The morning of May 3rd came as any normal one. However, in the recently named "Lindbergh Base", Federation troops hurried about their morning tasks as this day would be anything but normal. At the start of the month, Federation High Command ordered the first assaults on the vaunted "Siegval Line", the set of fortifications built on the pre-EWI borders. Today, the green light was just given for the 101st division to join the battle.

The mood of the squad was particularly grim. The entire march to the staging area was filled with the sights of hearses and ambulances rushing back to the nearest town. Claude looked towards his subordinates, the people depending on him to take them home.

Some wrote letters. Others were gathering ammunition. A group of soldiers kneeled before Rosetta as she lead them in prayer while those few who had ones they loved were held in each other's embrace.

They were preparing to die. And in that respect, they weren't much different from Claude.

"Are you okay?" Riley asked, snapping Claude out of his thoughts.

Claude sighed, "I'm not sure." he quietly admitted. "I feel like I am likely to be killed in this battle."

Riley placed her hand on his elbow, drawing his attention solely to her. "You'll be fine. I doubt that Hafen could be hurt by any of the shells that the Empire have available to them."

Claude looked down slightly and Riley could see tears start to gather in his eyes. "I still can't shake this feeling that things are going to start going downhill from here on out." he murmured. "I want you to know… well, that I love you. Whatever happens…"

Riley wrapped her arms around Claude, "Stop." Riley said, trying not to break down into tears herself. "We still have years to make up for Claude." Riley murmured before resting her forehead on his. "If you die out there, I'll kill you."

Claude smiled a bit before shutting his eyes and pressing his lips to Riley's. Riley was quite surprised with the circumstances of their first kiss, but her surprise was outweighed by the bliss she felt. Eventually, and disappointedly for them, they had to break it off for air and Claude did have to go to his briefing. Watching him walk into the command tent, Riley did her best to push Claude's worries out of her mind, something that was easier said than done. She was probably as worried about him as he was, but where she differed was that she worried about what would happen if he did die in battle and what would happen, not only to the squad but to her as well. However, she soon had to focus on preparing her teams to lend as much fire support as possible. Every shell they lobbed at the Imperials could very well mean that someone comes home on their own two feet rather than a pine box.

Claude ducked into the command tent and found that he had only been beaten by Minerva, again. However, they were quickly joined by the other section commanders and the divisional commander. Nodding to everyone, the Commander began, "Squads will rotate on an eight-hour shift. The 32nd Armoured Ranger Corps shall lead things off at 1200. Operational Objectives are to get on the other side of the wall, by any means necessary." here the Commander grew grim, "There is no way to flank the line, we've been looking for months. Therefore, a frontal assault is our only option. May God have mercy on us all."

Claude took a sharp inhale after the Commander's exit and many of the section leaders left to inform their commands. However, Minerva walked over to him. "Claude," she whispered, drawing the attention of him. Minerva blinked at what she saw. It looked as if Claude had already been broken by the battle before it had even begun, though she could understand why. "We'll make it through this. We have to." she finally said. Her voice filled with a confidence that she did not feel herself.

Claude looked at her, though it may have been more apt to say that he looked through her. When he spoke, it sent chills down her spine. "Theirs not to make reply. Theirs not to reason why. Theirs but to do and die. Into the Valley of Death rode the 600."

Neither officer said another word. Claude because there was nothing else to say and Minerva because she wasn't sure how to reply to that.

Outside the tent, when Claude rejoined his squad after recollecting himself, a new man snapped to attention. "Lieutenant Wallace. Private Dan Bentley reporting it. I'll be your APC Driver from here out."

Claude raised an eyebrow, "We're finally getting an APC?" he asked, surprised that now of all times, High Command finally grants one of his long-standing requests.

Dan, for his part, just nodded, "Yep, must have some friends with connections, Division Command specifically requested for you guys to get an APC."

Somehow, Claude suspected, Division Command hadn't actually made the request, but that a certain redheaded Lieutenant had and no one suspected a thing. Shaking himself out of his mind, Claude looked over the squad and noticed something odd. "Why is Raz limping so weirdly?"

Most of the squad shrugged, but Kai flushed a bit. "Well, he tried to apologize to me for his behaviour recently."

Claude raised an eyebrow, prompting her to continue. "He really needs to learn to think before he speaks since, as he was apologizing, he also 'complemented' my… assets."

The collective groans from the rest of the squad filled in the rest of the story. Though Raz himself finished it. "I'll admit I deserved it, but you know me, more brawn then brain. I will try to do better, but it may take time."

Jacob rolled his eyes, but simply remarked, "At least you figured it out."

Claude nodded and the squad turned and began their march to the front. As Claude looked back at the base from the Hafen's turret, a dark sense of foreboding came over him but had little time to dwell on it as he turned his mind to the battle at hand.

As the Federation Soldiers looked across the open ground towards the Seigval line, most of them wondered just how many would pay the price of the mile that separated the Federation lines from the other side of the Imperials' lines. Even the Commanders who used their tanks to shield their men and the APC drivers would be hard-pressed to keep as many people alive as possible.

Claude quickly assessed the situation and began barking out orders. "I want that APC as full as it can be! Everyone else! Stay behind the Hafen and the APC!"

As the squad began executing his orders, Claude listened to his radio, getting further orders and, from his face, they weren't good. Jacob was just about to ask when Claude looked up with a grim sort of determination, "Well, who wants to live forever?" he muttered before gritting his teeth and shouting "Forwards!"

As the order came down and the armour began to roll, Nico ran, just like everyone else. What else could they do? Before them stood the greatest defensive structure in Europa, spitefully hiding the horizon from them. The first 100 yards seemed fine, like running through the fields back in Hafen. But then the Siegval line opened its jaws of fury, and suppressive fire began raining down upon them. All around her, dirt and blood flew wildly as soldiers fell. But she couldn't stop. To stop was death. Another 100 yards and she reached a tank trap to hide behind. Looking back in the chaos, she saw Godwin running to join her, an unusual sight in of itself considering the tension between them, but just as he was about to reach safety, he collapsed. A bullet had hit him in the shoulder. Nico wanted to run back, to help them. It wasn't far, only a dozen meters, maybe less. But no. Before she had time to think about it, another bullet had ended Godwin's life. She leaned carefully around her cover and tried to fire off a shot at one of the soldiers on the parapets. It missed.

A few deep breaths. That was all there was time for. Not even a chance to pray before she steeled herself. Claude called out, needing a group to clear some outlying bunkers before they could begin their final assault unto the main wall itself. Nico silently and quickly made her peace with God before fixing a bayonet to her rifle. She didn't expect to be able to use it, but maybe she'd get lucky and make it to her target. Her survival didn't even cross her mind.

With a cry that froze the blood of several of her fellows and quite a few of the Imperials as well, Nico charged the bunker. Alone. Rosetta and a few others tried to catch up to her, but she was too fast.

By some divine magic, Nico actually made it to the bunker and broke the door in, but that was where her luck ran out. An Imperial Shocktrooper stood waiting for her just inside the bunker behind a wall. Once she entered, he unloaded his entire magazine into her. Perhaps a small amount of divine magic still lingered for a bullet the Imperial fired struck a grenade Nico threw out to clear the bunker. The resulting explosion sent a chill down Rosetta's spine and she and her group covered the remaining twenty paces or so in rapid order. A part of her would wish that they hadn't.

What greeted them was horrific. The Imperial Armour wasn't yet rated for the grenades that the Federation used, and the Bunker's crew took one inside their little fortress. But that was hardly the most stomach-churning part of the scene. For in the mess laid Nico. Her legs blown off and barely hanging on to life. Rosetta didn't need to be trained in medicine to know that Nico wouldn't survive this and went to her dear friend.

Nico, somewhat lucid, saw Rosetta with concern in her eyes. "Did I… did I do good?" she weakly asked.

Rosetta, through the tears and grief gripping her heart, nodded. "Yes honey, you did good."

That would be the last thing that Nico Emery would hear as she thereafter faded into death with a small smile on her face. Rosetta wanted to scream at the injustice of it, wanted to cry at such a bright light being snuffed out. But she couldn't. War waited for no one, and the battle wasn't even close to being won.

Bullets whizzed into the ground in rapid succession, but at long last, the remaining members of Squad E made it underneath the guns of the Siegval Line. Karen soon found herself swamped with not only Squad E's wounded, which was slowly rising in number, but members of other squads found their way to her for battlefield treatment. Even her own husband had gotten nicked and was forced to get a bandage from her before heading back out into the storm. However, she couldn't dwell long on her concerns for him as others needed her attention.

Squad E made their way along the wall, looking for a breach point and they finally found one: a supply outlet used for the pillboxes in front of the fortifications. However, the Imperial troops were ready for them as anti-tank shells and machine-gun emplacements opened up, forcing the squad to pull back slightly so they weren't in view of the Imperial guns anymore.

Raz was the first to make his displeasure known. "Dammit! Those Imps are too well dug in!"

Claude grimaced, "We're gonna need a miracle to breakthrough now." he muttered.

Suddenly, Claude's radio crackled to life. "Claude!" Riley shouted. "I'm gonna try and clear a path for you and the squad!"

Claude let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks! I'm already down six people!"

While most would have just not spared a second thought about what Claude had just said, Riley wasn't like most officers and could pick up the undercurrent of self-recrimination in his voice, as he, no doubt, blamed himself for putting them in harm's way. But Riley couldn't spare a moment to help Claude out of the pit he was digging for himself just yet. That would have to be something for after the battle.

Running some calculations on a notepad she had, she quickly determined a firing solution for the mortar team and they unloaded round after round into the area. When they stopped, Minerva shouted "Anyone with ammo left after this gets their pay docked. A ducat per bullet left to fire!" and hopped the barricade the Imperials had erected and led the squads into the fray.

The outlet had been cratered heavily and pretty much all of the defenses had been pulverised, leading to the squad and the rest of the Federation's forces flooding into the gap.

Imperial troops started to fall back to their secondary lines, and Federation commanders began scanning for weak spots to breakthrough. Raz however, had his bloodlust up and wasn't about to wait another moment. "Alright Imps! Who wants some!" he shouted before running after them.

Claude heard the commotion and saw Raz charge off on his own. "Raz! Get back here!" he shouted.

Unfortunately for Claude, Raz didn't seem to hear him. But considering that some of the other squads much further away had heard him, the most likely explanation was that Raz elected to ignore him.

Kai rushed after him into the raging battle. She wasn't sure what Raz was to her anymore, but she didn't intend to have the conversation with his corpse. She found him, rather idiotically and expectedly, out in the open, not using any of the cover near him at all. Biting back the slew of curses on her tongue, she began picking off-targets.

It didn't take long before Raz realized that someone was helping him, "Hey! I've got this well in hand! Do you know how many Imps I've killed already?" he shouted.

Kai narrowed her eyes, "And do you realize how many times I've had to save your sorry arse!" she snarled. She fired a few more times before continuing on her rant, "One of these days, you're going to overextend and no one is going to be able to save you and yet we will still try. Why can't you get it through your thick skull that your actions have consequences!"

Raz growled and turned to face her. However, a shot rang out and what he was going to retort with died on his tongue as Kai fell to the ground as an Imperial sniper lined up the kill shot. Rushing over to her side, firing in the general direction of the sniper all the while, Raz pulled her into cover and began doing what he could to stabilize her while trying not to panic. He was only half successful.

Claude was thoroughly annoyed at the moment and the side of the Hafen's turret was looking like a particularly inviting target for his head. First Raz ran off, then Kai ran after him and now Raz had radioed back that Kai had been shot and was bleeding badly. He had just deployed about half of his squad to try and rescue them when Riley spoke up over the radio. "Claude! Tank formation coming for your arse!"

Claude turned his head to face the new threat, though not before he heard Teresa mutter "Isn't that her job?" into her radio.

Claude bit back the retort on his lips, though it was clear that Jacob felt no such compunction. "LEECH! I didn't need that image in my head, thank you very much!"

Everyone could practically feel her wince, but their attention was quickly redirected to the more pressing matter. A tank of an unknown model rushed them as light tanks struggled to keep up with the lead tank. Claude spun and looked at what he had left. "Lancers! Knock out the light tanks! Riley! See what you can do about that odd one! I'll try and get its attention!" he shouted.

Hearing the acknowledgements, Claude ducked back into the Hafen. "Miles! Get us moving and be unpredictable."

Miles nodded and pressed the accelerator flat against the hull. The battle was joined.

Jacob was lying prone, separated by some earthwork from the rest of the squad, firing shot after shot in an attempt to cover Raz. He had lost count of how many Imperials he had dropped. As he dug in his pouch for another shot, however, he discovered that he was out of bullets. He cursed the engineers of the GSR for making it take a non-standard ammo caliber, but there were still many more Imperials closing in, and Raz wasn't returning fire anymore. Though it was impossible to tell why from his current vantage point.

Looking around, he caught sight of an Imperial scout rifle and knew that where there was a rifle, generally, there was ammo nearby. As soon as he found it though, an idea formed in his mind.

Neige looked through her scope and another Imperial fell to her rifle. What Kai saw in Raz to charge after him, she didn't know, but it caused them to be in the situation and she had to do her best to get as many as she could out of this alive. Just as she was beginning to despair at her remaining ammunition stock, rapid shots rang out from the opposing ridge. The Imperial troops spun around, looking fearfully for something, or at least she imagined that fear was the prevailing emotion amongst their number, it was difficult to tell with the armour.

After a tense moment, where several score of Imperials fell, leading everyone to believe that the Federation had reinforced, Imperial commanders shouted for the retreat. And just in time as shocktroopers from Squad F rushed into the depression and past Raz's position. Cactus followed hot on their heels and those who could walk made their way to it. Claude and the Hafen arrived not a moment later having fended off the tank assault, if only just, and he looked over what remained of his squad. Everyone was tired and most sat on the ground, those who weren't looked to be heading that way, not of their own volition.

Minerva walked up to them and took a single look before making up her mind. "Claude. I want you and your squad to head to the rear. Get some sleep."

Claude looked at her with eyes that reminded her of that morning. "I can continue fighting on foot. Just let me…"

"No Claude." She interrupted. "If I have to, I can and will order you to the rear." She replied before looking at Riley. "I'll leave him in your care Lieutenant Miller. I'll come by his tent at 0800 tomorrow morning. I expect him to be there."

Riley nodded before grabbing Claude's shoulder and dragging him into the APC to catch a ride. However, Minerva wasn't finished. "Sergeant Stewart. I would recommend that you try to convince your wife to rest. We can handle things from here."

Jacob just grimaced. "I doubt I'll be successful ma'am. But I'll try."

Minerva winced, having been on the receiving end of one of Karen's rants before. "Try, but not so hard that she'll castrate you."

Jacob laughed. "I think I'm safe on that mark. She does want kids," he replied before wincing in pain and joined Claude and Riley in the APC.

Minerva watched as the rest of Squad E slowly limped back to base; the slow, deliberate movements selling how worn they had run themselves. Minerva sighed, Claude never realized just how much he inspired the squad specifically and the division in general. His own willingness to put himself in harm's way for the benefit of others while caring for those under him always brought a smile to her, but she now worried just how much he shouldered. The deaths today were going to affect him badly and she just hoped that Riley would be able to help him.

The rest of the battle lasted throughout the night, but by morning, Minerva walked over to Claude's tent before rapping on his tent pole. To her surprise, Riley ducked out of the tent first, "Claude will be a minute, I forced him to put on a fresh uniform." Riley mentioned.

Minerva nodded then raised an eyebrow, "Busy night last night?" she asked nonchalantly.

Riley blinked and blushed before stammering out "Uh… n-no. Why do you ask?"

Minerva rolled her eyes, "Your top is back to front and inside out."

Riley flushed an even bright shade before ducking back into the tent and reemerging with Claude who got straight to business. "When is our assault?"

Minerva smirked. "Actually, the division is being sent to the rear. Seigval fell early this morning so Command is giving us a month's rest before sending us back out."

Claude could barely believe this windfall, but sobered quickly, "What's the report from the medics?" he asked.

Minerva grimaced, "Squad E has three dead and a dozen wounded, about four of which being serious." she replied before sighing, "The rest of the division reported similar casualties in their squads, you can sort of see why Command is letting us rest."

Claude nodded and joined the girls heading to the mess tent. While the fall of the Seigval Line was a great boon for Federation forces, Claude couldn't help but feel as if they were being let into the house before catching a shotgun blast at close range. Little would he guess that he would be so catastrophically right…

Phew, I didn't abandon this fic, it was just a long chapter, plus I had school work to deal with, I've gotten through the Midterms and the Finals Week is only about a month away so soon I'll be able to work a bit more continually on this fic.

Let's get to the Reviews.

MEleeSmasher: There will be many changes coming to upcoming missions, not least of which being derived from the fact that Jacob is there and also from the fact that Claude and Riley's relationship has been changed. I'm also just making some things up for the next two chapters as in the game, at the time I started writing this fic, there was no accepted timeline other than "Game starts about March 10, 1935, with the second mission discussing the Imperial invasion of Gallia on the 15th as if it's the same day and ends sometime in the Late November/Early December 1935." and, as you can see, I wrote it that Seigval occurred in very early May, and the mock battle between Squads E and F don't occur til mid-late September at the earliest. Therefore, the next two chapters are going to be covering about three to four months of filler. As for the specific examples, all I can say is that there will be some changes, but I can't say what those changes will be. As for the ISOT'ed thing you mentioned in your first review, I have a few plans for Valkyria Chronicles fics, though some of them I'm going to run by my Discord Server to see if I'm treading similar waters to my Alliance of Blood and Iron fic, nothing exceptionally modern or at least modern military but we'll see.

GJO1088: The main reason I made Claude and Riley's relationship different in the beginning and its progression was because it felt far to fast, even for anime logic standards (something the game points out itself surprisingly) cause it seemed like she went from hating his guts to ready to marry him in less than a week. As for the rest, yeah... trust me, the game devs not having that much of a grip on reality is something that central to their game is a common gripe I have that my Discord server and I bandy about a lot. As for Karen, yeah parental consent was required, I'd assume. As for Rita's reaction, well she's not in the squad list I made.

As for the others, I'm glad people are enjoying this and now we'll see how soon I can get the next chapter out (probably not soon, might be a Christmas update... not sure, we'll have to see.)

Until Next Time: Stay Safe.