Mein Krieg (Youjo Senki/Tanya the Evil OC)

Trunko · Mar 28, 2019

Chapter 20: Being X 2 – the Revenge

"Frederick, are you ok?" Tanya asked me with a confused expression.

"Yes." I lied. "Apparently, Schugel has decided that since I am brave enough to say to my superiors what I think of them, I'll have the privilege of testing the new gear tomorrow."

She looked at me with an amused look. "Really? I was thinking he would have given to you at least one month of punishment detail!"

"Well… he was planning to."

"Oh, then how did you managed to avoid that?"

I smiled. "Like you said, no adult man can say "no" to an adorable child with puppy eyes."

She snorted. "You know what? I should patent that tactic and charge you for every time you use it!"

"Hey, I was using it long before I met you!"

"Oh yeah?" she remarked. "I still used it first!"

We fought for a while, before stopping to catch our breath.

"By the way... The next test is tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yes." she said while looking out of one window. "At 0500 hours. Apparently, Schugel is so determined to prove that his Elenium is not junk that he will personally recheck every circuit of that damn thing. I suppose he will pull an all-nighter, doing calculations and checking them again."

"Too bad. For him, that is. All the better for us." I said, smiling. "We do not have to stay awake all night."

After chatting with Tanya some more and wishing her good luck for tomorrow, I quickly headed to my quarters. I remember being so tired that I changed directly from my uniform to my pajamas (closer to a pale-colored nightgown) and, after brushing my teeth, immediately throwing myself into bed.

What a day! I thought as I laid my aching back on the soft sheets. Only a few hours earlier, I thought I was in trouble up to my neck, and before that, I was so angry that I thought I would never be happier. And now....

Wrapping myself in the covers of my bed, I instinctively turned a thought to tomorrow morning's test. I should have been scared, yet somehow I was thrilled. Perhaps it was due to the outburst I had thrown at Schugel, and now I no longer had that much anger in my body.

Or was it perhaps something else?

For whatever reason, for the first time since we started testing for Schugel I felt neither sad nor angry, almost ... happy.

Adding to that, the warm embrace of the sheets did nothing but improve my optimism.

Moreover, there was no noise that could disturb me: the door was closed, the window also, the pendulum was standing still...
…

Eh?

The pendulum? I asked myself as my eyes focused on it.

Yes, the pendulum of the clock was not moving. Even more disturbing, it was still in mid-air, swinging to the right.

Puzzled, I got up from the bed and moved towards the pendulum. Maybe it was just stuck... a trivial mechanical failure...

"I'm very ashamed of you," the room echoed with a voice that I did not hear since many years, but that I had no difficulty recognizing.

I stood up abruptly, looking around to see where the voice could have come from.

Nothing in the room seemed to indicate someone else's presence. The lights were off, and every object was in place. Just below the window, the small table on which I had absent-mindedly stacked some books of military history that I was reading or I was planning to read. Hanging on the wardrobe handle, my uniform, with the boots I had painstakingly polished for tomorrow. Just behind the door, the painting depicting Frederick II of Hohenzollern, one of the first rulers of the nation that would later become the Empire.

But, I thought looking hastily around, then, where…

"Not only has your faith not rekindled in the slightest, but worse, you let the heathen influence and corrupt you into being his right hand too!" the portrait spoke suddenly, assuming an annoyed expression.

"Being X?" I exclaimed, my mouth open in surprise

"Indeed" the portrait responded.

For a few seconds I remained completely still, unsure of what to say. Then, all of a sudden, my irritation took over.

"Well, well, well!" I said assuming an arrogant smile. "Now that's a special meeting. You know, I almost forgot about you. How long has it been since we last met?"

"Nine years, eleven months, two weeks, three days, twelve hours and fourteen minutes" the portrait responded "You should know yourself: it is the exact time since you were born."

"Uh huh." I said, letting my long-repressed rage against him come to light. "From the day you made me die and be reborn into this body, without any means to return to my previous life. Seriously now, why did you decide that my new body should be this? Do you have any idea how hard it is to be taken seriously when you are so cute that kittens or seals would post photos of you?"

"I gave you this body for this very reason" replied the portrait in the same, monotone voice "So that you could learn what humility and respect for others mean. Also, it pleases me to see you being dragged around by an obnoxious controller who believes you are a runaway kid escaping from home."

"So, I must understand that little "incident" was yours doing, right?"

"Indeed"

"Just out of curiosity," I said keeping my obvious angriness down. "How many other events have resulted from your actions or manipulations? How long has been since you decided to turn your attention back to us?"

"I never stopped keeping an eye on you" the portrait said "Since the day you were born in this new word, among the millions that I govern, I have been there, watching you and the heathen grow up…and suffer."

"Suffer?" I said, taken back by this sudden word. "You mean like you actually enjoy see mortals' suffering and difficulties?"

"Only among those who do not recognize their God. Like the heathen…or you"

Deep inside, I was now burning with rage for learning these things. I had always thought that the misfortunes of my life were not natural, but to learn that someone was personally responsible for them...

"Why?" I asked, barely managing to not hit and destroy the painting "Why all of this?"

"To teach you the true meaning of life: faith and obedience towards you creator. And mostly, to punish you."

"Punish us?" I asked. "Why do we need punishing? And why would you have to keep punishing us?"

"Because you lack faith." he said "When I gave you this last chance of rebirth in another word, I expected that you would be the first of the two to regain faith in your God. Then you would have been my Apostle and you would have converted the heathen and brought her back into my herd of believers. But apparently, you have failed me."

"Failed you? Failed you?! You have failed me!" I said, no more able to keep down my anger. "You expect that every man, woman and child should follow and revere you as their God regardless of their personal belief, and that everyone who even slightly disagrees with you should be punished?"

"Indeed. Because there is only one God"

"G-Listen, you realize that you're actually trying to defend an indefensible position? You cannot pretend that every person on Earth would follow and revere you just because you say so. Since each person sees reality in a different way, it is natural that their perception of the supernatural is different from one another. And this means that there can never be a single religious faith! Even Christianity itself has several branches that worship God in different ways. And frankly," I said running a hand through my hair "I would rather be an atheist than to worship you!"

For a few seconds, nobody said anything. I remained silent and looked at the portrait waiting for his reply, which was slow to arrive

"Perhaps it's time I gave you both a blessing"

I looked at it with a strange look. What he was meaning?

"A blessing? Like what?"

Almost as an answer, the portrait lit up with golden light "A miracle".

I snorted. From what little catechism I remembered from my previous life, miracles were things that holy people did to prove to their own people that God was with them. So, why should a god (admitting that Being X was such) grant a miracle to two people who did not want to believe in him?

Maybe he wanted to prove to us what he was capable of? Hard to say, as we both knew what he could do. I mean, an entity with the power to make two people reincarnate in another world (who himself had admitted to govern, alongside other millions) surely had the power to turn the water into wine, resurrect the dead or give blind and disabled people the ability to see and walk.

"What do you plan to do? You want to part the ocean between here and the America? Or maybe you want to change Schugel's mind? That would be a true miracle."

"The miracle I'll grant to you will be the first step toward your redemption"

"Yeah, whatever. Do you really believe it would be so easy to trick me into worshipping you? Especially after all the crap you put me trough."

"I will. And then the heathen too"

"Mh. I assume you are talking about Tanya, right? Seriously, what makes you think that making me worship you will help you bring her into your so-lovely herd of followers?"

The light around the portrait intensified, making it harder for me to continue looking at it. But not impossible.

"Because inside you heart there is still a small amount of hope in your creator. Unlike the heathen, you were once a proud follower and believer in your God. Also, the bond that unites you means that, once you will join back the herd, the heathen will be easier convinced into rejoining too…"

"So, you actually want to use me as a bait to lure Tanya into you trap? Well, good luck false god of my nuts, because…"

And with that, I grabbed the picture and slammed it violently to the ground, destroying the frame.

"… I will no more believe in false gods and medieval superstitions. My mind is now a faithful follower of Science and Progress, and I'll die before I even will recite a prayer to you!"

The gaze of the painting kept watching me for a few seconds, while the golden light dissolved gradually.

"I don't know about that"

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was to check the portrait. I found it attached to the wall, with its own frame undamaged, as if nothing had happened the night before.

Was it just a dream? I asked myself, carefully checking the portrait. Was the meeting with Being X just a dream or did he actually spoke to me in my dream? Or maybe…

I stopped, realizing that there was something stuck in the right border of the portrait.

A little piece of paper. Completely blank, except for three words.

"Deus lo vult." I read with anger. And I was so hopeful of having dreamed it all.

I knew what the three-word sentence meant. It was an old motto of the European Knights who participated in the Crusades against the Saracens for the Reconquista of the Holy Land. Bloodthirsty warriors, convinced that killing "infidels" would guarantee them a place in heaven. In the name of those words, horrendous massacres had been committed.

And now... God wanted me and Tanya to rejoin his herd. Whether we wanted it or not.

Well, I thought crumpling the little piece of paper and throwing it behind me. He is more than welcome to try! Now we are powerful wizards of the Empire! We have magic, and if you ever try messing with us again, we will make you pay!

I took a deep breath and looked outside, out the window. It was difficult to believe that there was a kind of divinity beyond our conception of the world that could not tolerate the slightest criticism and that had assumed "the commitment" to force us to become its faithful.

And yet, it was so.

"Bring it on." I murmured, looking at the Sun. "Bring whatever weapon you have; let's see if you can make us pray to you!"

"Lieutenant Frederick! Lieutenant Frederick!" came a male voice outside the door of my room.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Doctor Schugel wants you to meet him at the testing facility!" he responded, "Please dress up and hurry to meet him!"

I nodded, before heading for my uniform to wear it.

Still, I had the strange sensation I was walking directly into a trap…

Trunko · Apr 3, 2019

Chapter 21: Test and Prayers

As soon as I entered Schugel's office, I realized that he looked exactly like someone who had spent a night awake and working. He had visible dark circles under his eyes and his hair was matted. Moreover, from the smell he gave off he must have sweated a lot ... and he had not showered.

"Oh, Lieutenant König!" Schugel exclaimed as soon as he realized I has arrived "I'm happy to see you."

"Well, you ordered me to come here, sir." I said, looking around. "Where is Tanya? Is she late?"

Schugel smirked. "Lieutenant Degurechaff is not here, because she has not been asked to come here. This is just a private chat, between you…and me."

I froze, fearing for the trap's portcullis to come down "W-what do you mean?"

Schugel walked toward me. Was he going to stab me with a knife when I would have let my guard down?

Instinctively, I started to move my hand to the gun I had on the right. Pointing a weapon at one's own superior was a serious crime (unless the aforementioned superior was openly stained with treason), but if he was going to hurt me, I would not have any other choice.

"Fear not, my young ally. I admit that your speech yesterday made me furious, but the more I pondered on the more I realized that you were right to denounce my inefficiency. Therefore, I have personally summoned you in order to make peace with you."

"You…what, sir?"

"I want to create a new positive relationship of work between you and me, especially in view of today's experiment. For this reason, I decided that you will be testing my latest invention!"

Suddenly, Schugel raised his right hand and offered me something. I looked at it and I realized that it was an Elenium 95 Orb, yet different from the prototype I had already tested.

"What…what is this?" I asked, looking at the Orb in front of me.

"This…is the Elenium Type 95-2, the newest improvement of the Elenium 95. The second iteration of my experimental Computation Jewel, this little wonder incorporates the experience I gained from analyzing yours performance during the tests and the knowledge I gained about controlling multiple flows of mana. Moreover, this one is particularly tailored to work better with your powers!"

"With my… wait, did you just made an Orb that only I can use?"

"Not only you, as every wizard with enough power could be theoretically be able to use it. But they will never reach the efficiency that it reach when you are using it."

"But…why?"

"Why?" Schugel said, still smiling. "Because this night, while I was working on my orb, I finally reached the perfect idea about how to make it work. This little wonder will the prototype for a long list of more powerful and efficient Orbs that the Empire will use to crush its enemies. And it will be all your merit!"

This also mean that, if this thing does not work again, they will have a more realistic way to say it is my fault, I thought looking at it.

"So, you want me to use this during today's Test?"

"Yes. And I know it will be a great success!"

I looked at him. Inside my head, I had a tiny little voice who kept me from believing his words and telling me to run away, but I knew I could not do that. Moreover, I had personally agreed to do this damn test the day before and now I could not take it back.

The hard part was now explaining this to Tanya….

"Can we seriously not?" Tanya said, looking away.

"An experiment with magical-energy transformation and affixation, via multiplayer interference. Due to your little friend's… protest," Schugel said looking at me "concerns have arisen that my work here is just a waste of money and resources for the Empire. Due to this, yesterday evening a phone call from Strategic Headquarters informed me that the project is going to be cancelled and all its accounts frozen. Therefore, I'm going to do all the experiments and the test that, until now I was putting off."

"Doctor." Tanya said, gazing at me in turn. "Do you realize that, if you fail once again, the resulting explosion could blow up the whole proving grounds?"

"The march of progress always has victims!" Schugel responded, his tone of voice different from the ecstatic one he was using before. "Of course, it will not be only you. I won't move from this pot and your fellow, Lieutenant König, will accompany you during the experiment."

Suddenly, Tanya looked at me once again, but this time there was no boredom in her gaze. Instead, I could see the glow of burning frustration.

"Very well." she finally said, starting to fix her own uniform "To be honest, I would prefer if you found another use for your passion."

"A scientist must be loyal to his research, no?" retorted Schugel without even looking at her.

"We are not scientists, we are soldiers. Our duty is follow orders, not fantasies."

For a moment, I was worried Schugel would get angry again. Then all of sudden he smirked.

"Maybe then, I should give you an order," he said with the smuggest smile I ever saw. "Lieutenant Frederick, are you all right?"

"Y-yes sir!" I said standing still. "I just need a few more seconds to discuss with Lieutenant Degurechaff before we start the test. Privately."

Schugel looked at me. "Very well. We'll leave you alone while you finish your preparations."

He left and along with him went whoever was there, expect for Tanya and I. We were now alone.

"Tell me, Frederick," Tanya asked while still focused on her uniform, "What do you need to say that you had to do it in private?"

"I just wanted to ask to you if you maybe met Being X this night." I confessed.

She stopped, looking at me with an astonished look.

"You…him…he went to you too?" she practically screamed.

"Yes, he came to me. And from you reaction, I can tell you met him too."

Suddenly, Tanya launched herself toward me, grabbing me by the uniform and looking directly in my eyes with a gaze that would have terrified a T. Rex.

"What. Did. He. Tell. YOU?!"

I gulped. "I would be glad to tell you everything he told me… once you put down your hands…"

She gazed at me for a few more seconds before finally releasing me. "Speak."

We were in the open field of the base, ready for the test. Around us, several members of the base staff and Schugel's scientists were busy taking notes or managing the enormous magic energy generator to which we were temporarily attached trough tubes. Everybody was ready for the test.

"Observation team standing by" said a voice through our earphones "Activate supply energy trough Type 95"

I guess there is no way out, I thought to myself looking up to the sky; let's hope this time that this time there will be no explosion.

"Second Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff, taking off!" she suddenly said with determination then launched herself into the sky at high velocity.

It was my turn. I took a deep breath and looked up in the direction Tanya had just disappeared.

"Second Lieutenant Frederick König, taking off!"

Once again, the magical energy flowed through my body, and I skyrocketed in pursuit of Tanya.
"Second Lieutenant Degurechaff speaking." said Tanya in the earphones. "Present altitude 4.000 meters. Climbing at a speed of 320 kilometers per second."

"Second Lieutenant König speaking." I said in turn. "Present altitude 3.500 meters. Climbing at a speed of 350 kilometers per second. I should reach Lieutenant Degurechaff within moments."

It took little more than a few seconds, but in the end I managed to catch Tanya's position and I hurried toward her.

"Hey, girlie!" I saluted. "Need a ride?"

"Keep focusing on our mission, you idiot!" she responded in her usual acid tone. "This is no time for…"

Then, all of sudden, it happened again.

The orb started malfunctioning. Tanya was the first, as I saw her suddenly stopping midair and starting to move frantically, almost as if a tarantula had bitten her.

"Tanya!" I said as soon as I realized it "What is happen…"

Then it happened to me. The synchronization of the orb began to break down, making the device become unstable once again, shutting itself on and off every three seconds.

"This is Lieutenant Degurechaff. The jewel's synchronization has become unstable. I believe it is at risk of detonating!"

"Lieutenant König, Lieutenant Degurechaff is right." I said, trying to keep myself in control of my gear. "I request permission to stop the experiment and lower altitude."

"Do not worry Lieutenants!" Schugel's voice echoed in my earpiece. "Continue with the experiment. Our success is assured!"

"Doctor, where are you getting all that confidence?" Tanya's voice was full of surprise.

"It's simple. Last night, while I was working on my technological wonder, I received a divine inspiration. I heard God's voice, and an idea came to me by divine inspiration. The god of inventions revealed himself to me, and gave me his blessing"

"Doctor, I thought you were an atheist!" said Tanya, her puzzlement recognizable trough the earphone.

"I am a devout believer now" Schugel responded calmly "Haven't you both also met God, Lieutenants?"

What? What does this mean? How the hell did he manage to find out about…

….

Crap, I thought as I realized right then what was really happening.

It was a trap, and we ended up right in it!

"If we pray to God, he will grant our wishes." Schugel continued to rant through the earpiece "Otherwise, we will all become martyrs here and now!"

The Orb started to glitch again, but this time it was stronger and powerful. Without looking, I knew what was going to happen.

"Irregularity in the energy coefficients. They are going out of control!" another scientist said trough the intercom.

"We are purging the magic energy" Tanya responded.

"No!" another scientist's voice came "That will disrupt synchronization and destroy the jewels"

"Damn!" I practically screamed, my hand moving to the Orb. "The safety device! Tanya, use your safety device to remove the Orb. It's our only chance to survive!"

But to my horror, the safety device did not work.

"It-is is not working!" Tanya said, her voice showing all her fear. "Is this…"

"It-it has been sabotaged? But… by who?" I shouted, terror taking over everything in my mind.

"This is a good opportunity" came a very familiar voice, to give reason to our fears "Let us both pray to God!"

I will not lie to you. I was terrified. The synchronization of the Elenium had gone off course, just like in the previous tests. However, this time there was too much energy, surpassing any amount that might have allowed us to survive. If we had exploded, which in that moment I saw as certain, the resulting explosion would have been equal in power and energy release to a nuclear device.

The chances of survival were absolute zero

"Jewel cores in the verge of fusion!" an alarmed voice echoed in our ears "The Orbs are about to explode!"

"You… you did this…" I murmured, unable to think everything else. "YOU DID THIS YOU DAMN PIG!"

Then, my vision went white, and the world stopped once again.

For at least five minutes, I did not dare open my eyes. Dying from a magical explosion is instantaneous, but not painless. Part of my mind, therefore, was prepared to endure the enormous blast of heat that would have roasted me alive, if not disintegrated.

Meanwhile, I could not help but kept cursing Being X in my head. I cursed him with every bad word I knew, and yet even if I cursed him until the end of the world this would not be enough to show how much I hated him.

His trap had been sprung, and Tanya and I had fallen into it without realizing it until the last second. Although we remained alert, he had succeeded in making us wear two very powerful explosives and convince us to take a test we knew we would fail, a test that would surely end in our demise.

Moreover, once we died, we would not have any other possibilities.

Therefore, I waited…, waited…, and waited.

After a while, when I finally realized that there had been no explosion, I tried to open my eyes, to look at what was happening.

That was when I realized that time had stopped, once again. Tanya and I were still suspended in mid-air, unable to move any part of our bodies expect our eyes and our mouths, the two Orbs which we were still wearing still about to explode.

"I have blessed your computation jewels and performed a miracle." all of sudden I heard the voice of Being X.

"Miracle?" Tanya exclaimed, her rage resurfacing. "You call strapping a bomb on us a miracle?!"

"Now, you two must pray to your God each time you have to use your computation jewels."

"What?" I shouted, still half stunned. "You did…what?"

"And eventually, you hearts will be once again filled with faith."

"Hey! This is not fair!"

"He's right! This is cheating, you vile piece of shit!"

"Go now, and spread the name of God." he finally said, vanishing as he as appeared.

Time started moving again and us two, no more suspended in mid-air, suddenly started to fall to the ground. The Orbs around our necks were no more going to explode, but we were unable to turn them on again.

Suddenly, I knew what I had to do.

I opened my mouth and started to recite an old prayer that I had heard in the oratory that I had attended as a child in my previous life:

"Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;

Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Amen"

Instantly I felt it. Building inside me, powerful… More than magic.

I saw an enormous light of golden energy, and in an instant, everything changed. Before, I was falling like a stone and then, a force of immense energy pushed me back up, at the speed of a rocket.

For a few moments, I said absolutely nothing. Too much of me was bewildered and refusing to comprehend what had just happened.

Then, like the ring of an alarm clock that woke you up from a dream, Tanya's voice brought me back to reality.

"W-what…what did I-we…"

"Tanya, are you OK?" I said, directing myself towards her until I was a few meters from her. "Can you believe what had just happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… Being X… and his blessing… and…" I stopped, suddenly realizing in turn what had really happened.

"Did… did we just… pray?" Tanya said, almost shocked of having done this.

"Uh-uh."

"We…you…I praised…that thing?"

"Looks like we did." I answered in turn.

Inside I was experiencing a powerful rage. Apparently, Being X had just won this round: Not only was he actually able to force us to pray to him (moreover, after I explicitly told him that I would rather die than do that), but he was also able to curse us with something terrible.

Every time we had to use the Elenium we were wearing, we would be forced to pray to him for them to work and frankly, praying to someone you do not believe deserves your praise is not just humiliating, it is a torture!

Moreover, my mind was pondering an even worse scenario: what would have happened if, by dint of prayer, we would actually start to believe he was actually God, either by force of habit or by brainwashing? I mean, we knew that he was able to gain control of people who were faithful to him, but what if he was also able to brainwash people into being his followers?

Surely, he was not able to do this to non-believers; otherwise, he would have done this from the beginning. This meant that he needed us to have a least…

A little bit of faith in him?

"…inside you heart there is still a small amount of hope in your creator…" he actually said. Was he trying to scare me, or was it true? Was there still a part of me who actually believed him to be my God? If yes, then why he did not try to use that to turn me into his most faithful follower?

Maybe he needed more faith? Moreover, by praying to him every day I would have regained enough for him to be able to properly brainwash me?

Or maybe, he was already able to do so, but he decided not to do it because he wished to toy with us, like a cat with its prey?

Or maybe…there was more?

Thousands of possible explanations opened up in my mind, and every one of them opened dozens of potentially horrifying scenarios.

"The core's synchronization is nominal. Stabilization achieved." said a male scientist's voice from before. "Magical energy successfully affixed to spatial coordinates."

"Control center? Here is Second Lieutenant Frederick König. We request immediate permission to terminate the test and land."

"Permission to interrupt the test granted. Land on the large track, we hope you are not in bad health."

Do not worry about our health, I almost spoke aloud, worry about Schugel when we will be able to catch him…

Trunko · Apr 10, 2019

Chapter 22: Always a way for things to get worse

There is no way to describe how much Tanya and I were pissed off at Schugel when we finally made it to the ground, still together and alive.

I, for one, was not able to stop thinking about some of the cruelest ways to punish him if I would have had the chance to harm a superior officer, and judging by the look of her eyes, Tanya's tough were not much friendlier. It was clear that, if we would have the chance, we would have given him a very big piece of our minds.

Sadly, when we landed on the ground and were greeted by the scientists and the military personal of the base, Schugel was unavailable. Apparently, he walked off from the testing ground while we were still in air, blabbering (according from what other scientist were able to tell us) about "God's will".

And so here we were, the two youngest officers of the Empire, now doubly heroes for having helped develop a new powerful weapon, sitting on a small table at the cafeteria, drinking hot chocolate in attempt to drown our angriness.

"I'm going to kill him," I said, no more able to keep what I was thinking inside my head "I'm going to crush his so amazing brain and feed it to the ants!"

"I do not believe it is a good idea," said Tanya, finishing drinking off her third chocolate.

"What?" I looked at her "Do not tell me you are ready to forgive him, after everything he did to us!"

"No, absolutely not. It will be long past the End of all times before I even will start thinking seriously about forgiving him, but we cannot kill him or get our revenge. For now, at least."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that Schugel is still the Development Chief Engineer of the Empire, its most authoritative and powerful scientific mind. Moreover, with the new invention, we …helped him with, he is going to be even more popular and respected. And we are still only second Lieutenants. I believe that is better for us to keep our head down and let him enjoy his success for now"
I thought about it. Yes, Tanya's reasoning was very logical and consistent. Still, I was too angry to even think about letting Schugel get away with it.

"But this is just a temporary measure, right? Just for us to advance our careers and getting more prestige so we can face him on equal terms."

"Yeah. And when he will lower his guard…" she said, counting the fist as if to crush something.

I smiled. Yes, revenge was a plate better served cold. And with extra ice.

I was so enjoying the picture in my head of our future revenge that I almost not noticed the door opening behind Tanya and the young officer coming inside.

"Excuse, but are you the Second Lieutenants Tanya Degurechaff and Frederick König?" he asked.

"We are" Tanya responded "Doctor von Schugel wants to see us?"

"No, it's not Schugel" he said, taking two large waxed envelopes and handing them to us "New Orders from the Strategic Headquarter, directed to you personally!"

I was puzzled. New orders? From the Strategic Headquarter too? What could be so important to push the High Command to ignore the chain of command?

Tanya took the two envelopes, looked at them and then gave one to me. I opened it and took of the letter, starting reading it with curiosity.

After a few line of writing, the curiosity turned to shock, and the shock into fear.

Apparently, the situation of the Rhine front was not going very well for the Empire. The high number of casualties and the continuous attacks by the Republican forces had induced the military commanders of the Empire to recall all the soldiers and officers currently not involved in other operations on the front line on the Rhine, to help hold the line.

And between them, Tanya and me too.

If I could have done it openly, I would have let myself fall into the chair. The Rhine, the Hell on earth we had tried so hard to avoid, had now called us, and we had no way to avoid it. A quiet place in the rear, this was what Tanya and I had tried all (this) life to achieve, and yet, it almost seemed that the same fate conspired to prevent us from reaching our goal.

The fate, I though, or something else?

The journey to the front lines was not as fast or as comfortable as the one that had brought us to the test center.

To begin with, no plane this time: what existed of the Imperial Air Force was too small and dispersed along the borders to "sacrifice" one rare and expensive just to transfer two young Second Lieutenants to the front. This meant that we would have to travel, once again, by train.

"Well" I said, looking at the dark-looking locomotive in front of us "Let is hope this time we will not meet obnoxious controller this time!"

"I seriously doubt Being X is going to repeat such a dirty trick" Tanya said moving steadily towards the wagon "The first time was unexpected, but this time, I am very prepared for such circumstances"

"What do you mean?"

She smirked "I have enough official documents of recognition that, even we should me again someone so stupid, we could prove who we are with ease"

I smirked in turn, although still looking at locomotive with a worried look. For me, it was some kind of mechanical Charon's, ready to take us to Hell.

Slowly, we moved toward the door of the wagon, along with many other soldiers who were ready to travel to the front. Strange to see, none of them seemed troubled by their destination: I saw many smiles and affectionate hugs, while mothers, wives and relatives hugged and saluted their children and husbands in uniform who were leaving for the war.

Logical, I thought with a note of bitterness, for them war is something heroic, their way to get fame and become immortal in the altars of history. They are not yet aware of the changes linked to the destructive power of artillery and modern machine guns.

I looked at an old woman, dressed in very modest clothes, strongly embrace a tall young man who was probably to be his son. They laughed and joked, almost as if he was leaving for a long journey or a trip with friends. She probably could not even realize that her son would, in all likelihood, have died in the mud and the frost.

For a moment, I felt a strong desire within me to enfold her, to talk to her, to warn her of the danger her son was running. However, I knew all too well what would have happened if I had acted. Therefore, I remained silent, looking at the scene with a broken heart.

Little by little, the soldiers and the officers still on the ground managed to get on the train, and in the end, even Tanya and I managed to get on. Finally, we found a small cabin for the senior officers between the sergeant and the lieutenant, and we sat down.

"Well, Tanya" I said putting my things away "Do you think they will allow us to stay together again on the Rhine?"

"I don't believe it," she said, gazing to the outside trough the wagon's window "I mean, we were pretty lucky until now, but luck tends to end. "

"I know, but maybe…"

Suddenly, a sudden squeak informed us that the compartment door had opened again, and a man came in.

"Oh" he said when he saw us "I'm sorry. I believed this was the officer's compartment…"

"It is," I said, extending my hand toward him "My name is Frederick König, Second Lieutenant of the Empire. Are you a fellow officer as well?"

He looked at me with a very shocked look "Wait, Frederick König? By chance, you are..."

"What?" I asked dumb folded "I am what?

"You…you are… the hero kid! The one who fought in that battle against the Entente' some time ago! It was on all the newspapers!"

"Really?" I asked, starting to glee.

"Yes! You…and the other one… that girl that… oh my…. Is she?"

Tanya turned and looked the man straight in the eyes "Second Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff of the Empire. Yes, probably you have heard about us through your newspaper and yes, we are the ones who fought the Entente's wizard squad to a standstill!"

The man looked pale and nervous for a few more seconds, then, all of sudden, he started to grin.

"Oh… I would have never guessed… I would have never thought… that I would get the chance to meet the two youngest heroes of the Empire!" he said, geek squeaking like I thought a teenage girl should ever do in front of her favorite idol.

"Try to stay whelmed, sir" I responded trying to suppress my laugher "We are just soldiers of the Empire, just like you!"

"Oh no!" he said, carefully sitting in an empty seat right in front of us "Not like you. Because you are heroes of the Empire, and I'm just… a lowly officer who nobody knows about!"

At that moment, a deafening whistle warned us that the train was leaving. The unknown fan-soldier put all of his things is place, just like, and silently sat down, without, however, ceasing to observe us.

The journey by train was long and aggravated by the fact that the train had to stop at each station along the tracks in order to collect new recruits or supplies for the front.

The first stop was a station of a city called Dettelzach. We remained stopped for a couple of hours, before leaving for the Rhine with a larger number of soldiers and weapons on board than we had left Berun with. Since the journey took so long, Tanya and I had no other form of entertainment than having a chat with our travel companion, who appeared to be a great fan of ours.

"What is the current situation in Berun?" I asked looking listlessly out of the window. "Are the military authorities' still chasing deserters?"

"Well, yeah. Just yesterday the High Military Judge of the city put three soldiers to death because they had tried to escape going to the Rhine."

Instantly I looked at Tanya, who returned my gaze with a very smug smile. It is true that we were traveling to Hell on Earth, but still we have a small chance of survive. Those men who got shot...not so much.

"The just penalty for the traitors of the Fatherland." I said, trying to appear patriotic. "We cannot be lenient with those who try to escape their duty."

"That's right." the other soldier nodded. "No mercy for the traitors!"

For a second, I had the impression that he was lying, and he only said this to go along with us. But then, I realized that it didn't have the slightest importance.

"Just to clarify," the soldier said, moving toward us. "What is your opinion about the military situation? I mean, I just would like to know your opinion, that's all…"

"Well..." I said looking at him with glee, like a shark ready to eat a smaller fish "From what I've been able to see until now, both the Entente and the Republic have proven unable to steamroll our army, who in several occurrence has managed to launch successful counteroffensives against them. If fact, we would have been able to steamroll the Entente after their traitorous attack to our northern border, if the Republic had not interfered."

"But," the unknown officer said, trying to find something good to say. "but what if other counties enter the war against us? Should they not be able to win us by wearing down our forces?"

This is a very intelligent soldier, I thought, looking at him, not only he has managed to realize something that many others refuse to even consider, but he was able to jump to the right conclusion. Still, he is not very brilliant: if he were to let such reasoning slip by in front of the wrong officer, he could end up court martialed, or worse...

Suddenly, a very bad thought crept into my mind: maybe our friend needs a little lesson of confidentiality...

"Are you trying to say that we should not keep fighting even if the United Kingdom or any other nation joins the war against us?"

"W-what? No, I…"

"Were you trying to say that this war was lost from the beginning, and that maybe we should surrender right now and leave our beloved Fatherland at the mercy of its enemies?"

"No, no!"

"Do you realize right now that anyone could interpret what you have just said as an act of cowardice? Do you know how cowards are treated in the front line?"

"No, I was just…"

"I were just what?" said Tanya, suddenly joining my little game "What were you going to say?"

The unknown officer fixed his hat, showing his nervousness. I knew that I actually managed to scare him.

"Listen." I said, adopting a more friendly tone. "You are free to have whatever opinion you want, but letting other people hear it, without knowing if they agree with you or if they hold a different way of thought, is dangerous. I suggest to you to keep your mouth shut while you are on the front, and speak only if questioned."

"I…I understand." he said, trying to breath under his moustaches. "I'm sorry."

"Do not worry. By the way, comrade, what is your name?" I asked.

"My name?" he asked, alert now. "I'm-"

Trunko · Apr 18, 2019

Chapter 23: To part away

"My name?" he asked, alert now. "I'm Second Lieteunant Albert Speer, from Mannhenheim."

I froze up, immediately recognizing the name.

Albert Speer. The personal architect of Adolf Hitler and "father" of the architectural projects of Nazi Germany of the old world from where both Tanya and I were from. I did not know many things about his personal life, and what little I knew, I owned it primarily to the few things I had read about him.

I knew, among other things, that Speer was one of the first to have joined the National Socialist movement, yet he had never reached the level of fanaticism of his peers. In fact, when in the final moment of the war Hitler ordered to all his remaining soldiers and officers to destroy all German infrastructure and commit to a "scorched earth" policy on their own nation, Speer was one of the few to openly oppose this madness. Despite this, he himself had participated fully in the regime's activities. So much so that when the war was over, the Allies had condemned him to over twenty years of imprisonment.

And here he was, one of the less known personalities of one of the most infamous and cruel regimes in history, sitting in a seat opposite of me.

Immediately, a thought raced through my mind: if there was a Speer even in this time line, could there also be a Donitz? A Rommel? A Guderian? A Rudolf Hess? A Goring? A Himmler?

And then, another thought, the most terrifying of them: another…him?

Ever since I arrived in this world, I had theorized the possibility of that infamous man from our world also having a counterpart in this one, a fact that was (partially) shown to me by the fact that many great figures of the past (like the generals we had to study at the Academy) were practically the same.

Now I had before me the proof that this theory was valid even for people who had not yet appeared.

Was it therefore possible that out there, still unknown to history, there could be an Adolf Hitler?

Surely, the mere possibility could not mean that he was existing right now. Maybe his parents never met in this timeline, or he died at a young age, as many children did in this world. Or maybe, in this world he had actually managed to get into Art School.

Still, the idea that one of the cruelest men of the world could be out there, alive and breathing was enough to send shivers on my spine.

"Hello? Mr. Frederick?" said Speer looking at me. "Are you all right?"

"Hum?" I said returning from my thoughts. "Oh, yeah. I am OK."

"Happy to hear that!" responded Speer. "For a second, I thought there was something wrong."

There is something wrong, I thought in my head while keeping up a weak smile. Your existence has proven that one of the worst scenarios I could come up with could very well happen.

"Just to clarify," asked Tanya, intruding into the dialogue, "Have you ever shown an interest in some form of art?"

"Why are you asking this, Lieutenant Degurechaff?" responded Speer, confused.

"Well… just curiosity!" she retorted, with a grin that I recognized as fake.

"Well..." said Speer, thinking about it. "I used to be a great enthusiast of mathematics and the hard sciences, but my father thought that mathematics would lead me to a life with no money, no social position and no future. Therefore, I decided to follow in my uncle's footsteps and to register in the Civil Academy."

An alarm bell rang in my mind "Oh. If I may ask, what did you study before you were called to the arms?"

"Architecture." Speer responded. "I hope one day to become an architect, and plan new cities for our people."

I mentally groaned. Yep, he was already on the road to become one of the mooks of history's greatest dictator.

"Well… that is a very beautiful plan for the future." I said, trying to do not think about it "I hope you get the chance to realize your dream…"

"Thanks!" he said, looking touched by my words "That means a lot!"

The rest of the trip did not signal any noteworthy event. The train continued its long march to the west, stopping every occasionally in a city to collect new munition for the cannons... and new fodder for the meat grinder.

I tried not to look when I saw new soldiers get on the train, laughing and joking as if it was an adventure. Perhaps if I had avoided looking, I would not have sympathized with them and therefore I would not have to suffer the guilt when they would inevitably die. That was the worst thing in a conflict: anyone could die.

However, while the train was underway I gladly looked out the windows to observe the landscape we were passing through. At first, the landscape was a beautiful spectacle: the train passed through cultivated fields, vineyards, orchards, all subjected to the attention and care of their farmers. When the train passed, the locomotive whistled to signal our presence, and the laborers temporarily interrupted their work to greet us. I know that other soldiers on board our wagon also greeted them, because I clearly remember hearing exclamations... and sometimes, spasmodic whistles of appreciation.

However, as the train moved westward, the landscape began to change, as did the atmosphere.

The trees became less colorful and grayer, and with them, the fields, the land and the sky. The number of people we saw decreased dramatically, while the desolation and misery only became more severe.

Soon, the green landscape turned into a barren gray, almost lunar, wasteland, where peeped-out, leafless trees peeked out here and there. It was a horrible sight to behold, as it gave a clear idea that life itself was almost impossible in time of war.

"I wonder what happened to the people that once lived here," I murmured, without thinking about the possibility of being listened to.

"They left." said Speer nodding with a sad look in his eyes. "Many of them escaped as soon as the Republican army started to approach, with almost all the men enlisted into the Imperial Army…"

"Oh." I responded, moving away from the little window. "How do you know that?"

"Because I'm one of them," he said to my shock.

"You… you lived here?"

"Not exactly here." he responded with a sniff. "But my home city is on the line of the Rhine front now."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

That was true. I felt sorry for hearing that the city where he used to live was now a battleground between two clashing armies, and that logically, many of his friends and the people he used to know where now probably enlisted like him, escaped, or killed.

"Don't cry for me." he responded, an expression of sudden determination appearing on his face. "I'll avenge all the pain that those bastards had done to my city by killing them."

I nodded, realizing once again what kind of world I was living now. Here there was no room for rationality and intelligence: eye for eye and tooth for tooth, this was the law that all men obeyed. If you spit on me, I would have spit on you…with interest. Little would it have mattered that revenge only served to perpetuate hatred, and hatred would perpetrate revenge.

The peoples of every nation of this world lived in expectation to settle their accounts and they had an endless list. In this way, a perfect cycle of hatred and revenge was created that would never have ceased, at least until a faction became more intelligent and would sacrifice its pride for a lasting peace.

Which will be never, I thought bitterly, judging by the history of the last 500 years.

"Station of Schmalfeld!" suddenly a voice echoed from the first wagon of the train. "Last stop, end of the line!"

"We have arrived!" said Tanya, suddenly standing up. "We'd better prepare to get off this train!"

"I know." I responded to her, starting to take back our personal stuff.

"Well." suddenly Speer spoke up. "I suppose this is the end. It was the utmost pleasure and honor for me to being able to make this journey with you. I do not know what to say: I just hope you'll be able to replicate you great achievement here on the Rhine… and to survive too!"

"I hope that too!" I responded looking at him. "Well, can we make a promise in case we all survive the war?"

"What kind of promise?" he said curiously.

"When the war ends, we have to meet up in Berun someday. I want to share a hot chocolate while we compare our Rhine experiences!"

He smiled. "Sure thing!"

"Frederick!" suddenly yelled Tanya. "We have to get off!"

"I am coming! I am coming!"

The Station of Schmalfeld was very big. Not as big as Berun's, but it could be surely bigger than any other station I have seen so far. Which was logical, from a certain point of view: before the war, Schmalfeld was one of the main commercial junctions of the Empire, through which more than half of the goods passing through Western Europe traveled. Such a position guaranteed the city an enormous economic leverage, and to its inhabitants an uncommon wealth. But now...

…now, the war had changed everything, I though looking around me.

After the first cannon shot, the city had taken on new importance as the main supply center for the Empire's troops on the Rhine front: here one would find the supply warehouses, the better-equipped hospitals, and the train that continuously guaranteed reinforcements and supplies from the capital.

If, by pure hypothesis, the Republic managed to conquer the city, or at least to destroy its vital supply routes, the imperial forces would have been at best forced into a long retreat that would have allowed the enemy to occupy numerous strategic-industrial areas along the western region of the Empire.

Therefore, it was clear that it was a priority for the Empire to maintain control of the city. And that was why we had been sent to the Rhine.

"Frederick!" Tanya yelled, catching my attention. "Did you get lost in your thoughts or did you decide to ignore me?"

"I-I'm sorry Tanya. Did you say something?"

"Yeah, I asked you to stop daydreaming and start looking around. At this point, we should find a soldier who has the task of leading us to our new workstations!"

I nodded, looking around. It was difficult, mostly because the station was filled with soldiers and officers and everybody was moving of their own accord, but in the end, I managed to catch glimpse of a short row of soldiers, near one of the exit of the station.

"Over there." I said, "I believe our contact is there…"

Tanya nodded, before proceeding at great speed in the direction I had indicated. Immediately, I started to follow her trough the large mass of person, careful to not lose sight of her.

"Excuse Me," said one of the soldiers when we finally got near enough. "Are you Second Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff?"

"I am" Tanya said in her usual smug tone "And this is my comrade," she said pointing to me, "is Second Lieutenant Frederick König. We cannot wait to reach our new assignment."

"Did you say 'Our'?" the soldier said, visibly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, sir, but I have the order to carry only you to the headquarters."

Eh? I thought, suddenly alarmed, what is the meaning of this?

"I'm sorry, but does this mean that…"

"Excuse me? Second Lieutenant Frederick König?" another soldier, this one taller and darker, came from the behind.

"Yes, that's me. And you are…"

"Corporal Norbert Fichtner, sir!" he said doing a military salute. "I have orders to bring you to the division headquarters, sir!"

I looked at Tanya, while we both realized what this meant.

We were assigned to different locations. This meant that for the first time since we met, we would be forced to split up. We would no longer have each other to rely on. From now on, we had to fight by ourselves.

"Is there a problem, sir?" corporal Fichtner asked to me

"No, no!" I lied. "It's just… can you give us a few minutes to speak privately, soldiers?"

"No problem, sir." the two said. "We will be right outside, waiting for you!"

The two soldiers left and we remained alone. Well, alone with many other soldiers and officers, but since every one of them was busy doing, speaking or listening to something else, we could talk undisturbed.

"Well… that's it." I said, trying to looking reassuring. "Do you want to...?"

"What?" Tanya said, looking directly at me. "Do not tell me you are such a passionate boy that you cannot ever stand a little on your own?"

Those words struck my heart, like a hot knife in butter. And it hurt.

It really did.

"Hey, we are not going to see each other for a long time. Maybe forever. Do not tell me you aren't the slightest sad about it?"

"In fact…no."

"What?"

"Well, I admit that I actually enjoyed having a loyal follower of mine for some time being, but things change. Now our superiors believe we are strong enough and ready to work alone, and I agree!"

I was shocked. I was sad. But mostly, I was angry.

"You are telling that everything we had shared until now…doesn't mean anything to you?"

Tanya smirked. "Oh no. It meant a lot. But now, I believe it's the best for both of us if we temporally stopped our little alliance…"

And with these final words she walked away, right out of the station, leaving me half shocked and half angry.

Trunko · Apr 25, 2019

Chapter 24: A Band of Brothers

"It is fortunate to have you here, sir!" Corporal Fichtner said while still focusing on the road "In the past few days, Republican mages have made numerous raids against us. The soldiers are very demoralized and disheartened. Some of us are hopeful that your presence here will improve things…"

I did not answer. I remained silent, looking at the surrounding environment, unable to stop thinking about what had just happened.

Tanya had abandoned me.

She had turned her back on me without even saying goodbye, blinking and showing the slightest hint of emotion. And since the Rhine front was infamous for its high casualty rates, the chances we could meet again were very low.

In all likelihood, I thought angrily, she now sees me just as a burden. Something that does not bring her any advantage. She probably thinks that without her support, I will die here within days...

And then suddenly a feeling of determination emerged from my anger.

I would not die. I could not die.

Not here, in this land of mud and dirt, at least. I would have to roll up my sleeves, and make a commitment to survive and do my duty as a soldier. I would remain alert for every possible opportunity, and if one of them came to me, I would have to take it.

It is time to grow up, boy, I thought to myself; Time to learn how to earn a living.

"Sir? Sir? Are you okay?" asked Corporal Fichtner with a worried tone.

"Uh? Yeah, I am all right. I was just… thinking…"

"Oh. I understand, sir. Separating oneself from your loved ones is never something pleasant."

"Just to know." I said, trying to change the subject of the conversation. "Who will I refer to once we get there?"

"To the First Lieutenant Schoenauer." Fichtner responded, "He is the commander of our platoon."

It took another five minutes before the vehicle reached the location where I was supposed to meet my new senior officer, and for the duration of the trip Fichtner could not keep his mouth shut. He was talking about the war situation, about the relationship with the soldiers, anything he said could be a topic of conversation.

I could have ordered him to shut up (my rank allowed me to do it) but in the end, I chose not to. This way I could avoid antagonizing a possibly valuable source of information, and I would avoid appearing as a tough officer, contemptuous of the opinions of subordinate soldiers.

Finally, the vehicle stopped in front of a large tent, protected by sentinels. I knew immediately that this was where I was supposed to meet the Lieutenant. I jumped down from the vehicle and walked quickly towards the entrance to the tent.

"Halt!" One of the called, raising his rifle toward me. "Identify yourself!"

"Second Lieutenant Frederick König!" I said, trying to suppress my emotions. "I'm here to ask about my redeployment…"

The soldiers looked puzzled for a few seconds.

"You...you are Frederick König?" Asked one of the sentinels coming nearer.

"Can't be! It's impossible!" The other replied, refusing to drop down the rifle.

"Soldiers, stand down!" A third voice suddenly came from inside the tent. "I'm happy to see you've made it, Lieutenant…"

I looked forward, in the direction the voice had come from. Slowly, a figure emerged from the tent. He was a tall, dark man in a black uniform, which unmistakably identifies him as an officer of a higher rank than mine. He had green eyes and blond hair, and a scar on the left cheek.

I immediately saluted "I suppose you're First Lieutenant Schoenauer. Is that right?"

"Yes." The man said, his warm smile giving me some hope. "We have been waiting for you."

I smiled in turn.

"So… you are giving me my own squad?" I asked, still half shocked at the news.

"Yes. Apparently, the High Command wants to see your leadership skills put to the test." Lieutenant Schoenauer said. "Plus, since they've lost their commanding officer a few day ago, they need a good replacement."

I knew what these words meant. Most likely several officers would keep an eye on my conduct in the coming days. If I was not able to withstand the pressure, or made a mistake, my chances of being promoted to a safe place in the rear would vanish.

"What…what happened to the previous commander?" I asked.

"Dead. He was leading the squad in a battle against the enemy's vanguard while a Republican cannon got a lucky shot. He didn't make it to sickbay."

"I am sorry to hear that." I responded, trying to appear sad.

"Don't be" the Lieutenant responded, giving me another warm smile. "He died like a hero, trying to defend our Fatherland against aggression and assault by the filthy Republicans. The best way to honor him is to take his place and try to do the job in the best possible way. And you know you will."

Suddenly, he stopped walking. I looked up, and I realized that we were in front of a medium-dimension tent.

"Here we are." he announced. "This is the command tent of the 201st Imperial Mage Battalion. From now on, you will be expected to stay here when not on active duty. You understand me?"

"Y-yes sir!" I saluted again. "Do you already have orders for me?"

"Not at the moment. I advise you to be acquainted with the other members of the squad, before leading them into battle. Should it become necessary however, I'll inform you immediately should it become necessary!"

I looked at him. For a moment, I had the impression that he was giving me good luck.

"Very well, sir!" I finally said.

He smirked, before turning around and walking away, leaving me alone once again. I gulped before looking at the place where I would have my command.

What kind of commander should I be? I instinctively asked myself. Affectionate and just, or hard and inflexible, like Tanya?

I growled in anger at the thought of Tanya. She had abandoned me, without any consideration for me. She was probably somewhere in that endless camp, intent on taking command of her own team.

Well, I thought once again. I can still prove to her that I am better…

I took a breath, and entered the tent.

As soon as I was inside, the first thing I noticed was the interior's rather Spartan decor. To the left lay a long table on which various electronic devices were placed, probably Radar instruments or similar for the detection of magical energies. To the right, just next to another entrance, a small table hosted several maps.

Well, what a dump I ended up in, I thought in frustration.

"Hey!" The voice of a young woman, more like a girl really, echoed from behind me. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

I turned instinctively, and my eyes met those of a girl with short blond hair, brown eyes and all dressed up in a sergeant's uniform. I know that she recognized my ranks as well, because I saw her eyes getting bigger and her face twisting into an expression of fear.

"I-I'm sorry sir!" she said saluting me. "I'm Sergeant Hana Lindemann, provisional commander of this unit so far."

I saluted in turn. "Second lieutenant Frederick König. From now on, I will be in charge of this unit. I need to speak with every other soldier under my command."

"Y-yes sir!" she said. "Do you want me to bring them here?"

I smiled. "It would appreciate that, yes…"

She nodded. "Very well, sir!"

It took a few minutes for Hana to return, accompanied by four other soldiers. Of these, one caught my attention: he was a very tall and muscular man, with black hair and yellow eyes. He gave me the impression that he could lift a tank with his bare hands.

I stepped forward, out of the tent, so that the arriving soldiers could see me. As soon as I did that, doubtful expressions formed on their faces, as if they could hardly believe what they saw.

"Attention!" I suddenly shouted at the highest possible volume of voice.

The soldiers stopped. I saw the curiosity on their faces turn into consternation, as the little child in front of their eyes started to speak again.

"My name is Second Lieutenant Frederick König. Some may be aware of who I am, maybe not. In case you do not, let the following speak for itself: I have only three rules in war. One! Everybody fights! Two! Nobody is left behind! Three! Nobody leaves or quits! If you test me, I will squeeze the life out of you with my own bare hands! Is that clear?"

"Sir! Yes, sir" the soldiers shouted in unison.

"Outstanding! You!" I said, looking at the soldier to the right. "State your name and rank!"

"I am the sergeant Tim Klemm, sir!"

I looked him directly in the eyes. I could see his anxiety in his pupils.

"Very well, Klemmie! How long have you been here?"

"Six months, sir!"

"Good. I hope this means that you have some experience, and are not a coward who hides in the trench while the others fight!"

A small, imperceptible grimace made me realize that he had not taken my words too well. I was still his commanding officer however, so he said nothing.

I moved to the right, staring at another soldier. "You! Name and rank!"

"Corporal Augustin Stauffer, sir!"

"And how long have you been here?"

"Two weeks sir!"

"Oh!" I said faking surprise. "So you're a newbie, just arrived? Well, then. It is a good thing that you are here and not on the frontier with Dakia. At least here you'll learn how to be a man!"

I moved forward. Now it was the turn of a dark-haired girl, timid in looks and appearance.

"You!"

"Yes sir!" she exclaimed. "Corporal Christel Heider, ready to serve and die for the Fatherland!"

I glared at her, focusing my attention on her eyes. She was sweating from terror and everybody could see it.

"Stop sweating like that" I said all of a sudden. "You are now a soldier: behave like one!"

"Y-yes sir!" she responded.

I kept moving. Now it was Mister Muscle's turn.

"And you?"

"I'm Sergeant Linus Tragen, sir!" he responded to me.

I looked at him intently, inspecting every square centimeter of his magnificent physique. Perhaps, with a little luck, I could make him a suitable second-in-command for my plans.

The last soldier was Hana. I already knew her name and rank, but I had some others things I wanted to ask her.

"Sergeant Hana!"

"Yes sir?" she squeaked.

"Tell me: what is the current strategic situation?"

"Sir!" she responded after a few seconds of silence. "The Republicans are serious about conquering Blokhem Hill, which dominates the surrounding area. They launch attacks almost every day, in an attempt to break through our defense lines and overwhelm our trenches. Our orders in the last few days were to support the ground defense forces against the attacking enemy and counter any enemy magicians!"

I stopped for a second, thinking about it.

The Republic was not like the Entente: it had greater reserves of men and resources; it had a rich and prosperous colonial empire from which it could draw for additional reinforcements and supplies; but above all, it had at his disposal more people capable of using the power of magic.

"Very well!" I finally said, focusing my mind once again on what was happening around me at that time "sergeant Klemm, corporals Stauffer and Heider, consider yourself dismissed, at least for now. Sergeants Tragen and Lindemann, please follow me: I have to ask you some very important questions"

With that said I turned back on the troops and walked directly into the tent ready to make my first operational brainstorming.

We were back inside the tent, sitting around the portable wooden table. Since I wanted the meeting to be as private as possible, I had all the entrances closed and ordered some soldiers to serve as sentries and not let anyone in (at least, no one below my rank), and for a good reason.

"Sir." asked Hana with a questioning look "Can I ask you why you wanted to speak with us, without any other men of the squad?"

"Of course!" I said, looking at her. "I wanted to discuss some possible strategies to improve the performance of the squad. Before that, however, I want to speak with you about any possible relationships with the soldiers…"

"Sir, I…"

"No." I said, turning my cold expression in a warm smile. "Please, call me Frederick. Use the "sir" only in public or when there are other senior officers. When there are no simple soldiers within earshot, you can simply call me Frederick."

"Okay then, Frederick." she said, looking more reassured. "What do you wanted to discuss with us?"

"I wanted to ask you your opinion about me." I responded. "I mean, I believe they warned you that I would be put in command of this unit. Tell, me did you expected someone like me?"

"Well, not exactly like yourself."

I grinned. "You were expecting someone taller, right?"

"Well, I was not expecting…"

"…a kid?" I anticipated her. "Do you believe I'm not worthy of my rank?"

"Oh, no!" she said, suddenly fearful. "I was not going to say that! It's just…you are so young!"

I smiled, although I took care not to show it to Hana or Tragen. It was nice, in its own way, to see that my "youthful" appearance still managed to mislead others. This way I could play with their emotions in such a way as to appear a charismatic and benevolent leader, able to put the needs of his soldiers above his own.

"Hana," I said looking kindly in her eyes. "I know what you are trying to say. You are afraid because you do not believe this place is suitable for someone like me. I know because that is what many other people before you told me. And every single one of them has changed their mind."

"Sir, I…"

"I know very well that the front line is not the best place for a child. But that's why I decided to enlist: to protect and defend others To keep the threat of the enemy away from their homes and skies. To allow the future men and women of the Empire to be able to grow carefree and fearless, without having to think about the risk of death or the thought of defeat!"

She was now staring at me, her eyes full of surprise. And I knew that I had a chance.

"It may not seem like it, but our fight, our duty, our sacrifice gives the possibility to other sons and daughters of the Empire to live. Every day of struggle for us is a day of serenity for them. And if in the end we should fall..." I said squeezing my fist tight, as if to show that I could not bear that thought. "Well, there will never be another more noble and selfless reason to die!"

Hana looked at me for a few more seconds. Then all of a sudden, she started crying.

"Sir, I am honored to have heard this from you. And I'm even more honored to be under your command now. Before you arrived here, I thought you would be like the other officers, cruel and terrible, one who does not treat his subordinates differently from factory workers. But now..." she said sobbing.

"The new commandant speaks the truth," said Tragen, who was quiet until then. "I myself have two little brothers and a younger sister at home, whom I had to leave to come and fight here. Until today, I thought of my appeal as an injustice, more like a prevarication than a duty. Still, you make a good pint sir. It is true; our struggle keeps the enemy away from our homes and allows our families to live in security rather than fear. I understand."

I nodded "Okay then. I suppose I should punish you for badmouthing a superior officer. How about instead you go and give yourself a hot meal?"

"But, sir!" Hana said, still quite shocked. "You wanted to tell us…some strategies to improve the moral of the squad!"

I smiled. "I believe my strategies can wait a little. Go fill your belly, sergeant. That is an order!"

Hana smiled in turn. "Yes sir!"

She left, and after a several seconds, Tragen left as well, leaving me alone.

Hana and Tragen are now ensnared and their ability to report my possible abuses of power is effectively neutralized, I thought with a wide grin on my face. I have also gained two pairs of eyes and ears that will keep me informed of what is going on. A few more days, and every other soldier of my squad will be more loyal to me than to their own mother. And then…

Trunko · May 2, 2019

Chapter 25: The First Patrol

Days went by and my bond with the soldiers under my command grew stronger and stronger. Little by little, with a strategy of kindness and fraternization, the separation between us became thinner and the men were much more open and happy to have me among them.

I will not deny it. At the beginning, it was very difficult to establish a bond of friendship with the whole team. After all, I was still an officer, and compared to them I enjoyed much more privileges and immunity than soldiers and NCOs. I had a bed while they slept on the floor, barely covered by a blanket to protect them from the cold and mud of the trench. I had better food rations, while they had to settle for that cold black soup served only once a day (or at night, to avoid snipers). I could go to the rear to make purchases, while they could not leave the trench except for those rare occasions when they were allowed leave. Worse still, I had an average license level of one every three months, while most of my soldiers were allowed a leave every fifteen months.

They were not overly lavish privileges but on the Rhine Front, where cold, hunger, disease and death were almost daily realities, they appeared almost as noble privileges from the Republic Ancien Regime. I knew, without needing to ask, that many soldiers held their officers in contempt because of these privileges, and for this reason it was almost impossible to create a bridge with their subordinates.

Therefore, a vicious cycle forms: the soldiers hold their officers in contempt without showing it, they despise them; the officers, in order to hold obeisance and respect, were forced to assume firm and rigorous attitudes and impose draconian measures on their subordinates. The soldiers, treated in this manner, learn to hate their officers even more and become more and more riotous, necessitating new draconian measures by the officers. If the process does not stop, if confidence in its officer falls below a certain level, it could even lead to the enlisted men rebelling, deserting or surrendering of their own will to the enemy, without a fight.

It was my intention to reverse the cycle from vicious to beneficial and to establish with my soldiers a relationship of trust sufficiently solid to be able to withstand anything. And to do that, I should play my cards very well…

The first move I made was to meet all the soldiers on my team individually. I had them enter my tent, seated on a chair in facing me and I offered them a glass of alcohol, apologizing for how "my young age prevents me from enjoying such a drink".

Of course, this was a calculated move, and had a very logical purpose: the alcohol, passing through the bloodstream, inhibited the mental guard of those who drank it, and made the drinker less cautious and more relaxed. With his defenses lowered, the soldier or sergeant often let slip valuable information, which I, once he or she had left, carefully noted down.

That was how I discovered Hana's preference for apple pies, Klemm's passion for cigars and smoking, Heider needing a new blanket, Stauffer's desire for a new soap bar. Most of all, Tragen's wish for a new pair of boots, as apparently the one he already had was too small in the left shoe.

The next day, early in the morning (that is, before the usual artillery bombardments started) I went to the military store located in the rear, and I acquired everything I needed. It cost me a lot to get everything, but I hoped that it was worth it.

It was.

They were quite surprised when I returned and announced that they had to go immediately to my tent for an important meeting. In all likelihood they had already figured out my alcohol trick and feared they had said something that could cost them court martial... or worse.

But their fear turned to joy when I revealed why I had been away that morning, and I gave them what they needed. I do not think I will never forget the sparkle of happiness in Hana's eyes when I gave her a packet of frozen apple pie, or the tremendous hug that Tragen gave when he noticed that his new boots fit him perfectly.

"Sir!" said Hana, still unbelieving about what I did "B-but… why?"

"Why?" I repeated, looking at her with glee. "Do I need a reason to help my fellow soldiers and comrades in arms?"

"But…sir!" she kept sputtering, looking at the cake she was now holding into her hands. "You ... you didn't have to…"

"If you like hunger and dust so much, you can always renounce and give it back to me. I'm sure I can enjoy…"

"No, no! It is just… we never had an officer being this kind to us."

Quickly, I put a hand over on her shoulder, as if to show empathy.

"Maybe it was the first time, but it won't be the last."

"Excuse me? I am looking for the commanding officer of the Second Platoon of the Imperial Mage Battalion. Is he here?"

I jerked away from Hana, looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was a soldier with reddish hat, whose mud-stained uniform betrayed a long long at the front line.

"I am…" he repeated. "I am looking for the Second Lieutenant Frederick König. Is he here?"

"I am." I answered. "What is it about?"

The soldier, after freezing for a few seconds to realize that a) I was the officer he was looking for and b) yes, I was a kid, took out an envelope and handed it to me.

"First Lieutenant Schoenauer sent this for you. He said it was very important".

I took the package, opened it and started to read the letter it contained. While I was busy reading, the soldier took advantage of the situation to disappear.

"Sir?" asked Tragen, "If I may ask, what is it?"

I did not answer, not immediately at least. I reread the text three times, to make sure I did not misread. Despite my doubts, I had read it right the first time.

"These are our first deployment orders." I announced, looking at my soldiers around me. "We are to go out on a patrol mission. Tonight."

Based on the message I received, it was thought possible that the Republicans intended to take advantage of the darkness of the night. They intended to send forward teams of sappers to open gaps in our barbed wire, so that on their next attack their troops would find nothing to hinder their advance.

Command wanted our platoon to carry out reconnaissance missions in the area between the former villages of Apelberg and Großweg (currently evacuated by the inhabitants, in ruins and used as hiding places for snipers and irregular fighters on both sides) and keep an eye on the enemy's nocturnal activity. The secondary objective of the mission was to perform long-range reconnaissance on enemy lines, to discover any weak points in their defensive system and favor possible attacks by our army.

However, we were only allowed to engage the enemy in case they attacked us first, and we had no other chance of surviving without fighting. If it were possible, and on this the orders were categorical, we had to fall back on our lines and allow our artillery to fend off the enemy. It made sense in a way. We were still magicians: Elite troops, very rare, and command did not want to risk sacrificing us on a minor mission.

The fact that it was such a minor task, however, did not leave us reassured in the slightest. My soldiers and I spent the rest of the day preparing ourselves, psychologically and physically, for the mission. We did so in silence. Apparently, no one had anything to say.

The hours dragged on slowly but in the end, the sun went down and the cannons, which had thundered on both sides of the two sides, finally fell silent. The normal troops, which we had fought all day, prepared for their rest. The only forces who remained alert were the sentries, to detect possible enemy night attacks, and the Special Forces that were supposed to act during night. We fell into the latter camp.

We were ready. Ready for anything and armed to the teeth.

At 11:55 pm (I made sure to check the time) we took off and headed East-Northeast to our patrol area. I was at the head of the group, keeping an eye on the situation with military binoculars adapted to work at night. Behind me came Tragen and Hana, rifles ready in case something went wrong. Every single one of us was on edge and our senses were on high alert, searching for the smallest sign that could betray the presence of the enemy.

We proceeded. Below us were the trenches, within which our fellow infantry lived and died. Then suddenly the scenery changed and we found ourselves in No Man's Land.

"Ok soldiers!" I said in my headphones. "We have entered No Man's Land. Try to keep the silence as much as possible. We do not know how many forces the enemy has. We could find ourselves an entire enemy magic battalion a few meters from us. So let's try not to let us hear as much as we can ..."

Various nods from the members of my squad confirmed that every one of them had received my orders.

Therefore, we went on. For the time we spent flying, I kept my eyes on the binoculars and watched the area below and around us. I saw semi-destroyed or exploded guns and cannons, real relics of the great offensives of the previous days. I saw enormous barbed wire extensions. I saw trees blackened by battle and without flora, as if to symbolize the defeat of life itself. But above all, I saw dozens, perhaps hundreds of dead or dying soldiers, bodies torn apart by wounds, in some cases without a limb and mouths that emitting gloomy moans of pain. I was tempted to intervene, to dive and collect the wounded (at least, those who were better off) and take them with me to our lines so that they could receive medical care.

I didn't. Command had given me precise orders, and I could not defy them just because my heart could not stand the sight of the suffering of others. Had I done so, I would probably have failed the mission and won a one-way trip to court martial and the firing squad.

There was another way to help the injured without going to their rescue: shooting them.

It may seem absurd, to kill a person so as not to make her suffer, but sometimes the way of dying has a faculty of its own to make us think. To die in the mud from infection or bleeding, in a slow and painful way, was one of the worst ways to pass.

Therefore, and this was a "favored" frontline tactic, when a wounded man was too far gone to be saved, the unofficial procedure was a dramatic euthanasia by means of a lead bullet.

I could not do it, though. Not only because I personally found it monstrous (something more worthy of Tanya than me), but also because it was an extremely unpopular practice among soldiers, one that only the most rigid and hardline commanders implemented. If I had even hinted at doing such a thing, I would probably have destroyed the emotional bond I had established with them, and that it had cost me too much to be able to destroy like that, on a whim.

Therefore, I turned my attention elsewhere, leaving the wounded and the dying to their fate.

We proceeded with our mission, flying above the barbed wire fields that our command had ordered us to check. The first three were a total negative: the barbed wire was damaged, more from the bombardments than the activity of Republican soldiers. Therefore, we limited ourselves to reporting the damage that should be repaired and continued with our mission.

The nerves of the team, initially tense, began to relax; so much that some of us began to chat, no longer paying attention to what was happening beneath us.

A mistake that could have been fatal if not for luck.

"You know what?" said Tragen behind me. "In my opinion we are wasting our time: it's clear that the Republicans are not capable of an offensive in the middle of the night. They don't have the guts to do it!"

"Tragen." I responded. "Just because you do not see them does not mean that..."

"Sir, sir!" said Heider all of sudden, looking through her binocular. "Spotted enemy activity. 10 o'clock, about half a kilometer from us!"

Immediately I looked in turn in the direction she had reported. At first I saw nothing strange but on closer inspection I realized something was not right. I was seeing something moving, something…

I barely restrained a snarl of anger at seeing at least three teams of Republican sappers who, under the cover of night, were trying to break through our barbed wire.

"Apparently, the Republicans are really desperate if they believe that night operations will help their cause." I murmured.

It was not even necessary to give an order. Within moments my soldiers had their guns in their arms, aimed the area I was looking at.

"Soldiers! Artillery spells, maximum dispersion. Leave no survivors!"

"Yes sir!"

"Fire on my mark!"

I focused my attention on the sappers. I wanted to enjoy the moment of their deaths.

"All units ready to fire, sir!" Tragen announced.

"Fire!"

Gunshots went off behind me, bullets whizzing past me. I had the opportunity to see the enemy soldiers caught by surprise, right before the explosions caused by my men massacred them.

"Fire!" I ordered again.

Another set of explosion hit the enemy, killing more of them. The few survivors, unable to stand while they comrades died, gave up and ran away, back to their trenches.

"Very well!" I said grinning, still looking through my binoculars. "Sergeant Hana, make contact with…"

And then, all of sudden, an enemy bullet impacted the glass.

Trunko · May 8, 2019

Chapter 26: We have passed

"What the hell?!" I screamed while the half-destroyed fragments of the binoculars fell towards the ground.

I looked around nervously, focusing on my shield and trying to track the shot to its origin. The other members of the squad did the same, quickly bringing their guns to bear.

Where did the shot come from? Perhaps it was a ground-based sniper? A miserable little fighter with a sniper rifle and subpar aim? Or maybe one of the sappers had a lucky shot?

My hopes that it could be normal ground troops went out as soon as I heard Hana's voice scream.

"Enemy mages detected. They are at least a platoon strong. Inbound west!"

"Dammit!" I yelled. "Sergeant Hana: Contact Headquarters and tell them to send reinforcements now!"

"Yes, sir!"

"All others: defensive formation. Maximum energy to your magic shields and if you see those bastards, shoot them!"

"Yessir!" my men roared in unison.

Quickly, I took my rifle in my hands and turned west, in the direction of the incoming enemy.

At first I saw nothing. Only the darkness of the night. Without the night vision binoculars, I had no other means of distinguishing enemies other than my eyes, and this would put me at a serious disadvantage.

Then I saw a light shine several kilometers away, towards a dark cloud. I took aim and fired.

I know I managed to hit it, because I saw a dark shape come out of the cloud and fall towards the ground at great speed. Even if by hypothesis the enemy had still been breathing, the impact with the ground would not leave him alive.

Around me, my men were also actively responding to enemy fire. Each of them was holding up the gun and firing at the enemy.

"This is Operational Command Center Sector 8T." suddenly I heard a voice in my earpiece. "What is your situation?"

"This is Second Lieutenant Frederick König: Our unit is under heavy attack by an enemy mage platoon. I request immediate reinforcements and permission to withdraw!"

"Roger. Try to hold on as long as possible. Reinforcements are on the way!"

"How long for reinforcements to arrive?"

"150 seconds"

150 seconds. Two and a half minutes. We could do it.

"Roger, we'll try to kill as many of them as we can! König, out!"

"Command center, out!"

The voice died down and I found myself again in the midst of combat. The sky all around me was a continuous succession of shouts, curses, explosions and gunshots. My men were holding position, albeit with difficulty. It was certain that if the reinforcements did not arrive early, the enemies would overwhelm us.

I was reminded of my first experience of war, when I had helped Tanya destroy a hostile attack force in the skies of Norden, the action that had earned her and me our Silver Wings. At that time we were able to survive by exploiting our speed and agility, while the enemy, although they too were capable of flying, had limited themselves to acting two-dimensionally.

And then, here's the idea: why not do the same here and now?

"Hana!" I yelled, trying to find her.

"Yes sir, what's happening?"

"Take command! I have an idea that I want to put into practice!"

"Yes sir!" she said, focusing once again on the battle.

I took advantage of the fact that we were fighting at night, that visibility was very limited. I flew up, passing through a large cloud. It took a few seconds, but I finally came out of the cloud and I saw with satisfaction that the enemy was clearly visible from above.

I barely held back a grin of satisfaction. Republican magicians were as powerful and fast as the Imperial ones, but they were certainly too confident.

Why should they look up? I was going to give them a reason.

I waved my hand in front of me, calling up a large magic viewfinder.

"Spatial coordinates identified! Calculating stochastic evasion routes for all targets. Magical energy chambered… ready to deploy."

I raised my rifle, pointing right into the direction of the enemy platoon.

"Attention!" I yelled in the earpiece "Allied units in the area: prepare yourselves for a large impact!"

"Sir?" Tragen's voice appareled alarmed. "What are you…"

I let the magic energy flow back through my body, giving power to my bullet. And I prayed.

"Our Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom."

Below me, enemy magicians continued to attack my team, trying in every way to break their defense. Thanks to my increased vision, I could almost see the drops of sweat on their foreheads.

"He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;"

My gun began glowing with its own light.

"but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength"

I carefully took aim. I did not want any of my subordinates, despite having issued a warning, to risk being involved in the explosion.

"They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint!"

One moment and then I pulled the trigger. The bullet, full of energy much more powerful than magic, flew rapidly towards my enemies. Then, it divided itself.

The Republican magicians, who until moments before were attacking with such courage and bravado, found themselves being targeted by a dozen or so fragments of bullets, which acted and flew at the same speed as guided missiles.

There were explosions, there were screams and then only silence remained. The few surviving Republican wizards retreated in disarray, whilst the bodies of their unfortunate companions fell to their deaths, if they were not already lifeless by then.

"Mein Gott!" I heard Klemm's voice through my earpiece. "Did you see that?"

"Sir?" this time was Tragen. "That…that was you?"

"To all air allied units: enemy mages repelled. Regroup and take stock of the situation."

I descended rapidly to the same height as my subordinates. Staying still in midair was still risky, but with the enemy's magical forces broken or destroyed, I thought it could be an affordable risk.

"Lieutenant!" said Tragen suddenly appearing at my right. "Did you cause... that?"

"That depends." I said, feigning ignorance. "What are you referring to?"

"T-the explosion! The enemy mages being killed off! You did that?"

I conceded myself a smug smile. "Of course."

"But…but how… how did you manage to…"

"I am a very special boy." I stated matter-of-factly. "Now, where are the others? We have to go back to our base before…"

Almost like in response to my words, Hana appeared in turn, quickly followed by Klemm and Stauffer.

Where is Heider? I tough realizing that only four of the five members of my squad were present.

"Sir!" Hana said saluting me. "The 202st Magic Company is coming. The Operational Command Center ordered us to withdraw and report!"

I nodded. "Where is Corporal Christel Heider?"

The soldiers looked at each other with a very nervous look. It was clear that they knew something that I did not knew.

"Where is Corporal Christel Heider?" I repeated myself "Did the young lady not be able to withstand the tension and had a panic attack?"

"Sir?" Sergeant Hana said, looking at me. "Corporal Christel Heider was shot during the battle and fell to the ground. We believe she is dead."

My mind spun. "What!?"

"An enemy mage shot her in the shoulder, a few seconds after you left. We think…"

But I was no more there.

Where is she? Where is she? WHERE. IS. SHE? My mind was racing while I flew over no man's land, trying to locate my unlucky subordinate. Because of the difficulty in distinguishing a single wounded soldier among the millions of dead or dying who populated this stretch of land, I was making maximum use of the Enchanced Vision that my magical powers provided to me.

I could not lose one of my soldier on my first day of service. Not like that.

Once again, I focused my vision, trying to locate any traces of recent magical energy. I knew that if I continued to use my stock of magical energy so wastefully, I would risk draining myself, but I did not care.

I needed to save her.

"Lieutenant? Lieutenant!" once again I heard Hana's voice in my earpiece. "We have been ordered to withdraw immediately!"

I ignored her for the umpteenth time, focusing only on my goal. I knew I was risking a lot, but at the moment I didn't care much.

But where….

I stopped abruptly, while my vision showed me an area of the battlefield where there had recently been a dispersion of magical energy.

Found her!

I immediately descened and headed towards the position of my unfortunate soldier.

Swooping down on the battlefield without even checking to see if there were enemy patrols in the area before was a big risk, but if I had not acted the situation for Christel would have gotten worse.

In a world dominated by nationalism and xenophobia towards the inhabitants of other nations, being captured as a prisoner was a terrible thing. No one could know for sure what would happen to you once you fell into the hands of the enemy. Torture and worse weren't out of the question. Even worse, I could not allow a female soldier to fall into the hands of the enemy.

"Corporal Christel Heider!" I said, looking around in the ruins. "Where are you?"

Immediate, I heard a groan of pain coming from a few meters in front of me.

She was there. With a showy hole in her shoulder, so wide that you could almost see it from side to side, and in a pool of blood that I deduced must have been her. Grievously wounded, but alive.

"Corporal!" I exclaimed, taking her wrist by the hand to feel the beat. "How do you feel?"

"L-lieutenant" she said, her voice almost imperceptible. "You… you came… for…"

"Yeah! I came for you. Now, hold on to me. We have to get out of here right away, before…"

"Stop!" exclaimed a very Francois-sounding voice from my back. "Raise your hands and surrender!"

Instinctively, I turned around. In front of me was a man with massive, black handlebar mustache, dressed in a uniform of the Republican Army. He was holding the gun, pointing it directly at me.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" I said, amused by the man's mustache. "A sad, lone Republican soldier, who believes fate has given to him the chance to be a hero?"

"S-stop!" he repeated. "I am Sergeant Alfred Barthélemy and you, mister mage, are now a prisoner of the Republican Army!"

"Au contraire!" I said, trying to move without him realizing it. "It is you, mister Bartholemy, who are now a prison of the Imperial Army. I will tell you; if you would kindly put down your weapon and raise your hands, I'll take you to Lieutenant Schoenauer and I'll try my best to save you from a long and painful death by the hand of our Interrogation squads."

The Republican soldier twitched. It was clear she was very nervous due to my words. So, I kept up.

"That said, Lieutenant Schoenauer is a mite twitchy, so no promises."

It was a very paradoxal situation: the young kid officer, with absolutely no means to save himself or his wounded soldier, asking the Francois soldier with the gun pointed to his head to surrender, against all odds. had I been alone, I would have believed I myself crazy.

Luckily, I was not alone.

"Y-you little bastard!" said the French soldier, edging closer. "I'll bring you personally to my superior officer. Maybe he will give you the spanking you deserve!"

"Once again, Au contraire!"

Before he could open his mouth again, move closer to hit me physically or pull the trigger on his rifle, something flew just above my head. I knew it was not meant for me and even if it was, my shield would automatically protect me.

Instead, the bullet flew right through the Frenchman's eyes, killing him instantly.

"Sir!" said Tragen, landing a few meters from me, smoking gun in hand. "Thank God you are alive! That man could have killed you!"

"Do not worry, Tragen. I had everything under control."

That was the biggest lie I ever said up until that moment. I was a mage, that much is true, and I had my shield but if that soldier had gotten in a lucky shot or called for reinforcements I could have died. I could have seriously died.

Still, it was better for my subordinated and I that I showed nothing but reassurance.

"Thanks anyway for your help."

Tragen, seeing me smiling, smiled in turn before his attention got drawn away by Corporal Heider.

"Christel! You are alive?" he said, his voice a mix of joy and amazement.

"Yes" I said, looking carefully around us. In the distance, I could still hear the sound of cannons and machine guns "However, I believe we should go now, before the other Republicans will find out what happened to their sergeant…"

It took several minutes, but in the end we managed to get back to the field without running into further trouble. Upon our arrival, I found what remained of my team, led by Hana.

"Sir, sir!" she said in a very frightened tone rushing toward me. "Are you okay?

"I am fine. However, I believe Corporal Heider here needs immediate medical care."

Hana rolled her eyes, seeing her wounded companion, now supported by the muscular Tragen.

"You-you went back to retrieve her?" she said, in disbelief of what she was seeing right now.

"Yes." I responded to her laconically.

"But sir…" this time was sergeant Klemm to speak. "Why did you do it? You risked too much!"

I stopped all of sudden, before glaring at him as he had pissed me off. I knew he got it, because his face turned very pale.

"No risk is too much, compared to the loss of one of my soldiers. You are soldiers under my command, and under my command, the rule is: nobody is left behind!"

"But sir…"

"Do you understand me soldier?" I said glaring again at him.

"Y-yes sir!"

"Very well, then. Now, where are the goddamn…"

A couple of normal foot soldiers, bearing white circles and red crosses on their unifrms to indicate their belonging to the medical body, approached in a great hurry, carrying a stretcher.

"Finally. Over here!"

The two paramedics quickly took the Corporal Heider, loaded her on the stretcher and hurried away, hopefully to bring her to the nearest field hospital.

"Sir, what do you think? Will she be okay?" asked Hana, coming nearer.

"I do not know: she lost much blood and if the wound got infected, she could still die. But I'm sure that…"

"Second Lieutenant Frederick Konig!" a voice I knew very well screamed from behind me.

I turned around, saluting as I saw my superior, Lieutenant Schoenauer. He looked like he was in a foul mood.

"Sir?" I said, feeling very nervous.

"My tent. Now!"

Trunko · May 15, 2019

Chapter 27: Reports and Old Friends

"Sir!" Hana saluted me once I finally left Schoenauer's tent. "Are you okay? What happened?"

I looked at her. Part of me wanted to scream at her, to vent my frustrations. I did not, however. Mostly because I knew she was not at fault.

"Apparently, disobeying a retreat order and going solo on a search and rescue mission is "omission of official duties" for an officer." I responded to her.

"Oh no." she put her hands over her mouth, trying to hide her fearful expression. "Does this mean that you will be dishonorably discharged?"

"Not yet" I said with a half smirk. "Fortunately, First Lieutenant Schoenauer understood the reasoning for my actions, and decided that the most serious thing I could be accused of was an excess of attachment to my subordinates. Therefore, I merely received a lecture about the importance of my duties as an officer over the wellbeing of a single soldier."

Well, that is partially the truth, I thought as I looked at Hana, hoping she believed my lie. Thankfully, she did.

"Oh." she said with a relieved expression. "Thank God for his mercy!"

I loved her and hated her in the very same breath. "Yep, thank God for his blessing."

"Sir, sir!" suddenly Tragen appeared, rushing towards me. "Did Shoeunaur sentence you to the firing squad?"

"Not yet, thankfully." I faced myself towards him. "Just to know, Sergeant…"

"Yes, sir?"

"How is our wounded? Is she OK?"

"Thank God, yes. The medic said that she is still alive, and although her injuries are quite serious, there's a good chance she will survive."

I smiled. Here is one thing I will have to write in my next report: my disobedience caused a soldier of my squad, a mage, a precious resource we cannot afford to lose, to survive.

"Just so you can know it" I said, trying to look remorseful "Captain Schoenauer said that, before to decide if I need further corrective measures, will want to talk to you personally, to know your point of view on the operation just ended…"

"Do not worry about that, sir!" said Tragen with a very determined expression "Tragen will testify on your behalf. I will tell the Lieutenant why you did what you had to do, and why you do not deserve to be punished for this!"

"So will I!" said Hana, assuming an anger tone. "You risked your life to save a soldier, after you already destroyed an enemy mage company! You do not deserve a lecture, you deserve a medal!"

Here is an advantage in treating well your public relations, I smiled internally, if you help your men, they will help you.

"Really?" I said, trying to appear stuporous. "Are you ready to do this? For me?"

"Yes sir!" Hana responded. "I admit to having misjudged you at the beginning. I had heard rumors about an officer who was but a child, but behaved as a demon and I had expected that after I saw you for the first time. But now... I do not think there are enough words to describe how much we are proud to call you our leading officer!"

"Well..." I responded, apparently overwhelmed by such words. "I suppose that one who told you that was referring to Tanya. Still, I…"

"Tanya?" asked Tragen with a dubious look. "Who is Tanya?"

I stopped for a second, cursing myself for that slip-up. I had just mentioned Tanya to my fellow soldiers without first having settled the ground. If any of them had heard the wrong story from the wrong mouth, it could compromise everything I had built.

Denying everything or changing the subject would only make things worse. The only possible solution was to take it out myself, to cover my back and try to present an official truth in my favor.

"Her complete name is Tanya Degurechaff. She is an, ahem, old friend of mine. We enrolled together in the army, and up until a few days ago, we used to be assigned to almost the same posting. I believe she is now here on the Rhine Front too, assigned to a different unit."

"Wait. Is she a mage too?"

"Yep!"

"And she… has the same age as you?"

"Yes. Like I said, we joined the army in the same occasion."

Tragen and Hana looked at each other for a few more seconds.

"B-but that means… you were… at Norden…"

"Yes. We were the young child soldiers who fought against an entire enemy mage company when they tried to attack us."

Tragen's eyes widened. Hana did too.

"Hey?" I said, galling over them. "Is there something wrong?

Then, all of sudden, they started to smirk.

"What are you… oh no!" I started, suddenly angered. "Don't you dare!"

A few hours later, I was alone in my tent. I was leaning over a table lit by the dim light of my oil lamp and I was intent on writing my mission report for headquarters.

Writing a report was not a particularly difficult task in terms of mental engagement. In theory, you had to transcribe, in the most detailed but at the same time clear way possible, what had happened during a given mission from your point of view, trying not to overlook the slightest detail.

The real difficulty, however, lay in the realization of the above. In fact, the reports had to be completed in triplicate by hand (because the few typewriters available on the front line were reserved for higher-level officers), usually on uncomfortable and easy-to-disturb portable tables, deprived of any light except that of the lamps (which, being oil-based, could drip and ruin the report before it was finished) and force the writer to constantly strain his sight in an attempt to see what he wrote.

Woe then if an officer, while writing his own report, had made a grammatical or content error: Headquarters did not admit the slightest imperfection in the sacred document. Therefore, every time an officer noticed that he had made a mistake in drafting a report, he often had to tear it up and rewrite a new one from scratch, with great expenditure of paper, ink, patience and time.

Dammit! I cursed as I realized that once again I've misspelled. Ten more minutes of my life, down the drain!

As you can imagine, I was not very good at writing completely error-free text. In my previous life, before my encounter with the man who would later become Tanya and with… Being X, I grew up writing on computers with programs and applications that allowed me to go back and shift or fix in the event of an error. But now, I had to learn to live in a world where the technology as I knew it wasn't much, where computers would arrive long after my death (assuming they would appear at all) and where my mistakes could not be erased by simply pressing a button.

Until this moment I had been relatively lucky, since I had usually had Tanya, who unlike me never made mistakes (at least, on papers). But now? Now I could only count on myself.

I took a new sheet and started writing again. To avoid making mistakes caused by distractions or anything else, I tried to concentrate as much as possible on the sheet, trying to isolate myself from the world around me.

"Ah!" I suddenly said as another fit of pain arose from my aching eye.

Immediately, I put my hand on the black bandage that the doctor had handed me to cover it.

Yes, you heard that correctly. Remember when I was watching enemy spoilers before a Republican magician shot destroyed my supplied binoculars? Apparently, the impact caused by the bullet had injured my eye, which only by a miracle (or something else?) had not come to permanent harm. In the clash, and the subsequent frenzy to recover the wounded corporal Heider, I had not noticed. I had discovered it whilst trying to get away from Hana and Tragen, I had decided to visit our wounded and one of the doctors noticed my eye.

And here I was: with a bandaged eye that made me look like a pirate, under strict orders not to remove it for at least three days so as not to strain the eye too much.

It was rather annoying, but the doctor had told me that if I tried too hard, I would seriously risk losing it. I did not like the idea of playing pirate for the rest of my life. Especially since in my old life, I preferred the ninjas.

Fortunately, Tanya is not here to see me. I thought. If there were, she would not stop teasing me about my situation...

For a moment I tried to imagine where she could be along that boundless war front, and how she was doing. Had they entrusted her with a team, as they had with me? If this were the case, I could not help but feel pity for the soldiers who were now under her command.

Something like this would have surely distinguished my status of being an officer from Tanya: I tried to keep my soldiers on my side, to be "sub partes" and I tried to do everything in my power to take care of my public relations. To Tanya, however, it never really mattered what others thought of her.

There was only one thing for her: winning.

Suddenly, a hand slid in under the cloth of the tent, opening it enough for a soldier to enter and salute me.

"Second Lieteunant Frederick Konig?" he announced, a nameless face among the millions of commonplace infantry soldiers of the Empire.

"I'm busy writing reports, what's going on?" I asked, a little stiffened from my work being so rudely interrupted.

"I'm sorry to have to distract you sir, but I have an important message from First Lieutenant Schoenauer: he wants you to join him right away!"

An alarm bell rang in my mind. Why did Schoenauer want to see me so shortly after our previous meeting?

"Tell Schoenauer that I am currently busy writing the report to headquarters. I'll come once it is finished!"

I was hoping with the excuse of ending this endless work, I could gain some time to think over the reasons to this sudden meeting. Unfortunately, I was not so lucky.

"I'm sorry but I have to insist Second Lieutenant. Schoenauer said that this is not a simple request. It's an order!"

I gritted my teeth in anger as I realized I had no way out. I could not disobey the direct order of one of my superiors, at least not so soon after my most recent chewing out.

"Very well!" I said, getting up and putting the incomplete report in a safe place. "I'm coming"

The journey from my tent to Schoenauer's encampment was brief. Ten minutes on foot, less if you were running instead of walking. For me, that trip seemed almost endless.

For the whole duration of the journey, I kept wondering why Schoenauer wanted to see me now. Though I did not know his intentions, I knew it could not be good.

Had Schoenauer changed his mind and decided to punish me further? If that was the case, I had to be ready for anything: Schoenauer was not an exemplar of righteousness, but he was my superior nonetheless. A word from him, even a gesture and the simplest order had absolute power over me. He could give me a medal as well as a punishment, he could promote me as he could degrade me, and he could help my career the same degree as his ability to destroy it.

What further punishment could he give me? I thought nervously, Maybe he wants to give me a few hours of mess? Alternatively, does he want to lecture me in front of my soldiers? That would be quite humiliating...

I continued walking. As I proceeded along the camp, I saw many other soldiers greeting me when they realized that I was an officer.

Is it possible that he wants to degrade me? No, it is not possible: I disobeyed orders, that much is true, but I did it only to save the life of my subordinate. Furthermore, technically I have not done anything that goes against military regulation. He cannot degrade me for having performed an act of goodness!

Can he?

"Here we are, sir." said the soldier pointing to the tent in front of me. "First Lieutenant Schoenauer will meet you immediately!"

"Thank you." I said, trying to hide my fears. "By the way, soldier, I have a question."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I wanted to ask you: do you maybe happen to know the reason why First Lieutenant Schoenauer wants to meet me. Did something happen before he called for me?"

"Well, not much sir." he said. "I just know that he is not alone: apparently, someone very important came here to talk with him…"

Someone very important? I thought with puzzlement. Who it could be?

"Danke schön!" I responded.

The soldier smiled, before returning to his duties… and left me to my fate.

I looked at the tent. It was not intimidating, but for me at that moment, it looked like a lion's cave. I knew that once I got inside I would have no way out. Yet I couldn't refuse to enter.

I sighed and went forward.

As soon as I was inside, I noticed what was happening. Sitting on a folding wooden chair, First lieutenant Schoenauer was looking toward me, and next to him sat someone I did not recognized at first.

"Lieutenant, I am here!" I said, saluting. "Why did you wanted to see me?"

Schoenauer smiled. At the same time, the other man turned to face me.

That is when I recognized him.

"You're really growing aren't you, Frederick?"

"He-Herr Gegenbauer?"

Trunko · May 22, 2019

Chapter 28: Discussing the future before dying

"I believe the time for a private conversation between two people has come." said Mr. Gegenbauer, looking at his watch. "First Lieutenant Schoenauer, would you be kind enough to leave me and your young non-commissioned officer alone?"

"N-no problem" Schoenauer responded, standing up and looking at Mr. Gegenbauer the same way I would usually do with him. "I'll go for a walk."

"Sir, you…"

"Do not worry, second Lieutenant" Schoenauer responded passing next to me. "Mr. Gegenbauer here will be able to give you all the necessary explanations."

"But, sir: I do not want to talk with him!" I said, trying to keep the tone of my voice low.

"Afraid you have no choice in this, soldier: Mr. Gegenbauer is a very influential man, as I was able to discover personally, and has many highly placed friends. I have personal orders to leave you alone with him for a period not less than an hour, so that you and he can discuss your ... personal affairs."…

"But I have no personal affairs to discuss, neither with you nor with him! Moreover, I still have a combat report to finish writing!"

"Second Lieutenant Frederick Konig, like I've already said, I do not believe you have a choice in the matter. Stay here with Mr. Gegenbauer and answer all his questions. Your report can wait."

"Is this an order?" I asked, still half-shocked about this.

He looked at me for a tense moment. "Yes, it is" Then, he went outside of the tent, leaving me alone.

Or better, alone with someone I did not want to share a tent with, even for a few minutes.

I suppressed a growl of frustration as I tried to look as impassive as possible. I sincerely hope that Being X isn't involved in this.

"So, Frederick, what's with this coldness?" said Mr. Gegenbauer looking at me "Come on, get here to hug your grandfather!"

I gazed at him with a look of pure hatred. Was this the way he saw his (possible) relatives? Like toys that could you put aside and ignore when you did not want to play with them?

Still, I did not know what he was fully capable of. From what I had seen in the few minutes of this encounter, he had enough personal power (prestige? wealth? or both?) to have front-line access, a place where civilians are all but verboten. Moreover, he had enough influence over the high generals to be able to give orders to Schoenauer, treating him almost to the same world in which Tanya or I would have treated a poor foot soldier.

It was clear that the only reason he had not used this power on me was that he saw me with as sympathetic. However, what would have happened if I had made him angry?

I approached him, stopping right behind the chair from which Schoenauer had rested shortly before. At a safe distance.

"Well?" he said, looking at me with an amused look. "Are you going to remain standing? Sit down as well." he pointed to Schoenauer's empty chair.

"That is First Lieutenant Schoenauer chair. I cannot use it. Were I to do that, it would be a serious violation of official duties, and although it is not a sufficient crime for court martial, I could receive severe punishment."

The old man smiled. "Always smart as a fox... and stubborn as a mule. Ever unable to break the rules, even when the opportunity presents itself. You remind me of myself."

"What do you want?" I half asked, half demanded while looking him directly in the eyes. "The last time I saw you, you disappeared. I thought you decided to leave forever. What brings you back to my tracks?"

"I've never lost sight of you," he said with a malicious grin. "Since the day we met in that hospital, I always kept an eye on you. It was not difficult, but it was expensive to keep track of all your travels. But it was worth it!"

"You kept an eye out for me?" I blurted out, quite puzzled. "So why haven't you decided to let yourself be seen until today?"

"Life is a terminal disease, you know it?" he responded. "A terrible disease, full of so many things that contribute to sending you to the asylum or the cemetery. I am no exception."

"You are dying?"

"Everybody dies, child. I have no illness in my body but my old age, but I have three terrible external evils, which hurt me more than any ailment."

Three external evils? What he is talking about? I wondered. Personally, I saw nothing bad in the fact that he suffered. In fact, in a morbid fashion, it made me happy to see him suffer. But the fact that I had no information about who or what was causing him pain left me disoriented.

"Look outside!" he continued. "There are thousands upon thousands of men out here, you know? And each of them, in their own way, believes that wealth is living in luxury without fixed thoughts or work concerns, enjoying the beauties of life. But this is not true. Sadly, we often find out the truth when it's too late to fix it. Do you know what my father used to call me when I was your age?" he looked at me.

With a slow movement of the head I made a sign of no.

"Believe it or not, he called me ballast. He believed that I would never do anything good in my life. In a sense, he was right. I am almost eighty now, at the end of my time and yet I do not have anyone to share my last moments with. That is how the lives of rich men go. We spend the best years of our lives putting together, often through dishonest means, the largest possible amount of money or, if we are already born rich, we try to accumulate more. We live a highly competitive life, trying in every way to outclass our rivals by dints of checks and property. And then, when we finally collect a patrimony large enough to satisfy our ego, and we would like to enjoy it, here comes a doctor who says «If you don't want to die within three months: no alcohol, no parties, no women, no trips, no fatty foods and bedtime at eight o'clock!» And the money? Almost always ends up in luxurious clothes and residences if we have a wife, or in the jaws of our relatives, who do not hesitate to slaughter each other on the division of heritage even before we are dead. Finally, we remain alone, abandoned by everything and everyone, left to die like dogs too old to hunt."

He breathed sigh, looking at me once more, perhaps in search of compassion or empathy. However, he found none.

"In a sense, I was lucky. My wife was a gold digger, but she remained with me only four years before she fell ill and died. She gave me a son, whom I loved with all my heart, but whom I do not think he ever paid me back. Well, he and I will have plenty of time to discuss this when we are both on the other side..."

"I'm sorry." I said, suddenly stopping him. "So far I have only heard a desperate cry from an old man in search of affection. I thought you had something important to tell me!"

Mr. Gegenbauer smiled again, this time with a more evil bent. In a sense, it reminded me of Tanya's demonic smile.

"Do you know you were in trouble, son? Big trouble. Apparently, First Lieutenant Schoenauer was going to write a letter to the local headquarter, requesting the judgment of a court martial on your... conduct."

I suddenly froze, realizing the meaning of those words. Was he telling the truth?

"What?"

"Yes. Lucky for you, this is something you do not have to worry about anymore. I had a pleasant conversation with Colonel Kruger, before coming here, and we reached a... profitable agreement, for both sides. Although I cannot reveal all the details to you, I can tell you that one of the points of the agreement was the cessation of any form of legal persecution to your detriment, at least for those of the lowest level."

Eh? I thought with a string of amazement. I did not need to analyze the words to understand what Mr. Gegenbauer had just told me: he had just extended his (small) political protection to me. This means that, until I had made a sufficiently large mistake (such as selling information to the enemy, or openly rebelling against a superior officer), Schoenauer could not have reported me to the Court Martial.

I had connections. I was politically ... untouchable!

"You… you helped me?" I said, still uneasy about hearing that. "But, why?"

"The reason?" he said. "Because you are an investment, my boy. You are like a sum that I put in the bank, and I grow up grow and grow and grow, until the day I need to collect you."

I grimaced. I did not like the turn this discussion was taking. And being compared to a bank account was definitely not the best way to put me at ease.

"Are you trying to make me understand that the favors you are doing to me will have to be repaid with interest in the future?"

He smiled. "Oh no. Absolutely not. What I have done for you so far, as well as everything I will do in the future, are nothing more, or less, than my tricks to make sure you can get ready and prepared to fulfill your purpose."

"My…purpose?" I asked, a little angrier than before. "Are you trying to blackmail me?"

"What?" he responded, his face full of shock. "Oh no. I am not going to blackmail you. Nor I have intention to hurt or coerce you anyhow. You yourself will perform your duty, when the time comes. You will not have to do anything. Only your existence allows me to have another piece on my board, with which I can overturn the game."

I was starting to get tired of his cryptic and enigmatic tone; the words told me nothing about what this old man's intentions had for me. I therefore decided to take a more direct approach.

"Let's put the cards on the table, old man." I said, looking at him anger and frustration. "You said you have been watching me since the day we first met in that field hospital. You admitted that this cost you a lot, and yet you have not hesitated to spend. You have come here, to the front line, a place where no civilian, let alone an old and sick man like you, would be allowed to go. You put pressure on my superiors, something that is certainly not cheap either in terms of money or personal favors, just to see me, and you have done others to get me out of trouble with the Military Court. You can also be the richest and most influential man in the empire, but if you've decided to spend so much just to see me, to keep an eye on me and whatever, it's clear that you wouldn't have done it if what I can give you is not something you want so much more. So why don't you tell me directly what you want, and leave me alone?"

The old Mr. Gegenbauer kept looking at me for a second, with a face completely devoid of emotion. Then, he started once again to grin.

"Bossy, direct, aggressive and threatening. Used to taking what he needs, and indifferent to what others may think of him. A man who is interested in one thing and one thing only. To win."

He tried to get up, at first with great effort, before succeeding.

"You are exactly what I need for my most ambitious plan. But forget your most classic fears. I want neither money nor power from you. I already have too much money, and it is precisely because of that that I am in this situation. And power is something that will have no value for me when I am on the other side. What I want from you, my young officer is nothing less than what man always desires, above all things, every time he is wronged…"

"Justice?" I asked.

"No." He responded, his words cold as ice. "Revenge."

My eyes opened wide, as the word "revenge" reached my brain. I looked at Mr. Gegenbauer, who was looking at me with cruel glee. I could understand, both from his words and from his expression that he was looking forward to the moment when I could help him get the revenge he wanted so much in his heart. But against whom?

Who was his enemy? Against whom would he unleash his revenge, of which I would have been a part?

"Who?" I asked, without even realizing I said that.

"Not now, little prince." Mr. Gegenbauer said. "It's too early now. The only thing you need to focus on right now is your military career, your relationships with your classmates and your command. I will contact you when the time comes…"

"But then, why are you here already?" I asked. "Why did you decide to go so far, in the middle of Hell on Earth, if your plan can't be put into practice yet?"

"Because I wanted to see you again, child. I wanted to be sure that you were alright. But mostly, I wanted to tell you something about yourself."

"About me?" I almost laughed. "What else, apart from informing me that I'm supposed to be the bullet of the gun that is to be your so-called revenge, that you just saved me from the risk of ending up in Court Martial and that being rich is a bad thing that makes you die miserably, according to your words?"

"Just a small recommendation that you can treasure or forget, I don't care what you do with it. I personally hope you welcome it, because what I am about to tell you will be a very important lesson that I learned at the cost of bitter tears and great sacrifice…"

"What is it?" I said, looking at him with an interrogative look.

"Never let others decide for yourself." Mr. Gegenbauer said, letting of his voice like an old engine that barely works. "Never let yourself be conditioned or influenced by what others think. You can listen to the opinions of others, but when it comes to decisions, the final choice belongs to you! Not to someone else! Because every man, since the Earth existed, has always thought of only one advantage: his own. Do not believe the words of those who tell you that the well-being of one is the well-being of all, that all men share a common interest. It is all a lie. Many believe it, but it is all a lie. No man, in the depths of his heart, has ever cared for anyone's interests but his own. Many people consider themselves enlightened, they believe they place the interests of others before their own, but when they are forced to choose, selfishness and greed emerge in all their ferocity. And above all, never let other people take credit for something you did."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, dumb folded. "I already know the importance of not letting someone steal your achievements…"

"No. You don't." he said, suddenly angered. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have tied yourself, like a mussel on the rock; to the one you call Tanya…"

I gulped. "You know Tanya?"

He smiled again. "Young man, I know about her. Of how she managed to transform you into a second in command with honeyed words, coldness and manipulation…"

What? "What?"

"Yes. Believe it or not, I know perfectly well where she is, now, on this boundless front. I know who her subordinates are and how she treats them. And I know that if you don't learn to get smart, you'll never be more than her lackey."

I stood still for a second. Was it true? Since the beginning, Tanya has manipulated me into being her Dragon or something like that? Was she really trying to turn me into her willing minion?

"Remember my words and try to grow up, boy. It's harsh, but it also may be the difference between life, and death…"

I kept looking at him for a few seconds while he moved toward the tent's exit, to go outside. I knew that, after tonight, I would not see him for a long time.

"One moment!"

He stopped. "Yes, what is it?"

"I want to make a deal with you. I'll remember your words and will try to fulfill them, but in exchange I want a favor…"

Trunko · May 29, 2019

Chapter 29: War and Rain

It was a dark and stormy day. The rain fell in torrents, and lighting continued to flash over no man's land and the trenches, like the manifestation of the vindictive will of an angry god. Though I had not yet ruled out the intervention of Being X, the fact that lightning had not yet struck my tent or the surrounding land was a clue for me that, unless he had decided to punish every other soldier on the Rhine front too, this tempest was all natural.

Not that this made it any better, of course.

The rain came with such force that it transformed the occasional stream of sewage and dirty water into concrete streams that flooded the trenches, almost turning them into channels.

I had already done a patrol tour using an inspection as an excuse and everywhere I went I saw the same thing: shivering soldiers exposed to frost, mud and dirt, unable to warm themselves up or find shelter (due to the aforementioned rain), forced to protected themselves by means of cloaks and blankets which, for all their thickness, could not do much against the fury of the elements.

The perfect targets for certain terrible diseases of the trenches, Trench foot in particular, which was caused exactly by prolonged exposure of soldiers' feet to damp, cold and unsanitary conditions. I knew that all those who would meet such a fate would subsequently suffer a worse one at the hands of a military surgeon.

True to my strategy to conquer the hearts and minds of soldiers by means of kindness and favor, and eager to show off to Strategic Headquarters, I made the decision to enact the necessary countermeasures.

First, I had decided to summon all the sergeants under my command, and informed them of the severity of this disease. I gave them the order to spread the word among the other soldiers, so that the latter could pay attention to the risks that cold, rain and dirt were exposing them.

Subsequently, I took "advantage" of my rank as an officer and what temporary political clout I had, courtesy of Mr. Gegenbauer, to order our local team of engineers to construct a small pump, operated by hand, which would allow the soldiers to empty their trench of rainwater. Finding the material needed to build the pump was quite difficult but after five days of hard work it was ready and was immediately put to work. Operating the pump by hand was a long and tiring job that left the unfortunate user with numerous calluses on their hands, but after some initial grumbling, the soldiers began to accept and subsequently appreciate my idea.

Finally, to warn our chain of command of the dangers caused by the difficult weather conditions, I decided to write a special report, in which I elaborated (in great detail) the terrible living conditions soldiers faced and how it could result in the outbreak of an epidemic , consequently leading to a collapse of our military might.

This was the tone to use: if I had illustrated the question from a solely sentimental point of view, complaining of the difficulties that the soldiers were forced to endure, in the best of cases I would have caught a lecture on how "an officer should not mix with the foot-soldiers". However, if I illustrated my concerns from a technical point of view, explaining how an epidemic crisis could be disastrous for the wellbeing of the Army, the generals in command would be much more receptive.

I was just writing the report when suddenly, a figure rushed into my tent, apparently seeking refuge from the flood that was taking place outside.

"Who are you?" I said, looking up from my work.

The soldier saluted, before taking off the helmet, revealing herself as Hana.

"Hana. What's happening?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir." she said, taking off the dripping blanket off her shoulders. "But I carry an urgent order meant for you personally."

"Oh. Is Schoenauer asking us to go out on patrol again? I thought that, with this climate, all operations for us wizards had been suspended…"

She nodded. "I believed that too, sir." before handing me a roll of paper she had protected from the rain by hiding it inside her jacket. "But apparently, the Republic is too greedy for our resources to be deterred by bad weather!"

I gave her a warm smile, while I put away my half-written report in a safe place. I did not want to risk the water damaging the writing in any way before it was ready. I then reached out and took the message, breaking the military seal.

"Sergeant?" I said turning toward Hana.

"Yes sir?" she responded.

"Please indulge my curiosity: how is the situation with others? Especially with this rain."

"Sir, the situation is… not very good, to put it mildly. The rain continues to cause damage and is putting a strain on the strength of the soldiers, physical and mental…"

"I see. Have any of them requested a medical examination?"

"No, sir. We are all in the grip of frost and rain but fortunately, there have been no reports of illness or injury so far. However, let me say this, if the climate does not change as soon, we could risk losses from exposure."

"So you believe the instructions that I gave you and the others the day before yesterday were useful?"

She smirked. "Yes, sir."

I held a little laugh, before finally at the orders. Within seconds, the laughter died on my lips, replaced by horror.

"Sir? Sir?" asked Hana coming nearer to me. "Is something wrong?"

Yes, it is, the thought slipped into my mind as I looked away from the orders.

For a few seconds, I was completely silent, trying to think what I could do. My first impulse was to tear up the order and pretend that I had never received it. However, had I done so and the lost order had then been found, I would have gone straight to court martial for "omission of official duties". The fastest and most direct route to the firing squad.

I had no choice. I already knew what to do, but that didn't make the reality of it any easier to swallow.

"Sergeant!" I said, straightening myself up. "I need to get away for an unspecified period of time. Take the lead in my absence!"

"Yessir!"

As soon as I left my tent, a violent breeze of rain and bitingly cold air hit me. Whether that was the case, a simple coincidence or the umpteenth "punishment" of Being X to my detriment, I did not care.

What mattered to me was the fact that Command had decided, without warning, to launch a heavy offensive against the Republican army, without even waiting for the end of the violent weather.

I went on. As I passed through the tents and the temporary housing of the soldiers, I could not help thinking about how the idea to attack in such a period was... moronic.

Our army was in no state to defend itself. The rain had practically eliminated the combat and emotional capacity of our forces, to the point that several occurrences of desertion or attempts at such had already occurred. Some of the divisions in better fighting condition were reduced to 50% of their operational efficiency due to illnesses and deaths caused by bad weather, and managed to hold the position only because the Republicans had also been so weakened by the climate that they had to stop any offensive action.

And now, some general in search of glory and medals to be stuck on his chest wanted us to attack, without even waiting for the weather to clear? Malarkey! Absolute madness!

Attacking in similar weather conditions was a mistake that could cost us dearly. The Republican Army could limit itself to defending its positions while our soldiers are being massacred by machine gun fire, then move on to an offensive once ours was exhausted and the weather improved.

This could cost the Imperial Army a lot.

The only hope I saw was to point out the difficulties of such an undertaking and hope that common sense prevailed. True, I was only a second lieutenant, but if I explained my reasons convincingly, I could prevent what could very well be the greatest massacre of soldiers in history.

I passed by a group of soldiers. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that none of them had saluted me. Under normal conditions, I wouldn't have given it too much weight. At most I would have made a report on the issue to their officer. This time, however, an alarm bell rang in my brain.

When soldiers begin not to greet the senior officers any more, or if they do, they do so with obvious suffering and unwillingly, it could only mean one thing and one thing only.

Suffering and harsh discipline were at this point wearing down the confidence of the soldiers in their superiors to portend a possible revolt, or even a real mutiny against the officers. The thing I feared most.

Even in my world, during the First World War (The war to end all wars, I thought ironically), there had been mutinies of soldiers, platoons or entire divisions.

The most famous case that came to mind occurred in 1917 in France, when nearly half of the army rebelled against their officers, demanding an end to the senseless fighting. There, the officers had had come off relatively lucky, since even the most riotous soldiers had declared themselves willing to defend the front against the enemy, without attacking. If the soldiers had truly mutinied and started a revolt, or even opened the doors to the advance of the German army, the war could have ended differently.

It almost did in Italy. After the disastrous battle of Caporetto, where the Austrian army, assisted by the Germans, managed to break through the Italian defensive line. A terrible mix of frequent punishments, draconian discipline, sadistic officers, reduced rations, terrible fighting conditions and general suffering had caused the entire army to flee, leaving the entire territory beyond the Piave River to the enemy. A disaster that had almost cost the victory to the peninsula.

And now here I was, observing in another world the same seeds take root.

Mentally, I wondered what I could do to avoid this. Could I do something to prevent the impending revolt?

However, the more I thought about it the more I realized that my hand were tied. I was an officer, true, but I possessed a relatively low rank and my authority did not go beyond my command tent. The high army officers were mostly extremist conservatives, who rarely considered any innovation or change. It made little difference to them that we now lived in an age of trains and planes, cannons and machine guns, barbed wire and mortars. They had grown up studying the military campaigns of Napoleon, Frederick the Great or Hannibal, which had been brilliant but were conceived long before gunpowder and rifles.

Attacking a barrier of barbed wire protected by machine gun nests, snipers and minefields while marching in rows, as was the custom at the time of the "sporting" wars between the rulers of old Europe, was a concept that had been dead and buried for centuries in my original world. No one would have done it, unless he was the bravest man in the world ... or the most idiotic.

Here, on the other hand, it happened often. In the first weeks of conflict, which in a certain sense still existed today, this or that officer ordered an attack charged against an enemy trench.

Moreover, despite this, despite the fact that these tactics did nothing but throw away precious lives and destroy the army's reserve manpower, the authority of the men responsible was not taken away or even curtailed. You see, the military hierarchy was like an anthill. The ants higher up defended the lower ones. The system cannot be reformed unless it was assailed by one that possessed the kind of power the Emperor had. I did not have that.

I was an insect going up against an elephant. I had no chance of winning. It was clear then how I could do nothing but pray that nothing bad happened.

I had stopped praying for a long time.

As soon as I reached the tent I was heading for, I immediately realized that something important was happening. The cloth that covered the entrance of the tent was in half-open, and from within seeped a warm and luminous atmosphere, mixed with vigorous shouting. I had no way to know how many people were in there at that moment, but I recognized that the tent was hosting more occupants than usual.

I came closer. As soon as they saw me, the two guards at the entrance to the held up their rifles, aiming at me.

"Halt!" one of the two shouted, coming nearer to me. "Identify yourself!"

"I'm Second Lieutenant Frederick König. I'm here to see First Lieutenant Schoenauer!"

The guard stepped forward.

"Sir!" he said saluting me. "I am sorry to inform you about this, but there is a private meeting in progress right now. First Lieutenant Schoenauer has asked us to let nobody pass until the meeting is over."

"It is a very important matter!" I said, slamming my left boot into the muddy ground. "I need to talk to him immediately!"

"I'm sorry sir, but I believe there is no way for…"

"Lieutenant König!" came a familiar voice, its owner emerging from the tent.

I immediately saluted. "First Lieutenant Schoenauer!"

"What brings you to my tent, Second Lieutenant? Any problems in your unit? Did the Republicans attack?"

"No, sir, at least, not yet. However, I received word of a matter I wanted to bring to your attention immediately."

Schoenauer looked at me for a moment before smiling. "Well, what a coincidence! I was just about to come to you to personally discuss the orders I sent you, but your presence here has just saved me the trouble of walking in the rain. Soldiers!" he barked, looking at the two guards. "Let him get inside!"

The men resumed their post and I followed Schoenauer inside.

As soon as I entered the tent, I got to see the other officers inside. I didn't recognize their faces, but I could recognize their ranks. First and Second Lieutenants, even captains, majors and colonels. In a sense, I was unnerved by such a concentration of senior officers. It was like being a sardine in a tank full of sharks.

I proceeded. It was then, that the other officers noticed me.

The most general reaction I saw in their eyes was astonishment. I believe that I too would have felt astonished in their place, if I had seen a child in uniform and with one of the most prestigious medals of the Empire on his chest.

"Who would you be?" asked a short man with brown hair graying and the ranks of captain, looking right through me.

"Second Lieutenant Frederick König." I immediately saluted him. "I came here to speak with First Lieutenant Schoenauer but I did not expect such a meeting to take place."

I saw his eyes narrowing at me. What was he thinking, I did not know. I just knew that it probably was nothing good.

"Captain Keer." said another man, speaking from behind me. "Leave the young man be. He is in his rights to be here, considering what is at stake."

I turned around, and I was quite shocked to see an old man in a dark black uniform. And the rank of a General.

"Sir!" I saluted him. "I apologise for the intrusion. I did not mean to…"

"At ease, officer." the man said, looking at me with a benevolent smile. "You have every right to be here."

"Every right to be here?" I asked, dumb folded. "B-but… is this not a reserved meeting between high officers?"

"It is." the general said. "But since the subject of this meeting pertains to you personally, it is all well and good that you are also present. Also, you have been vouched for…"

"Vouched for? By who?"

"Me!" said a voice that, while I have not heard in a long time, I had no problem recognizing. "Frederick, I'm kind of surprised you survived until now without me."

I rotated slightly, trying to do my best to suppress my anger.

"Tanya. What a… pleasure."

Mein Krieg (Youjo Senki/Tanya the Evil OC)

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