Pro Patria (Valkyria Chronicles)

[X] Attempt to break them up. You can handle them.

I hope this means popping up out of nowhere and smacking the shit out of them before they have a chance to fight back, then announcing how fighting is not allowed among our troops. I really don't want to show up and try to make some speech, then be ignored.
 
[X] Walk around and avoid them.

We can rant and discipline them later. Besides, it might just be a gold old brawl, nothing to go after, yet.
 
Vote Count
[X] Attempt to break them up. You can handle them. - 4 votes
[X] Walk around and avoid them. - 1 vote

Would like some more votes soon. I feel up for writing a 2nd update today.
 
[X] Attempt to break them up. You can handle them

Well, this is either going to end terribly or somewhat salvageable if Valkyria Chronicles has taught me anything. Pray that it turns out better than salvageable.
 
1.5
[X] Attempt to break them up. You can handle them

It takes a split second watching the brawl before you make up your mind.

Its time to do something brave. Of course some people would say bravery and foolhardiness are two sides of the same coin. But those people are stupid stepsisters pretentiously named after ancient Valkyrur or pretty stones, who know nothing about the world and are useless to boot. Its not like the result could be any different considering who their mother is. You're pretty sure its that new fangled natural selection theory at work, the name certainly sounds appropriate enough.

Thats enough reminiscing about those inferior people calling themselves your younger siblings. Back to the matter at hand. Your right hand unholsters your service pistol and points it at the air.

You could step onto a crate for a better view and present a more imposing stature but you're not some republican demagogue looking to incite a mob. You don't need psychological tricks to assert your authority. You have better, more refined methods.

You pull the trigger. The gunshot rings out through the entire area. It takes a moment for the sound to register, fighting subsides, heads turn in your direction. Eyes widen as people recognise your uniform, whispers quickly form as the front ranks relay what they see to people behind them, phrases like 'its the new colonel' or 'oh fuck'. The soldiers look sheepish and they don't appear inebriated, so your chances are looking good. After examining the faces in front of you, you recognise the two main ethnicities among the crowd; Franks and Goths. You can vaguely guess the sides, if not the exact cause. You know what tone and angle to take.

"What is the meaning of this?" you loudly ask while turning your withering glare from one man to another. "Are you soldiers of the Alliance or a group of drunk farmers?" You use the old fashioned name of the empire still used in official documents to stir some fraternity.

"But they started it" says an unknown voice in the crowd.

"I don't care who started it", you can't let recriminations drown everything out, "what I care about are the results, and fighting each other when we are just days from marching into battle is utterly stupid. How many men will we lose to injuries from this fight? Men who would have stood beside you in the coming days. I am disappointed in you."

This tidbit draws guilty looks. They didn't know how close a breakthrough was. Bored soldiers are a recipe for trouble after all and two weeks of waiting is quite tedious.

"Where are your captains and majors?" You demand, the fact that there were no superior officers around to head this off is a surprising oversight.

Heads turn, the crowd parts to reveal a pair of men. A giant of a man is holding a smaller man in a headlock. At the sight of you the pair sheepishly separate. Both are wearing major's uniforms.

Oh for crying out loud, you close your eyes and take a deep breath. Weren't officers supposed to keep disagreements to words? "You two, meet me in my command post, I'll deal with you later", you sternly command before turning back to the crowd.

You've dealt with crowds of commoners before. Its important to remember that they are human and have human desires to be appealed to or denounced. Most important is to keep it simple, so that even daft minds can understand you. You talk some more, reminding them of duty and berating their failings before talking up future successes. You hand out punishments ranging from extra sentry duty to menial labour. The crowd soon disperses.

As you walk to where your command post is, you can't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. With this undoubtedly gallant act you have something to brag about in your letters to your mistress back at the capital. How you heroically stopped a brutal brawl (caused by enemy agents of course) and defused a tense standoff among the troops.

However, now you're at a bit of loss at what to do. Do you call a meeting of the other majors to find out who they are? They should know about the tensions around the camp. Talk to the fighting majors personally? Individually or together. Or just hold it off and find out what you can from official documents? The last option has pros and cons; knowing someones name before you meet them and what they do can be handy but personal face-to-face introductions are also useful.

Pick One.
[] Call the other majors to a meeting.
[] Learn more about your brigade's order of battle, who commands what, what states they were levied from etc.
[] Find out more about the majors under your command (only two out of six currently known):
- [] Aloysius Raeder
- [] Francis Giraud
- [] Both at once
 
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[X] Learn more about your brigade's order of battle, who commands what, what states they were levied from etc.
 
[X] Learn more about your brigade's order of battle, who commands what, what states they were levied from etc.

Facts are far better than opinions. Plus, it might help us avoid unnecessary events in the future.
 
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[X] Find out more about the majors under your command (only two out of six currently known):
- [X] Both at once
 
[X] Learn more about your brigade's order of battle, who commands what, what states they were levied from etc.
 
[X] Learn more about your brigade's order of battle, who commands what, what states they were levied from etc.
 
Wow, @Night_stalker and @Eurocorp you guys read really fast. Its a little dismaying since it takes me 2-4 hours to make each update and you guys vote in 1-2 minutes... Do you skim read it or something? Or have it on alerts? I don't mind speed reading, though all I'll say is that a lot of the stuff that appears superfluous now could turn out relevant or foreshadow things later...

Could I get some feedback on the quest so far? Should I keep things the way they are?

How is the narration, is it okay or should I tone it down? I figured presenting an alien mindset would add to the charm. Disclaimer: Please remember that I do not share the views of the main character. Rudolf is a textbook example of unreliable narrator, some of the assumptions he makes due to his upbringing can be incorrect due to a variety of reasons. Sometimes in situations he gets the correct clues but can make the wrong conclusion in the narration. He also misreads a lot of hints, though they are still there.

How well am I replicating his thought processes? The narration is what Rudolf is thinking from a 2nd person view, that is why the narration sometimes wonders off on tangents about imperial fluff or his personal life.

I'm having a lot of fun getting in character and making fluff to flesh out the Valkyria Chronicles world from the Imperial-centric view but do people like it? I don't want to make stuff that bores people. Is it okay and should I keep things the way they are?

Rudolf is not a nice person at the moment, but your decisions will change his views for better or worse. A lot of his views have good (to him) reasons though he is deeply flawed. You would have gotten a very different character if you played federation or didn't give me a blank slate to think up interesting things.

Bear in mind this is essentially a prologue, if this was a movie it would be the stage where you meet the obnoxious character before his experiences mellow him out. I'm not saying he'll be a shining beacon of virtue but he should be a less actively unpleasant person... if you vote that way.

Also, you guys can't give me a character named Hapsburg and not expect me to make him alt-Austrian. :p
 
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Wow, @Night_stalker and @Eurocorp you guys read really fast. Its a little dismaying since it takes me 2-4 hours to make each update and you guys vote in 1-2 minutes... Do you skim read it or something? Or have it on alerts? I don't mind speed reading, though all I'll say is that a lot of the stuff that appears superfluous now could turn out relevant or foreshadow things later...
Skim, alerts, and naturally just a fast reader.
 
[X] Learn more about your brigade's order of battle, who commands what, what states they were levied from etc.

I need to remember to actually cast my vote when I stop by.
 
Wow, @Night_stalker and @Eurocorp you guys read really fast. Its a little dismaying since it takes me 2-4 hours to make each update and you guys vote in 1-2 minutes... Do you skim read it or something? Or have it on alerts? I don't mind speed reading, though all I'll say is that a lot of the stuff that appears superfluous now could turn out relevant or foreshadow things later...

Could I get some feedback on the quest so far? Should I keep things the way they are?

How is the narration, is it okay or should I tone it down? I figured presenting an alien mindset would add to the charm. Disclaimer: Please remember that I do not share the views of the main character. Rudolf is a textbook example of unreliable narrator, some of the assumptions he makes due to his upbringing can be incorrect due to a variety of reasons. Sometimes in situations he gets the correct clues but can make the wrong conclusion in the narration. He also misreads a lot of hints, though they are still there.

I like it, while it may make things a bit harder somewhere down the line, it helps flesh him out and gives us some things to think about.

How well am I replicating his thought processes? The narration is what Rudolf is thinking from a 2nd person view, that is why the narration sometimes wonders off on tangents about imperial fluff or his personal life.

I'm having a lot of fun getting in character and making fluff to flesh out the Valkyria Chronicles world from the Imperial-centric view but do people like it? I don't want to make stuff that bores people. Is it okay and should I keep things the way they are?

I don't mind the tangents all that much, we don't really know that much about the empire as it is to begin with (or the federation for that matter, but I digress), and the fluff helps make them more than simply what we see in the games.

Rudolf is not a nice person at the moment, but your decisions will change his views for better or worse. A lot of his views have good (to him) reasons though he is deeply flawed. You would have gotten a very different character if you played federation or didn't give me a blank slate to think up interesting things.

Bear in mind this is essentially a prologue, if this was a movie it would be the stage where you meet the obnoxious character before his experiences mellow him out. I'm not saying he'll be a shining beacon of virtue but he should be a less actively unpleasant person... if you vote that way.

Also, you guys can't give me a character named Hapsburg and not expect me to make him alt-Austrian. :p

Well, time to make him at least somewhat better than Gregor if we don't go for the shining beacon. Or Jaeger at least.

I'm only using them as examples because the number of imperial characters that have a name and appear for more than five minutes are in the single digits.

[X] Learn more about your brigade's order of battle, who commands what, what states they were levied from etc.
 
Wow, @Night_stalker and @Eurocorp you guys read really fast. Its a little dismaying since it takes me 2-4 hours to make each update and you guys vote in 1-2 minutes... Do you skim read it or something? Or have it on alerts? I don't mind speed reading, though all I'll say is that a lot of the stuff that appears superfluous now could turn out relevant or foreshadow things later...

Could I get some feedback on the quest so far? Should I keep things the way they are?

How is the narration, is it okay or should I tone it down? I figured presenting an alien mindset would add to the charm. Disclaimer: Please remember that I do not share the views of the main character. Rudolf is a textbook example of unreliable narrator, some of the assumptions he makes due to his upbringing can be incorrect due to a variety of reasons. Sometimes in situations he gets the correct clues but can make the wrong conclusion in the narration. He also misreads a lot of hints, though they are still there.

How well am I replicating his thought processes? The narration is what Rudolf is thinking from a 2nd person view, that is why the narration sometimes wonders off on tangents about imperial fluff or his personal life.

I'm having a lot of fun getting in character and making fluff to flesh out the Valkyria Chronicles world from the Imperial-centric view but do people like it? I don't want to make stuff that bores people. Is it okay and should I keep things the way they are?

Rudolf is not a nice person at the moment, but your decisions will change his views for better or worse. A lot of his views have good (to him) reasons though he is deeply flawed. You would have gotten a very different character if you played federation or didn't give me a blank slate to think up interesting things.

Bear in mind this is essentially a prologue, if this was a movie it would be the stage where you meet the obnoxious character before his experiences mellow him out. I'm not saying he'll be a shining beacon of virtue but he should be a less actively unpleasant person... if you vote that way.

Also, you guys can't give me a character named Hapsburg and not expect me to make him alt-Austrian. :p

Yeah, I have the story set for alerts, and I do have the tendency to read rather quick.

But the narrative is quite good. The exposition is actually refreshing, gives a bit more plot than normal.

As for the name Hapsburg, considering the Empire is a mix of the Soviet Union, Imperial Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian empire, it requires a high standing name. Besides, it gives us a proper excuse for acting like a twit. Although I nearly wrote it in as Habsburg, but that's how it known in English. Besides, it makes it easier for our enemies to scream while using our last name.
 
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Vote locked for posterity.

Update is mostly done, should be out in less than an hour.
 
1.6
[X] Learn more about your brigade's order of battle, who commands what, what states they were levied from etc.

You decide to avoid meeting your underlings for now and decide examining the brigade paperwork instead is a good idea. Everything seems orderly under the last colonel until the record-keeping becomes patchy recently under the temporary command of a Major Nivelle. You think he may have had difficulty running the brigade due to being first among equals or it could be something else.

Looking at the order of battle reveals where each battalion was levied from and who commands them. From an outsiders perspective these troops would look identical in their battle dress and standard equipment but a smarter person can learn quite a lot from the nuances and quirks.

Order of battle
Battalion Type Battalion Name Battalion CO
Light Infantry
Auvergne's 33rd​ Chasseur battalion
Luneberg's 17th​ Jaeger battalion

Francis Giraud (29)
Maurice Nivelle (44)
Heavy Infantry
Niederbayern's 11th​ Grenadier Battalion
Limousin's 24th​ Fusilier Battalion
Anhalt's 82nd​ Line battalion​

Frieda Vorbeck (35)
Alexis Surena (24)
Aloysius Raeder (36)​
Armour Neumark's 7th​ Cuirassier Battalion Lars Mueller (31)
Some interesting thing you note:
- The ethnic mix of the enlisted seems to be mostly Franks and Goths, with a smattering of Avars and Gepids.
- Most of the battalions were raised relatively recently, less than a year ago. Most of the enlisted will be a bit green with small groups of veteran survivors folded in from disbanded battalions.
- The commanding officers are all older than you by at least several years if not decades, with the exception of Major Surena who is only two years older than you.
- Surena and Vorbeck are women, the other four are men, though in your opinion two of them may still be boys.
- Nivelle fought in the last war, the entire duration of the war as an enlisted. Vorbeck and Raeder also fought, but only in the last year of the war.
- Nivelle has been recently called up from the reserves less than a year ago
- Mueller and Vorbeck has some relatively recent experience pacifying primitives in the east.
- Giraud has been stationed on the western border for the past few years, that region has always been tense with minor skirmishes even before full-blown war broke out.
- Raeder has been previously stationed on the northern border, you don't have much experience about that region. Though judging from simply looking at the map and seeing the tiny federation holdings up there it should have been a cushy posting for any officer.
- Surena doesn't seem to have much history as an officer. You suspect she's inexperienced and got the rank through connections, though you personally can't really say much on that front either. Oddly enough her battalion runs smoothly enough so she probably has good administrative skills or natural talent like yourself.
- You are now responsible for the lives of 4872 soldiers.

This all useful information though a lot of it doesn't seem helpful to the current situation. You learnt some neat background information but most of it could been put off for later. Raeder and Giraud were the two majors currently waiting in the common room. Maybe leaving them to wait while you were rummaging through paperwork wasn't the brightest idea, though perhaps the wait cooled them down.

About the troops under your command... Franks and Goths hmm... could be worse you suppose. Goths were an industrious if dour people inhabiting parts of central Europa. They formed a few strong states that stayed true to the old ways. Franks were an innovative if sometimes restive people who inhabited parts of western Europa. Their culture was never robust enough to form strong centralised nations and they remained a patchwork of statelets and moderately sized nations. Sometimes Franks were too innovative, given half of them have fallen to the dark side and embraced republicanism. Though in their defence they are not totally lost like the Iberians or Angles. Your own people, the Wiennese are obviously better having combined the best parts of both cultures, Gothic and latin cultures like Frankish, to form something more sophisticated than the sum of it parts.

The should have been some tensions, but certainly not enough to boil over like this. So perhaps there are other factors in play like personal frictions.

You could meet all the majors together and take the two squabbling majors aside later, or do it the other way around.

[] Call a meeting of all the majors
[] Meet Giraud and Raeder and sort them out
- [] Individually
- [] Together
 
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