Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Senior Is in Great Form

Page (1/3)

Lieutenant Colonel Eleanor Bonaparte was in excellent spirits—not merely good spirits, but positively radiant.

That was probably because, at the tender age of twenty-five, she had taken command of all the defenses of Toulon and more than three thousand soldiers, and was now responsible for deciding the fate and fortune of the city’s seven hundred thousand inhabitants. It had left her glowing with pride.

To celebrate, Eleanor decided to work late. She spent the entire night inspecting the defenses, monitoring enemy movements, and contacting the supply stations on the outskirts. By now, she had been awake for a full twenty-four hours.

You may wonder how a chief of staff who had only arrived six months earlier had somehow become the supreme commander. The answer was simple. Colonel Hull, the commanding officer, had gone on vacation the previous month. Lieutenant Colonel Hamm, the deputy commander, had “suddenly” developed acute gastric ulcers three days ago and had then “accidentally” broken his little finger on the way to the hospital. He was currently recuperating there. Thus, after some discussion, everyone decided that Toulon’s only “moon-dweller”—Miss Bonaparte, who was theoretically there merely to polish her credentials—should formally take over the city’s entire defense.

Miss Eleanor neither feigned modesty nor recited any poetry. She accepted her new post with perfect composure.

“Either way, it’s better that I do it myself than let those groundhogs make a mess of things,” Eleanor had explained to Major Dorset.

The latter commanded Toulon’s armored grenadiers, a force of three hundred men. They were the only elite unit in all of New Yumen whose entire complement was equipped with AS-56 Dragoon powered armor. What was more, they were bona fide marines—“Marine Gorillas,” as they were commonly known. In the military’s hierarchy of contempt, they ranked far, far above the “trash of the garrison.”

If Eleanor wanted to control Toulon, she had to win these men over.

Fortunately, Major Dorset treated the chief of staff with reasonable respect. This had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he had once served as the security chief for Eleanor’s father, Admiral Karon Bonaparte.

Absolutely nothing!

“But whatever the case, the enemy has already assembled an army of more than a million. Satellite and drone surveillance have confirmed it. With reinforcements gradually returning from the supply stations outside the city, we have only a little over three thousand men within Toulon. And we do not even know whether reinforcements from the Outer Ring Fleet can arrive in time… We are going to face a hard battle!”

Major Dorset, forty years old that year, spoke with all the gravity and prudence of a seasoned officer. Eleanor, however, thought it was all nonsense. Still, he had been one of her father’s men. When she was little, she had called him Uncle Louis, and he had called her Little Miss. Out of courtesy, she supposed she ought to give him some face.

“Just a little over a million primitives. And who knows how many of them are old, infirm, women, or children merely filling out the numbers. You understand how primitive warfare works.”

“Even a million pigs become a flood when they charge! Besides, the intelligence reports already told us that they have firearms and armored vehicles… The drones just spotted them establishing positions on Archi Heights Six outside the city. They must be building artillery emplacements! We cannot yet determine what models they have, but if they are heavy siege guns, I have no idea how long the shield over Toulon Harbor can hold.”

Eleanor nodded. “At least the intelligence department has finally done something useful… Heh. More than a million sandfolk gathered from every direction and formed a vast army before remembering to report it. Their commanding officer deserves to be shot for that alone.”

“Er, Lieutenant Han Yong-nam, the head of the intelligence department, was executed by you only yesterday…”

Eleanor pretended not to hear him. She reached out with one finger and irritably twisted the ponytail draped over her shoulder, then asked casually, “What about Yuli…? No word from any of the supply stations that lost contact?”

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

Dorset knew exactly what the young lady wanted to ask. After a moment’s hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, “No. Also… the satellite scan report that just came in confirms that Supply Station Twelve has been completely destroyed. Its personnel should have successfully broken out.”

The major’s attempted reassurance did little to help. Eleanor grew even more irritable, turned around, and strode away on her long, elegant legs.

“Where are you going? Governor Yamadera said he wanted to see you.”

“Tell him I’m waiting for him on the parade ground.”

A dozen minutes later, Governor Yamadera came hurrying onto the parade ground. The short, stout Japanese man, already in his fifties, was clearly no athlete; he was sweating profusely by the time he arrived. Only then did he discover that every “senior officer” above the rank of captain was already present.

In full view of them all, Miss Eleanor was fiddling with an AS-56 all-terrain combat power suit.

The youngest officer present was roughly ten years older than the chief of staff. Yet as they watched this “little girl” smile while handling firearms with a murderous air, every one of them stood as silent as a frightened cicada.

This madwoman isn’t planning to execute me by firing squad from that power suit, is she?

The governor gave an awkward laugh twice, then could not resist pulling out a handkerchief to wipe away his sweat. In Eleanor’s presence, he genuinely could not put on the airs of a governor. Her education, ability, and background were certainly part of it. More importantly, Eleanor was an officer appointed by the Supreme Command of the Commonwealth, a naval lieutenant colonel directly subordinate to the Space Fleet. She was paid by the Defense Council, and was therefore in an entirely different league from the “garrison trash” appointed by the governor’s office.

Economic dependence determines one’s place in life! That was not something Mr. Lu Xun had said. It was something Teacher Li had taught us.

“…Well, Lieutenant Colonel Bonaparte. Whatever we have to discuss, perhaps we should do so in private?”

“Let’s discuss it here, Governor. As you can see, I am mentally slow and occupied with military affairs. Apart from matters of military intelligence, I truly have no attention to spare for anything else. Since everyone is here, if there is something to say, we may as well speak freely.”

Governor Yamadera hesitated for almost a full minute. During that time, Eleanor had already begun preparing to polish and wax the power suit.

“Lieutenant Colonel, can Toulon really be defended?” the governor finally asked.

“That is not for me to say. You can ask them.” Eleanor fiddled with the barrel mounted on the power suit. This was no defective weapon issued to the garrison, but standard Marine equipment: a nine-millimeter Vulcan cannon.

The officers swallowed nervously.

The major at their head, a dark-skinned man who looked the most soldierly of the lot, snapped to attention and saluted. “Under the wise leadership of Commander Bonaparte and Governor Yamadera, the city’s defenses will be impregnable!”

The governor noticed that he had placed “Commander Bonaparte” before “Governor Yamadera.” He nearly fainted on the spot. Major Sanga, after all, was the commander of Toulon’s garrison—a position the governor himself had appointed him to.

“Lieutenant Colonel, what I mean is… The sandfolk have overwhelming numbers. We, er, there is really no need for us to make a stand here! There are still two merchant ships in the spaceport. We can leave while there is still time. We must take advantage of the opportunity while we can! I heard the sandfolk are setting up artillery positions outside. Once they establish their anti-aircraft defenses, we will not be able to get away.”

The governor actually knew that the sandfolk were setting up artillery? Eleanor glanced at the officers, who immediately lowered their heads.

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

Very well. No matter how the chief of staff had won everyone’s allegiance through her extraordinary personal charm—more accurately, through threats, intimidation, and coercion—it had been too little time for her to truly brainwash these worldly old veterans, each harboring his own agenda.

“Lieutenant Colonel, let us retreat. You are the commander. Is it not your duty to preserve our fighting strength?”

“You have given me a new understanding of military command.” Eleanor smiled and nodded. “But if we retreat, what will happen to the more than six hundred thousand civilians in this city? What about the seven hundred thousand Commonwealth citizens of New Yumen?”

“Well, that cannot be helped. Besides, after all these years, the sandfolk are no longer uncivilized savages. We can resolve this through diplomacy. May the Spirit of the Universe protect them. Surely they will come to no harm.”

“You have given me a new understanding of diplomacy and faith as well.” Eleanor smiled and shook her head. “In any case, a soldier’s duty tells me that I cannot flee from this place. But this is now a war zone, and you are a civilian official, Governor. Naturally, you may leave. I will not stop you—and I have no authority to stop you.”

Me? How am I supposed to run? If I flee on my own, how am I supposed to find someone else to take the blame? Do you think I am asking you to flee with me because you are pretty? It is because you are the military commander. If we flee together, I can say that I was “acting in full confidence in the military commander’s judgment.” I mean, that we “retreated” together.

You are the daughter of a powerful family and a top graduate of the Defense University. At worst, they will put you in cold storage for a few years, and then you will be fine. But I am different! If I am conclusively branded as having “fled in the face of the enemy,” losing my post will be the least of my problems. Can you not spare a thought for a child of an ordinary family who clawed his way up to this position through his own efforts?

Governor Yamadera could not, of course, say any of that aloud. He carefully considered his words and was about to continue when two soldiers dragged a second lieutenant onto the parade ground.

The governor froze, bewildered. A moment later, however, he recognized the lieutenant’s face, and his expression changed to one of utter shock.

“Second Lieutenant Al Cruz?” Eleanor asked casually, continuing to fiddle with the weaponry mounted on the power suit.

The second lieutenant, a man in his early thirties, was practically scared into a puddle of mud. He trembled violently as he looked at Miss Bonaparte, his lips stammering soundlessly. Then he turned desperately toward the governor, who had begun sweating again.

“Tell me this. It has now been three full days since headquarters issued the order for reinforcements, yet not a single soldier from Supply Station Twelve has arrived. So why is it that you, who were assigned there, and your airship, just happen to be here in Toulon?”

Major Dorset cast Eleanor a glance, then continued staring straight ahead, pretending to be a statue that could hear nothing.

“I—I—your subordinate—I—” After repeating himself like a broken recording for half a minute, Lieutenant Cruz finally remembered what he was supposed to say. “I—I had to make a living! One load of spices earns me five thousand! That is everything, truly, every bit of it—I am willing to surrender it all! Please, Commander, I beg you! I have a family! I have children! I have three children to support… Sob, sob… Governor Yamadera, save me! Save me!”

The short, stout governor suddenly bellowed, completely drowning out Cruz’s pleas.

“Lieutenant Colonel, I believe we should display the indomitable courage of humanity and continue resisting! We must never compromise with primitive natives. That is an internationally recognized principle!”

Page (3/3)