[X] Plan Bottoms Up
-[X]`Yuri Dolgorukiy'
-[X]Soldiers' Justice
-[X]Restoring Order
You are allowed to choose a heraldic name for the 3rd Dragoons. What bubbles up from your mind? This is also a chance to build your character.
[]`Yuri Dolgorukiy': The one that wrought the banner that flies above the unit, the founder of the ancient city that the melting pot of your regiment comes from. A place that equally honours the Suzdal Regiment, who fought with you in that breach. And a token of the sympathy that you have for Russia outside Petersburg, the same lingering resentment that many seem to share with you.
All the lines about how Russia has been left behind by its emperors holed up in St. Petersburg are surprisingly poignant, I'll admit.
"Your father wrote to me when you joined the German force. He asked me to keep you safe, as one member of the family to another. I'm not a fool, you're a man and a soldier – I'm not your nursemaid. But I have a duty from your father as well, you know."
Our father, from what we've heard of him, sounds like an interesting person. I'd love to see his reaction to his son volunteering for a Forlorn Hope as his first action.
"I know, Great-Uncle." You drain the wine, tart smooth alcohol not helping the mix of emotions that bubble up every time you hear about family. "But again, I volunteered, and it turned out fine."
"It turned out fine this time." General Apraksin picks up his wineglass and takes a loud slurping sip, courtly manners left to the side for now. "I have seen more than one storming party in my time, boy. You were lucky with that breach, and you were facing land militia instead of proper infantry. When we visit Prussia this year, you'll have to think before you act."
"Yessir." You shift in your seat a little, more impatient than anything else by now. You know you might have been a tad foolish, but it did work out. This time.
Hey, we said we'd either hit the stars or die trying. Admittedly, I think I speak for everyone in that we'll let someone else volunteer to storm the breach next time.
"Second." Stepan Apraksin hands you a sheaf of paper, the Empress' signature on the bottom far more faded than the rest of the writing on it. "Your warrant of commission from Her Majesty. I am hereby making you a captain, formalizing your company command. Your major has taken sick in the last assault, and holed his incontinent self in a tavern in Memel with what whores he can afford. Congratulations, you're battalion commander."
The general's voice is tart and angry, tense frustration bubbling underneath his level tone. You take the warrant gingerly, folded neatly and tucked in an oilskin envelope. You can't help yourself, though, perhaps because of the wine and the recent success and the sheer adrenaline high of the last few days. Or perhaps it's because Uncle Stepan is family. "Did something happen to the battalion, sir?"
There. That ought to be general enough to avoid looking gossipy.
"Your major is a Vorontsov is what's happened, boy. He doesn't want to march while taking sick, and I can't make him. I need a few officers to handle supplies and commissariat here as it is, so he's staying. Your regiment is thin enough to leave a few officers behind." The general slides his pince-nez back on and leafs through his papers, reading them with a squint. "Still, that is not your concern. The main concern right now is getting the city back together. The sack was bad enough that I had to pull most of the men out of it to save the damn port."
... I think I'm missing some subtext here. So, we've been promoted to Captain, as expected. But now we're in charge of a Battalion, which a quick google search tells me would normally be commanded by a lieutenant colonel, which seems like a pretty extreme jump, even if you take our awful losses into account. From what I can tell, our superior just noped out, and because of his family/connections, the general can't have him sacked? And the losses have been so awful we're literally the only (or perhaps best) next option to take command.
If I'm interpreting this correctly, we probably ought to invest in broadening our skills instead of trying to hone cavalry command, seeing as we're going to have a lot more responsibilities.
[X] Plan Juggler
-[X] Logistics: Abysmal (70/200) + 130 XP
-[X] Administration: Abysmal (30/200) + 170 XP
-[X] Courtly Etiquette: Unskilled (200/400) + 200 XP
-[X] Infantry Command: Unskilled (0/400) + 300 XP
@mouli - rereading the beginning of the quest, did we earn any 'prestige' for our successful Forlorn Hope? Or is that something accumulated at the end of each campaign?
