Chapter Text
Afternoon, Summer 19XX
Above the Mediterranean Sea
West of Sicily, Kingdom of Ildoa
“READY ARMOR PIERCING SPELL! MATCH FIRE TO YOUR COMPANY COMMANDER!” the Argent aimed her rifle. “FIRE!”
A wave of destruction rained down on the enemy’s eight ship convoy. In an instant, the four ships on escort duty were torn apart; the other half of the convoy found itself completely undefended in an instant.
“Lieutenant!”
Lieutenant Serebryakov consulted her radio before answering. “Ma’am! 47 direct hits, and 1 near hit confirmed! The enemy protection detail is completely out of commission. It appears the enemy marine mages were wiped out as well!”
“One near hit? Who could miss such a blatant target?”
The other Commanders drifted over. Neumann was the first to arrive.
His embarrassment was apparent. “My bad Colonel! I had to sneeze!”
Several years after driving back the Free Republic forces on the Southern Continent, the Empire once more found trouble brewing down south. After years of alternating bloody conflict and uneasy stalemate, the Empire finally snatched victory against the Russy Federation. A decapitating strike by the Salamander Kampfgruppe ended things once and for all. The Empire, now well established as the strongest power in Europe, was free of opposition on all continental borders.
“It certainly is your bad!” Tanya snapped back. “This would have been our fifth perfect record of the week!”
In response, the Unified States, the Allied Kingdom, and the Republican colony resistance group formed a military alliance. ‘Alliance’ is perhaps a strong word, however. The Unified States was amid a Depression so great, international news referred to it as the ‘Terrible Depression’.
“We could still say we swept them, Colonel. I mean, all the armed ships were downed.”
The Allied Kingdom’s Navy was increasingly under fire and spread thin. Full of tactical and brilliant military minds, the Imperial Navy had taken a page from the Francois book and copied their opponent’s tactics. While the Albish had a numerical advantage, the strategic advantage was Imperial-favored by far.
“I don’t remember teaching my battalion to lie about achievements. You know the drill, Neumann. Don’t try and weasel out of it.”
And the Francois resistance… the only bright spot there was General de Lugo. Even with the General as a rallying figure, the resistance was a paltry reflection of the former Free Republic.
Which led to the current situation.
“Yes Colonel.” Neumann dropped his head in shame.
“Battalion!” Tanya casts a wide-range communication spell. “Drinks are on the Fourth Company’s tab tonight!”
“YEAH!!!” Cheers ring out from the First, Second, and Third Companies.
“But first, we have to finish up here. Half the ships remain.” The Argent turns to her adjutant. “Lieutenant Serebryakov, take the rest of First Company and secure one. It’ll be a good chance for you to get some practical leadership experience. Weiss, Neumann, Koenig, delegate the search of the other ships to your next best and stay here.”
“““Yes ma’am!”””
The companies soon made their way down to a ship. Only Tanya, Weiss, Neumann, and Koenig remained.
“I can already hear my wallet groaning.” Neumann laments.
Koenig grinned at Weiss, “Maybe I’ll order some of that fine Roma Ildoan wine I’ve heard so much about.”
“Roma? I’m was thinking a little more local.” Weiss responds. “Sicilian spirits are what I’m after first.”
Down below, the rest of the 203rd begins their inspections. The Argent keeps an eye on the situation on the off chance she’ll be needed. She wouldn’t be. Her subordinates are far too experienced and well-trained to mess up a simple ship search.
“Don’t drink too heavily, gentlemen.” Tanya states humorously. “I know it’s tempting, but don’t forget our contest tomorrow. Everyone should be at their best when I win.”
“I know you’ve grown these past several years Colonel,” Koenig replies, “…But don’t think we’ll lie over and lose just because you’re the Argent.”
“Yeah!” Neumann seemed to have dropped out of his shamed funk of a mood. “I’m going to win tomorrow! It’s the perfect redemption.”
Weiss shakes his head.
“Oh, please. Gentlemen, I believe I’ll be taking home the victory.” He flexes his left arm. “You two simply don’t have the stamina.”
The three men continue to jokingly argue as the Argent looked on. It’s good to let them get such incorrect assumptions out early on. Not one of them seemed to take Tanya as a serious threat in such a challenge. It was an odd feeling.
Recreational activities and team-building events are necessary to keeping a group involved and upbeat during war. It just so happened that the Garrison provided on the Sicilian west coast was equipped with more than just military gear and rations. Like a fully equipped gym, for instance.
“I’m glad you all seem properly ready for tomorrow. However, if you want to show off for the ladies, I’m afraid I’m unimpressed.” A gleam of pride can be seen in her expression. “And Lieutenant Serebryakov is never impressed with you. She knows too much for that.”
“Oddly enough, she’s never indicated a romantic interest in anyone. At least, not that I know of. She’s an attractive young woman. Surely, she would have no trouble finding a partner. Hm. At this rate, she might be my adjutant forever. Anyway…”
“Gentlemen, you are forgetting one crucial detail. Have I ever lied to you about victory before? I’m the Argent.” She stresses her title with a smirk. “I’m packing more guns than just this rifle; I’ll have you know.”
A flex of her own arm accompanies this statement.
In an instant, the men’s overconfidence drops. Maybe the Colonel did have a chance?
“It doesn’t matter.” The men thought to themselves. “We’ll do our best! No matter what!”
In the end, that’s all they could do.
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Late Morning, Next Day
Imperial 203rd Battalion Temporary Garrison
West Coast of Sicily, Kingdom of Ildoa
It was a lovely morning. The summer heat hadn’t quite set in yet. A light breeze drifted through the area, and hardly anyone was around.
Wait, what?
“Where is everyone?” First Lieutenant Viktoriya Serebryakov asked herself upon leaving the dining hall.
Usually on an off day such as today, she and the Commanders enjoyed a late breakfast together. This morning however, none of them were around. Even the Colonel was missing!
“Was there a meeting I didn’t hear about?”
The confused adjutant made her way around the Garrison. The mess hall held only a few battalion members, and the barracks held no answers. They weren’t at Medical either. The only ones there were a mask-wearing First Lieutenant Grantz and the Garrison’s medic.
“Oh, hello Lieutenant Serebryakov.” He called from his cot. His muffled voice made it slightly difficult to hear what he was saying from the safe distance Visha maintained.
“Lieutenant Grantz, what’s going on?”
“Ah, well I woke up with a headache and-”
“Not that.” Visha interrupted irritably, “Obviously you’re sick, otherwise you wouldn’t have that mask on. I meant, what’s going on around the Garrison? I can’t find the Colonel or the Commanders anywhere!”
“They’re at the gym.” He deadpanned, before muttering under his breath, “Oh yeah no I’m fine thanks for asking.”
She decided to ignore that second part. “At the gym? What for?”
“Some sort of strength contest or whatever. I thought about competing but, well…” He gestures at himself, “You can see why I didn’t.”
“Yeah, the Commanders would beat you pretty handily. I understand, don’t worry.”
“H-hey! That’s not what I-”
“Anyway, thanks for the help Grantz!” She waves quickly, then takes off.
Grantz heaves a sigh.
“She picks up more and more from the Colonel every year. Would it kill either of them to feign sympathy once or twice? Hey doc!”
They glance over.
“How do ya think she’ll react to the Colonel all sweaty and flushed up from a workout?”
The medic smirks.
“Heh. I thought so too.” Grantz leaned back. “I almost wish I could see her face when she realizes.”
They nod their head.
The sick Lieutenant sighs. “Yeah, same here. Damn illness.”
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The Garrison commandeered for the 203rd’s use consisted of several extremely well built ‘temporary’ buildings and tents bordering a wall-blocked shoreline; the open-air gym that lay directly south of the medical tent was one such area. A quick jaunt along the inside of the wall led Visha right to it after a detour behind the equipment storage building.
Despite the morning heat, the fresh ocean breeze staved off the worst of it and kept Visha from sweating out of her boots. As she neared the gym, the smell of sweat and iron made itself known. Occasional chants and cheering could be heard in the distance as Visha rounded the corner of the building.
The middle of the gym area was populated by about a third of the 203rd’s men dressed workout clothing. Some wore their standard boots and pants along with a tank-top or t-shirt, while others took the day-off as an excuse to wear shorts for a change. They seemed to be observing a set of pullup bars.
A thump and subsequent groan could be heard.
No, scratch that. They were watching someone using the set of pullup bars.
Visha approached the group, “Pardon me, is the Colonel-”
Whatever she was about to say was cut off as the scene before her fully registered. Weiss, Neumann, and Koenig all sat on the ground, shirtless. They panted in exhaustion, presumably having fallen off their own pullup bar. Visha followed the defeated men’s line of sight up to…
She froze in place.
It was the Colonel. Colonel von Degurechaff. Doing pullups. In a black tank-top… sweating.
Visha’s face burned, and not from the Sun.
“37… 38… 39… 40!”
The crowd cheered as Tanya finally dropped from the bar.
“Gentlemen, I’m disappointed! Pushups, sit-ups, squats, and now pullups? I thought you were going to win at least once.” She made a dismissive gesture. “Looks like it was all three of you that didn’t have the stamina, Weiss. I win again.”
“In a stunning 4-0 rout…” An observing member of Koenig’s company announces, “The Battalion Commander wins the competition!”
Cheers erupt once more.
“Squats? Stamina!? 4-0 rout!?” Visha yells mentally. “Squats!?!?”
One of the men watching tosses Tanya a towel. Her arms unconsciously flex as she raises them to wipe her face.
“Oh my, I have to be dreaming…” Her thoughts became a haze as the Argent toweled off. “God, you’ve truly blessed me this day. Those arms of the Colonel look strong enough to lift another person without strengthening spells. She could lift me…”
Images of the Battalion Commander filled her mind.
---------------
The two of them, alone, behind barracks. Some of the battalion’s men could be heard laughing in the distance. The summer’s evening air was warm, almost uncomfortably so with how close they were. Visha looked into the Colonel- no, Tanya’s eyes; never had she been more grateful for her superior’s growth spurt than in this moment.
“Colonel, the others aren’t that far away…” Visha bit her lip. “Maybe we shouldn’t- ah, God!”
Tanya pulled back from her adjutant’s neck with a devious grin.
“It’s Tanya, actually. God wishes he was me.” She reached her hands underneath Visha’s thighs. “Lieutenant, your eyes betray you. Most of the men are at the Mess Hall anyway. We won’t get caught if we’re quiet.”
With seemingly no effort, the Argent lifted Visha up and pinned her against the wall. The cool shadowed brick served as a nice contrast to the warm atmosphere. The roughness of the brick was less nice, but Visha had other things on her mind right now.
“Co- come now, Colonel…” Visha’s faux resistance was charming, but it was her idea to do this in the first place. By now she had no leg to stand on. Literally. “Shouldn’t we- uh, check around…?”
“Come now? Oh no no no, Lieutenant.” Tanya shook her head. “Rest assured, you’ll ‘come’ much later. And the only thing I’ll ‘check around’, as you so put, is the delicious woman right I have pinned right in front of me.”
“~Oh, Tanya~” She exclaimed breathlessly.
“Lieutenant Serebryakov?”
“Tanya?”
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“Lieutenant Serebryakov!”
“EH!?”
Visha snapped out of her daydream like a shot.
“Are you alright there, Lieutenant?” Tanya raised an eyebrow. “You seemed to be somewhere else for a bit there.”
“Ah, it’s nothing, Colonel!”
Tanya’s brow slowly lowered. “Right… anyway, did you need me for something?”
“Well, I wanted to…” Visha’s eyes caught on a bead of sweat rolling down Tanya’s collarbone. “…to… uh…”
“Forget God, the only Goddess I want to worship is the one right in front of me.”
“Oi.” Tanya snapped her fingers. “Pay attention.”
The flustered adjutant jumped. “Right! Sorry Ma’am!”
Tanya let out a sigh. It seemed her Lieutenant had something on her mind. Well, as the Battalion Commander and superior officer, it was only appropriate to find out the cause.
“I suppose I’m done here anyway. Boys!” The Colonel glanced back at her defeated Company Commanders, “Don’t forget our deal. I want those chocolates and wine before Sunday!”
“Yes Colonel.” The three men agreed hollowly. Their manly pride had taken quite a blow today.
“Excellent. Oh, and you can have this back.” Tanya tossed her towel towards the other men spectating. “Serebryakov, walk with me.”
She made it a few steps before stopping. Someone was missing. A glance back showed the Lieutenant lost in thought again.
“I want her to bench press me. Just the thought of those hands-”
“Lieutenant!”
“Huh? Coming!”
-------------------
“Is something wrong, Lieutenant?” The two were taking the long route by way of the seashore behind the shore wall. “You’ve been out of sorts since we met this morning.”
“It’s really nothing, Colonel.” Visha attempted to look anywhere except her superior. The temptation to observe her sweat-soaked crush loomed.
“Lieutenant Serebryakov, I’ve known you for several years now.” Tanya lifted the edge of her tank-top to wipe off an errant bead of sweat from her neck. “I can say without doubt that this is not ‘nothing’.”
The motion caught Visha’s eye and dragged her attempt at being discrete straight to Hell.
“Oh my Goddess, you could grind meat on those abs.”
“Viktoriya Serebryakov.” Tanya had passed concern and was now reaching minor irritation. “I can’t find out what’s wrong if you keep spacing out. You need to listen-”
“What’ll you do if I don’t?” Visha interrupted in a dreamy voice, “Pin me up against a wall and kiss me?”
Tanya paused. “What?”
“What?”
“Damn you, gay thoughts!”
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If anyone noticed that the Colonel and her Lieutenant were the only two members of the battalion that missed lunch, they didn’t mention it.
Some things are best left unstated.
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I was bored so I drew a handy map for reference on this fic.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7c/fd/de/7cfdde9ab5b7a078d7084fe5bd81379c.jpg
