Fallen Grace

[Renee Favre]

Ile-Du-Palais

Three Lynxes slowly approached the landing pads of Ile-Du-Palais, their insignias clearly showing that they were from the Gallic Expeditionary Force. One of the fighters slowed down and began to land on one of the pads, while the other two made a turn and slowly left the area again.

“We’ll be heading back to Edinburgh, Maréchal.”
“Oui, you have your orders. I trust you to be able to deal with the Bretonians while I’m absent.”

Valérie Quétineau looked at the huge building while the autopilot finished the landing sequence, she never had a chance to visit that place before and only knew it from pictures. “Impressive.” Valérie thought to herself while she jumped out of the cockpit and noticed some guards standing by, all of them saluted once they had her attention. She replied with a salute and began to move towards Ile-Du-Palais.

“And I still don’t know why I was called. I should be on the battlefield and not here, but on the other hand it’s good to be back on New Paris.”

She stopped in front of the main gate. “And I’ll meet the King, now that will be interesting.” Valérie never really met any of the important members of Gallia’s royalty. It was a different world for her, a world she never really understood. “The royalty won’t win the war, but the soldiers will. Yet only the royalty will be celebrated after victory, and the soldiers won’t be mentioned once the war is over.” She shook her head for a second before she entered the building. “Better to get it done as soon as possible, at least I can think whatever I want.”

It did not take long before she spotted Renée Favre, the King’s Steward. “Ah, Mademoiselle Favre, it’s good to meet you.” Valérie said and walked over to her, she was sort of glad that she was able to find Favre in the entrance hall, she would be lost if she had to search for her in the huge building.

---------------

“It’s been awhile.” Julie spoke, mostly to herself as she wandered down the hall, wearing her typical Royal Navy uniform of white and red, a sword and scabbard hanging from her hip. Her hands behind her back as she slowly looked over the architecture of the palace interior. Remembering her days as the Prince’s Royal Guard capitaine. She smirked slightly, and bit her lower lip as she passed a very familiar room. Stopping briefly she looked inside to see that nothing had actually changed, and sighed lightly once she noticed that the Prince wasn’t around. Slowly, she closed the door before proceeding down the hall to the meeting location.

Due to her knowing shortcuts around the palace, it wasn’t long until she arrived at the location, spotting both Renée Favre, and one of the newest Maréchals, Valérie Quétineau. She slowly made her way over, holding her chin high and proudly as she approached.
“Bonjour...” She said lightly, stopping next to the King’s Steward and giving them both a friendly smile as she looked around the area. “Lovely day we’re having, non?”

---------------

“An intriguing day more like....”, A voice intervened.

Ansel Xavier was walking towards them, looking worse for wear with heavy circles under his eyes. Dressed simply in GRN colors, he seemed harmless. Just a tired man walking to yet another task.

He walked up to the trio and greeted them in turn, almost smiling at Madame Favre, bowing slightly in deference of her rank. Proper etiquette had to be observed sometimes.







---------------

Mathieu Baudin was late. Not that he cared much. He had enough to show for it and the potential gains for Gallia would likely out-do the need to be punctual at the palace. He had the justifications he needed.

He strolled down the corridor towards the room he had been directed to. The steward was an annoyance, in his opinion. The reason he’d been sent to the front likely had a fair amount of her influence behind it. He had brought an extra five Legion tricolore men from the front with him back to the palace... His own men, trusted, whatever that meant. He instructed them to wait at the door and stepped inside with the sort of friendly smile that only the finest actors could dream of faking.

“Bonjour. Apologies for my late arrival, I got a little caught up with business. Such is war.” He paused. “I assume His Majesty demands our presence with good reason, non? The lack of information on the subject is something of some concern, naturally...”

“Baudin.” Xavier greets him with a nod. “I was told he was not in the best of health” he said after a pause.

“Hmm, well... Surely that is of greater concern to his physicians, non? I fail to see how our presence is likely to alleviate whatever ails him.”

Xavier gives him a patient look. “Or it’s likely to mean that he’s well again and able to take direct part in our councils.”

“It would appear that humour is yet again lost on my colleagues.” he muttered, half out-loud.

Xavier made no reply to that, lost in thought.

Valérie simply stayed silent and listened to Xavier and Baudin. It was not in her interest to get involved in a conversation with them.
------------------

Renée Favre waited for the four to arrive. Already there was Maréchal Lafayette, captain of the Chant du Cygne. She waited for them to finish their idle chitchat before breaking it up with a rude cough.
“Bonjour.” The man said.
Ignoring him, Favre looked to the newly arrived four. “The King has requested your presence immediately. We will not keep him waiting.”
Favre turned her back to them and walked towards the ornate doors marking the way to the King’s personal hall. Lafayette merely glared at the back of the woman’s head.
“Arrogant firebrand.” He said under his breath so only the others could hear him.

Favre pushed open the doors. “The Maréchals have arrived, Your Grace.” she said, her voice pitched. “Maréchal Lafayette is here in the stead of Marquise Roux, who is currently at her estate attending to a personal matter of importance.”
Favre stepped aside so the Maréchals could enter the hall. “Go.”

The King of Gallia sat slumped on the ornate Lily Throne, looking pale and tired. He raised his head as Favre spoke, and looked up, raising a hand slowly to acknowledge them and bring them into his hall.

Xavier walked past Favre and into the centre of the cavernous hall, decorated lavishly with
tapestries depicting old Earth history as well as more recent happenings. He stopped in the centre of the ornate fleur de lis carved into the ground, and fell on one knee as custom dictated. The Other Maréchals followed suit, and the King nodded and made a gesture for them to rise.

“What matters ails Adelaide Roux so, that she cannot attend to me?” Charles said, in a deep voice used to giving commands. There was the faintest hint of displeasure in his voice. He let a few moments of complete silence pass before speaking again.

“Her young sister is extremely sick. The Grande Maréchal cannot leave her bedside for the night. She sends her humblest apologies.” Put forth Lafayette.

Charles frowned. “That task can be performed by anyone. I am...disappointed” He said, displeasure evident. He waved a hand around to dispel this topic.

“But, Maréchals. I have been ….a long time away, and I believe you might have questions. I allow you to voice them,” The King said.

“Your Highness.” Valérie began, keeping her tone as polite as possible. “Is it possible to inform us about the reason for why we were called?”

“Let me remind you that I don’t really need a reason, Marechal Quétineau. But as for why you’re here...I’ve been unable to keep my eye on happenings recently, so what I’m looking for is for you to inform me.”

“The war is going well, Bretonia is struggling to defend itself properly, even with the aid it has recently received from Liberty. It will not take long before the rest of its resistance will be eradicated by our forces, that process will require less time once our full force is able to take part in the battle.” Valérie stopped for a moment. “We have also started to intercept their supply convoys behind the frontline, so far our forces have managed to take down a huge number of transports originating from Liberty”, Quétineau said.

Xavier remained silent for now, letting other people speak.

Charles drummed his fingers against the arms of his Throne, listening intently.


“That is what I expected. Tell me more about the threats to us from our own...I have heard my daughter has surfaced in Liberty, Oui?” He said, voice betraying no emotion.

“Oui, that is true. Alice defected, as well as most of the crew from her flagship, the Normandie. We even witnessed her shooting our forces in one of our recent skirmishes. They have sided with the Liberty Navy.”

Favre, in the meanwhile had moved to her customary position, behind and to the left of the Throne, standing. She was listening intently, possibly remembering the conversation.

“It would also appear that Leon Chevalier escaped our grasp and has joined the Princess Alice in Liberty. I would not worry overly about this, as frustrating as it may be. We are perhaps better off without him.” Baudin shrugged in a vaguely noncommittal manner.

“Your opinion is colored, Baudin. The entire Court knows of your little feud with Chevalier” Favre put in.
“He was an useful asset for our forces, it is sort of a waste that he is now against us.” Valérie said. “But even then, it will not have any severe consequences for our efforts.”

“Chevalier is not without his faults. He can be put down if necessary” Xavier said.

“I believe my personal issues with the man are of little consequence. His skills are nothing irreplaceable, much like those of the man who went before him, Aubert Giroux. The important issue is that we have a far more... Unified command structure. Disposing of such individuals, or allowing them to dispose of themselves, holds few negative results for us.” Baudin paused.
“My concern is the somewhat repeated nature of this occurring within the leadership of the Legion Tricolore. Naturally, given my current role, this would be of some importance to me, in ensuring the Legion remains as loyal as it should be. With your leave, I will dedicate some time and resources to internal investigations and recruitment from trusted sources within the Navy.”

The King listened to them carefully, brows furrowed in thought.

“Do so, Baudin. The survival of this organization is now in your hands” He said.

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

Charles continued. “Alice was the most spirited child of mine. I had hopes that she would be able to be a stabilizing influence on Aurelia when her time came. And for her...I personally selected a guard. Leon Chevalier. The two resemble each other in many ways...”

“As I understand, Your Majesty, Chevalier and your daughter are friends. Personal loyalty...” Baudin trailed off.

“I know my children, Baudin. Do not presume.” Charles said, a faint note of danger in his voice. Holding up a hand, he continued.

“They were both spirited, driven individuals...” He clenched a fist, and his expression grew harder, cold... “They’ll both have to die.” He said finally, voice devoid of any kind of empathy.

“I will issue this order as soon as possible.” Valérie replied.

Baudin raised an eyebrow. “We have a number of people who could be placed in advantageous positions to achieve this end, if it is your will.”

Xavier simply nodded, no expression on his face.

“The means to achieve this shall be given to you”, Favre said.

The King nodded at Favre, and continued. “Make it happen, Marechals.” After a brief pause, he continued. “Tell me about our enemies, Bretonia and Liberty. Who are the main individuals driving their hostile campaign against us, and what is your assessment of them?” He asked.

“The Bretonian side is filled with cowards. Their Admirals prefer to send their men into death, while they sit in their command chairs on a battleship, far away from the battle. Admiral Charles Davis and Admiral Firmus Piett. Nothing more than misguided individuals who cannot realize that they are facing the inevitable doom of their nation. I cannot say anything about Queen Carina, it more seems to me that her only purpose is to create hope for her people.”

Baudin cut in. “Of the two admirals, I believe Davis to be the greater military thinker. He occasionally even appears himself on the battlefield, presumably in an effort at presenting himself as a ‘man of the people’. I would suggest making some effort at removing him personally.”

Xavier almost smiled at the mention of Davis. “I’ve beat him on the field at equal odds. He’s not as much of a threat as Baudin makes him out to be.”

“No Bretonian is a threat for us.” Valérie interrupted.

“You misunderstand... Ansel.” Baudin grinned. “You compare a healthy lamb to a weak one. A healthy lamb is still only a lamb, oui?”

Xavier raised an eyebrow at the analogy, and nodded.

“Anyway, let’s move on to Liberty...” Valérie added, nodding to the two of them.

Ansel folded his arms behind his back. “Liberty is a far more substantial danger to us, with a far larger military and a Command structure hardened from their war with Rheinland. Their Fleet Admiral, David Hale has had an excellent track record of success. They’ll be the real threat.”

“... Dependant on the casualties and losses they take in the conflict with Rheinland, of course.” Baudin added.

“...As our own fleet is dependant on the losses we’ll take in Bretonia, Oui?” Favre put in, with a mild, mocking smile.

“Perhaps is Mademoiselle Favre were to look over the casualty reports from operations conducted by those currently assembled in this room, she would find the projections of our losses are low, to put it mildly.” Baudin replied with a mild hint of annoyance.

Xavier nodded. “I’ve been conducting small scale hit and run operations with the intent of conserving our own and whittling them down slowly. We have time. If we apply ourselves correctly, we might even end this Bretonian war with a larger fleet than we started with.”

“It appears that our forces are far more efficient in battle than the Bretonians. It seems they tried to recruit people who have never had the experience of a battle and send them right into their demise. Easy prey, so to say.” Valérie said with a faint smile.

“No great surprise.” Said Mathieu quietly. “The Kusarians did half the work for us. The Bretonians have little depth in their command structure, due to casualties from their previous war. Fresh recruits do not compare to those who have had adequate training.”

Xavier held up a hand to interject. “Bretonia will fall. It is a matter of when, not if. What we need to do is plan this conflict considering what we’ll face next. Which means we start laying the groundwork for our conflict with Liberty now.”

“We can use your...special wing to collect the necessary information.” Valérie said in response to Xavier.

“They’re already on that assignment” Xavier responded curtly.

“What can you tell us of Liberty’s tactical mindset?” Favre questioned.

Xavier smiled, as if something amused him. “...From what I’ve seen, they seem to prefer a capital screen strategy, with fighter classes used for more strategic purposes. Their Capital ships will do most of the heavy lifting. The primary fleet operates fighters mostly, and their officer corps handle the brunt of planning and organizing. They’re fairly adaptable, however.”

King Charles rubbed his chin in thought, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes in thought. After a few silent minutes, he spoke.

“Marechals. Regarding Bretonia... what we need is for their people to cooperate with ours willingly. But...the hand of a conqueror is not easily accepted. With enough time, the people can be placated and convinced of our way of life, but considering Liberty’s belligerence...there is no time.”

He stood from his chair, standing tall and proud.

“Subjugate the people of Bretonia by force. Terror subjugates a people far faster than the natural course of events allow. Their people will work for us, and fuel the Gallic machine. With that added strength, Liberty can be removed, with time.”

His expression grew grim and cold.

“Destroy their will, Marechals. I will not see you fail in this. Deliver me Bretonia. You will not fail me...or will you?”

“Only the weak fail, and Gallia is far away from being called weak.” Valérie simply said.

Xavier nodded, almost smiling. “It shall be done, as you command.”

The King sat back in his chair, and said a few quiet words to Favre.

“The King extends to you the hospitality of his Palace. Make yourselves comfortable, he’ll surely wish to converse with you again. For now, let me escort you to your rooms” Favre said.

The Marechals began shuffling out, Favre walking besides Baudin. A few minutes after they left the throne room...

“I trust you’ll not fail the Legion Tricolore like your predecessors did, Mathieu...” She said, smiling genially. “It would be a shame to see you take the punishment for something that was not your fault.”

“I am not known for failure, Madame Favre, although your tone indicates far more than your words do, non?” Baudin gave a half smile. “I would suggest that when we converse you leave ‘subtle’ hints at the door... With the greatest respect, of course.”

“No doubt, Mathieu. Enjoy your stay.”

Baudin turned on his heel and walked off down a corridor towards the Legion Tricolore quarters in the palace.

---

Steward to King Charles IX of Gallia.