This focuses heavily on unreliable narration, so for the most part any inaccuracies are either...
Evil is Coming - Youjo Senki/Dresden Files
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Basically Satan
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This focuses heavily on unreliable narration, so for the most part any inaccuracies are either the characters being mistaken, or they're lying. Since Tanya's ridiculously OP, and the story of her showing up in a world she could easily fit into would be a boring curb stomp, this is not that story. This is the story from the other side, of the people trying to resist her inevitability. Fighting for what they think is right against the demonized monsters of the Empire. Which is part of why Tanya's perspective will never be shown, also because I can't write her internal motivations worth a damn.
Evil Is Coming
"Yes? What have you to report?"
"General, messages intercepted from the North Sea. Intelligence thinks they're referencing some sort of teleportation research base."
"If the enemy gets point-to-point teleportation working safely, they could skip the entire supply chokepoint we've put on them. This is unacceptable. Do we have any ideas about the exact location?"
"Best guess at the moment is the Faroe Islands."
"Well send out the 203rd and make sure that Dugerechaff is personally in command."
"…Yes sir."
---------------------------
The plane's engines turn off, the window outside all shows unremitting darkness, unable to tell sea from sky, only gravity shows that we're gliding ever downwards. The air's tense, even if everyone's experienced it a thousand times before, they're still all placing their lives in the hands of an altimeter, a flimsy little box, one mistake on the map, one error in the timing, and they will die.
The light blinks crimson thrice. The door slides open with a rush of icy gusts and they jump into freefall head-first over the drop area, only turning on their equipment when the eldritch glow of magical radiation won't give them anymore.
I clean my glasses as the engine turns over and we start our climb back up. Fucking glad I'm just here as a science advisor.
----------------------------
The project leader looks up from the radio.
"The Empire is here." The utter finality in that statement is soul crushing.
"D-do destroy the machine?"
"If we did that… we'd have to burn the notes and commit suicide. All of us." He glanced at the team, shaking his head. "I won't let that happen. It's better to take a risk than to throw away our last chance."
"We've never tried it before. It might be a death sentence all for nothing."
He slammed a pistol onto the desk. "That is a death sentence, waiting to be captured would be even worse. This is at least a chance. We take what we can, leave the rest. We have five minutes at most."
Everyone scrambled to get what they thought was essential, I sat where I was. Pursed my lips in thought, before picking up the pistol from the table and walking into the machine room. The leader may not be willing to do what was necessary, but if it came to it I'd execute every last team member to keep them out of the hands of the enemy.
The sound of gunfire and screaming echoed down the halls as I entered the portal. Then the magical light shifted into shades of octerine that tasted a bit too fuzzy.
-------------------------------
An hour after they left the place we got radio communication that the island had been cleared and it was safe enough to land at the air-strip.
There were bodies all over the field, the burning husks of planes on the ground, signals tower a wreck. Wonder how long I've got to work with, how long till the enemy sends a response team?
"This way professor. Mind your step."
"Thank you." I gingerly avoid the slick entrails of a gutted soldier that have spilled across the floor.
"Over here we've put all the papers we couldn't identify. Over there is The Machine." You could hear the capital letters. I glanced in the machine room for a moment, no clue what I'm looking at really, but that's what the documentation is for.
I centered myself with a cocaine tablet.
"Hmm, these are dimensional mechanic formulae. Those focus on the viability of using mithril alloy to affect a resonance wave of magical radiation. Mostly cut with niobium huh, that must have made production difficult, would have had to do a full cast."
"Any idea what we're looking at?"
"A very, very preliminary idea. Mostly just a hunch really. Based on the intelligence reports, they were trying to punch a hole in space. But there are some pretty weird aspects to it. Things you wouldn't need to care about if all you wanted to do is move from one location to another."
"That matches up with some of the coded documents we found."
"How so?"
"They were diplomatic plans." The major glowered "Fucking transmigration."
"I'm sorry?" I have no idea what that word is supposed to mean.
"Bridge the gap between this world and a parallel one. Who better for an ally than one's own self? Who easier to convince to aid you?"
That… that was earth-shattering. How did an aerial combat mage understand that so quickly? I flipped back over the seemingly irrelevant calculations.
"That seems plausible. We have to stop them. The Empire can't fight a fresh Alliance… Are we in contact with command?"
"I'll radio in to report our findings. Get everything loaded on the plane. And somebody boobytrap the damn bodies!"
"Men. We've gone on a lot of suicide missions. Tested new technologies, been inserted deep behind enemy lines, faced impossible odds. We've done this for the fatherland, for our home. After years of blood and mud we're so close to victory, and now they want to bring in an entirely new world of enemies for us to fight. This cannot be allowed to happen! If we don't stop them from doing this thing, this atrocity, then the Empire will fall.
"The duty of a soldier of the Empire is to die, this time is different. I'm not asking you to die, I'm asking you to live. On the other side of that portal is all enemy territory. And there is no guarantee that we will ever be coming back. All I can do to reassure you is that our sacrifice will not be for nothing, our families will be treated as if we died with honors. If we are very lucky, we will die of old age in a foreign land, never to see our homes again."
The mood is grim. Then a laugh cuts the tension.
"You've asked us to die with you before, now all you want is for us to live for you… why not?"
General sounds of agreement swept through the crowd.
"Good! Lieutenant, get the squad into position. Doctor, we've planted charges in the bunker on a timer. It's all in your hands now doctor. If there is to be any hope for our return, it lies with you. "
"Yes, major." I watch her retreating form disappear into the portal.
God help them.
-------------------------------------------
The project team came out of the portal into an ally way.
Where are we, what do we do now? Such sentiments were thrown around liberally.
"Everyone calm down. If the machine worked as it was supposed to, then we should be in the United States, or else the American Colonies. Depending on how things worked out, but the Empire never had a foothold in the New World, and not even their immigrants made it this far west." That seemed to calm the project team down quite a bit. "Now, according to the diplomatic plans, we were to establish a base of operations, and then get in contact with a government mage, someone with the capacity to understand the implications of who we are, what we are asking and how we came here. Unfortunately, the plan also requires us to do procure local currency, which may be a problem."
A general murmur of hopelessness goes through the group. I step forward at that. "I'll volunteer to solve the problem. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." I smile with false reassurance.
The team safely secured in the alley I go on the prowl. Fortunately I don't seem to be too oddly dressed for the local population. The city is certainly no place from my world, sky scrapers existed before but never in such quantities, the cars are all aerodynamic and the traffic thick. The sheer power their mages must wield under the aid of such technology is mind boggling. I can picture the cities.
They're burning.
I found an alcove which claims to have a phone, heavily vandalized. It seems to be a pay service, but there is a directory attached. If it's anything like the military ones it will have all essential services listed. Let's see M… M… mag-… no 'mage'.
I tried with sorcerer as well, but it wasn't till I looked for wizards that I got something. Harry Dresden. I tear the page out of the book and stuff it in my pocket. We'll meet soon enough, mister Dresden.
Sitting at a blind corner, I wait. Someone will come, a lone stranger, well dressed, with confident poise. They will walk passed, just like that one, on the empty street.
I reach out to cover their mouth while inserting the glowing hairpin through the side of their skull. I wipe the hairpin off on the man's suit before searching the body for his wallet.
A 'credit' card, may be a banking thing, or it could be some alien use of the term. There's also a few hundred in cash. Hopefully our future allies will forgive the necessities of war.
-------------------------------------------
"Please, sit down miss…?"
"Brixton. Sarah Brixton." She was short, and with a sort of frumpy librarian look that made you think her harmless, till you saw the way she looked at people. Like a predator.
"So, what can I do for you miss Brixton?"
She gave an assessing look at my office before "Mister Dresden, may I ask you your official rank?"
"My… rank?"
"Your military rank."
Uhh "I don't have one. I've never served in the military."
"Did you not? How unfortunate… So what then, is your affiliation with the government?"
"I uh, work with the police some times. Is that what you mean?"
"No. I'm afraid not, you are of no use to me. I'm sorry to have wasted your time Mr. Dresden. Do you happen to know the contact information for a government ma-wizard?"
"There aren't any. Ah-that is, as far as I know. Look. Why don't you sit down and tell me your problem. I'll see if I can help you out, I promise, and I don't charge for consultations."
She stared off into space for a moment before sighing and returning to her chair.
"Where to begin, where to begin… Mr. Dresden, what do you know about parallel worlds?"
"Only what any sci-fi nerd knows." She gave me a deadpan stare
"In another world, parallel to this one, there is a war. This war is happening as we speak, in Europe, between the Empire and the Allies." I don't believe her, but crazy can be a bit dangerous as well, and I don't want to make her damage my stuff, I really can't afford to replace it. "As a last ditch effort to win the war, a research plan was put together, to draw troops and resources from other worlds."
"And this is the world you hope to draw troops from?" Feed the delusion, placate the crazy.
"Yes. We must form an alliance with your government, it's desperately important that this happen as soon as possible."
"So why come to me?"
"Where I'm from, all those with magic potential are conscripted." And isn't that just a scary thought. "I assumed that either you were a government office, or a veteran."
"I see. Well, your problem seems more a matter for the State Department, or maybe-" and right there I made a mistake, I looked her dead in the eyes.
I could see a woman that radiated a cold endless hate. I saw countless forces placed before her, and saw her slaughter her way through them. She was a woman that could and would do anything to achieve her goal. This was not someone to be underestimated.
She looked at me. I looked at her, and at her glowing eyes. Then the door opened, and in walked Murphey.
"Oh, I didn't know you were with a client. Can I speak to you alone for a moment Dresden? I think I may have a case for you."
"Uh yeah. Please wait a moment Miss Brixton, I'll be right back."
"Take your time."
"I'm sorry if I interrupted something in there."
"No, just an accidental soul gaze. But I don't think she was a paying client anyway, so it's not a big loss."
"Anyway, take a look at this security footage. At 8:30 this morning, a squad of gunmen dressed in green storm the entrance on the ground floor, at the same time another group enter from the roof entrance. One group keeps the lobby hostage, the telephone lines are cut, any signals in or out are jammed. Then the other two groups go floor by floor, in a search pattern, destroying security cameras as they go. Eventually they drag out a group of people from a room that was rented this morning, in cash, and execute them."
I look at the printed imaged. Professional, all using the same equipment, dressed the same way. What the hell am I looking at here?
"So why come to me? Looks like a bunch of paramilitary nutjobs."
"There's more. During the execution the witnesses noticed several of the gunmen had glowing eyes."
"Alright, that's definitely strange." I think back on the woman in my office. "Did they report any conversation, any words that might have come up?"
"Yeah, kind of weird. One of the victims said the allies will prevail, and then the killer replied the Empire will never fall, and then sine references to some sort of treaty. Whatever that means."
Holy shit. Holy shit!
"I think I may have an idea. Mind if I show these to someone?"
"Who?"
"The lady from before. I think she may be connected to the case, might help identify the killers."
"So, Miss Brixton, I and the police would appreciate it if you would take a look at some images and tell us what you think." I arranged the stills on the desk for her to look at. She goes still for a moment, before a smile starts tugging at the corner of her lips. "Who are they, and who are the victims?"
"The victims were the rest of my team. The research squad responsible for creating the device meant to win the war. The others… heh, they're the Imperial Rapid Response Battalion."
"You say that like it should mean something." This is going to be one of those weeks, isn't it?
"Each member is a top class aerial war mage, superb fliers and every one a dedicated killer. They have conquered countries by themselves." Ok, that's… not good.
"What are they after, who leads them?"
"They are after us, after me. They cannot allow our mission to succeed, for they know they'll lose if we do. As for their leader." She sorts through the images to find one of an indistinct figure I could barely make out. "That is Major Tanya von Degurechaff, and if she's here, then there can be no escape."
Murphey speaks up here. "We can protect you. Take you into protective custody. They won't be so happy when faced by armed officers."
Sarah Brixton burst into laughter, a manic smile on her face.
"You want to protect me? Let me tell you something, I fought for years on the front lines, I volunteered to do recon missions behind enemy lines. I have seen the Rein Hell, and I tell you that before the Rein Devil there is no hope. My mission is a failure, my country will fall, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. A few squads of non-magical forces would just end up splattered against the wall."
"The cops in this city have dealt with magical threats before, they have a pretty good handle on things. And for the rest, there's me." I say with confidence I don't feel.
Murphy tries to add a bit more "You saw how they went in, at best they're magically enhanced commandos. At worst we might need to break out the silver buckshot."
"They were being subtle." Dead silence.
"I'm sorry?"
"They didn't want to draw undue attention to themselves in such uncertain circomstances, so they went in personally. Otherwise, they would have blown up the city block. With a single spell… I've seen it before. Thermobaric bombardment, they light the atmosphere on fire." Shit. That's Blackstaff levels of destructive power. "You talk about mundane weapons like they were a threat, but aerial mages routinely dodge bullets in mid air, have shields that can block anti-armor rounds and mortar fire with ease. You'll be meat."
"Dodge bullets?" Murphey asks incredulously, something that I was mirroring. Like fighting vampires.
"And as for mister Dresden's help… May I ask how many mages you've killed in battle? Because if it's less than fifty you're not a match."
"Be that as it may be, I don't doubt that our magic systems are quite different. Tell me, is it possible for one of your mages to use a piece of blood or hair to track and affect someone from a distance?"
"...No." She pauses in thought "I've never heard of such being possible."
"See? They won't see me coming! And most importantly of all, here we have a rule that you should never attack a wizard that has been given time to prepare, especially not on his own ground. If we know that they'll come for you, then we can lure them into a trap." She looked at me skeptically, but with maybe a shred of hope in her features again.
"It's not like I have anything else to lose."
"Are you sure you'll be fine staying here? I can make room for you at my place." Murphey asked.
"I will be fine officer Murphey, I trust the protections on Mr. Dresden's home are far tighter than your own. Besides it will not be the first time I've had to trade sexual favors for shelter."
I spit-take.
Coughing I put down my class and stand up. "Putting that aside, I want to bring out an advisor. But I don't want you to freak out."
"Very well."
I placed Bob on the table.
"…"
"…."
"Does he perhaps eat the flesh of living?"
"Um, no. Not that I've seen."
"Better than some people I've had the displeasure to meet then."
"Sassy. I like her." I knew he would. Far as I can tell, he likes anyone with tits.
"I said I would protect you, and I will. But the best way for me to do that is to be as prepared and forewarned as possible. I so need you to tell us as much as you can. Why don't you start with the general capabilities of your sort of mages?"
"General capabilities? Such things would be meaningless. Aerial combat mages have largely uniform skill-sets. I can tell you with some reliability every skill they possess, because anything else would be a waste of time and resources for them to learn." She lit a cigarette and savagely bit the end. "There are three major techniques one of these mages will use, they are flight, shields and enchanted weaponry."
"That's not too bad."
"Each one is misleading."
"I stand corrected."
"Flight is not mere levitation, but a variable situation which allows for high-speed acceleration as well as extreme mid-air agility. Aircraft, missiles, anti-air bombardment, all are as nothing before a skilled aerial mage."
"So, get them on the ground?"
"That would be wise. Next to take into consideration is the shielding. A mage shield can block a great deal of damage and can be cast almost instantly."
"We have shields too, in my experience there are always flaws. Like not covering heat, or letting things through the sides."
"You will find yourself sorely disappointed then. Mage shields are fully spherical and block both force and electromagnetic radiation. There are three ways to deal with them, don't let the shield be cast, overwhelm it, or use an attack that does not do direct damage. Such as poison gas attacks."
"Maybe some sort of thaumaturgy then. It should bypass any form of shielding as if it weren't even there."
"The last major skill is their enchanting. You may have been wanting to force them to use up the ammunition they brought with them. That strategy will not work. It is not the bullet that is magical but the one that fires it. I do not doubt that they will quickly perform supply raids to build caches throughout the surrounding area. There is no limit I know of for how destructive a magic bullet can be, it is essentially an unstable enchantment which shatters on impact. At its lowest levels they are no more destructive than the bullets that act as their physical shells, but at higher levels they cause mushroom clouds."
"Hopefully we can trust that they won't be causing too many explosions inside of any building they're trapped in."
"We can only hope."
"So that's it?"
"More or less. You should also be aware of their bayonets, a variant of enchanting, which can easily cut through flesh and bones with no resistance. As well they are all adept at illusion casting."
"…Why are you only mentioning these now?"
"They rarely enter into aerial combat."
"Well, shit. That makes things trickier. Can't force them into close range and can't trust our senses."
"Close range would be a poor idea anyway. The average mage is considerably more durable than the average civilian. Enough so that high G-forces, concussive blasts from explosions and such have minimal effect."
"We'll think of something. What do you think Bob?"
"It seems like it'll have to come down to the personalities of the other side. They have more power, more people, more maneuverability. So you'll have to force them to make a serious mistake to give you the advantage you need."
"The lich speaks wisely. Our foe is a known quantity. They are forty-eight men and women that have conquered the nation of Dacia and purged the city of Arene of its civilian population. They demolished Republic command headquarters, directly leading to the full encirclement of the entire Republic army and the annexation of the Republic mainland. They crushed the impenetrable naval defenses of the Orse Fjord, allowing for the two pronged invasion of the Federation. Yet all of this is as nothing, because they all answer without fail to their leader."
"This Tanya Duggu-whatever person. Right?"
"…Yes."
"So, what's her deal?"
"Her deal?" Her tone was both disparaging and pitying. "I can't tell you how many lives it cost to smuggle this information out of Imperial hands. Heh. Tanya Degurechaff: abandoned at a nunnery at birth, found to have magical potential at age eight, volunteers for the mage corps at age nine-"
"What!?"
"-passing through basic with distinction."
"She was a child soldier?"
"She is the perfect child soldier. Her first training missions was in contested air-space. She charged a full battalion head on by herself. Fighting till she ran out of ammunition and then turning herself into a human bomb to take out a complete squadron. For which she was awarded the Silver Wing award and named as an Ace. It didn't take her long though to turn that into Ace of Aces."
"What's the difference?"
"An Ace is someone that has killed five mages, an Ace of Aces has killed at least fifty."
"Fifty's not too bad."
"They stop bothering to count at fifty, and they only ever count it if its mages."
"Ah."
"Enrolled in the military academy at age ten, graduating with honors, having invented the concept of world war. In the process the 'von' is added to her name. She is then immediately placed in charge of a unit of her own invention, meant for immediate flexible response to problems on different fronts. She moves from first-lieutenant to major in under three months.
"Their first mission was the Dacian border, by the following night of their arrival the country had fallen. They exploded a munitions depot in the middle of the capital, killing countless innocents."
"Shit."
"Over and over again, it's the same thing. Slaughter and destruction all that is left in their wake."
"What of the individual? What of her motivations, her modes of thought?"
"Cruel, calculating. Deeply patriotic and religious. She sees lives as mere numbers, and can justify any actions through her piety to god and country. During every battle her prayers are heard broadcast over the airwaves, and before any great act of wanton murder she will ask that her actions be blessed and guided by god."
"We can probably use that. If she sees herself as a crusader smiting heathens, then that's something we can predict and exploit. Get her to rush into a situation blinded by holy wrath and then trap her."
"It seems our only real chance. Though, you should be wary, she may decide to just smite you in truth, and demolish everything around us."
"Ah, good point. Probably save that for when they're already on the ground then."
"There is something you haven't considered." Said Bob. "She's not fighting on the battlefield anymore. As far as she's concerned, she's in enemy territory, hopelessly outnumbered with no lines of retreat. This is certain death. None of them are getting out of this alive, and they all know it. They have nothing to lose. And that makes them dangerous."
For the first time Sarah's laughter actually sounded amused. "Oh dear, I haven't laughed like that in years. Cowards that worry about trivial things like that don't last long, especially not in the Imperial military. Every one of those mages have volunteered for their position, been through dozens of suicide missions and no-win situations. You shouldn't be worried because they have no hope left, but rather because they're experienced enough to know that they can always fight their way out."
I was a bit skeptical about that. Being cut off from everything was bound to have some pretty severe effects on their minds and morale. Not to mention the problems of trying to plan around a foreign, and downright alien, environment.
"We should keep an eye on their movements as best we can. You said that they would be aiming for supplies. Murphey, did you bring the shell casing?"
"Apparently it's just a pretty normal 8mm casing. It's been through the lab, but the whole case has tossed to the Special Investigations department because of the irregularities. Mainly, no one wants to explain how a team of gunmen got on the roof, why some people with no records were killed and who they were." Same-old-same-old. "It stinks enough of the supernatural that they know to avoid it."
"I can try to trace the rifle that shot this. But it would be smart to keep an eye on any reports of thefts around the city-"
"State. At least." Put in Sarah
"That big an area?"
"It's a bit taxing on the magical reserves, but in a pinch a range of two-hundred and fifty miles or more per day is possible."
"I'll try to keep tabs on the stuff from over the state lines as well, but that makes it a lot harder. They might not even be staying in the city if they have that kind of maneuverability. That makes most of my resources of little use."
"I'll try to narrow it down it bit for you."
Evil Is Coming
"Yes? What have you to report?"
"General, messages intercepted from the North Sea. Intelligence thinks they're referencing some sort of teleportation research base."
"If the enemy gets point-to-point teleportation working safely, they could skip the entire supply chokepoint we've put on them. This is unacceptable. Do we have any ideas about the exact location?"
"Best guess at the moment is the Faroe Islands."
"Well send out the 203rd and make sure that Dugerechaff is personally in command."
"…Yes sir."
---------------------------
The plane's engines turn off, the window outside all shows unremitting darkness, unable to tell sea from sky, only gravity shows that we're gliding ever downwards. The air's tense, even if everyone's experienced it a thousand times before, they're still all placing their lives in the hands of an altimeter, a flimsy little box, one mistake on the map, one error in the timing, and they will die.
The light blinks crimson thrice. The door slides open with a rush of icy gusts and they jump into freefall head-first over the drop area, only turning on their equipment when the eldritch glow of magical radiation won't give them anymore.
I clean my glasses as the engine turns over and we start our climb back up. Fucking glad I'm just here as a science advisor.
----------------------------
The project leader looks up from the radio.
"The Empire is here." The utter finality in that statement is soul crushing.
"D-do destroy the machine?"
"If we did that… we'd have to burn the notes and commit suicide. All of us." He glanced at the team, shaking his head. "I won't let that happen. It's better to take a risk than to throw away our last chance."
"We've never tried it before. It might be a death sentence all for nothing."
He slammed a pistol onto the desk. "That is a death sentence, waiting to be captured would be even worse. This is at least a chance. We take what we can, leave the rest. We have five minutes at most."
Everyone scrambled to get what they thought was essential, I sat where I was. Pursed my lips in thought, before picking up the pistol from the table and walking into the machine room. The leader may not be willing to do what was necessary, but if it came to it I'd execute every last team member to keep them out of the hands of the enemy.
The sound of gunfire and screaming echoed down the halls as I entered the portal. Then the magical light shifted into shades of octerine that tasted a bit too fuzzy.
-------------------------------
An hour after they left the place we got radio communication that the island had been cleared and it was safe enough to land at the air-strip.
There were bodies all over the field, the burning husks of planes on the ground, signals tower a wreck. Wonder how long I've got to work with, how long till the enemy sends a response team?
"This way professor. Mind your step."
"Thank you." I gingerly avoid the slick entrails of a gutted soldier that have spilled across the floor.
"Over here we've put all the papers we couldn't identify. Over there is The Machine." You could hear the capital letters. I glanced in the machine room for a moment, no clue what I'm looking at really, but that's what the documentation is for.
I centered myself with a cocaine tablet.
"Hmm, these are dimensional mechanic formulae. Those focus on the viability of using mithril alloy to affect a resonance wave of magical radiation. Mostly cut with niobium huh, that must have made production difficult, would have had to do a full cast."
"Any idea what we're looking at?"
"A very, very preliminary idea. Mostly just a hunch really. Based on the intelligence reports, they were trying to punch a hole in space. But there are some pretty weird aspects to it. Things you wouldn't need to care about if all you wanted to do is move from one location to another."
"That matches up with some of the coded documents we found."
"How so?"
"They were diplomatic plans." The major glowered "Fucking transmigration."
"I'm sorry?" I have no idea what that word is supposed to mean.
"Bridge the gap between this world and a parallel one. Who better for an ally than one's own self? Who easier to convince to aid you?"
That… that was earth-shattering. How did an aerial combat mage understand that so quickly? I flipped back over the seemingly irrelevant calculations.
"That seems plausible. We have to stop them. The Empire can't fight a fresh Alliance… Are we in contact with command?"
"I'll radio in to report our findings. Get everything loaded on the plane. And somebody boobytrap the damn bodies!"
"Men. We've gone on a lot of suicide missions. Tested new technologies, been inserted deep behind enemy lines, faced impossible odds. We've done this for the fatherland, for our home. After years of blood and mud we're so close to victory, and now they want to bring in an entirely new world of enemies for us to fight. This cannot be allowed to happen! If we don't stop them from doing this thing, this atrocity, then the Empire will fall.
"The duty of a soldier of the Empire is to die, this time is different. I'm not asking you to die, I'm asking you to live. On the other side of that portal is all enemy territory. And there is no guarantee that we will ever be coming back. All I can do to reassure you is that our sacrifice will not be for nothing, our families will be treated as if we died with honors. If we are very lucky, we will die of old age in a foreign land, never to see our homes again."
The mood is grim. Then a laugh cuts the tension.
"You've asked us to die with you before, now all you want is for us to live for you… why not?"
General sounds of agreement swept through the crowd.
"Good! Lieutenant, get the squad into position. Doctor, we've planted charges in the bunker on a timer. It's all in your hands now doctor. If there is to be any hope for our return, it lies with you. "
"Yes, major." I watch her retreating form disappear into the portal.
God help them.
-------------------------------------------
The project team came out of the portal into an ally way.
Where are we, what do we do now? Such sentiments were thrown around liberally.
"Everyone calm down. If the machine worked as it was supposed to, then we should be in the United States, or else the American Colonies. Depending on how things worked out, but the Empire never had a foothold in the New World, and not even their immigrants made it this far west." That seemed to calm the project team down quite a bit. "Now, according to the diplomatic plans, we were to establish a base of operations, and then get in contact with a government mage, someone with the capacity to understand the implications of who we are, what we are asking and how we came here. Unfortunately, the plan also requires us to do procure local currency, which may be a problem."
A general murmur of hopelessness goes through the group. I step forward at that. "I'll volunteer to solve the problem. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." I smile with false reassurance.
The team safely secured in the alley I go on the prowl. Fortunately I don't seem to be too oddly dressed for the local population. The city is certainly no place from my world, sky scrapers existed before but never in such quantities, the cars are all aerodynamic and the traffic thick. The sheer power their mages must wield under the aid of such technology is mind boggling. I can picture the cities.
They're burning.
I found an alcove which claims to have a phone, heavily vandalized. It seems to be a pay service, but there is a directory attached. If it's anything like the military ones it will have all essential services listed. Let's see M… M… mag-… no 'mage'.
I tried with sorcerer as well, but it wasn't till I looked for wizards that I got something. Harry Dresden. I tear the page out of the book and stuff it in my pocket. We'll meet soon enough, mister Dresden.
Sitting at a blind corner, I wait. Someone will come, a lone stranger, well dressed, with confident poise. They will walk passed, just like that one, on the empty street.
I reach out to cover their mouth while inserting the glowing hairpin through the side of their skull. I wipe the hairpin off on the man's suit before searching the body for his wallet.
A 'credit' card, may be a banking thing, or it could be some alien use of the term. There's also a few hundred in cash. Hopefully our future allies will forgive the necessities of war.
-------------------------------------------
"Please, sit down miss…?"
"Brixton. Sarah Brixton." She was short, and with a sort of frumpy librarian look that made you think her harmless, till you saw the way she looked at people. Like a predator.
"So, what can I do for you miss Brixton?"
She gave an assessing look at my office before "Mister Dresden, may I ask you your official rank?"
"My… rank?"
"Your military rank."
Uhh "I don't have one. I've never served in the military."
"Did you not? How unfortunate… So what then, is your affiliation with the government?"
"I uh, work with the police some times. Is that what you mean?"
"No. I'm afraid not, you are of no use to me. I'm sorry to have wasted your time Mr. Dresden. Do you happen to know the contact information for a government ma-wizard?"
"There aren't any. Ah-that is, as far as I know. Look. Why don't you sit down and tell me your problem. I'll see if I can help you out, I promise, and I don't charge for consultations."
She stared off into space for a moment before sighing and returning to her chair.
"Where to begin, where to begin… Mr. Dresden, what do you know about parallel worlds?"
"Only what any sci-fi nerd knows." She gave me a deadpan stare
"In another world, parallel to this one, there is a war. This war is happening as we speak, in Europe, between the Empire and the Allies." I don't believe her, but crazy can be a bit dangerous as well, and I don't want to make her damage my stuff, I really can't afford to replace it. "As a last ditch effort to win the war, a research plan was put together, to draw troops and resources from other worlds."
"And this is the world you hope to draw troops from?" Feed the delusion, placate the crazy.
"Yes. We must form an alliance with your government, it's desperately important that this happen as soon as possible."
"So why come to me?"
"Where I'm from, all those with magic potential are conscripted." And isn't that just a scary thought. "I assumed that either you were a government office, or a veteran."
"I see. Well, your problem seems more a matter for the State Department, or maybe-" and right there I made a mistake, I looked her dead in the eyes.
I could see a woman that radiated a cold endless hate. I saw countless forces placed before her, and saw her slaughter her way through them. She was a woman that could and would do anything to achieve her goal. This was not someone to be underestimated.
She looked at me. I looked at her, and at her glowing eyes. Then the door opened, and in walked Murphey.
"Oh, I didn't know you were with a client. Can I speak to you alone for a moment Dresden? I think I may have a case for you."
"Uh yeah. Please wait a moment Miss Brixton, I'll be right back."
"Take your time."
"I'm sorry if I interrupted something in there."
"No, just an accidental soul gaze. But I don't think she was a paying client anyway, so it's not a big loss."
"Anyway, take a look at this security footage. At 8:30 this morning, a squad of gunmen dressed in green storm the entrance on the ground floor, at the same time another group enter from the roof entrance. One group keeps the lobby hostage, the telephone lines are cut, any signals in or out are jammed. Then the other two groups go floor by floor, in a search pattern, destroying security cameras as they go. Eventually they drag out a group of people from a room that was rented this morning, in cash, and execute them."
I look at the printed imaged. Professional, all using the same equipment, dressed the same way. What the hell am I looking at here?
"So why come to me? Looks like a bunch of paramilitary nutjobs."
"There's more. During the execution the witnesses noticed several of the gunmen had glowing eyes."
"Alright, that's definitely strange." I think back on the woman in my office. "Did they report any conversation, any words that might have come up?"
"Yeah, kind of weird. One of the victims said the allies will prevail, and then the killer replied the Empire will never fall, and then sine references to some sort of treaty. Whatever that means."
Holy shit. Holy shit!
"I think I may have an idea. Mind if I show these to someone?"
"Who?"
"The lady from before. I think she may be connected to the case, might help identify the killers."
"So, Miss Brixton, I and the police would appreciate it if you would take a look at some images and tell us what you think." I arranged the stills on the desk for her to look at. She goes still for a moment, before a smile starts tugging at the corner of her lips. "Who are they, and who are the victims?"
"The victims were the rest of my team. The research squad responsible for creating the device meant to win the war. The others… heh, they're the Imperial Rapid Response Battalion."
"You say that like it should mean something." This is going to be one of those weeks, isn't it?
"Each member is a top class aerial war mage, superb fliers and every one a dedicated killer. They have conquered countries by themselves." Ok, that's… not good.
"What are they after, who leads them?"
"They are after us, after me. They cannot allow our mission to succeed, for they know they'll lose if we do. As for their leader." She sorts through the images to find one of an indistinct figure I could barely make out. "That is Major Tanya von Degurechaff, and if she's here, then there can be no escape."
Murphey speaks up here. "We can protect you. Take you into protective custody. They won't be so happy when faced by armed officers."
Sarah Brixton burst into laughter, a manic smile on her face.
"You want to protect me? Let me tell you something, I fought for years on the front lines, I volunteered to do recon missions behind enemy lines. I have seen the Rein Hell, and I tell you that before the Rein Devil there is no hope. My mission is a failure, my country will fall, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. A few squads of non-magical forces would just end up splattered against the wall."
"The cops in this city have dealt with magical threats before, they have a pretty good handle on things. And for the rest, there's me." I say with confidence I don't feel.
Murphy tries to add a bit more "You saw how they went in, at best they're magically enhanced commandos. At worst we might need to break out the silver buckshot."
"They were being subtle." Dead silence.
"I'm sorry?"
"They didn't want to draw undue attention to themselves in such uncertain circomstances, so they went in personally. Otherwise, they would have blown up the city block. With a single spell… I've seen it before. Thermobaric bombardment, they light the atmosphere on fire." Shit. That's Blackstaff levels of destructive power. "You talk about mundane weapons like they were a threat, but aerial mages routinely dodge bullets in mid air, have shields that can block anti-armor rounds and mortar fire with ease. You'll be meat."
"Dodge bullets?" Murphey asks incredulously, something that I was mirroring. Like fighting vampires.
"And as for mister Dresden's help… May I ask how many mages you've killed in battle? Because if it's less than fifty you're not a match."
"Be that as it may be, I don't doubt that our magic systems are quite different. Tell me, is it possible for one of your mages to use a piece of blood or hair to track and affect someone from a distance?"
"...No." She pauses in thought "I've never heard of such being possible."
"See? They won't see me coming! And most importantly of all, here we have a rule that you should never attack a wizard that has been given time to prepare, especially not on his own ground. If we know that they'll come for you, then we can lure them into a trap." She looked at me skeptically, but with maybe a shred of hope in her features again.
"It's not like I have anything else to lose."
"Are you sure you'll be fine staying here? I can make room for you at my place." Murphey asked.
"I will be fine officer Murphey, I trust the protections on Mr. Dresden's home are far tighter than your own. Besides it will not be the first time I've had to trade sexual favors for shelter."
I spit-take.
Coughing I put down my class and stand up. "Putting that aside, I want to bring out an advisor. But I don't want you to freak out."
"Very well."
I placed Bob on the table.
"…"
"…."
"Does he perhaps eat the flesh of living?"
"Um, no. Not that I've seen."
"Better than some people I've had the displeasure to meet then."
"Sassy. I like her." I knew he would. Far as I can tell, he likes anyone with tits.
"I said I would protect you, and I will. But the best way for me to do that is to be as prepared and forewarned as possible. I so need you to tell us as much as you can. Why don't you start with the general capabilities of your sort of mages?"
"General capabilities? Such things would be meaningless. Aerial combat mages have largely uniform skill-sets. I can tell you with some reliability every skill they possess, because anything else would be a waste of time and resources for them to learn." She lit a cigarette and savagely bit the end. "There are three major techniques one of these mages will use, they are flight, shields and enchanted weaponry."
"That's not too bad."
"Each one is misleading."
"I stand corrected."
"Flight is not mere levitation, but a variable situation which allows for high-speed acceleration as well as extreme mid-air agility. Aircraft, missiles, anti-air bombardment, all are as nothing before a skilled aerial mage."
"So, get them on the ground?"
"That would be wise. Next to take into consideration is the shielding. A mage shield can block a great deal of damage and can be cast almost instantly."
"We have shields too, in my experience there are always flaws. Like not covering heat, or letting things through the sides."
"You will find yourself sorely disappointed then. Mage shields are fully spherical and block both force and electromagnetic radiation. There are three ways to deal with them, don't let the shield be cast, overwhelm it, or use an attack that does not do direct damage. Such as poison gas attacks."
"Maybe some sort of thaumaturgy then. It should bypass any form of shielding as if it weren't even there."
"The last major skill is their enchanting. You may have been wanting to force them to use up the ammunition they brought with them. That strategy will not work. It is not the bullet that is magical but the one that fires it. I do not doubt that they will quickly perform supply raids to build caches throughout the surrounding area. There is no limit I know of for how destructive a magic bullet can be, it is essentially an unstable enchantment which shatters on impact. At its lowest levels they are no more destructive than the bullets that act as their physical shells, but at higher levels they cause mushroom clouds."
"Hopefully we can trust that they won't be causing too many explosions inside of any building they're trapped in."
"We can only hope."
"So that's it?"
"More or less. You should also be aware of their bayonets, a variant of enchanting, which can easily cut through flesh and bones with no resistance. As well they are all adept at illusion casting."
"…Why are you only mentioning these now?"
"They rarely enter into aerial combat."
"Well, shit. That makes things trickier. Can't force them into close range and can't trust our senses."
"Close range would be a poor idea anyway. The average mage is considerably more durable than the average civilian. Enough so that high G-forces, concussive blasts from explosions and such have minimal effect."
"We'll think of something. What do you think Bob?"
"It seems like it'll have to come down to the personalities of the other side. They have more power, more people, more maneuverability. So you'll have to force them to make a serious mistake to give you the advantage you need."
"The lich speaks wisely. Our foe is a known quantity. They are forty-eight men and women that have conquered the nation of Dacia and purged the city of Arene of its civilian population. They demolished Republic command headquarters, directly leading to the full encirclement of the entire Republic army and the annexation of the Republic mainland. They crushed the impenetrable naval defenses of the Orse Fjord, allowing for the two pronged invasion of the Federation. Yet all of this is as nothing, because they all answer without fail to their leader."
"This Tanya Duggu-whatever person. Right?"
"…Yes."
"So, what's her deal?"
"Her deal?" Her tone was both disparaging and pitying. "I can't tell you how many lives it cost to smuggle this information out of Imperial hands. Heh. Tanya Degurechaff: abandoned at a nunnery at birth, found to have magical potential at age eight, volunteers for the mage corps at age nine-"
"What!?"
"-passing through basic with distinction."
"She was a child soldier?"
"She is the perfect child soldier. Her first training missions was in contested air-space. She charged a full battalion head on by herself. Fighting till she ran out of ammunition and then turning herself into a human bomb to take out a complete squadron. For which she was awarded the Silver Wing award and named as an Ace. It didn't take her long though to turn that into Ace of Aces."
"What's the difference?"
"An Ace is someone that has killed five mages, an Ace of Aces has killed at least fifty."
"Fifty's not too bad."
"They stop bothering to count at fifty, and they only ever count it if its mages."
"Ah."
"Enrolled in the military academy at age ten, graduating with honors, having invented the concept of world war. In the process the 'von' is added to her name. She is then immediately placed in charge of a unit of her own invention, meant for immediate flexible response to problems on different fronts. She moves from first-lieutenant to major in under three months.
"Their first mission was the Dacian border, by the following night of their arrival the country had fallen. They exploded a munitions depot in the middle of the capital, killing countless innocents."
"Shit."
"Over and over again, it's the same thing. Slaughter and destruction all that is left in their wake."
"What of the individual? What of her motivations, her modes of thought?"
"Cruel, calculating. Deeply patriotic and religious. She sees lives as mere numbers, and can justify any actions through her piety to god and country. During every battle her prayers are heard broadcast over the airwaves, and before any great act of wanton murder she will ask that her actions be blessed and guided by god."
"We can probably use that. If she sees herself as a crusader smiting heathens, then that's something we can predict and exploit. Get her to rush into a situation blinded by holy wrath and then trap her."
"It seems our only real chance. Though, you should be wary, she may decide to just smite you in truth, and demolish everything around us."
"Ah, good point. Probably save that for when they're already on the ground then."
"There is something you haven't considered." Said Bob. "She's not fighting on the battlefield anymore. As far as she's concerned, she's in enemy territory, hopelessly outnumbered with no lines of retreat. This is certain death. None of them are getting out of this alive, and they all know it. They have nothing to lose. And that makes them dangerous."
For the first time Sarah's laughter actually sounded amused. "Oh dear, I haven't laughed like that in years. Cowards that worry about trivial things like that don't last long, especially not in the Imperial military. Every one of those mages have volunteered for their position, been through dozens of suicide missions and no-win situations. You shouldn't be worried because they have no hope left, but rather because they're experienced enough to know that they can always fight their way out."
I was a bit skeptical about that. Being cut off from everything was bound to have some pretty severe effects on their minds and morale. Not to mention the problems of trying to plan around a foreign, and downright alien, environment.
"We should keep an eye on their movements as best we can. You said that they would be aiming for supplies. Murphey, did you bring the shell casing?"
"Apparently it's just a pretty normal 8mm casing. It's been through the lab, but the whole case has tossed to the Special Investigations department because of the irregularities. Mainly, no one wants to explain how a team of gunmen got on the roof, why some people with no records were killed and who they were." Same-old-same-old. "It stinks enough of the supernatural that they know to avoid it."
"I can try to trace the rifle that shot this. But it would be smart to keep an eye on any reports of thefts around the city-"
"State. At least." Put in Sarah
"That big an area?"
"It's a bit taxing on the magical reserves, but in a pinch a range of two-hundred and fifty miles or more per day is possible."
"I'll try to keep tabs on the stuff from over the state lines as well, but that makes it a lot harder. They might not even be staying in the city if they have that kind of maneuverability. That makes most of my resources of little use."
"I'll try to narrow it down it bit for you."
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- Location
- US
Whoever needs to be at the moment.
- Location
- US
Kind of spoilers, but he doesn't. She's not his client, she's in protective custody and then offloaded onto him as the only reliable person around with a warded home.
The Outsider issue is tricker, the main argument against it though is that magic from each side works perfectly well on the others, whereas Outsiders are pretty much immune to magic. Which would mean that the parallel universes would be closer to time-line splitting, but without having to worry about getting accused of time-travel.
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No, because parallel universes, even those with different laws of physics and magic*, exist in Dresden Files and they aren't Outside.
* Butcher for example stated that if you go far enough, you could find an universe where Magic work like the Force and tech similar to the one in Star Wars exist.
Worth noting that most educated modern personnel shouldn't be too believing about the evil of the Empire and how they are always to blame or other propaganda. People know will enough that in the great war, everyone sucks, but no one does so completely.
Also worth noting that they lost, before even starting. Most countries might be willing to send materiel and military advisors, maybe even a few plane and pilots, as well as security personnel for the air base, in exchange for the magic tech and the like, but pretty much no country, specially none that they think of asking for help, are going to want to get involved in bloody WWI in any large extent.
Also worth noting that they lost, before even starting. Most countries might be willing to send materiel and military advisors, maybe even a few plane and pilots, as well as security personnel for the air base, in exchange for the magic tech and the like, but pretty much no country, specially none that they think of asking for help, are going to want to get involved in bloody WWI in any large extent.
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- Location
- Mons Regius
- Pronouns
- He/Him
This is a mistake fanon keep making, especially with crossovers having the Outer Gates serve as a way to transport people across universes, but this is simply not how alternate universes work in DF, where they are all part of Reality/Creation, while the Outside is...well, Outside of it.
A few choice quotes:
Ghost Story chapter 35 said:
Cold Days chapter 21 said:
An upcoming book, Mirror Mirror, will deal with an alternate evil Harry summoning regular Harry into his universe, so we should get more info on alternate universes then rather than those few barely informative quotes. Outside of the books, however, we get more precise Words of Jim:
Article: Have you ever had the idea to have a short story of Dresden crossing over into another universe, like Star Wars?
No, because I don't want to get sued. However, just so you're aware the Dresden Files universe exists in a big, wide, spectral multi-verse. It's not like there's parallel Earths. There's an entire broadcast spectrum of parallel Earths, and if you go far enough you'll find the parallel that's where . You'll find the parallel Earth where Star Wars stuff works, and so on. Dresden could get there if he wanted to, but stop and think about that for a minute: Would you really want to go the Star Wars universe? Because you're not going to be a jedi over there. Really jedi are a lot scarier on the ground level than they are from passenger seat view next to one. You know, "There's a bunch of heavily armed fanatics with mind control powers here; they say they want to talk to you." That's kind of spooky.
Article: One of my favorite parts of your novels are the divine and the demonic, and kind of how they offer (?) each other, and how they have rules, and I wanted to ask, what made you decide that Chicago wasn't enough, that all of Creation has to be at stake?
Well, it's not all of Creation. It's just all of THIS Creation. We haven't really pulled the camera back far enough yet. There's a lot of reality in the Dresden Files. The Dresden Files is a universe that is driven by Free Will, and every time you make a choice, it creates a new universe. So, there's this vast spectrum of universe out there, and it's not just ours, there's causality going off in every direction. So a philosophical war on that scale is something that is just so tremendous you can barely imagine it. And while it dwarfs into unimportance our particular universe, at the same time, the only way to win that war is one choice at a time, one person at a time. And that's really what's going on at the level where the angels are operating, that's what they're concerned about. On the level where Dresden's operating, its like, "How can I survive until the next chapter?" and that's sort of the problem that we've got, as people, how do we look out and try to fix the things that are wrong with our world, when we're basically going, "How do I get to the next chapter?" How can we have that longer view point, do we need it? I don't know the answers to questions like that, but I enjoy the hell out of torturing Dresden with them! That's really kind of the point of what I do.
Article: The RPG mentions that you can have different Dresdens based on choices you made in past books, and is that for the RPG only?
No, they came up with that because they know I'm using that as a storyline in the future. Because I've said several times it's only going to be a matter of time before I can resist doing a Mirror Mirror episode of the Dresden Files. In fact, I think I'm just going to call it Mirror Mirror. It's a great title: the same number of letters and everything! My work is done.
"Cross over the Outer Gates" is just...no.
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orchamus
Caffeine King
- Location
- Right beside you :0
Even without being a badass the protagonist in a ecchi type still catches girls. Lol
Edit:
Whoops, replied to wrong tabbed fic, but anyway, gotta love Youjo Senki, just finished the anime two weeks ago and seriously considering looking up the manga or light novel. This is a rather curious cross that will be fun if for no other reason than to read the reactions of others to Tanya.
Edit:
Whoops, replied to wrong tabbed fic, but anyway, gotta love Youjo Senki, just finished the anime two weeks ago and seriously considering looking up the manga or light novel. This is a rather curious cross that will be fun if for no other reason than to read the reactions of others to Tanya.
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zaiaku
The Ignorant Guru
- Location
- Alamo, Texas
Boy you definitely off base with the genre.
Had a little trouble identifying who was who when speaking at points. Just a skipped line between paragraphs and loads of dialogue.
You get the 'voice' of a person across very well, but the first two lines before I recognize the character speaking is kinda frustrating.
Other than that, the concept itself is pretty awesome and executed competently. Found myself excited and filled with anticipation when at the story-post's end. So I'm looling forwars to more.
You get the 'voice' of a person across very well, but the first two lines before I recognize the character speaking is kinda frustrating.
Other than that, the concept itself is pretty awesome and executed competently. Found myself excited and filled with anticipation when at the story-post's end. So I'm looling forwars to more.
To Serve Wizard - Meal with the Devil
- Location
- US
^ The whole reason this chapter happened the way it did.
I stare down at the shell casing as it moves against the wind. Pulling out a map and compass I draw another line to intersect. Why did I never try triangulation before? So much easier than pissing off taxi drivers with contradicting directions.
An hour later I'm standing in front of a dumpster that's billowing oily black smoke. Lifting the lid up and cough as it pushes a gust of smoke down my throat. Dozens of rifles, dismantled and burned. The wooden stocks nothing but char, the metal still smoking slightly.
Why? If they don't know that someone like me exists, then what's the point of destroying their weapons?
Using a small bit of one of the guns I try to form a link between it and its owner. The fire wouldn't have destroyed that, especially not for the metal pieces.
Nothing.
Full Metal Jacket lied to me. These guys didn't care about their weapons at all. Well either that or they changed guns on a regular basis.
I hear a sound behind me. I turn suddenly to see three men armed with modern assault rifles. I back away slowly.
"Stay where you are." And accented voice speaks up. I stop. Damn is that voice deep. "You're a mage." It wasn't a question. The speaker may have fat and jolly once, but now he was just big and hard looking.
"Wizard, actually." That was all the clue I needed to know what I was looking at. "You're from the Empire?"
"Ho? You've talked to someone."
"That's right. They laid out their side of events. Thing is, I really don't want to get involved in a fight that's none of my business. Is there any way your commander and I could just sit down and talk about this?"
He paused for a moment before pinching the front of his collar and speaking into it.
He looks up after a few seconds "…We're open to talks."
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Good. There's a place called McAnally's Pub, it's official neutral ground. We can meet in five hours, you know how to get around the city?"
"Tell me the address, we'll find it."
I give it to him. Before I turn to go I see one of the men dumping a duffelbag of sew-on patches and paper booklets into the dumpster before reigniting the flames. They turned to leave, then three others I had never noticed left the cover of their illusions to follow behind them.
Striding through the main door of the pub I almost bump into a man and woman. The man swarthy, the woman a Slavic bombshell.
"Tanya Degurechaff?" I ask the woman.
"This way please." She replies with the same accent as the man I from before.
I'm led to a table, the woman in front of me, man to my back. The woman moves to reveal a middle-schooler silently eating a steak.
"Oh, you're here." No accent. "Have a seat Mr. Dresden. As you may know, I am Major Tanya von Degurechaff, and you've already met Lieutenants Weiss and Serebryakov. Please excuse us being out of uniform, we didn't think to pack our dress clothes." That's not good. She caught me on the backfoot.
"How did you know my name? I never gave it."
"Google. Had your picture and everything." Wizards that can work a computer… "What it didn't have was any record of military training. You also don't move like it, you've never marched a day in your life, have you? But I'm sure you've seen your share of fights in your time as a magic detective. The forums have some rather compelling rumors about you, and there is a very interesting video, the one with the werewolf. I'm sorry to say, we all had a bit of a laugh at your expense."
"He could only be permanently damaged by inherited silver." I shrugged helplessly "What would you have done?"
"Blown it into small pieces, encased each piece in concrete and dump them into separate bodies of water."
"The werewolf, when in human form, was a very kind man that never wanted to hurt anyone."
"Dr. Jekyll was written so as to be a saint, yet everyone lauds the end of Hyde. If the monster is bad enough, the alter ego is no longer a sufficient impediment to destruction."
"Let's agree to disagree."
"So, I hear there was someone that got away from our little maneuver. But if you're willing to talk to us, then they must not be very trustworthy. Probably not a researcher then. An attaché?"
"I never asked what their exact situation was. You might be right."
"Why don't you tell me what they told you first?"
"Just that you and your troops had conquered some country in a single day, exterminated some city, and were generally a group of monsters. Also implied much the same for the rest of the empire."
"Oh, I suppose they left out that every nation we've defeated invaded us first. I should know, I was personally there to ward off three such invasions myself."
"Three invasions? God must hate you." I want to see how she responds, and an instant there's something in her face I can't quite identify.
"You may well be right. Anyway, they are wrong, it took about five days for the ground forced to occupy Dacia after our operation there had ended. As for the city of Arene, did they mention that everyone we killed was hostile militia?"
"Women and children too?"
"I'm a woman and a child, yet I wield a rifle to kill the enemies of my country. What makes you think that the other side is any different?"
I didn't particularly like it, but it's hard to blame one child soldier for killing another.
"Why, what's this war all for?"
"I'm been comparing our two worlds. It's really fascinating. In many ways the war is very similar to your World War One, specifically in the cause."
"Someone assassinated an Archduke?"
She clicked her tongue while calling me a TV-chair historian. "No, it's all because of Balance of Power political theory. The idea being that by managing the tension between super powered nations war could be put off forever. The rise of a new super power would disrupt the ideal, and so out of the desire to avoid conflict they drive ever onward instead." Was that the actual history of WWI? That was insane!
"The person that you didn't kill, is there any way you can let them live?" This was the main point.
"…Do you know what the biggest hurdle reverse engineering has?"
"No"
"They have to already know something is possible. From there they can try every conceivable solution untill they succeed. The person you're protecting knows that traveling between universes is possible, they know enough to guide a talented individual to reinvent it from scratch. Even if they only know a few key details, if they can convince someone within the next decade to try to recreate the process, it would be too dangerous to allow. They are a clear and present danger to the security of the Empire. And it is my duty to kill them."
"Why a decade?" That was an odd detail.
"We've won but it will take at least a decade to rebuild after such a long period of constant war. After that period has past though, I seriously doubt that a few portals, even if they were much larger in size, could ferry enough troops and equipment to establish a stable foothold in time to ward off counter attack."
"So that's it then. No chance of letting them live?"
"Unless you can force them to keep their silence with magic, or erase their memories…" I could, but it would mean my head. I mean, they tried to give me trouble for binding a fairy, and that doesn't even have a soul. If she refused then I would be forcefully saving Sarah's life at the cost of my own, when I didn't even like or trust her.
I mutely shake my head.
"Then I'm sorry to say that things are as they are."
"What of those who have the responsibility to protect them?"
"Collateral damage." She shrugs.
"Is that the same excuse you used to kill the researchers?"
"Goodness no. Anyone within a military base is automatically to be treated as a combatant. This makes artillery bombardment less legally messy. Then their escape from the combat zone without signed or radio confirmed orders from a superior military officer also made them legally deserters, which removes any requirement to accept their surrender." She smiles beatifically as she justifies killing a dozen innocents.
"I have something for you." I take out some pamphlets. "I'm not sure if you care, but the laws of the White Council, the magical government, are pretty strictly enforced. If they think you've broken any of them, they cut your head off."
"I doubt it will matter." She dismisses the pamphlet after a moment.
"Why?"
"A magical government will likely share a great deal in common with a normal one. Which means that they will never acknowledge our existence as soldiers loyal to an empire in a parallel world, and thus owing them no loyalty while simultaneously existing outside their sphere of influence. Conflict is almost inevitable."
"Is that why you destroyed your identification?"
"I know how this works. If we wore military identification that no one recognized, then we'd be terrorists, but if we don't then we just become criminals or mercenaries."
…Wait "You're planning to stay."
"Oh course. There is almost no chance of ever making it home. Yet dying here is practically certain."
Looked after them as they walked away. I really didn't want to do this. It was a bad idea, but I had to know. I closed my eyes, and my third-eye opened.
I tried to ignore everyone else and just take in the object of my focus. She looked the same, a small little girl, but covered in gore and smiling like a maniac. Not a hint of childish innocence left in her. I do not want to soul gaze that bag of crazy.
What the fuck is wrong with their world?
Turning to Mac I ordered a beer.
"So, how did your meal with the devil go?" Asks Bob.
"Not well. She won't budge so long as there's a chance that Sarah can get someone to make another portal on this side. She did say that she would let it go if her memories were erased or her will bound from trying."
"Was she everything she was cracked up to be?"
"…" Was she? "If I had to sum her up. Lawful evil coating around a chewy chaotic evil center, all bound up in a Shirley Temple wrapping."
"That cute?"
"That young. I know that Sarah said she was a child soldier, but I must have missed the part where that was still the case. God, she must what, ten or eleven? I have no idea how she keeps her people in line. For a minute I thought she might be some monster, just wearing a child's skin as a suit or something, but I checked, and she's just a twisted little girl."
"You've been fairly fortunate so far Harry. Most of your enemies haven't been human, or so warped by dark magic it might as well make no difference, so it's never really be thrown in your face before monstrous ordinary people can be."
"I soul gazed Marcone."
"There's a big difference between seeing that a hardened gangster is relatively evil and seeing that a child is." Bob paused for a moment. "Why stick your neck out for Sarah? She hasn't paid you, she's not your client. You know she's at least bent the truth. What's the point?"
"You're right, it's not my job to protect her, its Murphey's, and it's my job to do what Murphey says, when she pays me to. If I back out, then it's just going to be Murphey and a bunch of cops against a swarm of overpowered practitioners trying to get through them at any cost. If we kick Sarah out the door, she'll die, and then Murphey will have to answer why she allowed a witness to a multiple homicide to get killed after having already been taken into custody. She'll probably have to sweep the whole case under the rug anyway, obviously, but that's just an extra mess that no one needs. Plus, I have a hard time knowingly throwing a woman to the wolves."
"In distress she may be, but she's no damsel."
"They have no intention of respecting the Council's will. I've done this whole song and dance before. Some warlock shows up in my city, I get blamed for their actions, then I have to run around and defeat them to prove my innocence. Or else the Council already knows who's responsible and I'm expected to fight along side them anyway. It'll save a lot of trouble for everyone if I just start early, the only trouble it won't save is having to actually fight these people, but that seems pretty unavoidable at this point."
"Fine, fine. I put in my two cents. So, get anything out of the meeting?"
"I've got really, really good news, and really, really bad news… The bad news is that they're computer literate, they used the internet to research me before the meeting."
"Shit."
"My thoughts exactly. The good news is that I got her name from her own lips."
His skull was grinning.
"Better try it out first though, we have no idea how true names might react to people from a parallel universe."
Nothing. "No effect."
"Did she say it with the von, try it with the von added in?"
I try it. Nothing.
"Check Sarah, see if her name works."
The spell locks onto her when I try. "It worked that time."
"Sarah did say that Degurechaff was adopted, so maybe that's not her real name. You know, named, abandoned and then renamed. But, as far as our magic system works, it should still have made her name be Tanya, because she's thought of herself like that for so long."
"Bruce Wayne calls himself Batman in his own head. Like in that Batman cartoon episode? If she thinks of herself as being some nickname or title, if that's the core of her identity, then given enough time it would become her true name."
"That may very well be true, but it doesn't help us any, we don't know what it would be and she never said any of them. Did her subordinates introduce themselves?"
"No, she introduced them to me."
"Then we've got nothing."
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Loving it. Yeah, I can easily see Tanya and Harry driving down the same track in different directions. She isn't anything close to a good guy even if she's not as evil as she first appears.
Genesys
(Discrete Mokona)
- Location
- California
Reincarnie shenanigans have protected Tanya, I guess?
The series never explicitly showed how they thought of themselves in their head. Could be that they still think of themselves as their old name, probably.
I mean, considering the incredible force of denial, it's almost certain.
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Almost definitely the reincarnation thing, though I halfway wonder if Harry forgot to call her Major Tanya von Degurechaff. With Tanya, her military rank is definitely more a core factor of her identity than her name itself.
Hmm... So either Tanya's True Name is the one from her old life or it's one of her many, many appellation's from her new life. If the first is true, then they're shit outta luck, they're never gonna get that name. But if the second is true... my bet would be on Devil of the Rhine.
- Location
- US
Is... That a rhetorical question? Obviously not, but given their meeting place and Tanya's plans to carefully manipulate the image of her men, it seems unlikely she'll have to.
Mab would think she's adorable. In fact, it wouldn't actually be surprising if Tanya figured out the value in approaching her and offered something that was important enough she was willing to cash in one of Dresden's favors.
Not as fun as spiting the hell out of Nicodemus, but the Type-95 operations orb isn't a joke.
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LordVile
There's thinking and thinking with explosives.
- Location
- INDIA
Well Dresden is definitely not a TV chair historian due to well, being raised by ebenzer who was alive at the time of the civil war at least and also being unable to watch t v.
Don't expect him to understand political theory though.
Despite politicking with the best of fairies, he is the furthest thing from subtle.
OTOH he didn't even explain the laws of magic to Tanya despite her being a child and his sore point about child warlocks.
Don't expect him to understand political theory though.
Despite politicking with the best of fairies, he is the furthest thing from subtle.
OTOH he didn't even explain the laws of magic to Tanya despite her being a child and his sore point about child warlocks.