At The Border

[Sophie]

Suzuki glared as the other general left the room. Once gone, she turned back to Api. "What the fuck was that about? Nothing from the Kumo high command told me about another general or army in this area. I'm going to have to add her to my report now too."

---

"For what?" Second Lieutenant Otosaka asked with a tilted head. "Why'd she storm off?"

[StaolDerg]

Vaiseln suppressed the urge to sigh in frustration. Her only regret was that she hadn't the opportunity to beat her hollow-skulled colleagues unconscious, or that General Fos had fallen off her horse and broken every bone on the way over to the base.

"My apologies, Suzuki-kama. I mentioned having to fight with other departments of the military for resources: well, allow me present to you the Army of the Feina, inland counterpart to my own Army of the Bromsoll. While they're technically a part of the Territorial Army, they... well, they answer to the State Office."

---

The Sergeant made a face. "Well... it's a bit messy to explain. Short version is, they're Army of the Feina. Don't like 'em."

[Sophie]

"Regardless of who that bitch answers to, she isn't out of my reach. You'll need to do something about those MPs of yours." Suzuki sat and pinched her temple firmly. "Unfortunately, it must wait. Right now, we need to establish a hard recon force to scout out the Franneri defenses. The full force of my army and yours is available for this, including my armored units. Should we also need them, the Yayuri fleet is exercising in the bay. I want to avoid calling on the navy if we can avoid it. Now, let's get to work."

Suzuki swiped aside most of the desk and rolled out a massive map of the area colloquially known as 'The Notch.' She pulled out her box of figures and handed over hundreds of small inselni, meant to represent the territorial army, to General Api. "Go ahead and lay these out as your soldiers are. Each one should represent a company in your army." Another box containing several hundred small Kumo statuettes represented the First Elenrian Prefectural army. It even included a landship, tankette, and armored car. These were all placed around the base at which they currently resided. Next up was the Franneri army. Suzuki had to reference the exhaustive recon reports to fill out their lines, but it was soon complete.

Once the two were done laying everything out Suzuki took a step back. "Spirits above."

Api joined the Kumo General in her gobsmack. "It really changes how you see it when it's laid out like this."

"No matter which way you slice it." Suzuki awed. "It's a slaughter."

[StaolDerg]

As Vaiseln assembled her forces upon the map, she could not help but feel disappointed by the meager numbers she had been able to muster. Compared to the Kumo First, all she had been able to mobilize were a grand total of brigades that amounted to roughly a division's worth of soldiers.

Still, she took comfort in the fact that the the Kumo forces at least were incredibly well-prepared for whatever the operation would entail.

"I must ask though, Suzuki-kama." Vaiseln noted. "How much time do we have? I wish to account for our supply lines- if at all possible, I should think a train line reaching the frontline would be incredibly valuable to military logistics, regardless of whatever business we must conduct."

[Sophie]

Sasaki looked for motivations behind the Inselni's eyes. When she found naught but honesty she resigned herself. TAKPOE officers are practically politicians anyway. "We have time. We should anyway. I can order my sea bees to begin construction on rails. However for now my motorized supply trucks should suffice."

"To answer your actual question, I am not under orders to prepare an invasion. Not explicitly anyway. I'm certain it's on the table, however, and whatever we find on the other side of the border will influence the Empress's decisions. Now, advise me on which of my units and yours should be combined to create our scouting force."

[StaolDerg]

Vaiseln nodded again.

"Of course." She straightened the papers on her desk and considered the units displayed upon the table.

"First off, I think that the armor is a no-go." She motioned at the tankette and landship figurines, as well as the armored car, murmuring largely to herself. "They need roads to effectively traverse if I understand, and given the nature of our operation, they pose too much of a risk to operational secrecy. I think instead that a composite task force of light infantry are instead preferable."

She reached through a stack of papers, pulling out a table of weather predictions.

"Spring means rain in our region of Longmen, which is a temperate woodland and plains region. With all of these factors in mind, I have a number of units that I can recommend."

She pushed forward three companies.

"First is Second Company of the 233rd Woodland Reconnaissance Battalion. Many of their soldiers are from Longmen- well, descended from those who used to live there, or were born there and lived there as children. They are familiar with the terrain and environment, as well as being fairly experienced in reconnaissance, though they are inexperienced combat-wise. There may be some issues about cooperation with Kumo troops, but I am hoping that the interactions between our forces here at base will do much to assuage their doubts. In any case, I will move on."

"Second is the First Company of the 125th Battalion, 13th Dragoons Brigade. While I would normally avoid deploying mounted troops, these troops have extensive experience operating without their mounts and should be fine being dismounted for the period of the operation and are veterans of anti-bandit campaigns conducted against the Free Army. Their carbines have excellent mobility for such an operation, and their skills in reconnaissance should furnish the recon force with sufficient expertise. They have some issues of their own- notably, their NCOs have been accused of misdemeanors ranging from minor theft to drunkenness while on duty."

"Finally is the Third Company of the 177th Battalion, 7th Infantry Brigade. While they are standard infantry, the Third Company are the most experienced reconnaissance unit I have at my command. I can attest to their skills in camouflage and infiltration, but I should note that their numbers are very small- they are barely a company large, with a total number of three platoons. Nevertheless, they are experts in their field, and I should think are valuable additions to the Recon force."

Vaiseln looked back up at Suzuki. "Of course, we can rearrange these forces as necessary, but I would like to first ask about Kumo forces. What reconnaissance units may we draw upon to rely on from the Kumo forces, Suzuki-kama?"

[Sophie]

"I agree that armor is out of the question. Though the armored cars have proved extremely successful at scouting out rebel positions even off-road. I agree however that even the cars would obliterate any sort of secrecy we hope to maintain." Suzuki began sifting through her own papers and pulled out documents on three different companies.

"My First Recon Company from 8th Firestorm Battalion. They're highly experienced veterans in the ongoing war against the rebels. The greenest soldier they have is five years in. Their web weavers are extremely skilled in any situation to keep the group moving. During a planned raid against a rebel stronghold, they got as close as a mile away without being spotted."

"Then I think Eighth Recon Company from the 75th Doom Corps Batallion would be best. They can be a bit hard to wrangle but they operate with brutal efficiency. They are overeager and get the job done at any cost, even if that cost is killing a few enemies despite being ordered not to."

"Last I'd like to recommend my Fourth Recon Company from the 83rd Jackalopes Batallion. They're as green as it gets but the captain has been vying for an opportunity to prove herself and her soldiers. I'd like to give her that shot now."

Suzuki handed the relevant documents on each company over to Api. "If you need more let me know, but I think we're ready to go then."

[StaolDerg]

Vaiseln mulled over the Kumo units. "These will do fine. I would like to know how far away our date of operation is- if possible, I'd like our units to mingle together and become familiar with working together before we send them on this mission. There's also the case of nominal leadership and the operational unit sizes: Because you requested companies, I assume that we are sending our forces in as multiple smaller units, with our selected troops distributed between each smaller unit. Is that correct? And if so, who will lead the mission in general?"

She wondered if Suzuki would appoint a dual leadership to head the mission. It'd be fair to both the Kumo and Territorials, but she it did run the risk of conflicting interests getting in the way of the mission. Her own troops that she'd selected were skilled, but she knew that many of the officers that led them were proud and conservatively-minded individuals. The Kumo Eighth Recon worried her in that regard- killing without reason was a violation of honor, and that certainly wouldn't fly well in the face of those officers. Brutality was simply not done if it could be avoided.

Best case scenario, they would be angry and upset with their Kumo comrades, but worst case? She'd read reports of soldiers from the early days of Takpoe being ordered to wipe out entire villages, only to defect to the Free Army. Desertions and defections had decreased drastically since those days, but she could never be too sure.

A worrying notion planted itself in the back of her mind. Dare she ask to have the Eighth Recon restrained, or even replaced from the mission? She trusted General Suzuki's word that they were good soldiers, but being good soldiers alone was not enough for the honor of her soldiers- or her own, for that matter. 

[Sophie]

"I'll be assigning Lieutenant-Colonel Rikiko Kusakari to oversee this foray. I'd like you to assign an LC of your own to act as a co-commander. She will have to keep in mind that Kusakari will have the final say on all matters should there be a dispute. From there, the captains of each company can decide how to split up platoons and squads to get the job done." Suzuki felt confident in these orders and that the Kumo forces would get along well enough with the Elenrians to form cohesive units. "We have to start this mission as soon as possible. I'm afraid we can't allow for delays for our soldiers to become more buddy-buddy. I'm sure things are getting on fine between our two armies, and I'm certain that working on missions as equals rather than sitting around will work better for companionship."

[StaolDerg]

"Very well, General. Is there anything else we need to cover on the part of the units we need for our force? If not, then I believe our next topic of importance would be the finer details of the mission itself."

She would rearrange the files on her desk, making way for the map in front of them.

"To screen our units, it may be advisable to cause a noticable, yet deniable distraction. We would alert the Franerran border guard if we sent in all of our troops at once, and they would be spotted due to some sharp-eyed sentry post if adequate distraction was not provided. Because of this, I suggest only dispatching a handful of our recon units at a time once they are in position, with an artillery and maneuver exercise on our side of the border not too far away in an adjacent zone. If you wish, we could even have some greener Territorial patrols pull away from the border in the impression that many, if not all Imperial Army assets were being exercised, giving the Frannerans the notion that our presence on the border has decreased."

"On the other hand, another kind of distraction is similarly possible: by massing our units in certain locations of the border, especially near road junctions and other avenues of transport, we can give the Franerrans the impression that we are gauging their defenses in those areas, and hopefully draw some nearby units to said regions, lessening the chance our scouts may be spotted in another."

[Sophie]

"That is incredibly wise General Api." Suzuki nodded. She began manipulating the figures on the map to represent where she wanted to move each recon unit, deviding the border of the notch into three regions. She brought along the three Elenrian recon units as well. "I'd like our units to work like this. Having My first and your second company in the far east, my fourth and your first company in the central region, and then my eighth and your third company in the west. I think if we perform exercises here, here, and here." She pointed and the interceding areas between the sets of companies on major roadways. "With our heaviest weapons, that should provide a fairly decent cover for our recon units. I'd like to position my armored units together in the western region of the notch and have them exercise with your most experienced units to give them some training working in conjunction with my armor."

"How well can your units operate at night?" Suzuki asked. "I'd like our recon teams to exclusively work at night to reduce any chances of being spotted. Is that a possibility?"

[StaolDerg]

"My troops do not have night vision, but they operate well in the dark nonetheless." Api replied. "In any case, night movement seems advisable as long as we can ensure our forces' safety in the daytime. It will be difficult to hide an entire platoon in broad daylight, so it is absolutely vital that our reconnaissance teams understand the importance of camouflage and seek shelter in preferably wooded or other concealable positions. Perhaps we could order them to set up over vantage points such as hills and purposely attract Franerran troops to one area in particular in order to observe preferred paths of travel during the day?"

Some part of her mind wondered what the grand conclusion of these maneuvers meant. Of course the Franerrans being distracted in the UST meant an excellent opportunity for some reconnaissance, but General Suzuki had mentioned the possibility of invasion, and given the army outside her command tent, that was almost certainly the final outcome of this foray into Franerre.

Still, she wondered about her own troops. She thought back to her conversation with Sekra: the Kumo would almost certainly intervene if they uncovered the full extent of Takpoe's weaknesses. If they were to find that the Territorial Army was nowhere as effective as they demanded, they would almost certainly decapitate Elenria's remaining autonomy. Autonomy, in Vaiseln's mind, that belonged solely to the purview of Queen Akel. She could not allow such a fate to befall.

Her mind reconsidered the situation. This business with Franerre might be a blessing in disguise: the Kumo could be so busy with the Franerrans that it could give her and Sekra the opportunity they needed to put the Queen back in power.

She just needed to get through the Army of the Yasuhiro...

The General entertained the notions of diverting the weapons General Suzuki was allocating to her troops to the reserve units she was saving up. No, that seemed too underhanded. Dishonorable.

Perhaps good performance against the Franerrans would garner her better favor with General Suzuki, and from there gain access to the equipment she'd need to restore the Queen and arm fellow Royalists. It was a notion that reminded her a little too much of the appeasement of the Regency, but it seemed the best for the time being. After all, the Kumo followed their own system of honor, and given how surprisingly reasonable and sympathetic Suzuki had been to her current situation, perhaps it was not the worst idea.

[Sophie]

"Hah!" Suzuki laughed a moment. "Night vision. That'd be nice. Well, it sounds like we have a plan then, no? Let's get our LCLs in here and debrief them. I want this mission underway by tomorrow night. I'm going to entrust the finer details of the mission to the Lieutenant Colonels."

Upon receiving agreement from the other General, Suzuki sent a message out to the MPs outside, and within the hour, both Lieutenant Colonels Rikiko Kusakari and Sen Tai were inside the command room. It took a matter of hours to bring the two up to speed on their mission, and once they were, Suzuki gave Kusakari a reminder. "The two of you will be in co-command of this mission. However, if you have a dispute, then you are to defer to Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakari. But if I hear that you treated Tai-kas as anything other than an equal, there will be serious reprimands. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am." The LCL answered in stiff professionalism. "Thank you for the opportunity."

"And you Tai-kas?"

[StaolDerg]

"Stick to your oaths of conduct." Vaiseln reminded her fellow Martial.

"Understood, Ma'am." Sen replied. "It's an honor to serve."

"Excellent." Vaiseln nodded. She turned to Suzuki, adding, "I believe they are ready to be dismissed, Suzuki-kama?"

---

For what it was worth, the three Elenrian companies chosen for the mission were already assembled at the base, checking their sparse equipment and cleaning their rifles. Sen supervised them grimly as she prepared her own kit, occasionally looking over her shoulder to check if the promised transfer of equipment from other units had arrived yet.

"Ma'am."

She glanced up at one of her three subordinate captains- this one from the 177th, Captain Ai Lo Penika. "What can I do for you, Penika?"

"I hate to tell you this, but there's been an incident with those Feina Army bastards."

Sen suppressed the urge to sigh. Instead, she opted to get up, arranging the visor cap in her head to fit better before nodding at her subordinate, who she now towered over.

"Very well. Take me to the offending personnel, and tell me what's happened."

"Put simply, there was a fight between two personnel from the same community."

"But different Armies?"

"Precisely. We're not sure who started the fight because both claimed that the other violated their community's honor and accordingly both claim to have started the fight to teach the other a lesson."

Their boots crunched against the melting spring snow as they arrived at medical tent. Captain Penika sniffed, placing his hands on his hips as he looked in the direction of the cots inside. Of the twenty cots, seventeen were occupied. Two stood out, on either sides of the tent, glaring at each other as orderlies paused to glare at them. "Fight only ended after their respective superiors and comrades pulled them off the other, but we've received no less than eight complaints and seven threats to report our behavior to high command from the Army of the Feina."

Sen caught the attention of a medical orderly with the wave of a hand. "How wounded are those two?"

"Some bruises, a fractured jaw on one of them. Concussion and black eye on the other."

The Lieutenant Colonel glanced at the 117th soldier. They had a bandage wrapped about their jaw, and as they turned to see who the newcomer was, they recognized Sen's officer cap and lowered their head. Their counterpart on the other side of the tent looked away from the entrance of the tent disinterestedly.

Sen set her jaw. "We are on assignment in direct cooperation with the First Prefectural Army. There will be no interruption. Captain, you are to inform your counterparts and comrades to restrain themselves-"

"Lieutenant-Colonel!"

The officer's eyelids subtly fluttered in annoyance as she turned to the sight of a breathless messenger. "Lieutenant-Colonel Kusakari is here and wants to speak to you."

[Sophie]

"What the hell happened here?!" Kusakari's jaw had dropped to the floor at the sight of the wounded personnel. "What was there a fight?! Oh, spirits above. I knew your people weren't as professional as us but fighting? Really?!" She glared at her counterpart. "Tell me who instigated this buffoonery at once. They're getting a dishonorable discharge. For the love of the Empress, we do not have time for this Sen-kan! Our units need to be deployed in a matter of hours."