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Tales of the Europan War	By : JPR Category: +S through Z > Valkyria Chronicles Views: 19809 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: This a non-profit erotic fan parody, I do not own Valkyria Chronicles. All rights to Valkyria Chronicles are owned by SEGA and its corresponding subsidiaries.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Author's Note:
Due to the Structure of the site I will no longer include the awesome comprehensive author’s notes I usually include in these stories from now on, but luckily the site has a solution for my gratuitous ramblings and interactions with you all. There is this new thing called forums I’m sure no one has ever heard of before. So in order to record my progress on this story I will now be including Author’s Notes here:
http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/topic/64676-tales-of-the-europan-war-reviews-questions-suggestions-etc/#comment-404043
This new forum will also be my place for responding to reviews and such so if you leave one and want to hear what I plan to do as a remedy for whatever criticisms you found in this composition it would be good to look there. So far the only review responses included are for SailorNemesis, CompleteDomination, and Sef.
So from now on the notes I include here will just be a short description of what to expect in the chapter. In this Chapter I think I decided to split it into two parts again. 25,000 words and 45 pages of Word later I felt it was a good idea. I’m not sure all of you have the time read that many words in one sitting. In this half of the chapter you’ll get a lot of the war and a F/F fantasy near the start. I hope you enjoy it.
So without further ado I present, "Operation Cloudburst" Part 1
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April 13, 1935 – 0748 Hours, Streets of Vasel
Alicia was feeling especially refreshed this morning. Dallas and Alicia were on a patrol along the government sector of Vasel which was comprised of the entire block that housed the City Hall and City Library. Dallas in particular was more aware of Alicia’s sudden change in mood after last night but wasn't concerned about what caused it so much as pleased that Alicia was feeling better from the last few days of something bothering her. Lately she had appeared more frustrated to Dallas, and Dallas assumed a man was the culprit of Alicia's melancholic daze, but a woman must have lifted her spirits by talking to her last night. Perhaps the beautiful Captain Varrot? Pondered Dallas just moments before her fantasies of the Captain and young Miss Alicia came to like of them making love in a field of flowers.
It was colorful scenery that only Dallas could conjure and was reminiscent of the garden at the all-girls Randgriz Academy for Gifted and Talented Young Ladies that she had attended before the war. Varrot was of course on top and held the docile Alicia with the might of her deliciously voluptuous body as the two were locked in a kiss that expressed the passion of Dallas' cunt as she walked imaging the scandalous rendezvous. Suddenly the very fabric of her military issued wool stockings and shorts was tenderly caressing her pussy into a state of joyful bliss. In her fantasy it was only obvious that Varrot take the lead in order to bring a smile to Miss Alicia's beautiful face.
"I'll have you know that this bakery scarf is absolutely out of regulation," Varrot was telling Alicia in a seductive tone that would make any woman melt as she reached and undid the scarf which left a flustered and twin tail-less Alicia panting on the field. "And neither is this."
Varrot reached under Alicia's skirt and pulled off a pair of lacy red panties.
"Just who were you hoping would see this? Are they for me? These taint your innocence; here, let me clean their foul residue off." Varrot dove into the skirt that housed Alicia's sweet nectar which was flowing generously out of the most beautiful flower in the field.
"N-No... not so suddenly..." Alicia was squirming from the skilled art of a woman with experience as her strong hands began to rip off the stockings and boots of Alicia while masterfully exploring the juicy regions of Alicia's pink snatch. It wasn't long before a bare-legged Alicia was wrapping her recently liberated pale legs around the head of Varrot as she approached her tipping point. Knowing her lover was close; the graciously endowed Captain removed her glove and began fingering Alicia's mythical ‘g-spot’ while continuing the tender motions of her tongue around her pea sized clit.
Before Alicia could orgasm in the loving hands of Varrot though Dallas realized that she was falling behind from Alicia and did a short jog to cut the distance. Her pussy was still trembling and she cursed herself for getting so engrossed in the fantasy when she didn't have time. She would also have to find time to change her semi-soiled panties, but that seemed nearly impossible to do in private on a battlefield. Upon catching up she thought to confront Alicia about her newfound joy, thinking to herself that Varrot had to be the reason.
"Miss Alicia, it's good to see you in good spirits again. Just seeing you happy is enough to get my blood flowing and my body invigorated for whatever this patriarch induced war may throw at me."
"Thanks, Dallas." Alicia replied with a smile, "But when did I ever seem like I wasn't in good spirits?" Dallas giggled to herself upon realizing that Alicia wasn't aware of it herself.
"Oh never mind, your smile is enough."
Alicia was a little confused and thought about how she behaved the last few days to motivate Dallas to say something like that, but nothing really came into mind. When a thought of her and Faldio's affair the previous evening came into her head though she thought maybe sexual frustration had been building up without her being able to realize. Maybe this is for the best... Her thoughts didn't seem all that far-fetched this time. That was until she saw something troubling happening just as Dallas and Alicia turned the corner that led into the plaza behind the library.
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Meanwhile – Vasel City Hall
Inside one of the conference rooms of the City Hall the officers of 3^rd Regiment had once again gathered to discuss the plans of the upcoming operation while Welkin sat there taking some notes on the sexual acts he committed to the evening before. Reproduction after all had something to do with biology and was mostly his motive for getting into the scientific study, so he often had the knack for recording his own sexual experiences and compared them to what occurs in nature. He was of course doing this while the meeting was going on and was in really good spirits, not only did a little weight come off his shoulders with the promiscuous Miss Ellet, but the atmosphere of the meeting reminded him of taking notes during a lecture at Randgriz University. To his surprise though it didn't seem like anyone else was as happy as he was this morning, not even Faldio who he was sure was making strides with Alicia. Welkin's attention was more focused on the meeting though at the mention of his squad.
"Squad 7's suppression of the enemy camp on the West bank gave us the foothold we needed," Varrot's usual authority was prominent in her voice, "Now we'll be working with the Army's Vasel Battalion in Operation Cloudburst to take back the bridge. Militia forces are to take point, crossing the bridge and attacking the eastern camp."
"Is this the same Army Battalion that has only a quarter of its forces remaining after defending Vasel?" Squad 3's commander seemed to be a very outspoken young woman that enjoyed gossip, and although she never really spoke too much in meetings it seemed she paid enough attention to go around telling the entire Regiment what is discussed at them.
"Yes, they have consolidated their numbers to create a functioning company and will aid us on this operation until the main Army's force comes in."
"Captain," It was Faldio this time, with his very pessimistic and sullen mood despite his recent sexual conquest, "crossing that bridge means breaching the enemy bridgehead. What sort of on-site backup and supplies can we expect from the Army on this?"
"The plan calls for the Army to commence its attack after we've struck the bridgehead."
"Wait a minute.... So we're just being offered up on a platter?!"
Even Welkin had to cringe on Faldio's comment. It was true that the odds seemed impossible, but using phrases like that would dampen morale more than he probably knew. Not to mention Welkin had a little bit more faith in the Army than Faldio, his dad was after all a member, from Welkin's perspective if they had been assigned this task it’s because the general believed they could accomplish it. Every puzzle has its solution; Welkin thought to himself, there has to be something. It was with that thought that Welkin remembered something that his father had told him a long time ago and suddenly he wasn't so worried. After the Captain reminded Faldio of their duties the meeting resumed.
"Breaching that bridgehead by ourselves is..." The Captain caught her tongue and thought shortly to think of another word other than suicide. "It's going to be tough."
Remembering that little bit of info from his father many years ago, there was only one other thing left to check; Welkin was sure that his plan would work.
"Captain Varrot," All the eyes in the room looked at Welkin curiously due to the excited yet serious demeanor in his voice, "May I go observe the area around the bridge?" Everyone was even more confused at the seemingly irrelevant question, but Varrot with her experience had some idea that he had come up with another plan.
"Observe it? I don't mind, but what do you...."
"Welkin!"
A crash from the door at the entrance of the meeting hall startled most of the officer's in the room, one older man even shooting himself to the floor thinking that the Imperials were launching an artillery strike of some sort. Welkin stood from his seat at the mention of his name while many others were either surprised or agitated to see that the source of the crash was the sergeant from Squad 7.
"Sergeant Melchiott? What is it?" Captain Varrot was starting to get the impression that all the leadership from Squad 7 had some sort of confusion inducing eccentricity, which seemed even more true to her when she remembered Largo was a Crew Chief in that Squad. Suddenly aware that she had rudely barged into what looked to be a meeting Alicia was embarrassed from the watchful eyes of every officer in 3^rd Regiment.
"Oh, I... Sorry to interrupt the meeting."
"We're finished, it’s fine." The Captain lied a little, but her word had made it true despite her curiosity towards Welkin's plan, or at least the plan she assumed he thought up. "Now I assume there's a reason for your visit?"
"Yes, Captain." Alicia took a short moment to compose herself and turned towards Welkin with the troubling news. "Wel- Lieutenant Gunther... The squad, they're at each other’s throats."
"What?"
"Please stop them, sir. I tried, but they... I couldn't."
Faldio and the other officers just sat silently as the exchange between Welkin and Alicia evolved from a Laissez-faire Welkin to a bossy Alicia getting Welkin to change his policies concerning his squad's behavior in an instant. Faldio thought to himself that this was making a lot of other officers in the room jump to hasty conclusions about Welkin's leadership capabilities, but Faldio knew better. He smiled as he imagined a bossy Alicia and him getting a little frisky very soon. He noticed Varrot too was smiling, and figured her a good judge of character as a result. After the Lieutenant and his Sergeant ran out of the room to solve whatever troubled Squad 7 the room became silent.
"Sounds like he's got his hands full." Personally Faldio would rather be dealing with petty brawls than the deaths of his squad members which were all too much a reality for him.
"It's all part of growing as a team," After that the officers in the room began to pack up and leave to inform their squads of the impending operation. I'm sure Largo has something to do with this. This was Varrot's first suspicion. I'll deal with him later.
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Behind the library in the plaza that saw a considerable amount of action not even twenty-four hours ago was seeing a different kind of conflict now, one that involved brothers in arms fighting against each other. The Squad was split between those that would fight alongside their fellow Gallians, and those that wouldn't fight alongside a Darcsen. Those with the Darcsen issue were made up of people like Largo, Rosie, Coby, Cherry, Cezary and Theold. While those that would fight for the nation as one was made up people like Edy, Dallas, Juno, Wavy, Nadine and Isara. While others were split on the conflict and watched the havoc unfold slowly. Like many conflicts of this level the reason for taking a certain side by an individual were not always simple, Cherry for example had no qualms with Darcsens, but an admirable respect for Rosie. While Edy had no particular love for Darcsens, she had a gratuitous hatred for Rosie.
The two groups were shouting at each other and were catching the attention of some nosey members from Squadron 8 as the conflict escalated. Most on Rosie's side were shouting insults while many on Isara's begged for a reasonable solution. Edy of course was ballsy enough to just shout insults back, especially towards the likes of Rosie and her stupendous arrogance. Susie on the other hand had not joined a 'side', but shouted from the sidelines to stop this pointless bickering.
"Oh yes. I've heard everything you've had to say, but I'm still a human being, the same as you." Isara's resolve in the face of danger was astounding especially to her admirers.
"The fuck did you just say!" Rosie shoved the lightweight Isara away, obviously displeased with her statement about Darcsens being human as well. Isara was pushed back and caught by those defending her before she fell to the ground. The air was tense and fists rolled up tight to form white knuckles ready to make contact to the other party on both sides.
"We are nothing like you, and I won't tolerate being compared to the likes of you dark-hairs!"
"That's because all you can be is a whiny bitch!*" Edy was not holding back. That was all it took for an agitated Rosie swing her fist at the tiny and high-pitched shock trooper with blinding speeds only for it to be caught by a relatively stronger Welkin.
//*AN: Would Edy say this? I mean... I would say it. Insert your own Edy comeback if you disagree, I mainly just kept it because it made me laugh. //
A shocked Edy stood dead still after realizing what actions just unfolded, while her mind developed more reasons to not like the obnoxious redhead that threw a punch at her without hesitation. The shock didn't last long and her look transformed to one of disdain.
"Stop it, that's enough!" Welkin threw Rosie's fist back at her like a baseball, "What the hell is going on here!" It was a rare moment for the entirety of the Squad, since its formation no one had seen Welkin get even remotely serious, not even during the training days back at Fort Amatriain. This new Welkin was as effective as the echo of a gunshot to the squad as their minds worked furiously to accommodate his new character.
"Even if I don't say it you should understand, right!?" Rosie shot Isara a look that said, I want to kill you, "It's this brat! She's a Darcsen and she'll get us all killed by blowing us up!" Finally she gazed at all the Darcsens in the squad, "And what's most irritating is the smell of them."
"All right, it's out now. Leave it at that." Welkin wasn't so sure this would all blow over now, but he didn't want to hear anymore insults towards his sister. "My sister is a part of this squad and we'll just have to work together."
"Okay boss-man." Largo, who had said very little on account of him smoking a cigarette dabbed some of its ash to put a word in, "We won't fight alongside no Darcsen. What part about that can't you understand?" Even though he still had most a cigarette left he decided to ash it completely on his shoulder armor for effect, "Another thing we ain't doing is taking orders from some hotshot greenhorn. Incompetent leaders get more allies killed than enemies, y'know?"
Looking at the majority of people behind Largo Welkin could see that his experience was being called into question. Most of those with Largo had been in the last war or were older than Welkin, the only exception being Catherine who sat silently on the sidelines with her arms crossed over her rifle. Okay, He thought, this Darcsen thing isn't the only issue. Flashbacks flooded Welkin's mind with the force of a hurricane about lessons his father had taught him that weren't biology related. He glanced at Susie and Isara hoping their faces would remind him of things his father said about his experiences during the war and his leadership, topics he would rarely ever bring up.
"Alright, fine. Now listen and listen good." If the squad wasn't surprised about Welkin's sudden shift to a serious tone earlier they were definitely surprised now as he confronted Largo head on and without fear, a man that was twice his size. "I'll prove I'm not here to use this squad as sacrificial lambs and that I'm fit to command this unit. To do that, I'll have that Bridge back in Gallia's hands in forty-eight hours."
At this point Largo wasn't sure whether to laugh or be concerned with Welkin seemingly talking nonsense about taking back anything with his level of experience. At the same time though the resolve in his character and his confidence was reminiscent of Belgen Gunther in the last war, a small part of Largo actually wanted Welkin to succeed if it meant he could see the same miracles from his son.
"Now is my plan fails, which I doubt, I'll resign..." Welkin continued to complete his wager by laying down the terms, "Squad 7 will be all yours, Largo. Not even a fear of a court-martial. But if my plan works you'll take my orders and like it. All of you." This time Welkin did a sweeping gaze to all those that seemed to questioning his position making sure to spend extra time on Largo and Rosie. No one flinched from this gaze, but it did fill them with a certain degree of doubt about their own positions.
Meanwhile Largo just broke out into laughter and Rosie saw where this was going. She tried to plead silently to Largo not to take the bait that the lieutenant had laid in front of him, but Largo was too interested to measure the worth of this Son of General Gunther that Elle held to such high esteem.
"Your funeral boss-man. You sure about this?" Now even Largo was serious, and his face showed as much. It was his last bit of intimidation directed toward the young lieutenant in an attempt to measure the size of his dick by seeing if he would back out now.
"Yes I am." Welkin wasn't much of a gambling man, but he was a man of his word and wouldn't back down. This is when the women stepped in. Rosie was shooting Largo a look of rage while Alicia who had arrived back at the library when Welkin did decided to finally say something. She had Welkin figured for a better man than someone who would just throw his position away.
"But... wait a sec... Welkin?" Alicia was at a loss as to what to say despite her need to say something, she pulled on his arm while thinking, What the fuck just happened? Welkin however just sort of shrugged her off, something she wasn't entirely pleased with.
"Meanwhile everyone is at least to continue the patrols expected of this squad as ordered by the Regiment CO." Welkin was shouting just enough for everyone in the plaza to hear him. "Otherwise rest when you aren't on patrol because it will be an early rise tomorrow and a late night, with a mission briefing this evening. Understood!?"
The squad didn't move or say a single thing; most of them were just concerned that this bet would lead to a high degree of recklessness by the Lieutenant due to his haste.
"Good. Isara, Marina, and Salinas; follow me." Welkin walked briskly away from the plaza across the broken wall that had crumbled from the still immobilized imperial tank that had just been sitting there since its destruction, to the front of the library where the Edelweiss was parked. Alicia, although not ordered to follow had went along anyways leaving the squad behind.
Rosie took Largo aside as the rest of the squad blew up into multiple conversations after seeing these appalling events unfold. After securing a location that was out of view she pulled on his collar as roughly as she could to stress her anger but to no avail. He was after all a giant relative to her.
"What the hell were you thinking?! Is this some sort of game to you?"
"Take it easy toots," Largo removed her hand before putting his own up in defense, "Let's just remember that the only problem I had was with this boy's leadership, not no Darcsens."
"You have me suck your dick but then decide it's only your issues that should be resolved! I ought to kill you in your sleep."
"What if I told you there was a reason my eyes were closed and you weren't the one that got me off."
"Fuck you!" Rosie pushed Largo into the wall of the alley, "We'll play it your way, but this better work." Rosie began to walk away from the overly grown man as he recalled why he stayed single up until now.
Largo pulled out the gracious 'vegetable' that was ecstasy to the lungs, tobacco; wrapped by hand into his favorite Gallian cigarette brand, Unicorn Wides. He pulled a cigarette from the half empty pack and began to light it with a match that he struck on his armor. Largo had many years under him relative to the rest of the squad with Coby being the exception, and he knew that if the boy could impress him then he could also impress Rosie enough to tolerate the Darcsen members of the Squad despite her prejudice.
"...Good luck, boss-man." Largo at heart was indeed a soldier, and a grunt at that. And a grunt took orders.
...but he wouldn't mind giving them either.
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"What the hell were you thinking?!" This time it was Alicia asking the questions as Welkin took the small detachment he assembled towards the Vasel River, "Is this some sort of game to you?"
"What are you talking about Alicia?"
"You just made and insane promise, that's what I'm talking about! The commotion is over but everyone feels even more uneasy now, did you even consider just how much everyone's distrust just grew?" Welkin stopped on the sidewalk and turned towards everyone following him, his abrupt stop caused everyone else to halt abruptly in suit.
"All of you guys still trust me, right?" Alicia was lit and didn't answer upon realizing that she did indeed still trust the commander, while Isara seemed too down to even think of an answer. Upon realizing Marina wouldn't respond even if God was asking Salinas decided to say something after resting his MAGS M1 on his shoulder.
"Yeah... I guess." Even he was a little doubtful of Welkin's ambitions and his assurance came out more like a question.
"See?" Welkin responded to Alicia confidently.
"I'm sorry, Welks. I shouldn't have argued... This is all my fault." Isara had come to the understanding that she was causing a lot of trouble for her brother and cursed herself for letting the redheaded vixen get to her.
"It's nobody's fault, Is. It's a war; we're all on edge here." Welkin approached his sister and gave her hug sensing that she needed one right now. "It's little wonder everyone is upset, but that's why pulling this operation off is the perfect way to bring the squad together. So don't be down, I can't do this without you."
"That'd be great if it works... But how do you plan to take the bridge back in 48 hours?" Welkin looked briefly at Alicia before breaking his embrace with Isara and looked his sister in the eyes.
"Is, you remember the deep wading project that Dad told us about way back in the day?" Welkin, despite Alicia's realism was more confident than ever.
"Yes... But that project wasn't done to the scale of the Vasel River."
"Don't worry about that part, leave that to me. Do you think you can get the Edelweiss ready by tomorrow?"
"Yes. I'll get to work on it now."
Seeing the trust being exchanged between the two siblings was enough to get Alicia to give in.
"...All right. I'll trust you on this."
"Thanks, Alicia. Well, let's get started. Salinas help Isara get the Edelweiss ready. Marina..."
As if Welkin and Marina understood the same silent language Marina gave Welkin a faint nod as they began to set out ahead toward the river while Salinas escorted an embarrassed Isara toward the Edelweiss. When everyone had left Alicia released a solid sigh in her loneliness. She would definitely be venting this to Faldio soon.
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0915 Hours, Vasel River East Bank
"Do you see anything?"
Welkin and Marina lay silently side by side in the tall grass that ran alongside Riverside Lane which just yesterday the Edelweiss had traversed to flank the enemy unit occupying the City Hall. It was a small operation and the two snuck up to the river on the account of Imperials sniping and launching mortar strikes along any part of the embankment that appeared to have movement. Marina was looking through the scope of her GSR-1 spying every possible point she suspected might have a sniper or spotter waiting to give their position to a mortar team.
Marina simply shook her head in response to the young lieutenant's inquiry. Her prey was good at hiding and she didn't want to him to know that nor admit that any imperial sniper had the ability to conceal them from her. This was the most dangerous game she had ever had the pleasure of hunting and she didn't want to sit down and explain the intricacies of this delicate process to someone like Welkin who wouldn't understand. As far as she was concerned she was just too distracted by him to spot anyone.
"So it's safe to go?"
Marina wanted to tell him it was suicide to go, but it seemed like too much effort and she was confident in her ability to use him as bait and shoot any potential sniper before they had a chance to take him out. Instead she just gave him a faint nod as Welkin began to crawl his way slowly through the brush of grass as he made his way closer to the river.
Marina had never openly objected to his plan to get as close as he could to the river, nor his plan to try and take the bridge in under forty-eight hours, but she was utterly convinced that he was crazy. She didn't worry about that though, with the company gone she slowed her heartbeat and held her breath. She had no idea where Welkin was at by the time she focused in on the buildings across the river trying to locate even the faintest shimmers of light and more importantly the slightest movement of shadows. In time her heartbeat began to practically cease and her breath was no longer audible. Her aim true like always. It was quick, but she saw it. A glimmer of light on the third floor of a building across the river and without hesitation took the shot.
The gunshot echoed across the river valley as it was a strangely quiet time for a battlefield. The Imps were tired and waiting for reinforcements while Gallia was just happy that they weren't dealing with any major offensives, at least not in Vasel. Taking a deep breath Marina pulled the bolt of her rifle back and chambered a new bullet. Repeating the process of practically stopping her heart and breath she hastily looked around as the sweat of her forehead gathered and slipped down her face. An unlucky sniper exposed his helmet and she took another shot, this time seeing the blood splatter through the vision of her scope.
Repeat. When she looked out towards the Imperial side of Vasel she saw nothing, but knew it wasn't void of snipers yet. She waited and so did her prey. A feeling of unease washed over Marina and her heart began to ache from the ominous feeling of being hunted. This time whatever sniper still remained on the far side of the river was ignoring the prized officer making his way towards the river and keeping an eye out for her. She didn't like being hunted, not when she was the one hunting. Her whole body was sweating now, but not even a twitch was present as she watched the horizon for any sort of movement. A slight breeze went by on her side of the river and the buzzing of a bullet just fractions of an inch away from her head deafened her as it flew by at supersonic speeds realizing that wherever that divine breeze came was her savior. 0.20 seconds for her to react, another 0.70 for her to aim and another 0.30 seconds to pull the trigger beat her opponents 1.5 seconds to re-chamber a bullet and aim. Not even counting the time for the pull of the trigger.
Another gunshot echoed throughout the river valley and Marina was still alive. She chambered another bullet and it was quiet. Save for the loud rustling of Welkin traversing the tall grass which was so loud that Marina was sure the snipers on the other side of the river could hear. He approached and settled right next to her, a little too close for her comfort.
"How far would you say we are from the bridge?" Welkin pulled out a notebook and scribbled something in it. Marina was thinking that he sure did ask a lot of questions.
"...Three thousand feet." She wasn't sure exactly, but it was more than half a mile and less than a mile.
"That's what I was thinking." He stopped momentarily to say that much, but then added more notes into his notebook before putting it back in his pocket. "You ready to get out of here?"
"Yes. We need to run." Both Marina and Welkin shot up from their positions and ran like hell from where they were. Whatever sniper could've hit them was taken out by Marina and the sound of incoming mortar fire whistled through the air as the couple double-timed it back to the safety of the buildings. As they ran up the ramp towards Riverside Park a volley of mortar shells exploded on the patch of grass they were laying. Some smart Imperial spotter was wise enough not to expose himself to Marina.
Both Welkin and Marina were panting by the time they made it up the ramp and ran into an alley to find cover from any searching eyes. They weren't alone though. Before Marina and Welkin had set out to the underbrush lying beside the river they had made a stop to see a blonde who specialized in information warfare.
"That was close, cutie. You certainly know how to keep a woman on her toes." Ellet was waiting for them to return while she waved a telegram paper in her hand. "If you died what was I going to do with this?"
"We weren't going to die. Marina is an expert in her art." Welkin caught his breath and approached the desirable reporter. "Could you get what I asked?"
"Maybe, Assuming there's something in it for me."
"You see that bridge?" Welkin motioned his towards the only structure in Vasel that was hard to miss.
"Yes?" Ellet answered the rhetorical question.
"Start writing your story now, because it will be in our hands tomorrow assuming that telegram bears good news."
"I hope I have good news then." Ellet handed him the small piece of cardstock paper and Welkin read it meticulously. "And has your side of the bargain been kept?"
"Yes." Welkin handed her a copy of his plans which he made a double of just to barter information from Ellet.
Ellet smiled and so did Welkin upon seeing the text of the telegram paper. Not only had his observations of the river been correct, but those he trusted at Randgriz University in the field of meteorology had agreed that tomorrow was indeed a good day to cross the river. Gallia had been hot for the last month, a heat that effectively caused his squad members to want to strip nude in the barracks, but they were expecting a change in this trend very soon. And this was good news.
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1116 Hours – City Hall, Regimental CO's Office
There was a map of the city on Varrot's desk and an elaborate plan all written out inside of a leather bound journal that was given to her to read including times, weather patterns, contingency plans, and locations all written with an excellence in penmanship that only a diligent student could provide. She paced in her office while occasionally looking up from the notebook to look at the young lieutenant that had conjured all this up in a single morning. He definitely had his father's smarts and resourcefulness. Even though some of the plan seemed to be a little far-fetched it was otherwise completely flawless in the sense of operational planning she hadn't seen since her years at Lanseal. Varrot stopped her pacing and observed the young man sitting on a desk waiting for her to say something after he had given his oral presentation of the operation before she decided to look directly at the details.
He is good-looking, she thought to herself. There was little doubt in her mind that he was able to bed a reporter from Randgriz in a very short amount of time and probably had a great student life before the war. She shook those thoughts out of her head and did a quick rundown on the scope of the proposed operation.
"This plan calls for the mobilization of the entire regiment and at least some support from another. Normally this would have to go through division for approval and it should go through them. So remind me again why preparation has to be done tonight and executed tomorrow morning?" Varrot liked his plan, but even she thought he was coming into this a little too fast.
"The conditions that benefit us for crossing the river will have changed should the operation be postponed, and movement can only be concealed under the cover of night. The new moon helps out the operation even more in this regard, but a crescent will be visible by tomorrow night."
"...Alright, and what about this part that says you'll get your squad's tank across the river?"
"That's already been handled and I have assurances from my sister that it will go as planned."
It didn't really help boost Varrot's confidence in that part of the plan, but she did her best to remember that this was no ordinary tank they were talking about. The Edelweiss was Belgen's idea and Theimer's advanced methodology and engineering prowess was what made it come to life. The legacy of each man was operating the tank today, so the circumstances were arguably the same now as they were when the Edelweiss was constructed.
"Okay, but that doesn't change the scope of the operation." This was Varrot's main concern, "I'll be stepping over my pay grade to get this operation in motion, and that's assuming I can get 1^st and 4^th regiment to cooperate in something they know hasn't gone through division."
"I understand, Captain. But in this case some regulation can be overlooked. Our orders are to breach the enemy bridgehead and provide means for getting the 1^st Army across the river, nowhere do these orders state that we can't breach said bridgehead from behind."
She couldn't help but grin at the cleverness of Welkin's remark. What he said was completely true as well, but the upper brass would most definitely still point fingers at her should the operation fail. From what Varrot could see though this was just as wild as the plans that General Gunther used to come up with in the last war and her gut was telling her that this was the best approach to follow.
"You're dismissed, Lieutenant." She slammed the leather bound notebook shut. "I will hold onto these plans for the time being and an Op Order should be in everyone's hands by midafternoon."
Welkin shot up to salute the captain from his improvised seat and they said their formal goodbyes as per usual, but it wasn't until Welkin left the room – obviously thankful for the captain's trust in him – Eleanor released an uneasy sigh. Doing this for Welkin meant pulling a favor from the most senior officer available in the AO, Colonel Leon Bach, and she could already start guessing what he might ask for in return. Respectably enough the entirety of 4^th Regiment was in a period of R&R for their valiant efforts at setting a foothold in the city with the aid of artillery and medical support from 1^stRegiment, 3^rd had been the unit assigned to lead the attack on Vasel Bridge as a result. This meant that whatever the colonel did ask in return couldn't be too much to bear on that account, just the consideration that his regiment was supposed to be last in line for the assault. Varrot called her S-3 into her office after pondering her options momentarily in the isolation of her impromptu office.
"Yes, Ma'am?" He was a good lieutenant and was fast.
"I need an Op Order typed up as fast as you can manage based on these plans. They will be division, so get extra help if you need it."
"Right away, Ma'am!" He grabbed the notebook the captain offered him which held every detail of the plan.
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April 14, 1935 [C-Day] – 0558 Hours, Vasel River
"Looks like this kid's plan is actually going to work." Largo was on a row boat with the majority of his crew and Rosie who had opted to go with him only to express her discontent with how well everything was going for Welkin and his side of the bargain.
"Yes. Something I'm not particularly happy about. All thanks to you." Her brows were furrowed and she didn't even bother to look the muscular man in the eye as she kept vigilant on the east shore of the river awaiting the signal to beach.
"How was I supposed to know he would find a way to make the damn tank swim. I ain't never heard of anything like this before. Honestly I kind of hope it works."
"And I hope you drown before we cross this river!"
"Hey, keep it down. You wanna blow our cover?"
"If I knew it would make this plan fail and not get us killed, I would." Rosie shot Largo a quick death glare and resumed to watching the far bank as the assigned crewmates paddled the boat as silently as they could.
Welkin's plan of course called for more than just Squad 7 crossing the river south of the bridge, but an entire multi regimental movement that had been taking place throughout the night. 1^st Regiment had been hammering the enemy side of the river with lead from the powerful artillery at their disposal all night in an attempt to keep the enemy up and prepare them for an attack at the bridgehead. The rest of 3^rd Regiment was up all night making it look like they were about to strike said bridgehead in the morning, but actually setting up a defensive in case the Imps took the bait and tried to strike first. Meanwhile the entirety of 4^th Regiment and the Vasel Defense Battalion was crossing the river to the north and were to rely solely on artillery from 1^st until the bridge was cleared and armor could start rolling across. It was all a ploy to lure the enemy away from the bridge controls so that squad 7 can take the bridge from the east side and get as many troops across as possible before the intel that more Imperial reinforcements were on route came true.
After hours of moving boats around in the cover of darkness and thousands of artillery rounds and explosions later sat Squad 7 in several boats making their way across the river under the veil of a thick fog that consumed the river valley. Like the water below them there was an odd chill in the air as if the earth knew her children were about to engage in bloodshed and each stroke of the paddles were gradually quickened just like the pace of the squad's hearts as they approached the eastern shore. 0600, that's when the Edelweiss should make it all the way across the river based on the plan, but there was yet a sound to be heard on the quickly approaching shore.
Just beneath the placid river it was an entirely different scenario altogether.
"Is! What's that pressure gage looking like?" Welkin was doing his best to plug the torrent of leaks that were breaking out throughout the tank. Just like Isara said the specs of the Edelweiss were not built for rivers to the scale of Vasel, but with a few tweaks of the deep wading system built by her father Isara was sure that the Edelweiss would make the trip.
"Pressure is going down. We should be approaching the shore." She was much calmer than her brother given the situation. She knew he had faith in her skills just like she did with his, but anyone and their mother would show some concern given the volume of the leaks inside the tank and the rising pool of water at their feet.
"Almost there!" Isara was shouting in excitement and trying to comfort Welkin with her words although it was likely he didn't need comfort, rather he just needed an extra pair of hands to help with the leaks that Isara had asked him to maintain as best he could. As Isara watched the needle on the water pressure gauge drop she knew they weren't too late and that they were going to make it across the river.
Who it was too late for was a couple of Imperials across the river halting on their usual patrol due to the sound of a tremor that stopped them in their tracks.
"Ya hear something?" As usual the man's voice had a metallic echo from the sound piercing his helmet, an unintentional intimidation tactic caused by the imperial uniform.
"Yeah, I do. What is it?"
"Beats me." The two imperials approached the river out of curiosity only to be astonished by the sight of a tank surfacing from the water at high speeds.
There was no time to react. The awe of a steel beast forcing tons of water to be displaced as it emerged from a river used for shipping goods across the country had stricken the imperials motionless just long enough for them to be crushed under the treads of the Edelweiss which had used every available bit of its horsepower to pierce the pounds of force acting on it in the depths of the river. There wasn't even an audible crack from the bones of said imperials since the roar of Edelweiss' engine was too loud for something so trivial to be heard. There were only the stains of blood on the pavement and the steel monster's treads.
Without realizing what had just taken place and his mind still set on completing the mission, Welkin freed himself from the confines of the Edelweiss and took a deep breath of the fresh foggy air. He heard that gunfire had already exploded to the north. It seemed that 4^th and the Vasel Defense Battalion had completed their beaching operation to the north, or that it was underway and they were spotted while crossing despite the fog. Either way Welkin had to let his squad and the rest of 3^rd Regiment know to commence the remainder of the operation now that he had made it across safely. He pulled out his dad's flare gun and looked at it with a new respect while he tried to imagine the history that this piece represented as well as the horrors of the last war that it lived through. He gave a small prayer hoping that it had just enough left in it to serve its country for one more war.
"The Edelweiss swims just fine!" He pointed the gun towards the sky. "Fall in 7's!" With a pull of the trigger the flare shot up through the fog of the early morning and exploded into a bright light comparable to a slowly falling star and seen as a ray of hope for Gallia and her citizens, while her heroes acted to push back those that would threaten her. Those heroes were crashing onto the beach of the river and storming the East Bank of Vasel knowing that their element of surprise will be short lived.
Boat after boat beached onto the shore of the river and the crews of Squad 7 raced up the levy and onto the pavement where the Edelweiss idled. Only a few individuals had taken the time to ponder the pools of blood and flesh that was left during the wake of the Edelweiss' surfacing while many others were too focused or beached too far from the mess to realize the remains were there.
"All right, that's everyone." Welkin sat atop his mount looking down at the squad while some of the more experienced members were dragging along some of the younger blood in an attempt to make a perimeter around the Edelweiss. "Ready to move out, squad?" The nonchalant tone in Welkin's voice was enough to give Largo a headache after all that happened, at the very least he thought Welkin should be a little on edge now that they were back in a combat situation.
"You're crazy. You know that, right?" Largo grasped his head where it hurt while shoving Claudia behind the tank where she belonged.
Welkin didn't get the chance to respond to Largo because of his sister's voice coming in through his head piece. It was a necessity for a tank commander to have for ear protection from the Edelweiss' 40/88mm cannon, but also so he and the driver can communicate over the powerful vibrations of the engine.
"Incoming transmission from Squad 1 leader Faldio Landzaat on the West bank, sir." Unlike her usual getup with just her skirt and shawl, the weather was cool enough today for Isara to be wearing the full regulated uniform without dying in the heat of the Edelweiss, but the water that leaked in during the crossing did create a muggy atmosphere inside the vehicle much to both siblings' discontent. "Enemy company in motion, presumed heading east across the bridge to our position."
"Shit." He muttered the curse under his breath so not to alert his squad, "We'll have to move fast. We need to take that camp before any reinforcements move in. Alicia!"
"Yes, sir?!"
"Take Crews 3 and 4, and secure our right flank as we advance. Do not slow down."
"All right!" She began to muster the crews assigned to her and led them around the corner of a watchtower as they took a street going east.
"Rosie, take point with your crew. Largo watch the rear with yours. Be sure to check every corner before crossing it!" With that said Welkin closed the hatch of the Edelweiss with him inside and used his periscopes to assess the situation as it progressed.
The two crews and the Edelweiss progressed down West Riverside Street north towards the commotion of gunfire that was being exchanged a ways down the road between the Vasel Defense Battalion and whatever imperials happened to come across them. To the right was an entire block of caved in buildings that were no doubt the result of the artillery barrage last night which was evident based on how some of the buildings were still hot or on fire. Rosie's team was hugging the collapsed buildings tightly for cover from whatever fire may come from an unseen enemy while Largo's team did the same to the rear of the Edelweiss as it progressed slowly forward with its gun facing any potential ambush locations. As they continued along Riverside Street they came across mountains of rubble blocking their path at the intersection of Second Street. As per usual, the Edelweiss stopped just before reaching the corner to allow the infantry to clear first of any anti-tank guns.
Ramona and Cherry were the first to reach the corner. Cherry crouched low while Ramona stood over her to take a peek around the corner while the rest of the crew was lined up and awaited their observations. Second Street was a long and narrow path compared to the width of Riverside and it looked clear despite a cloud of smoke coming from something burning along the way. Ramona and Cherry gave each other a quick glance to confirm the all clear only to be surprised by a squad of Imperial shock troopers running out of a collapsed building and across the street to a broken wall to the north. It was likely that they were heading to reinforce the conflict between the Vasel Defense Battalion and the Imps. Without hesitation the duo brought their rifles up and began to fire at the exposed infantry who likely gave the all clear to their squad just moments before they were about to.
"Imps!" Cherry and Ramona shouted in sync while Rosie, Jane and Edy rushed out of their cover and lined the alleyway with lead and effectively hitting every Imp that was running across. There was about seven of them and a few seemed to remain alive writhing agonizingly from the holes ripped into their flesh. There was an eighth and last imperial that managed to duck down behind some cover before being shot and mounted a machine gun atop it before sending lead back. Despite it being only one gun its rate of fire was enough to gain fire superiority making Rosie and her crew scram back for cover. The imperial kept shooting even after they left to try and keep them away, obviously concerned for his own life after seeing all of his comrades die in front of him. A couple of them calling for his assistance with their last breaths as he fought the Gallians back.
In the wake of a small tremor the imperial noticed the finer rubble he was using as cover begin to vibrate and fall off in lines of dust as a large Gallian tank rounded the corner with its turret pointed directly at the imperial. He up and ran leaving the machine gun he had mounted behind only to be mowed down by the machine gun of the Edelweiss' turret. Seven rounds pierced his back before the turret turned to finish of his friends in a continuous spray of hot lead. Afterwards the Edelweiss continued on its merry way and stopped before heading further down the street when Largo pulled the phone mounted to the tanks rear and spoke directly to Welkin this way.
"Kid, stop!"
"What's the problem, Largo?" Welkin suspected mines or such.
"This wall to the left ain't supported by anything! Just crash through it! It's a matter of time before the Imps see what we're up to, we don't have time to be navigating these streets just make our own road."
Welkin looked out through his scope on the tank and observed the wall briefly before he responded to Largo.
"All right. Tell the crews to stand back and prepare for breaching." With that said Largo hung up the phone and the Edelweiss rotated left and crashed through the wall with all the speed it could conjure at such a short distance. On the other side was a shit load of idle tanks all being fueled up by a cluster of ragnoline containers. After Welkin and the rest of the squad present saw that they knew it was going to be a field day.
"Get in cover!" Largo shouted as loudly as he could and everyone complied realizing what was about to happen.
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A block east the crews of Catherine and Juno were stuck trying to deal with a tank of their own that had caught on to the plan and was actively traversing the battlefield through the wide lanes of Randgriz Boulevard.
"Medic!" Alicia was shouting over the gunfire and desperately trying to fix a wound on Theold, the only lancer they had which had gotten hit trying to take out the tank. "Medic!"
The ever diligent Fina Sellers was running as fast as she could from the safety of her cover into the fray of bullets to get into the crater on Randgriz Boulevard where Alicia was making her calls. Meanwhile Vyse and Aisha were burning through magazines to protect their medic and watched in utter shock as she navigated the maze of bullets aimed at her and into the safety of the crater without so much as a scratch. Upon arriving Fina looked at the wound and sighed in relief after concluding it wouldn't be lethal. He was hit on his left calf and right shoulder; she got to work right away on him opening a couple of ragna powder packets and spreading it on both wounds to stop bleeding and infection before patching him up. Although she figured he didn't need ragnaid to stop the pain she gave him a shot anyways and tried to pick him up with Alicia's help to get him back to the sandbag placement with Vyse and Aisha.
Noticing that the three were on their way back to the captured base camp on Randgriz Boulevard and Low Plot Lane the crews shot up another storm, but more problems were developing as they did so. The tank that had been refraining from firing at its own captured camp had now set up for a mortar round to be shot and the rest of the crew mates were unsure what was about to happen when a blue explosion to the west deafened the entire battle ground into a silent ringing mess. It was so large that a shockwave was felt from it despite the distance and even put out a few fires in the vicinity of the camp. It came from the bridge further down the street, and the tank that was about to fire at the defenseless squad raced down the street seemingly on orders that the bridge was to have priority over a stray dozen troops occupying a base camp. It was a great moment of relief for everyone on Alicia's team, but the fighting was not over yet.
"Catherine!" Alicia wasn't going to let the other half of Squadron 7 take on the task of capturing the bridge house alone, especially since it was unknown what that large explosion was just moments ago.
"Yes, Miss Melchiott?" Catherine had her calm happy demeanor as always.
"Gather the snipers and set up a defense around this camp, I don't want to lose it. Wavy, Nadine; you guys stay here too. I don't want Rosie pulling a fast one if she sees you guys."
"Yes, ma'am." Nadine and Wavy responded in unison, and Nadine was always happy to take the rear guard. In urban warfare like this though it was always unclear where exactly the rear was when fronts could be the flight of stairs to get to the floor above you.
And so the majority of Alicia's team followed her down the street towards the bridge while Fina stayed with Theold and the fireteam that was ordered to defend to the camp. Amidst all the explosions and gunfire there was a flash and a loud rumbling that followed and persisted longer than the tremor of an explosion normally would, Catherine and the others looked at the sky upon realizing that his unique sound to the battlefield was thunder.
"I'm going to move him inside the tent; the rain water won't be good for his wounds." Fina declared to the defense team, "Could you two help me?" She motioned to Nadine and Cezary who obliged to her request, although it was evident with Cezary's attitude that he didn't like helping the Darcsen literary with this task. Nonetheless they helped the medic with her request while the rest of the team was trying to finish off the imperials inside the building across the street.
"Thank you, guys. And good luck out there." The smile of Fina Sellers was enough to make any guy melt and it certainly made Cezary hide a blush with his long hair by looking down. "Call if you need me again."
"It was no problem at all." Nadine's voice on the other hand made Cezary want to puke. "Let us know if you need anything else." He was just glad that the gunfire outside the tent was enough to spare him of her animal cries guised as frivolous courtesy.
Nadine and Cezary exited from the backside of the tent not sure what to expect if they went out the front side where bullets were flying, and just as they were about to come around the corner Nadine was going to say something to the pale haired Darcsen hater.
"Tha..." She was however cut off when the anger of the young sniper snapped and he pressed her against the wall behind the tent by her neck with his rifle. He was choking her and the large bag on her back forced her back to arch not giving her enough leverage to fight her assailant. The position she was in made her feel exposed as her breast became more pronounced and the her gut was defenseless against whatever Cezary might think to do. He leaned his head closer to her causing her to flinch away by forcing her head to the side but all he did was just speak into her ear as if telling her a secret.
"If I wanted to hear an animal speak I would've demanded so. Now shut the fuck up!" He released her of his rifle's grip and she fell to her knees coughing with tears in eyes caused by the uncontrolled breathing. He simply just walked away and ducked in the safety of the sandbags while the rest of the fireteam was debating how to get the remaining stragglers inside the building across the street. Upon realizing Cezary had returned but not Nadine, Wavy looked frantically for her to find her on the ground behind the tent. He got up to go help her.
"What happened?!" We was worried that she was hit, but after seeing she wasn’t he knew immediately his was Cezary's doing.
"Nothing!" Nadine didn't want to get the young sniper in trouble despite his recent actions, "Nothing happened. I just... tripped."
"-Well be more careful then. It's not good to be careless in a situation like this." Wavy, figuring he would not get the truth out of her, decided to play along with her fib and helped her up.
The two Darcsen friends rejoined the fireteam at the sandbag placement while trying not to get shot, a life they would have to get used to for the remainder of the war. The team was having a hard time trying to get the last few Imps to abandon the building and Catherine knew from experience that firing blindly like this would get nowhere.
"It's useless. We'll have to get a team inside." She looked at those with her and made a quick decision based on what she had to work with. "Marina, find a good nest in that building behind us to see if you can't hit any of them on the higher floors."
“Understood…" Marina nodded to show she understood and left the fireteam behind.
"Cezary, take Nadine and Wavy inside and clear that building. Oscar and I will try to hold the line here."
"Alright." Surprisingly he was open to leading a couple of Darcsens and agreed willingly with a mischievous smile. "Come on you damned pigs!"
The Darcsens followed Cezary while Catherine used a commandeered imperial ZM MP to cover them from whatever imperials remained inside the structure. Oscar too was firing to clear them a path and after they made it inside he turned to Catherine to question her judgment.
"You sure that was a good idea?" Oscar was positive that Cezary would just try to get Wavy and Nadine killed.
"Of course it was, love." She rubbed the fifteen year-old on the back, "Trust in ol' Catherine, will you?" She was second guessing herself too, but the damage was already done. She instead got busy with defending against any other stray imperials trying to get to the bridge alongside Oscar, who was wondering if that caressing of his back meant anything sexual like a teenage boy would.
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"N-NO! Please! No!" An imperial who was shot a few times by Wavy was pleading to Cezary who was approaching him with a bayonet.
"Sorry, nothing personal." He raised his bayonet to stab but Nadine grabbed his arm to stop him.
"He's surrendering! Let him go!" She held back his strike and when he realized she was holding him he got infuriated again and shoved her off causing her to fall on her ass.
"Ugh! Get your oily hands off me!" He looked at the wounded imperial again and found that his thirst for blood was no longer existent after being touched by Darcsen. "Scram!"
The imperial that was bleeding out from the left side of his torso got up and ran leaving a trail of blood behind him as he escaped the building. The rate at which he was bleeding made it obvious that Cezary was trying to make it quick for the Imp; it was a wound he wouldn't live from. Seeing no need for it anymore Cezary put away his bayonet and continued to the staircase to get to the third floor only to see the wall blown off and the height he was at. His vision narrowed and he froze.
"Are you all right?" Wavy was the first to ask on Cezary's condition seeing that something suddenly changed about him.
"Shut up! I'm fine." Cezary didn't want concern from a Darcsen. "You guys go ahead on first again. I'm going to go to that building over there."
"Why?"
"Because there's a sniper waiting for us to get on the exposed third floor over there." He motioned to another building. "I'm going to take him out."
"But I haven't seen any gunfire come from there." Nadine was trying to call him out because of the way he'd been treating her since the battle began.
"Then I'll let him shoot you." Cezary didn't waste time and began making his way to the ground floor. His tone was serious with Nadine and it seemed he preferred her dead than the obedient Wavy who seemed to know when it was okay to talk. He didn't see the looks of disdain that both Wavy and Nadine were giving him though. Wavy had decided to take Cezary's warning at face value while Nadine just figured him for a coward and a hater.
"Well, let's go then." Wavy broke the silence and lead the way.
The two did as they had the past two floors and cautiously and quietly approached corners with bayonets attached in case of a close encounter. Up ahead they heard the chatter of imperials about what was going on at the bridge as well as them trying to repair a short range radio to get ahold of anyone for reinforcements. Apparently their communication personnel got hit and the radio with him by the gunfire that they and the other Militiamen had delivered from across the street. Just like the last two floors thought they had no idea that there was a couple of Gallians making their way up the structure due to the small arms fire all over the city and just across the street. Since the plan had been drilled into them on the way up and at Fort Amatriain the two Darcsens went into the next room without any sort of signal and shot the imps at close range. The next room was completely exposed though and the last floor of the building was effectively the roof of the building now. Wavy and Nadine continued out and felt a couple of raindrops from a light sprinkle.
Seeing the two Darcsens come out onto the top of the building from his new position Cezary watched the enemy sniper carefully to see who he was aiming at and was sure that Nadine was the target. She wasn't being careful like Wavy despite his warning and the imperial sniper no doubt would love to tell the tale of him bagging a Darcsen to his unit after this was all said and done. Cezary, trying to act like a man of his word stopped aiming at the imperial and decided to watch Nadine get shot through the scope of this rifle. When he heard a gunshot though, Nadine didn't fall from a bullet, but from Wavy forcing her down after he spotted the sniper. The source of the gunshot came behind him and he stood up immediately while declaring a shot from that range was impossible only to realize that it was Marina who made the shot.
"You almost got sniped, Nadine!" Both of the Darcsens watched as an imperial sniper fell from the roof of a building. "It seems Cezary was telling the truth." Wavy motioned to an astonished Cezary standing right where he said he'd be and Nadine looked at the heroic figure in Gallian blues from a distance. Cezary on the other hand didn't notice the Darcsen's stare, but rather continued to contemplate the possibilities of the shot taken by Marina at that range.
Unfortunately she had lost her rifle when Wavy tried to secure her from the sights of the Imperial sniper, so she opted to pick up a ZM Kar 2 from a fallen imperial and even switched out their ammo. To Nadine it seemed that despite Cezary's hateful exterior there was actually someone kind enough to care about a human life, even if that human was a Darcsen. It was the first time she had seen that kindness from someone who wasn't Darcsen themselves and she decided that no matter what she would try to repay Cezary for saving her life. It was then that the rain turned from a soft sprinkle to a downpour making the shiny ebony hair of Nadine stand out even more.
"Do you hear that?" Wavy had been patiently waiting for Nadine to finish swapping out her weapon when the tremor of multiple tanks began to make the rubble on the floor move.
"More tanks!" Nadine and Wavy ducked behind a wall to see a line of tanks three abreast make their way down Randgriz Boulevard, every single one of them bearing the light blue and holy white of the Gallian flag and heading east while the tanks behind them split off at each intersection to go down the other roads.
"Now that's a sight for sore eyes." Wavy was actually smiling despite his usual placid and emotionless demeanor. He stood up and held his rifle above him and shouted over the rain, "Hell yeah!"
The remainder of the 3^rd Armored Infantry Regiment had made its way across the bridge to relieve the 1^st Regiment and the Vasel Defense Battalion. Nadine pulled out a pocket watch from her jacket and saw the time, 0728 hours. What felt like a hasty operation had apparently been more than an hour long and just now did Nadine's body begin to feel sore. She felt her neck with perplexity trying to figure out why that part of her body was sore when she remembered what Cezary did behind the tent. Seeing that he actually did care enough to save her life she wondered if the rough exchange earlier was just his way of saying he cared. The thought made her blush.
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SECRET
HEADQUARTERS
THIRD ARMORED INFANTRY REGIMENT
Office of the Operations Officer
14 April 1935

SUBJECT: Situational Report of Operation [Operation Cloudburst], 3^rd Regiment
TO: Commanding General, 2^nd Armored Infantry Division, A.P.O 3-B
ATTN: A-3
Immediately after the capture of Vasel Bridge the intel that an advancing Imperial Division was on route to the City was realized. These forces arrived much sooner than the intel provided proclaimed and as such they were able to hold large portions of the East Bank of the city before Militia and Military forces could set a foothold and fighting is still occurring on the East side of the city.
The parts of the city under friendly control since the composition of this report are the entirety of the Western Bank and certain portions of the North East of the city. Vasel Bridge is under friendly control and under the protection of the Royal Guard under the direct order of Princess Cordelia Gi Randgriz. Furthermore the supply lines of both sides have been reestablished.
City Hall on the West Bank has been declared the Headquarters of the Area of Operation by General Georg Von Damon and fighting is expected to persist until Imperial supply lines can be severed by the Southern Forces. 3^rd Regiment is still active in the city as well as the entirety of 2^nd Armored Division. Major General Alain Chevrette is expected to arrive in the AO within 48 hours and 3^rd Regiment is expected to continue operations inside the city until further notice.
Operation capacity before and after phase 1 of the operation is 60% and 57.3% respectively.
Eleanor Varrot
Captain, Gallian Volunteer Corps
Commanding Officer, 3^rd Regiment
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Author's Note: As I've said not as much sexy time, but you'll definitely enjoy the next part of the chapter. As always, thank you for reading.
-JPR
- 5
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- 7
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Tales of the Europan War