Sovereign

“The deluge of falling dominoes has only begun.”

- Queen Eliette, commenting on the Lieplatz Coup.

---

Her Majesty was roused awake by violent bangs upon her bedroom door. She had asked last night not to be disturbed as she was utterly tired by the crisis (and wanted some time to rest and recover from said headache), but alas, her presence seemed to be demanded.

Being the Queen surely was starting to grow old to her already. The war alone made her loathe it further. It was too sore, too toxic, too depraved. She ran out of adjectives rather quickly.

She approached her door, still in her nightgown.

“What is it?” She asked as she opened her door. Immediately, it was William and a few soldiers behind him. Her heart rate spiked high immediately.

Whatever nonsense was happening certainly didn't bode well. Already, she could feel that it would definitely be bad news.

“Oh, nothing. Just a tiny little coup d’etat.”

“What?”

“A little coup by our friend, Heindhöff.”

Her mind went blank. A what now? A coup? At this very moment? In her own Kingdom?

The utter disaster! Right now? During this war? Right exactly when the Empress and her goons were knocking upon her door, and just then did this happen?

I…what?!

“William, are you-”

“I am very much serious. As we speak, a column of tanks from an entire armored division is driving straight to this city.”

“The Armed Forces?”

“In utter disarray.”

“The cabinet?”

“Except for Walter, asleep.”

“William…I-”

He took a deep breath. Naturally, he noticed Amelie’s paling and panicking face. He thus intervened quickly for her continued sanity.

“Look, the 4th and 7th Mechanized Regiments are already forming in the Ludendorf River to defend the two bridges leading to Halia. General Albrecht is already mobilizing the loyalists of the OHC to respond. The Halian Garrison and the Halian Metropolitan Police are already mobilizing here - and the Palace itself is now secure. Rest assured - we will weather this storm.”

Her hyperventilation wasn’t stopped by his reassurances, however. Her kingdom was still in flames - literally. Still, at the very least, she had avoided the acute risk of a sudden cardiac arrest. With a heavy breath, she spoke.

“Please…give me a few minutes please.”

“Understood. You’re going to be alright, right?”

“William, I’m not a weakling.”

She almost wanted to bash him for his skeptical look. Still, they left, and thus, Amelie was left alone in her room, as she rushed to prepare herself.

It was a rush of rush. She clothed herself to be decent rather quickly. She hadn't even bothered to fix herself (why even call her maid? The Kingdom's in flames) that she finished her preparations in mere minutes.

Her mind however was utter wack. The combination of both shock and drowsiness proved devastating. Especially with such devastating news - again.

My kingdom…no…it can’t be.

In haste, she left her room. Both William’s troops and Lady Lubaine’s Royal Guard Knights filled every corner, corridor, floor, room, and hallway. It was frantic, tense, and serious.

The Ivory Palace, known for its splendor and royal atmosphere, seemed to turn into a fortified garrison. She even saw barricades and sandbags being placed in the ballroom by William’s soldiers, much to the distasteful and scornful looks from the Knights and Nobles who watched.

Amelie however passed through them without much comments. She didn’t care if her Palace was being desecrated - if it meant protection for her and Alice.

Plus, she had a gnawing feeling that those fancy furniture and paintings weren't going to last much longer.

With the directions of the soldiers and the Knights, she soon arrived at William’s and Lady Lubaine’s converted command center. The room was filled with staff and soldiers in front of screens and computers, the two in deep conversation.

“...Indeed, if we can keep these roads closed with these fortified positions…oh, Her Majesty is here.” William stopped his discussion with Lady Lubaine as the two turned to face her. Amelie was still pale when she arrived, the entire situation boring down upon her.

“Major, Lady Lubaine, can I please get a rundown of the situation?”

William nodded.

“Currently, the Armed Forces are still a mess. We don’t know who’s loyal, who’s neutral, and who’s with Heindhöff. But, the Halian Garrison and the 4th and 7th are firmly with us, and we are now about to finish our defensive preparations.”

“The Air Force?”

“Chief Air Marshal Zimmermann is still scrambling his squadrons. As it stands, many of our air bases in the Free State have gone dark.”

“The Navy?”

“Minister Fisch and Admiral Halberd are responding and mobilizing in Rebenslof.”

“I see.”

She turned to Lady Lubaine. The woman seemed to be calm as steel, almost as if the entire situation hadn't fazed her at all. Amelie wished she was the same.

Unfortunately, she was very much not so. Amelie was panicking and she feared for her safety greatly. So much so that there was a gnawing desire inside her to bolt off, call the Navy, and ship herself off the capital with Alice.

But she booted such nonsense off with great determination. No, she could not let those rascals gain a victory over her.

I will…I will stop them in their tracks.

"Worry not, Your Majesty. The Royal Guard is mobilizing to defend Orland and this city. The Archduchess herself has repulsed Heindhöff's vanguards in the Archduchy."

"Please, do everything that you can. The Kingdom cannot fall to this plot."

"Yes, we will, Your Majesty."

...

H-1 Highway, Tor Bridge

Ludendorf River

03:22 Hours

7th Mechanized Regiment

8th Armored Division "Rattenkönig"

The Tor Bridge was the final crossing between the 12th's advance through the H-1 Highway and the City of Halia. Merely 20 kilometers away from the city, the defense of this bridge meant life and death.

Löwe tanks and M3 APCs parked themselves near the banks of the river, and the entrance of the bridge itself. On the ground, Orlish soldiers rushed out of their IFVs and APCs as they set up defensive emplacements in haste.

"We need to blow up this damned bridge." Major Graff said to Colonel Karl. Colonel Karl was in charge of the 7th itself, while Major Graff was in charge of the 34th Tank Battalion.

Already, Major Graff's 24 Löwe tanks stood at the ready on their side of the bridge. He would be the main source of the 7th's resistance to the upcoming advance of the 12th.

"Neither the Queen nor High Command permitted that."

"Still, are we really going to wait?"

The two knew very well the fundamentals of modern warfare. In order to prevent any slog such as the one that occurred in the Great War, it was imperative to stay mobile and penetrate hostile defenses.

Indeed, that would be Heindhöff's and the 12th's goal. And they would have to stop that.

But there came the problem. To blow the bridge would mean any counter-attack would be conducted through pontoon bridges or other improvised means. And High-Command wasn't interested in such a situation developing in their homeland.

As such, the dilemma arose.

"Major, as of now, until Her Majesty or the OHC orders it, this bridge stands."

"This is risky."

"I know. But we have no choice. In a day or two, it would be us crossing this bridge."

"And what if we're not?"

"Then goddess help us."

Powerful sonic booms interrupted their discussion. Above them, in the darkness of the skies, it seemed that the Orlish Air Force was on the move as well.

Indeed, the situation in the Orlish Armed Forces and the Orlish High Command was an utter circus. The disorganization was so severe, that they could not even send a division to defend the bridges.

It was all finger-pointing and suspicion at each other. Many units were even stuck at their bases and awaited "evaluations" for their suspected officers. Many didn't respond. Many were out of control and were acting without orders from the OHC.

Such braindead nonsense was a natural result of sudden plots. No one knew where to go, no one knew who to trust, nor did anyone know what they were doing.

And so the task fell to these few loyalist men - at least for now.

And so was their frantic rush. More and more soldiers stepped off their vehicles. Sergeants and Lieutenants barked upon the men to move. Machine guns and barricades were placed one after another.

Tank threads rumbled forward, the night making them even more devious in their appearance. Their presence however commanded confidence among the troops - even if they would face the same behemoths on the other side.

Their preparations were mechanical, efficient, and well-oiled. But one could only hope - hope that such performance and morale would last upon first contact.

More sonic booms zoomed atop them.

…

The Halian City Hall was on fire. So was the half of the HMP headquarters. For the first time, air raid sirens - installed during the outbreak of the Great War, blared out violently in the massive city.

Civilians - both men and women (mostly women) were all roused awake by the chaos upon them. Atop them, bombs and missiles dropped upon the city with wild abandon.

The civilians panicked and cowered, as the war they had all feared finally arrived, all the while the Halian Garrison moved frantically in the streets.

On the ground, AA-missile weapon systems, mostly mobile platforms, ran hot on the highways and streets. Operated by the Halian Garrison, they were among the first assets scrambled by the Colonel.

Yet the bombs and missiles still dropped alongside the dropping enemy aircraft.

The Parliament and the Ivory Palace however were impenetrable. Surrounded by AA defenses, the skies above them were aflame, as both missiles and RPDS mounts went hot.

Missiles and guided bombs - all headed straight for the center of Orland, were shot down before they reached the Palace.

Still, Amelie didn't like it.

Before her, the Capital was aflame. In the distance, districts and buildings were alight, and so was the sky. Tracers and plumes of distant smoke rose up, almost as if all of them desperately held the storm from above.

"That's…Greenwall District. William! T-they bombed them. Goddess…"

"Amelie, we cannot do anything about it. Not until the rest of the Air Force responds."

"But…my fellow-"

"Your fellow nobles?"

"Um…yes."

Greenwall District, known as one of the wealthier districts of Halia, was known to house many of Orland's powerful noble houses. Unfortunately, they also detested the Armed Forces, and thus the Halian Garrison never had a significant presence in Greenwall.

Such short-sightedness naturally resulted in their current predicament - that being the rebels smashing through their roofs with heavy bombs, their detonations visible kilometers away.

Amelie of course felt even more awful. More lives…more lives were being lost. She didn't care if they weren't her best subjects, they were her subjects.

Civilians caught in a crossfire.

She wanted to puke.

But she could not do anything but watch. Watch from her temporary state of safety.

"William, what do we really do now?"

"Colonel Kleist is en route to the Palace. No, everyone is en route here. We will discuss our course of action within 20 minutes."

"I see." She wanted it done immediately. Amelie squashed her remaining fears as her eyes turned icy. "Please…tell them to make haste. I want this city defended - at all costs."