“There are now thousands of dead and injured civilians in the streets of Corinthia, as the putsch’s leaders demand the immediate surrender of the Latian Royal Government. The Latian Army has now encircled Corinthia, alongside the areas outside of the city controlled by approximately eight thousand troopers and militants. General Lena Remeli, the Chief of Staff of the Latian Army, has now reiterated her loyalty to the Queen. With the Prime Minister cut off and surrounded in Kentro Palace, she has now taken effective reigns in the rest of the country, alongside a council of three high noblewomen, vowing to ‘restore law and order’ in the Kingdom.”

- Geopol Press

+++

Latia

Corinthia City

5th MEU

C/3-1 Marine Regiment

Moritz wasn’t having fun today. His squad and the 3rd Battalion of the 5th Marine Expeditionary Unit were now tasked, directly from the November Palace—by the Queen herself, to join local Latian soldiers in a thunder run straight into Kentro Palace. When he looked into the eyes of his superior, Lieutenant Oli Brusch, the thirty-year-old officer merely gave him a blank gaze.

“She said we’d have to get there hard and fast,” Oli said. “That’s what we are going to do.”

Moritz looked at his men behind him. They stood on the streets, lounging around or sitting on the side of the road as they awaited orders. Their faces were scrounged up, with dirt, grime, and unease. He looked back at his superior as one of his men spat on the road.

“...She ordered this personally?” Moritz asked. “Her? She’s…she’s watching us?”

“Yes,” Oli frowned. “Now get to your men. Tell them to get ready. We’re not disappointing the Queen. She wants the Latian Prime Minister out and safe in three hours—”

Moritz closed the distance between him and Oli, staring straight into his pupils.

“Lieutenant,” Moritz hissed. “You and I know that instead of a safe and happy fancy pants leader lady escaping this shit-fest, it’d be us, you, me, our men—dead in the rubble.”

“We do our job,” Oli growled back. “We’re men. Marines. We do not complain. We act.”

“El-tee—”

“Stop bellyaching Moritz. You and I know that we cannot change shit. This is our mission. No more talking. Get to work.”

“Roger.”

“Good call.”

Moritz shook his head in defeat, as he went straight to his men.

“El-tee made it clear!” he shouted at them. “We’re Oscar Mike in ten minutes. Keep a tight hold on your rifles. We’re going in for a rough ride.”

“On our soft-skinned HMLVs?” his youngest marine asked, a frown clear on his face.

Behind them, three Latian M44 tanks stopped and parked. Latian soldiers who rode on top of the tanks immediately dismounted and rushed into the road. They formed into their squads, carried their rifles, heavy weapons, and boxes of ammunition, and ran like hell straight into the firefight only a few blocks away.

“We got tanks,” Moritz tried to reassure. “We’re going into the fight fine and dandy. In style! Heh.”

“We ain’t,” one of his marines replied. “They got AT. Those rustbuckets ain’t gon last.”

Moritz clicked his tongue.

“Then you better shoot nice and well, son,” he nodded as smirked. “We don’t think that way. We’ll get there, bang up these sons of crazies, then rescue this shithole’s Prime Minister like the Princess that she is. That’s what we’ll do!”

“Fuck yeah!” his men responded, their spirits now going up high. Moritz grimaced inside. He now did all he could do.

He raised their morale somewhat before the hell that would come for them. He turned his back on them, opened a box of cigars, and lit them up. He hoped that he and his men would come back home from this.

+++

West Orland

Duchy of Rimwurz

November Palace

“Bad news,” Marie confided to Amelie. They were behind closed doors after the Press Conference that Amelie had just given to her people.

“What is it?” Amelie asked.

“...Amelie…I…” Marie stuttered, then she looked to her side. “We have unconfirmed reports of a WMD inside of Corinthia.”

Amelie’s face scrounged up.

“What?”

“Unconfirmed reports,” Marie said. “My girls are on site, trying to figure it out.”

“The RIU is in Corinthia?”

“Who do you think I am?” Marie asked. “The RIU is investigating all corners of this world. I have two teams in Corinthia, yes. Rose Team and Lotus Team.”

“How many operatives?”

“There’s eight from Rose Team. Ten from Lotus Team. Rose Team is tasked with investigating the coup leaders. Lotus Team is tasked to find a way to rescue even just the Prime Minister from Kentro Palace. But they found a damning confession from one of the LFL militants."

“Okay…” Amelie breathed in deeply. “So…so what did they find out?”

“Amelie, he confessed that they’re planning to use nuclear blackmail,” Marie bit her tongue for a second. It seemed that even Amelie’s best mage and spymaster was now panicking inside. “I…I admit, I don’t know what to do about this revelation. I’m retasking both Lotus and Rose Team to figure out everything about this…this plan of theirs…”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“How can they even acquire a nuclear bomb and place it in a city of two million people?! That’s impossible, Marie.”

“Amelie, nothing is impossible from now on,” her voice turned cold. “Amelie, your decision today, and tomorrow…it might decide how this world will go on.”

“I am not escalating to anything stupid. In fact, why would they even…” Amelie’s voice shook. “Wait, no…even…even if it’s true, Corinthia is the capital of their people. Surely…surely they’ll…”

“Amelie. You know it. So do I. These militants do not care about our world. They’re too far gone. These are terrorists. They’ll do everything to terrorize us and get their demands met.”

“Who the hell would even give them a bomb?!”

“I have no idea, Amelie. I have no idea if it’s even true! My two teams on the ground are still running through a damned city on fire to find out if a nuclear bomb exists or not! But I can feel it in my guts. Amelie, I can feel it…the smell of true trouble and threat,” Marie’s voice became even shakier. “So please, stay calm. I’m going to try to figure this out. If not—”

“We need to tell this to General Albrecht.”

Before Amelie could leave the room, Marie pulled Amelie back and frowned.

“Amelie, not yet,” Marie said. “Do not cause panic amongst the ranks. Everyone’s running around like headless chickens already. Imagine what’ll happen if you tell them this. And imagine the chaos if it leaks! No, wait till my teams figure this out. Once we have concrete proof, I’ll pass it on to you.”

A few knocks came from the door.

“Amelie!” Someone shouted. It was William. “President Rimpler is on the phone line! He’s…he’s actually calling for you specifically. Right now!”

“He is?”

“And Chancellor Kerensky too!” William almost laughed on the other side. “Can you believe this? Those assholes are now crawling back to us. Tell them to fuck off in the most polite way please, haha!”

When Amelie turned back to Marie, the silver-haired woman’s eyes just widened further in horror.

“They…”

“What is it, Marie?”

Marie just gulped.

“Amelie,” her voice turned even more serious. “Adelaide isn’t here right now, but do one thing. Keep them talking. And keep things level-headed. Please, from this point onwards, you will not think about giving an advantage to the Mandate of Nations. Everything…everything for humanity. That’s your mission. Go.”

“I-I don’t understand—”

“Amelie, the leaders of the CFN won’t just call you in panic and talk if things are normal. Move.”

+++

“I have no intention of speaking to you to talk peace, Queen,” the man himself, President Sullivan Rimpler of the Federal Republic of Orland, said. His face was clear on Amelie’s laptop. Beside him was the stone-faced look from the other leader of the CFF, Chancellor Pyotr Kerensky.

“This nonsense isn’t our work,” Pyotr plainly said. “We’re just calling to keep a new emergency communication channel open. I assume the so-called ‘Queen of Goodness’ is going to be willing to at least talk?”

“...Why now?” Amelie asked as she tried to keep herself neutral. She hadn’t explained anything to Nia or William yet. The two just watched on the side, confused as to why Amelie didn’t bring this up to the rest of her government. “Why not…last time? Why only now would you…establish contact?”

Sullivan just crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair. The room behind him was dark and empty, but Amelie could see the revolutionary bicolor behind him. He seemed to be almost alone in his room. Much like Amelie.

“Tell me,” Sullivan asked. “How will you respond to men who have nothing left to lose?”

“I will try to reason with them,” Amelie replied. “I will try my best to talk to them and bring them back to humanity. Every man needs that. They need to know hope and change—”

Sullivan scoffed.

“I’m not asking about your bullshit promises to your sheep."

“I have no sheep, Mr. Rimpler. I have sworn since I was crowned, that I…I will do better. I don’t care if I die. I want a better world tomorrow. For you, for me, for everyone…for our damned children. Goddess, if I have to pardon the two of you just to end all of this, I will. I will. I will do everything just to finally let this world breathe for once!”

“Pardon us when we haven’t even surrendered or shown signs of it yet? Heh…” Pyotr chuckled on the side. “You look way too emotional there, dear.”

“So? You have no idea how much I’ve cried since I had this crown. Of course, I’m emotional!”

“I see then,” Sullivan frowned. “There’s a group that demanded us to stop waging this war of revolution against you because ‘we’re lying’. I want to work with you today.”

“Work with me?”

“Because while I think you are naive, idealistic, and possibly too emotional at acting properly…”

Amelie turned more and more red at those words.

“...I think it’s clear that you’ll be prioritizing humanity’s survival first before your ideological goals.”

“It seems to not be the same to you.”

“Oh yes, my dear young lady, Queen of a throne drenched in the blood of millions,” Sullivan smirked a bit. “I am an ideologue. I will, yes, gladly shed the blood of millions for some lofty goal. Although I do not delude myself with false hope or optimism that I can truly bring about a better world, I try, Your Royal Majesty,” he hissed Amelie’s title with disgust. “But I am not as crazy as you paint me to be.”

“There are WMDs in Corinthia,” Amelie finally said as she crossed her arms. “And you two are now trying to intimidate me not to do anything rash.”

“Heh…heh,” Sullivan could only laugh. “Somehow you know…”

“...I don’t see the logic in this,” Amelie said. “You two could have been more polite at least.”

“Politeness is the language of the ‘civilized’, Queen,” Sullivan replied. “Isn’t it soothing that your branding of us men have some merits? Regardless, you’re right. Don’t do anything stupid. We won’t either.”

“So what, I’ll just let a WMD go off in my ally’s capital and do nothing afterward?” Amelie asked. “Absolutely not.”

“If the reports of the WMDs are true and the militants reach out to you with nuclear blackmail too, show it to the world. We will condemn it, publicly. And show evidence of them doing the same to us,” he winked. “Then, if shit happens, we both have no reason to escalate. Because terrorists did it.”

“You two are not considering the millions of Latian citizens, soldiers, and my soldiers in their capital!”

“That’s your problem,” Pyotr said. “Make the decisions, girl. You wanted that throne so much. Make it worth it. Decide whether it’s real or not. If it’s a bluff or not. And whether you should agree to them, or let a Latian city disappear. Just don’t involve us here. We hate them just as much as you do.”

“Quite frankly, considering how damning this scenario is, I have doubts you two have no ties to it.”

“And we have no obligation to make you believe our narrative,” Sullivan countered. “Quite frankly, talking to you disgusts me. Your moral grandstanding is so blinding. You probably want us to kneel and grovel before your superior morality. But I am talking here anyway because I do not want Eirhow wiped off the map due to some incompetent lunatics in a shithole a continent away.”

“...You’re too callous, Mr. Rimpler.”

He just smiled.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”