Author Notes:
Honestly, this RM chapter came out with my keyboard overheating, somehow. I guess I worked her too hard???
For the most part, the latest RM Early Access chapter brought us closer to ending this whole Polania situation that I felt like it has dragged on for so long. I want to see Thomas the Train on a parade with bells and whistles soon, damn it!
Anyway, do you know what time is it?
It's Yuki's and my birthday, right on May 31st! So, given that it's such an important event, may I present you all with a shocking 40% Discount on my Patreon for newcomers? Commenters and supporters get a cookie? Hahaha, honestly speaking though, thank you for accompanying Yuki for one more year!
Oh, and you can check the links and the birthday pictures right below!
https://www.patreon.com/Heartbreak117
https://discord.gg/cVZxJ29ruh
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
Yuki's Birthday Special:
- Pic 1: https://postimg.cc/ThN1gy80
- Pic 2: https://postimg.cc/9r4MpWCf
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"Hey," The flap of the command tent parts as a Major General of the Rusviet Army comes in at a hurry. "I came running with my pedal to the metal. What's with all the rush to hold this meeting, and why did General Rokossovsky stop the march?"
"Kruschev." Another Major General greets while taking a good drag of the last of his cigarette. "You were out at the tip of our formation. It isn't a surprise that you couldn't hear the news."
"News? What news is so important that it brought our 3rd Shock Army to a halt?"
"You may want to sit down for this, Kruschev." The other Major General gestures to an open seat before grinding his cigarette butt in an ashtray.
As Major General Kruschev takes his seat among his peers in the 3rd Shock Army, one of them turns to a waiting Corporal, waving at him through the hazy atmosphere conjured by burning smoke pipes and expensive cigarettes.
"Get Kruschev a shot of Vodka. He'll need it, son."
"Right away, General."
Khruschev whistles when the Corporal really returns with an aluminum cup, filled with a crystal clear liquid with a clean aroma. Since it's a vodka being served to the highest-ranking officers, the quality is understandably much higher than what the grunts may be allowed to consume. Marvelling at the luxurious beverage in hand, Kruschev comments with a smirk.
"Damn. Whatever it is, it must have been one big shocker for you all to bring out the good stuff. Well, cheers!"
"Cheers!" Come the scattered replies as Kruschev and a few others in the command tent down their shots of vodka.
"Pah! That's the good stuff, alright!" Kruschev smacks his tongue, enjoying the aftertaste of the spirit. "Right. Now that I have recovered my wit with Rusviet's burning love, hit me with whatever news you keep in store."
The other Generals of various ranks and Colonels of the 3rd Shock Army share a knowing look before a representative moves to rip the band-aid off.
"Well, Kruschev, you know that Kingdom that exists beyond that channel?"
Kruschev raises an eyebrow, replying with confusion on his face.
"Yeah? Erusea, right? Always have been a thorn for the Reich. What of it?"
Kruschev expects many things, but he never guessed what the other party would go on to reply with.
"As of today, it exists no more."
That sure puts Kruschev's brain into a stall, forcing him to take a look at the now-empty aluminum cup he placed on the table after drinking from it.
"I must be stupid drunk from that one shot. Had my tolerance fallen without me noticing?"
Surprisingly, none rise to jest or mock Kruschev's obvious denial of reality. Instead, the person sitting next to the man gives his shoulder a couple of pats.
"Don't worry. You are physically fine, Kruschev. The news was shocking for us all, too. Imagined how we felt when we didn't even warm our seats yet, and a comms officer reported the reason for this gathering."
"You, comrade Kruschev, are lucky."
"... What happened?" Kruschev, being shaken out of his stupor, asks after taking a gulp of air.
"Belka happened." Comes the sudden voice of General Rokossovsky, who has just stepped into the command tent.
With his arrival, General Rokossovsky throws a stack of folders and secret documents onto the table. He waves the other off a round of needless salutes when he himself is both exasperated and mentally tired by the current situation. The grizzled commander-in-chief of the 3rd Shock Army then sits in the host's chair, made to be more sturdy, not more luxurious, than the others in the room. General Rokossovsky doesn't know where the chair came from, but it does its job fine enough to warrant no question from him.
"By now, you must have all heard the words: Erusea has surrendered... And they surrendered to the Reich, at that. While this development wasn't unexpected by our military analysts, it's the suddenness and how it occurred that baffled even the Secretary General himself. One has to remember that the Belkan Reich has just gone out of a drawn-out war in Ustio before being dragged into the Polanian mess. Then, out of nowhere, London itself capitulated in all of its entirety while Warsaw is still hilariously standing a mere day away from us."
General Rokossovsky stops before adding.
"Gentlemen, it doesn't have to be said how much of this sounds so impossible, yet it is true. It is a fact that Erusea is no more, and the geopolitical stage has undergone a massive upheaval. A hegemony has fallen today, and the world will be left reeling from it. And do you know what's funny?"
General Rokossovsky laughs wryly. "We're still stuck here, trying to clean up an enemy that is, by all accounts, should have been crushed in the first week, whereas the Reich already cut down two nations."
"..."
The realization that General Rokossovsky brought about cannot be any more painful to the leadership of this Field Army. While the 3rd Shock Army has become the Russian Federation's premier warfighting unit, achieving many critical successes in the days of the Rusviet-Polanian war, progress has stalled recently, and not because they're incompetent or are facing powerful enemies. It's because the Rusviet Union's other Field Armies and supply chains are straining to keep up with their advance, even with Stalin's explicit directive to do so.
To the 3rd Shock Army, Warsaw is so close, yet so far. And now, General Rokossovsky must bite the bullet and break the even worse news to his loyal men.
Pointing a finger at the paperwork on the table, General Rokossovsky says in a low, grim tone.
"That, comrades, is our new orders... We are to abandon our push to Warsaw, completely. Two Divisions of Conscripts will take our place to maintain pressure around Warsaw, while our 3rd Shock Army will move southward to join the units there in breaking the tougher resisting Polanian force. Moscow fears that, given enough time, the Polanians would amass enough firepower and manpower to stage a breakout attack from the South, thus targeting our critical supply lines. We can't have that. More than reinforcing our allies, the 3rd Shock Army will form the spearhead that sweeps the Southern Front, destroying the bulk of the enemy there, thus allowing our Southern units to be free to finally attack Warsaw with the Central and Northern units."
General Rokossovsky gazes around the table, where his men all seem to maintain an outwardly calm facade. Yet, he knows that the officers are all biting their tongues and holding back their grievances and protests. Clearly, the honor of being the first to Warsaw should have belonged to them. But the orders from Moscow have shot down any hope of achieving that. By deploying to the South, the 3rd Shock Army will, instead, be one of the furthest units away from the Polanian capital. Obviously, they will still be racking up glory, a lot of them in the South, in fact, but nothing quite beats the splendor of being the first to conquer the enemy's center of leadership.
"I know this doesn't sit right with you all, who have been leading your comrades, brothers in all but name, to bleed and die for the red banner. But it's our solemn duty to carry out what the people have required of us. We're to point our swords where our citizens need them the most, even if they're destined for the land of the damned."
General Rokossovsky steels his gaze.
"As soldiers, defenders of the people, we must swallow our pride to bring about the ultimate victory, for the sake of our families back home. There is no better glory than seeing a new dawn gracing the smiling faces of your loved ones, don't you think?"
Rokossovsky's heartfelt words trigger a standing salute from all the people in the room.
"For the people! For the Union! URA!"
"URA! URA! URA!"
"Splendid, my comrades. Your spirits are enough to kick the Polanians back into their mamas' wombs!" General Rokossovsky nods, pleased and secretly relieved. "Now sit down. We have much to discuss for our tenure down South."
In his mind, Rokossovsky thinks about the potential scenes over in Belka. There must be festivities and celebrations everywhere, unlike the serious, stuffy command tent, propped over a muddy ground here. That family ranch of his good friend, Adam, must be going wild as well, since there's no way for anyone to stay calm after triumphing over their arch nemesis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"This is... Most unexpected." President Roosevelt comments on the current world situation now that Erusea as he knows it, is no more. "But I reckon that all of you sitting here can see this as a perfect opportunity, no? Gone is our old root; it truly is dead, and the colonies it used to lord over are now effectively up for grabs. I heard there's this one place up North that could always use a fairer chance at Freedom."
"Canada is a mess right now, Mr. President. The OSS has identified no less than three groups of separatists that are poised to contest for the rulership of this ownerless dominion. A US takeover now would cause these groups to band together and resist us. It could do badly to our global image as, unlike the Reich, we have yet to garner a suitable just cause, not to mention that Canada is effectively the Reich's spoil on the world stage. Belka may have communicated that they're clearly fine with a US takeover of Canada, but the world doesn't know that yet, Mr. President." A man in a suit says.
Roosevelt nods, concurring with the negative assessment.
"You speak the truth, mister Knee. And I also know that a conventional military approach will be costly. I highly doubt Senator Iverson's industries can afford both the modernization of our military and the funding of an extensive war in the North. Our recovering economy will be in shambles if we plunge into a sudden, protracted war without any preparation."
The mentioned Senator, Jeffrey Iverson, interjects from the side while playing with the glass of bourbon in his hand.
"Yet Canada is something we can't lack. Quite frankly, we are treading dangerously close to running a deficit. Our heavy industries demand so many resources that it's getting harder and harder to mine for. The aftermath of Yellowstone's explosion remains fresh in many areas, and it's hard to mine for the needed stuff when you are more worried about inhaling poisonous gas and detritus in a blackened shaft."
"By breaking new ground in Canada, we may be able to have an additional source of mineral income, thus lessening our dependency on one local source that may be disrupted, thus delaying our current plans." Iverson adds. "Canada is indeed a land of opportunity, as the President said."
"See? I know someone would see what I saw." Roosevelt nods, his fingers tapping the wooden table of this secured meeting room in the White House. "But mindless ambition will do us no good here. As Mr. Knee has warned, the US of A is not in a position to fight an occupation war, not when the Japs are no doubt raring to take advantage of the situation. But Iverson here has made it perfectly clear as well that for America to grow stronger, it cannot do without Canada's buried treasures. Its oil alone is enough to quench our thirst for a hundred years, potentially even more!"
"So!" Roosevelt continues, suggesting. "While we do indeed need to focus on the rising Eastern menace. We must strive to take a bite out of Canada, one chunk at a time. Our singular goal is not to grab land, but to grab those untapped resources! But we do it in a civilized manner. If anything, the Reich has led by example in winning the people's goodwill. Perhaps we can mirror their action and employ it against the people suffering from chaos in Canada. By bringing order, stability, and livelihood, rather than lead and explosives, we may be able to take control of Canada with the least amount of investment. It will, of course, take more time."
"But this does allow us the leeway to focus more on Japan." Someone in the room says.
"And the OSS can use this to identify the troublemaking crowd as well, even turning the more orderly Canadian populace against the separatists."
"More importantly, this move is a clean one. It will only put more shine on the American brand. And the Reich can rest more assured that we didn't make a mess of their gift."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Finally, after much discussion, Roosevelt raises a hand.
"So, all in agreement for a slow annexation of Canada, raise your hand."
Not one person in this secretive room keeps their hands down. To this, Roosevelt nods with an expectant smile.
"Good. I will bring this matter up to Congress. They will vote for a pass in no time at all."
"Cheers, gentlemen, for a new world order in the making."