The Game Called Revolution, - [ebook reader 8 inch .txt] 📗

God’s Eye. But, of course, none of them did. They were each missing something, be it opportunity, motivation, strength or resolve. You, Jeanne de Fleur, have all those. All you have to do is remind the world of the power of the human spirit.”

“How do I do that?”

“Very soon you will have the opportunity. You will know when it arrives. First, though, you will have to face your own trials. Be strong, and you will get through it. Do not allow yourself to be slain by your despair.”

“I still don’t—”

“I’m sorry, Mademoiselle, but we are out of time. You must return to your friends and complete your mission. Farewell!”

He waved goodbye as the white space grew brighter and overtook her consciousness.

6

 

 

 

 

“Commander! Jeanne de Fleur! Wake up!”

Someone was shaking her thoroughly. She opened her eyes; it was Pierre. Not only him, but the bridge crew of the Minuit Solaire were standing over her with various expressions of concern on their faces.

She was about to speak, but then realized her head was throbbing. She felt where the pain was concentrated, and when she removed her hand she found a modest amount of blood on it. “What happened?”

Pierre replied, “We were hit by a steam cannon and we crashed. Your seat belt failed and you were thrown to the deck. Thank the Lord you’re still with us.”

“Heh. I knew she’d make it,” Victor grinned.

“We need to get out of here,” Pierre said.

With his help, Jeanne managed to stand up. She looked around the shattered remains of the bridge and decided the best exit would be through the jagged hole where the canopy window used to be. She then felt a sense of déjà vu; this was too much like the crash of the royal family’s airship, except (sadly) there had been no lake to cushion their landing this time.

 

 

 

***

 

The Austrian Netherlands, September 24, 1789 (Infini Calendar), 2:30 p.m.

Jeanne, along with the bridge crew, managed to escape the wreckage of the Minuit Solaire. Counting the knights, there were only twelve survivors of the crash: Jeanne, Pierre, Victor, the two bridge operators, Celeste and six of her fellow engineers.

“Oh, milady!” Celeste shouted upon seeing her idol alive. “I’m so glad to see you unharmed!”

Jeanne may not have been exactly ‘unharmed,’ but she could move under her own power, and that was good enough. Even better, they had landed in a dense forest near the base of Mt. Erfunden, which gave them sufficient cover for the now; the enemy wouldn’t be able to get any steam cannons in here any time soon.

“What’s the plan now?” Pierre asked as they huddled around the wrecked airship.

Jeanne curtly answered, “Same as it always was: get inside the volcano and destroy any airships we find.” She turned to the nine noncombatant members of the group. “You all need to stay hidden within this forest. Once we’re done in the volcano, we’ll return for you.”

The engineers and bridge crew started to protest, but she made it clear they would only get in the knights’ way if they came along. They reluctantly acquiesced, and the knights headed off towards Mt. Erfunden.

 

***

 

National Assembly headquarters, Paris, September 24, 1789 (Infini Calendar), 2:35 p.m.

Maximilien Robespierre took the podium in front of the gathered Assembly. He had called this emergency session in order to make his case against the monarchy.

This was the day for which he had long been waiting; his chance to finally get rid of the royal family and solidify the Assembly’s hold over France. The attempt on Louis XVI’s life a few months ago had ended in failure and possibly would have meant Robespierre’s defeat if not for the king giving into the Girondists and declaring war on Austria only weeks later. A disastrous invasion of the Austrian Netherlands ended up working in Robespierre’s favor, assuring this moment would come.

“My brothers and sisters assembled here today, we can wait no longer! We must abolish the monarchy once and for all.” The audience responded with hesitant murmurs. They clearly weren’t sure if his extreme proposal was necessary, but it was. He would convince them of that. “I understand your reluctance to take this admittedly drastic step, but it is necessary.

“Look at what has happened during the reign of Louis XVI. He has—under the guidance of his wife and our queen, Marie Antoinette—undertaken projects which our country could not possibly afford. He involved us in the American war of independence. He had great flying ships built to satisfy his own ego. Do you know what these ventures cost us?”

He went on to list the exact costs of both France’s involvement in the American war of independence, as well as the creation of the airships, not just monetarily but in loss of life as well. He made sure to mention the brave French souls who had died needlessly during said ventures.

He then explained how these endeavors had plunged the country into crippling debt and driven inflation to an all-time high. “Our already-downtrodden citizens can barely buy a loaf of bread. They have lost faith in their government, and as a result they were led to storm the Bastille and the Palace of Versailles in a single day back in July.” Of course, he neglected to mention that he had had a hand in those incidents; it was better for everyone if they didn’t know. “And how did our king respond to that crisis? By attempting to flee the country! To abandon his own people. Is this the action of a trustworthy ruler? Certainly not.

“King Louis XVI was—as you all know—subsequently apprehended in northern France with his loyal subordinates in the Ordre de la Tradition. He had to be brought back to Paris by force, and he has been sequestered here ever since because he cannot be trusted not to attempt flight again if given the chance.

“However, even here he has not been able to stop causing trouble for our country. We mistakenly allowed him to keep his power to declare war. He listened to the Girondists and declared war on Austria, plunging us into yet another endeavor we cannot afford.

“I have heard the people speaking in the streets; they know we cannot survive as a nation with our current rulers, and they are calling for the immediate execution of the king and queen.”

This was greeted by members of the Assembly shouting their surprise at this declaration. Surely, they said, it wouldn’t have to come to that. Surely the royal family could be spared.

“Regretfully,” he continued, “that’s impossible. Even if we let them go peacefully, they would still exist as symbols of the Ancien Régime, and those loyal to them would still fight for their cause. The only sure way to unite France is to completely destroy the monarchy and establish a new republic with ourselves in control.”

This elicited even more vocal objections from the Assembly. They began to question Robespierre’s very sanity. They’ll change their tune in a moment, assuming my mob does what I paid them to.

Suddenly, a messenger burst into the assembly hall. “It’s a riot!”

“You must be joking!” Robespierre declared, feigning surprise.

“There is a large group of people storming the Tuilleries! They’re demanding the heads of Our Majesties!”

 

***

 

The Austrian Netherlands, September 24, 1789 (Infini Calendar), 2:40 p.m.

Jean-Paul de Fleur cut through another couple of enemies with his dual sabers. The Austrians had disabled the steam carriages he and his force had come in on with their cannons; he had just barely managed to get out of his carriage before it exploded and sent him to his maker ahead of schedule. Ever since then he had been dodging Austrian bullets and slashing the Austrians with ruthless efficiency.

There was little doubt the odds were hardly in the French force’s favor. After all, they were outnumbered almost two-to-one. However, that could also be seen as an ironic blessing; it meant the enemy definitely had something to hide within Mt. Erfunden, and Jean-Paul de Fleur and his comrades were on the right track.

It wasn’t long before the enemy realized who they should be targeting. As Jean-Paul dispatched one after another, more and more began pressing in on him. They fired their wind rifles at him, but his swiftness far exceeded their aim. He found himself very glad that his physicality had not diminished too much during his time with Farahilde Johanna, his sadistic—yet still attractive—captor and member of the Austrian royal family. She had been a real chienne, yet Jean-Paul was glad his sister Jeanne had spared her life. That undoubtedly helped prevent further deterioration of France’s relationship with Austria.

Suddenly one of his allies called out, “Sir! Behind you!”

He turned around to see an Austrian soldier lunging at him. This wasn’t just any green recruit; Jean-Paul could tell by his speed and the way he held his sword that he was a seasoned fighter. Jean-Paul didn’t have time to counter his attack.

The attack, though, never came. A saber abruptly burst through the soldier’s chest, and he fell to the ground.

Standing in his place was a French officer. He was short in stature, and didn’t strike Jean-Paul as a dangerous man, but based on what he had just done to a veteran soldier, he had to be.

“Are you all right, Colonel?” he asked.

“Uh…fine, I suppose,” Jean-Paul said before quickly cutting down another Austrian. “I didn’t know we had any soldiers the caliber of yourself in this battle. What is your name?”

The short man swiftly stabbed an enemy before answering. “Napoléon, sir. Second Lieutenant Napoléon Bonaparte.”

They continued like this, fighting enemies and conversing at the same time.

Jean-Paul said, “You’ve got some real skills, Napoléon.”

“Thank you, sir. You are not so bad yourself.”

Jean-Paul laughed. “Keep this up and you’ll make general some day.”

“Ha! I have no intention of stopping there.”

“What, you want to become king?”

Napoléon said slyly, “Perhaps.”

“Best of luck to you,” Jean-Paul chuckled. “You’re going to need it.”

“You insult me, sir. I have no need for luck, as you can plainly see.”

“Cutting down garden-variety troops is one thing; displacing the monarchy is something else entirely.”

“Nevertheless, a man of my ambition cannot be satisfied until he reaches the heavens.”

“No man ever reached such heights without a lot of luck.”

“So you say.”

“I’m glad you heard me, Monsieur Napoléon. This battle is a noisy affair.”

“It should quiet down once we kill all the enemies, Colonel de Fleur.”

“That’s a sound strategy!”

7

 

 

 

 

The Austrian Netherlands, September 24, 1789 (Infini Calendar), 2:50 p.m.

In the woods on the other side of Mt. Erfunden, several plumes of orange smoke began to rise in different places on the outskirts. This was because Jeanne had ordered the non-combatant members of her crew to light smoke tubes they had managed to salvage from the Minuit Solaire. She told them to light the tubes in different spots and then get away as fast as they could. Meanwhile, the knights lit their own smoke tube at the edge of the forest closest to the base of Mt. Erfunden, which was about half a kilometer away.

As Jeanne, Pierre and Victor stood behind the cloud of orange smoke billowing out of the tube they had placed in the ground, a thunderous explosion erupted on another side of the forest.

“Looks like they fell for it,” Victor said.

Pierre concurred. “I’d say you’re right. I just hope the others didn’t get caught up in it.”

Jeanne shared his concern, but didn’t express it verbally. Celeste and the others were just as much members of the Ordre