I Don't Like Sand
I Don't Like Sand
Arkansas Aerial Mage Military Base, Unified States
23rd July 1925
Mary stood outside the Major's office, unsure of the reason she was being called in. She'd been punctual and orderly, she didn't even shirk training! Why would she be in trouble?
"Major Sanders, it's Warrant Officer Sue," she announced with a knock on the door.
"Come in and take a seat," came the reply.
Mary looked at the piles of paperwork upon the Major's desk, there was so much documentation that the man himself was blocked from sight.
"Am I in trouble?" she asked while sitting on the other side of the paper wall.
"Oh no, it's just that you're a dual citizen and well… Legadonia doesn't exactly exist anymore."
That was right. The war had 'ended' and Legadonia had split itself.
"So, now that second citizenship of yours is invalid and I'm supposed to sort it out."
"I see. So, what do I have to do?"
"Well, you can register as a citizen of Norge or Sverige… but considering your situation, you might not want that."
Mary froze, why wouldn't she want to claim her citizenship?
"What do you mean?"
"Well, as both the Republic of Sverige and the Kingdom of Norge are part of the Europan League, their citizens aren't allowed to serve in the militaries of other nations. I'm not saying that you won't be able to serve forever, but until negotiations are made, you'll be dismissed for the foreseeable future."
This law was ridiculous, an obvious attempt by the Imperialist that heads the League to control their enemies.
"So, if I want to continue, I have to renounce my Norgian citizenship."
"Unless it gets renegotiated soon, yes. But I wouldn't be so fast to do that either. You've signed up for the volunteer battalion, but there isn't any place to volunteer."
"What about the southern continent?"
"Volunteer with who? The Free Republic have been labelled terrorists, there's no way we're sending any volunteer forces to aid them," Harland answered without batting an eye, "That would be a political disaster!"
Mary stood up from her seat, "Then I'll just continue training. You don't have to file anything for me."
"Alright. And one more thing."
"Yes, sir?" she asked.
"You're doing very well with your training. I guess the higher ups were right about both of us, after all."
"Thank you, sir."
As she closed the door behind her, Mary sighed. Not only did the Germanians tear apart her homeland, now they had even forced her to renounce it. She needed to cool off, a few rounds at the rifle range should do the trick.
Tripolis Naval Base, Ostero-Ungarian Colony of Libyen
12th August 1925
"I can't believe they're actually building a Naval Base over here," Felix looked incredulously at the construction site, "None of this looks like it was from when Ildoa was in charge.
Hugo snorted, "I think we're the first nation to ever try projecting Naval power directly from the southern continent. Surely not even the Albish are trying this hard."
Adolphus shrugged, "All the workers look like locals though. You'd think that such a large plan would be undertaken by contractors from back home."
"After the Free Republic fiasco, not many people want to travel to this continent. So they've taken up employing the locals."
Felix laughed, "And yet they're bringing in tanks by the boatload to fight 'terrorists'."
Hugo shrugged, "Well, I suppose it's the Kaiser's way of regaining support. Crushing the Free Republic entirely would certainly be worth it."
"I just wish we didn't have to come in advance. I know I said I wanted somewhere warmer than Norden and drier than Rhine, but I really didn't mean the deserts of Afrika," Felix complained.
"But you know everyone in the battalion is just itching for some payback. I know Katya's sharpening her blade," Adolphus looked towards the bunks.
"I do too. But we're not exactly in the right state of mind for that, are we?"
"I doubt the Germanians will wait until we are. They've already begun setting up bases in the deserts."
Francois Western Afrikan Colonial Headquarters
15th August 1925
"I'm sorry, but you need to leave. I will not associate with terrorists," the noble stated his position, "It's bad enough that the Ispagnans are already measuring how to split this territory. I will not give them any more reasons to actually take it."
General de Lugo's face turned red, "This is a matter of Republican sovereignty! It is your duty to support the freedom of the Francois Republic from the clutches of those Imperialists!"
"The Europan League has already stated their position! Your Free Republic has been recognised as a terrorist organisation by your own fatherland! I have to look out for a country that actually exists!"
"You are a Traitor to our Fatherland. You will regret not doing anything when the Imperialists take everything you own, you greedy pig!" the general shouted at the overseer.
"Leave! And take those warships with you! I will not have them in my ports!"
Pierre de Lugo stomped out the door in a fit, slamming it behind him. The Free Republic was being smothered in its infancy. The Ostero-Ungarians had played their cards well, removing any sort of backing de Lugo had tried to gather.
Only a tiny group of colonial nobles were willing to aid his cause, pledging a pittance of supplies. There were men that had joined him on their own will, but that was offset by the many that deserted after hearing the news of international condemnation.
He needed to strike a blow to the enemy forces before they could gather their full strength. But first, he'd need better supplies. Perhaps the Germanians would have some.
Germanian Desert Headquarters
24th August 1925
"The Princess' Battalion is our strongest fighting force! You can't just send them out hunting mice!" shouted one of the commanders.
"I'm saying that we should send them out to protect the convoys! There's no point in defending the camp if there's no supplies coming in!" his counterpart argued.
Tanya adjusted her seating position for the hundredth time as she looked back and forth between the two arguing commanders, "I believe it's unlikely that the Free Republic would target our camp directly, at least as long as we still have supplies. But if we keep letting them get away with it, they might actually grow bold when we run out."
"See! The Spectre knows what she's talking about," the second smugly replied.
"I'm just concerned about the fact that we've never had to fight a war like this! The Free Republic doesn't act like a proper army. We can't send Romel to crush them if we don't know where they are holed up. If we send the Spectre, they'd just hide in their holes. How do we deal with that?"
"Well, if all we need is to find out where they're hiding, I do have an idea," Tanya begins to suggest a plan, "We might even be able to call upon the Desert Fox to wipe them out."
Intrigued, the command staff all perked up, "Well, let's hear it."
West Afrikan Desert
30th August 1925
A cloud of sand tore through the dusty desert road, while a convoy of trucks headed towards their destination. One that would never make it, sneered the Free Republic Mages observing from afar.
"There's another convoy coming in," the lead Mage radioed headquarters.
"How does the defence look?" asked the voice on the other side.
"A few regular Mages. No real threat."
"Strike quick and get out quicker," came his orders, "We won't bury you if you die."
"Roger," replied the Mage as he readied his weapon.
It took about a second for the convoy to be knocked off course. The first attack struck the ground forces that escorted the trucks.
The blue-clad Republic Mages swooped down and grabbed the closest boxes they could get their gloves on. Even before the dust settled, the majority of them had already escaped with a box in tow.
They made their escape, oblivious that their success had been orchestrated by an unseen foe.
"Major, it looks like they took the bait," Visha turned to face Tanya, "They're so poorly equipped, they couldn't even tell that the defences were all illusions."
"It looks like they've split up into several groups. Squads, I want every single crate taken to be tracked down. If it's a big nest, radio for the Ghost Division," Tanya ordered.
The 203rd split off into pairs, each one chasing a stolen crate enchanted with a tracking spell.
"Let's see how many rats we can kill today," Tanya sped off with her adjutant behind her.
Free Republic Desert Outpost
30th August 1925
De Lugo could tell that unless something changed, the Free Republic was doomed. He couldn't manage all the different outposts and strongholds by himself and he didn't have the supply lines to ensure they were all operating efficiently.
He had already resorted to dishonourable combat to gather supplies, but the truth was that they were still lacking. He knew about a step he could take that would relieve some of the pressure, but that would be something that could never be taken back.
No, he would hold off on that until things got really dire.
The pry bar tore into the gap under the lid of the crate. Just hearing the splintering sound was pleasing to their rumbling stomachs. Hopefully this would be a good dinner.
A satiation that unfortunately didn't last long. The Republican soldiers looked at the open crate in disbelief. The contents were worthless… No, less than worthless. Within the crate were boxes upon boxes of dried Ildoan pasta.
Some of the starving soldiers kicked the crate in anger, while others decided to save their waning strength. They couldn't stand fighting in this damn desert like this anymore.
But it seemed that they wouldn't have to after all. Like a thunderstorm, Germanians tanks overran the defences of the once hidden outpost. The outpost's meagre fortifications toppled under the fire of the Panzer elite.
From the night sky, Tanya could see the desert light up like a twisted parody of the stars in the sky.
General Romel was truly at the head of armoured combat. His division had managed to keep up with her battalion in striking many targets in a single night. Were it any other commander, Tanya's plan wouldn't have succeeded as well.
Even if the events in her journal were no longer accurate, at least she could trust the names of capable allies written within.
"Alright 203rd, let's help our friends in the Ghost Division clean up. They spent their precious night helping us, it's now our turn to pay them back."
Tanya and Visha descended towards the fire fight, taking down any Free Republic Mage that dared to point their guns at a Germanian tank. Hopefully this was enough to bury the Free Republic for good.
General de Lugo flinched as an explosion shook the ground. He rushed to the window, only to see that the ammo stores were on fire.
The door behind him slammed open as a soldier ran in, "General! We are under attack! You need to evacuate!"
"I can tell," the general sighed as he followed the soldier through the secret passageway, it looked like there was no point in half measures anymore. Honour and valour be damned, he was going to do anything to win this war.
Germanian Desert Headquarters
2nd September 1925
Tanya looked at the latest report with furrowed brows, despite having overrun several of the Free Republic's bases, the threat had yet to wane. Last night an Imperial camp was destroyed with almost no survivors. And there were even incoming reports of villages being occupied by armed men in Republican gear. If they were playing by conventions before, they aren't anymore.
As Tanya pondered her next step, she was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat, "So, what has gotten the Spectre so deep in thought?"
Tanya turned to look at the man before saluting, "Not much, General. I was just wondering how much more work we would need to put in to fully squash this annoyance."
"Hahaha. You like things running fast too, huh?" laughed General Romel as he returned the salute.
"Well, mobility and firepower aren't only the specialisation of tanks. If you think about it, Mages are the same too."
"Haha, I think we'll get along just fine. I have to oversee the repairs now, but I look forward to working with you in the future, Spectre," laughed the general.
It wasn't until he had fully left that Tanya realised she was smiling too. It had been a while since she'd been able to smile like that, she had too many thoughts on her mind, little of which were positive.
Marcel would like General Romel, she found herself thinking before quickly shutting that errant thought down. There was no use thinking of the past.
"Major! There's something you should look at!" Visha came running, providing Tanya with a distraction from her thoughts.
"What's the issue?" Tanya asked as she looked at the documents.
"As you know, one of our camps was attacked and destroyed," Visha began to explain while pointing at an attached picture, "Well, we finally have reports of what it looks like from above."
"What in the world…" Tanya could only gasp.
The picture she was looking at showed an aerial view of the Imperial camp. But there were a few glaring details. There were massive cuts that tore through structures and equipment indiscriminately, like a giant with a knife had decided to dice the whole camp.
"Well, that's not all. I found some pictures taken of the Free Republic's camps that were already destroyed before the Panzers had reached them," Visha handed over a few more photographs.
"It's… The same," Tanya could do little but point out the obvious.
"Yes, Major. Someone's attacking both sides. And according to one of the survivors, it was all done by one person."
"One person?" Tanya couldn't hold back her shock.
It had to be a Mage, a powerful one at that. But from where? Was it Being Y getting in her way? Or was this one of the problems Being X had left for her?
Free Republic Occupied Village, Afrika
4th September 1925
The two men sat at the table, staring at the radio, hoping that the signal came soon. They had spent close to a week holed up in some nameless village after 'persuading' the locals to lend them assistance.
"Man, those villagers have nothing to give us. There's nothing here for us, the houses won't stop artillery fire," bemoaned the soldier as he looked to the night sky, "Can't we go somewhere else?"
"Sure we can leave. But first let me ask you, would you rather be out in the desert or in the shade of this village?" asked his commander.
"Well, can't we pick a village that actually has food?"
"It's not my fault you won't eat what they can provide… Wait, do you smell that?" The commander suddenly changed the topic.
"It smells like smoke!" the soldier shouted urgently, before running outside with his rifle in hand.
As the two men left the room, they found themselves shivering despite the fact that there was fire everywhere. All the other members of the platoon had been reduced to slices of flesh and there was not a single villager in sight. Dropping his gun to run, the soldier left his commander behind.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Shouted the commander as he watched the soldier run off into the darkness only to hear his ear-piercing scream follow shortly after.
In his fright, he picked up the dropped rifle and pointed it in the direction of the scream. Slowly he walked backwards, his eyes still focused on the direction his subordinate had run off. Unfortunately, his escape was cut short as he bumped into something… No, someone…
"Hello, you look like you know a few things," the chilling voice crept up.
"Who are you?" shouted the commander as he turned around and shot the rifle without looking. The shot hit the owner of the voice point blank, but only made them flinch.
"That's not nice, I was just asking for directions," snarled the figure as they pulled out the bullet that had pierced their skin with their bare hands. Almost instantaneously, the wound had sealed itself shut, "I'm just a humble Demon hunter… So tell me, where is the Devil of Rhine?"
"I don't know!" the commander shouted as he shot the figure once more.
The commander found himself pinned on the ground by the figure the moment the bullet left the barrel. He could feel the entity's icy claws grip his throat.
"You must know!" the figure tightened their fingers, "I know you've seen her recently!"
"I know nothing! Please let me live!" the commander begged for mercy.
"Disappointing," the figure sighed as they finished their dark deed with a sickening crunch, "Where are you hiding, apostate?"
As quickly as they came, they disappeared into the dark night.
Sorry this chapter took so long and is kinda short, been busy figuring out my own life. I've mostly been doing digital art the past month or so, even put out a few pieces of Amphibia and Owl House fanart under the same name as I use here. Anyways, not sure when the next chapter might come out, sorry to disappoint.
It's fine if you wish to discuss older chapter in this thread, but you're always invited to do so in my discord server instead.