The sun began to rise slowly over the horizon, casting beams of light onto Hilaron bay. Sitting alone in the bay were seven dreadnoughts. Sleek steel battleships with their deadly cannons pointed inland. And what was their target? On the east side of the bay sprawled the once great city if Hilaron, now a vast smoking ruin. It’s modern office buildings had been pulverized into ruins. It’s wooden slums turned into infernos, nothing but black coals remained. It’s ancient stone walls had been blasted apart into tiny fragments. The Imperial palace had been reduced to jagged ruins. An all this destruction had happened literally overnight.
The sleek dreadnoughts weren’t alone in the bay either. Approximately 40 retrofitted cargo ships were docked at the cites piers. They, like the dreadnoughts, flew the flag of Musra, a rocky Kingdom a quarter way around the world. During the night they had landed over 8 thousand troops, and supplies for this army. Now the flag of Musra was flying over the ruins of the Imperial palace, and patrols were marching through the streets. Atop one of the fragments of Hilaron’s old walls that still stood, was a lone figure wrapped in a yellow cloak. From his vantage point, the highest point still standing in the city, he observed the surrounding countryside.
His face was black as night, and pitted with scars and wrinkles. He was not a young man. And as his practiced eye scanned the city, he carefully observed the locations of each camp. He had had his troops camp in old city squares, or wide streets. He made a full count. All his make-shift garrisons of soldiers were still at their assigned locations. Hilaron, capital of the Mundir Empire, was occupied. And the Empress was dead. They had found her body when they stormed the ruins of the Palace. She had driven a dagger through her heart. With glee he had informed the commander of the fleet, who had sent a dispatch to the king back home in the corvette sent back to report news of victory. The message had said “Hilaron seized. Mundir navy not an issue. Empress dead. Awaiting orders.” ‘Now I have one job.’ Reflected the Yellow Robed General. ‘I need to hold this city until either reinforcements arrive, or I’m ordered to abandon it.’ He had no illusions about winning a great victory. He had studied General Ambers, commander of Mundir’s army of the interior. He knew she was a formidable foe, and would not be easy to defeat in open battle. And he knew she would send her army to save the capital.
He trained his spyglass on Harvey, a small village 10 miles north of the capital, and the last rail-station before Hilaron City. ‘That’s where she’s massing her army.’ At this distance, he could not see into the town. His elevations wasn't high enough, and Harvy was too far. But he knew what was going on none the less. She would come. And she would show no mercy. It was time to prepare. He turned to the soldiers standing next to him. “Run a message to the fleet commander. Tell him to began preparation to bombard that town.” He pointed Harvy, so the soldier would understand the order fully. “ Convey coordinates to him.” He spoke slowly, without rushing. Then left it to the soldier to carry out his commands. ‘Your move Ambers.’ He thought as he gazed at the countryside. Harvy was surrounded by some small hills and green fields. If They were massing there in the town like he suspected, his garage would drive them into the open, where he could bring the fleets guns more fully to bear on them. But as all good commanders knew, including him, no plan survived contact with the enemy.
‘Good luck, Generla Ambers.” He thought with a note of challenge, focusing his spyglass on Harvy once again. He could see the smoke raising form the rail station. Another train had arrived.
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The town of Harvy was swarming with soldiers. Her soldiers. General Ambers walked past the rail station in full uniform. She made sure that her characteristic red sash was on prominent display. Over the past few hours, her troops had been using both rail lines leading through harvey to transport themselves. The conductors had been pushing the engines to their limits. But now, 6 hours after the telegram had arrived telling of the attack on Hilaron city, 8,000 soldiers were assembled in Harvy, to prepare a counter attack. The remaining 2,000 would be there within 3 hours. By 9 am, she would be able to launch her counter attack. Patrols had been established around the town, and her commanders had formed her army into brigades of 1,000 each. As she stepped off the platform, Lt. Peters rushed up to her and saluted. She returned the gesture, then casually commanded, “Give me a status report.”
He nodded, and began to recite facts. “We have 8,000 troops here at the moment. approximately 2 hours ago we saw the enemy raise the flag of Musra over the ruins of the Palace. The fires have died down somewhat, but the city is still in bad shape.” He pointed at columns of smoke rising in the south, and she nodded, bidding him to go on. “Our forward scouts tell us that it has been garrisoned heavily. Civilians have been fleeing north all night. When they found out we had taken over the rail lines, we almost had a riot, but a man in a green robe spoke up and calmed them. He led them off on foot to the north west.” At this Ambers cocked her head in surprise. “Did you at least get the man’s name?” Lt Peters looked sheepish, and lowered his eyes. “Honestly ,we were more glad ot have the civilians out of our hair then anything.” She looked at him. “At least you’re honest peters. She smiled wryly. “Thank oyu ma’am.” He said with a slight smile. She then took on a more serious expression, and he too the cue to go on. “We have established temparay headquarters in the Harvy town hall, and all of your subordinates have different ideas on how to take back the city.” He nodded. It wasn’t going to be easy to take Hilaron City back. Just as they reached the door of her new headquarters, she paused. “What word of the Empress?’ Her voice was quiet, so only Peters could hear. Peters gulped. we have seen no sign of her. But the Palace was heavily bombarded... it’s unlikely that...” Ambers cut him off with a look. “She is alive until we see a body, do you understand?” She spoke Softly. Peters nodded. “Yes ma’am.”
They entered into the town hall, past two of her solders serving as guards. Inside were her Lt Generals, Drummel and Oscar. They both saluted her, and she returned it. She glanced at the makeshift map on the table in the center of the town hall. “have we heard anything from the other Armies?” She asked. Oscar shook his head. “I sent out a telegraph to all armies and naval bases asking if they had sighted any hostile activity. They have not. It’s just the Capital. General Chambers wishes you luck by the way.” She smiled slightly at the mention of Chambers name. He commanded the Army of the north, and was a good friend of hers. Oscar continued: “We did received one interesting bit of information though. The Imperial fleet left port 6 days ago from Triste on a rutine patrol, and hasn’t been seen since, not even by fishermen. It was supposed to return to Triste yesterday evening.” She nodded in appreciation.
“Tell me Oscar, how do 17 of the worlds finest warships go missing?” She said in a whisper as her eyes found Triste on the map. “No nation in the world could have sunk them. And no storms can sink such vessles.” Drummel looked at her, his eyes tired form staying awake all night. “Mutiny perhaps? It has been known to happen....” She shook her head. “On 17 warships, all at once? That isn’t mutiny, that is treason.” She let the thought linger in the air, and Oscar and Drummel exchanged looks. “Do you mean you think the fleet has betrayed the Empress?” She pressed hero ups together in a grim line. “I would not want to jump to conclusions, but that is how things are looking.” She meet both their eyes. The implication was, if the fleet, the Empires pride and most important symbol, had betrayed them, who else would? She held her gaze for a seocund, before looking back to the map. She traced her hand over Hilaron City. “But we have more important things to worry about now then the missing fleet. Tell me your plans.
Drummel glanced at Oscar, and a silent exchange between them decided that he should speak first. Drummel pointed at the cliffs on the east side of Hilaron Bay. “My plan is to take 2,000 soldiers and our Artilerry to those cliffs, and bombard the enemy fleet from there. The Soldiers will protect the Artilerry. Once the fleet is driven out of the bay, we will dig trenches around the city, and Began a siege. They can’t have brought much food. They will starve out before long.” His fiery eyes betrayed locked on hers, and she measured his plan against his determination. Before she spoke her objections, she decided she would let Oscar speak.
She signaled this by turning her gaze to him, and nodding. He nodded back, acknowledging her, then pointed at the same eastern cliffs. “Taking the artillery ten miles would take hours. Precious time. During which our forces would be exposed to attack. There are several high points on the city where we could be observed, and artillery fire from the dreadnoughts could be brought down on us. In adition, the command the bay, as such they could load strops onto transports, have them scale the cliffs, and meet us when we arrive, tired and shell-shocked. We would be cut to pieces.” He phased to gather breath. Drummel, his friend and college, did not interrupt with the objections he surely must have had. Oscar continued “Instead, I believe we should attack the city directly, before they can fortify it. Our armies could spread out in the fields between here and the capital. Our artillery would be placed behind Harvy, and provide covering fire, bombarding the bay as we advance. granted we cannot see the bay, but We cannot afford to waste time seizing the cliffs. We need to attack now.”
Ambers looked between the two commander,s then back at the map. She calculated travel times for her forces, and how likely the artillery was to hit the dreadnoughts n the bay, if the had no line of sight, or any spotters. She then made several decisions. She was a fast thinker, and her decisions came tumbling out. “First, I think it would be a bad idea to bombard the Dreadnoughts blind. Non-the less, it is also a bad idea to split our forces, when we don’t know how strong the enemy is. We do need to attack quickly. Every second the city is in enemy hands is a slap in the face to our Empress and her Empire. The honor of Mundir demands an immediate attack” She surveyed both commanders. Oscar was looking hopeful. Now time to drop the bombshell… “I do not believe we have enough forces to retake the city. I had initially assumed there would be barely. four thousand enemy troops. Peters tells me there are at least twice that many. I need the rest of my army. Victory is our goal gentlemen, and for victory we need to wait.” She saw both general look at her with dismay. She felt a little silly herself. She had underestimated her enemy. But she let it pass. There was shame in waiting, but she would endure it for victory.
“Peters, send a telegram back to the rest of my army. Tell them to get down here A.S.A.P.” Peters nodded, and rushed off to the telegraph station. “And Drummel…” He looked up at her in surprise. “Drummel, your orders are to take 2,000 troops, and all our artillery. Seize the cliffs on the east side of the bay, get our artillery up there and began bombardment. If the try to drive you off with force… Oscar, take an additional 2,00 to guard Drummels flank. If you need more reofrocemnts, I will move up I will command the reserve of 4,000 I will command in Harvey. Perhaps we can lure them out to fight and defeat them in open battle. If not… we wait for reinforcements, and then we attack. Is all understood?” She met them both in the eye and they both nodded. “Then go, organize your forces. Move out within the hour.”
As she spoke those words the first wheel feel on Harvy from the flagship Dreadnought in Hilaron Bay. It made a mighty brash and a fait boom as it destroyed a small garden in the outskirts.
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Chapter notes: To anyone who actually read my stories... sorry it took so long for chapter 3. It's finals week, so yeah... But again. I would welcome any and all feedback!
Chapter end notes: So there you go. I've been told before that I go too fast. If that's the case... let me know.