April 796 UC Odin
Galactic Empire; Odin; Kircheis
Kircheis looked down at the medal he had been given for suppressing the Castrop Rebellion without losing a single soldiers life and taking the planet without a single incident. His fleet of five thousand capturing the Castrop fleet of ten thousand. Earning him a rapid promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral.
He knew that the High Nobles had only gone along with Reinhards plan of letting him handle the rebellion because they expected him to fail and thus tarnish Reinhards reputation. Instead their plan had back fired and he had succeeded earning him prestige and promotion as well as earning his dearest friend more renown as well through his actions and choosing him to handle the rebellion.
A knock on his door brought him from his memories as he closed the draw which held the medal he had been given.
"Enter."
A moment later a Lieutenant entered his office, his face showed that he was clearly distraught over something. Meaning something important had happened and he was receiving news of it due to his new rank. Which made him wonder, what was important enough to cause the Lieutenant to be so distraught?
"We've received an urgent message from headquarters."
"What is it?" He asked.
"Sir, Iserlohn has…" The man paused as if trying to find the resolve to finish delivering the message. "Iserlohn Fortress has fallen."
Kircheis was not often surprised. He was not surprised it had fallen, after all Reinhard had said that the Fortress was not so impenetrable as the High Nobles liked to believe. He was just surprised that someone else had managed to capture the fortress that was not Reinhard. He hardened his expression and narrowed his eyes to think of just who could have captured the fortress in place of Reinhard.
Could it have been that man from before? At Astarte and earlier when they had clashed with Reinhard years prior during the last foolish assault on Iserlohn? He would need to find out just who it was and how they had taken Iserlohn.
No one could be allowed to stop Reinhard from conquering the stars and replacing the Goldenbaum Dynasty, so that they could rescue Reinhards sister, Annerose.
…..
Fleet Admiral Ehrenberg (Galactic Empire Military Chief of Staff)
He was just finishing the report he had been given about the accomplishments of the blond haired brats friend when he received the news of Iserlohn's capture. So astounded was he that he dropped his pen in surprise. His voice sounding every bit of his years in age.
"What? Wasn't Iserlohn supposed to be impregnable?" He demanded as he stood up.
…..
Fleet Admiral Steinhof (Galactic Imperial Navy Supreme Command Headquarters Chief)
"I can't believe it!" He exclaimed disbelief in his voice, he like his fellow Fleet Admiral some rooms over, felt his age as he spoke. As he was suddenly aware of just how perilous his position was if this news was true.
"Could the report have been mistaken?" He asked hoping that this was just a farce and poor attempt by some foolish noble to depose him and his friends.
…..
Fleet Admiral Muckenberger (Galactic Imperial Navy Space Fleet Commander-in-Chief)
He listened to the report and held a grim air of acknowledgement. Iserlohn had fallen, the report was indisputable.
"Seeckt is dead, and Stockhausen is in enemy hands. But someone has to take responsibility for this defeat." He said speaking to himself as he contemplated his options available. There were not many and none of them were particularly pleasant. "Which means…"
…..
Klaus von Lichtenlade (Minister of State and Acting Prime Minister of the Galactic Empire)
"Imperial territory must be kept inviolable to outside invasion, and until now, it has always been so. The situation that troubles Your Majesty's mind is entirely the result of my own failures, and I am deeply ashamed." Reported Lichtenlade to his Kaiser. He had worked tirelessly for his Kaiser tirelessly for many years.
Kaiser Friedrich was not like his father nor his brothers. Nor did he act like any of the other High Nobles, beyond enjoying a frequent life of partying. His Kaiser never demanded anything outstanding or absurd if anything his most grievous demands were more in line with the most minor of oversteps from the High Nobles. Things that he could handle without placing undo stress upon the Empire. Which gave him latitude to do more in service to the Empire and the Kaiser.
For thirty-five years he loyally served his Kaiser and for thirty-five years his Kaiser had treated him fairly and ruled the Empire with an almost distant if not outright disinterested touch. He knew the Kaiser had been third in line for the throne, never meant to rule. But due to the actions of the Kaisers second brother, he had been elevated to first in line to the throne when Kaiser Fredrichs father Kaiser Otfried the V had his first and eldest son Richard von Goldenbaum executed for treason. As part of a plan enacted by the then Kaisers second son Clementz von Goldenbaum who had intended to kill his father and take the throne. But to pin it all on his eldest brother so that he would be named Kaiser instead. Of course, the second sons plan backfired and he had been found out and had died in an accident attempting to escape the Empire to the Free Planets Alliance.
With his brothers dead the Kaiser had been elevated to first in line for the throne and later that same year was made Kaiser when his father died of a heart attack.
His Majesty would often be aloof or disinterested in the affairs of the High Nobles and the Empire. Sparking rumors that his Majesty did not care for the future of the Empire past his life expectancy. Lichtenlade knew the accuracy to those rumors. The Kaiser in the few private moments between the two of them confided in him as such. But at the same time, the Kaiser relied on him to run the Empire and ensure that the Empire was safe and secure and that the High Nobles did not become to ambitious. As if he would prefer to leave the Empire for his successor, that he still had not chosen. He would need to remind him to choose a successor soon. He was the same age as his father now when he experienced a heart attack that killed him. A fact that he had informed his Kaiser of and which his Kaiser knew, he could only hope he could convince his Majesty to make his decision soon.
For as he gave his report to him. He saw the tired disinterest from Kaiser Fredrichs before he responded to him.
"I suppose something must be done." Fredrichs spoke up softly as he stared forwards while taking in his flower garden.
"Yes, my Majesty, Fleet Admirals Ehrenberg, Steinhof, and Muckenberger have already offered their resignation as a sign of responsibility for the loss of Iserlohn." He informed him. Lichtenlade had known those three men for many years and while they each had their own mutual failings that did not factor into the loss of Iserlohn. That the three of them knew beforehand that they would be required to step down spoke of their loyalty to the Empire or a deeper understanding of the politics of the Court and the High Nobles.
"Make an offer then to Fleet Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm. Let him fill a vacated position of his choice." His Majesty instructed.
"Yes, your Majesty." He replied with another bow. He knew his Kaiser fancied the boys sister and often gave preferential treatment to him. But why his Majesty continued to court more favor and give more power to the young noble was unseemly to him. He knew that there was no blood relation between the Kaiser and the young Count.
If there had been, it would make dealing with all the unrest amongst the High Nobles easier. No if there had been any ties between the two men it was that his Majesty took the boys sister in as his concubine.
Lichtenlade was no fool, he had been dealing with upstart nobles and well positioned High Nobles for decades. He knew that the boy was positioning himself to aim for the throne. He was a threat, a danger. But like any threat there were ways to mitigate and minimize the level of threat they possessed. Especially threats that his Majesty showed preferential treatment towards. It was all he could do to ensure that young Reinhard would never raise high enough to challenge the Kaiser so long as he had the tools and means at his disposal to ensure his Majesty continued to rule.
…..
Reinhard
"That's a funny argument, Kircheis." Reihard said with a grim smile as his friend relayed to him the same news that was being passed around the headquarters.
"Yes."
"We aren't supposed to give even an inch of Imperial territory to outside invaders. When did the rebels become an outside force of strength equal to ours? Failing to see reality gives rise to contradictions. And what is the name of the Alliance commander who took down Iserlohn?" He asked, intrigued to know just who among the rebels could pull off such an operation.
"The Free Planets Alliance 13th Fleet sub-commander, Rear Admiral Yang Wen-li took the station. While the 13th Fleet commander Vice Admiral Tanya Vielfraß took the Defense Fleet. It is the pair from Astarte again."
"Yang Wen-li…" He said to himself thinking back to the first time he encountered the man several years ago when he held him and his ship hostage during the previous battle for Iserlohn. So that the Alliance could afford an escape from the Imperials, despite Reinhard ordering his fleet to keep up the pressure. His fleet and allies gave the rebels the opening they needed to retreat and allowed Yang and the Alliance to leave.
Then again during Astarte, that same man appeared again and denied him a total victory.
The other commander, Tanya Vielfraß though. She did not interest him nearly as much. While she showed potential, her own history painted her command as one born of pure luck and pragmatism that any Officer worthy of command should be capable of.
Her destroying the Keyserling Fleet had been a fluke. A large portion of the Fleet had been drug addicts and under the effects of a drug known as Thyoxin. A fact Kircheis managed to dig up only last year.
Then the part she played in Tiamat. Where she showed up late to the battle and played no part in the actual battle and arrived with only a half fleet. Doing nothing but escorting the Alliances damaged 11th Fleet out of the fighting while her allies broke Mückenberger's Fleet making an opening for them to escape. He did not pursue them at the time as he did not believe the Alliance to be a threat any further.
Then she showed up again during Astarte and rather then chase after his fleet pointlessly, she did what the only sensible option was available and joined with her allies.
But he had to concede that in a war where both sides seemed to be plagued by incompetent rulers and officers. Having an Officer that relied on pragmatism and luck was not the worst thing to consider. Especially when he thought of the other officers and High Nobles within the Empire, he had to work with to get where he was today.
A knock on his door brought him out of his reverie.
"Enter"
"Sir, Rear Admiral Adalbert von Fahrenheit request an audience with Your Excellency." Spoke one of the Lieutenants that had escorted the Rear Admiral to him.
Fahrenheit had proved to be reliable during Astarte and recognized what his plan was and did not object to it. While his record painted him as useless and insubordinate. He knew the signs of a person holding back trying not to gain the attention of others.
When the Lieutenant left Fahrenheit entered his office and offered him a salute.
"I would like to request a transfer to your Admiralty, Count Reinhard von Lohengram." He announced, it seemed the day had yet more surprises for him.
…..
Heinessen; Job Trunitch
"Recently, Iserlohn Fortress, for which we had resigned ourselves to many long years of blood and tears, was brought down with zero losses on our side." The anchor man reported as he sipped from his wine glass.
"The brilliantly intuitive strategy that brought us this result was devised and carried out by Admiral Tanya Vielfraß the 'Reaper of Arlesheim' and Vice Admiral Yang Wen-Li who has now become known by the public at large as 'Miracle Yang' or 'Magician Yang'." The Reporter continued.
Job Trunitch frowned as he muted the television. As the image of his daughter and that of Yang Wen-li appeared on his screen.
Damn Sidney, damn that contemptible man for having stepped in to where he should not have. He had been working towards an agreement with that bloody Windsor woman, to have her party batter and bruise Tanya's reputation with a court martial that would have seen her demoted to a mere Captain. The threat of a dishonorable discharge and prison sentence rescinded. In place of forcing her to remain a Captain with no upwards mobility and to take to the front of the first combat actions in retaliation for Astarte.
Four months of back-and-forth discussion ruined. Promises he had been made rendered pointless and concessions given wasted. Windsor and her faction would be furious with him. As they would believe he had played some part in this.
Windsor was not blind she knew he had plans for Tanya and that he wanted to use her death in a bid to run for Supreme Chairman. But now her success in capturing Iserlohn and her name being spread across the entire Free Planets Alliance would cause many to look into her parentage and upbringing. Making many aware that he raised her. Which would help him. But it would also make people aware of the fact he raised a damned Imperial instead of an Alliance child.
'If he could raise a bastard of the Empire to such amazing heights. Why didn't he adopt and raise an Alliance child?' Or any other sort of rumor.
He looked to the red wine in his glass and swirled it briefly before finishing it. This was a horrible outcome. As she was now outside the effective reach of his influence within the Free Planets Alliance. He would need to think of another way to-.
*BEEP BEEP*
His communicator beeped at him. It was Windsor. She was going to be in the foulest of moods. He would need to play off the woman's superiority complex to make this conversation short.
"Cornelia, to what do I owe the pleasure of you contacting at this hour?" He asked with a polite smile.
"Don't give me that you bastard. You purposefully delayed the court martial so that Sidney could do something like this!" She hissed at him.
He raised both hands in a way to suggest his innocence, his wine glass already set down. "I did not know Sidney was planning this either. If I had I would have worked with you to kill it or suborned it for my own underlings instead." He admitted.
"This surprised me as much as it did you I assure you."
"Don't think I am letting you off the hook Job. You still owe me. Sidney interfering does not negate our agreement. You will get your people to support mine when we make the call." She told him.
"Of course, Cornelia I would not think of reneging on our deal." He said with a warm smile.
With that said Windsor cut out the connection. He shook his head and looked to his empty glass on his desk. Windsor was as predictable as ever. Her being upset was something he was expecting. Her calling to make sure he would still work with her on her next project was something he knew she would do. While it was not something he would have done as he had other people to ensure that people upheld their end of their agreements.
What Windsor likely did not expect from him. Was that he would only agree to help her out to thin his own ranks of people who had failed him. She was ambitious much like he was as she also had eyes for the Supreme Chairmanship as well. But while he had taken his time to get to where he was. Steadily building up a firm base of power and voters willing to believe anything he said and to convince people to believe and vote as he desired. She had rushed everything and was standing atop a precarious tower that if given a firm knock would topple over.
If he knew Windsor. She would lean on her underlings in the Military to give her something that she could push through the High Council and approved of without having to much debate or argument over. She would rely on him to lean on his military contacts to support the plan so that it would be passed to the High Council as well. Where she would again expect him to support her.
That would be the tricky part. If it was a good plan, he would be forced to support her plan that would see her elevated and given a better chance at the Chair next election. But if it was a bad plan, if he was seen supporting her, he would be dragged down with her. Of course, he did not intend to tie himself to her little plan. She only wanted him to give support to whatever she had in mind. Once it was approved of though?
Well, their agreement would be over, and he could act to sabotage her and her camp to the point they were guaranteed to fail in such a spectacular fashion. That she and her camp would be forced to retire out of shame and humiliation.
He looked back to the television as it now went on to talk about the storied history of the two Heroes of the Alliance. Of their careers and the eventual lead up to the capture of Iserlohn Fortress.
Tanya had wanted information from him about the movements of those inside the Alliance Navy. He would give her that information. Let Windsor get that approval she wanted for whatever plan she had in mind. His little monster would ensure it would fail spectacularly.
…..
Yang
"Resignation, you're quitting?" Sidney asked him as he stood before the Fleet Admirals desk.
"Yes, sir." Was his simple reply.
"I think it's still to soon for you to abandon life."
"I'm not; I'm getting back on my original path. I was never cut out to be a soldier, sir." Taking lives was difficult and he had taken to many for this war. He did not want to commit the rest of his life to it anymore than he already had.
"Our military needs your talents as a tactician. Besides… what will happen to your 13th Fleet?" Sidney asked of him. Striking at where he knew he was weak.
"The 13th Fleet?" Yang was always concerned with the people he worked with and who worked for him. He assumed that the 13th Fleet would be assigned another commander.
"The 13th Fleet is mocked as collection of defeated remnants and rookies. If you go away, what will become of them?" So even after taking Iserlohn and making a name for himself. The 13th Fleet itself and the people within it would not make it past the rest of the year. Was the implication he got.
Sidney then continued. "There are several factions within the Navy who even now are at work to aggrandize themselves into positions of power and fame. If you leave your fleet will be dissolved and the people who were a part of it will be rearranged to fill gaps in the other fleets, at best. At worst your fleet will be given to one of those factions who will use your fleet and the reputation you started with them as means to an end to achieve their goals."
"Can you live with yourself knowing that all those brave men and women of the 13th Fleet who have dedicated themselves to following you will either be reassigned to different fleets or given a commander who will use their potential?" Sidney asked him cooly.
In the end Yang did not retire from the Military. He did not stay because he wanted more fame and influence. He did not stay because he wanted to continue a war he did not believe in. He stayed because he cared about those people who had believed in him. If he could protect million or so people by being a reluctant commander who did the bare minimum he would do so.
Of course that did not mean he had to like it. He only hoped Julian did not get the wrong impression from him deciding to stay instead of getting out while he could.
…..
Fezzan; Dominion of Fezzan; Adrian Rubinsky
"Oh? So Iserlohn has fallen into the Alliance's hands?" Adrian questioned to make sure he understood the gravity of the repot he had just been told.
"That is correct, Landesherr."
"I never expected them to be successful. It seems the Alliance has two promising officers after all. Yang Wen-li is quite an intriguing man and Tanya Vielfraß, a very promising woman. Contact Heinessen and collect information on them both at once." As Landesherr he had access to all sorts of records that all previous Landesherr's had as well as unofficial diplomatic access to both the Empire and the Alliance.
While Yang Wen-li was a blind spot, his name reminded him of a small-time merchant family that occasionally visited Fezzan to trade goods from Fezzan to the Alliance and back. As for Tanya Vielfraß, he had just attained the title of Landesherr when that family had died out in the Empire because of information that he had given Duke Braunschweig to help ensure that he maintained his majority control over the Empires agricultural market. As well as deepening their control over the High Noble faction within the Empire. He had allowed the girl and her maid to escape through Fezzan as a future pawn to play against the duke should his uses run out. Now it seemed his pawn had decided to act on its own.
"Yes, sir."
"It would seem wise to learn what kind of people they are." He could not afford to have his pawns taking actions on their own without him knowing beforehand or ensuring that those pawns did only what he wanted them to do. Or having unknown players acting upon the board in which he was so close to being the master of so long as he could fool those people that supported him.