I lead a battalion of mages—a manageable enough size. But while the core is the 203rd, it is still a heterogeneous team with members pulled from various places. This portion requires special attention. It is all part of being a manager, but from my point of view, that job feels particularly cumbersome at the moment. I am not pleased to have more work placed upon my plate.
In the end, managers must forever struggle to make ends meet.
That said, doing so is our job; and as it is my job, I lament as I lift off into the sky how terrible it is to solve so many problems on my own—until I am greeted by an unexpected surprise.
“Attention all active units deployed in this airspace. This is CP. I say again: this is CP. We are now providing flight control. Please confirm our identification code.”
What is this? I freeze for a moment. Flight control? But from where? Based on what my orb’s library function indicates, this voice belongs to a friendly force. Yet how can they be providing control from deep in enemy territory? Barely daring to believe it could be true, I check the wireless identification code and raise my eyebrow at what I find.
“CP? I’ve received your identification code. Are you sure this is correct?”
After all, the code is for Rhine Control—the same code we used long ago in the West. Is the code still valid? And where is it coming from without equipment?
“This is Rhine Control to all aerial mage units. I hope everyone is doing all right out there, both the old faces and the new. Thanks to a generous donation from the Federation’s Second Area Army Command, Rhine Control is holding a reunion!”
Of course! Now I understand.
“Rhine Control, this is Salamander 01. Nice to hear from you again. I hope there will be champagne and cookies involved!”
“This is CP to the Monster in Fairy’s Clothing. Nice to hear your voice! It looks like the weather is great out there again! Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, might creep in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time, but as for today, why not rejoice?”
This is a familiar back-and-forth, meaningless words strung together to match a code. The fellow on the line seems used to it, likely a veteran. Perhaps even from the early days of the Rhine front. A friend who is so trustworthy that, if this turns out to just be an artful impersonation of an imperial on the part of the Federation Army, I would have no choice but to begin doubting every signal officer in the Imperial Army by tomorrow.
“If there are more things than are dreamt of in Heaven and Earth, today must be one of those days! The night is long that never finds the day, I believe!”
I smirked in response to the smooth broadcasts from this foul-mouthed radio jockey. Most air traffic controllers seem intent on never making anyone feel anything at all, but a real professional knows how to have a good time.
It is the cheerfulness of desperation when all else is lost… A kind of refreshing professionalism that throws everything to the wind. A very different person than I am, but after spending enough time on the battlefield, it is hard not to give such a person their due.
“I respect their resolve and applaud their professionalism—each of us, in our own way. Now then, we are mages of the Empire. Does any hero dare oppose us?”
My true feelings are more along the lines of, “When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.” Taking my lessons from the great Shakespeare, I would rather lament that the hour we are forced to play upon this stage is utterly wretched. But this reunion in the sky, at least, is turning out as lively as can be.
“Rhine Control, you dog, this is Pioneer 02. I never thought we’d bump into each other out here. I guess no one’s managed to kill you yet.”
“Pioneer 02, this is Rhine Control. Death’s gotta come sooner or later; might as well enjoy ourselves while we can!”
The men laughed over the radio.
They must be providing traffic control for the other chokepoints as well. That would mean that CP is now handling orders for three whole divisions. Despite the load involved, they sure do seem to like to talk.
For now, however, I shift my attention.
“All battalion members! Good news. It seems we have ground control support! Let’s do things the way we did back at the Rhine!”
As a manager, I can now offload some of this workload onto control instead of handling it all myself. That alone will make a massive difference in the effort required. The truth is, having control here to guide us will make our task significantly easier.
Perhaps that is why my adjutant flies up close as we wait for the enemy, a slightly bemused look upon her face. “It’s…been a long time since things have gone this smoothly for us.”
✦ ✦ ✦
