Betrayers and Betrayed A Gallic Royal Enclave Story
Orbit of planet Bordeaux, Aquitaine
18 September 742 A.G.S. (826 A.S.)
Ade looked through the viewport of the shuttle at her trusty battlecruiser Belfort, that was becoming smaller by the minute. Her finger started knocking on the armpad nervously as the ship disappeared from sight, leaving only the Hebrides nebula to look at. For a dozen of minutes, there was nothing else to look at, but then the leviathan of a ship engulfed the viewport. Ade's finger started knocking at a more steady pace as the shuttle carried her by multiple decks and windows of battleship Die, eventually reaching the hangar.
As Ade felt a soft push of the touchdown, she stood up, adjusted her uniform, took a deep breath and stepped towards the hatch. Nobody expected her by the entrance, yet the hangar bay was buzzing with commotion: people were too preoccupied with the day-to-day concerns, such as keeping the ships operational. Ade couldn't blame them; the Enclave didn't tolerate the idle.
Familiar with a layout of a Valor class battleship, Ade headed straight towards the command deck, assuming that admiral Clement had already been informed of her arrival. She expected to be stopped at some checkpoint and directed to the bridge, or any other place where the meeting would take place.
When Adelaide arrived at the command deck, she only found a long, empty hallway, leading to a single door.
At both sides of the door, a guard was positioned. They were wearing a dark, black armor, which were different
from the usual Gallic combat suits. Surprisingly, they did make a move when Adelaide passed them.
The room she found was big, but a bit messy. A lot of documents were on the office desk,
all unfinished Royal Navy operation documents.
At the corner of the room, there was a big flag of the Marine Royale Gauloise hanging.
When Louis noticed Adelaide's arrival, he shortly looked up from his paperwork, and greeted her:
"Ah, madame Gauthier, glad to see you. Please, take a seat, we have a lot to discuss.
I hope you've had no troubles on your way here. The captains of my battlegroup can be a bit distrustful.
But let's get to the reason why I called you today. As you remember, colonel Saint-Just gave
me the command of the Enclave's military. And I allready have the first operation planned.
Please, take a look at this transmission."
He handed her a datapad, showing off a small headline of a transmission: Internal message of la Marine Royale Gualoise.
The approach to Clement's room was intimidating. Ade couldn't suppress the little uneasiness as she kept walking down the corridor and passing the armor-clad guards that looked more like statues or robots than people. Nonetheless, Commandant kept walking forward.
The mess of the room was a stark contrast to the emptiness and the sterility of the corridor. Adelaide saluted to the admiral after he greeted her, then proceeded to take a seat opposite to him. When Clement offered her the datapad, she accepted ith with a nod. Adelaide's facial expression remained concerned as she was examining the communication logs provided by the admiral. The implications were troubling. Then, some detail caught her attention, and a corner of her lip twitched, if only briefly, into a smirk.
"So, we're aboard a destroyed battleship, sir? I see a gambit in the making," she replied with a shade of curiosity in her voice, putting the datapad on the table and looking at the admiral intently.
"You're right. I have set up this message for a reason. The Marine Royale will not support us.
They have sworn their support for the duchy of Burgundy. They will soon depart towards the Gallic core systems.
We have to stop them, at all cost. We need to ensure their fleet's strength stays within our ranks.
The Soleil Royal will be a part of their convoy, and act as our beacon. After your forces have arrived on scene, we will force the Marine to surrender. However, if they refuse, I will give the order to shoot down their fleet.
They have chosen their side, and will try to remove us. We can not allow them to have their strength of the frontline units back in Gallia, otherwise we can not support the remaining royalists back home.
This operation will most likely involve killing Gallic soldiers. There is no room for doubt. Are you ready to execute your orders?
If so, I will continue to explain the details of the operation."
Adelaide listened carefully to what the admiral had to say. It was no surprise, given what she had read, and the fact that during their whole stay in Hebrides, la Marine's main forces had always remained somewhat isolated from the rest of the Enclave. The messages she saw only confirmed the suspicion. But shooting at other Gallic forces, someone she had fought alongside with? For a few moments, there was a small seed of doubt in Ade's head, making her feel like the proverbial princess on the pea. This disturbance wouldn't elude the shrewd admiral, even if it was just a raised eybrow, a tilted head, and the reply coming a moment too late.
"If they plan to abandon le Roi..." as Adelaide said this, the 'pea of doubt' started getting smaller. "... then they are traitors to the Kingdom." This last phrase was like a mantra that liberated Ade of any remaining doubt. As if just deeming someone 'traitor' was enough to justify what they were about to commit. "And traitors get what's coming to them," the Commandant said resolutely. "Escadron XXII and other Saint-Just's forces will comply with that order."
The amiral watched Adelaide's answer carefully.
When she was done, he stood up and slowly walked towards the flag of the Marine Royale.
"I am glad you're reliable and loyal. We will need people like you.
Rest assured, that we are fighting for a noble cause here. We will try our best to not cause the Marine any harm.
We will peacefully force them to hand over their ships. That way we can ensure the safety of our people on Bordeaux."
When he arrived at the flag, Louis hesitated for a moment, only staring at the blue-white symbol of his former command.
He quickly realized, that this was not the time for memories, as he felt Adelaide's look penetrating his back.
With a quick grab, he removed the flag. Under the flag, there was a screen with strategical space maps.
It almost seemed like it was hidden under the banner of the Royal Navy.
"Here you see our current positions within the Hebrides, aswell as the position of the Marine Royale.
They are located in a very favourable position. If our forces try to reach them within Aquitaine, we won't have any success.
But since the Bretonians hold Leeds, and Crayter holds Tau-31, they will only have one single way to go, which will lead them through Brittany, where the Montmorency can intercept them.
As you saw within their communications, the Soleil Royal will join them.
They think it is heavily damaged, which is of course a false statement. The Soleil Royal has not fought within New London,
so it never suffered any casualities. I will try to take up as many ships into my battlegroup as possible, and then join their convoy. The plan is really simple. We fly with them, and lead them into a dead end. There we will transfer you our coordinates.
As soon as your forces arrive, we will be in a far superior position. This will force them into either a honorable surrender,
or a meaningless death."
He walked slowly back to the table, his eyes still focusing madame Gauthier.
"So much for the first attack. Do you have any questions?"
The Commandant listened to the Admiral intently, only nodding slightly at some point; her head tilted, deep in thought. Then she replied calmly: "We'd better outnumber and outgun them if we are to secure their surrender. Otherwise, it will turn into a fight where neither side really wins. The Enclave can't afford to lose the remaining capital ships we have. Not until we start our own ship production at Issoudun, or elsewhere."
Adelaide paused for a few moments, before proceeding: "But you already know that, and I presume you've planned for that. Our forces will be prepared to ambush those who'd fail to see reason."
"Treason, madame Gauthier, is everywhere.
In my time within the etat-major of the Marine Royale, I have seen who is loyal and raliable.
Other people, like amiral Guillory, were too much concerned by irrelevant moral objections, which in the end, let to their treason.
I always knew they'd at some point turn their back on our glorious king. I have prepared my fleets for over a year now.
They'd die for me, whatever the cause. My forces intentionally stood back during the siege of New London.
They are in such a good condition, that I can even allow myself to split them up.
And if you remember my reply you saw on the datapad, they trust me. I can weaken them, and I will do so.
You just have to pick up whoever is left behind.
If everything is clear, I'd like you to inform our troops. They shall be ready within a few days.
And as soon as the operation is completed, I'd like to meet you again, to discuss the second phase."
Louis slightly smiled at Adelaide, seemingly confident.
The admiral's words created the air of confidence. Whether it was a good thing or not, Ade couldn't say at this point. Confidence could lead to laxity, and even uncalculated actions. But the Commandant knew better than to voice that concern. Ever since she joined the Navy, Ade was taught to have faith in her superiors.
"Tres bien, amiral" she replied, standing up and adjusting her uniform. "If that would be all, I shall depart. Once I return to the Belfort, I'll relay your orders to prepare for ambush."