{Operative's POV}
The days that we had to sleep outsides had ended, and the short period of "proper rest" inside a town had begun. Well, proper to a degree only. A full inn was reserved for my class, most of us had single rooms, and the less-luckier had to share. Of course, it went without saying that the magic junkies were able to receive better treatment. Instead of inn rooms, they had a full villa for themselves, one that got borrowed from the local noble.
I had no idea what it really meant, and I had no desire to dig deeper. I lacked the equipment to successfully investigate it and get away in one piece. Besides, I was not trained for infiltration, getting in a basic house was easy enough (providing there was a distraction), but getting in a well-guarded villa without being spotted was impossible for me. So, in short, I decided to drop the matter, it was much more productive to use that time for training.
My class's opinion was mixed on that. Most of them wanted no part in the fighting, especially when they had no personal stake. Actually, it was more like the entire class, sans the Zealous, were like that. We hated fighting, the Third World War left an imprint too heavy on us. War was simply too terrible to endure. However, some of us still made the decision to fight, not because of some stupid "heroes' ideal", but because to protect ourselves.
The elite group knew that it was quite likely that the local people would silence us for being useless. Worse, they would make us martyrs of religion we were no part of and then shit on our history. We must gain a foothold here, and it was probably for the best to have some fighting alongside the local. For obvious reason, the elite section would deal with that, dealing almost exclusively with the military. The rest of the class would work and assist behind the scene, they asked to be away from the fighting so they would give rear-echelon and non-combat duties.
After all, wars were not won by blades, guns, or tanks, but by logistic and morale. If those guys were unable to hold a rifle, make an artillery gun, or drive men to the front, they could cheer up the folks at home. Of course, what jobs there were or what they should do precisely was another story. However, for the elite, military training was more important at the moment. And guess who was the only bastard with some sort with military training?
Yeah, me.
The whole fuck of this class shoved their assignment on me, asking on what they should do. Well, it was one hell of a headache, mostly because there was a very large difference between the local countries and the armed forces of the Terran Federation, attracting attention from the local military personnel. For a starter, the based tactics and doctrines were vastly different for each side. Earth favoured the mechanized units with rapid advance tactics, destroying the enemy and/or their command and/or their support before they even were able to know what was going on. In contrast, Ashka seemed to have no doctrines at all. Sure, they knew how to fight, but they had not known how to co-operate with each other.
The cavalry units of the Versaillie enjoyed rushing forward, showing disdain for the foot infantry even when they were being rescued. The Gorgonia army was segregated between the common-born and the nobles. And that was only two among them, I was too depressed and shock to continue asking the army delegations team. It was one thing to be brave, but it was totally stupid to charge against without support.
Clearly, the self-claimed arrogance of the mage units did not help much.
So, I proposed a new idea. Instead of fighting for the local, we would fight with them. And before that, we would jump-start their industrial evolution a few centuries early. One should remember that the military was more than just making guns and shooting, there were also the logistics and engineering factors.
Speaking about steelmaking, anyone with a good memory capacity was called upon to draw up the design for a full process of steel making. Yeah, it may sound stupid and strange for the Terran Federation. For them, "steel" was dirt cheap material, coming in bulk. However, for the local, massive production of steel might actually worth its weight in gold.
The process was long and actually much more complex than anyone had expected. First, iron ore had to be dug up, then it would have to be transported to the refining sites, where it would be put through the furnaces. The next step would be putting the molten steel into desirable shapes… Each process could take a student at least a few years of studying to be proficient at. Therefore, I just focused on the middle part where steel was made, at least it was taught in the high school Chemistry curriculum. Besides, my girlfriend was able to remember the process much better than I was, so…
Of course, the part where we cuddling with each other while writing down the notes was simply a side benefit. I was a cheapskate, sue me.
Thanks to a lack of electricity and technology to drive a photocopier, we had to write the papers down by hand. It was tiring, but we had more time for cuddling. My handwriting was abysmal, which meant Yukino had to scold me a lot, forcing me to re-write quite a number of times. I was annoyed at that – as long as my notes were readable, it should be fine. Right?
I kept my grumbling within my mind though, I was not stupid enough to voice out my complaints. Actually, I did that once, and she instantly kicked me out of the room and forced me to spend the night on the ground floor of the inn where there was no bed. My training as an operative had yet to cover this part, so it was understandable to see me being humbled on the next day… At least the inn owner was understanding enough to lend me some blankets for the night, even if he had to hide it from his wife and daughter.
I sighed deeply. Life was much much simpler when I was single on Earth. I woke up at zero-six-hundred and went back to sleep at twenty-two-thirty. Of course, to ease myself to sleep, I usually took some hardcore Math and Physics study, or some patrols around the area. It worked wonderfully to build up my stamina. My finance and supply were well stocked, giving me little to worry about. In fact, I only had to keep an eye open for any strange reading on the sensor net. As far as I knew, the sensor gave the all clear report for the last few years consistently.
Now, I had been transported to a new world and got hitched with a girl I loved. Normally it would be a dream came true for boys like me, consisting of beautiful maids, cute anime girls, adventure and zero oversight. However, just for the sake of it, I got stuck in this political mess with no guns backing me up. Even for an adult, it was a nightmare already, and for a kid like me… I hoped I could stay alive for the next five years or so.
Just in case, I had whispered to my classmates, sans the Zealous (and the boys and girls crushing too hard on them), about the prospect of making guns. When I spoke "guns", I did not mean basic muskets for Ashka, I was speaking about the early assault rifle models, the German StG-44 or the Soviet AK/AKM. Those two were proper automatic weapons that had a reasonably high degree of ergonomics, allowing even untrained personnel to use it correctly. Especially the AK/AKM, its easy-to-use ability was legendary already.
Worst case scenario, we could break away with these weapons. Muskets and arrows would be no match for well-placed bursts of automatic guns. For them, 100 steps (about 100m) were "long-range", but for us Terrans, that was "close-range". The elite group was extremely pleased with that backup plan, and I instantly transferred the designs of the StG-44 and AK/AKM to their personal computers. It was done under the cover of me sharing the designs for the furnaces for steel making.
The local people might be proud of their heritage and power, but they were already 1000 years backwards compared to the might of the Terran Federation. We might not be the elites of our home, but we still knew how to wreck shit up.
Still, there was a major difference in logic. Us Earthlings relied heavily on combined arms, coordination, and support. The people here promoted and praised personal heroism. Sure, I had seen equivalent propaganda on Earth, but by the end of the day, it was still about teamwork and not some solo heroes. Well, one more thing I had to solve them…
Now, what was the problem about the Gorgonia delegation? Yukino had spoken something about political internal struggles.
==========================
Per pre-arranged plans, Yukino, a few more others, and I accepted the invitation from the Empire of Gorgonia. With the military theme from the NOT!Nazi, the people involved in the Terran delegation were quite military-aligned. Of course, we also had a few wannabees in the midst, I would weed them out in short fashion. A week or two of Hell training would show me clearly who had the guts to stay and who not.
Though it might not be necessary after all, and I did not mean it in a nice way. The reports from Yukino was worrying. The Gorgoina group had split into two, one would go back to their home with us earlier. Normally, it would not raise any alarm, but my observation spoke otherwise. The group stayed behind was filled with old men, elder and religious men to be precise. They showed an alarming degree of pious and clear obedience to the Ecclesiarchy, going as far as dismissing and disregarding the youngsters of the first group. It was in a patronizing manner, precisely like an elder shoo-ing a youngster away due to his/her insufficient knowledge. However, it was quite easy for me to feel the hostility underneath the tone…
A normal person would stop there, but my intelligence training suggested the likelihood of assassination. When the young group had two people in the line of succession and the other supported other figures, I believed the chance of assassination was high. A glance at the map simply confirmed that suspicion. There was a nice warm spot for a large scale assassination attempt without being stopped or spotted early enough. It was clear that the whole convoy must die, so it was the only spot viable for them to strike.
All conditions were met… The hostile had the means, the drive, and the chance to pull it off. They would kill the "youngling" group, and by extension, us. I did not know about others, but I was in no rush to die. So, in order to stay alive, I picked up the training with gusto.
Seeing me pushing harder did not come as a surprise for my classmates, they knew that my father was a military man. However, they had no idea that I was preparing for a worst-case scenario and a backup plan. I was preparing my classmates for survival when under a sneak attack under the guise of "dealing with potential cowardice and unhonorable attacks from the Dark". The elder Gorgonias hid it well, but they had no idea that such "cowardice and unhonorable assassinations" was the bread and butter of Security Bureau...
While I was drilling my classmates hard and helping them to not throw up anymore, Yukino was dealing with diplomacy and politics. She had given a degraded design of the furnaces to the older group of Gorgonia delegation, per my request. Sure, making steel was still possible with that design, but both quality and quantity were much less than the full variant. It was underhanded, yes, but it was simply payback for the potential assassination attempt on us. Besides, it was simply the deposit for the accommodation and support that they would pledge to us. Considering that the Ecclesiarchy had given up on us, I had little expectation on what they would give us. Just say a deliberately weak design was a simple counter-offer.
For obvious reasons, if they were able to give me good stuff, I would gladly return the favour. For now, though, it was better to keep my cards close to my heart.
I would love to deal with the politics shenanigans myself, but the training here took too much of my time. The classmates who would go to Gorgonia with me had to realize their mistakes. The military was never sunshine or rainbow – they were forced to run an obstacle course for the whole day. I did not let anyone rest unless they passed out or broke some bones, none of which had happened. So the track was literally covered in vomit.
They were lucky, my father even trained the recruits with dead pig meat scattered around the track while shooting blanks over their heads. Oh, and let's not mention Uncle Boris's artillery unit or Aunt Tanya's Paratrooper training… I shuddered when thinking about those two, my dad was slightly quirky, but they were completely insane. How they earned their ranks as Colonels was beyond me.
I took another sigh, seeing a girl breaking down and crying. She was a full fan-girl with some small potential in magical power. Having studied in the same school with many "hot boys" of the military and watched too much propaganda/promotion videos, she was enthralled with the armed forces. Normally, I would stop and help her out. The problem was that I had done so a few times already in the past exercises. There was a limit to everything.
Of course, I gave the team the signal for a quick and short break on the spot. They were not allowed to take off their training weights, but they were allowed to lean on the trees as support. They earned their quick and short break already.
"Stand up trooper."
I spoke in a cold and calm voice. Yeah, it was like an arsehole, but then I was the arsehole that keeping them alive. It would not be long until they knew why I was doing what I did. Besides, the girl here needed to see the truth of military state – there was simply no place for slackers.
"But~ I'm tired~."
She spoke between her pants, to which I simply grabbed her collar and hoisted her up. That attracted attention from everyone. For the past few days, my normal reaction was to split her baggage for everyone and to alternate the task of carrying her between the people. They were expecting me to do the same this time, unfortunately for them, my honeymoon time had finally ended. I leaned closed to her face, and it was extremely clear that I did not use any mouth refresher for the last few days.
"I don't care. Either you finish the training or you quit. Your choice."
"But this is too brut…"
"Do you even know who my father is?"
"Yes…?"
"So do you know what his standard drilling procedure is?"
"… No?"
"He wakes up recruits at precisely midnight with a flashbang, forces them to march, squat, and crawl over a muddy field, a river, and a jungle scattered with burnt meat from animals. Oh, and he would occasionally shoot blank rounds over their heads, assuming he did not booby trap the whole route in the first place."
Technically speaking, he only did that after the mark of two weeks for regular recruits, and even the Spec-Op would not have that during the first three or four days. But the girl here did not need to know that, she just had to know that it was always tough shit to get into elite forces – and to think she had the gut to dream about a member of 174th Powered Exo-Suit Regiment… My father's regiment.
"… Is that even humane?"
"Probably not, but it was more humane than sending pampered and stupid fangirl bitches like you to the front. You will get every single one here killed, so I suggest you either quit, or drop your bitchy attitude, or I'll make you."
"How?"
"Don't ask questions that you may not like the answers."
It was implying the probability of me killing her, probably with a blade slitting her throat or a gun at the back of her head. I had to admit, the chance for that to happen was actually larger than zero percent, but doing so was simply a waste of time, consumable resources, and manpower. That, and I hated killing my own classmates when their only crime was stupidity and naivety. Too bad, she was too spooked to know and comprehend that logic efficiently. Not that I blamed her, of course. Every single one of them knew what would potentially happen if I used that tone.
The last time I used it, the dudes bullying Yukino were hit by a car and stuck in the hospital for three months. The main problem was that it was actually a genuine accident, I was planning to ambush them with sleeping gas at the next intersection… Of course, I would neither confirm nor deny that I had never seen the car before…
Anyhow, back to the topic here, the girl here had probably taken enough. She instantly collapsed on the ground the moment I released her. Tears were pouring from her eyes amidst the sobbing. I just stood there silently, not showing any emotion. Sure, I felt my own sympathy to her, but if I showed weakness here, the whole crew would crumble. The ones lacking guts would drop out, and the ones with enough determination would lose some of their motivation…
"So, lass, what do you choose?"
"Quit! I quit!"
Good for her. She knew her limits… but it would be better if she surpassed her own. Still, I could not always ask for diamonds served on a silver plate. Sighing out, I bent down and picked up her backpack.
"Fireteam B-1, RTB."
"Aye aye, sir."
Squad Bravo was the group selected as representatives in the Empire of Gorgonia. "Bravo", because it was the second group (the first was led by Class Rep). Among this squad, five of them volunteered to fight, a bit too heavy for a fireteam, but nothing that I could not manage. Besides, with my drilling, one or two would drop, freeing rooms for more efficient training and commanding.
I was also in charge of training others too, but these boys and girls were specifically trained by me. They knew more about running and crossing obstacles than others in the class, but it also meant that they were dead tired every single day… Some would say I was heartless, but ones who knew would say I was pragmatic and had no other choice. They had to man up for the war brewing over the horizon.
The risk was especially high with them. Fireteam B-1 would travel on the same route to Gorgonia with me, meaning that they could be caught in the potential crossfire. It was a dilemma for me as a student. But as an intelligence operative, as an agent of Security Bureau, Section Six, I knew the solution already. After all, it was a part of my oath – I would protect them from any harm coming from magical. Sure, it would mean breaking my own cover, but then, this was another world, so the rules from Terran Federation did not apply.
Besides, I was pretty sure there was a Code (or two) allowing an agent breaking his own cover to save civilians' lives.
I kept my silence and mulled on my plans on the way back to the inn. The Fireteam was dead tired, none had the strength left to even talk. That, or they were simply sane enough not to talk out loud. The last time they annoyed me with their chattering, I had sent them on a forced march in the middle of the night. Two laps around the town with full backpack loading, so make it… around 10km with a 20kg on their backs. They had learnt their lesson since.
Of course, this time, I had no desire to do that. Once was enough. Besides, I had more pressing matters than to punish them. The boys and girls should be in their top shapes (possible) in the next few days, so serious and heavy training was out of the question. It would explain why I had no plan to make harder runs for them, even if they had grown used to the current hellish march. They would still have to push, but they would have no risk of physically breaking down anymore.
Emotionally though? That was another story, I had put them through a lot more grizzle stuff to compensate for the decrease in training load. Instead of just a peaceful march, I had deliberately placed a few burning stacks of rays along the road. Needless to say, the kids' eyes were all watery very soon. They were lucky, I had yet to decorate the path with mud, blood and half-burnt flesh. Even without them, I managed to break one down very soon.
The trek back to the inn was quiet and solemn, none of the kid spoke anything, and the local had their order to stop themselves from blocking us from the training. They might question why I just had my men running all the way, but that was not their place and their job to ask. Good for them, arranging accidents would be hard and tiring…
A while later, we arrived back at the inn, just enough time before Fireteam B-1 collapsed on the ground. The sobbing and broken girl was guided away by her friends while the others were stowing their backpacks away. They would have a nice long hot bath for the night, I made sure it would happen. I might be a hardass drill instructor, but I was not a jackass one. Treating my men right was one of my top priorities.
Using the distraction caused by my just-free fireteam screaming for freedom, I sneaked back into the room… and I was instantly ambushed by a kiss. It was Yukino, she had already been back from the meeting with the Gorgonian elders.
"Honey."
"Sweetie."
"You don't mind the smell?"
"Sweetie, I once got off from your scent, so I felt nothing wrong with your body now."
Yeah, we were slightly unhinged from the norm, but considering that we were not the normal students, so it was expected. Besides she was just joking there, I knew she would not get off from the scent of my sweat and dirt…
Probably. I hoped.
"Ohhh~ sweetie, you like it?"
Too bad, my hormones rarely agreed with my brain, and for some reasons, Yukino was able to spot it very fast. Of course, she was, she was caressing her body upon mine after all. A normal boy would blush heavily, but not me. I had already seen her in underwear and I had already slept next to her with very little clothes, a bit of arousal was not enough to defeat me. Sure, it meant some awkward close encounter, but nothing I could not handle. So I simply continued her game with a soft kiss on her lips.
"You are as lovely as usual honey."
"Of course. I'm your girlfriend after all."
"So how was your day?"
As expected, she made a largely exaggerated sigh before laying down on the bed, her two legs were dangling in the air as if their owner was very annoyed. It was quite amusing, I knew how tough my girlfriend was, she was just (trying to be) girly here. Not that I mind, of course, having some childish moments was good for health… I was just leaning on the door with my arms cross, amused by her antics.
"Well, the old men accept our token of friendship, though they seem to be a bit miffed about the fact that we also share it to other countries."
"Politics, I assume?"
"Perhaps, and they are not too keen on the proposal of us forming an independent unit neither."
"Have you told them about the vastly different doctrines between two sides?"
"Yes, and they say that they had seen much more than we have, so they know more."
"How about…"
"About the fact that Earth human's history is filled with wars? Yes, I have told them that. But remember, we only have a recorded set of history for 5000 years and real proper record for half that number. The people here boasted a consistent set of history for 6000 years."
"Let me guess, those old men do not take into account the rapid advance of technology and science?"
"They don't even know what those two words mean. And they make the Republican party of the old US of A looks very progressive."
"How about the young nobles and the princesses?"
"They are impressed with the images from home, though they are a bit alarmed at how much we know. For them, thirty years of study would make them a sage, for us, the same time would just push the boundary of our knowledge by a bit."
"Any hostility detected between the young and the old?"
"Yes, but not much. Either you are overly paranoid, or they are that good in hiding their emotions."
"Let's assume I'm properly paranoid then…"
"Weapons check?"
"Yeah."
We glanced wordlessly at each other before throwing up magical jammers. She deployed a spell of her own to counter all known forms of scrying while I set up a device to counter all magical listening bugs. The locals might or might not spy on us, but it was always better to be prepared. Yukino's spell and my device were set up to simulate the same fake scenario: we would be cuddling and mumbling together. The spies would assume we were warming up while we were actually planning on how to kill them.
I activated my magi-tek armband, one that doubled that as a hyperspace arsenal. Two large cases were popped out, one for me and one for Yukino. My girlfriend picked up her trunk, which looked just like an old treasure box, with wood and cast iron. However, the look could be very deceptive. I knew it firsthand… She was pulling out her gears, her magical weapons, mostly so that she could give them a proper maintenance check. I let out a chuckled upon seeing her face. She was dead serious about this.
Look like I had to earn my own paycheck too. With practice motion, I picked up the metal one and opened it up. Guns, ammunition, explosives and other tools neatly filled up the whole container. There was enough weaponry here to fight two proper battles. And if applied properly, the explosive was more than enough to bring down the whole villa, killing the whole bunch of Zealous. It looked precisely like a wet dream of geeks, and I had to suppress my own giggle here. I could not simply afford to lose my own cool and mature image here.
I picked up the first handgun, and in a fluid motion, I disassembled it, checking over every nook and crane on it. Each and every gun must be in perfect combat condition, for they would make the difference between life and death. The cover was removed first, then the firing rod, the springs… it was a boring job, but it was necessary.
The elders thought that they could catch us with our pants down. Well, I respectfully disagreed with them.
The princesses and the nobles believed wars were about honour, and fighting must follow a form of etiquette. Well, I would prove them wrong soon enough.