Chapter Text
0800 Military Time
War Room Antechamber, General Staff Headquarters
Capitol City Berun, the Empire
The room was a simple one, furnished according to the ‘substance over style’ doctrine typically attributed to army establishments. Two couches sat parallel to each other, perpendicular to the doors that led to and from the room. A coffee table laden with ceramic ash trays filled the space between. A map of the world covered one of the walls, and the other featured a tapestry depicting the current Kaiser. If the conversations held in the room weren’t often of a dire nature, it could almost be considered quaint.
Despite the early hour, a hazy smoke lingered in the air. Three of the Empire’s finest men were there to discuss the upcoming raid on the Federation’s capitol city, Moskva. Lieutenant Generals Kurt von Rudersdorf and Hans von Zettour sat across from each other, both pulling from cigars. Brigadier General Erich von Rerugen studied the world map with feigned interest. A companionable silence was held between the men, as though one of the most crucial operations in the Empire’s wasn’t due to occur later that day.
It was Rerugen who broke the silence.
“Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff should be briefing the Salamander Kampfgruppe right about now.” He checked his pocket watch, “If all goes according to plan, this drain of a war against the Rus will be over by evening time. Here’s hoping our White Silver can capture rats as well as she can kill them.”
“I have no doubt in the Argent’s ability, Brigadier General Rerugen,” Rudersdorf lets out a puff of smoke, “Besides, it’s not like we need the full Communist cabinet in our prison cells. Even just one high-ranking prisoner would be enough for our propaganda department. Surely you believe the Lieutenant Colonel has enough control to accomplish that much.”
“If you had asked me that question before the orders were sent, I would have agreed wholeheartedly.” Rerugen turned away from the map, a hard look in his eyes, “But the crimes against humanity committed by that fiend, Loria, make me wonder otherwise. Perhaps he could have been brought to legal justice and faced a firing squad. However, the decision to inform the Lieutenant Colonel of said crimes means he might very well meet the firing squad first.”
“Do you believe the General Staff’s decision to be irrational?” Rudersdorf asked, tone dangerous.
Rerugen was not dissuaded, “In my own subjective view, yes. Does the General Staff not want anything to show for its efforts? If the Argent felt she had legitimacy behind her actions, she might just blow up the Federation’s entire leadership and label it ‘acceptable casualties under Imperial orders’. This cannot be the best interest of the General Staff-”
“That is because it technically isn’t in the best interest of the General Staff.” Zettour said, a frown stretching his face. “The reasoning behind the decision to inform the Argent was not entirely rational, nor was it objectively the best strategy-wise.”
“Then, why…?”
“You may have forgotten, Brigadier General Rerugen, with how much like a model soldier she acts, but the Lieutenant Colonel is only a 14 year old girl,” Zettour took a long drag from his cigar, before continuing, “This same young girl happens to be the greatest mage the Empire has ever seen. Tell me General, knowing of Loria’s… inclinations, how do you think the Argent would react to the man without prior warning.”
“She would be disgusted and shocked beyond belief,” Rerugen suddenly paled, “In fact, it is entirely possible Loria would lust after her. If she weren’t informed prior, she might suspect the General Staff purposely left her in the dark.”
Zettour nodded, “That’s half of it. No soldier should have to deal with a monster of his kind without knowing about it beforehand.” The General sighed, before admitting, “The other half is purely selfish. The Argent is an asset that I have supported for years. If she were a man, I would marry her to my granddaughter in an instant. I won’t throw away the trust she’s placed in us.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, the General Staff needs to be on the Argent’s good side,” Rudersdorf said, a pensive look on his face, “She more than proved her worth to me up in Norden, and she’s the Named mage in the history of the Empire. We’re willing to give some leeway in the case of the White Silver. If a Communist or ten has to die in the process, then so be it.”
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0935 Military Time
Communist Party Headquarters
Capitol City Moskva, Russy Federation
Major Matheus Johan Weiss was nervous. Now, this wasn’t all that strange. He was the second-in-command of the 203rd and was constantly fighting in the Empire’s most dangerous battles under the Empire’s most dangerous mage. However, he wasn’t facing remedial training or an aerial dogfight this time. He didn’t even know what he was facing.
Soon after dusting the remaining aerial resistance, Weiss began to lead Second Company to where he felt his superior’s steady mana signature. As was procedure, he attempted to radio in the battalion’s success.
“Salamander 01, this is Salamander 02. Reporting successful operation against enemy aerial mage defense. Second Company is now on it’s way to assist in search and capture.”
“Salamander 02, good work. What’s the battalion’s condition and your ETA?” the Colonel’s voice came through.
“Two with minor injuries and no casualties. Everyone can still fight.” Weiss answered, “Second Company should arrive at your position in approximately 300 seconds.”
“That’s good to hear, Major Weiss. We’ll begin transporting the Commies with Second Company’s assistance- huh? GET BACK! zzzzrrt-” Suddenly, the Colonel’s radio cut out.
“Salamander 01? Can you hear me? Come in! Commander, what happened!?” No response.
Weiss relied on his years of military experience to suppress his panic. “Second Company, double time! The Commander is in trouble!”
“Yes Sir!”
Upon landing in front of what appeared to be a small palace, the Major directed half of Second Company to assist in securing the building. He and the other half went to find Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff. Which is where he found himself now, standing in a doorway that, strangely enough, didn’t have doors. Then he found himself staring at a human body. Well, more like a human corpse. Living people generally still had their entire skull.
“Commander, what the hell happened?”
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0925 Military Time
Strategy Chamber, Communist Party Headquarters
Capitol City Moskva, Russy Federation
“Ma’am!” Magic Lieutenant Serebryakov saluted. “The conference room is prepped for breach.”
Two men flanked the door on either side, with the Colonel and her adjutant were directly in front of it. A platoon of mages plus the White Silver and her Wing, more than enough to secure some hapless Commie politicians. The efficiency of the mages of the 203rd battalion never failed to put a smile on the White Silver’s face. She had trained them well. Her Devil status likely had something to do with it as well. Fear was a truly powerful motivator.
“Excellent work Lieutenant. And no alarm has been sounded?”
Lieutenant Serebryakov checked the radio transmissions, then shook her head, “None whatsoever, Commander. All security agents have been neutralized. The Russy leadership has no idea we’re this close to them.”
“Perfect. Now, stand back.” the Argent stepped forward, her Type 97 beginning to glow. “Never let it be said that the Empire isn’t polite when inviting it’s guests to dinner.”
“Polite, Commander?” Viktoriya asked, a slightly puzzled look on her face.
Tanya smirked in response, “We aren’t barbarians, are we? Knocking before entering is simply common courtesy.” Reinforcement and reflex enhancement spells now active, she put her hand up to the solid oak door.
Knock Knock
“Did someone order a pizza?” Before a response could come, she lashed out with a magically enhanced boot.
CRASH
The platoon rushed in, guns readied. They didn’t need to be worried. The Russy Federation’s Communist masters would never consider letting armed personnel in on private political dealings. They would be far too easy for a disgruntled opponent to bribe. A little cash and a promise for promotion and you had the makings of a mass assassination attempt. Not to mention the possibly of spies and intelligence leaks. Much easier -and safer- to deny weapon access to the conference room entirely. Of course this was only safe when said conference room was not being invaded by Imperial mages.
Suffice to say that the seven unfit politicians -General Secretary Josef and his six most trusted advisors- put up a comically underwhelming resistance. They were swiftly tied up and placed against the far wall. Rather, six of them were caught. Turns out, the Head of the NKVD did have a measure of awareness about him. The moment an unsolicited knock came through the door, Loria dove under the table. His self-preservation instincts served him well, for only a scant few seconds later his comrades were being hogtied like common POW’s. Trembling with suppressed rage, Loria gave a start and nearly gave himself away upon hearing a familiar female voice begin to speak.
“Make sure the restraints are tight. We don’t want them getting any funny ideas.” A new set of boots could be seen from under the table, a mocking lilt accompanying the boots’ owners’ words. “The General Secretary and his entourage will make a nice present for the General Staff. Wrap them up nicely.”
“That voice…” He chanced a glance, then internally swelled with glee at the sight that awaited. “It’s HER! My Goddess, my songbird, my beautiful ANGEL!”
More conversation could be heard as Loria creeped his way closer to the White Silver.
“Salamander 02, good work. What’s your ETA?”
“I’ll make you mine, my songbird.” Loria’s sense of rationality was gone, replaced only with the depraved desires that hid within his heart. “I’ll take you far away, and you’ll sing only for ME!”
“That’s good to hear, Major Weiss.”
“I can already imagine your angelic features writhing underneath me. I’VE BEEN WAITNG FOR YOU, MY GODDESS!”
“We’ll begin transporting the Commies with Second Company’s assistance-…” Finally, as close as he could get without tipping off the other Imperial mages, Loria lunged from under the table, perversions on his face displayed like a beacon.
“-Huh? GET BACK!” Tanya yelled in shock.
“Commander!” First Lieutenant Serebryakov turned towards the Colonel, just a hair too slow to properly respond.
It was only the Lieutenant Colonel’s focus on her radio update with Major Weiss that allowed the pedophiliac beast his closeness. In the second it took her to react, Loria managed to knock her throat mic to the floor with his desperate flailing. Unfortunately for him, that was the only thing he accomplished. The Argent was a veteran of the frontlines several times over. Experience dictates that frantic attacks from an enemy were to be met decisively and mercilessly.
“DIE!” Body still magically reinforced, Tanya blasted the perverted Communist into the nearby wall with a kick capable of breaking down solid oak. Cracks formed from the impact, and Loria’s body slumped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. A stunned silence rested over the room for a moment, before her adjutant burst into action.
“You!” Viktoriya pointed the least occupied platoon mage, “Get him tied up right this instant! And the rest of you! I want every other Communist in this room secured yesterday!”
She rushed over to the Colonel, concern and anger palpable in equal measures. How dare that Communist scum try and accost her Commander! If the Argent allowed it, perhaps she could introduce the bastard to his own intestines. It was only fair to allow him to see his own lack of guts after such a spineless ambush. And speaking of spine, he didn’t need it anymore since he clearly was not going to use it!
“So, that creature must be this ‘Loria’ the General Staff warned me about.” Tanya murmured, still minorly shook from the surprise attack. Honestly, the jump scare was what got her. The only proper casualty to result was her radio’s throat mic. She would need to get a replacement back at base.
“Commander, are you alright?!” the Lieutenant checked her superior over anxiously, “He didn’t grab you anywhere, did he?”
“Calm yourself, Lieutenant. All he achieved in grabbing was the mic to my radio.” Tanya attempted to give her adjutant a calming smile. The actual smile ended up more pained than she would have liked to admit.
“The Commander’s trying to put on a brave face, but even she would be fazed by a lecherous beast’s wild charge.” Viktoriya glared at said beast, before switching her glare to the other mages in the room. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees from her icy look, which is doubly impressive considering they were in the Russy Federation and the temperature was already quite cold. “First, I’ll crucify this Communist pig. Then, I’ll recommend the Colonel take the platoon for a few ‘refresher courses’ in proper room clearing procedure. If the bastard had a weapon, he could have seriously hurt the her! At which point I would have been obligated to murder him and all of his family members up to three degrees of separation.”
The Argent snapped her fingers, “Oi, First Lieutenant. Pay attention.”
“So-Sorry Ma’am!” the Lieutenant blushed.
“Hm. First Lieutenant Serebryakov seems rattled. Perhaps she’s upset that some Commie was able to escape detection long enough to attack me? She should be upset. I mean, I’m upset too. The platoon should have checked under the table! I believe some ‘refresher courses’ over he proper room clearing procedure are now on the agenda.”
“Don’t worry about it. Anyways, this-” she gestured towards the pervert turned pinball, “-piece of shit is Loria. The General Staff included an extra memo in our sealed orders just to talk about him. It seems like Loria here is an especially terrible human being, even among Communists.”
“Oh?” Noticing Tanya’s look of disgust, Visha asked, “What else has he done, besides attacking Imperial officers?”
The Devil of the Rhine’s frown was apparent, “Apparently he has a chauffeur drive him around while he points out girls for his agents to kidnap. He likes to ‘finish off his day with a warm body count’ as the memo put it. Even worse, his favorite targets fall under the demographic of ‘very young, petite, and blonde’. That’s also a direct quote.”
Unbeknownst to the Lieutenant Colonel, a dark aura was filling the air around her adjutant. Not only had a potential threat been allowed to make a grab at the Argent, but the threat was also a confirmed rapist. A threat that had a very specific preference that fit her superior perfectly. If Visha had felt like killing Loria earlier, it was nothing compared to the murder in her heart right now. Just the thought of someone attempting to force themselves on Tanya had her blood boiling and her hand adjusting her rifle’s aim. No one would hurt her cute, caring Commander in such a way.
“Now the question is, what to do with him. Our orders say that alive is preferable, but he did attempt an assault on a high-ranked Imperial officer,” Oblivious to her aide’s deadly thoughts, the White Silver mused aloud about the situation. “He certainly doesn’t deserve to live, but would his corpse truly be sufficient? Maybe… hm. I should wait to hear Major Weiss’ opinion-”
“Let’s kill him.” Viktoriya interrupted.
“Eeh? First Lieutenant Serebryakov, wha-?”
“He’s a pedophilic Communist bastard who assaulted you the first second he could.”
“Attempted to assault-”
“His favorite type of conquest doesn’t just fit any description; it fits your description.” Visha huffed angrily. “He went after you because he wanted you as his next victim. I can’t let that stand.”
“I was way off base! The Lieutenant isn’t just rattled, she’s murderous!” the Argent gulped. “While I appreciate your anger on my behalf, Lieutenant, we shouldn’t be too hasty-”
“My Goddess!” The newly tied up Loria had finally regained consciousness.
“You know, I think I’d like to finish ONE fucking sentence today.” Tanya muttered internally.
“You can’t do this! My angel, you’re mine!” Loria was desperately trying to escape his bonds. “When I get my hands on you, I’ll make you scream like never before! I’m going to break you, Angel. By the end of the night, I’ll have you begging, sheets grasped tightly while I-” He never finished his rant, for he had other things on his mind.
Bang!
Loria’s dead body dropped like a marionette with its strings cut. His skull, previously whole, now resembled partially a human head and partially a smashed watermelon. Smoke wisped upwards from the barrel of the gun that killed Loria. A Luger pistol to be exact. Tanya’s Luger pistol. Enchanted bullets sure were something. No words were spoken, and an air of understanding passed between the two women. Visha slowly lowered her readied rifle, spell forgotten. She opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. Footsteps could be heard outside. Major Weiss appeared in the open doorway, breathless from his rush.
He spoke, astonished, “Commander, what the hell happened?”
“So glad you could join us, Major Weiss.” Tanya gestured her pistol at Loria’s cooling corpse, a carefully neutral look on her face, “The Head of the NKVD decided to volunteer for a practical execution demonstration. You just missed it, unfortunately.”
Viktoriya translated, “Loria assaulted the Lieutenant Colonel, so he was shown the error of his ways. All the other Communist leaders are still alive, including the big man himself, General Secretary Josef Dzhugashvili.”
An unspoken understanding passed between the Colonel’s two closest subordinates. Context received. All things considered, Major Weiss found himself remarkably unsympathetic about the fate of such a terrible human being. Their Commander was a sensible, intelligent person. If she deemed the depraved Loria fit for damnation, then even the Devil himself wouldn’t argue.
“Ah, that makes sense,” Weiss turned to face the Argent once more, “Then, I suppose his corpse will have to serve of a lovely propaganda piece. Regarding the rest of the mission, Second Company is ready to assist with prisoner evac. Third Company has our route secured, and Fourth Company is mopping up the remaining militia resistance in assistance of the infantry.”
The remaining Federation forces were only barely holding back the Salamander Kampfgruppe’s infantry unit through sheer luck and irritating guerrilla tactics. The addition of Neumann and his Fourth Company tipped the scale handily. With attacks from a technologically superior foe both on the ground and from the sky, the Russy resistance was forced to surrender or risk total destruction. “Victory of Valhalla” didn’t apply when your superiors weren’t alive to enforce it.
“That’s great news, Major. With this victory, may the Empire find the peace it has been searching for all these years.” Tanya sighed, “Unless that damn devil, Being X, decides to interfere, I can finally live the peaceful rear life I’ve been wanting. Would Visha want to come with? Her coffee is too delicious to risk losing. Maybe a coffee shop… heh, what an amusing alternate universe that would be.”
Weiss cut short her musings with a sharp salute, “Ma’am, the 203rd will follow you always, peacetime or not. What are your orders?”
“Your orders are such. Second Company is to act as the First Company guard while the prisoners are being transported. Let us make no mistakes in pursuit of victory.” the White Silver responded before solemnly proclaiming, “Even if our paths go separate ways after the war, you and the rest of the 203rd will be in my heart always.”
“Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff, don’t say that,” Weiss nearly had tears in his eyes, “The 203rd would be lost without you. Please, continue to guide us into the future you envision. I will support you as I always have. Let us bring the Empire eternal glory, together.”
Viktoriya was saddened as well, “If you asked me to follow you to Hell to fight the Devil himself, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second. Colonel, I’ll never leave your side if you let me.” Sadness suddenly became contemplation. “I need to find some way to stay with her, no matter what decision the General Staff makes. Perhaps something with coffee…”
“It’s time to go,” Tanya made a determined expression appear, “Let’s get these Communist bastards locked up where they belong. Glory to the Empire.”
“Glory to the Empire!” her fellow mages boomed.
With its leaders captured and its capitol city occupied by Imperial forces, the Russy Federation was effectively finished. The hole Lieutenant Colonel Tanya von Degurechaff and her Kampfgruppe had made in the Federation lines was quickly flooded with the Empire’s well-trained forces. The Great Army made effective use of the gap; the Russy army in the West was outflanked and bled dry. Meanwhile, the collapse of the Communist party destroyed any sense of cohesion the nation may have possessed. The Eastern Russy army, lacking proper command structure and any potential reinforcements, was bested by the Akitsushima Dominion later that month.
Tanya’s final report on the war against the Federation was extremely patriotic and well-written, as expected from the Ace of Aces. The descriptions written over the atrocities committed by Communism’s leaders provided a basis for the General Staff. Their active stance against the corrupt system’s spread had its roots in Lieutenant Colonel Degurechaff’s work. Furthermore, one quote in particular became an oft-cited reasoning for Imperial expansion through conquest. The quote, originally intended as a call to end Communism in all forms, is as follows:
“Farther. Even farther. Let’s see how just far we can go. We have to try.”
If Tanya knew that an offhand reference in her report would help the General Staff justify even more fighting, she would probably cry. Even though it wasn’t entirely her fault. Deus Lo Vult.
~Fin~