"Give us the future..we've had enough of your past..give us back our country to live in—to grow in..to love."

- Michael Collins, 1921

"I am happy to announce that a few hours ago, I have received confirmation that Patricia Plarketnagh, professed 'Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Volunteers', has been executed by firing squad. Two others were executed with her the same day: Kathleen O'Flaherty and Gifford Mulloghmag. While it is to be admired that she, as well as her companions, met death bravely, it is nevertheless a devastating loss for those unloyal to St. Gloriana. To all rebels who continue to resist: take this as a warning. We will keep killing you and your leaders until we meet our goals, and nothing-"

Sheehan turned off the television, burying her head in her hands, and soon, allowing the tears to flow. Patricia, her dear friend, a close comrade and a joy to fight with on the battlefield, was dead, executed by Gloriana bullets, no less. The memories were flooding back, of triumphs, sorrows, fun, games, socializing, getting to meet a few legends outside St. Gloriana. Now, they were all never to be relived again. Sorrow turned to anger at the thought. Sheehan hated St. Gloriana, and that hatred only intensified when she heard the news. The only sources of relaxation were the fact that across Cork, she was seeing success in consolidating and starting to occupy the nearby towns, and that international aid would soon arrive. But with Pat gone, that meant the Dublin rebellion had failed, and the Volunteers there were nothing but gone.

Sheehan's thoughts then drifted to another old friend, Coleen, hailed by many, including Sheehan, as "Ireland's greatest tank commander". Whether that was true or not you decide. Had she been captured, too? No, she had to have escaped. It was hard to take down a Centurion, she knew from experience, and knowing Coleen, she could get herself out of any situation. And there was Caitlin, the girl who led several raids on the arsenals in Dublin, and who was also considered a master of ambush tactics, and Corkie, who she heard had arrived a few days before the Rising began, and Shannon, that rising star of the Shamrock Brigade. Folding her hands, Sheehan began earnestly praying that they were all safe, that she would soon know if they were safe, and that they were truly safe when she found out. Her prayers, however, were interrupted by the ringing of a telephone. Answering it, her prayers were answered.

"SHEEHAN! Thank goodness you answered-"

"COLEEN! Thank goodness you're still alive!"

"Yeah, did you expect me to get captured... too... I'll not speak..."

"Yeah, I know, I know, Pat..."

"Let's just talk about something else... I heard Cork is going well for ya?"

"Oh, EXTREMELY well! It looks like our popularity here really helped us when we revolted!"

"Tell me how it went!"

"Well, I should first ask how the others are, like Caitlin, Shannon-"

"Caitlin's alright, her leg is a bit strained from the combat, but Shannon on the other hand..."

"Please don't tell me."

"No, she's alive, but recovering."

"Did she get shot or something?"

"Straight through the chest, punctured an artery from the heart, lost a lot of blood."

"How did she live?"

"'Luck of the Irish', as they always say!"

"Come on, Coleen..."

"They patched her up in the tank with any unused clean cloth they had, pressed it to the wounds, and bound tightly. Once we got away from the town we came to Athgarvan Cross where a clinic was. She got some transfusions, the blood had dried up meaning no more blood could escape."

"Well, at least she's still with us... would've been a loss if she didn't make it."

"Yeah, yeah. So, about Cork?"

"Right!"

One week earlier

"...we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a Sovereign Independent State, and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades in arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its exaltation among the nations."

From her apartment in Cork, Sheehan heard the broadcast from Dublin, and as soon as she heard those words, she sprang to action, rushing downstairs to the lobby of the apartment building where her subordinate commanders were waiting for the order to strike from their commander. A few hours before in the early morning, Sheehan had received radio reports of "some disturbances in Dublin". Taking that as the start of the rebellion as the tanks rolled down the streets, Sheehan had summoned her commanders to the apartment as soon as that radio report was broadcast, and with the radio stations in Dublin taken over by the rebels and starting to broadcast the Proclamation of Irish Rights and Sovereignty, they all knew that now was the time to strike.

"Good luck ladies, you all know what to do."

Grabbing weapons and other things, as well as several copies of the Proclamation to post everywhere in the city, Sheehan and her commanders dispersed to their respective battalions to begin the rising in Cork. They didn't have much arms or materiel, but they were willing to give it their all. Plus, they knew how popular Sheehan, and more especially Coleen was, given they were both natives from Cork. It was their hope that the populace would side with them, for some spies had overheard conversations between members of the public that had mentioned the hope of someone getting rid of St. Gloriana once and for all. In fact, the general atmosphere of the city was that nobody liked St. Gloriana anymore. The place was ripe and ready for a rebellion, and a rebellion they would get.

Climbing with her crew onto her stolen Black Prince, followed by two Churchills and a Comet, Sheehan's battalion, comprised of the said tanks and 250 girls, was the largest, as other groups ranging from 2-3 tanks and 100-200 girls each made their way to other strategic areas of the city like communication stations, such as radio broadcasting stations, munitions factories, or critical road junctions. Compared to Dublin, this was a smaller rebellion. Dublin had been the hub of the rebellion, and understandably had the most. Cork was also a major city, but it wasn't as populated as Dublin, meaning there wasn't as much materiel to work with. If the public could support them, however, that would be a major boost to their efforts in Cork.

Arriving at Cork City Hall, the rebels overpowered the few guards stationed at the building, ran to the roof, pulled down the flag of St. Gloriana, and replaced it with the IRISH REPUBLIC flag, and began taking positions, ready for a fight. Sheehan stepped in front of the hall, and seeing large crowds beginning to gather, thanks in no less part to her presence, as well as the commotion in storming the hall and the sudden appearance of hundreds of uniformed girls and three tanks bearing Irish insignia, she unraveled her copy of the Proclamation as others handed out their copies to the massed crowds, and read out the Proclamation with the same zeal and enthusiasm as Patricia had, albeit not with the oratiousness of Patricia. Boxes of rifles had been placed for the crowd to grab and join the rebels, and as soon as Sheehan finished reading, the seeds began to sprout.

"HALLELUJAH! FREEDOM AT LAST!"

"QUICK, GRAB THE GUNS AND LET'S JOIN THE LOT!"

"THEY HAVE UNIFORMS, TOO! WE WANT TO JOIN!"

"WE ALL DO, TAKE US IN, SHEEHAN!"

"GLORY TO SHEEHAN AND THE IRISH REPUBLIC!"

"A FREE IRELAND AT LAST!"

Amidst the cheering, dozens sprang forward, bursting through the girls stationed at the hall, and began grabbing guns and putting green armbands on their sleeves. The spare uniforms that had been compiled for this purpose quickly ran out. In other areas, civilians heard the commotion, and seeing similar scenes at radio stations or road junctions and monuments or being nearby the City Hall at the time of the proclamation, they, too, asked, and were allowed to join the rebels. Everyone in Cork seemed to be joining the rebellion, taking up arms against St. Gloriana. Soon enough, the commotion was heard by St. Gloriana police officers as well as being reported by the overpowered guards of the City Hall who had survived. Soon, word of the popular revolt had made its way to the desk of the Lord Mayor of the city, who had to be evacuated through a secret passageway to another nearby building as things intensified.

"So, shall I send in the army? It's getting bad, ma'am."

"No. I... I can't."

"Ma'am! They'll be turning the whole place upside down if we don't send our gals in!"

"We can't! We'll just get them against us more! I'll... try to talk to Rukuriri."

"For tea's sake, ma'am, we have to drive them out! Disperse them! Get rid of them! Anything to quiet the city again."

"WE CAN'T! YOU WANT TO GIVE THE REBELS ANOTHER REASON TO JUSTIFY THEIR ACTIONS?!"

Seeing just how popular the revolt seemed to be, the mayor was beginning to hesitate, dithering under pressure. Despite the suggestions of the commanding officer of the city garrison, the mayor did not want to risk military action to disperse the civilians under threat of arousing more public discontent. She instead attempted to inform Rukuriri of the situation, hoping for a way to diffuse it. However, at that moment, she was in the middle of a meeting with Darjeeling and the Tea Garden, discussing the 10th anniversary of Glorianification, ironically enough. Desperation began to grow among the St. Gloriana garrison and the officials in charge of Cork, and unfortunately for them, things only going to get much worse for St. Gloriana.

"All hear ye! TO THE ARSENALS! TO THE BARRACKS! ANYWHERE WHERE THEY HAVE ARMS, GRAB SOME AND LET'S OVERTHROW THESE GLORIANA SCUM!"

Seeing just how successful the rebels had been in rousing the public to revolt against St. Gloriana, Sheehan directed the rebels to take arsenals and other places of strategic importance, grab guns, tanks, if anybody knew how to drive them, and even at airports many planes were captured and integrated into the rebel forces. Soon enough, hundreds, and later thousands of civilians were rushing through the streets of Cork. Sheehan's officers were shouting with bullhorns, directing movement and preventing any looting or property damage as much as they could. Some even piled two megaphones on top of each other so they could be better heard. Some damage was prevented, but there were still reports of looting to be heard, to the leaders' dismay. But, the arsenals had been effectively cleaned of any guns, ammunition, and tanks. Irish flags were flying in effectively every building, from the City Hall to every arsenal and every apartment.

The St. Gloriana soldiers and patrolwomen stationed at these arsenals were powerless to stop the civilians, not wishing to agitate them by firing at them. Without any bloodshed, the arsenals were stripped of their belongings, including furniture and valuables, and some soldiers were even left without their uniforms to allow for those without a uniform to wear one. Tanks' insignias were repainted in Irish symbolism, and roamed the streets surrounded by cheering crowds. Even anti-aircraft weapons were taken, knowing they were to be needed. The Lord Mayor and her retinue had been caught attempting an escape by several civilians, and tossed into the prisons that had housed so many Irish prisoners opposed to Glorianification, as if to send a message, later joined by other captured soldiers. By nightfall, Cork had effectively fallen to the Irish rebels. Thus, the Irish Republic had secured its first city, and the leaders hoped it wouldn't be the last.

Sheehan sent a broadcast to Dublin the next day, announcing that Cork city had been taken from St. Gloriana, and would begin consolidating their gains over the next few weeks. At the same time, reports from Limerick, directly north of Cork, had come, saying that a rebellion there had also begun. In the meantime, Sheehan had begun training willing volunteers as actual soldiers, educating them in the use of firearms and drill and discipline, and sending some companies to control the surrounding towns of the city such as Ballincollig, Carrigaline, Glanmire, and Blarney, which was accomplished with little fighting. Defenses were ordered set up in the occupied areas in preparation for an inevitable attack by St. Gloriana, all the while the mess caused during the takeover was cleaned up. There had been a few tragic deaths, around thirty, during the revolt, most of them from being trampled amidst thick crowds and a couple of soldiers losing their nerve and firing several shots.

Nevertheless, Cork city had taken down the flag of St. Gloriana, and the Irish tricolor was fluttering over the rooftops of many buildings. While the rebellions in Dublin and Belfast had failed, Cork was a resounding success.

Present day

"Well, make sure I get there safely, there's bound to be a lot of patrols now that Ireland's basically ablaze."

"Don't worry, my gals are busy securing the roads to Dublin. I got confirmation that Fermoy was captured earlier."

"Good to hear. Have you been attacked?"

"Yep, Rukuriri's back from her little meeting."

"You're still in it?"

"Oh, for sure! Civilians were a big help! We even sank a couple ships with some bombers along the way."

"Awesome, we'll get moving shortly, can't wait to see you, it's been so long!"

"I'll be sure to give you a hero's welcome, Col!"

"Aw, thanks! Gotta go, Shannon's up now."

"Wish her well for me, I'm thankful she's fine."

"I will. See ya later, Shan!"

The call ended, and Coleen's state reverted back to relief, though there still remained that sense of emptiness in the loss of Patricia. How she would've been happy hearing just how successful the Cork rising was. Returning to the clinic's room, she found Shannon was eating some mashed potatoes being spoon-fed to her by Erne as the others watched on, happy that she was recovering.

"How's it taste, Shannon?"

"Eh, solid 8/10."

"At least you're eating now."

"Yep. Surgeon must've patched me up good. Heart feels normal."

"Well, get ready to pack."

"Pack?! Why?"

"Where are we going?"

"Don't tell us we're surrendering."

"Of course not! We're going to Cork!"

"Cork?!"

"Yeah, Sheehan told me the rising there was extremely successful."

"So... Cork is an Irish-owned city now?"

"Yep, the populace was on their side... everybody."

"Yeesh! If only we had that support in Dublin!"

"Well, what's done is done. Get ready to move out in a few days, once we get to Cork we can really start expanding the rebellion from there."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Oh, it's 'Commander' now, by the way. Pat finally gave the title to me in her last letter."

"What 'last letter'?"

"You mean..."

"I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you... I was too overwhelmed from the news."

"NO! THEY DID NOT!"

"Yes, Erne, they did it..."

"Find me something to destroy. Now."

"Erne, that's not going to help!"

"WE SHOULD'VE GONE BACK! WE COULD'VE SAVED PAT!"

"And get put in front of that firing squad, too? Yeah, I don't think so!"

"AT LEAST WE WOULD'VE DIED WITH HER!"

"And this rebellion would've had a lesser chance of succeeding."

"Face it Erne, while the loss of Pat is a terrible one, we have to keep going."

"Plus, Cork needs us. They're in need for more leaders."

"And Limerick needs some help with their revolt, even with assistance from Cork there's still a struggle."

"Fine. But if I'm not getting the honor of commanding the firing squad for Rukuriri, and even better yet, Darjeeling, I'm deserting!"

"Fine, fine, you can do it. Just, try to cooperate, Erne, please."

"I will. I'll see to it that I see that stupid tea-fetished, twinkle-toed, arrogant joke of a woman tastes my boot before I die!"

"That's the spirit, now, we'd better get packing. Cork awaits us!"

Ooarai

"Good afternoon to all our esteemed viewers of Anglerfish News Broadcasting, this is Taiga Ou reporting. This morning, it has been confirmed by Assam, commander of St. Gloriana's GI6 recently appointed military commander over Ireland, that Patricia Plarketnagh, the self-declared 'Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Volunteers', has been executed by firing squad in the early hours of this morning. Two others were executed with her shortly after, and tomorrow there have been scheduled two more executions of rebel leaders, and more executions are due to take place over the coming days, according to Kilmainham Gaol officials.

Regarding the mop-up operations under Assam's supervision, there has been brutal reprisals in the streets. Homes have been broken into, stores and pubs stripped of all their contents in search for possible hideouts used by rebels, and some civilians have been shot and killed when resisting, being deemed as rebels. Executions by firing squad for some civilians has been reported. Several nations: Saunders, Kuromorimine Anzio, BC-Maginot, Continuation, Chihatan, Bonple, Gregor, Yogurt, Kebab, Koala Forest, Blue Division, and Count have all condemned the repression in the city of Dublin, and have called for more light methods to be taken. Pravda has yet to release a statement. President Kadotani of Ooarai is to make a statement regarding the situation right now."

The screen now shifted to images of an empty podium that bore the Seal of Ooarai. There was some shuffling by journalists in the foreground before Anzu appeared, walking from the left side of the screen onto the podium as the noise quieted down.

"I wish you all a good afternoon, though I fear it may not be the same for those currently in the ongoing situation in Dublin.

As has been mentioned before, an uprising occurred over a week ago that has been crushed in Dublin, but continues in Cork and Limerick. In Dublin, however, scenes of brutality have been reported to me over the past few days. Reports of soldiers and policewomen barging into houses and apartments as well as other such buildings in search for suspected rebel hideouts. There have been reports of innocent civilians who resisted due to an infringement of their rights as citizens of St. Gloriana, and were subsequently answered with a bullet to the head. There have been reports of dozens, perhaps hundreds of arrests of suspects, several of whom are likely really innocent. Reports of several impromptu executions by firing squad, those in charge acquitted for their actions.

This is nothing short of a violation of two Articles of the ASO. Namely:

Article 55 - With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, the United Nations shall promote:

A.- higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development

B. - solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation

C. - universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

This has been violated after Glorianification, but our efforts to bring up the situation resulted in us being shouted down. Now, we have a chance to speak out against the actions of St. Gloriana again. As for the second Article,

Article 73 - Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end:

A. - to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against abuses

B. - to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions, according to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and their varying stages of advancement

C. - to further international peace and security

D. - to promote constructive measures of development, to encourage research, and to co-operate with one another and, when and where appropriate, with specialized international bodies with a view to the practical achievement of the social, economic, and scientific purposes set forth in this Article

E. - to transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for information purposes, subject to such limitation as security and constitutional considerations may require, statistical and other information of a technical nature relating to economic, social, and educational conditions in the territories for which they are respectively responsible other than those territories to which Chapters XII and XIII apply.

It is evident that St. Gloriana, by their actions committed in Dublin, and Ireland as a whole over the past ten years, has violated these two articles. Political repression and imprisonment of opposition parties, the repression of separate cultural identities, and the brutal reprisals against those opposed to Glorianification, a policy that has unfortunately been allowed to be passed by the All-Stars Organization. We hope that this will be changed, and that St. Gloriana may change their ways and become a nation of equality among all peoples.

As for Ooarai, we have been preparing military measures for possible intervention against St. Gloriana. With our current tank force at thirty tanks total, and our air capabilities at twenty planes, we will not seem to contribute much, but we are willing to give what we can for a better St. Gloriana, and we join our comrades in arms in this effort.

Thus, Ooarai hereby condemns the actions of St. Gloriana, both in the present and over the past ten years. We sincerely hope that a peaceful solution may be found between the two parties of the present conflict ongoing in the nation, and that no more blood may be spilled. Thank you."

Cameras began to flash wildly as Anzu left the podium. She almost made it to the door before she suddenly stopped, and ran back in her characteristic Anzu fashion, putting the mic close to her mouth, she finished off the speech with an important announcement.

"By the way, our factory just completed its first tank: a Panther! Alright, that's all, cya!"

Anzu then bolted out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

"There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, the address of the President regarding the current events in Dublin and Ireland proper. Please stay tuned as we cover more events regarding this ongoing conflict. This is Taiga Ou reporting from Ooarai. Thank you."

"So, Miho, good speech?"

"Wonderful speech, Ma'am!"

"As always. Glad the Panther's finally done, let me just... dial... hey Tsuchiya? What's the next tank?"

"A... Sentinel!"

"Gotcha! Thanks for answering! Well, hopefully we soon can get another factory up, lots of space for it, though I don't wanna damage the nature, of course."

"Oh, please don't put it anywhere CLOSE to the forests, Ma'am!"

"Don't worry! There's some old abandoned buildings that everyone's complaining about, it's pretty far from the nearest forests so I'll place it there."

"Alright! When will we move out, however?"

"Hmm. Now that I don't know. The others are still getting ready for the air war. Until then, no landings, I guess."

"Understood, I'll keep a task force of ten tanks and five planes on standby just in case."

"Good, be sure to ramp up the training a bit as well. Once the carbon coating's gone, you only have one chance."

"Understood, Ma'am."

Ooarai's tankers watched the news unfold from the television screen. There was a mix of murmuring, shock, horror, and disgust at what was going on in St. Gloriana at that moment. Rabbit Company had trouble sitting through the whole thing, Hippo Company were thinking of historical precedents, Anteater Company referenced scenes from video games they had played, Mallard Company, effectively the Public Morals Committee, were dumbfounded at how much worse St. Gloriana seemed to give punishments to rebels, Duck Company had actually left, distressed from seeing the images on screen and going to play volleyball in the barracks gymnasium, and Leopon Company was disheartened by all the destruction, looking at how much repair was needed in the aftermath, and the destroyed tanks were definitely not a minor contribution to that grief.

Anglerfish Company, on the other hand, didn't even want to look anymore. They had seen the horrors, the cruelties, the destruction done to the city, and all the bodies that lay on the cold stone pavements, they shared the same sentiment as everyone, the same question: Why was St. Gloriana like this? They never expected that a polite, refined school would also be home to things like this. It just didn't make sense, unless they had been looking at a façade the whole time, and that was a trope found in effectively everything. There was more to a person than just the outward looks. But from their experiences with St. Gloriana, fighting alongside them and against them, seeing nothing from them related to what was going on in Ireland, it was hard to fathom that a school like them were also capable of doing something like this.

Suddenly, a cry went up.

"Commander Miho is coming! The Commander is coming!"

"Miho's coming, look presentable, everybody!"

"Quick! Assemble in formation!"

The garage was abuzz with activity when news of Miho's arrival spread through the tankers. Quickly adjusting their outfits and uniforms, they ran out into the open pavement, assembling behind their crew commanders according to their company, adjusted, and waited for Miho's jeep to arrive. Discipline had begun to be enforced in the military, not that anybody was misbehaving, but as a precautionary measure. Modeling themselves after Kuromorimine, Ooarai maintained their discipline, but were much more open and friendly than Kuromorimine. As Miho's jeep pulled up, all stood at rigid attention, heads confidently upright, hands firmly on sides, feet glued together at the heels. Exiting the vehicle, Miho was greeted with salutes from the tank corps, returning the salute and allowing them to be at ease before giving her instructions.

"Alright, I'm sure we all know the situation in Ireland, so I'll keep this brief.

Ten tanks will be needed for the upcoming intervention ahead."

Murmurs started among the crowd, but Miho shushed them to continue.

"The fighting will be different from usual Sensha-do. Here, you have two chances. Once you are hit badly, and lose your carbon coating, you have one chance left."

"Does that mean..."

"Yes. Unless you conduct yourself very well... some of you may very well die."

Several gulps were audible. Faces turned into worry and fear at the thought, others remained rigid but you could hear their breathing intensify.

"That is why I am intensifying training starting now. Trainings will last two hours longer, and there will be little room for idle talk. We have to focus on combat, I don't want to risk losing any of you right now. Impromptu practice is highly encouraged. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander!"

"Good. I will reveal which companies will be sent by judgement. In the meantime, practice long, and practice as hard as you can. Think of every scenario possible, and focus on improving on weaknesses and errors. I expect a good performance from all of you. The two best performing tank companies will be given the honor of being selected for the intervention. Good luck! Dismissed!"

As the tank crews left to do their own thing, clearly distressed at what was about to happen, Miho gathered her old crew, all now their own tank commanders after the expansion of Ooarai's military, and began to draw up plans for their part in the intervention. In the meantime, Anzu was communicating with the others regarding the war plans regarding St. Gloriana. As for St. Gloriana, things were getting interesting.

London

"Assam..."

"What? I pacified them, I stomped out the Dublin Rebellion! I'll crush those Cork and Limerick rebels in no time, mark my words!"

"It's not a matter of 'if', but 'how' now, Assam-sama."

"You have a problem with my methods? They rebelled against us, I simply did to them what they did to us over the past week!"

"And, you're getting the broader populace to go against us after they heard what was going on in Dublin."

"Again, tit-for-tat. Simple as that."

"You may be smart, Assam, but this is... a grave miscalculation on your part. Look at the results."

"How so? Tell me!"

"We'll start off in Cork."

"Pssh. That city was lucky, Vanilla, once I get-"

"Let me finish first, Assam."

"Hmph."

"Public support was already strong due to Sheehan and Coleen's status as legends in Ireland, and it's no wonder they took the city easily. However, public support has only intensified in the wake of your actions! Look at Limerick, for example! The populace is growing more against us as more news comes out, in Killarney, we've received news of another uprising, and Waterford's a powder keg with the fuse almost reaching the powder. Public support seems to be turning against us, and it seems your brutality really contributed to it."

"Not to mention... Rukuriri has been... unsuccessful in dealing with the uprisings in Cork. From her reports, the rebels are very well-led."

"And the rebels have full control over the city and the surrounding areas, meaning they have control over factories and airports and all that stuff."

"And, I'm afraid we're almost at the end of the line with Ireland."

"What?!"

"Darjeeling-sama, why do you say this!?"

"Outrageous! Let me back there and pacify all of them!"

"Quiet, please, all of you... let me explain.

The All-Stars Organization is against us. All against us. Sooner or later if we continue this war we'll have them all coming onto our doorstep."

"We can resist! We're St. Gloriana, after all!"

"We never falter, we're always marching confidently forward!"

"That may be true, but shall we risk cities such as London or Birmingham being bombed by ASO aircraft? Or maybe a devastating ground invasion to force us to make peace."

"So... you're saying..."

"Unless this rebellion can be pacified... I may have to put my hands to a truce."

"No. No. NO. I WILL NOT ALLOW IT! MY WORK, OUR WORK FOR TEN YEARS, DOWN THE DRAIN LIKE THAT?!"

"Assam! Calm yourself! NOW!"

The sudden voice immediately froze Assam and Darjeeling cold. Turning their heads to face the direction of the voice, it was exactly who she expected,

"E-Earl... G-G-Grey..."

"A shame to see how bad things have gotten since I left... Ireland's a mess."

"At least Scotland and Wales weren't too much of a problem."

"Yeah, I'll give you that, Darjie. Ireland, however... yeesh. The whole international community's on us now."

"So, what do we do? Do we make peace with the rebels?"

"No, Nil. No peace. I'm sure St. Gloriana can handle the ASO while our gals in Ireland do their work. We have a good standing army to work with, so we can resist long enough to pacify Ireland."

"Are you sure, Earl Grey-sama? I'm for immediate peace, I don't want any more bloodshed."

"Sorry, Pekoe, but I'm not willing to let the product of ten years of work go to waste this easily. We must show the world St. Gloriana is strong, that we don't bend to those who oppose us."

"As the song goes... 'Rule, Britannia, Britannia rule the waves...'"

"'...Britons, never, never, never shall be slaves!'"

Author's "sendoff": Cork's rebellion is a major success, and while Dublin may have failed, several of its leaders have survived. With the international spectrum beginning to prepare for intervention, St. Gloriana may have to start resorting to more "desperate measures" to keep Ireland in their grasp.

Next time: Coleen and party make a perilous journey to Cork, Rukuriri attempts an assault on the city, and Earl Grey returns to help lead the battle against Ireland.