You choose to attach yourself to Mueller's battalion and find yourself and Jaimes riding on top of a heavy tank lumbering across the Merovian countryside. Around you are other tanks and their infantry support, some of whom are also hitching a ride or moving on foot. Your bodyguard are in your general vicinity but don't seem too vigilant given your location. Every now and again an adjutant brings you a dispatch from the other battalions. Good thing this flat terrain is not good for snipers. Not that it would matter since your other battalions are either directly in front or flanking you. A brigade can cover quite a few square miles of ground.
Mueller hasn't spoken to you much apart from acknowledging orders. He doesn't seem very pleased that you're holding his armour back. Though he doesn't say anything out loud you get the impression that he would prefer to be at the forefront racing across the country at the true speed of his machines. His bad luck to be assigned to a heavy foot brigade you suppose. It was probably made worse by the fact his battalion had yet to see any combat. The last day has been fairly monotonous despite being in enemy territory.
The light infantry battalions lead the advance, fanning out to cover more ground. Resistance is well… very light, surprisingly so. Your troops pass by recently abandoned border outposts, and are unopposed as they move into the hinterland. No sign of the enemy forces. The only people encountered were some civilian farmers who said most of their army had abandoned the border region weeks ago. With small groups of observation troops having recently left a few days ago. It doesn't take to long to encounter them.
Several hours in you receive reports that there have been a few skirmishes between your forward troops and isolated elements of the enemy but contact is quickly lost. Neither side took any casualties. Probably a rearguard scouting force keeping an eye out for you. Perhaps if you had done what Mueller wanted the enemy would have been caught and wiped out, but small fry don't matter to you. This situation requires a steady, firm approach.
A few desultory patches of mines try to impede your way. But they are little more than a few rows of the cursed things every several miles at the most predictable places, like roads. Its obvious they were hastily placed. Most of the minor effect they would have had goes away when the local peasants point out the locations to your forces. It seems they did not like appreciate being inconvenienced. The situation is nearly always the same for little people like them, no matter the government in charge.
Still no more signs of the enemy armed forces. No one expects the Merovians to last long against the imperial army. They themselves concur given that a government-in-exile has already been set up in Angouleme before the invasion even started. But there should be more resistance than this. Perhaps their commander did the smart thing and pulled their forces back so as to not be destroyed piecemeal? Though that would probably mean you won't be running into the other side any time soon. That should theoretically make things quicker for you but you want to be careful. Despite Hall saying speed was of the essence you aren't going to trade lives to make things a little quicker, a few days mean nothing on the strategic scale.
You just hope the federation forces don't have a secret Valkyrian relic waiting around to erase you from existence. Both sides have been stockpiling whatever they can find from archeological digs or old collections. You don't know what to do in that scenario, apart from being helplessly slaughtered.
Around midday on the second day your forces encounter a small town. Exactly as the maps describe you don't bother remembering the name, it is home to several thousand people. You order Surena's battalion to secure it since they are the closest of the heavy infantry. An hour later an adjutant delivers a message from the cunning major. Apparently there is an incident going on in the town centre that in her honeyed words would help if you were present, though it could be ignored if there was nothing too important holding your attention. Given that you had nothing vital requiring your time and a bit curious you decide to check it out with a couple of platoons of Mueller's soldiers.
Your convoy approaches the town. Local farmers work on the fields surrounding the road, giving your troops nervous looks every now and again. A natural reaction.
The town is nothing remarkable. Just a border holding without much significance. Probably why no one thought it was worth defending. The townspeople seem mostly ambivalent which was probably why they didn't resist. Not a shot was fired when your forces entered the town, probably a happy surprise that wouldn't last for future urban engagements. Every now and then you see a squad of Surena's troops patrolling street corners.
Speaking of the duplicitous woman you find her in the town square with half a company surrounding the town hall. A crowd of curious onlookers watch the scene. You wonder what could attract a group of civilians a like this and not drive them away.
The major sees your approach and breaks off from a small group of officers to meet you. She bids an old local follow her before turning to you. For a moment she looks at you with trepidation before schooling her features to practiced neutrality. Showing some weakness to get you to sympathise? You've seen a teenager pull it off better.
"What is it that was so important it needs my personal attention?" you preempt whatever justification she's coming up with and cut to the point.
"The mayor and handful of town elders have locked the doors to the town hall and barricaded themselves inside" she replies businesslike.
"And this honestly needed my attention?" you ask a little incredulous.
"Its the nature of what they want," she replies uncomfortable.
"What do they want?" you ask bewildered at why that matters. By all measures she's secured the whole town and you didn't hear any fighting coming here so perhaps she's not totally incompetent.
"Ah… um… someone important to accept their surrender," she delivers another contrite reply.
"You brought me here to deal with this?" you flatly ask.
"You are the highest ranking officer nearby" she looks sheepish, "though it may not be important enough".
You sigh hold a hand to you forehead, "How important?"
"You might want to read the note yourself", she replies embarrassed, handing you a piece of brown paper.
You look it over, "They want a general… or barring that a prince… but if that's on too short a notice then a duke will do… is… is this some sort of joke major?" You ask after reading these ridiculous demands. You're a little dubious of her claims.
"Its… true", Surena replies with a bemused look. "They don't want to surrender to one as... lowly as me", there is a great deal of frustration in her voice along with another emotions. For some reason this makes you slightly happy on the inside. It seems even provincial commoners share your opinion of the woman. Still, no need to colour interactions by not being professional.
"Didn't you think of pretending to be someone more important before talking?" you critically ask.
"I didn't expect some backwater yokels to recognise or care about ranks of nobility. This is probably just one last act of defiance," she replies sounding thoughtful.
"How about having one of your officers pretend and accept?" you ask in a somewhat patronising tone.
"I did, this was the reply", Surena hands you a second note and starts talking quickly, "but don't read it-".
"Fuck You", you say a little too loudly.
"-out loud…"
Some of the onlookers as well as a few soldiers laugh. Did she deliberately do that to undermine you? Probably not.
"Most likely saw everyone deferring to me earlier," Surena explains.
"Weaponry?" you ask.
The civilian speaks up, "A few of pistols sir".
"And a wine cellar which may be used as Solhenitsyn cocktails", Surena adds.
"They're probably drinking their brains out, ladyship," he pauses in thought, "Looked a bit tipsy too".
"Who are you?" you wonder why an enemy civilian would be with the major.
"He is one of the town councilors that didn't go through with this foolish idea. He has been acting as an intermediary" she explains.
"Are there any actual soldiers or police inside with them?" you calmly ask the older man. No need to be disrespectful.
"No your grace, the last of the police garrison left weeks ago and an army patrol checked up on us a few days ago".
"Then why keep playing this stupid game and teach the idiots a lesson?" you ask Surena, surely she's not that squeamish.
"They're just a bunch of crotchety old men. They haven't fired at anyone yet, I'd like to avoid it if possible" the major says anxiously. So she wants this to end without a fight.
"Her highness is right, everyone inside is over fifty and haven't fired a shot in anger since the days of the old duke. A fight is extremely unlikely," the councilor says.
Surena looks bemused and you both share a meaningful look, the old man's jumbling of terms of address was quite amusing.
Silly burghers delivering these dumb demands. You're going to punch whoever thought this was a good idea.
"Whats the possibility of it being a trap?"
The opinions of both are immediately obvious, "Your majesty-"
"Alright I get it", you interrupt the councilor.
What game is Surena playing? Is she trying to make you look bad? Or just put you in a potentially dangerous situation.
"Whats your opinion major?" you ask.
"Just accept their surrender colonel, a fight will be one sided and probably create martyrs and a legend", she leaves it unsaid that violence could make the population hostile, probably making management difficult. Though its not like that's your problem.
You begin laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
[] "Would a colonel do?" - accept their surrender personally.
[] Wait them out - lack of food and water should make the seniors come out… if passing out doesn't do them in first.
[] Storm the town hall guns blazing - Not like there will be much resistance.
[] Just shell the building with the tanks - Be completely on the safe side.
[] Write-in
OOC: So I lost a day or two to RL. The first person who guesses correctly where I got inspiration for the scene will get a double vote.
