Sovereign

"Protests and strikes finally began to calm down. The incidence of violence in major Orlish cities waned as well. The Prime Minister, Alexa Weirlöff welcomed this development as, 'A positive sign for a peaceful election' in a press conference this morning."

- ROCN News

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A fun, tense, or actually, definitely unfun standoff developed between the Junta's troops and the Orlish marines. Face to face, the two groups stood at odds near the bridge.

Behind the convoy, two important officers left an HMLV. It was Colonel Richmeister himself and Commodore Albert Ludendorf. With grim, neutral expressions, the two men briskly walked with much confidence through the Orlish lines.

Albert himself was still agitated inside, the fury at the recent developments irked him greatly.

None of his pleas with Minister Adelaide worked - mainly because the poor woman herself could not do much more. Even his recent call to his little sister, Her Majesty Queen Amelie herself did not have much results either.

Well, except for her little sister almost crying in horror at the news. Turns out, her idealist sister was horrified to find out that almost a million men would be trapped in a city about to turn into a bloodbath.

It was the only thing that lightened the situation for him. At least, that woman cared.

"So what will I say, Commodore?"

"Just tell them that the Mandate of Nations directive requires them to vacate their positions."

He nodded as the two reached the front of their impromptu 'frontline'. The Colonel took a step forward, and so did someone from the Junta. He seemed to be outraged at the presence of the Orlish marines, which resulted in no reaction from the Colonel, who merely gave one order.

"Stand down."

"I am Major Zheng Yu of the Hebei Republican Army." The man spat back. "Who are you to order me on my homeland?"

"I am Colonel Diego Richmeister, 5th Marine Division of the Orlish Marine Corps. I demand you to stand down under the directives of the Mandate of Nations."

The man laughed in response, the troops behind him seemed to turn bitter.

"Is that so Colonel? Pray tell, why should I follow the orders of a traitor like you?"

"Traitor?"

"Why yes, of course! What do you think you are but a traitor? All of you! All of you are traitors to men's cause."

The Colonel and the marines stood silent at such a harsh accusation. It did make much sense, they were serving the Mandate of Nations, and thus, were agents of Pollos' matriarchs.

Their recent actions further solidified such. They had turned back and pushed their fellow men away from the evacuations. One may call them hesitant and excuse such an act with, "They're just following orders."

Yet none of it changed one fact. They had actively abandoned their fellow men.

"Major, I have a question for you." The Colonel replied, his tone still unchanged.

"I'm all ears, Colonel."

"Is it worth it?"

The Major fell silent as he contemplated the question. To fight and bleed for their rights. To fight and kill and destroy their very own homeland - was it worth it?

He glanced subtly at the burning skyline of Ginzhu before him. Ginzhu after all was once a bright city of 8 million. A city that had once been a financial giant of the Empire.

Ironically, Ginzhu too was one of the most progressive cities in the Hebeian Empire. The Countess of Ginzhu had once famously championed a bill of rights for men.

Yet now, the same city was but cinders. A mere month of war, and now, nothing but a shadow of its former self. A hollow husk of death and devastation.

All because men like him had enough.

"Colonel…when will we truly win our rights? Was there really any other way?"

"Major, the truth is, no one has an answer for that question. The only question is - would you relinquish your honor as a man and leave countless women to die a horrible death for mere revenge?"

A bitter smile forced its way onto his face.

"Do we men even have any honor or dignity left?"

"Tattered and pulverized, yes, but doesn't that make the act of preserving what's left…more important?"

The major nodded in deep contemplation. Behind both sides, both troops listened to the exchange in full attention, and so did Albert.

Far as it seemed, they were all men trapped in a cruel circus of despair. The only differences were their nationalities and ideologies. Yet they were one - both of them understood each other.

The Hebeians understood the Orlishmen's intent of saving the trapped women to preserve their honor.

The Orlishmen understood the Hebeians' desire for retribution.

"Colonel…you will leave and relinquish both bridges to us, but you will only have three more days to evacuate the civilians-" He held his tongue, the error caught up on him. Word had already reached him - the MN would not evacuate men.

He nodded.

"The women, I meant."

The Colonel nodded in grim appreciation.

"Then I hope you find salvation from your bloody struggle."

"...Thank you, sir."

What took merely 8 minutes of wait finished. The Major quickly evacuated his men off the bridges. In no time, the engines of the armored column once again rumbled, as the Junta's troops lined up on the side to spectate.

With a quick salute from the Major and a reciprocal one from both Albert and the Colonel, they turned around to the lead tank of the convoy and gave them the go-ahead signal.

In the dark night, they advanced with much gallantry, the tank threads and then the rubber of HMLVs running through the bridge at last.

As they advanced forward, lines of the Junta's troops that left the other side of the bridge greeted them with muted faces. The two advanced in opposite directions, the Junta's troops toward the north side, the Orlish Marines toward the south.

By the time they had crossed it, distant cheers were heard on the other side. Lined upon the downtown highway, behind lines of barricades, sandbags, and barbed wire that the junta placed, were masses of civilians.

The lead tank continued its advance forward until it met the barricades and promptly drove through it, the civilians crossing the highway to meet the disembarking Orlish marines with warm embraces.

Women, young and old, trapped for days rushed and hugged their liberators in tears. Waves and smiles accompanied the convoy as it drove further forward.

Indeed for the civilians, it was a moment of truth.

The cavalry was here.

…

"Mama?" The girl asked as their HMLV drove through the crowds. "Mama?! Mama!"

The driver promptly stopped their vehicle and parked to the side. Oakley immediately rushed down and left the .50 cal unattended. It seemed that the girl had found her mother.

"Yo, she found her mother!"

"Timmy, I know."

With haste, the two disembarked from their HMLV, with Oakley fully opening the door for the girl. Immediately, she ran off toward the direction of the lines of civilians, shouting, "Mama! Mama!" on her merry way.

Naturally, the duo followed her closely, their boots running to catch up with the hasty child.

In no time, she jumped and clung upon one of the awaiting civilians, a woman in her thirties, who lowered herself to embrace her child.

The mother and daughter cried beside the road, as the two finally caught up, both stopping at a good distance, as a smile grew on their faces.

"...Hey Oakley."

"Yeah, Timmy?"

"We're heroes, aren't we."

"You're too proud of yourself."

"I mean…isn't this the reason they called us to sign up?"

"They drafted us to die in the trenches, Timmy."

"Yet we're here."

The two watched as they embraced each other in tears. Somehow, their awful stay in the corps had produced…something nice. Something worthy of being looked up to.

Expected to be a rat that would be a mere fodder in a war, somehow, they were here instead. As gallant liberators. As protectors of civilians. As rescuers from hell.

The two soon approached them, the woman looking up in tears at the two. Oakley kneeled closely to the two.

"Hello ma'am, may I know your name and I.D.?"

"You saved her?"

"We found her crying in a convenience store."

The woman cried further, as she tried to wipe her tears off.

"Yes…I…I'm Countess Xie Jie…I, this city is my domain."

Shock was plastered on the faces of the two. Did they save the very damned girl of the bigshot of the city?

"I…wait what?"

Dear lord, we technically saved a Princess right? Right?

"They caught me…before I could reach the port. Got separated from her, and they brought me here…until you all arrived…" She teared up further as she hugged her child further.

"Thank you, thank you. To all of you…all of you…"

Oakley could not respond in due time, and so he turned to Timmy behind him, who was smiling proudly at their work.

"Just tell her, 'You're Welcome' man."

With a split-second scowl directed at the jerkass, he turned back to the mother and daughter. And with a bright smile…

"You're welcome, ma'am."

"Well, well." The commanding voice of their sergeant prompted both to stand and turn back.

"I see you two are having a little watch of a fuzzy little embrace."

Oakley didn't have a response as he stood rigidly.

"Yes, Sarge. We are."

"Then why are you still fooling around doing nothing? There are hundreds of thousands of civilians out here. There's work to be done. Move!"

With haste, the two quickly scurried off to rejoin their fellow marines, their sergeant watching with a proud smile at the duo as they ran.

"I really do have some good men with me." He muttered before he turned around.

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3-Days Later

Albert watched as the final vessels disembarked from the port. Already, they had begun to wrap up Operation Anchor.

It left a bitter taste in his tongue.

While they had saved millions of girls and women from the city, nearly a million men were still left. The only thing he could do for them was send them mere rations from his fleet and the 5th and 7th Divisions.

Of course, the supplies were for naught. It was more of a bitter, parting gesture before they abandoned them. It would only be a few hours left before both Princess Xue's forces and the Junta resumed their battle for the city.

With the military assets that built up between both sides over the length of the ceasefire, it was clear that the city would be turned into nothing but rubble once both sides assaulted it.

And thus was his final act in the Operation. He walked through the hallways of their makeshift headquarters, then to the gates of the port. There were still Orlish marines and vehicles lined up when he reached his destination, the checkpoint where hundreds of men of Ginzhu were gathered.

He inspected each and every face. Most of them were old, infirm, unhealthy, some thin as bones - most likely starved for a month already.

They all awaited his words.

"I…I apologize to all of you. But this is just the truth for us." No one really watched the proceedings. When the last woman boarded the ships, the last of the media had left in haste.

The only ones who would witness it were these men and the Orlish marines behind him. And so, he freely spoke his mind.

"I have no words of excuses for all of you. No words of comfort. No words that would ask for your forgiveness. Whatever you feel, it is justified…and I would not ask you to accept my apology."

He took a deep breath, as something rose from inside. It almost threatened to spill his tears, yet like all men, none came. Only an expression masked by layers of repression.

"The world does not value you. It does not value us. What could we do…I do not know. But this is the result of it. The world has branded all of you as extremists because you're all men, thus, there is no escape for you. I have no words left, and I won't return. There will be no cavalry for you…that is just the truth, and I hope you all understand it."

The men looked at him with empty expressions, before someone from their ranks approached him, nodding weakly.

"It's alright sir…we're men. We'll…go through this. I hope all of your men will make a merry trip back home."

He stared at the man, his suit ragged and torn.

"You seem familiar, sir."

"CEO of Richun Electronics." A bitter smile grew on his face. "Not even money could buy my way out of here."

Albert nodded in understanding. Indeed, for most men, not even wealth would save them. Many men would try everything to find worth in their society, whether on the corporate ladder or the military.

The end result was the same regardless. Once push came to shove - they were rats.

"Godspeed to you then, sir."

"You too, Commodore…or Prince. I hope your sister is genuine."

Albert was taken aback. Even this far? To another country? In a far continent? Someone…someone looked up at her little sister.

"Thank you, sir."

He nodded, and slowly, the crowd of men, along with him, turned around and began to walk away from the port.

A single thought etched in his mind as he looked down at the road.

I will never forgive myself for this failure of mine. We left these good men to their deaths.

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