Tanya Finds Her Sub(ordinates)
Early Morning, 1924
Imperial Strategic HQ External Bureau
Capitol City Berun, Empire
“I sent the recruitment out a week ago. How the hell are there so many applications?”
Tanya stared at the numerous foot-high stacks of paper covering her desk in muted horror. From where she was sitting, she could hardly even see the office around her.
She glanced at one of the left-over recruitment posters littering her desk. A mini caricature of an Imperial mage smiled mockingly up at her.
The words on the poster were simple and too the point. “Extremely Difficult Battle. Little Pay. Spend Your Days in Combat and Unfathomable Danger. If You Return Alive, You’ll Receive Honor and Glory.”
“I expected decent number of applications, even with the Legal Department forcing me to be brutally honest in recruitment, but this is way too many.” She grabbed a few applications off of a nearby stack and looked them over. “Why are there applications from the Northern and Western Armies? I’m not even allowed to recruit from them! Which ignorant intern’s skull do I need to beat into the ground? Don’t make other people’s jobs harder unnecessarily!”
She set the papers back on top of the stack, then let her head drop into her hands.
“This is impossible. Utterly impossible. There’s no way one person can…” She trailed off. “One person…? Wait a second, didn’t General Zettour say I would have an adjutant? Couldn’t they act as a secretary for me? I’ll should just go ahead and call them-”
A knock came at the door.
Oh? Maybe I won’t have to call after all.
-=-
Newly promoted Second Lieutenant Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov was very, very nervous.
It had been quite some time since she and the captain had parted ways. For various reasons, the Viktoriya found herself being recalled back to the rear. Tanya had also ended up leaving the Rhine, for similar reasons.
The at the time Second Lieutenant had apparently been approved to attend the War College in the Imperial capital, Berun, while Viktoriya herself would be attending Officers’ School. It was an unexpected shift, to say the least. The White Silver and the rookie she had raised up from the dirt were going their separate ways. After their near constant contact with one another in the blood and mud of the Rhine Front. It was quite a shock. A sad twist of fate, if you will.
-=-
Viktoriya was having a bit of a rough day.
“I’m tired of being dirty all the time. I want an actual bath.” She murmured into the wooden table she was currently resting on face-first. It couldn’t be comfortable, but at the same time the Corporal couldn’t be bothered to move.
“I want chocolate. I want apple pie again. Even if it’s from a can…”
Tanya stared at the somewhat pitiful sight with a raised eyebrow. Initially, she was going to interrupt as soon as she arrived but standing and watching at this point was far more entertaining.
This fact was proven further just a second later, as Viktoriya caught a glimpse of the Second Lieutenant through her arms and bolted upright in her seat.
“Just kidding! I love our mission here, glory to the Empire!”
Tanya stifled a laugh, raising a placating hand.
“It’s fine, Corporal. The Rhine Front sucks; no need to sugar coat it.” She took a seat across from her subordinate. “This might make it a little better, though.”
She slid an official-looking catalog envelope over to the Corporal.
“I recommended you for the Accelerated Officers’ Program back in the rear. And, with the arrival of the Great Army last week and the stabilization of the Rhine Front, the Personnel Division was more than happy to accept. Apparently, my word as the White Silver actually means something higher up. Who knew?” The Lieutenant smiled a tad mischievously. “I’m sure you’ll be able to enjoy plenty of chocolate and apple pie in your spare time.”
“Back in the rear…?” A smile flitted across her face. She would have a warm bed again. She would get to use an actual bath with soap! She would…
A stray thought interrupted her happy spiel.
She would be separated from her Captain. The superior that had helped transform her into a true Imperial mage. For some reason, the thought left an ugly feeling in her chest.
“We’ll be split up.” Viktoriya frowned. “What about you, Lieutenant? Will you be alright without me around?”
Tanya didn’t hold back her laugh this time.
“I should be saying that to you, I think. Besides, you aren’t the only one getting out of here. I’m leaving the Rhine as well. I was recommended myself for the Imperial War College, and the committee overseeing application accepted mine already. I’m actually leaving for Berun tonight.” She tilted her head, a wistful look on her face. “Although, I suppose I will miss your coffee. Your ability to make something palatable out of that ersatz garbage still amazes me.”
Viktoriya blushed at the praise, but the monster in her chest reared its head once more.
“If we’re being separated Captain, um… will…” She looked away, “Will I get to see you again?”
Tanya’s eyes widened a fraction; a second later, her expression faded into one of contemplation.
“Hm, I can’t say for certain, Corporal. It’s not up to me where Personnel ends up placing us.”
“Oh…”
“But I can say this.” Tanya gave Viktoriya a heart-stopping smile. One that the Corporal had never seen before. “If the road before us deigns we cross paths once more, I’ll meet with you gladly. If or until that day comes, thank you for your service, Corporal Serebryakov.”
-=-
That was nearly a year ago. Now, Viktoriya stood in front of her former and future Captain’s office, ready to be reunited. There was just one small problem.
She couldn’t force herself to knock! In fact, the Second Lieutenant had actually been standing in front of the door for the past ten minutes trying to work up enough courage for their reunion.
Was reunion too strong a word? Saying it like that made them sound like lovers meeting up again after a war. Not something she needed to be thinking about. Right now, she needed to knock.
…Any second now, she would knock. She would knock, and then she’d see Captain Degurechaff again.
Nope, it wasn’t working.
An uninformed observer might blame this lack of action on fear. “Is the White Silver really that terrifying?” They’d ask. And technically, they weren’t wrong. One didn’t earn the moniker ‘Devil of the Rhine’ through cutesy means. Tanya was definitely terrifying.
However, Lieutenant Serebryakov happened to suffer from an entirely different ailment. That dangerous, painful-to-the-heart ailment that infected crush-laden people everywhere.
Pining. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all. Or perhaps, ‘you don’t know what you have until it is gone’ fits better.
It had been an odd thing to fully realize. The seeds had been lain upon there very first meeting, what with it being the first time Viktoriya had ever felt the need to question her sexuality and all. The past almost year had really put things into perspective.
After several months of an odd emptiness in her chest, a few very sweaty and very heated dreams, and a wakeup slap in the form of a conversation with her best friend from Cadet School, Erya, Viktoriya found the answer she needed.
She had a crush on Tanya!
Like, a really big crush. It was kind of embarrassing. And exciting!
Admittedly, coming to the realization that she well and truly preferred women to men took up a decent chunk of that time. A bit of an identity crisis, worry over if she actually liked women or if she was just “going through a phase” as a parent might say, and the belated realization that, yeah, she had always been this way, and it was perfectly natural, and there was nothing wrong with her.
A nice tour through Berun’s red light district, chauffeured by Erya herself, had also helped relieve any anxieties over her stunning realization. The unsurprisingly progressive area did wonders for Viktoriya’s confidence in her newfound identity.
Getting seats to a ‘show’ featuring a brown-haired woman and an ever-so-slightly shorter blonde-haired woman had nothing to do with it at all. Neither did the fact that Viktoriya nearly flunked an exam the next day from lack of sleep.
No relation whatsoever.
She still struggled a bit, as one might expect. But in the long run, accepting her true self had really helped her overall self-image. It was way more obvious now that she could look back with the benefit of hindsight, ad it was certainly much better than lying to herself and hiding it all away.
So basically, Viktoriya had spent much of her time separated from Tanya flipping between pining and being confused as to why she was pining. Oh, and also horny. What, like that wasn’t expected? She was a teenager with a massive crush, cut her some slack.
And now she was literally a door away from Tanya.
What should I even say? Do I shake her hand, go for a hug? We were close enough that it wouldn’t be weird, right? What do I do?!
Viktoriya continues staring at the door while lost in thought.
‘Your faithful Serebryakov has returned!’ That’s a little ridiculous. ‘Tis I, Second Lieutenant Viktoriya Serebryakov!’ No, that’s too stuffy. Oh God I’m panicking.
A voice behind the door caught her attention.
“…Zettour say…an adjutant?”
She’s talking about me! I should figure out-
She caught herself subconsciously knocking.
-We are in the timeline abandoned by God. Why did I do that?! I’m not done stalling! AHHH!
“Come in!” Tanya called out.
Okay. We’re fine. I’m fine. I can do this. Viktoriya took a deep breath. And, even if I can’t, I will.
She opened the door with aplomb. Tanya stared at her from in front of her desk, eyes wide in what Viktoriya hoped was pleasant surprise.
Viktoriya approached then, stopping just in front of the desk.
“Second Lieutenant Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov reporting for duty. It’s been awhile, Captain.” She stated, accompanied by an impeccable salute.
Yes, that was perfect! Score 1 for Visha.
“Your faithful Serebryakov has returned!” She continued.
Why do I think these things? Didn’t I learn not to jinx myself on the Rhine Front?
“Second Lieutenant, eh? Belated congratulations on your promotion.” Tanya said with her usual half smile. “So, you’re my adjutant? I have to say I’m glad. It’d be nice to have someone competent around here.”
Viktoriya beamed at the compliment.
“Thank you, Captain.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m… glad our last conversation wasn’t goodbye for good, Ma’am.”
“Hm? Oh, right. Well, consider yourself gladly met, Second Lieutenant. I will admit to being happy that our paths have met once more. Between you and me, none of the MPs make coffee like you do. Even my own attempts were subpar compared to your ability. Speaking of which.”
Tanya pointed directly at her. Viktoriya blinked.
“Yes Captain?”
“I need you to go gather a dozen or so unoccupied MPs.” She gestured at the desk behind her. “As you can see, this is far too much paperwork for two people alone.”
“I’ll do that right away, Captain. By your command.”
Viktoriya’s departure was a tad bittersweet. Sure, their reunion went well, but…
Darn, no hug… yet. One day I’ll go for it, I swear.
-=-=-=-
Two Weeks Later, 1924
Side Room, Imperial Strategic HQ External Bureau
Capitol City Berun, Empire
Another failed applicant, this time a mage from the Southern Theater in his early thirties. The wall at the back of the cramped room faded, revealing Tanya, Viktoriya, and General Zettour, along with two top-ranked members of the Southern and Eastern Armies respectively
“Well, I see now why you keep rejecting them.” Zettour states in a dry tone of voice.
“It’s a basic illusion spell.” Tanya gestured dismissively. “I’m particularly adept at illusions, I’ll admit, but this is something any competent mage should see through. It’s not a difficult trick. The fact that none from the South and only two from the East have passed is… well I probably shouldn’t tell you exactly what comes to mind.”
“Go ahead. You have my permission to speak your thoughts. Be as ruthless as you need to be.”
“If you insist, sir. To be honest, it’s quite pathetic. Lackluster, if I wanted to be polite. Not a single mage on the Rhine Front, and I’m including some of the Francois mages here, would miss such a simple trick. And yet, the East and South border guards seem to have no such skill. Have Imperial mage standards truly dropped so low?”
The East General angrily interrupted her cutting analysis, “Now listen here! We don’t appreciate such comments from-”
“From who?” Tanya interrupted him right back. “From a woman? From a teenager? Do not forget gentlemen, I am not just an Ace of Aces and a Named Mage, but also one of the few living recipients of the Silver Wings Assault Medal. If there’s anyone on this planet who knows what a proper Imperial mage is, it’s me.”
“The nerve-!”
“Enough.” Zettour sighed. “Please refrain from insulting the Generals, Captain.”
“Of course. My deepest apologies, gentlemen.”
“Excellent. Now, Captain, you need to lower the criteria for passing. Otherwise, you’ll never get enough mages for your augmented battalion.”
“Then I’ll need to create a new method for acceptance and revise my training program.” Tanya crosses her arms. “The first won’t take long; I’ve been keeping records of the more promising candidates since the beginning. The second is another story. I already have something in mind, but the training program I’ve devised will take extra time to carry out.”
“How long will this ‘training program’ of yours take?”
She side-eyed him, “Just a month.”
“What?!” And now the General from the Southern Army just had to erupt. “Proper Imperial mages take a year at minimum to train properly! How can you claim such an absurd turnover?”
“If that’s true then why haven’t any of the Southern Army’s mages passed this simple test of mine? I guarantee my battalion will be filled with nothing but ‘proper Imperial mages’, and it will be done in the just month you give me.”
Zettour ignored the Southern generals’ sputtering and stood. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear Captain. Your battalion needs to be in top shape, so make sure the recruits do their best. Get a little rough with them if you have to.”
“Yes, sir.” Tanya saluted as Zettour filed out, with the other Generals following behind.
Rough is too light a term. When I’m through with them, they’ll either be crying for mommy or the best group of Imperial mages ever assembled. Or both. I’m not picky. I can’t coddle the soldiers that will hold the fate of the Empire on their shoulders. This is the first step towards winning this war. Time to make it count.