“Heavy combat engagements between the combined MN fleet and the North Hebeian Navy have been reported in the East Hebeian Sea. A massive aerial battle resulted in at least fourteen MN air losses and twenty-two CFN air losses. An Asanaian Guided-Missile Destroyer, the IAN Kirishima was also reportedly struck by a torpedo during the brief morning battle. It was the only recorded surface loss from both sides. Both fleets however have so far refrained from commiting to pitch battle, with the MN fleet instead opting to continue cruise and ballistic missile strikes instead against land targets, supporting the rapidly advancing MN troops to Ginzhu.”

  - Geopol Press

  +++

  West Orland

  Duchy of Rimwurz

  November Palace

  January 2, 2026

  “So they fled from the battlefield?”

  The question from Amelie’s lips went unanswered for a few seconds. The Queen leaned a bit closer to the phone in her ears, as she waited for the reply. On the other line, Admiral George Halberd breathed out deeply, until he confirmed the answer to her question.

  “We were unable to press them into the pitched battle that we were hoping for. We’re going to continue trying, but our fleet is already slowly losing steam for a naval engagement due to their lowered cruise missile stocks.”

  “Is that so? But isn’t this an advantage?” Amelie curiously asked, silently tapping her fingers on her desk. “If they do not want to attack our fleet, then we’re free to bombard Ginzhu on our terms. I’ve also heard that we have complete and effective control over the airspace in the battle area.”

  “Yes. I can confirm that. Still, this is disappointing. We’ve fired three volleys on their fleet. Cruise missile volleys. They intercepted all of them. We’ve also sent three strike sorties from the Cuirassier and Rebenslof throughout the day…but…”

  “They’ve been repulsed?”

  “Yeah. They forced us back. Mainly because of the appearance of the DA-22 fighters from North Hebei. They can carry the Jiangan III air-to-air missiles. It seems that they all have powerful active-seeker radars mounted on them, and they outrange our best missiles. Too risky.”

  “How are the North Hebeians producing planes better than us?” Amelie gritted her teeth. “That’s impossible. Don’t we have technological supremacy over them? Are you telling me that our LF-20Cs cannot compete with these ‘DA-22’ fighters?”

  “No. But these are fairly new designs produced in two of their northern advanced factories. They’re not stealth aircraft either, they just have a reduced radar cross-section. Four-point five generation designs is what I’ll estimate them to be. Capable, yes, but we’ve dispatched four of them at the cost of not a single LF-20C.”

  “Then why haven’t we pressed an attack?”

  “They still have three squadrons of the bastards active in the battle area. While they cannot fight our LF-20Cs and LF-20As toe-to-toe, they can seriously threaten us with a few losses, especially with those Jiangan III missiles. It’s the closest to a direct counter that the rest of the CFN has against us. So we’re going to suffer losses if we hadn’t backed out. And, according to your policy…one lost squadron is going to be unacceptable.”

  “O-of course it’s unacceptable. I need all LF-20s after this operation in Orland. Those planes don’t grow on trees.”

  “Exactly. Hence why I followed your policy and held on to our strike mission. Do you change your mind?”

  “No…”

  Admiral Halberd waited for a few more seconds as Amelie parsed her thoughts. LF-20s were way too much of a valuable resource for her. Even a squadron or two of lost planes would be a massive temporary blow to her war effort. Since she didn’t expect any credible opposition, she gave a policy that would make her commanders more cautious at deploying them.

  However, I’ve heard that at times they deploy them anyway for some of the very dangerous missions out there. She placed her gloved hand on her chin, then she leaned back on her chair. So what difference does this make?

  “Alright. I’m removing my policy about limiting LF-20 losses. But I don’t want to lose all of them.”

  “Of course. We’re not going to lose all of them, Your Majesty.”

  “Can we even still press on the attack though?”

  “That depends on the enemy. We’re holding our position to bait them out. If they don't want to play though, as you’ve said, we’ll just take the win. Though, yeah…we won't achieve the full victory that we expected. Wiping out the North Hebeian Navy will be out of the table in that scenario.”

  “Can we launch a deep strike instead then?”

  “Do you want to lose your entire air fleet assigned to this mission?”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Nope.”

  “Then we can’t.”

  “Alright…” Amelie sighed. “On the other hand, how’s Albrecht doing?”

  “Your brother’s doing fine. He’s in his element. Commanding at the frontline and all. I talked to him earlier, he seems fairly excited.”

  “I refuse to believe that he is a battle junkie, Admiral.”

  “You still do that at this point?”

  “I just…I refuse…”

  “Well, that’s your prerogative.”

  “But…at the same time, please tell him that he should be careful and he needs to come back or else,” Amelie’s voice turned softer, almost begging. “Because he just won’t answer any calls I give him.”

  “Of course he won’t. He’s in battle.”

  “Yet he answers yours?”

  “Well, I’m his direct superior. Besides, I bet that talking to you just makes him more nervous. Being reminded of home when you’re fighting life and death isn’t exactly a great thing.”

  “...I suppose you’re right.”

  “Anyhow, I’ll take note of that message. I’ll relay it to him once things calm down a bit. Have a good evening, Your Majesty.”

  “Have a good evening too, Admiral.”

  Amelie’s face sagged on her hand after she lowered her phone to the desk. There was a lot of good news on the ground, yes, but there was also a lot of bad news. Apparently, the casualties had already reached three to four thousand in total.

  It must be a hard battle down there. She breathed in and out deeply. And I’m just here sitting.

  She looked briefly at Nia's already sleeping form. Her secretary had practically overworked herself at doing today’s tasks, so she requested to take a nap break. They were overloaded with requests and forms both from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Days like this always ended up with the two women utterly drained and down.

  Amelie stood up from her seat and grabbed a blanket from one of the closets near her. She went straight behind Nia and placed the blanket on her. Her friend stirred a bit, but Amelie merely patted her hair. Then, Amelie looked at the clock. It was already seven in the evening.

  We still have a few hours to go.

  Amelie stretched a bit, and then she went for her room’s heater, raising it a bit. The winter cold outside was already turning quite extreme, which surprised Amelie, considering Rimwurz’s usual temperate climate. This meant that the situation in the rest of the world’s various frontlines must be worse, considering the fact that most battles were being fought in the northern latitudes.

  It’s now the third year of this war. Amelie felt her eyes slightly tearing up as she looked out her window. Yet we’re still nowhere close to victory.

  +++

  January 3, 2026

  A rapid, annoying tune blared out beside Amelie’s eardrum. She stirred and refused to respond to it for a few seconds, but each continuous loop pushed the message clearer—she had to wake up. Groggily, she raised her head out of her desk to turn off her phone’s alarm. Then, she held her face in her hand, utterly irritated by the lack of sleep she had gone through.

  “Agh…I forgot to go to my room again,” Amelie groaned. Her face felt like it had a red pressure mark on it, and her left arm felt awkwardly numb considering she rested her face on it. Worse of all, she felt way, way too cold. “Is the heater out?”

  Amelie looked at Nia’s workstation. She wasn’t there. Indeed, when Nia tapped out of her duties back at eleven PM, Amelie stubbornly continued working. She must have fallen asleep while reading reports midway through the morning.

  Her stomach grumbled.

  She stood up to check her face on the body-length mirror of her room. As was expected, she looked horrendous, with her messy face and messy hair. She briefly grabbed her handkerchief to at least wipe her face and clean it up. Then she gave her hair a brief comb so it wouldn’t be so unsightly.

  Fixing her clothes, Amelie gave one last look to herself. She’d need to walk from her office to her chamber after all to fully fix herself.

  I…also need to pee.

  Amelie turned slightly red. Someone began knocking on her door, and she already knew who it was. It was William. He briefly looked at Amelie when he opened the door, then he went in and closed it behind him. He seemed to be holding various files again, most likely for the morning report.

  “You seem like you haven’t left this room since yesterday,” William said. “Fell asleep on duty again?”

  “Yeah. I had way too much stuff to finish reading and checking. I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

  “Unfortunate. Well, I’m just going to leave these files here then. You should go fix yourself and eat first. It’s not so urgent anyway.”

  “Do you have a rundown at least?”

  “Well, nothing really out of the ordinary. Just casualty figures. We’ve also advanced pretty decently through Ginzhu. Our troops on the ground have achieved ninety percent of their outlined goals that we expect them to take today.”

  Amelie smiled a bit.

  “That’s good. How’s our Orlish troops performing?”

  “Fairly stellar and standard. The KDUs, marines, and the singular light mech brigade we sent are doing wonders in the frontline. We’re practically leading most of the pincers going through the Ginzhu province. With air supremacy, they’re advancing largely unopposed.”

  “So no organized counterattacks yet?”

  “None.”

  Amelie nodded. She went for her coat that was placed on her chair. Then, she placed it over her shoulder to at least defend herself a bit from the cold. William placed his files on her desk, then he followed Amelie out of her office.

  Soon, the two were walking briskly through the halls of the November Palace, discussing the current situation on the front a bit more. After William finished his reports about a few incidents in the Free Confederation, Amelie turned to him.

  “Actually, what about you?” Amelie asked. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

  “Nope. I’ll have one at the diner. Then I’ll drive to the OPM headquarters afterward. Should be quick. I need to talk to General Albrecht and a few officers too. Just standard planning and stuff.”

  “I see…” Amelie then stopped. “In that case, will you have breakfast with me?”

  “Sure. Fix yourself first though. You look like a dead woman walking.”

  “Shut up.”

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