Chapter 15: Hometowns
Glossary: Yugs
A city with a population of 40.000 before the war, Yugs sits at the fork where the Marberry river splits in two, forming its iconic estuary. The western river is large enough to be navigable and the Marberry itself it's connected to the major Vasel river, thus being a crucial part of a river network that allows Gallian ships to safely move from Anthold to the northern coast. Yugs is thus a vital harbor where the ships resupply before heading out into the Northern Sea or when they need to refit in order to navigate the rivers.
The inhabitants of Yugs are famous for being hard-working and also unusually tolerant: Yugs has long been infamous because of the harmony between the Europans and the Darcsens living in it. The city hosts the largest Darcsen community of all Gallia and they have long been part of the political life of the city.
Most historians date the beginning of this unusual tolerance back to the Enlightened Age, as Yugs embraced the doctrine of Humanism to the fullest, earning mostly the scorn of the rest of Gallia. For centuries, the citizens of Yugs have been labeled 'Darc-minglers' by the more conservative Gallians, especially the nobles, yet most of them proudly embrace that nickname.
Yugs is the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, an organization that pushes for Darcsens to be recognized as equals all across Europa.
August 11, 1935.
Isara wasn't used to be accompanied by an escort, especially not by five troopers of the Royal Guard, who spent most of the travel back to Randgriz in a stoic and disciplined silence. She certainly was very glad when her train finally reached Randgriz Central Station and she was escorted out of the main entrance, at which point she found Adrien and Wilbur impatiently waiting for her.
She smiled and made some large steps toward them and Adrien was the first to open his arms and reach her for a hug.
"Ah, come here my little brighty girl!" he said with the enthusiasm of a real uncle seeing his favorite niece. "I told ya I wasn't going to let you go!"
The girl chuckled. "I just figure you'd wait until the end of the war."
"Had you died for any reason, the country would have suffered greatly, Isara." Wilbur added.
Isara was released from Adrien's grip and she shared a quick hug with the Prime Minister, as well.
"It's nice to see you, too, Your Excellency." she said, knowing that the man didn't want her or Welkin to use honorifics.
"And I am glad you're okay. I heard what happened at Marberry: that was a close call."
With a bit of a bittersweet tone, Isara replied "I think the sniper was aiming to Ramal from the start. After all, I heard the Imperials put a bounty for any GSS agent their soldier can kill."
"That's true. Erwin's people have proven to be the biggest thorn in the Imps' side in this war. Still, I'm glad Sergeant Valt came out of that incident just fine. How about we get on with the reason why you are here?"
"Just say the word." Isara replied with renewed determination.
Thus, after making the trip on the luxurious car of the Prime Minister, escorted by a convoy of the Royal Guard, the trio reached the airplanefactory just outside Randgriz, the most recent and modern facility of the country, where the engineers of the National Arsenal and Agusta Northland worked together to improve Gallia's capabilities to wage war in this new field.
Immediately as they stepped in, Isara was awed by everything: the machinery, the laboratories, the production line...to a passionate engineer like her, there was no doubt that that environment was extremely attractive and stimulating. Like a kid walking into a candy store, she couldn't walk two meters without commenting excited about many things, though she seemed to already know everything that was going on inside.
"Who brought a kid in here?!" a grouchy voice asked loudly.
Isara turned around and saw a man clothed head to toe into a mechanic's outfit: suit full of grease, thick gloves and boots, and even his face seemed to match the stereotype: an old man with uncouth bear, messy hair and looking ten years older than he probably was.
"Oh, Mister Agusta. Prime Minister." he then said after noticing the two adults.
"Hey there, Mitch." Adrien greeted amicably, then waved an arm toward the girl. "Allow me to introduce you to Isara Gunther."
The old engineer looked at her, still with his grimace, then quickly said "I see. Sorry for judging so quickly. So you are Theimer's daughter."
"Did you know my father?" Isara asked a bit surprised.
"The name is Samson Mitchell." the man said, presenting himself a bit late. "Can't say I knew him, but I have been working for the Agusta forever. I was a senior engineer at Fouzen when your father came in and made a huge mess with his ideas. But my word, I never saw a mind as brilliant as his."
Isara was taken by a bit of nostalgia. "He was. I can only hope that one day I will be remotely at his level."
"Are you serious?!" Mitchell replied. "Girl, I saw ya project. If ya can make tha' thing fly, then you are already a league above your old man."
Isara huffed a little confused.
"Is, we called you here because we want you to build that project of yours." Wilbur finally said clearly. So far, Isara only thought that she had been hired as a junior engineer.
For sure, that declaration took her off-guard. "Wha-? Me?"
"Who else if not you?" Adrien asked rhetorically and with a huge smile. "Our engineers agree that your project is valid, but there are a few things that they are not sure how you want them to work. That's why you're here. You will lead the development group."
"B-but I have no experience in leading anyone!" the girl replied, now seriously realizing that she was way deeper down than what she thought she was going to be.
"Ah, you can leave the grunts to me, missy." Mitchell said. "You say how you want the machine built, I'll make sure the others will listen to you."
"Mitch has been one of my quartermasters for years." the businessman explained. "He knows how to make sure the working environment stays friendly yet with a clear hierarchy. Also, he is the man who deciphered and realized most of your father's sketches on planes."
"You are?" the girl asked even more amazed.
"Yeah. Just thinking about those damn drawings gives me a migraine. But it worked out in the end." the man groaned.
"If there's any expert on aerodynamics, that's him." Wilbur also reassured. "That's why he will assist you. Just so you know: your project is receiving public funds. Since even Erwin said that it can give us a great edge over the Empire, I had to break my head over where we could find the money. We're counting on you, Isara."
Hearing that at first put pressure on her, but that pressure quickly forced Isara to strengthen her resolve and to commit her body and mind to this new job.
"Roger that. I swear, you won't regret this!" she declared with a fiery tone.
August 12, 1935.
The shoulder had completely healed and thus Ramal was ready and willing to go back to the field. Especially as he watched over the city they were about to storm.
Yugs seemed mostly intact, though he could easily see that the Darcsen neighborhoods had been deliberately burnt to the ground by the Imperials.
"How long has it been since we have left?" Kiril asked, wondering.
"I think it's a year and three months, more or less." the other Sergeant responded.
Just as they said it, Sheila also waltzed on the scene, going next to her partner and staring at the charred rests of her old district. Without saying a word, her fists closed and trembled.
"I guess they can't accept that we're more than vagabonds." she hissed as she witnessed what had been a deliberate attempt by the Imperials to cancel any trace of Darcsen culture. Perhaps it was already a miracle that they hadn't destroyed the entire city, given that it was a monument to co-existence with an 'inferior' race.
"At least the population had safely gotten away before the invasion." Kiril noted. "Now we will retake our city, and once the war is over, we will rebuild it better than ever." he added with a firm proposition.
"Come on, the Marshall is probably waiting for us." Ramal concluded.
"Right. Sheila, you should get back to the squad." Kiril suggested.
"Don't take too long. I want to shoot the bastards in there as quickly as I can." the girl replied acidly before walking away.
Kiril watched her go a little worried by that declaration. "Hope she doesn't do anything stupid." he murmured.
"Hey, I feel the same way." Ramal replied. "But don't worry: Sheila is not stupid like the two of us." he then quipped.
Kiril chuckled. "That much is true. Come on."
They returned to the command tent, where they met an old acquaintance.
"Lieutenant Coulson." Ramal greeted.
"Oh, Valt and Kiril. Always inseparable, I see. How's your shoulder, kid?"
The Sergeant made a short rotation of the arm to show that he was just fine. "It's more that I haven't used it for a week than any real damage. Certainly, I'm not standing aside today of all days."
"Good. Come on in, then." Coulson invited, moving the veil aside.
The two went in and found that there was a whole team of other 10 GSS agents. They recognized some of them, whom they had fought alongside with at Vasel. That meant that Erwin had something big planned for them, if anything because there was no other officer of the Army or Militia present at that moment.
The Marshall was standing patiently on the other side of the table, with his assistants working in the other half of the tent. Carrying maps over, coordinating the deployment of the troops via radio and updating the large city map with small flags and other icons based on the recent intel.
"Ah, there you are." Erwin said as soon as he saw Kiril and Ramal. He then leaned a bit forward and put his finger onto the center of the city. "We observed the movements of the imperials inside the city, and it seems pretty obvious that they have placed a command post over here."
"Then they're most likely using the cathedral." Kiril advised. "Of course, we can always bombard it, but personally I would like for us to save it."
"Don't worry about it: it's already a site of national interest. What I want to know from you is if there are other ways to approach it that wouldn't be the two main roads."
"Oh, there are plenty." Ramal intervened and started moving his finger around the map. "The cathedral is in the historic center, so the map may not show it, but there are several alleys through which we could sneak around if you keep the Imps occupied."
"That's all I needed to hear. Now, our eggheads have recently managed to put Sheila's radio device inside howitzer shells." Erwin said to the whole team. "Your job is to infiltrate the enemy lines, then use the beacons to direct the artillery fire on their heads."
"I see. And at the same time, we storm the cathedral and see if their commanding officer is inside." Coulson understood.
"Precisely. As usual, yours is a decapitation task. Find and destroy their hierarchy, and picking up the others will be a cakewalk." Erwin declared. "Meanwhile, I will coordinate the assault of the ground forces."
"You can count on us, sir." Coulson replied, before turning toward Ramal and Kiril. "I'm counting on your guidance, then."
"Trust us, sir. We know every hook and cranny of that area. Ramal's home is in that neighborhood." Kiril added with confidence.
"Then it's your lucky day, Sergeant: we're going to liberate it."
"Can't wait for it." Ramal replied a little excited.
"The Yugs Militia Battalion is waiting alongside the Third Regiment." Erwin reported. "I heard you two are quite the legends in that unit. You have some time to visit, if you wish."
"Why not? I want to see who else joined." Kiril proposed.
Needless to say, two minutes later they found the directions and were at the doors of the Battalion's camp. And before they could even say 'hi' a young man with glasses spotted them. "Hey! Ramal and Kiril are here!"
The voice spread immediately and it took a few seconds before a mass of people started gathering around them. The boys recognized some of of their schoolmates at the local high school and others of their age that they used to mingle with. Some of the adults were also familiar and it was overall a mixture of Europans and Darcsens, as many of them had taken up arms especially after Fouzen.
"Gentlemen, what's all the noise?" a voice asked loudly and severely. A voice that sounded frighteningly familiar to the two young GSS.
The crowd suddenly split apart to allow a young girl around their age, with blonde hair and two ringlets falling on her shoulders, even a very small pink ribbon on top of her head, step forward with a martial attitude despite her appearance suggesting to a lady of wealthy origins. She was also wearing an officer uniform.
And of all people, Ramal was definitely having chills up his spine. It seemed justified, because as soon as that girl noticed that it was the two of them, first she looked surprised, then she threw cold dagger gazes at him.
"Olivia...Windsong." Kiril said a little surprised and nervous for his friend.
"Hello, Sergeant Kiril." she said overall cordially. "I see you're still hanging around with...Valt." she added toward the other one.
"Uh...hello, Olivia." Ramal said attempting to smile.
"It's Lieutenant Windsong, for you." she replied sternly.
"Oh-oh, yes, ma'am." he replied, saluting immediately.
"Lieutenant...say, where is Lieutenant Bleven?" Kiril asked.
A somber silence fell among the troops. Even Olivia lowered her head with a restrained sadness.
"He's dead." she replied eventually. "Two months ago, while we were stationed in a trench. All of a sudden, the imperials fired one of their artillery barrages and the Lieutenant was hit in the head by a shrapnel."
The news hit the two GSS quite hard. Bleven was, after all, the man who trained many of them during the compulsory military training in high school and he had encouraged them to try the admission test for the Service.
"I'm sorry." Ramal said, knowing that the people in that squad were probably much more affected than them.
"I was the only one left with a diploma, so Command put me through an accelerated officer course...now here I am." the young woman finished.
"Don't sell yourself short, missy." one of the older soldiers intervened. "We all knew you were the only one suited to replace poor Joshua."
"Yeah. We all told our CO to propose the promotion to her." another younger trooper intervened to encourage her.
"Then I guess we'll be working together in this op." Kiril eventually said. "Ah, Sheila is in Squad 7, as you probably know. You should probably get in contact with her, since she will handle communications on the field."
Olivia showed a sincere smile. "Oh, right. She made quite the name herself. I'll be happy to see her again."
With that, with Olivia ignoring Ramal for the few seconds left before the two GSS left, the meeting was adjourned and the young men went back to Squad 7. There, they reported their recent encounter in order to advise the 7s on how to behave with the Yugs Battalion, but when Kiril named Olivia, Sheila made a loud 'Oof.".
"What' the matter?" Welkin asked. "Is there any trouble with her?"
"She's Ramal's second ex." Sheila commented to get that out of the way.
"Oh, damn." someone commented.
"Is that gonna be a problem?" Alicia asked slightly confused.
"We didn't exactly left on amicable terms." Ramal admitted. "And it's mostly my fault. However, she's not the kind of person that would let her feelings get in the way of her duty. On one thing I agree with her squad mates: she is perfectly suited to be an officer."
"Wow. I didn't expect you to be so lenient on her." Rosie commented.
"As I said, I'm the one at fault with her. I don't really have the right to be petty."
"Ah!" Largo exclaimed. "You're the first guy I met who ever said anything like that, kid."
"All right, enough prying." Welkin admonished. "As long as you can assure that your history will not cause problem with Squad 5, then this is strictly your private matter."
"Of course, sir." Ramal replied sternly. "Speaking of which, we better rejoin Coulson and the others."
"And we better get in contact with the other squads." Welkin concluded.
An hour later, the Militia formed the first spearheads and started marching toward the city, immediately. The idea was for them to soften the imperial defenders up and then send in the assault teams of the Army the moment there was a crack in it. Though the biggest hope relied certainly on the infiltration of the GSS. If that succeeded, the Imperials would lose their commander and thus their cohesion. If that failed, they would have been encircled and likely annihilated if the bulk of the army couldn't break in.
As fate would have it, Squad 7 was assigned to a sector right next to Squad 5 of the Yugs Battalion, which was actually going to be the real spearhead of this battle. After all, they knew the city better than anyone else, and were certainly the most determined to retake it. Squad 7 was tasked with covering their left flank.
"We need to secure our allies' advance. Push all the way into the western district. Squad 7, move out!" the young Lieutenant declared before starting the operation.
"Lieutenant Gunther, the Edelweiss and the Shamrock will have a hard time moving through those streets. We will be much more vulnerable to an ambush." Kreis warned.
"Good point. This city is clearly different from the large boulevards of Vasel." Welkin noted. "We will have to rely on the infantry and intervene only if we run into enemy tanks."
The squad finally moved in, cautiously approaching the first buildings and coming under enemy fire soon enough. Luckily, there was no shortage of covers to use during the assault, and so with the determination and the ability of veterans like they were, Squad 7 didn't take long before occupying the first imperial outpost.
Around them, the assault was also proceeding quite well. In fact, Squad 5 was slightly outpacing them, thanks to their knowledge of the city that allowed Lieutenant Windsong to come up with rapid and effective surprise attacks.
Overall, the attack was clearly pushing the Imperials back along the entire front. Then, a comm arrived on the whole channel that the artillery company had received the radio beacon and was opening fire on the central square. Soon enough, the entire city was shaken by the hammering that fell at its center.
Then, shortly after that, the imperial defenses clearly started to crumble much faster and falling back toward the city center.
"This is Rot Falke to all units: Dagger team has successfully neutralized the enemy commander, but they are now besieged at the cathedral. All units directed toward the city center are urged to get there as fast as possible."
"Sheila, see if you can raise them." Welkin promptly ordered.
"On it!" the girl replied, feeling urgency for the possible fate of her lover.
"Lieutenant Gunther, this is Windsong. Come in, please."
Welkin put a hand on his headset and replied into the microphone. "Gunther here. Go on."
"I might have a plan to reach the cathedral: if you manage to get some infantry into Reckeder Road, we can go around their positions and punch a hole in their line before they reorganize."
"Welkin, I know where that road is." Sheila replied after hearing that proposition.
"Then get Rosie's team and head there immediately." Welkin replied calmly and Sheila quickly got out through one of the hatches, grabbed her gear and reached Rosie on the frontline. With the Edelweiss and another team laying down a smoke curtain, the two women brought their group into the designated road, which was a curved line that would eventually connect to another road on the side of Squad 5's front. And those two roads encircled a D-shaped district where the Imperials had dug in and were firing on both Squads.
Probably not knowing the city's configuration enough, the defenders were quickly overrun and those who were not killed or injured fled without knowing where they were supposed to go and more often than not bumped against Gallian units that took them into custody.
That simple and fast maneuver had suddenly left Squads 7 and 5 with an open path straight toward the cathedral. The Edelweiss and the Hound, Olivia's tank, repositioned and then led a charge toward the main road, which brought them to the besieged cathedral and to take the Imperials completely off-guard as they were too busy firing onto the old building, which had already suffered severe damaging.
Nonetheless, as one section of the ring fell, the entire imperial counterattack against the GSS fell apart, and without their command staff, the junior officers had little choice but to try and salvage their units by retreating as quickly as possible.
"Nice work, everyone. Now get inside and get our men out of there." Welkin declared at the end of that part of the operation.
Even before he was done pronouncing that order, Sheila was the first to rush to the sacred building. The agents gathered at the main door welcomed her and let her and her comrades in.
For a moment, Sheila observed the interiors and remembered. Before the war, the cathedral was a unique gathering place for both the Gallians and the Darcsens in the city. While many of the former were Yggdist, they belonged to a current believing that their fellow Darcsens could no longer be held accountable for the sins of their ancestors and that they should instead be welcomed in the house of the Gods. Her parents used to participate in the mass every Saturday and most of the kids of her generation, including Ramal and Kiril, used to meet and play together after the religious service.
And now, while the Imperials had respected the cathedral during the occupation, the furious firefight had filled the external walls with bullet holes. Some grenades had been clearly hurled inside as there signs of small explosions. The majestic glasses were shattered and the benches had been used by the GSS as barricades both on the main door and the lateral ones.
Looking around, Sheila eventually spotted Kiril sitting on the stairs of pulpit, his back leaning against the priest's counter with an exhausted face. She rushed to him.
"Are you ok?" she asked worried.
"I'm fine." he huffed, then, too tired to add anything else, he simply leaned on the right to peek over the counter. Sheila followed his gaze and noticed a horrible fact.
There were three GSS bodies laying on the ground, being aligned by their comrades.
Among them, Sheila quickly identified Lieutenant Coulson.
"Oh, no!" she said with a gasp.
"A sniper caught him right into the mask." Ramal said, next to them with his own sniper rifle dandling on his arms. "He didn't have a chance."
"Guys...I'm so sorry." the young woman said.
Almost immediately after that conversation, both Welkin and Olivia also walked inside and reached the altar. As soon as they realized that the Lieutenant was dead, the latter asked "Who's in charge, now?"
"That would be me." a man in his 30s replied. "Sergeant major Tarni."
Welkin noticed that the man's left arm was covered in blood and he was holding it with the right one. "Rosie! Get a medic over here!" he quickly yelled at his subordinate. The woman nodded and went back out.
"Can the rest of you still fight?" Windsong asked to Ramal and Kiril.
"Of course we can." the former replied sternly.
"Oh...where is the enemy commander?" Welkin asked after looking around once again.
"He and his staff officers are down in the crypt. I bet the Marshall would like to talk with them." Kiril replied amused.
August 14, 1935.
Without their commander, the Imperials had basically no reason to stick around, yet they still managed a fighting retreat, saving themselves from complete destruction even if they had taken severe casualties.
All in all, Erwin was fairly satisfied with the performance of his troops. Casualties had been acceptable, especially if compared to the Imperial ones.
The only real matter was the death of one of his most experienced GSS officers. Coulson was hardly replaceable, being one of the first Agents who enlisted in the branch when it was created, and his death was highly detrimental for the Service.
The GSS had started the war with 1982 agents, and the losses so far had brought that number to 1853. Not much compared to any other unit for any country involved in the war, but for a small corp this wasn't an issue that could be shrugged away.
As he inspected the city, thinking about all this, Erwin reached the Darcsen neighborhood and observed the meticulous destruction it had been subjected to during the occupation. And among the ruins, he eventually spotted his pupils and Sheila, who was visibly crying. He approached them, and as soon as he spotted him, Ramal stood at attention, prompting the other two to do the same as Sheila hastily wiped her face.
"At ease. I can only imagine what you three are going through, right now." he said with compassion.
Sheila turned her head toward a pile of cinder. "This is where my house was." she said with an angrily broken voice. "They didn't even spare a few damn huts."
"We will rebuild them, Sheila." Kiril intervened with a confident tone. "For once, we should listen to Zaka: getting angry over what's already done will not undo that. We will free Gallia, defeat the Empire, and then our people will finally be able to start a new era, side by side with the rest of the world."
"That's a laudable goal, Sergeant. In order to do that, however, there is something I'd like to discuss with you, first." Erwin said, decided that it was the best moment to intervene.
Kiril turned around with a surprised curiosity and so did the others. Erwin looked at the two of them, then shrugged. "I should talk to you in private, but if it's you two, I can overlook that." then he assumed a more dignified bearing, more fitting of the Marshall of Gallia. "Sergeant Kiril…" he declared. "After hearing the opinions and the recommendations of your peers, I have decided to offer you the position of Lieutenant of the Gallian Special Service."
Kiril startled, bumbling as he leaned back away. Sheila and Ramal at first were just as stunned, then their open jaws turned into wide and happy smiles as they turned toward their friend again.
"Wh...what the…?" Kiril still fumbled. "Me? A Lieutenant already?"
"Bro, that's fantastic! And you totally deserve this!" Ramal commented enthusiastically.
"No way!" Kiril protested. "There must be many others who are far worthier than me!"
"I offered the position of Coulson to Tarni and other NCOs, but they all refused. They recommended you after seeing what you've done yesterday at the harbor, and I find myself in agreement with them."
Kiril quickly remembered the afternoon of the day before. The fighting for the harbor and his quick thinking as he directed his surviving comrades of the GSS to enact a pincer maneuver that threw the Imperials completely off and allowed the rest of the allied forces to overrun them, retaking the strategic structure almost intact and in a few minutes.
"That was...only because I know this city inside and out." he insisted.
"My boy, knowing the terrain is simply a basis. Exploiting it so greatly, it's the sign of a true talent. Besides, they all agreed that it was you who took the initiative when poor Coulson died. And honestly, I have been thinking for a while that you are ready to carry more responsibility."
"I...I'm flattered, sir, but...isn't it too early to make a Darcsen officer?" he asked timidly.
"Why?" Erwin replied staunchly. "There are no rules against it. You deserve this, and that's all I need. Besides, you can show the entire world that your people can do the same things as everyone else just as well.
"He's right, Kiril!" Sheila intervened vigorously. "You would be the first Darcsen officer in...well, since always!"
The young man struggled. He might've brought up the age issue, but he had already turned 18, so even that was not a reason to turn down the promotion.
Kiril clearly felt the pressure of those statements. He silently sighed while his face was focused on thinking heavily. After a few more seconds, his expression became resolute.
"It would be my honor, sir."
"Excellent." Erwin replied before taking a small case from one of his pouches and opening it, taking out a new badge. The GSS distinguished their ranks only with those little gadgets, which could be easily concealed so that the enemy would have a harder time pinpointing who was in charge of a squad. The Marshall handed it to his young pupil.
"From now on, there will be many more responsibilities you will be called to fulfill. But I know you can take them on splendidly."
"Thank you, sir." the young man replied firmly and with a bit of pride.
Erwin nodded, smiling with satisfaction himself at seeing how much his pupils had grown in such a short amount of time. Even in front of the destruction of their hometown they had not been broken and they remained steadfastly set on the goal of protecting their land and their people.
Then he remembered something else. "Ah, I think you'd like to know that I have integrated the Yugs Battalion into the Third Regiment. You'll be working with them until Gallia is completely liberated."
The three of them were surprised, with only Ramal looking a bit nervous.
"Really?" Sheila asked. "Why?"
Erwin sighed softly. "Your battalion is doing quite fine, but the other ones has suffered several casualties in the last months. After the reorganization, it became clear that we need reinforcements. Since we're already here, I decided to take them into our Division...also, I have my eyes on Lieutenant Windsong."
"Oh...really?" Ramal asked timidly.
"She proved herself quite capable, as well. Also, I recently found out that she had applied for Lanseal, but then the war started and she withdrew the application to fight immediately. I'm working on giving her an official appointment in the Army for merits."
"Sounds like something Olivia would do." Sheila commented brightly.
"I'm telling you because it seems like you and her have a history, Ramal." Erwin said firmly. "I don't want to know the details, but, please, if you think that it could be a problem, I would like for you to try and go along with her."
Ramal rubbed his neck. "Yes, sir. To be honest, I should've tried to talk with her a long time ago."
Following that conversation, Ramal went to find where Squad 5 had camped and managed to find Olivia delivering a few orders to her Sergeant. Luckily or not, he arrived behind her just when the NCOs left.
"Hey." he said awkwardly.
Olivia jolted in surprise, then she saw who that was. "Oh, it's you." she said quite coldly.
"I was told we would be working together for the time being."
Surprisingly, the young woman turned around and replied normally even if with an annoyed tone. "Yes. I'm grateful to the Marshall for this opportunity."
Ramal grunted and rubbed his neck. "Look...since we're going to meet a lot of times in the future, I wanted to make sure there's no hard feelings between us."
Olivia gulped surprised.
Ramal took courage and said straightly "I'm sorry for what I did. I used you as a rebound and that was a shitty move on my part. I should've…"
"Stop." she replied.
"Uh?"
"Stop it." she sighed, her head lowered as if she was trying to find some courage herself. "The reality is that the fault lies completely with me."
"What? No, I…"
"Ram, I asked you out right after you were dumped by Diana. I knew that was your moment of weakness and I jumped at it to satisfy my crush on you. It had been clear for a while that you simply saw me as a friend, but I was too greedy. I should've known better from the start that you would've broken up with me the moment you got your reason back."
Ramal listened appalled. He had never considered that version to be a possibility. Yet, the more Olivia talked, the more it made sense.
And while a part of him was furious that he had spent years thinking the fault laid with him, he also couldn't help but think that he should've, in fact, simply refused her from the beginning and not give her false hope.
"In fact, if you want to hate me, I totally understand." Olivia concluded, fully aware and ready to take on the consequences of her selfishness.
Ramal pondered on it for a few seconds...then he made a conciliatory smile and chuckled. "I guess we both have our share of guilt."
The Lieutenant was not expecting such an attitude, but she certainly welcomed it and went along. "Yeah. I suppose so...so, no hard feelings?"
"I'll be glad to work with you, Lieutenant Windsong." Ramal replied, extending a hand.
Olivia smiled back and shook it firmly. "Likewise, Sergeant Valt."
After they enjoyed that moment of reconciliation, Olivia decided to bring up something else. "Say, you are quite close to the Marshall, right? Where do you think we're going next?"
Luckily, Ramal did know that. "The Imperials are amassing their forces on the Naggiar. Before we take them head on, the Marshall wants to at least secure the rest of the eastern border, so we're heading toward Bruhl."
"That's Welkin's hometown, isn't it?"
"Yup. His sister's too. I bet she'll be quite pissed that she won't be there." Ramal added amused.
Olivia smirked. "Oh, right. Your new flame."
Ramal was startled. "Wh...how do you know?!"
"Don't you know?" she asked amused and slightly surprised. "You have become one of the recurrent topics on the 'Writing on the Wall' of Miss Ellet. It's like she's using you for a romance novel."
"Hold on, I never agreed to it!" he protested.
"Oh, come on. It's actually quite the popular serialization. Not only because you are a Europan and a Darcsen, which already makes it a hot topic, but because it reminds everybody that, even in the destruction of the war, love can still blossom."
Ramal grunted, but if things were like she was saying, then there wasn't much he could do about it. And Ellet certainly wasn't going to give up had he just asked.
"What about you, then?" he asked to change topic. "Did you find someone who really deserves you?"
She hummed with a shrug. "Not really. I've been spending the last three years bickering with my father: he wants me to marry the heir of a major shipbuilding company in Anthold. He has worked so hard to reinforce our partnership."
"Oh, right. Your father deals with maritime logistics." Ramal remembered. "And why didn't you agree?"
"I mean, the guy is not a bad person. But I don't want to spend my life living as a dandy lady. I want to decide my own fate."
"Is that why you applied for the Academy?"
"Oh...the Marshall must've told you. Yes, that's it. But then the invasion happened, so I directly enlisted in the Militia. Haven't spoken to my father since then."
"That doesn't sound nice. Is your family still alive, at least?"
"Of course. They transferred to Anthold, so my father could keep his business open. But I don't really want to go back until I'm fully into the Army. At that point, he will have no power over me anymore."
"I see...well, I hope you can settle this matter, as well."
"Thank you…" she said with a bit of nostalgia. "I'm glad we could clarify this, Ram. Now, I should get back to work."
"Of course. See you around, Lieutenant Windsong." he replied with a salute.
August 20, 1935.
"Minerva, what's going on?" Claude asked after seeing the crowd amassed around the commander's tent.
"Claude. It seemed like we received a special guest." Minerva said with an unusually happy voice. "Come over here."
She opened a path for them through the crowd and they reached the other officers next to Colonel Borswood.
And then Claude noticed the guest: a young woman with the uniform of the Gallian Army, with long blonde hair, emerald eyes and exuding an unnatural grace even as she stood at attention. He didn't take long to realize who that was, but then Borswood dispelled any doubt.
"Everyone!" he proclaimed. "I'd like you all to welcome our new guest from Gallia. A Valkyria! Gently offered by our allies." he said and then stepped aside.
The woman made the salute and spoke with a salute. "Sergeant Ligritte Werner." she said, with a calm voice that could easily be heard by everyone nonetheless. "I have been attached to the Ranger Corp to assist you in case the Imperials deploy one of their Valkyrias."
An amazed echo rose from the crowd, followed by an optimistic chattering.
"Sergeant Werner will be with us for some time. She will stand as a tactical reserve and intervene when the Imperials will throw one of their witches at us." Borswood declared with a martial tone. "I expect all of you to be at your best behavior with her, because she will most likely save your skins in the future."
"We have our own Valkyria, now?" Claude asked amazed.
"Indeed." Minerva replied proudly. "You already fought with and against some of them, right, Claude?"
Before he could reply, he saw Ligritte suddenly turn her head the moment she heard his name. She approached him with a calm pacing, and Claude noticed that she was slightly taller than him, making her an even more imposing figure.
"Are you Lieutenant Claude Wallace?" she asked.
"Oh...ehm...yes." he replied intimidated.
The woman reached the bigger purse on her utility belt and took out an envelope. "I was asked to deliver this package to you."
Claude looked at the envelope, only noticing the seal of the Gallian military postal service. "Yes...thank you." he eventually said, taking the letter.
Ligritte made a graceful bow and returned back to the senior officers, then started socializing with the rest of the crowd.
"What could that be?" Minerva asked.
"I don't know." Claude said and decided to immediately open the envelope.
All there was inside were two pictures...pictures that made him gasp first and then laugh. "Raz! Riley! Kai! Come over here!" he yelled after he found his friends, who were already trying to get past the crowd to reach him after seeing the scene from a moment ago.
"What's that, man?! I never saw you so…" Raz asked surprised, but his reaction was even more exaggerated when he saw the pictures.
"No way…" Riley said with her eyes already teary.
"They actually made it…" Leena said with a smile full of emotion.
The first picture showed Welkin, Ramal, Kiril, Alicia, Sheila, Rosie, Zaka and Largo all posing in front of the sign of Hafen, signaling that they had reached the city. The Edelweiss and the Shamrock were parked behind it.
On the lower corner on the right, someone wrote "It's done, Squad E!"
The second picture was always them in front of the remains of the Miller Factory. It was mostly ruins, but the front wall was still distinguishable. They looked a little more somber in that picture as they knew it was a source of bad memories for Claude and Riley, but they wanted to remind their far away friends that their home was now finally free.
"They did it." Claude added, himself unable to contain his happiness. "Hafen is free again."
"Oh, that's your hometown?" Minerva asked, finally understanding.
"Yeah!" Raz replied enthusiastic. "And now it's up to us to make sure the Imps never set foot inside it again!"
"I'm glad you are so pumped up." the voice of Borswood interrupted.
Everyone turned around and stood at attention. "Sir." said Minerva.
"We have our next task. The real reason why Sergeant Werner came to our help: an imperial laboratory just outside Weiden."
"A laboratory?" Claude asked. "For what?"
"We don't know, Lieutenant. But the scouts reported that the Imperials have deployed an elite unit to make sure everything inside it it's safely evacuated. We are to rush over there and stop them before they complete the evacuation, so get ready."
"Yes, sir!" Claude saluted. "Raz, get the rest of the team ready for an immediate sortie!"
Soon the order was passed to everybody and the Ranger Corp scrambled to prepare for battle.