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Arc Chronicles Chapter 8
Chapter VIII Part OneI had killed someone. At least one person was dead because of me. Maybe both pilots I shot down were dead. Until now, in either of my lives, I hadn't killed anyone. I had not taken someone's life.What did I think was going to happen when I joined the military? That I wasn't going to be asked to kill anyone? Did I think I could avoid killing my enemies? Looking back on it, the thought of murder hadn't crossed my mind.I hadn't been a soldier in my last life. My dad had been in the army and he had told me old war stories as a child. I had never wanted to join the service after those stories and I think that was the idea. How could I have forgotten everything he ranted about?War never changes. That was a meme in my last world. How many times have I read one and laughed? Staring at a pile of bodies, smelling urine mixed with burned flesh, it wasn't so funny anymore.War was hell. Even in this world, that simple law hadn't changed. How many times had my friends and
Arc Chronicles Interlude 4
Louise Empress Louise was not a patient person by nature. The only person she had even been patient with was Francois, and that was not by choice. He was the only one with a higher station than her in the whole empire, so she couldn't command him to do anything.Everyone but Francois's children and that other bitch he took to bed was fair game though. Which was why the artist being late was unacceptable. Her time was more valuable than his, frankly, and the longer she was made to wait, the more irritable she became.As a Prussian artist in Aquroya, he should be down worshiping at her feet for the patronage she's shown him. The Great War was still fresh in the people's minds and the Aquitese hadn't forgiven Prussia for what they did. If it wasn't for her, he would have to go back to Vienna.Of course, being a Prussian in Vienna was hardly better than being a Prussian in Aquitaine. Prussia had led Vienna to defeat in the Great War, and the Austro-Hungarian-Reimanian empire had barely h
Arc Chronicles Chapter 9
Chapter IX Part OneWhen I came too, it was dark. The window was smaller than it should have been, but I made out the sky beyond. It was twilight, that time between the light and day. The sky was just starting to lighten, but it was still too dark to see.I laid back down and turned over. My arms fell over something... There was someone in my bed with me. What?Whoever it was, they were soft and warm.Who had slipped into my bed? I tried to remember the night before, but everything was blurry. I had come back from my first combat mission and then Bian had found me. She gave me wine...I guess that explained the blurriness. At least I wasn't suffering from a hangover.Had someone snuck into my room drunk and gotten in bed with me? If they were drunk enough they wouldn't know what they were doing. I just hope it wasn't Alphonse or Rolo. Let it be a girl, please.The events of the night before came back to hit me like a train. Tanya had found me, we had gone to her room, and I lost my v-
Arc Chronicles Euphemia I
Euphemia IThe headline read: "Florentine Colony of South Morocco declares war!"Below it, in much smaller print, were the words: 'Emperor Francois charges War Group Victorian with the defense of Morocco. Aquroya and Reim agree the matter is a colonial incident - war averted.'My driver looked back at me from the mirror. "Are you alright, your highness?""Yes. I'm just nervous," I said. It was only half a lie."What's there to be nervous about? Prince Henri is your brother.""When my brother calls on me, it's always to his estate or a cafe.""I see."Did she? Maybe she did. I turned my attention back to the newspaper. Calixte and Victoria were in Morocco. The defense of the colony would be left to them. I had faith in my sister's command, but Calixte was untested. Sure, he had an unnatural reserve of mana, but what did my fourteen-year-old brother know about war? We had only debuted a few months ago.He was going to be a mounted knight, flying a warplane, but that just put him in the
Arc Chronicles Calixte I
Calixte IBrigadier General Blanc was nervous. It was the first time I had ever seen him nervous. Whenever I ate with him, he was full of, undeserved in my opinion, confidence. He was talking to an older man with a head full of white hair. I had never seen him before, but I recognized the black uniform he was wearing; Office of Secret Intelligence.It was the imperial equivalent of the Gestapo or the KGB. They reported directly to my father and only answered him. Not even the Imperial Assembly or Military High Command could interfere with the OSI.My heart started pounding a little more. I was a prince and my station usually protected me from certain institutions, but my father had given them discretionary powers that could be used against me.The white-haired man turned when he saw me. I saluted, noticing the three stars on his uniform. "Sir!"The white-haired officer saluted back. "At ease, your Highness. I'm Agent Laurent."Laurent? That was a common name in the empire. Like Smith
Arc Chronicles Interlude: NGLF & Red Hair
Interlude: NGLFThe Captain stared out at the city, the lights illuminating the darkness. Her new overlords had named it Bayard. Her former masters called it Thinis, and they would claim they built the city. The Egyptians were liars, they had built 'Thinis' years ago, not the invaders. She had no illusions that Aquitaine and Corai would be any better than their old masters.If anything, Corai was worse than Egypt or Aquitaine. Her people knew the latter two were imperial invaders, but they seemed to forget Corai had invaded their home just the same. The only difference was Corai controlled the other half of their homeland, where their brethren were ground under heal. The Front ignored this because of the money and weapons Corai supplied.The Captain worried. What were they going to do if they did liberate themselves from Aquitaine? They would still have Corai to deal with and Corai acted as their benefactors. One day they would need to fight Corai, and she didn't know if the front was
Arc Chronicles Calixte 2
Calixte IIMy shields flared to life under the hail of bullets. The Florentine fighter pilot might be flying an inferior unit, but he was good. Maybe a little too good. I couldn't seem to keep him in my sights and whenever I was ready to fire, he had vanished. Only to reappear in a completely different direction. If it wasn't for my large mana pool, my shields would have failed by now.The bastard seemed to have a personal grudge against me. He ignored the rest of my squad, as well as Viper and Pixie to single me out. I'd be flattered if the damn bastard wasn't so fucking good."Hey, you need any help? That nat still sticking around?" Rolo radioed.I wanted to say no, but honestly... I might be outmatched. Fuck, that bastard was a little too good at his fucking job. At this rate, he was going to drain my mana, and then I"d be a sitting duck.I looked over and saw Rolo engaged with his own trouble. He was barely staying in the air with two fighters hounding him. "It looks like you got
Arc Chronicles Euphemia II
Euphemia IIIt was a grueling twelve-hour flight to the Tyché colony. My new staff and the plane crew were the only ones joining me. It wasn't an uncomfortable flight. I was in the seat of luxury, the best the empire had to offer, but it was long. As I looked out the window, I was reminded that my plane wasn't alone. A fleet of aircraft carrying the first waves of new colonists trailed behind us. Those planes were crammed full, so I was lucky to have a spacious plane almost all to myself.I was tired, but I couldn't sleep a wink, I was so nervous. When the plane touched down, my life was over. I would be the Viceroy of a new colony halfway across the world.As we flew over the glittering sea, I felt the urge to jump out. I mastered the impulse, but it was there. I didn't want to go to Tyché. I didn't want to oppress the natives or any Egyptians that remained. Xavier would be a better choice. He had done wonders with Vietnam, why not give him Tyché?Because my father wanted to rest me.