At The Border

[StaolDerg]

The edge of Sen's mouth twitched at the jab at her people's professionalism. The soldiers were of a community that she herself was part of by marriage. Were she not a Martial, were she any decade younger, she might've retorted or even struck the Kumo.

"With due respect Kusakari-kama, the 117th is already the smallest unit I have, and as it stands experienced personnel are rare to come by. I cannot afford to discharge my soldiers when I already lack recruits."

She turned to the soldier resting on the cot. "Can you walk?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Can you fight?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then get up and get ready. You are behind. Move!"

The soldier quickly slipped out of the cot and hurried out past both officers, avoiding eye contact as they hugged their uniform to their chest. For Sen, she swallowdd back her distaste for her counterpart and smoothed her uniform as she shut the tent flap behind her to give the patients within their privacy.

"I apologize, Kusakari-kama. I believe we have other matters to discuss?"

[Sophie]

"The higher-ups won't stand for this sort of unprofessionalism. They would sooner have a smaller army than one that acts like this. I mean, a fight? That's assault. An army can't function if the soldiers are openly assaulting each other without reprimand. I am writing up all soldiers involved for a captain's mast." Kusakari placed her fingers on the bridge of her nose. "And it's Kusakari-kan to you. We're supposed to be equals here, you know?"

"You'll need to get me a list of those soldiers later. No honorable officer would cover up the crimes of their subordinates, right?" Kusakari shot a daggering glance at Sen, deliberately weaponizing the Elenrian sense of honor to get what she wanted. "For now, we need to get this recon mission underway. We're already thirty minutes behind schedule."

---

The Kumo First and Elenrian Second companies were merged to create the "First Combined Recon Company." The Kumo Fourth and Elenrian First companies were merged into the "Second Combined Recon Company." Leaving the Kumo Eighth and Elenrian Third to become the "Third Combined Recon Company."

The First was headed by Captains Ruriki Shimamoto and He Yu Seng. The Second, by Captains Matsuya Okuyama and Lang Mei E. The Third, by Captains Satsune Kitahara and Penika. The First was deployed to handle the eastern third of "the notch"'s border. The Third handled the entirety of the border that ran south to north along "the notch." The second was to handle everything in between.

The companies quickly deployed to their assigned scouting regions and broke down into their component platoons and then squads. Within a matter of days, thanks to rails and the brand new Kumo motorized supply trucks, the recon mission was ready to get underway.

The moment night fell, each squad followed their explicit orders and did their best to work together for their mass recon mission to discover the extent of the Franerri defenses on the other side of the border.

Even as they prepared to cross the border, they could not help but look up at the sky reflexively as a sharp whistle suddenly pierced the night in the distance before abruptly ending in a terrific bang.

Then another. And another. It seemed like the very heavens had begun to ripple with the sounds of shells bursting in air and flares hissing as they slithered down in their colorful snakes of smoke as they glared unseen patches of terrain over the trees and past the hills with glaring displays of light.

But the echoes of gunfire and the thunder of bombs did not drift from the Elenrian side of the border. A flare or another might illuminate some bit of the border between or another, revealing the briefest glimpse of Territorials moving on their side of the border, but there remained no shell nor flare that would make it near the border line itself.

It was in the cacophony of light and sounds not even kilometers away that the boots of the reconnaissance force crossed the border in their squads, using the cover of the night to travel from cover to cover.

The first thing they found, of course, were the trenches. The soldiers watched the Franneri conscripts stare off into the sky, and it was with the distraction of the continuous barrage in the distance that the squads skirted the very edges of the border, making their way towards the fortifications, scouting out the dugouts and the positions of the sentries.

Border troops had furnished them with candidate positions for infiltration: poorly-guarded sentry posts, machine gun posts that had their heavy equipment removed, gaps in the defensive line. The task of the recon force now was to investigate those positions and see if they were worthy of being used as access routes.

[alxeu]

First Recon Company:

The hardest part of crossing the border for the 1st Reconnaissance Company was determining the point of crossing. The furthest eastern part of the border was a no-go. Elererre itself was heavily defended and was the locus of the main forces of the Franerri garrison, with the surrounding area being equally frustrating to hope to approach. With much of the terrain in their sector further being cleared as part of farm development, the western end of the sector became the focus of infiltrations efforts. Along this region of the border, there was less development and more bush, along with fewer checkpoints.

Here, the infiltration proceeded smoothly. While the land was a bit rougher than the more developed eastern portion of the area, what difficulties existed were easily handled by the terrain-savvy Elenrians and the swift-moving Kumos. A few things stood out in these primary hours of the infiltration. To begin with, most of the Franerri forces were not immediately on the border, with fortifications set up around border checkpoints, only. Instead, most fortifications were kept close to the forts, which, combined with each fort being in range of at least two neighboring forts, meant that the Franerri fortifications were at least tolerably defensible. The next thing noticed was the jumpiness of the conscripts manning the border. While special care was made to avoid the nearest checkpoint, it was determined by the scouts that shortly after the artillery fire began, the border guards at the nearest checkpoint telegrammed for immediate reinforcements and began nervously surveying the horizon, joined within an hour by the rapidly awakened checkpoint garrison. This jumpiness made it easy to slip past in the rough terrain, the frightened Franerri border guards focusing on the open terrain and keep their eyes on the sky.

A little after midnight, they had worked their way the nearly ten miles to the first fort line of Franerre. There, they discovered the distraction had stirred the forts awake, as well. The trenches were manned, as well as the fort’s guns. Another weakness, long suspected but only confirmable at this close distance, was found at this time: the fort’s guns were massive, and given the older age of the fortresses, dating back to the early 1800s, these bastion forts could not fully support the massive guns utilized by their defenders. Along any given section, 2-3 of these defensive guns could hope to sit on each bastion, though they were heavily limited in horizontal adjustments. Depending on the angle of approach, the actual viability of the fort’s guns was heavily questionable.

This knowledge in hand, the First Recon Company now faced the question of how to infiltrate past the hornet’s nest. While the trenches between the forts were not crammed, it would be near-impossible to slip by between two forts completely unnoticed.

Second Recon Company:

Contrary to the difficulties posed by portions of the border for the 1st Recon, the 2nd Recon was positioned along a much less densely populated stretch of territory. Utilizing much of the same nervous energy the 1st Recon exploited, the 2nd Recon crossed the border and infiltrated quickly. Reaching the fort line, they determined that this sector was not particularly well-defended. Though the design of fortifications along this stretch was every bit as well-fortified as the lines to the south and east, the logical necessities of needing to defend points to the south and east more heavily than the center meant that there were less troops here than elsewhere. Combined with the brush that made it simpler to hide, along with urging by the Captain of the Kumo forces, they bypassed the first fort line and entered the unknown area behind the first fortification lines. Entering a nearby forest, they had the option now to push on and continue their mission for at least a couple more hours that night, or wait until the next evening, when the local Franerri forces might let their guard down and rest after the previous evening’s activity.

Third Recon Company:

The 3rd Recon found the same planning difficulty in crossing the border that the 1st Recon did, as the area was more densely fortified, accounting for the concern that Kumo forces might try to cut off the region from the rest of Franerre as their first move in a war. Erring towards the north of their zone, they found a narrow ravine to slip through. Advancing about halfway to the first fort line, however, the ravine exited into a dangerously open stretch of land, necessitating some back-tracking to a more suitable exit spot, mildly irritating the soldiers of the Kumo Eighth Company, who were already displeased with the tight squeeze they had already been forced to make.

The detour complete, they saw an opportunity to make a breakthrough of the first fort line in the waning hours of the night. About midway between two forts were a couple of conversing Franerri conscripts, who, though frazzled, were by now feeling the effects of exhaustion caused by needing to skip a night’s sleep. As the lead members of the 3rd Recon watched, one of the soldiers yawned, patted his friend on the back, and dipped below the trench fortifications, not emerging thereafter. Crossing now seemed far easier with only one conscript needing to be eliminated to do so… if they were willing to take the risk.

[Sophie]

First Recon Company:

Captain Shimamoto decided that scouting the central defensive line would have to be satisfactory for her combined company. She dedicated her company's efforts to get accurate measurements of defensive emplacements from the border. Each squad leader was in charge of a map and drawing the defenses they could scout as accurately as possible. The big guns took priority, and they paid little mind to MG placements unless they were a full-on bunker emplacement.

Second Recon Company:

Once the Second Recon Company breached the first fort line, they pushed on. Captain Matsuya Okuyama desperately wanted her company to stand out above the other two. For the last few hours of the night, the Company pushed on and would only stop upon twilight. Once the sun began to crest the east, the company was ordered to scatter into any small hideyhole they could find in nature. The Kumo were to use their webbing to create small camps in the woods. They’d attach brush, dirt, and any loose shrubbery to their webbing to cover themselves up.

Third Recon Company:

The Third Recon Company contained the Kumo Eighth Recon Company from the 75th “Doom Corps” battalion. “It's just one guy.” One of the soldiers mused. “We can quickly kill him and get even better intelligence.”

“And how do you plan on doing that without him seeing you?”

“What does it matter if he sees us? He’s going to die.”

“It takes less than a second to fire a gun, and if he does that, every conscript in a ten-mile radius will collapse on us, and you’ll start a shooting war.”

“So what? We call it good here, then? Fucking coward.”

“That’s enough, both of you.” A sergeant chimed in. “Suzuki is right. We need to keep going. We need an intelligent way to dispose of this pawn. I’m open to ideas.”

“Naiya-kan, you used to be a pitcher, right?”

“Yeah, I was division A at Fuyonouso City College. Why?”

“Can you bean him with a rock?”

“From here? Are you insane? I’d struggle to hit him with a rifle from here.”

“We can probably get a lot closer without him seeing us. If we keep low, I will bet we could get within less than half a klick.”

“I’m still not certain I can hit him.”

“I like it.” The sergeant declared. “You never shut up about your time in college. Prove your mettle, Private.”

“Spirits be damned fine. You better have a backup plan if I miss.” The Private began gathering medium-sized rocks off the ground. While she did, she said a prayer in her head. Hey, Mom? Do you remember how proud of me you were when I joined the baseball team? I need your help. I know you wouldn’t be thrilled that I joined the army since grandma was a navy girl, but I didn’t have much choice. Once I got kicked out of college, I was dead broke. I need your help, please. Please guide these rocks into that Franneri’s skull, so I don’t get my friends killed. I love you with all my heart, mom, and I miss you every day. I would love a reminder that you’re watching over me.

The sergeant's squad began to crawl on the floor carefully. The Kumo pressed their torsos into the dirt and pushed them forward with their eight legs. Just below the crop of a small hill, Private Naiya peeked over and stared at the Franneri. He was beyond exhausted as he tiredly rested against his machine gun, lazily scanning the territory before him. Naiya pulled up one of her rocks and kissed it. Mom… she mouthed.

Fffffffffffffffffffp. The rock soared over the distance between the Franneri and the Kumo. For Naiya, it was in complete slow motion, as the lives of her and her squad could very well depend on the accuracy of this rock. She watched as it tumbled through the air. The rock practically grazed the man’s ear as it passed by him and embedded in the trench behind him in a plume of dirt. PFTHHHH.

In a panic, the Soldier turned around to see the explosion of soil as adrenaline shot into his veins. “Shit!” Naiya swore, barely keeping it under her breath as she whipped another stone. C’mon, Mom! I need you!! As the soldier began to turn back around to see where the rock came from, the next pelted him in the side of the head at eighty miles per hour. The human collapsed to the floor, and blood began to gush out of his head.

“Go go go go go go!” The sergeant barked at her soldiers. One of the soldiers, a black widow Kumo, took off at full speed towards the trench. The moment she crossed the threshold, she sunk her fangs into the human’s neck. Her venom flooded his bloodstream, and his blood began to coagulate into a highly viscous gel. The venom reached his heart in less than a minute, flooding it with gelled blood. Without blood cycling through his body, the man’s energy left his unconscious body until his heart beat its last and was still.

With the soldier dead, they were free to advance. Naiya took the corpse and used her webbing to attach her to her back so they wouldn’t leave a corpse behind as they moved on.

[alxeu]

First Recon Company:

While it would take time for the maps and details of the defenses to be analyzed enough to draw general conclusions, the work had begun. As long as they did not stray too close to any of the fortresses or too far out into the open, it would be trivial for them to collect the information they wanted out of the defensive line.


Second Recon Company:

The rigorous leadership of Captain Okuyama pushed her company into reasonable range from the next line of Franerri fortifications, though with the sun rising soon, it was too late to consider scouting them this first night.

Short of a frankly bizarre Franerri patrol into the thick of the woods, the forces of the Second Recon would be safe in their forest holes until the next night. As the hideouts were built, the Elenrians kept a close eye on approaches to their positions before withdrawing to the safety of the hideouts until the next night.


Third Recon Company:

Despite the short delay caused by the Franerri guard, the Third Recon made good time moving towards the second echelon of Franerri defenses. Though they had to encamp for the rising sun, they, too, were close to investigating the next line of Franerri fortifications, beginning the next night.

Though while the company rested, their actions the previous night would not go entirely unnoticed. Early the next morning, a relief watch was sent to retrieve the two men who had held the position in the trench line the previous night. Finding one man asleep, and another missing, they asked the lone man there what had happened, but the man claimed ignorance, having decided with his mate to take turns napping until dawn.

A brief search around the forts would commence that day, though the initial search remained unresolved as the sun set once more.

[Sophie]

First Recon Company

They continued to play it safe. Working hard to operate in secret while still working hard on their maps. They fell back deep into the forest during the day and returned to their scouting positions during the night.

Second Recon Company

Deciding they had been pushing their luck a bit too far, Captain Okuyama erred on the side of safety during the day. The company stayed hidden until the sun had once again fully set before continuing their recon push.

Third Recon Company

Third gave no second thoughts to the killed Franneri. Under normal circumstances they would have, without a second thought, used the man for his meat and tossed the bones. However, in front of the Elenrians, their captain quietly ordered them to respectfully discard of the corpse. Naiya was frustrated she wasn't going to get the hearty meal she had thought she earned, but still acquiesced to her captain's orders. She even turned over the corpse to the Elenrians in her merged squad to allow them to perform an ad-hoc burial.

Once the sun set again, the company pushed on to continue their scouting.

[alxeu]

Second Recon Company:

The Second Recon continued into their second night of infiltration, moving through the forest until they happened upon an abandoned farmhouse and barn on what appeared to be the outskirts of a town. From the abandoned buildings, they determined that the town was integrated into the border defenses. Since fortresses could not be everywhere, the town instead was fortified against the northerly and westerly directions, with the buildings on those ends of the town being made of stronger building materials.

Of particular use to the reconnaissance forces was a confirmation that there was only a couple of hills worth positioning artillery on towards the southern end of the town. At any rate, this town appeared to be a unique weaker position along this portion of the lines and could be worth surveying over the next few days; the farmhouse was clearly worse for wear, and there was little sign of any recent visitors prior to the arrival of the scouts.


Third Recon Company:

The Elenrians worked hastily to give a temporary burial to the Franerri soldier, unable to properly burn the body as they desired, they instead carefully covered the body with rocks and a small marker, unlikely to be easily spotted from outside interlopers for a time. Moving on, they scouted the second line of fortifications, determining that the fortresses were similar in construction to those of the previous line. These were more spread out than the previous line, clearly focusing on a frontal defense with support from fewer rear fortifications. What little knowledge they had informed that there was unlikely to be many defenses beyond this next line.

The question now became whether to risk going in deeper, potentially too far to cleanly evacuate, or continue exploring the intermediate area searching for potential avenues of rapid advance.


Franerri Investigation:

The first day had not yielded leads on the whereabouts of the missing soldier. A discussion among the commanding officers at the fortress determined that the most likely outcome was that the man had abandoned his post and decided to deploy minor squads of soldiers to the nearby towns and hope to figure out if he was hiding out in those areas. It would take a few days to confirm one way or the other if he was in any of those towns, but the fort’s commanding officer was sure the missing soldier would turn up soon.

[callmedelta]

Franerri Investigation

Two days after the disappearance of Private Jean-Marc Favre, a small unit of military police from the local branch of the Gendarmerie were dispatched to the scene, headed by one Inspector Maurice Leblanc. While the Gendarmerie nowadays was mainly known for serving as the Kingdom's security apparatus against internal threats, it was still a military policing organization at the end of the day. He pulled his jacket taught around his body, trying his best to stave off the cold winter wind. A cold southern wind had came in the evening before, plunging the area into the depth of winter. At least this far north and relatively close to the coast, snow was almost impossible.

The Inspector's partner, Inspector Albert Camus, would be gathering interviews from members of the 7th Battalion who were still stationed at Fort Douglas, while Leblanc had drawn the short straw. Hence he was the one currently freezing out here in the trenches. As Leblanc jumped down into the trench line, soldiers in winter gear idly milling about, he soon found himself being waved over by the man who appeared to be in charge around here. "Inspector Leblanc," Maurice said, extending his hand.

"Captain Duclos," the man said, extending his hand, "Now why are you down here?"

Maurice was momentarily stunned by the man's words, though a part of him appreciated the frankness at the very least. "I'm here about Private Favre."

"Kick?" The Captain spat. "I thought my superiors agreed he was a deserter."

"That's the working theory," Inspector Leblanc said, trying not to let condescension leak into his voice, "But this is the Bartels Line; we don't do half measures. Before the Tafatu War we had seven men out of the one hundred thousand in this sector desert every quarter. With your conscripts being redeployed that number jumped to twenty two before a few high-profile examples were made, and since the interim months we've only had an additional three men try and desert. We treat every single case of desertion as the highest priority for this exact reason. If Private Favre has deserted, he must be caught and made an example of. If, on the off chance Private Favre hasn't deserted, we need to understand the scenario that led up to this incident as our highest priority. I understand this was where the Private was last deployed?"

The Captain nodded. "He was on evening watch, manning the Gatling gun with Squirrel - that's Private Argeaux - when he deserted. That was the night the Kumo artillery drills had started, and from Argeaux's account both men were tired. He sent Argeaux in to go get some rest, and when Privates Lachlan and Genet woke up to take over watch duties, Favre was gone. According to those two, they were too tired from waking up when they got on duty to realize that Favre was missing, and so it wasn't reported until the morning."

Leblanc had been briefed on the situation before coming out, the only new information from the Captain was that the Private had been manning the Gatling when he deserted. The scene would be thoroughly ruined by this point; already soldiers were milling around the gun as they waited for something to happen. "Did you see any tracks from Private Favre? Did you search the area? Did your quartermaster make sure no supplies were stolen? What about Private Favre's personal effects?" The Captain paused for a moment, before he shook his head. "Desertion is rarely, if ever, a spur-of-the-moment decision. There are signs, both through action and in conversation, that point towards desertion. Especially in weather like this, desertion requires planning to ensure one has the proper supplies to survive in the harsh environment. Support from the locals is unlikely, as they know the punishment for harboring deserters and the reward for turning them in. We need to begin searching the area. There's a high likelihood that wherever Favre did go, he left a trail."

[Sophie]

Second Recon Company:

Second, Recon happily accepted the gift of the abandoned farmhouse. As soon as it was located, a squad was left behind to set it up as a very temporary forward operating base while the rest of the company continued to scout. The ones left behind used their webbing to set up a perimeter alarm system. By encircling the property in webs and connecting those webs to a system of strung-up cans in the farmhouse itself. So if anyone tried to approach the farmhouse, they couldn't do so without jingling the cans inside. Unless, of course, they were aware of the webbing. Once the Company returned, the Captain made the decision that they would only spend one more day there. Once they woke up, they would continue their scouting, and after that night, once they had slept in the farmhouse one more, they would begin to head home.

Third Recon Company:

Practically foaming at the mouth, Captian Kitahara wasn't satisfied yet with what her Company had accomplished. While strategizing with the Elenrian Captain, she declared her intent to push on even further. The two engaged in a furious debate until a soldier had to come and quiet them down. Captian Kitahara finally acquiesced and agreed that the Company should be satisfied enough with what they’ve accomplished so far. Starting at the last light, the Company would begin its evacuation.

[alxeu]

Second Recon Company:

Night Three of Infiltration

The next night’s scouting yielded a better idea of the lines of communication and reinforcement directions for the fortress town. Three roads would be potential avenues of reinforcement: an eastern road, a southern road, and a southeastern road. Both of the former could be within range of artillery without risk of counter-fire, which meant the southeastern road was the most likely reinforcement avenue. There wasn’t much that could be done to survey the road from their positions to the west and north of the town, so the roads condition couldn’t be confirmed, but the other roads into the town were well-maintained, for the region.

Furthermore, a road led northwest out of the town towards the forts closer to the border. A few Elenrians who had been stationed on the previous morning’s watch noted that the road did have patrols assigned to it during the day, but when night fell, the patrols returned to their posts in the town garrison.

Regarding the garrison, it seemed the town could support a thousand soldiers stationed there permanently, but at the moment, it was at 2/3 capacity. It could not be determined if this was normal or a reduced deployment. The town also appeared to have adequate storage for artillery and enough shells for sustained bombardment from 10 cannons for about a week or two. Depending on how many of the larger warehouses were storing ammunition as opposed to food or other supplies, the town seemed to have the supplies necessary to last about a week or two, as well.


Third Recon Company:

Night Three of Infiltration

Nearly as soon as the evacuation back towards the first line of Franerri fortifications and the border began there were signs that this would be less trivial than before. More soldiers were on patrol along the road that ran parallel to the bush and rough the Kumo and Elenrians crawled through. Though they were still infrequent enough to be easily avoidable, the uptick in security was noticeable. A hamlet they bypassed was being visited by two squads of soldiers, with the townspeople in the streets uncomfortable with the military search.

At the trenches themselves, the old crossing point was way too hot to approach, and it became clear that another point along the lines would have to be used to sneak back over.

It didn’t take much to put two and two together, the Franerri were looking for the missing soldier, and while it seemed they only suspected mutiny now, if there was any evidence left at the trenches, it would only be so long before even the most greenhorn army inspector could bumble into it.


Franerri Investigation:

Between Night Three and Night Four

Fortunately for the Franerri, if not for the Kumo and Elenrians, they weren’t greenhorns. Once it became clear that none of Jean-Marc Favre’s belongings were missing – that it was only the private and what he had on him that night that was gone – attention turned back to the trench he was stationed at the night he disappeared. Trampled over as it was, Inspector Leblanc wouldn’t find anything useful in the trench itself, but as the search naturally turned to the immediate area around the trench, an obvious clue missed days before stared the Inspector in the face: footprints leaving for the interior of the Franerri lines that were clearly of Elenrian origin, along with complementary prints of an unknown origin.

Though the trail disappeared once the dirt and mud around the trench turned back to grass, there were enough prints to indicate that at least a couple dozen went through. Favre’s disappearance had suddenly become much more ominous.

[Sophie]

Second Recon Company:

Satisfied with their discoveries, the Second recon company began to tear down any evidence of their stay in the abandoned farmhouse. Most critically, any webbing that was used during their time. Everything that could be burned was burned. Anything that couldn't be burned was carefully collected and placed into backpacks. With haste, the Company began to make their exit upon nightfall on night four of their expedition. They would plan to use the exact same route they had entered through.

Third Recon Company:

"Shit." The soldier passed the octoculars to her superior. "I guess it was too much to ask to just let us cross back home unharried."

"Why do they care so much about some nobody soldier gone missing."

"We'd do the same thing, wouldn't we?"

"Whatever."

"So, how are we getting back if we can't go that way?"

"We'll head down south along the border, scanning for any sort of opening in their lines. We'll go all the way to the Jiang-He River if we have to."

"And if we get there, then what? The river is miles and miles wide how are we supposed to cross back home?"

"We'll steal a boat, or we'll swim. Or we'll kill an entire bridge patrol section if we have to."

[callmedelta]

Franerri Investigation

Inspector Leblanc stared at the footprints, simultaneously feeling the rush of discovery and a sinking feeling inside his gut. These footprints were Elenrian, no doubt about it. A sole set of Elenrian tracks wouldn't be much to worry about, perhaps a co-conspirator of Favre's. But this many? A conspiracy of that magnitude would be unlikely, not to mention the fact that all of the tracks appeared to be Elenrians. That did not bode well in the slightest. He didn't have enough evidence to say with certainty yet, but the only other group of Elenrians in the region with any business near these trenches, or with Private Favre's disappearance would be the Elenrian Army. There were also those other markings, but Leblanc had no idea what to make of those. Something to file away for people much smarter than him to make out, but for the time being Favre would do what he could. 

"Captain Duclos," Inspector Leblanc said, "I want your men to secure the perimeter around these footprints. Nobody touches them until we can get someone to sketch the scene, or take a picture of we can get a camera. I'll-"

"Hold on," Duclos interrupted, "I am the man in charge in this trench line. These soldiers are under my command, and they follow me, because if they don't the brass will tear me a new one for insubordination in a time like this. Our duty is to man this trench line, so we're manning this trench line."

Leblanc grit his teeth. "Fine then." The Inspector cleared his throat, and a deep booming baritone he announced, "Every soldier in this trench line has been declared a resource pertinent to an active investigation of the Gendarmerie, and as such fall under my command. I want three squadrons fanning out to search the area in the direction of those footprints, if you see anything even slightly suspicious you send a man back here and report to me. I need one squad standing guard over these footprints, and so help me God if I see even one speck of mud out of place I will court martialed for tampering with evidence faster than you can say it's just some mud. Lastly, get me a runner for Fort Duglas." Leblanc scribbled down his findings on a piece of paper while Captain Duclos just sputtered for a few moments.

As Duclos was just beginning to regain enough footing to challenge Leblanc, the Inspector cut him off. "This is all perfectly legal, Captain. The Gendarmerie is allowed to take command of up to a Company's worth of soldiers for use in an investigation when the time calls for it." A runner came up, and Leblanc handed the paper off to him. "If you have any complaints, please take them up with either your superiors or mine while I do my fucking job in peace."

[alxeu]

Second Recon Company:

The Second Recon would return to Elenria along their previous route without incident.


Third Recon Company:

Fortunately for the Third Recon, the high alert of the trench line did not extend forever to the south. Spending much of the remainder of the night travelling southward and carefully avoiding patrols travelling to and from the nearby towns, they wound up several miles south of their previous locales and were forced to camp another day, though it was with some satisfaction that they noted that, at minimum, the excess patrols of the previous sector were not present here. They would likely be able to cross the trenches before travelling the rest of the way south and cross the border successfully in one more night.


Franerri Investigation:

The soldiers would spend much of the rest of the day scanning the area leading eastward from the trenches, into the area between the Franerri fortification lines. The best they could offer by nightfall was some brush in the thicket nearby being obviously heavily trampled, but so much time had been spent that day that they could not follow that trail to its conclusion and given that one soldier had already been lost in the night, as well as concern that clues could be missed in the dark, most of the soldiers wanted to suspend the search for the night.

In addition, there was debate of just how large a search area was needed to hammer down what happened to Favre. There was now evidence of foul play in Favre’s disappearance, evidence that would need to be reported up through the proper channels.

[callmedelta]

Franerri Investigation

Inspector Leblanc retired to Fort Douglas, for the night, sharing the room with his partner, Inspector Camus. It was late; Leblanc had stayed with the soldiers investigating Favre's disappearance until sundown when he called it off for the night. Leblanc was going to start the investigation as bright and early as he could the next morning, so he needed plenty of sleep. First, though, it was time to compare notes. "So," Leblanc said, suppressing a yawn as he sat opposite of Camus, "What did you find out about our missing Private?"

Camus brushed an errant lock of his golden hair out of his face as he spoke. "About half of Favre's division is out in the field, with half of them stationed here at the fort. Of the 5,000 men here, my team and I have managed to get about a fifth of them interviewed. Of those here that were close with Favre, mostly men from the 6th and 7th battalions, other than a few incidents of cheating at cards, most don't have a bad thing to say about the man. By all accounts, he wasn't exactly thrilled to be called up, but you can say the same of nearly every man here and we still have an army."

"In that case-" Leblanc was interrupted as the yawn he was suppressing finally slipped out "-I think you should shift away from interviews here at the Fort and towards any local villages. I found some tracks leading away from the trenches where Favre was stationed the night of his disappearance. Some tracks were Elenrian, but there were some marks I'm not sure of. Either way, I'd like to try and get someone with a camera out here, take some pictures and try to identify what they are. I've begun investigating the area, but nothing more today. If Favre did desert - which I highly doubt at this point - Favre almost certainly had some help from Elenrians." Leblanc yawned again. "You want to get the report back to HQ written up while I go to sleep? I'm going to have an early morning tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it."

~

The next morning, the investigation of the surrounding area would continue from where it left off.

[Sophie]

Third Recon Company:

Not yet satisfied with the lowered alert, Third Recon Company chose to continue their push southward, another six hours after they had reached the relative lower safety they decided to scout out a way to cross back home.