All hope seems lost... time for the Smoking Man to reveal he's still alive and here to save the day.
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In Part 7, Pavel shows up, goes “surprise motherfrakker!” and then morbs all over everyone.
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Since you recently said you wanted to redesign the Roman flag, I remembered this old conversation we had about the Roman flag, which got me to think that maybe you could emphasize Republican symbols like the "SPQR" phase and interpret them to represent Roman meritocracy. Not sure what other symbols or designs you could use through. I know that there's a tricolor flag for a Roman Sister Republic during the 1790s, but I don't think that or the coat of arms with the fasces on the Wiki page would work here.
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Now that I think about it, me using the different flag during the Cold War was yet another example of me copying Kaiserreich, in this case the German Empire using the naval ensign, without thinking about why it was done out of universe
Good idea about the eagle holding a sword, maybe it could represent Enonon. That would be a good replacement for the Roman fasces, especially given the fascist/Angeloi connotations the fasces would likely have in the Reich.
That’s what I was going for, yes. Though in recent years the sword might be switched out for a torch representing enlightenment.
One idea that I have for how to redo the Roman flag in the definitive edition could be this.
It seems to me that most Roman flags in Paradox games are based off of the Vexillum. The Vexillum appears to be a type of early flag that Roman Legions carried into battle that is Red with a wreath and the words S.P.Q.R just minus an Imperial Aquila. For most of the Reich's history that could be the flag. However under the Angeloi they could warp it like how in OTL the Nazis warped the flag of the German Empire. In were they keep the Black, White and Red motif but as I said change it.
So this new flag that served the Reich from the Cold War to the overthrow by the Committee could be a tricolor flag based on the colors of the Holy Roman Empire and Second Reich. With Yellow on the left, Purple in the middle and Black on the right.
This could be the symbolism. Yellow paying homage to the First Reich, Black being the HRE and in the center the Purple for both the Second Reich and the Hohenzollern Dynasty.
You could even have some Second Reich nationalist view the Purple in the center as being surrounded by Germans. Which based on the ethnic maps you showed over the course of the story that might not be that far off.
It seems to me that most Roman flags in Paradox games are based off of the Vexillum. The Vexillum appears to be a type of early flag that Roman Legions carried into battle that is Red with a wreath and the words S.P.Q.R just minus an Imperial Aquila. For most of the Reich's history that could be the flag. However under the Angeloi they could warp it like how in OTL the Nazis warped the flag of the German Empire. In were they keep the Black, White and Red motif but as I said change it.
So this new flag that served the Reich from the Cold War to the overthrow by the Committee could be a tricolor flag based on the colors of the Holy Roman Empire and Second Reich. With Yellow on the left, Purple in the middle and Black on the right.
This could be the symbolism. Yellow paying homage to the First Reich, Black being the HRE and in the center the Purple for both the Second Reich and the Hohenzollern Dynasty.
You could even have some Second Reich nationalist view the Purple in the center as being surrounded by Germans. Which based on the ethnic maps you showed over the course of the story that might not be that far off.
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I personally prefer something simple and not straying too far away from the game flag, so a red background and yellow eagle with an olive wreath and SPQR. Maybe the wreath could be purple or something. I'd rather not hew too close to OTL black-white-red since the Reich is much closer to medieval Byzantium than to the Victorian-era German Empire.
Then maybe it could be an eagle with SP to the right of it and QR to the left of it. In one claw could be a olive branch and in the other could be the sword @CaptainAlvious mentioned with a purple wreath surrounding everything?
This is what I originally had in mind.
Not a big fan of that as the official imperial flag. Maybe we could use it for revolutionary groups like republican movements.
Now that you mention it. It dose look like a standard EU4 revolutionary flag.
Counterattack, Part 7
The mall
“HEY, VULTURE!” Alexandra slammed her baseball bat into Josh’s left arm. The impact broke off the blade, severely damaged the circuitry of the exosuit components, and snapped Josh’s arm back to an almost unnatural position. Crying out, he released Alex and staggered back, grabbing his left arm. It didn’t seem broken, but Alex hoped a muscle had at least been torn. Alexandra stood over him and raised the bat over her head. “NOBODY HURTS MY LITTLE COUSIN!”
Before she could bring down the bat, Josh swung out with his leg, sweeping Alexandra off-balance. She tumbled over, the bat clattering to the floor next to her. Josh got back on his feet and turned to Alex. “I’m not done with you yet, Humboldt!”
“Look, Josh, I don’t know why you’re so fixated on me,” Alex said, “I know you used to bully me, but that was 20 years ago! We’ve all moved on from then! I have no idea what you think I’m responsible for!”
“EVERYTHING, HUMBOLDT!” Josh shouted. “EVERYTHING! YOU HUMILIATED ME! RUINED ME! TOOK EVERYTHING THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE! I WAS THE BETTER MAN!”
“I didn’t take anything from you!” Alex said. “I never wanted to take anything from you! I just wanted you to leave me and Manfred and the others alone! That’s all I ever wanted!”
“Lies! There’s always an ulterior motive!” Josh said. “Everybody always does things for a reason! Everybody always wants something from everybody else! You’re no different!”
He lobbed a punch at Alex, who ducked out of the way, letting Josh’s metal fist crack the pillar where he was seconds ago.
“Maybe I am no different,” Alex said, “Maybe I am selfish and self-serving. But guess what? We all are. That’s part of being who we are, as humans. But I don’t let it consume me. I didn’t let it turn me into a monster!”
“RAAAGH!” Josh swung out again, but all he did was punch empty air.
“I might even go as far as to say we’re not so different, you and I.”
“What are you saying?!” Angelica emptied the clip of another gun into the back of Josh’s exosuit. The bullets didn’t pierce the armor, but it dented the battery case and severely damaged the load balancers placed around his torso. Not spending time reloading, she tossed the gun aside. “You two are nothing alike!”
With the load balancers broken, Josh was forced to abandon his broken exosuit. He tried to unbuckle his restraints, but they were jammed.
“It may seem that way, yes,” Alex said, “But I’ve seen his memories, through Argeiphontes. I saw how he started out, with his home life. How he felt in school. What Oskar told him. And how he ended up like this.”
“Why…why do you always take and take and take from me?!” Josh said. “I lost everything to you! And now why do you get to stand there, mocking me?”
“Perhaps I was lucky,” Alex said.
“Lucky?” Josh raised an eyebrow.
“I was lucky to have been raised by my parents the way I was,” Alex said, “My mom was strict and firm with me, and I really didn’t like it as a kid, but now I realize she was only trying to give me a life free from the things she and her own mother went through. My dad always encouraged me to be true to myself. And outside of my family, chance encounters introduced me to so many people. I’d call Alexandra the closest thing to a sister I have. Alexandra brought Magnus with her, and we’ve gotten along very well. I wouldn’t have gotten my work off the ground without his help. All of them have been so invaluable to me.” Even Manfred, but unfortunately I can barely remember him after so long. “And of course, I met Thea too. She literally ran me over with a moped when we first met. A freak accident nobody could have anticipated, that could have happened to anyone, anywhere, anytime, and yet out of all of the people in Constantinople and all of the streets in the city and all of the days it could’ve happened on, she hit me on that street on that fateful day…” Just like how my parents met, with the basketball. “And my life completely changed because of her. Josh, we started out the same. We diverged because of the people we met. When I saw your memories and learned about what you went through, I realized something profound. If I had gone through the things you experienced…I’m sure I would have gone down your path.”
“You would?” Josh said. Confusion flashed across his face—probably from the mention of seeing his memories.
“Every person I’ve met—even you with everything you did to me in middle school—has shaped me into the person I am today. The same is true with you. We’re the same, you and I. Both shaped by our families and friends. You could easily have been me, and I could have been you.”
Josh finally unbuckled his restraints, shook the broken frames off his limbs and pulled the helmet off, letting the armor plates loudly crumple into a heap on the floor. Now Alex could see Josh’s entire face. It was as if he was peering back through time to middle school. All those times Josh picked on him at lunch, mocked his parents, and tried to make his life hell. Here he was, the same guy, except a little bigger.
“We…are…NOTHING ALIKE!” Josh charged one more time, like a raging bull. Alex again moved out of the way, and Josh crashed into a table. Without the exosuit to enhance his movements and his legs still used to the powered armor, he simply sprawled against the table. Without his fancy toys, we’ve gained the upper hand. He can’t threaten us as long as we stay out of range of his fists. Angelica took another gun out of the cache and kept it trained on Josh’s body, but Alex held up a hand.
“What?” Angelica said.
“I’m not done saying what I want to say.”
“You do know he’s trying to kill you, right?”
“I want to at least try.”
Angelica nodded. “Fine. But if he—”
“Then shoot him.”
“Got it.”
Alex turned back to Josh, recalling what he had seen in the bully’s memories. The names came naturally to him, even though they had never passed his lips before. “It must have been rough, growing up with a father like Danuta. A broken man who sought to make his son into something he was not, a vulture. A weak man who never gave him the love he needed.”
“HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME?!”
“He killed your dog,” Alex continued, “Snowy, wasn’t it? At least in German. Sorry, I don’t know how to pronounce the Polish name. Forcing you to watch him die was cruel. And all these incidents, they shaped you into who you are today.”
Imagine that…I actually said sorry to Josh.
“I got much stronger, so I would never have to feel such pain again!”
“Keep telling yourself that. You did it because that was the only thing you knew. Because you were powerless, you sought power for yourself. Because you only knew people taking things from you, you took things from others. That’s the only way you can see this world, as a cycle of taking things and having them taken from you.”
“And you’re different somehow?!” Josh braced himself against the table, trying to regain his footing. “You’re better than me?”
Alex shook his head. “I wouldn’t say that. I’ve had my fair share of problems over the years. I admit, there were times when I wished there was an easier way to get what I wanted. The way of the vulture, you might say.”
Josh got back on his feet. “You know nothing about me. You’re roadkill, Alex. Always have been.”
“Don’t you understand? You’ve been molded into this monster because of what happened to you. It doesn’t excuse what you’ve done, but you can still stop this. Just like I’ve always had the chance to change, you do as well.” Alex recalled the words he had heard from Oskar. “I can’t make that choice for you. It is up to you in the end. You have the power to stop this and turn over a new leaf.”
Josh was quiet for a few seconds. Then he laughed maniacally. “Stop this? Turn over a new leaf? How deluded are you?! This is who I am, Alex! This is who I’ve always been! You’re right, Alex. I do have power. The power afforded only to the strong, the power to do as you please to the weak!”
He charged at Alex. Before Angelica could shoot, Alexandra slammed the baseball bat into his back, sending him sprawling on the floor again. Josh tried getting back up, but she hit him again, and then Angelica tackled him, putting him in an armlock. Josh struggled violently, but it was no use.
“It’s over, Josh,” Alex said, “You’ve lost.”
“It’s over when I say it is!” Josh said. “I haven’t gotten my vengeance yet!”
“Admit it,” Angelica said, “You’re outmatched and outnumbered. You can’t win.”
Josh shot a glare in Angelica’s direction. “I should have killed you with the rest of your team nine years ago!”
“But you didn’t,” Angelica said, “And I’m here now. I’ve finally avenged their deaths.”
She pinned him to the ground and put her foot on his neck. Josh began gagging. “You say the strong can do what they will to the weak. Guess that makes you the weak one.” She jammed the muzzle of her pistol into Josh’s temple. Josh’s eyes widened with terror, and for the first time, Alex saw fear in his bully’s eyes. Wait, no, not the first time. An old memory returned to him. That time in middle school, after Josh had gotten Oskar arrested. Alex remembered the rage surging through his mind as his fists roses and fell, and Josh raised his arms to shield his terrified face. That same look had returned to Josh’s face today. But…is this right? Are we really going to…
“Now suffer as you made all of your victims suffer!” Alexandra shouted.
“Justice is finally at hand!” Angelica said.
Herr Oskar…is this what you would have wanted?
Sedeh
Wilhelmina felt the ground rumble. The others heard it too, because the Crusaders lost concentration and looked around to identify the source of the noise. A soldier rushed up to Elias. “It’s an enemy attack!”
“Can’t you see we’re busy?!” Elias said. “Take them out!”
“Sir, we can’t! We got overrun!”
Elias was livid. “THAET FAEST?! PHRAEM HWAER?!”
“All sides!”
Wow, that is one thick Königsberg accent. Only heard it in old movies before. Though I may have heard a bit of it in the bunker if I recall.
Suddenly, a wall exploded, and a Persian M1 Augustin tank—colored in dark purple camouflage and waving a Persian flag from the rear—barged clean through, its machine guns blazing. Scores of Crusaders were immediately cut down. More Persian troops poured in through the hole behind the tank and engaged the Crusader force, establishing a foothold on the field. Wilhelmina turned to the freed hostages. “Get to safety!”
The royals and Kresge ran towards the hole, while the soldiers and tank provided cover fire and kept the enemy at bay. Once all of them were accounted for, the tank swiveled its main cannon in Wilhelmina’s direction.
“GET THE FRAK OUT OF MY FRAKKING WAY!” a familiar voice screamed over the tank’s loudspeakers.
Wilhelmina dove off the stage just as the tank fired. The round tore through the wooden structure and exploded in the middle of the Crusader formation, wiping out two squads. Elias staggered back and cursed in his thick Königsberg accent. Wilhelmina looked at the tank. Its exit hatch opened, and Gunduz popped her head out.
“GUESS WHO’S BACK, J̌ENDE?!” She smiled like a madwoman. “NOBODY MESSES WITH MY DEAR WILLIE!”
“Who the hell are you?!” Elias spat.
“WHO THE HELL AM I?! I’M THE FRAKKING SHAHBANU, YOU HARAMZADE BISHARAF! PUT SOME RESPECT ON MY NAME, GUNDUZ THE FRAKKING SECOND OF THE HOUSE OF SELJUK!”
Her tank opened fire again, forcing Elias to take cover. Gunduz jumped down from the hatch and ran over to Wilhelmina. “Nice seeing you here.”
Wilhelmina opened her mouth. “Look, Gunduz, I had this—”
Gunduz shut her up with a tight hug. Wilhelmina could hear her crying profusely over her shoulder. Then she felt Gunduz's fist rap against her stomach. “Don’t you frakking say you had this under control, because you absolutely didn’t! If not for me showing up, you’d be dead!”
Wilhelmina conceded the point. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“D-Don’t you dare r-run off like that again!” The tears continued flowing. “I-I don’t know h-how I’d t-take it!”
“Sorry, Gunduz,” Wilhelmina said, “I promise.”
“Alright, then. Apology accepted.” Gunduz broke away and wiped her face dry with a sleeve.
Wilhelmina finally got around to asking the most obvious question. “So…a tank?”
“Yeah, Hassan pestered me into getting at least one military certification about 20 years ago.” Gunduz playfully knocked on the side of the tank. “So I decided to take a course in tank operation.” She pointed at the decal printed on the side of the turret. Twin eagles—one Seljuk and one Hohenzollern—stood side by side, wings outstretched. “I had this tank custom-made for me a while ago. Named it Kaveh. Never intended to actually use it, but here we are. That decal was put on last week.”
“I like the color,” Wilhelmina said.
“Imperial purple. Always liked blueish camouflage.”
“Because of Valkyria Chronicles?”
Gunduz smiled. “You know me so well, Willie.”
“There they are!” A squad of Crusaders ran towards them, guns drawn. “Get them!”
“There’s our cue,” Gunduz said, “We should get back to giving these fundie fascists a real thrashing.”
“Agreed,” Wilhelmina said.
As Gunduz walked back to Kaveh, she noticed something by her feet. “By the way, you dropped this.”
She handed Enonon to Wilhelmina, hilt first. Wilhelmina took the sword and drew it from the scabbard, revealing the gleaming Damascus steel within. Then she strapped the scabbard to her side. “Thanks, Gunduz.”
“No problem.” Gunduz climbed up Kaveh’s side and disappeared into the hatch. She continued speaking through a loudspeaker. “ALRIGHT, WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME?!”
Wilhelmina climbed on top of the tank and looked down on the battlefield. It was utter chaos as the Persians struggled to advance across the field, while the Crusaders used every part of their former base as a barricade. But perhaps the two of them could change that. Although Wilhelmina didn’t want to kill, Gunduz wasn’t held to the same restriction. Wilhelmina didn’t mind at all.
“I AM GOING TO SLICE THE SCHIEßE OUT OF EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!” Gunduz opened fire with Kaveh, cutting down the entire approaching Crusader squad. “I’VE BEEN ITCHING TO RUN YOU ALL OVER FOR A WHILE NOW, AND I’M NOT LEAVING UNTIL I’VE STREWN ALL OF YOUR CHRISTOFASCIST GUTS ALL OVER THE GRASS! YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE!”
“Hey, uh, Gunduz?” Wilhelmina knocked against the hatch. “You’re kind of hurting my ears.”
“Oh, sorry Willie. I’ll turn down the volume. Now where was I? YOU SHOULD ALL KNOW THERE’S NO PURGATORY IN ZOROASTRIANISM! YOU ALL ARE GOING STRAIGHT TO DUZAKH!” That was slightly better than before.
Gunduz drove across the field, almost as if she was trying to score a goal. Behind Kaveh, her Persians slowly advanced, using the tank for cover. The Crusaders fired everything they had at Kaveh, but their bullets either pinged off the armor or were deflected by Wilhelmina. Occasionally, they fired rockets at Kaveh, but Wilhelmina swung out with Enonon and deflected them as well.
“WOOHOO, THIS IS AWESOME!” Gunduz shouted. “We make quite the team!”
Wilhelmina found Gunduz’s cheerfulness contagious. “We do!”
“Don’t forget me!” Shayan said from somewhere inside Kaveh.
“You’re here too, General Tahmasb?”
“Someone’s got to supervise the frakking Shahbanu, you know. Gebhard’s here too, but not here here, thankfully. Would get too cramped.”
“Wait, if you’re both here, then what about the palace?”
“Oh, that’s under control,” Gunduz said, “The plan’s going fine there. We snuck out through the garage. They didn’t even notice we left.”
“How’d you guys even get here?” Wilhelmina said. “I thought Nausherwan Street was a stalemate.”
“Thanks to you, it’s not anymore, so we just ran through. Though I’m surprised we got here so quickly. The traffic in this part of Isfahan is usually pretty heavy.”
“Hey, heads up!” Shayan said. “I see him!”
“Who? I can’t see anyone. Who’s the idiot who set up this base? Can’t see scheiße here.”
“Elias Anhorn.” Wilhelmina followed the direction of Kaveh’s cannon and spotted Elias, still in his exosuit. His eyes were narrowed and red with rage, and his teeth were gritted so hard Wilhelmina swore they were about to shatter.
“So…what’s it like being surrounded by a bunch of brainwashed idiots, Anhorn?!” Gunduz taunted.
“You…YOU!” he spat. “I WAEL NAET BAEH DAHNAEHD MAH FEENCHAHNZ!”
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Gunduz said. “Did you say you grew a third nut or something? Seriously, Willie, I’m surprised you can understand him.”
“Believe me, I don’t understand most of what he says.”
“Okay, then I’ll just frakking blast him now!” Gunduz aimed the cannon straight at Elias.
“Not yet!” Wilhelmina said. “I want to try speaking to him again.”
“Sounds like too much work, I should just shoot him. Why do you even bother, Willie? I’d be surprised if anything gets through a skull as thick as his.”
“I just need a few seconds, Gunduz. I need some answers.”
There was a short pause. “Alright, Willie. You get your few seconds. After that, I start running balls over.”
Wilhelmina approached Elias and pointed Enonon at him. “Alright, speak up. I’m not going to ask you to stop again, because I know it’s pointless. I just want to know why. Why the frak are you doing all this? Killing my family, taking over the Reich, destroying everything it stands for, and then starting a war that has claimed over a billion lives…WHY?!”
“I already told you before,” Elias said, “It’s because of you. You and your family murdered my own, so I returned the favor.”
“You make it sound simple enough, but I just don’t get it!” Wilhelmina said. “Why did you betray your own country? Why did you destroy everything for everyone over something so small?!”
“I keep telling you, but you don’t understand! Or maybe you don’t want to understand, because you call the death of my sister small. You called the deaths of my friends, all of them loyal and patriotic citizens, small. From my point of view, my country betrayed me! So I gave it a traitor’s fate. You know what happens to traitors!”
Wilhelmina nodded and readied Enonon in an attacking stance. Well, I tried. “Yes, I do.”
“Is it time?” Gunduz said.
“Yes,” Wilhelmina said, “But leave it to me.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“This is my fight, Gunduz. Your troops need you.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Persians fighting with all they had for each scrap of turf. A literal turf war, you could say.
“Kos e sher! I can blow him to pieces right now, while he’s right there!”
“Yes, but then none of us would have closure,” Wilhelmina said, “This is the man who’s murdered so many of my people. He twisted my home into a barbaric parody of its former self, and he did so with glee, knowing that he is completely erasing every last bit of my family’s legacy. He murdered my husband and son and Vasily and so many others. You’re lucky you still have Shahrokh and your kids. I know you care a lot for them. I know too well what happens when the people you love are taken from you. That crushing pain and despair, it eats at your soul, leaving a hole that can never be fully filled in. I can’t stand by and let you or anyone else experience what I have. You don’t have history with this monster, but I do. So leave him to me. This monster is going down today!”
Another pause from Kaveh. Then Wilhelmina heard Gunduz sigh loudly through the loudspeaker. “Damnit, Willie, I can’t keep letting you get away with this!” But you always do. “Just come back to me in one piece!” Kaveh rolled away to the main battle. “Let’s drive these Crusaders back out of Persia! Squad 7, move out!”
“Ma’am, we don’t have a Squad 7.”
“LET ME HAVE MY FRAKKING MOMENT, SHAYAN!”
Wilhelmina turned back to Elias, who drew two blades from his exosuit’s arms.
“Just me and you now,” she said, willing Enonon’s blade to glow, “Let’s settle this, once and for all!”
Elias laughed. “I’ve been waiting for this moment!”
The two charged.
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“Come on, let’s move it!” In the parking lot, Gebhard waved the hostages over to where he was. “We don’t have all day!”
A team of medics took Jayasimha and Lakshmi off Gediminas and Borislav’s shoulders and laid them on stretchers, then carried them to waiting ambulances. Regular soldiers surrounded the other royals and escorted them to waiting APCs, while other soldiers shot at any remaining Crusaders. The last hostage out of the stadium was someone he wasn’t expecting. “Hold on a moment…COMMISSIONER KRESGE?!”
Kresge weakly waved back. “Oh hey…General Remmele…”
Gebhard wrapped the ex-commissioner in a tight hug. “I thought you were dead!”
“Yeah, me too,” Kresge deadpanned.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“You know, I could ask myself the same question.”
Gebhard patted Kresge on the shoulder. “Well, it’s good that you’re back with us. You’re safe now.”
Kresge looked around, seeing the troops filtering through the parking lot. “Where the hell are we anyways?”
“Isfahan.”
“Isfahan?!” Kresge was baffled. “There are Crusaders in Isfahan?!”
“We’re working on that. I’ll explain later. Also, I kind of gave your job away to Senator Ochimeca.”
“Her?!” A fire had apparently been lit under Kresge. I feel sorry for dropping all this on him right now.
“She’s taking it quite well. Though she’s dropped the Brandenburg accent.”
“Oh…God…”
Gebhard laughed. “That’s how the Majlis reacts every time she shows up. Anyways, let’s get you to safety.”
“Wait, is that a horse?!” Kresge pointed at an unruly white horse being reined in by a group of unfortunate soldiers.
“Uh…you’ll have to ask Wilhelmina about that.” He escorted Kresge to an APC and helped him in. “Don’t worry, we’ve secured this area. For the most part.”
“What do you mean for the most part?!” But the APC was already driving away, flanked by tanks and motorized infantry.
Gebhard turned back to the stadium. He heard the sounds of battle coming from within: gunshots, cannon fire, and war cries. Suddenly, a voice he couldn’t forget echoed over the loudspeakers. “GEBHARD! I KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE!”
Gebhard clenched his fists. Edmund. You’re here. He grabbed a rifle and flagged down a nearby Artesh squad. “You guys, come with me.”
“Sir, I’m not sure I follow.”
“I am taking field command. I’ll deal with the enemy general myself.”
“But sir, the danger—”
“My comrades are risking their lives in there to defend this nation,” Gebhard said, “Whoever wins in there will decide what happens to Persia. I can’t stay on the sidelines while they’re doing that. So I’m going to fight, and I’m going to put my brother in his place.”
“…Understood, sir.”
Hmmm, I should probably get ready. If I know my brother, he would likely try…. “By the way, before we head out, I need you to do exactly as I say…”
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Gertrude cowered behind a crate, while the Crusaders protecting took turns laying down suppression fire. She tried covering her ears to block out the deafening gunshots and explosions happening around her, but it wasn’t much help. Just my goddamn luck to have a battle start almost immediately after I show up.
“Ma’am, we’ll cover your retreat!” one Crusader pointed at an exit about ten feet to her right. “Over there! Get to that hallway and to the men outside!”
“We don’t know if there are still Crusaders outside!” Gertrude replied.
“Would you rather stay here?!”
As she pondered her options, Gertrude’s eyes were drawn to the battlefield. She watched as a dark purple tank fired its cannon again and again, decimating the Crusaders. Nearby, she saw the flashing of a glowing energy blade as it cut across the field, slashing through the remains of tents and equipment. And close to that, she saw Elias in his power armor, defending himself with the exosuit’s wrist blades. This had somehow topped the weirdness of what happened in the bunker, and she didn’t know how to feel about it.
Another Crusader was shot in the head by a Persian sharpshooter. “Ma’am! We need to go!” the commander shouted.
“Right, right.” Gertrude collected herself and focused on the exit. “Lead the way.”
“Ready!” the commander said. “Go!”
The Crusaders emerged from behind the crate and shot at the Persians, while Gertrude ran for the exit as fast as she could. After what felt like forever, she ducked into the hallway and hid in the doorway to a locker room. She waited for the Crusaders to follow her, but none did.
Did they die, or did they abandon me? Well, I’m not checking.
She leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor, trying to catch her breath. Although the distance she had sprinted wasn’t that long, she still felt her muscles aching, as if suffering from adrenaline withdrawal, if that was a thing. Her plan was in shambles. She hadn’t expected the Persians to attack so soon and overwhelmingly. If they had broken into the stadium itself, that probably meant they had secured the area around it. She looked down the hallway at the stadium exit. How much you want to bet there’s an entire Persian battalion waiting right outside that door, ready to shoot anyone coming out? She wasn’t going to risk it. She couldn’t go back, and she couldn’t go forward. She would have to stay here.
Damnit…every time I feel like I’m about to make a breakthrough, I take two steps back. Why must you curse me so, God. Why the frak do you curse me like this? I know what I did was wrong. I’ve spent years trying to repent. And yet, whenever I can see redemption within my grasp, it gets snatched out of my hands. Why, God?! Why do you deny it to me? Have I gone too far to deserve it? Are my sins too heavy? What must I do? What must be done?!
Gertrude hated being helpless. She hated having everything decided for her. She did not like it when Elias started handling more of her affairs, especially when it came to Ellie’s work. She did not like it when Elias took over on the campaign trail, even though her speeches drew more crowds. She hated it when she was kicked off the committee she helped create. She hated it when she was lumped in with the other Regency wives, as if she just happened to be married to a regent. And she hated it when the committee stopped acknowledging her own existence. Right now, things were just like that. She was caught up by forces outside her control that she helped unleash, which had taken away her options. All she could do was wait, hide, and hope for the best.
God, if you’re listening…please give me a sign. Please tell me what I need to do to repent. What I need to sacrifice.
The palace
The door to the stairwell opened, and Persian soldiers stormed onto the rooftop. In the split second the Crusaders’ attention was drawn away from them, Thea, Magnus, and Tania dove for cover, Tania grabbing her rifle on the way. Within seconds, several soldiers on both sides had gone down. A couple drones were shot out of the air. Theodor’s turret sprayed bullets all over the Persian formation, killing a few more and forcing the rest to take cover. He then looked around, trying to find Thea.
“DOROTHEA TESLA!” he shouted. “I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU! COME OUT!”
Magnus crouched behind an air conditioning unit as the battle between Theodor’s squad and the Persian reinforcements raged. Peering around it, he assessed their options. Thea and Tania were behind a heating unit to his left. On the other side of the AC unit, Theodor and his men were fighting the Persians. Behind them was the helicopter. And to his right was the fake reactor, but there was almost no cover between here and there.
“Föbannat,” Tania said, “We can’t get to the reactor like this.”
“We have to do something about those Crusaders,” Thea said, “And I need time to boot up the program.”
“We can’t if we can’t get to it, though.”
“What if we just wait for the Persians to kill them all?”
Tania shook her head. “No, they’ve taken too many casualties, thanks to that exosuit. They’ll be overrun.”
“Damnit, and we were so close,” Thea said.
“At least they bought us some time,” Magnus said.
“Time to do what?” Tania said.
“Think,” Magnus said, “It’s not much, but it’ll have to do. First thing we’ve got to handle is Theodor himself. Then there’s the issue of the drones heading to the camps.”
“Why are we worried about that?” Thea said. “Leave it to the Artesh.”
“I don’t think they’ll respond in time,” Magnus said, “Theodor just issued the order two minutes ago. We’ve seen how fast those drones can respond. The camp will be wiped out before the air force notices.”
“If I could get to that helicopter, maybe I could catch up to the drones,” Tania said.
“Are you crazy?!” Thea said. “We need you here!”
“Not if my plan works,” Magnus said.
Honestly, I’m just winging it right now. Better than nothing.
Thea crossed her arms. “What plan? Never heard of it.”
“I’m going to draw their fire,” Magnus said, “Then you’re going to go to the reactor and boot up the program, and Tania gets in the helicopter and leaves.”
“You’re going to draw their fire?!” Thea said. “Seriously, am I the only sane one here?”
“What, you’d rather we wait here until the Persians all die and they come after us?” Magnus said. “Persia’s made it this far with crazy plans that only have a sliver of success. Why not another one?”
“Okay, let’s pretend I agree to the plan,” Thea said, “What are you going to draw them with?”
Magnus pointed at Thea’s pistol. “We still have the EMP bullets, right?”
“Haven’t used any,” Thea said.
“Well, you don’t have to,” Magnus said, “Let me have it.”
Thea stared at him. “Do you even know how to shoot?”
“We all took classes, didn’t we?” Magnus said. “I think it should buy us enough time.”
Thea paused for a moment. Then she sighed angrily and handed the pistol to him. “I swear, this better work. I don't want to have to explain your death to Alexandra.”
“And I don’t want to explain your death to Alex,” Magnus said, “Tania?”
Tania picked up her rifle. “Yeah?”
“I need you to do the opposite of drawing attention,” Magnus said.
“Understood.” Regardless, Tania still reloaded her gun. “But I’m still going to defend myself if they come after me anyways.”
Magnus nodded. “Thanks, you two.” He crept out from behind the AC unit. “I’ll count down from three.”
He closely watched the battle for any openings they could exploit. Theodor had turned back to his more pressing enemy, and his turret had resumed tearing through the Persian formation. The Crusaders had likewise taken some casualties, but they remained where they were. Their drones buzzed around in the air, concentrating their fire on the Persians like the human Crusaders below them did. “Three…two…one…go!”
---
Since you guys were talking about the cliffhanger from last week, I'd like to point out the resolutions to Thea's and Alex's cliffhangers were supposed to be posted much later on, but I was feeling generous.
In case it wasn’t obvious enough, Gunduz is a walking Valkyria Chronicles reference. Since she loves that series so much, I gave her VC music—one of the player phase themes—and put her in a tank colored like the Edelweiss. The Squad 7 line is also from the game. Most of her crazier lines come from Zero from Drakengard 3 though, not Avasarala. I have yet to use actual Avasarala lines.
The name Kaveh comes from a legendary blacksmith in Persian mythology who led an uprising against an evil foreign tyrant.
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Lots of plotlines coming to a climax. I feel we've got a doozy of a chapter coming up soon.
I agree, it was pretty satisfyingly seeing Josh get his deserved comeuppance coupled with the sad feeling he could've been a much better person had he taken a differnet path. I'm hoping the confrontations with Ellias and Theodor will come to simlarly satifying resolutions.
Also Zen, I gotta say I appreciate how you gave the "we're not so different" line to Alex here, as opposed to how that line is usually used by antagonists to protagonists in a lot of media. I still would've phased that differently in this scene to make it stand out, but I think it works here and that one scene with Olga and Valentin awhile back.
You have no idea.
That was the intent, that I apply that trope with the protagonist giving the line, which rarely happens in the media I’ve seen. The two examples that I can recall right now are Korra implying as much to Kuvira and a specific conversation in Xenoblade 3 (not saying what for spoilers), the latter of which was a heavy inspiration for this passage. Though yeah, I probably should have changed the wording of that exact phrase, it stands out too much among the rest of the passage.
If GRRM ever releases TWOW or hope to God A Dream of Spring I get the feeling they will give me the same anticipation as this chapter did, especially with the POVs being thrown around, though we still haven't seen how the battle of Hawaii is raging on, so I agree, the next chapter is gonna be a hell of a ride, I get the feeling a lot of characters aren't gonna make it, which I very much dread, hell Magnus is giving me death flags.
That confrontation between Alex and Josh is a long time coming for sure. And I like that callback you gave us Zen, history may not repeat itself but it sure as hell rhymes.
I just finished the new Fire Emblem game yesterday and really liked it. Just wanted to say, it's funny how I stopped my FE series right before the anniversary game celebrating the entire franchise which would have been the perfect finale to my series, though I couldn't have possibly known that 2 years ago. Maybe I'll add one more FE post once this arc is wrapped up, alongside the other cultural stuff I've mentioned before. This is totally not because I've been brainstorming Emblem Sue, Lilina, Elincia, and Alyssa concepts for the last week, help
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All three of these endings remind me of a Naruto fanfic that I am reading that has an OC as a main character but has all of the original ones as well. With one of the things that the characters learn is that although it is great to save as many people as you can in war both innocent and enemies there are those that are too far gone.
Reading about the royals in this update I cant help but wonder if we will find out what happened to that girl from the House of Yamato who escaped Jerusalem allied South Japan?
That is one way to make an entrance Gunduz.
It could have half of the Roman and Seljuk eagles into one eagle?
Um Tahhmasb. I think that is a lost cause at this point.