Sacrifice of Angels

[Great Anglia]

"He set forth upon his mighty ships

Numerous they were!

He came upon the Dolch and burned their homes

He came upon the Gelts and stole their treasures

A mighty king he was!

Angered were the peoples he attacked, and in their rage they struck out

They destroyed his castle, his home, and the King

Seylos! Our island aflame! Our people in tears! Why did the King?"

— Lamentation of the fall of Dyffryn, 480 BCE

 

"All rise and show your respect! The King of Anglia and Lysia stands before you!"

The shout came from the front of the reception hall in the Imperial Palace. All the officers stood immediately and bowed as King Creighton emerged from the massive decorated doors that stood opposite to them all. He came in alone, as befitting his status, no King of Anglia could be seen tended to by anyone when addressing his subjects.

A podium had already been set up before his arrival, in front of which he took his place, "All of you represent the core of Anglia. Our greatest military leaders, who have fought hard to build a new wurld to live in. One in which Europa ascends once again!"

Cheers came from the officers assembled below, quickly hushed by the king raising his hand.

"It has become clear that our situation has changed. The forces of the New Wurld test our defenses in the territory of Bashan. The Dolch are faltering in their conquests in Argis, and our OCA allies continue to bleed in Aurelia. It is time for Anglia to make the decisive blow to kill the New Wurld's ability to project any sort of power and secure Europa!"

Cheers again, though this time Grand Admiral Sheridan Cartwright did not make any move, instead dreading what was coming next.

"Anglia has long been separated from her people, flung far across the sea. It is time to remind them that Anglia is their true master, and that her power far exceeds any that they pretend to put forward. For too long, the peoples of @Gallambria and @Seylos have been a thorn in our destiny. The miscreants of TRIDENT! The fools of @Tagmatium Rules that discard the true superiority of Europa. The pathetic states of Argis and Aurelia who cling to the thought that they could rival our grandeur. The Adlantic is Anglia's. Anglia rules the waves. But statements mean nothing, only our force will prove such an action. It is with this I say to all of you, my most trusted of military officers leading our effort, that I have approved the invasion of @Galahinda. A Lysian remnant that hold little value to our empire, but for this war it could destroy the enemy. The control of this island, and her hedonistic peoples, could seal control of the Adlantic for Anglia."

Cartwright's heart skipped a beat as he heard what he knew was coming. He had been ordered to gather significant forces for weeks, but had never truly known the king's target besides preparing for coastal landings and island warfare. He knew this was the worst decision the King could make. With TRIDENT at its doorstep, his fleets could hold them at bay, or even fully defeat them if they stayed concentrated near Anglia. Perhaps no sweeping victory across the New Wurld, but safety and full security for the homeland. But to dispatch his fleets, which numbered almost half the ships defending Anglia, was insanity.

"With this offensive, I of course name my most trusted of all commanders. Grand Admiral Cartwright. Come, Admiral, stand beside me."

Cartwright gave a slight bow from his position and walked amongst his peers up to the King. He could feel their hatred for him, their frustration at not being named to this "historic" offensive. All he could think about as he walked next to the king was how could they not all understand? How could they all not see this could destroy them all?

As Cartwright took his place beside the King, he could feel all eyes on him, and the King turned to him and asked, "Will you grant me what I wish?"

Cartwright stood tall, though he felt doubt in his heart, there was no doubt in his voice, "I am a servant of Anglia, and for Anglia and I shall do what is necessary."

[Seylos]

"On the Saint Elme river, steamers rule the driplets

Their paddles, archaic, with the waters have met.

If you knew how they were ruling over the waves Look at them sailing now right into their graves.

O ! Florentia, beloved, what have you become ?

The vase firmly grips it, the glory that was yours

O ! Land of liberty, defeated by the time

As the crumbling vessels, gone, almighty power."

-Florentian poem "The Steamers", 1969 CE

 

Aidan had come from yet another meeting with diplomats at the Assembled Nation's headquarters in Iwenland. It had actually turned out to be a good idea to come to Iwenland, even if his entire government was intent on keeping him as far away from the front as possible. Regardless, the presence of the Seylosian King there had helped with continued diplomatic coordination over the war, and at the very least shown that Seylos wasn't going to shy away from its commitments in Argis. As for his advisors, they knew that Aidan was far more of a hands-on King than they wanted in certain aspects, and they were happy that they could at least have him doing that work in a safe place.

He and his entourage of assistants emerged from the building only to be almost immediately greeted by Major Parker and a parked car already running, "Your Majesty, we need to head back to the embassy immediately."

Aidan stopped looking at the concern on the Major's face, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing here," Parker replied, opening the car's door, "Come on."

Aidan said his brief goodbye's to his staff and hopped in, followed by the Major. As soon as the door closed, the car took off towards the Seylosian embassy, which had now become more of a complex as they had purchased an adjacent building to expand their operations in the city.

"What the hell is going on, Parker?", Aidan asked.

"Don't know exactly, something happened about an hour ago and everyone has been in a frenzy. Admiral Forrest, General Kendrick, and the captains of the Defiant and Thunderchild are already here."

Aidan sat back slowly in the car seat, "Jesus Christ. Can't start a new day without brand new bad news any more, can we?"

---

The car had arrived at the embassy, and both Aidan and Parker made their way in as fast as they could. Another group of security had come and began to quickly usher them to the building's recently refurbished command room, which had been set up to facilitate the war effort in Iwenland. Parker gave Aidan a quick pat on the shoulder and peeled off, electing not to go in the room, taking his place outside. Aidan paused for a moment before opening the door, and his nightmares were only becoming more true as he was met with the stoic faces of his command staff, joined by a Ceriser general from NAU Defense command.

"General, Admiral, Captains." Aidan said, nervously, while greeting them, "I'm guessing you aren't here for Marks' birthday?"

The other members of the group glanced over to see a young lieutenant trying his best to hide behind his monitor.

"Uh, no, Your Majesty," Admiral Forrest said, "If you don't mind turning your attention towards the projector."

Aidan looked up to see a series of satellite images on display, which appeared to be ships. Forrest stood next to him, pointing at them, "We've been monitoring this large build-up of Anglian ships on their western coast for some time now. At first, we believed they were going through refits or repairs, but over time it became clear that these were preparations for some sort of deployment."

Forrest used a small controller in her hand to go through the images,"A few days ago activity increased significantly, in what we had assumed a direct response to TRIDENT declarations of war against Anglia. But…"

Click again. A new image, one zoomed out more, showing the ships having left their harbor.

"The ships have left their port. And are on the move into the Adlantic." She turned to face him, but Aidan's gaze was still glued to the projector screen, "Aidan, if they don't deviate from their course, this fleet will reach the east coast of Galahinda within a week."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Aidan said, "This cannot be happening."

"It is happening, Your Majesty," Forrest said, "By our counts, it appears they have launched four full carrier fleets, and with them several support amphibious assault ships. Along with enough troop and supply ships to bring a force of roughly fifty thousand soldiers. To make things worse, it appears this force is under the direct command of Grand Admiral Sheridan Cartwright."

Aidan just stood there stunned, and could only get out on question, "What makes him so special?"

"He's their only admiral I wouldn't want to take on in a head on fight," Forrest replied, her face betraying how worried she actually was.

General Kendrick a step towards the both of them, "Unfortunately to make matters worse, Anglia isn't sending their newest recruits. Intelligence from before and during the war has shown that Cartwright has been gathering a battle tested and well-trained force for some time."

"Fuck!" Aidan yelled, grabbing the nearest item he could and flinging it towards the wall the projector was facing, causing the entire room to stop what it was doing and go silent. His officers stood there next to him, unsure what to say next. Aidan wasn't prone to outbursts, but it seemed like this was just the news to cause it.

"Aidan-" Forrest started, before stopping when Aidan held up his hand. He put both his hands over his face and groaned, before pulling them back down, seemingly regaining his composure.

"General… pull all forces immediately out of Iwenland for emergency deployment to Galahinda. Inform the Iverican military command that they'll have to conduct the offensive with… I'm sorry I don't know your name."

The Ceriser general stepped forward offering his hand, which Aidan took, "General Faron Planck, Your Majesty, from Union Defense Command. I'm in charge of the Ceriser deployment in Iwenland"

The Ceriser nations of the NAU had been mobilizing for some time, but had been ready for the outbreak of war. Together the NAU detachment reached around forty thousand soldiers which had been making their way to Iwenland over time.

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances, but I'm sorry your people are going to have to tackle the Dolch without us."

"It's no problem sir, we thrashed the Sentists, and we'll do the same to those Imperial fotzen."

Aidan would have laughed if the situation wasn't so dire, but Planck's confidence did make him feel a little better. The Cerisers may be smaller in number, but nobody could deny their skill as a fighting force being tested in the Sentist War.

"Like I said, General Kendrick," Aidan continued, "Pull our forces out now. Admiral Forrest make immediate preparations for transport to Cascadia."

Both officers slightly bowed their heads in acknowledgement, and Aidan approached both the Captains, "Captain Evers, Captain Walker I hate to ask this, but it's up to your people to keep Galahinda out of Anglian hands. Captain Walker, you're in charge of this operation when you're out there. Don't let the Anglians cross the Corinian Line."

[Galahinda]

@FemmeBaht24

"Yall see those ships? They're not f*cking around this time"

 

@AshtonFliyht

"Ten things you need to do if Anglia invades a thread:"

 

@AngliaForever556

"Finally someone is going to do something about those freaks in Cascadia #AngliaForever"

 

@PatrickHolmes

"I wonder what our "fabulous leader", TS Yiu is gonna do for this. Launch a new palette?"

 

---

 

Retrieving call log 12942.221.23 from GalCloud Server 11XP0-1

Error 544: Incomplete data. Contact GalCloud support for further information.

Commencing Playback:

"Allo Lynne, to what do I owe the pleasure of such a late-night call?"

 

"Yes of course I've been watching the news, it's practically my job at this point."

 

"My job is actually to be stunning, cunty, and a style icon."

"Hey! You can call me several things. You can call me cocky, you can call me b*tchy, you can call me pretty, you can call me gorgeous. But what you're not going to call me is an ineffective leader of public opinion."

 

"So what exactly do you want me to do, my darling? Grab a gun and start shooting invaders myself?" 

 

"Well, obviously I know how to shoot a gun. Don't you?"

 

"Lynne, if I had a gun right now, I'd use it to shoot myself. I'm that f*cking busy."

 

"I'm actually quite surprised that Tagmatium is coming to our aid here. Maybe our friend Kommodos is looking for a new set of papal robes."

 

"Oh, I love Aiden. Remind me to send the entire family a gift basket. Oh, and Margaret an invitation to Club Ecdysis next time she's in town. f*ck it, send one to Kommodos too."

 

"Yeah Lynne, invite the holiest man on Eurth to a burlesque club in the middle of the most sinful city on the planet. That'll go down well."

 

"Yes, I promise I'll play nice with whoever they send, as long as they're not here to convert the populace."

 

"I'm a social leader, not a military one. There's a reason I, sorry, we founded a whole new private military corporation."

 

"Listen, I promise that if they get any closer, I'll grab a helicopter from my house to the DAUFA compound, but for the time being, I need to get this seam right, or I'll walk myself into the sea."

 

End Playback.

Connection terminated by user. 

Edited February 27 by Galahinda (see edit history)

[Seylos]

"Lysander great despaired, last and finest of his line,
First and father of the Tagarei, promised Aurelian kings,
Driven from Arome eternal, into the cruel churning brine!
Little does one think of a man cast away into the sea:
Now his children far begotten bear scepter and gilded rings,
Under his name, we have not once suffered to flee—
Perished has our fear, our flight through storm and wave.
So hear his declaration, receive it on bended knee!
All men shall love the dawn, and fear an early grave."

-Rusvalos c.1250 C.E.

 

Spencer Klynne: the current CEO of Klynne Security Group, and of course its founder, was taking his normal monthly trip to the KSG stockholder meeting, knowing full well the gravity of what was approaching Galahinda.

And frankly, he didn't care.

Of course, it wasn't like he wanted Galahindan society torn down or anything like that, profits would suffer. But it made little difference to him which country ended up being Galahinda's 'sugar daddy'. Seylos poured in the money, but if Anglia could do the same and succeed in its goals of taking over Seylos… Well, why not Anglia? What did it matter, as long as the money came in? With the news that Anglia was on its way to occupy Galahinda, a force he didn't believe Seylos could hope to ever defeat, what else was left for someone like him? Hedge his bets on the clearly losing side, or just collaborate like any reasonable Galahindan would? He had several conversations with his Anglian contact, and as long as Klynne didn't take up arms against an occupation, Anglia wouldn't interfere with his business. Sadly, he didn't one hundred percent own the company, but he had the few shareholders that he needed to maintain total control in his pocket. As confident as ever, he made his way past the guards at the entrance of the KSG building and boarded the elevator up with his small entourage.

He took his time looking through some notes he had prepared for the day's meeting before the elevator let them off at the top floor of the building, the group making their way to the boardroom. When he walked through the doors though the doors, however, he was shocked at what he saw.

Lynne Androni, the actual power behind the train wreck that was Yiu Amistacia, sitting at the head of the conference table looking directly at him when he walked in. Next to her were a few other people he didn't recognize, all dressed in Seylosian military attire. The most shocking however wasn't the strange lack of many of his board allies, but the presence of none other than the Seylosian princess herself, who had the audacity to give him a little wave.

"Androni…" Klynne said, his anger hardly masked, "My boardroom isn't a place for you to host your parties."

Androni stood up with her hands behind her back, "Unfortunately Klynne it isn't your boardroom any more."

Margaret stood up with her usual smile and pleasant demeanor, "Hi there! I'm Margaret Redmond-"

"I know who you are." Klynne growled, "Why the hell are you in my boardroom."

"Well see here's the thing, it actually isn't," Margaret replied, clutching her hands close to her chest, "It turns out my good friend Lynne here told us you were very much on board with the Anglians coming in and taking over, and neither of us wanted that. So… I was just about to evacuate the country when my brother rang me up and told me he needed to make a big purchase, and I was the only one here who could get access to those funds that quickly!"

Klynne continued to stare at her with hatred blazing in his eyes, causing Margaret to make a bit of a grimace before continuing, "Right well to make a long story short, I got to buy KSG. Well, fifty-one percent of it, but that's basically the same thing, right?"

"Of course fucking Androni put you up to this, you insane bitch." Klynne bellowed out, pointing directly Androni who stood there smirking, "This is my company, and I'll have you all shot before I get removed from it!"

"Ew, no, that's incredibly rude of you. I think I'm going to let this incredibly handsome military man take over for me." Margaret said, gesturing to one of the Seylosians in uniform next her and stepping to the side.

The man stood up and pointed at the two armed KSG guards near the boardroom door and back at Klynne. The both quickly sprung on him, grabbing him by his arms and holding him in place while the enraged man struggled. He stopped in front of the red-faced former CEO and looked him directly in the eyes. "Under Galahindan corporate law as a minority shareholder, you're entitled to learn about changes in the operating structure of the business you have placed investment in. My name is Colonel Paul Emerson of the Seylosian Royal Army, and the majority stakeholder, Princess Margaret Redmond, has appointment me to the office of Chief Executive Officer of KSG. As of nine AM Cascadia time, you were relieved of your operating responsibilities and have been terminated. Remove him from the building and revoke all access to KSG assets."

The two guards nodded and heaved back on the screaming former executive, who was trying to hurl every conceivable expletive he could as he was dragged out. Before they made it to the door, however, Androni briskly walked in front of him and leaned in, "You really thought I'd let you take Cascadia that easily? What did they promise you? The country?"

Klynne said nothing as he struggled against the two guard.

"I have a car at the loading dock, take him there," Androni said. The two guards looked over to the Colonel who nodded, and they dragged him away again.

Emerson walked up beside Androni and looked at her, "You're not going to kill him, are you?"

"Hardly. He'll be fine… physically. Klynne has more assets around the country we need to discover before the Anglians arrive. And it's not very often that you get to toss your greatest rivals in the back of one of your trunks." Androni replied.

"I can't say I've ever had to worry about such an… opportunity." Emerson replied, raising one of his eyebrows.

"And that's what makes Seylos so boring sometimes," Androni said, turning around back towards Margaret and giving her a brief hug, "A pleasure doing business with you my dear. We must get together after this whole nasty war business if finished with."

"Good luck Lynne, keep safe," Margaret replied, in an uncharacteristically serious tone. She gave a brief wave before she left with her bodyguards in tow. As fun as it may be to say the Seylosian Princess now owns a Galahindan private military company, the Seylosian government was hardly going to let her stay. Not that she needed any extra motivation.

When all the parties had cleared the room, Emerson turned to one of the officers with a bewildered look on his face, "This whole fucking continent is weird as hell. I thought the job was supposed to be dangerous, not god-damn mind-bending."

 

OOC: This was written with @Galahinda's permission. This will probably be the last time I write from a Galahindan point of view extensively.

[Galahinda]

 

Sitting in one of the many black town cars that populated the streets of Cascadia's urban core was Yiu Amistacia, the island's leader swimming in media that would have otherwise drowned an older, less proficient user. In one hand was their phone, a downpour of messages from various political, corporate, and personal sources dominated the upper section of the screen. Of note is the current text conversation between the MYNE Creative Director and newly minted Klynne Security Group owner, Princess Margaret Redmond of Seylos. 

 

girl no f*cking way you actually pulled the I own 51% of this company card

I totally did

Lynne said he nearly dropped dead when you told him

He looked like he was about to

hey i know you're eager to get outta here, but you wanna make use of the new KSG amenities Mme CEO?

I tried to leave earlier, but the reporters here are ruthless. I couldn't safely leave, so I'm holed up in the board rooms.

slay, i'll meet you there

It's not like I can go anywhere with this damn media swarm dear. 

see u in 15 ❤️

Not willing to waste a moment, Yiu immediately swapped to their news feed, skimming the titles as they did so,

Cascadia Current: Seylos Ousts Anglian Ally Spencer Klynne

POSE: Every Look Worth Seeing from Galahinda's Newest CEO Princess Margaret

Galahinan Financial Times: KSG Investors Ousted In Seylosian Market Aggression

The single wireless headphone in the socialite's left ear was filled with the preliminary tracks for their upcoming runway show sent by the MYNE in-house DJ, ADDYR. The show's focus on furs had led the pair to develop a sharp frantic sound in contrast to the pieces' smooth and comforting lines, from which Yiu was currently wearing a knee-length mink fur coat, the bottom edge of with had been spattered with black and gold ink. Their right ear was half tuned to the Androni Commercial Solutions press conference being broadcast to the tv embedded in the seatback in front of them. Their left hand was occupied, as it usually was with the JUUL e-cigarette that they always kept on or near their person. 

"Ma'am, we've arrived at the KSG headquarters. Shall I find parking?" asked the chauffeur, speaking for the first time since the car had entered the chaos of the urban core, harshly pulling Yiu from their media dive. The media swarm really had coalesced around the base of the KSG headquarters, the throng of reporters crowding the media bullpen that had been set up by the new -Seylosian- owners. Yiu couldn't help but feel bad for the poor Seylosian PR intern they had installed behind the bullpen's lectern, poor girl is miles away from home, and they just left her out for the vultures. They thought to themself, sighing.

Yiu called out to the car's driver, "Pull up at the steps, Chaz. I'll go rescue their intern before she embarrasses them further." 

"Yes, Ma'am," replied the driver, expertly cutting through the amassing crowd and pulling up to the steps before exiting to open the door for the Chairman. 

Remember your affirmations b*tch, 'I am fame, I am lust, I am pixels, I am nothing.'

Stepping out of the heavily tinted Towncar's backseat, Yiu elected to forgo striking a pose for the fashion reporters, instead, cat walking up the steps and next to the girl at the podium.

Leaning in so only the girl could hear Yiu whispered, "My dear, it seems you're out of your element on my island. Why don't you take a break inside?"

"Yes, ma-" hastily replied the woman, voice shaking. 

"Hello, everyone," began Yiu, not even listening to her response, "while I'm sure our Seylosian ally was doing her best, yall are bloodthirsty, and we'll give her a break,"  

Taking off their sunglasses, Yiu pointed to a raised hand in the audience, "You, what've you got?"

The startled reporter hurriedly flipped through their notepad before hesitantly asking, "Is it true that since Klynne is no longer a CEO, he will not be attending any further corporate board meetings?"

"Do you attend our meetings?"

"N-no?" replied the reporter shakily

"Then there's your answer. You?" said Yiu with a sly smirk, gesturing to a man at the front of the group.

"Johnathan Leonn, with Galahindan Financial Times, is this even legal?"

"What, to buy shares in a publicly traded company? Thank god you're pretty. Otherwise, I don't know how you'd keep a job." chided the Chairman before turning back towards the crowd. 

"Oh, my stars, is that Anita with POSE I see down there?" beamed Yiu, noticing a woman with a jet-black wolf cut waving to them, "Darling, what can I help you with?"

"A party invite would be nice bu-"

"Done. Anything else?" shot back the Chairman with a laugh.

"Is it true you've started taking estrogen?" 

"Oh yeah, until we live in the future where I can swap out my body parts at will, I'll have to take estrogen."

Before they could continue the banter, the harsh chime from their phone signaling a message from Lynne sounded. Without a second thought, Yiu read the message.

Wrap it up Yiu. There's better uses of your time. 

kk

With that, Yiu picked their sunglasses off the podium and put them back on, "Well, darlings, I'm sure you've got more questions, but at this point, I've stopped caring. If they really matter, our Seylosian friend can answer them. So play nice, or I'll have you blacklisted from MYNE events for a year, Abî." Taking one last moment to pose for the flashing cameras, Yiu strutted up the remaining steps and into the building. 

Walking through the halls of their biggest political enemy's literal headquarters was a surreal experience for Yiu, the brutalist concrete halls standing in imposing contrast to their oversized mink fur coat. The sound of their heeled jackboots echoing off the hard stone floors was drowned out by the pumping bass of the newest Aliyah Arotica song, BCE, playing in their headphones. It only took a minute for them to encounter their first KSG soldier, but they became more frequent as they approached the elevators that led to the board room. If any had called out or attempted to stop the Chairman from progressing, they didn't notice or care. Indeed, if any had touched them, it would have been hell to pay. They only stopped at the elevator doors at the realization that they hadn't been opened in anticipation of their arrival. 

Taking one headphone out, the music stopped, and Yiu turned to face the soldier standing before the call button. The soldier, who would have stood an imposing full head and shoulders above Yiu had the model's boots not been heeled and whose shoulders were twice as broad, stood facing forward, face intentionally blank. "Excuse me. I'm meeting a dear friend. Mind pushing the call button?" asked Yiu, their voice dripping with artificial sweetness. It took a moment before the soldier responded. Then, after placing his hand against a well-hidden earpiece, he pushed the call button and wordlessly stepped aside. Yiu followed suit, placing their headphone back into their ear and stepping into the elevator with a glare.

The elevator ride was relatively quick given the building's height but lacked any sort of exterior window, given the building's brutalist design. Yiu took a brief moment to shoot Margaret a text,

On my way up, your guy downstairs is a dick

That's his job. 

Moments later, the elevator arrived at the building's pinnacle, and the doors opened with a soft chime. Stepping out without looking up from their phone, Yiu was startled when they ran face-first into the chest of yet another KSG soldier. Uncharacteristically unbalanced, the model fell to the floor. A voice called out in heavily accented Galaçoise from behind the behemoth, "Yiu, my love, is that you?"

"Ouaih," replied Yiu, taking a moment to re-orient themself before putting an expectant hand out for the soldier. The soldier dutifully grasped the Chairman's hand with his own massive one, deftly pulling them back to their feet. Yiu took a moment to give the bear of a man a once over, admiring his mountainous physique. Collecting themself, Yiu put a hand out for a proper handshake, "Yiu Amistacia, MYNE Creative Director." They said with a pronounced blush. "Lieutenant Peyton Hoss, KSG," came the man's reply, nearly crushing the Chairman's hand in his grip as he shook their hand. "Are you looking for a career change any time soon? Perhaps into the personal bodyguard field?" asked Yiu, brushing a strand of their hair back into place behind their ear. "No, Ma'am, I'm quite happy here," Peyton responded. "Oh, alright then," said Yiu, unable to hide the disappointment in their voice. They were surprised when Peyton leaned down to whisper into their ear. "I would take your number, though," he said, his beard brushing against the Chairman's ear, causing the model's pale skin to flush an even deeper red as he passed them his phone. 

"If you're done trying to f*ck my soldiers, I'm in the presentation room," called out the voice in Anglish, causing Peyton to blush an even deeper red than Yiu. Handing Peyton his phone back, their number now in the man's contact list, Yiu followed the sound of the voice to the presentation room, where Princess Margaret Redmond was sitting in front of a projected map of the island. Upon entering the space, Yiu immediately squealed and ran over to their longtime friend, who had stood up and thrown herself into the incoming hug. After taking a moment to linger in the hug, the pair broke apart and immediately began talking over each other. Finally, after several moments of excited interruptions, Margaret held up a hand and said, "Alright, you first."

"My love, how did you win their loyalty so fast?" Yiu asked, nodding toward the soldier in the other room. 

"Oh, it was easy. Turns out when you give your workers paid sick days and vacation days, they tend to like you better than their current boss. Have you tried it?" Margaret said with a pointed sideward glance.

"No, I tend to lead via sex appeal," quipped Yiu, tossing their hair and meeting the princess's eyes with a smirk, their mind immediately drifting back towards Peyton. 

"And you're about to get invaded," replied Margaret with a mischievous smile.

"oh you b*tch," cried Yiu in mock dismay, collapsing demurely into the plush chair beside them, "And here I thought you were going to stop that from happening!" 

"It's a little late for that, but we've given you a much better fighting chance now that Klynne is out of the picture." sagely responded Margaret, walking back towards the open laptop. 

"About him," Began Yiu, their voice taking on a rare, severe tone, "We're just going to let him walk away like this? Margs, we have so many options here." 

"There's a mugging gone wrong, a hair dryer falling into the bath, or a chauffeur driving his car into a pillar." they continued, gesturing as if to will it into existence via magic. 

"We're not going to kill him just because he annoys you 'Staci. He's out of power and no longer a threat." Margaret replied, unplugging the laptop from the projector before moving to sit next to her friend. 

"Exactly! He's out of power, and you know he's going to go straight to the Anglians with everything he knows about our defenses." objected Yiu. 

"Yiu, you know I love you dearly, but we can't engineer the death of every person who slightly wrongs us." answered the princess, eyes sharp with warning. 

"I'd beg to differ," Yiu replied indignantly, "Allegedly, mind you, we do it all the time."

"Then beg," came the quick reply from Margaret, instantly dispelling the building tension as Yiu recognized the now immortal reference and laughed in turn. 

"So, how long are you planning to stay?" they asked.

"Until the media disperses or a helicopter arrives to take me to the airport, whichever happens first." shrugged Margaret, 

"You don't want to come to see a show at Club Ecdysis?" asked Yiu, eyes alight with mischief.

"Yiu, we're about to be at war, there's no time, and I need to get out of the line of fire, as I suggest you do." 

"C'mon Margs, what good is sitting alone in your room?" Said Yiu reaching out to grab their friend's hand. 

"Come hear the music play," continued Margaret softly, recalling the old Galahindan adage that Yiu had used many times to draw her to the island, reaching out and returning the gesture.

"Life is a cabaret, mon cher, come to the cabaret." finished Yiu.

Before Margaret could respond, a knock came on the door as Peyton, accompanied by several Seylosian soldiers, arrived. "We're here to transport you to the airport, princess," said one of the soldiers with a salute."Well, that's my cue, love. I promise once this war is over, I'll come with you to a show," said Margaret, standing up and pulling Yiu into a hug. Yiu followed suit before breaking the embrace to hold her at arms length, "You better. Otherwise, I'll have to invade Seylos myself to get you to come." Joked Yiu, eyes slightly watery. "Oh girl, don't cry. Otherwise, I will," comforted Margaret with a laugh, "besides, it's not like I'm far."

With a final embrace, the pair separated, with Yiu remaining in the board room and Margaret following the squad of soldiers out towards the helipad. As she walked past Peyton, who had moved to flank the helicopter's door, she stopped and met his gaze, eyes alight. "Make sure Yiu gets out of this shit alive. Otherwise, it's your head." 

"Y-yes ma'am." Came Peyton's reply, shocked at the display of intensity from the otherwise calm and diplomatic princess. "Good!" responded Margaret, intensity instantly replaced with a friendly smile as the Seylosian soldier slammed the helicopter's door shut. Moments later, the helicopter lifted off and began its turn towards the Galahindan International Airport, leaving the soldier alone on the helipad. 

[Great Anglia]

The people, once united, now divided,

Their faith in their empire, now misguided,

Their once fertile lands, now barren and dry,

Their hopes and dreams, now lost in the sky.
 

The Garindinan Empire, once the envy of all,

Now faces its final and inevitable fall,

Its legacy, now tarnished, its name, now cursed,

Its fate, now sealed, by the hands of the universe.
 

Failed Empire, Dominik Morozov 1870 C.E. , Garinda

 

"Under no circumstances can he take half of our fleet to Cascadia. Even though Seylosian forces have yet to fully arrive, we need to support the landing operation in Galahinda, we don't know what is awaiting us deeper into the country. Your Majesty, we need to keep the fleet together to ensure that our forces cannot be picked off. As a coherent force, we hold the advantage, not the enemy."

The King's voice came through to Cartwright, his personality was different from the last gathering Grand Admiral Cartwright had attended. Clearly more stressed and angry than before, "In order to reach Seylos we need Cascadia. I have been convinced by Admiral Howe that this course of action is essential. Take Cascadia, and wreak havoc on the Adlantic Grand Admiral."

Cartwright was enraged. How could the Kind directly undermine his command with this insane order. Anglia barely had the forces to take Galahinda, and to split up the fleets would be insane. But now his orders were strict, his contingent would begin landing its forces in the east of the country while, in his opinion, Anglia's worst admiral was going to lead an attack on Cascadia.  He knew who was in command of the Seylosian forces coming to Galahinda to defend, and they weren't amateurs. His mind was torn, how can he salvage this without breaking his orders?

"I understand, Your Majesty. We've reached the Galahindan coast, and landing operations will begin shortly."

"Excellent Grand Admiral. Our situation becomes more tenuous every day. Do not fail Anglia."

The call stopped and Cartwright slowly put the phone down in its holder, taking a seat in his chair. He looked around his officers, all of whom had been seeing the look of concern on his face deepen.

“His Royal Majesty has ordered the task forces commanded by Captain Barnes and Captain Maddison to be placed under the command of… Admiral Howe. They’ve changed course to attack Cascadia directly.”

There was discontented mumbling amongst the officers present. None of them could believe what they were hearing. Maybe a strategy would make sense if an impending invasion on the homeland wasn’t present, but mostly cut off from the homeland. How could this possibly be a good plan?

“Admiral, this can’t be serious. First we leave Anglia, and now we split our forces to be even more vulnerable in enemy waters? WE should go back to Anglia now and crush the TRIDENT forces that are threatening-” said one officer in his anger, before being cut off by Cartwright.

“Enough. Everyone out, except Captains Westcott and Quincy.”

The muttering stopped and the excess of officers filed out of the CNC, leaving only the two carrier captains and Cartwright.

Captain Westcott stepped forward, his anger mostly tempered, “Grand Admiral, does the King not understand the folly in this idea? I have no doubt that we can take most of Galahinda, but we are putting the Seylosians on equal footing when we don’t need to.”

“Of course he doesn’t understand Captain… but he’s been convinced.” Cartwright replied, his frustration apparent, “But what are we to do? I have tried everything I can to convince him, but he has decided this course of action. I cannot defy the King.”

There was silence for a moment before Captain Quincy spoke up, “Perhaps… Admiral. If there was some sort of-”

“Do not finish that sentence, Quincy.” Cartwright said, stopping the captain, “We must focus on what is in front of us now, and not trying to rectify our poor personnel issue.”

“Of course Admiral. Every officer in this fleet will… always follow your orders.”

He knew what Quincy was suggesting from the tone of his voice, but he decided to not address it.

“How long until we are in range to begin landings on the Galahindan coast.”

“Eight hours Admiral,” Admiral Westcott replied, “It seems the Seylosians have managed to lock down control of the islands… small military apparatus. To be expected, and honestly their compliance was hardly needed. However, military intelligence has already shown large Seylosian convoys already beginning landing in Cascadia, though we predict their strength won’t exceed ours for at least another week. Both the Seylosian 1st and 2nd fleets have gathered around the city, as well as reinforcements from some of their smaller groups.”

“Hmm, she has played her situation smart,” Cartwright mumbled, mostly to himself.

“Sir?”

“Admiral Forrest, I suppose you could say she is my Seylosian counterpart. She won’t commit her ships outside of range of Cascadia. She’s betting we can’t take it. She’ll thrash Admiral Howe, dammit. Mainland Seylos and Gallambria are in range of providing air support to their efforts. We have no choice, ready all fighters onboard our ships. Ignore the Galahindan coast and dedicate them to provide support to Howe. I will contact our captains and try my best to mitigate this disaster.”

[Seylos]

Dispatch Operator: We’ve received word from the coast guard of a developing situation on the harbor front. Several ships flying Anglian identification are confirmed approaching.

Harbor Officer: We’ve got confirmation of this from Cascadia already. Seylosians are running the show now, what are our orders?

Dispatch Operator: Stand by.

Dispatch Operator: New orders from command, all units are to evacuate the area immediately and return south to Cascadia. Instruct any local officials who choose not to evacuate to comply with any Anglian forces they meet. Do not engage any Anglian forces.

---

“Anglian ground units are already sweeping through the north through Port aux-Auxarre. And it seems like they are moving as a more coherent group directly to Cascadia. Mostly ignoring any city or town unless they need it to secure their supply lines.” Commander Moira O’Neill said standing in front of Captain Walker in his office on the Defiant.

“As expected. At least the few Galahindan forces stationed there listened and made their way back to Cascadia. What’s the situation on the ground looking like?”

The commander raised her eyebrow while looking down at the tablet she was cradling that held the report she was referencing, “We have about ten thousand troops that have already landed in Cascadia, right now another convoy is preparing to make its landing. Roughly three thousand DAUFA mercenaries have been deployed as well to help bolster more vulnerable sections of the city. Brigadier Ryley has decided to use KSG mercenaries in a more logistics supporting role.”

“Makes sense,” Walker replied, “We may pay their wages now but they’ve never been very reliable.”

Before the commander could reply, she was interrupted by a knock at the door. She opened it letting in a young lieutenant who gave a quick salute. Walker stood up in anticipation.

“They’re here aren’t they?”

The lieutenant nodded, “Aye sir, two Anglian task forces have been confirmed by the Galahindan radar station in the Cape of Prosperity. It won’t be long before we’ll be able to see them ourselves.”

“Thank you lieutenant, you’re dismissed.”

The officer gave a quick nod and left the room leaving the Commander and Captain together.

“So it begins?” O’Neill asked.

“It had to start some time Commander.”

---

 

Walker walked onto the bridge along with his first officer. The air was tense since every sailor there knew what was coming. Up to now, it would be the largest naval battle of the war, and not just any battle, it could decide the fate of not only Seylos but Eastern Argis and TRIDENT operations in the Adlantic. If the Anglians pushed them out of Galahinda, they could use the island as a base of operations to severely harass TRIDENT forces heading to Europa, and possibly even wreck the invasion.

“Sound General Quarters, send alert status to the fleet.” Captain Walker said, looking out onto the flight deck of the Defiant.

The officer of the deck picked up the main circuit line and spoke into it, “General Quarters. General Quarters. All hands to battle stations. The route of travel is forward and up to starboard, down and aft to port. Set material condition Zebra. Inbound hostile surface and air contacts. This is not a drill.”

Sailors around the ship rushed to their stations, and the transmission from the Defiant reached the other ships, sounding the same state of battle readiness throughout the fleet.

“ACO launch all air assets, prepare for immediate interception of hostile air contacts. Order Thunderchild same status and inform home island and Gallambrian assets.”

The radio operator relayed the message and spoke back to the captain, “ACO responds aye, Thunderchild acknowledges order and confirms flight deployment. Kirkwall reports launch of home island aircraft and Gallambrian aircraft. Cascadia International Airport is ready to receive additional aircraft.”

Commander O’Neill stood next to Captain Walker, “We can take them right?”

Walker looked at his first officer, “We won’t let them cross the Corinian Line. Radio, send out a broad spectrum transmission.”

The radio operator fiddled with their station and turned to the captain in the chair, offering a microphone, “You’re on sir.”

Walker grabbed the microphone and took a deep breath, “This is Captain Walker of the Seylosian Royal Navy, Anglian vessels have crossed into the territorial waters of Galahinda. Bound by treaty, the Kingdom of Seylos and by extension the North Adlantic Union, immediately demand the removal of all Anglian military assets from Galahinda. If refused, we will respond with force.”

There was silence on the bridge and again the radio operator turned to the captain.

“No response sir.”

Walker knew there wouldn’t be one. But, it wouldn’t be very Seylosian of him to at least send the message.

The fleet was close to the Cape of Prosperity in the south of the country, and it didn’t take long before the fleet gained radar contact with the enemy.

“Prepare to fire all fleet batteries.” Walker ordered. The Anglians were at a slight disadvantage in this respect. Seylosian ships were armed with TRIDENT weaponry, giving them the technological edge in the fight. But in this moment only one thing mattered most, Seylos could fire first. Their missiles slightly out-ranged the Anglians.

“Fleet responding, all batteries ready. Air control reports contact with enemy air assets.”

Walker took a breath, realizing what was about to happen, “Order all ships open fire.”

 

[Seylos]

    I do solemnly swear
    To hold sacred the principles of this Union
    To, without question, protect the lives of the innocent
    To use my greatest abilities to build a greater future for all of Eurth
    From the depths of the Adltantic, to the shores of Europa.
    I will defend the Union from any enemy who wishes it harm
NAU Military Oath, 2023 CE

“Sir, Fleet Command has reported aerial contact with the enemy. Our wings are engaged.”

Captain Lennox was stood nervously on his bridge, trying his best not to pace around the bridge and spread his nervousness like the plague. But just like him, he was sure everyone onboard was terrified. Of course now it was really happening. It wasn’t like the Ardent hadn’t been in tough spots before, facing down an entire Haru task force by itself was no task for the fainthearted. But then, they were mostly sure the Haru weren’t going to fire on them. Now he knew that going into this the fleet wasn’t going to get away unscathed.

Lennox walked up to his XO who was busy talking to the weapons officer, “McCallister, did we get the target assignment yet, we’re about in range.”

McCallister looked up at him from the screen he and the weapons officer were looking at, “Aye, Galahindan land radar station is reporting Anglian cruiser bearing two one degrees distance one two five kilometers.”

“Jesus,” Lennox muttered, turning around looking at the communications office who was still waiting, “Be nice to get that order already.”

There was a tense pause for a minute as the bridge crew waited for the order to fire. It all broke when the communications officer spoke up.

“Captain, Fleet Command has given the order to fire.”

“Kill track one zero one three with two Harpoon, keep an eye on the sky lieutenant, we’ll be getting visitors soon I hope” Lennox commanded immediately.

---

“The Seylosian fleet is firing missiles!” The radar officer onboard the INS Vanguard.

“Are we in range yet?” Captain Edward Declan asked.

“Some of the fleet is getting into range now sir.”

“Order the fleet to-” Declan started before catching the gaze of Admiral Howe, who had joined the attack onboard the Vanguard. “My apologies Admiral.”

Howe straightened his back and gave the order himself, much to the annoyance of the Captain, “Order the fleet to return fire immediately. What is the status of our air units?”

“Engaging with Seylosian contacts. It… seems they’ve already begun to pull back Admiral. Grand Admiral Cartwright has also sent a message that his air wings are on the way.” The flight commander replied, in slight confusion.

“What are they up to?” Declan asked, mostly to himself. Throw their planes at the enemy then retreat almost immediately after contact?

“Clearly they’ve already seen that the good Admiral has sent us reinforcements. We can’t let them make their escape. Order all air wings to pursue and begin immediate attacks on the Seylosian ships if they can find an opening.”

“Admiral…” Declan started, walking over to the radar screen of the radar operator who glanced up at him, also giving him a quizzical look, “They’ve barely launched any missiles against us at all. Certainly enough to be worried about but not enough to take down this fleet.”

Admiral Howe looked at him trying to hide his own confusion, “What are you saying?”

Declan stood up and faced the Admiral, “Admiral I believe they are trying to buy time. They clearly have reinforcements coming from the air. They are going to use the opportunity to have us try and expend our missiles.”

“Then all the more reason to push the assault now,” Howe said, his confusion giving way to confidence, “If we don’t deal with them now then wherever they get those reinforcements from will cause even more problems when they get here.”

“Sir I believe we need to wait for Grand-” Declan started.

“Captain, look after your ship, and I will look after this fleet.”

---

“Palmer please tell me you are going to have that thing ready to go when we get to the rendezvous.” Captain Alex Bolton asked, briefly turning his head back from the passenger seat of the Galahindan truck.

Being towed behind the truck was an anti-ship missile system they were trying to get delivered to the coast, hopefully right next to the unaware Anglian fleet.

“I’m working as fast as I can. It seems like our friends from Galahinda never even bothered to unbox the damn thing. I’m just trying to get the initial configuration of this thing setup.” The man hunched over a laptop connected to the system’s computer replied, incredibly annoyed.

“Is that a yes or not?” Bolton asked, slightly more aggressive with his tone. He wasn’t actually feeling particularly aggressive himself, but he knew Palmer always worked better under pressure.

“Yes? Maybe? I don’t know, I’m sitting here trying to read a manual and set up something the Galahindan should have done months ago.”

“Well you’ve got…” Bolton brought up his watch, “Ten minutes to get that sorted Palmer.”

“Ten minutes? I thought you said I had thirty?”

“No Palmer, you had thirty minutes, twenty minutes ago. Now you have ten. Get the damn thing working!”

The DAUFA pilot glanced at Bolton with concern on his face, “Is your man going to have that thing ready by the time we get there?”

“Oh sure, I’m sure he got most of it done before we actually left. He just works better under pressure.”

“I heard that Captain,” Bolton heard through his headset.

“Good, now you’ve got nine minutes!” Bolton gave the befuddle Galahindan pilot a thumbs up before activating trucks onboard radio, “Sierra Foxtrot One One this is Sierra Foxtrot One Four Actual, request status. Over”

There was a delay but then a message came back through the radio, “Copy Sierra Foxtrot One Four Actual, we’re on time. We’ll meet you at the rendezvous when you get there. Over”

“Copy, we’re going to need that backup when we get there. Over”

---

“We’ve got a large amount of inbound missiles and air contact inbound!” The radar operator aboard the Defiant.

“Jesus he actually went for it,” Commander O’Neill said, surprised.

“Never underestimate a man who has too much to prove,” Captain Walker replied, “Order all air wings to begin intercepting inbound anti ship missiles, we’ll let our destroyers handle these planes.”

O’Neill nodded and went over to the communications station to get Walkers order out there.

“Captain,” the radar operator started, “We’ve got a lot of extra missiles heading specifically for the Defiant. Most bearing ”

“O’Neill, get more units defending the Defiant, we’ve got a lot heading in. Get all our planes off the deck and in the air, even if they haven’t fully restocked,” Walker grabbed the main circuit phone off its holder and held it up to his mouth, “Missiles inbound starboard brace for shock, brace for shock.”

---

Though they expected anti-air fire from the Seylosians, the Anglians hadn’t expected quite this much. In the hopes that the Anglians, led by Howe of course, would try to throw their planes at the fleet, most of the fleet had shifted its missile complement from primarily anti-ship to anti-air. Admiral Forrest had known long before that they would have a large amount of reinforcements coming from the Seylosian mainland and she managed to spare no expense on that. With the Tagmatines and NAU First fleet between Seylos and the Dolch, everything was pulled from home and sent to Cascadia in the hopes they could overwhelm their opponent.

And so far everything was going the way they had hoped. At least for now.

Captain Lennox had a bad habit of hovering over whichever officer’s station he was talking to and was gazing in concern at the radar operator’s screen.

“That’s a lot of fucking missiles going towards the Defiant. I hope those pilots can get them.”

“We’ve got some of our own sir, one from the air bearing three one five and another from the enemy fleet bearing three two.”

Lennox turned around to address the bridge, “Deploy chaff, brace for shock!”

From both sides of the Ardent, chaff canisters were shot out blowing open and spreading their contents into the air. Both CIWS platforms on either side also began to swivel and level themselves and the incoming missiles. Each began to fire their chaingun as the missiles finally got into range. With planes busy trying to intercept other Anglian missiles, it looked like Ardent was on her own. Even though the port CIWS missed its target, the chaff seemed to confuse the missile enough as it had deviated course and slammed into the ocean only twenty or thirty meters away from the ship. On the starboard side however, the chaff didn’t work, but instead at the last moment the CIWS managed to intercept the missile causing it to explode relatively close to the Ardent.

Lennox instinctively ducked as the powerful sound of the CIWS and explosion went through the bridge. As he stood up he saw small shards of metal had actually made it to the ship and had stuck themselves in the bridge’s bulletproof windows.

He was terrified though as he looked out the starboard set of windows, completely ignoring another anti-air missile that launched from the Ardent’s deck. In the distance he could the damage from the attacks so far. Seven or eight trails of dark smoke leading up from the ocean, but most notably a glow and smoke billowing out out the aft of Defiant and from her flight deck.

---

Every conceivable alarm on board was going off on the bridge as Walker struggled to right himself. The Defiant had been hit twice, one of which he could see with his own eyes. A gouge in the flight deck extended for several meters, presumably coming from a missile fired from the air. They were lucky that for whatever reason it didn’t punch straight down. But he wasn’t sure where the other had hit until he noticed that Defiant wasn’t moving anymore.

“Captain!” he heard a voice from behind as O’Neill ran up to him, “Damage control called in using another circuit line. Aft missile hit near the propellers. It’s bad, they’re sealing off as much as they can but we’re taking on water. ”

“Jesus Christ, alright get to work helping with the damage control. I need to get in contact with Thunderchild.”

---

The truck pulled up to the small cliff near the Galahinda beach, where the helicopter taken by SF11 was already on the ground. Bolton hopped out of seat and onto the sand, hoping that the Anglian fleet was still unaware of their presence.

Another soldier ran up to him, the captain of the other special forces team and pointed out to the north, “Spotted two cars driving our way. Looks like we’re about to have company.”

“Alright, let’s get over to those rocks at the base and set up. Palmer, get this shit up and running now we’re about to have company!”

Palmer jumped out of the back of the truck and held up his laptop, “It’s already setup, but I haven’t got the order to fire yet.”

“What the hell’s the hold up Palmer, we’ve got Anglians heading our way!”

“They’re coordinating something I don’t know, look all I know is I shoot when they tell me to shoot.”

Bolton let out a groan, “Alright come on, stay close, and fire it the moment they tell you to. Alright?”

In total the Seylosians had about ten soldiers, though SF11 had called for reinforcements before Bolton and his team had shown up. Both fortunately and unfortunately SF11 had turned on a signal jammer they had in their helicopter so they had no idea when they were arriving. Suddenly, from just below where they had taken cover, rifle fire started going off, and the Seylosians responded back with fire of their own.

---

“See Captain, have faith. We’ve already damaged one of their carriers and several of their ships. We’ve got them on the run.”

“We’ve taken our own losses too Admiral,” Captain Declan replied, “We’ve lost over half our fighters in that reckless run and our reinforcements aren’t even here yet. We’ve expended most of our missiles, even if they decide to retreat we won’t be able to inflict enough damage on them to take Cascadia. The ground units needed us for this.”

“Captain Declan, I’ve had enough of your-” Admiral Howe started, his anger finally showing on his face.

“Admiral! Radar is picking up… several new air wings coming from the west and the south.”

“Admiral we don’t have the fighter power to take that kind of attack we need to retreat immediately,” Declan yelled, causing the entire bridge to go silent.

“How dare you speak to me this way. We hold our ground, and fight until Carwright’s fighters arrive to reinforce!”

An alarm went off on the radar operator’s control panel, “Admiral, Captain, I… I think… Enemy ships and fighters and launching missiles.”

Declan pushed the exasperated admiral out of his way and leaned down over the radar console, he spun around to his XO who was standing nearby, “Recall all fighters immediately, get a message to Ark Royal to do they same. I need to coordinate an immediate retreat with the rest of the fleet-”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing Captain. I’m in command of this fleet.”

“No your insane political agenda might have just cost us this war, someone get him off my bridge.” Declan said, while a probably far too enthusiastic group of sailors grabbed the angry Admiral and dragged him off the bridge quite literally kicking and screaming. Whatever credibility the Admiral once had was lost as it became all too apparent they had walked straight into the Seylosian trap. A trap, Declan remembered, Admiral Howe had walked into off the coast of Anglia with no less the same adversary. Though last time instead of Gallambrian fighters, it was Anatean fighters that had sealed their retreat.

---

SF11 and 14 held their ground as Anglian soldiers poured fire on their position. Spread out amongst the rocks leading up to the anti-ship missiles they were hard to root out, though Bolton was hoping they’d get to firing the missiles before it became a worse problem.

“Finally!” Bolton heard Palmer yell out then suddenly hunch over his laptop while bullets were striking the rock above him.

Both groups fighting heard the roar of the anti ship missiles as each one fired off sequentially until all four were gone heading towards their targets. Declan could see the sky over the ocean as dozens of streaks were raining down from the sky towards Anglian positions, and even more coming up from the opposite end where the Seylosian fleet was. In a way it was almost beautiful.

The two sides kept trading fire until suddenly the Anglian stopped for a moment, causing Bolton to glance back over the horizon and see many columns of smoke slowly starting to rise into the air. Far more than were appearing from the Seylosian side. Then as if out of nowhere a deep resounding boom hit the shore, and from their position they could see some of the distant smoke columns almost ripple, though maybe Bolton could have been imagining it.

“Ceasefire!” Bolton called out as a quiet calm came over the beach. He broke it by calling out at the top of his voice, “Hey! As much as I’d like to keep shooting at each other until someone gets killed, maybe you should take a look out there!”

Silence for a moment, but no gunshots.

“What else is there to do?” a voice yelled back.

“You could always surrender?” Bolton yelled back. A bit cheeky, but it was true.

“Hold.”
Bolton looked back at the other next him, “Hold?”

On the other side Anglian Major William Quintin looked back at his own people, “We can’t surrender can we?”

His second in command shrugged, “Even Admiral Cartwright thought this whole thing a fool's errand. You see that smoke out there don’t you. That fuckin explosion? You think the whole fleet is faffin about and lightin bonfires for us?”

Quintin tried his radio again to hear anything. Except now, it was clear. The Seylosians must have turned off their jamming.

“-Ark Royal has been lost, the fleet has suffered severe damage. With authority given to me under Grand Admiral Cartwright I’ve extended an offer of surrender to the Seylosian forces we have engaged. We have been guaranteed-”

He let in a sharp breath and closed his eyes. The rest of his soldiers looked at him.

“Major?” One of them asked.

He nodded, though more in recognition of the situation than anything, “We’ve lost boys. Admiral Howe’s fleet has surrendered.”

“Fuck.” One of the others said.

They sat in silence for a moment. If the fleet had surrendered, why fight on. No doubt Cartwright wouldn’t want them to keep fighting themselves. It was time to test if these Seylosians were as… nice as they had been reported to be. Quintin stood up.

No gunshot. He took a step out of the rock cover and walked onto the beach. From the other side he could see Bolton stand as well, moving his arm to calm his own people and took his own steps out. They met in the middle and looked at each other.

Quintin pulled out his pistol and handed it to Bolton, who at first had tensed up but then grabbed the gun, holding it in his hand. They both looked out to the sea to see the smoke rising from the ocean.

“You know,” Quintin said, pulling out a spare cigarette and lighting one. He offered one to Bolton. Normally he would have declined but it felt right. He took it and let Quintin light it, taking a drag and coughing as he did so. Quintin gave a short laugh before becoming somber again, “I never understood why we were here. You sound like southerners, you know, back home.”