toward Hermione, "Those that are staring at something for far too long often find themselves looking for things that they expect to see, rather than trying to make sense of things that they are actually seeing."
Hermione nodded, but did not say anything. She did turn her attention toward her plate – untouched – before she returned her attention toward Lord Alexander who smiled at her and politely inclined his head toward her direction.
"Eat something, Hermione," the Archduke of England said, "I am afraid that your boyfriend might find something to fault me with if you do not eat."
Lady Emma actually laughed at that, "While I suppose we could see Commander Potter as someone like you, husband, I think he would be far more sensible than you."
"I resent that," Lord Alexander said, but after a few moments, he did join in with Lady Emma, and started laughing.
Hermione stared at the two of them for a few moments, wondering if it was some private joke between the two of them that made the two of them laughing that way, but after a few moments – as she cut a piece from the perfectly cooked egg in her plate, actually – she decided that she does not need to know.
The laughter between Lord Alexander and Lady Emma lasted for a few more moments, but by the time that it died down, even Hermione could tell that the time for serious talk had arrived. Subconsciously, she straightened up at her seat before she turned her attention toward two of the most powerful people – arguably – in the Holy Empire.
"I think that, as a member of the Embassy staff, you would be more comfortable starting with the international implications of the attack at Madrid, Hermione," Lord Alexander said. The Archduke of England once more sipped from his coffee, but this time, Lady Emma followed suit, also sipping from her own coffee cup.
Hermione had been prepared to bet that that was where Lord Alexander would ask her to begin. There was no point in briefing Lord Alexander and Lady Emma on the identity of the bomber because both of them had already devoured as much information as they could gather regarding the man.
Hermione had spent some five years living in the same tower as Cormac McLaggen while both Lord Alexander and Lady Emma spent less than twenty four hours in the same castle as the man, but Hermione was prepared to bet that the Archduke and his wife know almost as much as the would-be bomber as Hermione.
As she watched the action of the General-Admiral and his lady, Hermione reminded herself that Lady Emma was more comfortable drinking coffee than she is in drinking tea, unlike most female members of the nobility. Hermione also knew for a fact that, between Lord Alexander and Lady Emma, it was the latter that drinks more coffee.
Hermione could actually remember a letter from Harry about Lord Alexander complaining to his staff about the caffeine that Lady Emma takes on a daily basis.
Hermione, however, forced herself to return to the present. The mind that had served her so well during her time at Hogwarts – a mind that allowed her to claim the title of 'the brightest witch of her age' – had served her well as a servant of the Golden Throne, and it was that mind that allowed Hermione to be able to give her report despite the fact that she actually did not carry any written report with her when she entered the room.
"Reaction from allies and likely foes were within what was expected, sir," Hermione replied, "Of course, the Kingdom of Spain is still thinking that we are going to blame them, which, may prove problematic in the future."
"How so?" Lord Alexander asked. Hermione turned her attention toward him and got the distinct impression upon looking at his face that the Archduke was already well aware of the answer to his own question but still asked. Hermione could not decide whether or not he was testing her, and whether or not she liked it.
Nevertheless, since she had been asked a question, Hermione answered, "They could increase security around the compound where the embassy is, Your Grace," she said, "While the same may seem to be a boon to us, such increase security would, inevitably, mean an increase in the number of patrols and soldiers around the embassy, which could easily be used by the Kingdom of Spain as a form of surveillance against the embassy."
Lord Alexander actually smiled at her before he nodded. For a few moments, there was silence in the room as Lord Alexander sipped at his coffee once more – and Hermione was surprised that Lady Emma was not saying anything, but she put it down to the fact that the Archduchess was probably of the opinion that this was probably because the lady had already shared her misgivings with her husband, which was not really that surprising – but that silence ended when the Archduke replaced his cup on the saucer on the surface in front of him.
"And what of the biggest concern we have in mainland Europe?" Lord Alexander asked.
Hermione instantly knew who Lord Alexander was talking about, "The Prussians are most certainly not the ones who are behind the bombing," Hermione reported, though even she knew that that report was superfluous. Everyone was already aware that the Prussians are not the ones behind the attack, especially since Hermione was the one who had identified the attacker.
Of course, there was still the opinion that her former schoolmate was acting upon orders of a select few members of the Prussian Empire. Hermione supposed that that was to be expected. after all, the Prussian Empire had always been the biggest rival of the Holy Empire, and it was not exactly a secret – at least to those who are in the magical world – that following the imperial take-over of Hogwarts, the Death Eaters and their followers had fled to Prussia and sought refuge there.
Such a move would not have been possible without at least some token support from the Prussian Empire, and there are unconfirmed reports that the Prussian Empire had actually taken in some of these Death Eaters.
"And your basis for such a conclusion, Hermione?" Lord Alexander asked, leaning forward toward Hermione as he did so.
That action was all that Hermione needed to see in order to know that this time, Lord Alexander really was asking a question. Whether it was because the Archduke of England was of the opinion that the Prussian Empire had something to do with the bombing or not, however, Hermione could not tell.
A mental sigh escaped from Hermione before she said, "The person who carried the actual bomb was someone whom I knew, though not that well," she admitted, "Still, your grace, it stands to reason that the Order and the former Headmaster of Hogwarts was behind this attack, given that Cormac McLaggen was someone whom the Death Eaters would rather not associate with," she paused for a few moments but quickly added, "He was a former Gryffindor and he has familial connections to the Order of the Phoenix."
Lord Alexander nodded, though he paused for a few moments after that, evidently digesting the information that Hermione had just given him. Hermione kept her silence during that time, as did Lady Emma, though it was obvious that she and Lord Alexander were having some sort of communication as they stared at each other.
After what seemed to be an hour – but in reality, was just a few seconds – Lord Alexander gave his wife a small nod before he returned his attention toward Hermione, "It is one possible explanation of his loyalty, Hermione," Lord Alexander said.
Hermione nodded, well aware of what the Archduke of England was saying. The report that McLaggen used to hang out with a cadet from the Imperial Naval Academy – one of those deployed to Hogwarts Castle in 1995 together with Harry – was considered to be a matter of grave importance.
If the man who had carried a bomb to the Britannian Embassy – thus illustrating his hostility against the Holy Empire – was friends with a member of the Fleet, then this must be investigated, for it is possible that such officer had been compromised, and if so, it must be determined how deep and how far such corruption had spread.
Equally important is to find the answer to the important question of just who influence who. If it was McLaggen who influenced the unknown cadet, then they may have a sleeper within the ranks of the Imperial Fleet, but it was ten times more worrisome if the inverse was true, if it was the unknown cadet who influenced McLaggen.
Such would indicate a cancer within the ranks of not only the Imperial Fleet, but probably within the whole of the Holy Empire itself.
"The Naval Academy connection also worries me, Your Grace," Hermione finally admitted
Before she could say anything, she was distracted by the bright smile on the face of Lady Emma as well as the amused one on the face of Lord Alexander, "I think I know why you are worried about that," the Archduke of England said, but before Hermione could say anything, the General-Admiral shook his head, precluding Hermione from saying anything, "The loyalty of Commander Potter had never been in doubt, of that, you could be certain."
"In any case," Lady Emma suddenly said, "The reports had indicated that our mystery cadet made the acquaintance of our bomber during the 1995 Hogwarts deployment, and while this may only be conjecture at this point, I tend to agree with the report that this is the most likely scenario," the Archduchess beamed at Hermione once more before she added, "And we all know that Commander Potter spent most of his time with the girl who would someday replace his mother as Lady Potter."
Hermione actually blushed at that, though once more before she could say anything, Lord Alexander returned to the conversation, "The deployment model had always called for an even number of students to be deployed to the field," he turned toward Hermione and asked, "Do you understand the implication of that?"
The relatively young girl – well, she was nine years younger than both Lord Alexander and Lady Emma – nodded. The fact that the naval cadets were deployed in an even number was to facilitate pairing, and this means that in field deployment, a cadet would always have a partner.
What the Archduke was saying is that the unknown cadet, who had a partner, probably influenced both cadets or – if the inverse was true – then the two cadets were the ones who had influenced the former Hogwarts student.
"I think we can also remove Lieutenant Brooke from the list of suspects," Lord Alexander said, "As the partner of Harry during that deployment, he would have kept an eye on him," and with a smile, the Archduke added, "And the lieutenant would have kept an eye on him as well, which, quite frankly, made him busy."
Hermione blushed once more at that. She knew what the Archduke was saying, that because Harry and she were too busy hanging out with each other, Edward Brooke probably did not have much spare time because he was also keeping tabs on Harry.
"That being said, however, there remains the possibility of a cancer within the ranks of the Imperial Navy," Lord Alexander said, his face turning serious. For a few moments, there was a pause before the Archduke turned his attention toward his wife and said, "I would not have a repeat of this incident, especially when you are concerned."
Lady Emma – perhaps for the first time in public – put down her foot on what Lord Alexander was about to suggest before he had even made the suggestion, "No," she replied, and before Lord Alexander – who looked ready to argue – could even his mouth to argue, the Archduchess once more put her foot down, "Those men are not even supposed to exist, you cannot – and I will not allow – their existence to be compromised because of a threat that we cannot even be sure truly exists."
"It does exist," Lord Alexander argued, "they have already tried to attack you."
"They tried to attack the embassy, not necessarily me," Lady Emma replied, she smiled toward Lord Alexander and Hermione watched as the Archduke actually visibly deflated, "Those men, you would need them for something else, something bigger and something far more exciting than simple guard duty."
As Lord Alexander stared at Lady Emma, Hermione watched both of them at the same time that she wondered exactly who the Archduchess was referring to. From the words that had been used, she could deduce that it would be a group of men, probably a military unit, but being – technically – a civilian, Hermione was not sure whom Lady Emma was referring to.
In any case, from the tone used by both the Archduke of England and his wife, it seemed certain that this unit that they were referring to was not going to come from the old ranks of the Imperial military.
Hermione, however, could not figure out why Lord Alexander would find the need to raise a new unit, and from the reaction of Lady Emma, it was clear that the unit was a secret. That made things even more confusing, because Hermione could not really figure out why Lord Alexander – who is in command of the North African Theater composed of his fleet and the Eight Army – would not only raise a new unit, but also keep the same a secret.
Northern Sahara, Approximately thirty five kilometers west of pre-war border
North African League
May 6, 2015
General Zakarria Akrnoul was uncomfortable with the four stars on both of his shoulders, but the man knew that he had to keep up appearances, especially since he received his promotion while in the middle of a crisis.
At least, he would have labeled it as a crisis, but his superiors would rather not talk about the reason why the youngest division commander in the North African League was suddenly the youngest general ever given the task of, at the least, holding an entire Britannian Army.
His subordinates, on the other hand, were the complete opposite. Although most of them would trust their new general to be able to keep them in line and not to get them slaughtered uselessly, they are also aware that it is an almost impossible task for them to even do an orderly phased withdrawal with the Britannian Eight Army at their heels. It made for a morale crisis amongst the ranks.
That morale crisis was the least of the worries of General Arkrnoul as he led a small – relatively – force of scouts with the intention of seeing – as close as possible – for himself the extent of Britannian preparations for a renewed offensive.
An infantryman by training, General Arkrnoul was well aware that his infantry would have nothing on hand – at least, not anymore – to stop the Britannian tanks, and he knew that the Britannian Chariots would be leading the offensive. What compounded his problem was the fact that the general knew that the Britannian tanks are going to advance under the cover of Britannian fighters, fighter-bombers, and close air-support aircraft.
General Arkrnoul lost his fighters and fighter-bombers even before he was appointed commander of the defense. In the beginning four weeks since the start of the war, the North African League Air Force had been at the receiving end of a massive air battle. Equipped with far superior aircraft – the Wraith fighter being acknowledged as the best single-seat fighter aircraft in the world – the Britannian Army Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Britannian Fleet mauled the North African League Air Force.
The only thing that the new commander of the North African League defense force has going for him was the fact that the Britannian Fleet was not in the equation. The general shuddered involuntarily when he thought just how impossible defending North African League territory would be if Lord Alexander would decide to send the Grand Fleet to the field.
The general shrugged and returned to the present. He knew that he was in the business of realities and not the business of fantasies. It was a reality that his men could not hold back the Britannian juggernaut, but it was also a reality that – if he planned his defense accordingly and perfectly – he could make the Britannians pay in blood for every single meter that they would take.
Planning for the defense and deciding the optimal defensive strategy was the reason why General Arkrnoul was out of his field headquarters – though, in reality, he would have preferred to be out anyway, the headquarters was too stuffy for the former infantryman – and was riding shotgun in the first of five BRDM-2 Scout Vehicles.
The five armored cars were crewed by a combination of men from the elite reconnaissance battalion of the North African League Special Forces and members of the personal bodyguards of General Arkrnoul. The North African League brass had learned their lesson well after the decapitation that the Britannians had handed to them during the first month of the war, and now, soldiers accompany the commanding officers no matter where they go.
In the opinion of General Arkrnoul, however, even that may not be enough. The death of the former commanders of the North African League Eastern Front was done by members of the Britannian Marine Force Reconnaissance Group, and those men are some of the toughest in the world. The commander of the North African League defense forces was prepared to bet that his country could not deploy anything that would even come close to the capabilities of the Britannian Marine Force Reconnaissance.
"Sir," the voice of his senior aide – seated behind him – forced the general to return to the present. It was not possible for the general to turn his attention backward – it was blocked by the seat – so his aide would just have to assume that the general could hear him, "We are approaching the depression, sir."
General Arkrnoul nodded though he was sure that his aide could not see that. The depression that his aide was talking about was the centerpiece of the defensive plan of the general. He knew that Britannian heavy armor units – which are likely to lead the attack – would have no choice but to bypass it. If the general plays things right, he could sprung an ambush against the Britannian supply units with units that he could conceal at this location. Of course, the same limitations that the Britannians would have to work with would also apply to the North African League.
Fortunately for General Arkrnoul, while Britannian tanks are heavy and would probably sink in the depression, he still has a make-shift battalion – in actuality, he had to make the composite battalion when he first thought of the plan that he was now considering to employ – of light tanks. True, the tanks that they would be using would be the oldest tanks in North African service – old Prussian Mk II panzer tanks called Golem in North African service – but they would be more than enough to stop the Britannian supply convoys, if played right.
The vehicle slowed down in response to the driver stepping lightly on the brake pedal. The general was sure that the other vehicles behind his were also slowing down at the same time that the scouts that were aboard those vehicles were preparing to dismount. The scouts have orders to take soil samples as well as measurements, but the data would have to be interpreted at the rear.
The sound of the explosion made General Arkrnoul and the men inside the vehicle nearly jump from their seats. As they are the vehicle in the front of the column, they could not tell where the explosion came from, but from the sound of the radio suddenly become alive, it was clear that the vehicle at the center of the column – number three – was the one that suddenly exploded.
A few moments later came the confirmation that the vehicle was hit by a projectile.
"Britannian reconnaissance units?" the aide of General Arkrnoul asked no one in particular.
The commander of the North African League defense forces decided to forego shouting at his aide to inform him that that was obvious. Right now, he needed to get his men out of here. Turning to the driver, he said, "Full speed, circular turn," at the same time that he grabbed the transmitter of his radio, "Fall back!"
A second explosion followed by the quick rattling burst of machinegun fire was quickly drowned by the sound of diesel engines suddenly making their presence known. General Arkrnoul managed to look through the slit of his armored window to see at least four Britannian – the flags they were flying beside their windows were an obvious indication – armored vehicles charging at his position.
Not being an expert in visual identification despite being an infantryman – he nearly failed his field test when he failed to identify four of the five silhouettes during the identification phase of the test – General Arkrnoul cannot identify the approaching vehicles as Marine Light Armored Vehicles – the same transport that Britannian Marine Force Recon units use when it comes to long-range reconnaissance missions.
Riding the lead armored vehicle, Harry had an obstructed view through a viewing slot built into the hull of his LAVIII armored vehicle. He could see the rising flames produced by the burning BRDM2 scout vehicle, just as he could see the first two armored cars attempting to turn back to where they came from by advancing forward at maximum speed then turning.
Quickly making his decision, Harry took his radio and said, "Captain Richardson, I'm leaving the number four and five vehicle to you and Lieutenant Brooke. Me and Lieutenant Sanders would take care of number one and two."
"Aye, Commander," the voice of Captain Richardson replied, "Good luck and good hunting."
The four armored vehicles under the command of Harry split up in response to the instruction sent by their commander. The second and fourth vehicles turned slightly to the right while the first and third vehicles maintained their current heading. The divided group then went after their respective targets, with the units of Captain Richardson going after the last two North African League scout cars that were now frantically reversing.
At the same time, the first two North African scout cars had completed their turn and were now once more oriented toward the direction where they came from. At the appropriate distance, the gunner aboard the armored vehicle of Harry opened fire with the turret mounted cannon, but because the targets were moving, the fire was not accurate.
In response to the Britannian move, the turret of the BRDM car nearest to Harry – number two vehicle – came alive and swung toward the direction of Harry. The turret had a relatively heavy machinegun and the weapon opened fire, but the bullet – a bit over fourteen millimeters in caliber – was not strong enough to pierce through the armored hull of the LAV III.
A distant explosion echoed around the depression as the number five North African vehicle exploded, riddled with twenty five-millimeter cannon shot. Number four vehicle stopped as the driver frantically pushed his gear back to forward even as his gunner tried to intimidate the approaching two vehicles of Captain Richardson and Lieutenant Brooke away from him.
"Lieutenant Dugan, anytime now," Harry radioed.
Lieutenant Chester Dugan did not disappoint and suddenly two more armored vehicles – one of whim was the LAV-AT variant appeared just in front of the North African number one and two vehicles. The number five Britannian vehicle – one armed with the cannon – opened fire at nearly point blank range as the North African number one vehicle swung to its right in an attempt to evade a collision.
The result was the cannon rounds penetrating the vehicle at the middle and back, right where the diesel engine of the BRDM was mounted. The engine gave one last wheeze of complaint before it died. As it was fed with diesel rather than gasoline, the vehicle did not caught fire as the engine died, killing the number one vehicle.
At the same time, the vehicles under the direct command of Harry, Britannian vehicle number one and two, swung to the right to get out of the line of fire of the two vehicles of Lieutenant Dugan which swerved slightly to its right to evade the disabled North African number one vehicle.
Suddenly, Lieutenant Dugan's vehicle – number five vehicle – executed a full turn to the right, seemingly in an attempt to evade the approaching North African number two vehicle. In reality, Lieutenant Dugan just moved out of the firing line of the LAV-AT that was following behind him.
The sixth Britannian vehicle fired a TOW missile at almost point blank range, and it slammed into the North African number two vehicle at just under three hundred meters per second. The explosive power of nearly six kilograms of explosive flipped the vehicle twice in mid-air before the vehicle settled down on the sand on its roof.
Harry quickly directed his vehicle and number two vehicle to cover the disabled North African number one vehicle at the same time that Captain Richardson confirmed the surrender of the number four vehicle of the North African League column.
Harry was well aware that there are some survivors on the other vehicles and most of those are frantically trying to escape their burning vehicles on foot. What was strange about the number one North African League vehicle, however, was the fact that no one inside of it was trying to fleet. That was strange considering that, aside from the already surrendered BRDM, this BRDM was the one that is the least damaged.
A thought crossed the mind of Harry that perhaps the occupants of the scout vehicle intended to resist, but the sad fact for them was that even though their heavy machinegun could make an infantry team think twice about approaching the vehicle, the rather thin armor of the scout car could hardly stop a twenty five-millimeter cannon round, especially at the distances involved.
"Shall we encourage them to get out of the vehicle, sir?" the gunner asked. Harry knew that his gunner was thinking of spraying the BRDM with a few rounds from the co-axial machinegun – the smaller caliber rounds of the machinegun would most likely not penetrate the armor of the scout car – but Harry shook his head.
"Let them come out on their own time," Harry said, at the same time that there was a loud explosion as one of the downed BRDM exploded, the fuel lines of the same most likely exposed to a small flame.
Suddenly, the door of the scout car opened, and Harry could literally feel the trigger finger of his gunner tense on his trigger. A white flag, however, was the first thing that came out of the vehicle, and Harry did not need to order his gunner to stand down before the man calmed down.
Four men exited the vehicle, which is what Harry expected. What he did not expect, however, were the stars on the shoulders of one of the four men.
"Looks like we bagged ourselves a general," Harry commented to his crew at the same time that he grabbed the transmitter of his radio and broadcasted his finding to the rest of his troops.
Captain Richardson, as Harry expected, was the first one to react, "They should place that in your portfolio, commander," the marine force recon commander said with humor evidence with his voice, "I think it would look nice when the civilians back home look at it, 'General Hunter' or something like that."
Humored laughter followed the announcement of Captain Richardson and Harry allowed it to go on for a few moments, before he reinforced discipline and ordered his men to return to their jobs, though he did so in such a way that he instilled in his troops that he was not offended with their laughter.
It was a few minutes after his men had secured the hands of the captured general behind his back that Harry finally learned the identity of the captured man. The moment that he did so, the young commander wondered just who would be replacing General Arkrnoul from the position that he had been forced to vacate.
At the same time, Harry could not help but wonder if Lord Alexander and the rest of the brass really would insist on sticking him with some sort of silly nickname to reflect the fact that he had now lead two teams into decapitating the headquarters of the North African League unit that is supposed to defend against the westward advance of the Britannian Eight Army.
'Now 'the Decapitator' does sound nice,' Harry thought.
Aboard the Great Henry, Liverpool Docks, Liverpool
England, Holy Empire of Britannia
May 6, 2015
Well wishers lined the dockside, waving handkerchiefs in the traditional farewell gesture as the giant, four-funneled ship maneuvered itself away from the dock with the help of half a dozen ocean tugs.
The Great Henry was the flagship of the Green-King Lines, the largest trans-Atlantic passenger consortium in the world. Formed from the marital union of two of the largest business empires in the Holy Empire – the Green Family whose primary business was electricity production and banking, and the King Family who owns the largest steel production concern in the world – the Green-King Lines – GKL as it was referred – had made no less than two dozen big ships meant to carry both passenger and cargo across the Atlantic. They operate only eighteen of them, having sold the others to smaller companies.
The Great Henry was named after the founder of the King family, and registers just a little under one hundred twenty thousand tons in tonnage. She could accommodate a little over two thousand passengers across twelve passenger decks who are them pampered by her crew of fifteen thousand men and women. Powered by four diesel turbine engines, the three hundred fifteen meter long ship could reach a maximum speed of thirty knots but typically cruise at just under twenty six knots to save fuel and power.
This information are all available from the crew – having been drilled almost endlessly with the answers to questions that are the most likely to be asked by the passengers – and from the flyers that were distributed by said crew to passengers as they boarded the ship.
In general, the passengers want to know the information, but there would always be those who would think that all of this is beneath them, and for the two people who sat inside their cabin at the tenth deck of the passenger ship, actually being at the ship was more trouble than it is worth.
Still, both Ron and Ginny thought that way because they believed that it would be better for them to use magical transportation in reaching the mainland. They have, however, been briefed as to just how suicidal that would be. No one actually knows how, but it is common knowledge that a powerful anti-appiration ward surrounds the whole of the mainland Britannia. Portkeys also would not work because of the same ward, and an approach via brooms would only be advisable if the distances involved were relatively short range.
Mainland Britannia is a continent by itself, an isolated continent, which means that the distances involved would be large swaths of open ocean where navigation would be impossible – unless one could navigate by the stars, but that was a dying art in the magical world. It probably would not even matter because of the Chain Home and Chain Low stations.
The former was the long-range radar that covers every approach to the mainland. A long range radar system, it lacks the ability to detect small objects approaching, but that defect is covered by the Chain Low system. Short range it may be, the Chain Low has the ability to detect even the smallest objects approaching the mainland. The two systems work with the Britannian Coast Guard – or other units appropriate – to intercept anything that may be considered a threat, and two mages approaching the mainland on a broom would most certainly be considered a threat.
On the other hand, security inspections for passengers using purely mundane transport – such as ocean liners – would hardly be there. That was the reason why the Order had made the decision to transport Ron and Ginny using the ocean liner.
It was not a simple task, locating two passengers that Ron and Ginny could impersonate, and it was not all that successful as well. The two had to take polyjuice potion to get pass the customs inspections, and they would be forced to take polujuice every time that they are not inside their cabin.
They also have to share one cabin between the two of them. It was a cabin in the business section of the ship so it was relatively large, but neither Ron nor Ginny would want to spend a three day journey inside the room with their sibling. The reason that they had to share, however, was because the Order could only find a husband and wife.
Impersonating two strangers would have been easier for the two when it comes to their accommodations, but the decision was made to keep them together because this would be their first time in the non-magical world.
Still, despite the complaints and threats that are being exchanged between the two, neither of them could deny that they are finally glad to be moving toward their objective. The few weeks that they stayed in the British Isles was not what they had expected, with them dodging the ever diligent secret intelligence service that were still hunting for them.
T hey could only wish that when they finally reach the mainland, they would not go through what they had gone through in the British Isles.
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