A Young Girl’s Outer Heaven
01
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It was over. We had lost.
Despite all my warnings, right from the beginning. Despite paper after paper, outlining the scenario for a world war and how this entire thing would go. Despite my blood, sweat, and tears. Despite all the people I lost, had to kill, or who died in service to my country. Despite trying time and again to put a stop to the madness before it could spiral further out of control and being hampered, hamstrung, and outright blocked and ordered not to.
We had lost.
And now, we were going to pay the price. As a nation. As a people. All of us, collectively.
Already, we were receiving quiet, scattered reports of Russy troops pouring in across the border. Invading Germanian villages. Taking everything not nailed down. Killing the men. Raping the women and children. It made our blood boil to hear the plight of our countrymen, only to have our hands tied by orders. Orders from the same incompetent fools who had led us down this path in the first place!
I wanted to blame that bastard Being-X for all of this, but no. No. I knew the history of the world I had come from, and I had learned the history of this world in my time at the war college. Human nature hadn’t changed, between one world and the next. The two things I truly knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I could blame Being-X for were my own presence in this world and Schugel developing the Elenium Type 95 Computation Orb.
No, the failures of the war I laid firmly at the feet of command. Not generals von Zettour and von Rudersdorf, or the General Staff Office. No, at the end of the day, the Emperor made the final call. People like Zettour and Rudersdorf (while he was still alive) could only advise. They were, in essence, upper managers—with the Emperor being the CEO.
With the Empire beaten, our orders were to stand down. Those in battle with enemy forces were to surrender peacefully. Those who could were ordered to return home. We were not to resist the invading and occupying Russy, Commonwealth, and American forces. Any radio calls from villages under occupation were to be ignored. We were not to make contact with any other Germanian forces and were to maintain radio silence amongst ourselves—only communications to central were allowed. All aircraft and aerial mages were grounded, effective immediately.
So, where did that leave us? The Salamander Kampfgruppe and the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion?
Grounded. Ordered to return home by train. All officers of Salamander Kampfgruppe were ordered to report to command, where they would await trial. Tanya, especially.
I knew how that would go.
Sitting in Tanya’s office, little more than a cramped back room in a home that had been loaned to our unit, I sat contemplating the dispatch containing our orders.
In the end, the blood, death, sacrifice, the sheer waste of it all in terms of manpower and resources—it was all for nothing. There was never going to be a peaceful retirement to the rear for Tanya. And it looked like my people would be sacrificed on the altar of politics, to appease the enemy.
My people deserved better. Tanya deserved better. I deserved better. Better, than to be thrown away as political pawns, having the blame for as much as they could manage shifted onto us.
I wouldn’t stand for it.
The only question was, how far did I want to go?
As if there were any other choice.
When the government you’ve supported fails to uphold its end of the social contract with its own people, rule of law collapses. I refuse to be held to a contract that the other side will not themselves honor! Throwing myself on the mercy of our enemies would be the height of folly—for they have none and they will be out for blood. As much as I’ve shielded myself from scrutiny within the Empire by citing law, or a lack thereof, this is exactly the sort of situation where if allowed, the enemy will make up new laws just for you. If this were an employer going under and about to be charged criminally, the best thing I could do would be to quit, pull out my assets, and immediately travel to a non-extradition country. I’ll make the offer to the others and see what they think.
Holding the dispatch over the trash bin, I lit it on fire and dropped it into the metal bin. I watched it burn down for a moment before keying up on the short-range magical frequency. “Everyone not on watch, report to… the bierhaus in ten minutes. That is all.”
Standing up, I began gathering my papers. Everything I had collected while stationed here that wasn’t essential, I put into a pile to be torched later. Then, I moved to the quarters I shared with Visha and began gathering my things. I hadn’t exactly unpacked everything, so it was the matter of a few minutes to get everything stowed away. Pulling on my long coat and hat, I made my way outside.
The village was quiet, somber. In spite of our orders, my men were still keeping a tight perimeter and sticking to their watch shifts. I smiled, feeling a bit proud that even news of the surrender hadn’t dulled the edge on my band of bloodthirsty lunatics.
My boots squished through the mud disgustingly as I made my way up the street through the light drizzle to the small bierhaus. Opening the door, I found the atmosphere just as somber inside as out, as those who weren’t on duty had gathered. Moving through the crowd, which parted as much as it could around me, I made my way to the bar. Climbing onto a stool, I made a silent apology to the owner before stepping up onto the bar itself. Pulling my coat tighter around myself, I looked over my men, meeting the eyes of everyone there.
“You’ve all heard the news by now, so I’m not going to waste your time beating around the bush. The Empire has surrendered, but it’s worse than that. If some of you haven’t heard our orders, I’ll spell it out for you: we are to return home. The unit is to disperse. Officers are to report to command and await trial. A trial that will, no doubt, be conducted by our enemies. They intend to sacrifice us to save their own hides. Put simply, we’re… fucked.”
There were some winces and more than a few angry faces as I let that one sink in for a moment, before continuing. “Spread the word. Every enlisted man below the rank of corporal is to gather their things and board the train that will be here to pick us up within the week. Keep up the watch rotation. If the enemy approaches, follow our orders and surrender. If not, proceed back to Berun. From there, unless met by another officer, consider yourselves dismissed. You are free to disperse and return home, barring orders to the contrary. But until the train gets here, I expect you all to maintain the discipline you’ve shown in our time together. You are dismissed. Officers, please stay.”
The room cleared out, leaving behind only Lt. Grantz, Lt. Serebryakov, vice commander Weiss, and the rest of Tanya’s officers. Hopping down off the bar, I took a seat on a nearby bar stool. Looking to Visha, I asked, “Would you?” before cutting my eyes over to the tap.
Visha giggled, and the quiet laughter spread through the room—the mood lifting for just a moment. Viktoriya made her way around the bar and began pouring drinks. She slid a mug of dark, German beer to me and I waited until everyone had their drinks and Visha had moved back around the bar with her own. Raising my glass, I looked over my men before taking a careful sip. The others followed suit. I hadn’t much enjoyed beer, during my days of participating in the forced drinking culture as a Japanese salaryman but ever since becoming an officer, it had galled me to be denied the right to partake even if I didn’t particularly have any desire to do so. It was the principle of the thing!
But now, here at the end, I could enjoy a drink with these people. We who had shed the same blood in the same mud. It… wasn’t half bad.
Cradling my mug in my lap, I began. “Gentlemen, Viktoriya. The moment we set foot in Berun, we all, every one of us, will be ‘taken into custody.’ Arrested, by our own people. We will be tried as war criminals. They will accuse us of every crime under the sun and likely invent entirely new ones just to retroactively find us guilty of them. We were given orders and we followed them. And we did so to spectacular effect. But ‘just following orders’ isn’t going to be good enough, when we stand accused by the enemy of beating them soundly, time and time again. So I ask you, is that just? Is it fair? Is it right? That we, who have sacrificed so much for this nation, should be made to suffer in place of those who made the decisions? Make no mistake, if we return, we will be walking to our deaths. Is that how we want this to end?”
“Ma’am,” Weiss stood at attention and I gave him a dismissive wave.
“At ease. Speak your mind, captain.”
“Are you suggesting we desert?” he asked plainly.
Oh, that’s not good. Tanya couldn’t be seen as a deserter, even now. No, the officers would lose faith. So I needed to phrase this retreat as something else. We’re not retreating, we’re advancing in another direction.
I scoffed and proceeded to… misdirect, just a bit. “Some will call it that. I am suggesting we fall back. Establish a new forward operating base in a less hostile environment. Resupply and build up our forces. And then, when the time is right…” I closed my fist and pounded it into the palm of my other hand. “We strike.”
“But the Empire has surrendered, ma’am,” Grantz pointed out.
“Yes. However, knowing General von Zettour as I do, it’s likely a false surrender. A means to buy time. For the Empire to consolidate its forces, build back up, and recover. To lull the enemy into a false sense of security. They’re likely going to saddle the Empire with all of their debts incurred by the war effort, along with damages, reparations, punitive measures, and whatever else they can think of to financially cripple us. Our enemies will likely also demand that we cease production of and turn over all computation orbs and other equipment, seeking to disarm us. The entire reason that the other nations dogpiled on was that they were afraid. We grew too strong and neither the Commonwealth, Frogs, or the commies want to see a superpower arise in the middle of Europe and threaten trade.
“So yes, we are surrendering. For now. While we still have a nation left, that hasn’t been bombed into a burnt out husk and our people killed. Then, in a few years, when we’ve built our strength back up the Empire will throw off the shackles they’ve forged for us—and we will be stronger for it! This time, we’ll be ready! But I leave that to General von Zettour. Our part in this is to make sure that the core of the Empire’s most successful unit doesn’t die in front of a firing squad. That the knowledge, tactics, and more importantly the talent isn’t lost in some, some kangaroo court. For that, we must quit the field, for the moment. Lay low. Allow the enemy to search and find nothing. And then, when he’s given up looking for us, we slip in behind him and we go to work—business as usual.”
Looking around, Visha bit her lip. “What about our families?”
Tanya sighed, before shaking her head. “If we turn ourselves in and allow this farce to proceed? They’ll be shunned and could face lawsuits, violence, or other dangers.” I hadn’t actually considered it, but some of the officers had family—parents, wives, children. If I asked them to abandon their families and follow me, would they?
Maybe. But it would be a major point of contention. One I could avoid. There was risk, but we could try to do something about it now, while there was still time. While they weren’t on the lookout for us.
Actually, now that I thought about it, this was not just the perfect time, it was the only time we could pull off the mad plan that was just beginning to form. A single wing of the 203rd, flying low and fast under radar into the heart of the Empire while keeping our magical signatures as suppressed as we could manage. The enemy hadn’t actually made it that far into our borders, yet. They weren’t patrolling the skies yet. They didn’t have magical detection arrays set up inside the Empire yet, so we would only show up on friendly scopes, and then only at near point-blank range. We would be gone before they could do much more than register our presence. But, but! We had maps. We had the home field advantage. We had flown missions over the Empire since the first days of our training. We knew where every outpost was, every place to avoid, every place where we could fly safely, and every little bump in the terrain where signals would just be completely lost for miles and miles.
It can be done, I realized. And with that realization, I had incentive for the men.
But what about the other half? Getting out?
Well, admittedly, that part was going to be tricky. Especially with civilians along. I would need to review our maps… Actually, I seem to recall some coded communiques on unit movements, in my office.
“I have never left a man behind. I don’t intend to start now. If we do this, we will first need to make a few detours to collect our families. A surprise insertion into what was once friendly territory. Low and fast, in the dead of night. Radio silence, mana suppression, full blackout conditions.”
Weiss hummed quietly. “We know the terrain better than anyone. Even if the foreigner invaders are running night patrols, we can lose them…”
There was some murmuring from the others as they considered it, many of them nodding along. Someone spoke up and asked, “What about supplies? Money?”
“Before we leave, we shall politely requisition them from our own troops, who do not need them anymore. We’ll take the war chest with us, obviously. Once we’re in country and set up, we’ll begin running operations against the enemy. Small scale raids. Strategically transfer equipment to alternate locations. Supplies, materials, money—whatever we need, the enemy shall kindly donate! We should thank them for their generosity!”
That got a round of laughter and I waited a moment for them to settle down. “I’m sure you’re also wondering about transport. For that, we’ll look to our good friends in the navy. I’m sure we can find at least one submarine captain and crew looking to join us in ensuring the continued existence of the Empire.”
Looking around at my officers, I said, “This may very well be a suicide mission. If we aren’t killed at any point during our escape from the Empire or during the journey to our destination, we will be hunted like dogs. We will be disavowed by our nation. Until the day the Empire can throw off its shackles, we will be villains. Criminals. Monsters.”
Turning the pint glass up, I drained it in one go before setting it on the bar and pulling on my cap. Hopping off my stool, I made my way towards the door. “You don’t have to follow me. But know that if you do, you follow me into hell.”
Reaching up, I fingered the Silver Wings Assault Badge with Oak Leaves adorning my coat—the one service medal I left on either my coat or dress uniform. Plucking it off the coat, I turned it over and bent the pin that would hold it in place. I stopped at the door, pressed the medal into the wood at the center of the door, then hammered it into place with my mana-enhanced fist. “Those who follow me, leave your honor behind here. They wish to make monsters of us, then so be it. We will become their bogeymen. Every shadow on the wall, every branch scraping against a window, every bump in the night. We will haunt them until their dying breaths.”
Opening the door, I paused. “I need to place a call. Those of you who wish to follow, assemble in my office. I’ll be there shortly.”
With that, I left them to make their decisions in peace. Once more, the mud squished under my boots as I walked down the street—though this time, things felt… different. Tanya’s body felt lighter. Every step filled with purpose. A smile pulled at Tanya’s lips.
Making my way into the building holding our communications gear, I nodded to the man on duty before making my way over to the communications officer. “I need a priority line to Lieutenant Colonel Ugar. I wish to discuss… our train. I am afraid that with all this rain and mud, it may take longer than central is expecting to load our equipment and men.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll see what I can do.”
Nodding, I took a seat nearby and waited, studying a map of the Empire on the wall—specifically, the rail map. I would have to check my notes, but I seemed to recall some of our fleet being in the sea to the south, having come in for resupply—specifically, some of our long range submarines…
“Ma’am, it’s Colonel Ugar.”
Nodding, I took the offered handset. It cracked as I held it up to my ear and I frowned. “Lt. Colonel Ugar, this is Lt. Colonel Degurechaff. I’m sure you’re busy, given everything going on, so I apologize in advance for bothering you.”
“Nonsense, Lt. Colonel Degurechaff. How is your husband?”
I frowned. Ugar knew I wasn’t married—I was far too young for that, and that was entirely the wrong gender if I were interested in pursuing a relationship. Not that he would know the second, but the first was apparent. Leading with blatant nonsense, however…
“I worry for him,” I ‘confessed.’ “You know how difficult it is to get word back home from near the front. Tell me, how are your wife and son?” Ugar didn’t have a son, though he did have a daughter.
“Oh, they’re doing well. My boy already looks to be taking after his old man.”
Message received and acknowledged. Something is wrong and we’re both on the same wavelength. Now, to find out what.
To test the waters… “Is your wife still being nosy about that little tryst in the war college?” An event that never happened, and never could have. Obviously false, but plausible for anyone who didn’t know me.
“Don’t say that so loudly, she’s probably listening right now,” he laughed.
Someone is listening in. He didn’t deny the likelihood of it happening outright, so not someone who knows me by name.
Tanya scoffed. “Did you let her in the office with you?”
“No, no, but I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
So, we suspect the lines are tapped by one of our many enemies, but they aren’t in the office holding a gun to his head.
“Ah, if you’ll allow me to bend your ear with a complaint, are we ever going to see anything other than ersatz coffee again?”
“Highly unlikely. You know how it is. And given everything going on…”
“Yes, yes,” I agreed. “I’ve half a mind to get on a boat and go strategically acquire some straight from the source!”
“Hahaha! Good, good! While you’re there, pick me up some as well!” he laughed.
“So,” I changed my tone, ‘getting down to business.’ “With all the rain recently, the ground here is nothing but mud half a meter deep in places. I’m worried that the train you’re sending to pick us up may be delayed. Or that there could be delays in loading. Bridges washed out, trees over the lines. With the war over, I want my men returned to their homes as soon as possible, not sitting here in the mud.”
“Ah, yes,” Ugar sounded saddened. “I’m afraid the train has been a bit delayed due to exactly those concerns. We may even have to reroute it.”
I clicked my tongue. “Tch. Of course. Lt. Colonel, my men are hungry and running low on supplies. In fact, we may actually need more equipment to dig half of our equipment out of the mud to load it on the train. What can you spare for me?”
“Mm, well, we may be able to send some rations and other miscellaneous supplies to you.”
“I suppose it will do,” I conceded. “As long as you load a box of Type 97. The storehouse leaked and damaged our stock. Do you have any idea how inconvenient it is, trying to use wet toilet paper?” I asked, with a tone of disgust.
Ugar laughed. “I’ll see what I can scrounge up. That’s a valuable commodity, you know! Production was halted, sadly. We’ve been having to make do with what we have to hand here.”
“How soon can you have it?”
He hummed, before answering, “Well, the train is just sitting there waiting to go, but we’ve been waiting to hear word back from you on whether your men are ready to return or not, and whether the lines are safe to do so. I’ll go put a rush on getting those supplies loaded. I can have the standard rations loaded this afternoon. As for the Type 97, well, that could take longer.”
“I see, I see,” Tanya nodded along. “Very well. Do what you can, then send it tonight. I want my men home as soon as possible. I don’t believe the line will be safe past…” I looked at the map and found where the line would cross a river, and where it could be detoured to.
In that way, we worked out where the train would detour, discussed the stops and potential slowdowns for hazards along the way, and worked out when and how they would arrive here to pick up my men. Finally, everything was agreed upon.
“Well, I believe that about wraps things up. It will be… good to see you back in Berun.”
So, he’s aware of what’s likely going to happen as well.
“Yes, I can’t wait to get back. Still… I would have liked to have some fresh coffee.”
Ugar snorted. “Oh, well, if you’re so desperate, you may as well just send some men south and pick it up directly. I’ve heard part of the fleet has returned, escorting some civilian ships carrying supplies.”
“I might just,” I agreed. “Well. It’s been good talking to you again, Lt. Colonel—”
“Please. I believe that just this once, we can dispense with rank as equals.”
“I suppose,” I agreed.
“Goodbye, Tanya.”
“Goodbye, Max.”
I handed the communications officer the receiver and walked away, once more back out into the dreary, cold rain and mud. Back to my office.
After scraping the mud off my boots, I went back to the office and opened the door, to find my officers poring over maps and dispatches. All of them. Shaking my head, I closed the door behind myself. “Good news,” I said, moving around to sit in my chair, after hanging my coat and hat up. Thankfully, someone had put a couple of logs on the fire and the room was nice and toasty. “I just spoke with Lt. Colonel Ugar. Unfortunately, our train was held up in Berun because they weren’t sure whether the line was passable or not, what with all the rain and the possibility for mud slides and the like. But, upon my request, they will be loading the train with provisions and supplies and it will be on its way tonight.”
Taking my pointer, I outlined the proposed route the train would take. “Here, here, and here… That is where the train will slow down to make sure there are no obstacles in its way. Traveling at night just isn’t as safe as it once was, apparently. So,” looking up at the others, I asked, “where do we need to go to collect your families?”
Vice Commander Weiss leaned over the map and began pointing out markers placed on it. From there, we made our plan of attack.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Turn in, get some sleep. We leave at 2100. Dismissed.”
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If Tanya were a cynical person, she would be worried that the mission was going too smoothly.
It’s going too smoothly.
We had flown at treetop level, at just shy of the top speed my soldiers could fly, with nothing but starlight amplification formulas and knowledge of the terrain to guide us. Over the course of the night, my group had slowly lost men as they broke off to take care of their families.
First was Grantz, who lived the closest to where we had been temporarily stationed, in the south, near the eastern front. We stuck around just long enough to speak with his young wife, mother, and father and help them gather up some valuables and load up their family car. Grantz had changed out of his flight uniform and into civilian clothes, but kept his computation orb and sidearm on him, stowing away the flight uniform in his bag and keeping his rifle in the car. He had a map and knew where we could be meeting up, along with the signal to let us know he was ready for pickup and that he hadn’t been compromised.
After that, they broke off one by one, until finally, it was just Weiss, Visha, and myself. Checking my watch, I clicked my tongue upon seeing the time. “Captain!”
To my immediate right in our tight delta formation, Weiss moved up a bit. “Ma’am!”
“We’re cutting it close. I’m sorry, we’ll have to leave you to it from here!”
The man sent me a smile. “Understood. I’ll rendezvous at either pickup point Alpha or Beta. If I can’t, I’ll make for the port by road!”
“Just don’t lead them straight to us!” I warned.
“Are you sure? I thought you would want a warm send-off from our friends!”
“Hah! Get going, captain!”
“Godspeed, ma’am!”
I pulled a face at the choice of wording, but Weiss was already gone. Visha moved from my left over to my right, taking up the wingman position. “Time on target is less than eight minutes!”
“Take the lead, lieutenant! I’ll keep an eye on the sky. We’ve entered the most dangerous phase of the mission!”
“Roger that!” Visha agreed, before we traded positions and Tanya swept the skies around us for enemy, or even ‘friendly,’ fliers.
We fell silent after that as we flew into the heart of Berun. Weiss’s wife and child lived in the city, yes, but on the outskirts. Visha, on the other hand… She had accommodations in the city and had worried for her parents, living out in a little rural town in the east. She had been right to worry. Tanya had read the reports. The place had been burned to the ground by the Russ. The things they did to those people was… monstrous. Truly, communists are worse than animals. Thankfully for them, Visha had urged her parents to move to the city and use her apartment for the time being, at least until the war ended.
Finally, just over seven minutes later, Visha made a dive down to street level. I followed and we moved another few blocks up the street before she landed. From there, she pulled out her keys and made her way into an apartment building. Tanya followed her up, close on her heels and one hand resting on the handle of her submachine gun. We stopped three floors up and Visha hurried down the hall, before knocking on a door and opening it with her keys.
We slipped inside and I closed the door behind us, taking up a position to keep watch on the door. From the small living room, a man and a woman in their early 40s poked their heads out. Recognizing their blonde daughter, they greeted her and exchanged greetings and hugs.
“Viktoriya! We did not expect you back for another few days, now that the war is over—”
“Mama, I’m sorry. We’re not here for that. You and papa, go pack your bags. Quickly now!” Visha told them.
Viktoriya’s father made a face. “Is this the Federation all over again?”
I didn’t see her face as she nodded, but I could imagine it. “Yes.”
Her father paled and ran into their bedroom. Her mother, however, tried to argue. “What? Viktoriya dear, whatever do you mean? You are a decorated soldier—a hero! What’s going on?”
“Mama, the communists are coming. The war isn’t over, Germany surrendered! The Americans, the Republic, the Commonwealth, the Federation—they are all coming, and they… they are not going to be kind to us, mama. They are out for blood. I,” she glanced back at me, “we were too much of a thorn in their side for them to ever forgive. We were too good at what we did. They’re going to have us killed. You, you’re guilty by association—just as it was when the communists came when we left the Federation. We have to go, tonight! Now! Or we won’t be able to leave at all!”
“Bags are packed,” Visha’s father announced as he came back in, dressed in warm clothes. “Go get dressed, wife. Quickly now!”
“Oh dear,” the woman murmured, before hurrying into the bedroom.
“Food,” Visha instructed, and her father nodded. Together, the two of them moved into the kitchen and I heard a racket as they began moving things around. “Is the car filled up?”
“It has a half tank.”
Visha sighed. “Papa, how many times have I told you, keep it filled!”
Tanya tuned them out for the moment, closing her eyes and casting sensory enhancing and mana detection formulas. Then, I checked my local comms. I frowned at the radio chatter. Apparently, we had been detected but… someone was dragging their heels about scrambling a response. Still, I wasn’t about to test our luck. “Lieutenant, hurry it along. We’ve been detected.”
Visha’s mother came into the room wearing a coat over a change of clothes and carrying another bag. At the same time, Visha and her father came in carrying cloth bags of food—canned foods and a few perishables, namely a smoked ham, some bread, cheese, and wine.
Pulling my submachinegun up to the ready, I led the way back down, sweeping every hall, every door, and every stairwell on the way down. “Where’s your car?”
“Parked outside, down the block,” Visha’s father answered, pointing to our east.
“Alright. Lieutenant, rear guard. I’ll take point. Hurry now!”
We rushed down the street, keeping an eye on the skies and on every side street and building. Finally, Visha’s father stopped at a car and opened up the trunk. I opened the front passenger seat and pulled off my rifle, putting it inside as Visha passed me her own. Tanya stepped up onto the running board, keeping her submachinegun hidden as she kept watch. They loaded the car quickly and we piled in, and then we were off.
The trip through the city was a blur as we made our way out, then south towards the first pickup point. We got there just in time to see the familiar form of a military train roll past. “Damn,” I cursed quietly.
“Was that our train?” Visha’s father asked.
“Yes,” I confirmed. Considering the car for a moment, Tanya nodded. “Get out.”
“What?”
Tanya opened the door and quickly slung my rifle. Visha obeyed without hesitation, moving around and popping the trunk. “I’m faster, I’ll fly ahead,” I told her, grabbing as many of the bags in my arms as I could. Looking to her father, I said, “Wait here. Don’t move from this spot.”
And then, Tanya took off. Since we had already been detected, there was no longer much concern for stealth and keeping our magical signatures suppressed. I opened up Tanya’s flight formula and zipped after the train, quickly catching up. Opening the caboose, Tanya dumped everything inside and rushed out, flipping around and tearing ass the other way. Tanya met Visha going the opposite direction, carrying her screaming mother in her arms.
Tanya barely slowed down as she approached Visha’s father. Apparently, she had told him what to expect, as he stood there with his arms out and a grim expression on his face.
Tanya looped around behind the man and slammed into him in a tackle. “Oof!” he grunted, the wind knocked from his lungs as Tanya lifted him up and poured on the speed.
And then, we were on the train and the adrenaline crash hit. Tanya sagged for a moment before I applied a combat stimulant formula. Perking right back up, a grin split Tanya’s face. “Gather your things and move up the train. I’m going to go speak with the driver!”
Tanya left the caboose. Skipping walking, Tanya flew her way straight up to the engine. The driver was a military man and greeted an unknown border exactly the way he should—with a pistol to the face. He lowered his weapon when he spotted Tanya’s rank insignia. “Lt. Colonel Degurechaff?”
“That’s right,” I confirmed.
“Sorry about that,” the driver grinned sheepishly. “Lt. Colonel Ugar sends his regards, ma’am.”
“If you see him after this, give him my thanks,” Tanya nodded. Reaching into one of the pockets of Tanya’s flight suit, I produced a map and held it under the lantern lighting the cab. “This is where we’ll need to be prepared to slow down to pick up passengers. You’re looking for lights along the tracks. Two flashes to indicate it’s clear. Four flashes to speed up and not stop. I’ll keep watch here with you, just in case we have any uninvited guests.”
“Understood, ma’am.”
And with that, the plan continued apace.
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If Tanya were a cynical person, she would be worried that this was all a setup.
This is all a setup. That damned Being-X has something planned. I can feel it in my gut.
The plan had gone off entirely too smoothly. Beyond smooth, in fact. Not only had we collected everyone we intended to without being pursued, but Ugar had come through big for us. There were crates and crates of food, clothes, weapons, ammunition, and not one but two crates of Type 97 computation orbs.
Even more surprising, when the train had detoured to take the track that would lead them to the dock where we would hopefully catch our ride out of the country, Tanya found a very welcome and admittedly heartwarming surprise. The entire Salamander Kampfgruppe were ready and waiting for us, loaded up with all the gear they could carry and not an ounce more—all the heavy equipment having been left behind. I had told those idiots to wait for pickup, but apparently this group was just too bloodthirsty, loyal, and stubborn to do anything but follow their commander wherever she went.
I couldn’t say I hated it.
Upon rejoining with the Salamander Kampfgruppe, one of the soldiers had presented me with a photo—one of two I held in my left hand, while I sipped at my coffee with my right.
The first, and older photo, was one of the 203rd, back when it was first formed. Taken immediately after the graduation of my very first class of trainees. Some of the faces there remained to this day. Others had died in the line of duty and new members had joined and earned their places.
The second photo was apparently taken the morning after it was discovered that the officers and I had gone north. I recognized the interior of the bierhaus, of course. It was a photo of the door and the wall surrounding it… covered in medals and accolades, and the names and ranks of every member of my unit carved below them. Above the door, someone had carved the words: Relinquere Honorem.
Abandon honor, huh?
“Is the coffee to your liking?”
Looking up from where I leaned against the rail of the U-boat, I found the captain of the ship had come up and leaned against the rail beside Tanya. Chuckling, I took a sip and tucked the photos away into my flight suit. “It’s the first time I’ve had anything other than ersatz coffee in… more than a year now,” I admitted.
“Part of my private stash,” the bearded man admitted with a smile as he took a sip.
“Oh? I see. I’ll have to return the favor. Perhaps a little barter is in order. Are you a drinking man, captain?”
“I like the occasional drink,” he admitted. “Off duty and within moderation, of course.”
“Of course,” I agreed. “I believe I have a nice bottle of rum we collected on the southern front, not too long ago.”
“That does sound nice. How’s… a bag sound?”
“Surely you jest!” I scoffed. “This is only the finest alcohol, I’ll have you know.”
“Ah, but coffee has become a rare commodity lately. It’s almost impossible to get in the Empire. This is a nice Ildoan blend I picked up a while back. I’m sure you can taste the warm, rich undertones for yourself…”
“Nnf,” Tanya grumbled, but sipped her coffee. He was right. It was a very smooth blend… “I’ve been told this is a spicy and sweet rum.”
“Oh? That does sound nice…”
In the spirit of capitalism, we dickered over the exchange rate of roasted coffee beans to alcohol for a bit before coming to a mutual agreement and shaking on it. With that settled, the captain turned towards the bow of the ship, and the Ildoan cargo ship we were tailing close behind. She was bound for America and we were going to hide in her shadow for much of the journey, before breaking off and turning south. Either directly behind the Lucia or under her, in the event we needed to dive.
“I apologize for the cramped accommodations.”
“No, no,” Tanya waved him off. “We’re grateful for what berths you can spare. My men and I thank you.”
“I wasn’t expecting civilians…”
“Well, given how long we’re likely to be gone…”
The captain nodded. “Yes, of course. Understandable. I have two of my own, back home—grown and with their own children, now. Just make sure they understand the value of silence on a submarine. While hiding under the Lucia’s skirt may protect us from casual observation if the Lucia is stopped for inspection, that isn’t going to help if they make noise.”
“I’ll impress upon them the gravity of the situation.”
The captain nodded. From behind them, someone called, “Sir! Our man on the Lucia reported spotting a seaplane—not friendly!”
“Rig for dive!” The captain turned and gestured for Tanya to follow. “Let us get inside, before we find ourselves swimming to our destination.”
Tanya laughed quietly. “Yes, I’d rather not take a dip at this time of year.”
----------------------------------------
Around two thousand miles to travel from the south of Germany, through the Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Alboran Sea, and pass through the Strait of Gibraltar—not that they were all named that, but close enough. Another roughly four thousand miles (thirty-five hundred nautical miles) to cross the Atlantic.
Our U-37, rechristened as the Ingrid after the captain’s wife, could run up to just over eighteen knots on the surface. The Lucia, on the other hand, crawled along at a measly eleven knots at her maximum speed, but her captain ran her closer to nine so as to not look like we were in a hurry. We planned to split off from the Lucia halfway along our journey, once we were well past the Commonwealth and American fleets’ patrol zones and blockades around Europe.
Just over twenty six hundred nautical miles off the coast to split up, at a speed of nine knots. Twelve days of crawling along, hiding in the Lucia’s shadow, slipping under her skirt any time our spotters caught so much as a glint of an enemy aircraft, riding so close at night that if the Lucia had to slow down, turn, or stop for anything we were going to hit her if the man on watch on the Ingrid’s deck wasn’t on his game. It was absolutely nerve-wracking, but we managed to make it.
And of course, that’s when everything went down the toilet.
It was a fine, cool morning when I went topside after having my morning coffee to run a quick patrol. Tanya had the 203rd on rotation, occasionally sending someone up just to make sure we didn’t have any unwelcome surprises waiting just over the horizon. Today, Tanya found trouble. Unfortunately, trouble found Tanya at the same time.
Spotting a shadow on the water behind the Ingrid, Tanya called up a sniping formula and had a look. There, Tanya found, to my growing horror, an entire carrier group. I made a quick count.
One carrier, three heavy cruisers, and five destroyers. Movement caught Tanya’s eye and she looked up, above the carrier, to find a group of aerial mages conducting maneuvers. I recognized those uniforms. The Unified States volunteer group…
And there, in the crowd of them, one of their number stopped dead in the air, before turning to look directly at Tanya. Her face was vaguely familiar—in fact, I was pretty sure we had crossed paths before. Her eyes met Tanya’s across the distance and I felt a sudden sensation of dread as a death’s head grin spread across the blonde girl’s face.
Shit, shit, shit! I cursed as I dumped altitude, returning to the ship. Heading inside, I ran straight onto the bridge to the captain.
Seeing my worried look, he sighed. “How bad is it?”
“Carrier group. Nine ships total. Bearing two-ten, range fifteen knots. They already had an aerial mage group up for maneuvers and we were spotted. It won’t take them long to arm up and sortie.”
From the look on his face, he knew as well as I did that we were dead unless we did something. After a moment, I nodded. “I need to make an announcement.”
“Over here,” he directed me to the communications office. “Put it on shipwide.”
“Aye, captain. Shipwide on,” the seaman said, before handing over the mic.
Taking the mic in hand, I made the call. “203rd, suit up! Prepare for anti-ship sortie! Report topside in ten minutes!”
“Those other aerial mages are going to be here before then.”
I nodded, handing the mic back and making my way to a ladder leading below. “I know. I’ll hold them off.”
“If it were anyone else…” the captain muttered, shaking his head. “Sound battle stations.”
“All hands, battle stations!”
The bridge chatter faded behind me as I made my way to my quarters. Collecting my SMG and rifle, I checked the magazines for both, grabbed some spares and slipped them into Tanya’s flight jacket, and made sure my knife was on my side and my bayonet was ready. I paused, patting my pocket. There was one more piece of equipment, and as loathe as I was to use it… desperate times called for desperate measures.
I groaned and fished into my pocket, digging out the Type 95 computation orb and replacing the Type 97, before heading topside. I took a moment to go ahead and fix the bayonet on Tanya’s rifle. Let’s give them something to focus on.
I had learned from our last encounter with ship combat. I had developed some formulas with much better penetration and had even tested them out on tanks. Admittedly, they were commie tanks, so not exactly sturdy… but when you could punch through a line of five or six of them, if not more, at a time that surely had to count for something.
Taking to the sky, I scanned the horizon and quickly found the enemy ships. They had all turned and begun visibly accelerating towards us. Throwing up my shield, I dove and hugged the water’s surface, moving away from the sub and towards the enemy at an angle, hoping to approach them from their 9 o’clock and so low they wouldn’t see me until it was too late. One of the benefits of Tanya’s body was still the very narrow profile her body made when facing an enemy head on and the greater speed and maneuverability that came with her smaller frame.
Hooray for malnutrition!
Knowing Tanya might only get one shot at this before she was forced to retreat, I lined up my shot and made it count. Sighting in the carrier, I charged my formula and aimed for just above the water line, before squeezing the trigger. A hole blasted deep into the carrier and it immediately began taking on water. Focusing on the Type 95, I spun up a signal jamming formula to keep them from calling for help. I didn’t need the entire Unified States Atlantic Fleet coming down on our heads, after all.
A moment later, the ships around the carrier began opening anti-air/anti-mage fire. Tanya had truly kicked the hornets’ nest. But… Tanya was low. Too low, too fast, and too close to hit, and Tanya was using one of the destroyers as a shield.
Realizing just how close Tanya had gotten and that they were almost completely unprepared to deal with me at the moment without their aerial mages to run me off, a leer spread across Tanya’s face. “Well then, let’s just… take advantage, hm?”
Increasing speed, I flew right by the destroyer I was using as a shield, took aim at the carrier, and blasted another hole in it—aiming for what I hoped was the engine room, this time. There was a small secondary explosion and black smoke immediately began pouring out of the carrier. And then, I flipped over and killed my speed, pressing myself nearly right up against the side of the carrier.
“Can’t shoot me here, can you?!” Tanya cackled, before taking aim and beginning to blast holes in the other ships. With a spell that could actually do damage instead of barely rattling their armor, this was much more fun than the last time we’d fought against ships.
Now that I think about it, wasn’t it this group we fought, back then?
Maybe. I couldn’t say for sure. At the very least, that girl with her unreasonable grudge against me had been part of the group my 203rd had attacked at the time.
Moving around the carrier and using it as a hostage, Tanya put more and more holes in the enemy destroyers. Above Tanya, I heard fighting break out and the sounds of aerial mages doing battle. That sounds like my backup! This really is going better than expected.
And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Tanya caught an explosive formula to the chest that sent her bouncing across the water’s surface before splashing down. The shield caught most of it, but Tanya’s ribs were cracked and that sharp pain in my chest was… worrying. Shaking off the water, I blasted back up trying to gain altitude, and not a moment too soon as a follow-up shot made the water plume behind me.
Applying combat stimulants and painkillers, Tanya surveyed the battlefield and found the cause of my pain. A wheeze from Tanya’s mouth, the taste of blood, and a funny feeling in Tanya’s chest gave me pause. Reaching up, I wiped at Tanya’s mouth. Tanya’s fingers came back covered in bright red, frothy blood.
Punctured lung. Shit!
Tanya was forced into evasive maneuvers as the blonde enemy mage flew in screaming obscenities—once more focused entirely on Tanya and no one else, as had been the case every time we fought. Slinging Tanya’s rifle, I brought up the SMG and took aim, returning fire as we danced.
Tanya needed immediate medical treatment and the only thing keeping her going was my stubborn spite and the magical equivalent of methe. The problem with that was that medical treatment was waiting on the submarine. And while the carrier group was certainly slowed, crippled even, they still had enough undamaged ships to send one or two to pursue us—on top of several companies of aerial mages. Tanya’s vision was starting to gray around the edges and this doggedly determined bitch wouldn’t give Tanya even a second to disengage!
I’ll call for backup and— Jamming. Tanya herself was jamming the enemy, but by that measure that meant her own comms were jammed. If the enemy got word out, they could alert the rest of their fleet to their position and heading and have planes here looking for them within the hour. She could still jam them and call for backup, but she’d be doing it on every frequency in range, meaning the enemy would know she was in a bit of a tight spot and may send backup themselves just to make sure she went down. Especially if they realized she was the enemy commander.
Then, the world slowed down… before coming to a stop.
The enemy mage, bare feet away, turned and smiled at her. “Hello again, heathen.”
“Being-X,” Tanya growled, only to cough up blood. “Can you make it quick? I’m in the middle of something here.”
“This is your last chance. You are going to die here, one way or another. However, if you repent and pray for salvation, you will be saved.”
Tanya’s eye twitched. This piece of shit had the gall to taunt me in my last moments once again!
“No. And you know what? I would rather die and have my soul annihilated than give you the satisfaction! Because at this point, all you’ve managed to do is prove me right! Everything I said, right from the beginning.” Tanya coughed and I wiped at her mouth, before wiping the blood on her flight suit.
“You had your chance. You took me from the safety and comfort of modern day Japan. You took away everything I had. You made me a poor, orphaned little girl in a world at war and I clawed my way back up! You weren’t getting what you wanted, so you cursed me with this abomination!” I clutched at the Type 95 at Tanya’s breast. “It certainly makes me babble incoherently when I use it, but I never meant a word of it!!! And you know that! Even cheating by taking my free will away from me, you couldn’t make me genuinely give you what you wanted! And we both know that.”
The enemy made, Being-X’s puppet of the moment, frowned at that but said nothing. “Even now, we both know that if you just destroy my soul as you promised, I still win. Because you couldn’t make me kneel. No,” another cough, “I think we both know how this is going to go. I’ll die here. You’ll throw another tantrum. And then you’ll try again somewhere else, because you can’t stand to lose. No, I have a feeling we’re going to be a thorn in each others’ side for a long, long time! You can’t stand to lose and I won’t let you win. So, go ahead! Send me to another world! Put me right at the bottom and watch as I claw my way right back up to the top, regardless of what hurdles you put in my way. And when I’m standing on top of another pile of bodies, put there because you couldn’t stand a ‘heathen’ like me, I’ll raise a salute just for you.”
I raised Tanya’s hand and gave Being-X the finger, just to emphasize my point. “Now. Fuck off back where you came from and let me get back to dying!”
The world resumed and I dodged another shot, changing magazines and running another mag into the enemy mage’s shield, trying to wear it down. We spun through the air and Tanya’s body began to tremble. It was getting harder to hold the SMG in my hands, let alone keep it on target. Tanya’s shield failed and she caught a bullet to the guts. It burned like a motherfucker, but I grit my teeth and applied more combat stimulants and painkillers.
It’s a no-win scenario for me. If Tanya pulls back, the ships pursue, everyone dies. If I stay, this bitch kills me, and there’s still the problem of the ships pursuing the sub.
If the 203rd could pull back, they could make a fighting retreat even without me. They could make it, assuming they didn’t come across any more ships.
…It seems that the ships, not the enemy mages, are the problem. Okay. Those, I can do something about. If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well go out with a bang.
Keying up on comms, Tanya dodged another shot and returned fire, before descending to the deck and skimming the water, trying to use the ships as shields and put as much distance between me and Tanya’s pursuer as possible. “Members of the 203rd Aerial Mage Battalion! Withdraw at once! You have sixty seconds, starting now!” I began counting by the precision ticking of the Type 95.
Letting go of my shield, I relied entirely on Tanya’s narrow profile and maneuverability to avoid getting shot down, even as I switched from maintaining Tanya’s flight spell with the Type 95 to doing it manually. Next, I released the combat stimulants and painkillers after one final good dose. A groan escaped Tanya’s lips and I clutched at her stomach, wincing at the blood soaking my hand and the stench of a gut shot. I began dumping mana into the Type 95, starting to cycle it between all four cores in a sequence that would disrupt their synchronization and cause it to overload—just as it almost had when I was first testing it. Immediately, it began to glow and heat up.
Switching to English, I continued. “To the enemy forces we are engaged with. This is Lt. Colonel Tanya von Degurechaff of the 203rd Imperial Aerial Mage Battalion! My people know me as the White Silver, but you know me better as… The Devil of the Rhine, as I’m sure your computation orbs’ magical signature identification has told you. It’s probably also told you that I’m building up a cascade failure in my own orb and the mana readout is probably off the scale by now. I assure you, your equipment is not malfunctioning. That is exactly what I am doing!”
Tanya took a took a moment to come up off the deck and buzz the tower of the aircraft carrier, waving cheekily at the people inside as I went, before dipping back down before she could catch another bullet.
“So! Right now, you have two choices. The first, you can choose to attempt to pursue my men and our ship. I assure you, they will fight you tooth and nail every step of the way—and it will be a battle like none you’ve ever fought before. The second, we can play a nice little game of tag! Whoever shoots me down gets to live! Because if you don’t, well… Hehehe~! When this thing goes, it’s gonna be big!”
I rolled onto my back, looking back at the girl following me. Her eyes went wide as she processed what I was saying. Making finger guns at her, I looped around the other side of the aircraft carrier and flew towards one of the destroyers.
Making a loop around the destroyer and pulling Tanya’s rifle from her back, Tanya’s flight wobbled as I tried to juggle just one more formula… and found I couldn’t. Mentally running the flight formula and jammer was already taxing enough, on top of pouring more mana into the Type 95 while holding it in a delicate balance of burning its way into Tanya’s chest and not exploding yet.
Checking the countdown, I shrugged. Ten seconds was going to have to be good enough. I dropped the jamming and channeled a mana blade.
Tanya poured on the speed back towards the carrier, passing the blonde on the way back by. Tanya swung for the fences… and caught the little bitch’s fucking head on Tanya’s bayonet! The look of surprise on her face in the instant when the blade penetrated her shield, before it perforated her skull, was priceless.
Tanya dropped the rifle and its sudden load into the ocean and aimed for the carrier. With no more need for the blade, I turned the jammer back on as Tanya was forced to dodge concentrated mage fire, formula bullets exploding the water below—until it stopped as Tanya flew over the carrier’s deck and hovered to a dead stop in front of the conning tower.
“So long~, farewell~, auf weidersehen, goodbye. I leave~ and heave~ a sigh and say goodbye~.”
I stopped holding back the cascade.
I had just a moment to register a bright flash, and then nothing.
Ahahaha~ I wish. No. No, it was pain. All pain. Worse than anything I had ever felt in either of my two lives as every nerve in my body lit up like it was on fire, like grabbing a live wire. The Type 95 exploded in slow motion and my mana, my mana still inside the thing, touched that something deep inside it. That, loathe as I was to acknowledge it, divine spark.
The captain of the ship, or at least I guessed he was the captain, turned and looked at Tanya through the windows of the conning tower and I realized that Being-X was dragging this out.
“You’re right,” he admitted with a nod, stepping through the glass and walking on air as he stepped closer.
Looking down, I found the flesh of Tanya’s chest peeling away in slow motion as a ball of concentrated mana expanded outwards. All my mana, all stored over time, fixed in place by the Type 95. Strangely, while Tanya’s flesh and blood disappeared, her nerves remained—glowing the same golden color as the mana slowly burning me alive.
“I’m not going to give you the release of final death. Not yet. Instead, how about we try things your way?”
Just what kind of twisted logic was running through his head now?! I hadn’t proposed any alternative—
“You believe in self-determination. So, I’ll let you determine your own fate… and suffer the consequences of your decisions. If you aren’t burned away by your own mana, where you go from here is entirely up to you. I won’t interfere further. But if, at any time, you pray to me for help, for mercy, for the blissful embrace of death… I win.”
I blinked. Was he… implying that this wasn’t fatal? That I might be able to survive a cascade failure explosion? My mind whirled as I thought of possible solutions…
You know what? I’d take it. A life without the invisible hand of Being-X tampering with things to throw my life into chaos? Ha! I could go back to working hard, earn a new place for myself, then sit back and take it easy.
And pray? To him? He must be delusional!
Time resumed, and for a split second, my thoughts disappeared into a white hot haze of pain. Pain and darkness that seemed to go on forever as I felt myself burning up…
But somehow, a thought surfaced, popping above the waves of agony. That if the Type 95 could fix mana in place, that all of this was just my own mana, and I had been guiding it all this time… I already knew how to solve my problem.
What would happen if I took some of the leftover mana and put it into a healing formula?
----------------------------------------
Visha winced, calling up a formula to shield her eyes from the bright, white flash centered on the aircraft carrier. Their mana sensors whited out as the explosion enveloped the carrier group. They felt the force of the blast in their bones even from this distance as the enemy ships were annihilated entirely.
Blinking spots from her vision, Visha frowned as something in the haze of smoke and steam caught her eye—floating there right where the commander had been. Dropping her light dimming formula, she called up a sniping formula, her sight zooming in…
She wasn’t seeing things. There, where the commander had been, was something like the outline of a person made of glowing, golden wires… before it flashed briefly. Visha caught a glimpse of pale, white skin and blonde hair before losing sight of it.
Visha moved, entirely on instinct as she rushed for the spot where she had last seen that blonde streamer of hair.
“Lt. Serebryakov?!” Weiss called in confusion.
“It’s the commander! She’s still alive!”
“What?”
“Impossible!”
“But that explosion—!”
“203rd, fall in!” Weiss ordered, and the air group moved into formation to follow.
Visha made it just in time as a pale form slipped under the waves. Grabbing the body, she hefted her commander out of the water and onto her shoulder just as Weiss and the rest made it. Weiss was there beside her an instant later, the big man taking off his flight jacket and wrapping it around their commander’s nude, shivering form.
“Fall back to the Ingrid!”
The group fell into formation around Visha and Tanya as they made their best speed for the U-boat. Shifting her load to be more comfortable, Visha’s mind turned over what she had seen.
It’s… a miracle from God.