I have a thought. Tanya has gotten far too used to this now, jumping out of a transport plane toward the drab ground below. I loathe how even that strange, giddy feeling, as you glide weightlessly through the air after the aircraft disappears from under your feet, now feels like just another part of the job.
Even the parachute on my back feels unfortunately familiar—just another tool of the trade, like a necktie. It’s a rough career, indeed, the way the Imperial Army presses our noses to the grindstone. At the very least…
“Transmit at maximum power. I say again, transmit at maximum power.”
Fuck it all.
I let the first words that come to my mind, largely thought-terminating nonsense, explode from Tanya’s mouth, riding upon the radio waves of the eastern sky toward their intended ears.
“We are the aerial mages of the Empire! No one can stand against us!”
It is just wordplay. The lament of a middle manager, crushed by the impossible task before me, and unable to keep from crying out. It has no meaning. It is just a random assortment of sounds. But, for whatever reason, in the beginning was the word. Yes, that’s right. Words hold intention and soul.
“We are the aerial mages of the Empire! No one can stand against us!”
Joining in the chants of my men, I repeat the phrase for a third time.
“We are the aerial mages of the Empire! No one can stand against us!”
We jump from planes on a massive detour from the front—a blitzkrieg surprise drop, after which all we need to do is hold down the adjacent bridge. Initial resistance is expected to be light. On paper, at least, the job looks easy. Unfortunately, however, it is rarer for things to go as expected in war than not. One of the mages carefully assesses the area, crying out as they pick up a nearby mana signature.
“Enemies! An enemy mage unit is lifting off to intercept!”
There are mana signatures in the sky over our destination. Signatures that do not belong to us.
“Hey, Visha, I thought there weren’t supposed to be any enemies in the area.”
“That’s correct, Colonel. According to prior intel, resistance was supposed to be light.”
“A roundabout way of saying that there is resistance after all.”
When one is accustomed to war, even unexpected attacks can become familiar or, paradoxically, even expected. Both me and my wingman, Visha, are accustomed enough to absurdity to know that if the higher-ups say the coast is clear, it is almost certainly anything but.
As soon as we receive multiple confirmations of enemy mage interception, I toss my parachute in midair and, understanding that we need to scatter our signatures, begin barking orders at my subordinates, who are ditching their own parachutes.
“Intercept!”
Almost as soon as I issue the order, the unit has already formed assault ranks in the air. With the exception of the new recruits, of course, who flounder about at the edges.
Even at night, even mid-drop, any aerial mage who has survived the East this long could pull off such a maneuver even while hungover. Comrades, brothers-in-arms, they form pairs and begin accelerating toward the battle at once.
However, as the very first to jump, I am also the very first to encounter the enemy. Due to this, I naturally find myself bathed in enemy fire. I am highly reluctant to serve as a shield for the new recruits, who have all jumped toward the back. Tanya has no interest in being anyone’s shield.
Unfortunately, that situation can’t be helped. We can’t afford to lose numbers so soon after commencing our operation. As a thank-you card for all the fire I have just received, I activate three simultaneous explosion formulas, tossing them in the direction of the enemy mana signatures. May they enjoy!
“Listen up, men! Crush the opposition. This time, we are the ones with the numbers on our side!”
As I deliver this spiel, the Imperial Army mages begin firing off their own finely honed formulas at their discretion. Although the Federation Army mages managed to lift off quickly, their altitude remains low, which is perfect for us, as we now have the enemy pinned down from above. My fellow attacking mages and I kick off the night’s entertainment—a symphony of battle that rains down upon the enemies’ heads.
Before, the Imperial mages were forced to resist with inferior numbers. Now, although localized, we have secured both an advantage in numbers and altitude. Obviously, we are going to be as ferocious as possible, taking this opportunity to vent all our frustrations.
The Federation Army, of course, does not just sit back and take it. These are mages assigned to the defense of an extremely important base. Mages who scrambled immediately in response to a large-scale airborne assault. They are far from amateurs.
In terms of skill, coordination, and, most of all, command, they are, like us, first-class soldiers. I snort in frustration as I fly through the air.
“Hmph. It looks like the enemy hasn’t been slacking off, either.”
Their movements are almost too polished. They rely entirely on the toughness of their defensive shells as they lay down heavy return fire. They avoid flying in straight lines to minimize opportunities for us to pick them off with optical sniping formulas, while ignoring the explosion formulas we use as suppressing fire. Furthermore, the majority of their return fire—though optical in nature—is scattering fire with little focus on penetration. Classic delaying tactics. Classic and organized.
To make matters worse, their maneuvers seem designed to break through our advance guard and target the new recruits at the rear, making the Federation commander’s intentions plain to see.
“It looks like they’ve got team play in mind. We need to take note. They’ve started testing paired flight. Maximize resistance while emphasizing survivability. Not bad.
“However.” I grin. “They don’t have the experience yet.”
It is unfortunate for the Federation mages.
“Mark all enemies advancing into airspace. They seem to have gotten the wrong idea about what a head-on air collision with aerial mage tactics entails. Let’s teach them that as long as you can maintain numbers and control, it is better to form a line than a point.”
In addition to our advantage in numbers, we also happen to be masters of organized combat maneuvers, to a terrifying degree. Finely honed as instruments of violence under the guidance of a commander well-versed in the now-almost-endangered large-scale suppression tactics of the Rhine front, we stand ahead of the rest of the world. In truth, the only time a large-scale aerial mage battle has ever been carried out was on the Rhine front. Tanya herself cut her teeth on the Rhine.
Oh, the Rhine. As abominable as it was, that experience is now in Tanya’s blood. Had I ever really escaped it? Even now, the days spent sleeping like death itself in the mud of the trenches or crawling out from bunkers on interception runs feel as if they happened only yesterday—or even today.
Hence, in Federation skies, I feel relatively sure of our comparative superiority.
“For better or for worse, the Federation Army mages are disciplined, and their formation is strong. To be blunt, it looks like the Federation Army has raised its standard for mage units. However…”
In this battlefield, at this moment, at least…
“We’ve already paid our enrollment fee to that teacher known as experience—we have paid it in blood. Until they pay a similar fee, they’ve got a long way to go before they reach our level. Those commies are always so keen on addressing disparities. Well, as the adults in the room, let us extend a helping hand!”
It all comes down to one thing. The Federation doesn’t yet understand what a large-scale aerial mage battle really entails. They lack the kind of know-how that the Empire has cribbed from the shoulders of cataclysmic loss. And now, even if they do catch up someday—even if the future is inevitable—they are going to pay the price for what they do not know.
“Just for today, let’s give them an extensive lesson on what they missed out on at the Rhine.”
Yes. For now, the Empire’s experience still takes the day. I chuckle inwardly, half to persuade myself.
“One last time, allow me to demonstrate for the history books why I was once dubbed the Devil of the Rhine.”