Chapter 2: A Foggy morning

Flashback:

After Riverwood, me and my childhood friends joined the Gallian Militia. And by sheer luck, we were all assigned on the same squad, Squad 9, with Croix as our Commanding officer. Along with the 6 of us, 2 other soldiers were also assigned to our squad.

Sgt. Elena Dupont: 29 years old. She was our quirky and energetic tank driver and engineer. She was very friendly and got along really well with most of the squad.

Cpl. Sonia: 20 years old. A Darcsen shocktrooper. Following the stereotype, she was quiet and anti-social. She refuses to even talk with the other members of the squad. You could say that she was really rude and unfriendly. But in the battlefield, she does her best to protect the other squad members even though she doesn't admit it.

As for the others, I was given the rank of Sergeant. Cooper and Morris were given the ranks of corporal, Flunky was the only private in our squad, Paul was given the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and Croix was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.

It was somewhere in April 1935. Our squad, or should I say the entire militia, was given our first mission. We were to aid the Gallian army in taking Vasel Bridge, a vital supply route and the only thing standing between the Empire and the Gallian Capital, Rangdriz. During that time, whichever side controls that bridge would turn the tide of war in their favor. It was our first mission and everyone, except Sonia, was excited. I still remember Cooper and Morris making bets on who kills more Imperials. As for me, it was a mixture of excitement and anxiety. I was excited that I would participate in such an important battle but because it was an important battle that I was nervous. I still remembered how shell-shocked I was during the Battle of Riverwood.

In just a few hours, our squad was deployed to Vasel Bridge. It was a long march from the Militia HQ. I was so nervous that I nearly bumped into the backside of our tank.

"You ok?" Croix asked

"Y-yeah…"

"Calm down." He said "Take deep breaths"

I did what he told me and but I still couldn't get rid of my anxiety.

"I can't have you spacing out like that" he said "Don't be nervous. Everything's gonna be fine. We've got almost the entire militia here, not to mention that the regular army's also there! So don't worry too much about this fight"

"Y-you're right…" is what I said to Croix and I thought he really was. I mean the entire militia's here and the regular army's been fighting the Imperials on that bridge for weeks so there shouldn't be much problems.

But the grim reality was far different. When we reached the outskirts of Vasel, I could see the bridge from there and it wasn't a pleasant sight… Destroyed Gallian tanks on one side and fully operational Imperial tanks on the other. It was clear why the regular army needed the militia's support, they were losing the battle. We arrived at our destination 10 minutes later and began to set up camp while Croix and the other commanders were briefed on the current situation.

Later that night, Croix returned and briefed us; it was worse than I thought. The Imperial army destroyed the other bridges of the town and left only one to be used as a choke point against the army. They had the place so well protected that even stepping on the bridge was suicide.

"So what?" said Cooper "We're just gonna sit here and hope the Imperials retreat from boredom?"

"Nope…" said Croix "…I'll find a way just you wait guys. We're gonna take that bridge!"

That was one of those moments where Croix's mouth moves faster than his brain. I mean, how can you even be able to say with the utmost confidence that you can outsmart those Imperials under these circumstances? Just as we were all comprehending Croix's "inspirational" reply, Flunky stood up and said:

"Hey… Where's Elena?"

"Oh yeah" Morris said as he looked around "Where is she?"

I didn't notice. Elena was gone. We were all perplexed as to how she managed to slip away unnoticed. Just as we were about to start looking for her, we heard someone yell:

"Hey!"

We looked behind us and saw Elena running towards us

"Where have you been?" Croix asked

"I was just taking a walk and I heard something really juicy!" she replied in a happy tone

"Juicy?" Morris wondered

"Yeah! Squad 7's planning on taking that bridge tomorrow morning!"

Back to the present

"Wait. Squad 7? Elena found out Welkin Gunther's plan in taking Vasel Bridge"

"That's right… Turns out Elena took a walk while we were setting up camp and she happened to eavesdrop on Squad 7's conversations. We found out that Welkin Gunther made a bet with his subordinates to take that bridge in less than 2 days or he would resign as commander of the squad"

"Why would he do such a thing?"

"Welkin Gunther… His father was a War hero and because of him, Gallia was able to survive the Imperial onslaught of the 1st Europan War. You could just imagine how much pressure was placed on his son. Especially since he only fought in 1 battle, which was the battle of Bruhl. Not to mention that some of his subordinates were veterans from that same war."

"So he made that bet so that the entire squad would acknowledge him?"

"Seems so… But if it weren't for what we did… their mission might have been a lot harder"

"How so?"

"Well… Let me continue my story…"

Back to the flashback:

"Squad 7?" said Croix "You mean the squad led by Welkin Gunther?"

"Yep!" Elena replied "The War hero's son!"

Croix looked at the bridge and thought for a while then he turned to Elena and said

"How is he going to take the bridge?"

"Isn't that pretty insane?" Cooper added "and in less than 2 days? The army can't even pull that off in a few weeks. What makes him think he can take that bridge?"

"Well…" said Elena "They plan to cross the river"

"Cross the river…?" Morris said "Even if they can cross the river, a small squad would hardly be able to destroy that much enemy armor, not to mention the numerous Imperial foot soldiers there."

"I heard they were gonna use their tank to cross the river" Elena added

"They what!?" shouted Morris

"That's crazy!" said Cooper "How can you cross a river using a tank!?"

"No…" said Croix "…it's possible if we're talking about 'that' tank"

"Why?" Cooper wondered "What's so special about that tank?"

"I've seen the reports. That tank is a tad bit different from standard Gallian or Imperial tanks. In fact, it was able to deflect a couple of tank shells and was superior in both speed and firepower compared to the Imperial tanks during the Battle of Bruhl. Bottom line, it's special."

"You think they can pull it off?" I asked

"Judging from the reports… Yes" Croix replied

"So what do we do?" Morris asked

"Even if they can get a tank and a squad across" Croix said "they're gonna face heavy volumes of enemy forces. I doubt they can handle that much firepower even with the kind of tank they have"

"You want us to support Squad 7 then?" Cooper asked

"Yep!" Said Croix "and we're gonna use the bridge to bait most of the enemy squads to fight us!"

"The bridge!?" Morris said "Are you crazy? You said for yourself, even stepping on that bridge is suicide! How are we even gonna walk on that bridge without getting shot!?"

Croix simply chuckled and as he faced the river, he said "Guys… do you feel it getting cold?"

"It's almost 10pm" I said "Of course it's getting cold"

Croix simply shook his head and said "No… You'll see what I mean. Everyone gather here at 0400 hours tomorrow!"

We were confused as to why Croix was confident that we could even step on the bridge without getting shot. But we all knew how good he was as a strategist and decided to put our trust in him.

The next morning, we gathered at the agreed location on time. It was a foggy morning and we could hardly see anything in front of us. I looked at Croix and said "Is this what you meant by it getting cold?"

"Yep!" said Croix in an enthusiastic tone "I used to live here with my parents years ago. Besides, it's April and I saw some birds flyby which meant that it's gonna be a foggy morning."

Wow... He managed to find a way to lessen the dangers of both our and Squad 7's missions. And funny thing was that later on, we found out that Welkin Gunther's plan was inspired by the very same species of birds that Croix saw.

"Here's the battle plan!" he said "Elena, you stay here, barely near the bridge and be ready to move on my signal! The rest of the squad would go to this point, just behind the middle of the bridge. Once Squad 7 starts making noises, we cause a ruckus ourselves! That would be your signal Elena to move the tank and fire on any enemy armor you see."

"That sounds like a good plan" said Paul "But… I think Squad 7 has a plan to deal with the Imperials on the bridge. And since we didn't tell them that we're helping, we may be caught in whatever they plan to do"

"What do they plan to do?" I asked

"Since Squad 7 doesn't have much manpower, let alone advanced weapons and equipment" Croix said "my guess is that they're gonna open the bridge to dump the Imperial forces into the river"

"What!?" said Cooper "But that means we're gonna get dumped into the river too!"

"No we're not" Croix replied "Once you feel the bridge shaking, run as fast as you can! Elena, you go full reverse on my command! Me and Paul would provide cover fire while you guys retreat. Is everyone clear with the plan?"

"So you and Paul will play hero?" Morris said

"Got any better ideas?" Croix replied

Morris didn't respond

"That has got to be the craziest plan I ever heard" said Elena "But I like it!"

Eventually, everyone approved of the plan, except Sonia who kept silent during the entire time.

Once we agreed on the plan, we quickly headed to our positions and waited for Squad 7 to make their move. As we got to our positions in the bridge, we made sure not to alert the Imperial guards so we could pull off a proper surprise attack. The waiting was one of the excruciating moments in the mission as we could not act until Squad 7 made their move.

"How much longer till they attack?" Cooper whispered

"Who knows…?" Croix answered

"What do you mean 'who knows'?" Cooper replied "Don't tell me we'll be sitting out here for the next few hours."

"Don't worry" Croix said "They'll come around… Just be patient…"

We waited for over 10 minutes before Squad 7 finally started making noises. We saw that the Imperial guards by the bridge were briefly distracted by the sound of gunfire. We took that opportunity to start our ambush. It was a difficult firefight because we had to depend on the flashes made by their guns to know where to shoot at. Amazingly though, Elena managed to destroy 2 tanks stationed in the bridge. As the fighting raged on for at least 5 minutes, we noticed that the fog started to lift. The situation was getting worse as the Imperials were able to know our precise locations and began hammering us. To make matters worse, we felt it. The bridge began to shake which meant that it was beginning to open. That was our cue to get out fast but the concentrated fire of the Imperials made it difficult to retreat. Croix and Paul then began to provide cover fire and told us to retreat.

We did as we were told and reached the 'safe' part of the bridge but Croix and Paul were still on the 'danger zone' and the bridge began to open. With the bridge opening even further, the Imperials stopped shooting. We could see them as they slid down the river. Croix and Paul made a mad dash to reach us. But as the bridge grew steeper, it was proving to be difficult for them to reach us. Knowing that they cannot reach us that way, Croix and Paul decided to jump. Acting fast, me and Cooper quickly grabbed their hands and pulled them up. The mission was a success. We managed to hold off the Imperials on the bridge and with one flare in the sky, we knew Vasel Bridge was ours.

Back to the present:

"Wow… I didn't know that happened… They never said anything about that in any of the history books I've read…"

"That's because no one ever knew what we did. Croix told us to keep quiet about it. Of course, Cooper and Morris were against it especially since only Squad 7 would take all the credit in taking the bridge"

"Why did Croix do that?"

"I really don't understand it myself. Why didn't he want us to tell command of what we did? But one thing's for sure, I know he had a good reason for it."