Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Star Wars movies, TV series, books, comics, or games. I don't own Youjo Senki/Tanya the Evil. They all belong to their respective creators and/or copyright owners. I make no money from this story. It's not for sale or rent.

Chapter 2: It is not quiet on the Western Front

=TDD=

Part 1

=TDD=

Republic lines
the Rhine

Tanya hated the rain, loathed the mud and the less said about Veiel, the better. That by itself was an achievement, considering that now she had met the man twice, briefly at that. It didn't help that she knew why they were slithering through the mud like worms – the last thing anyone wanted or needed was for enemy Mages or surviving artillery units to detect them using magic and rain hell upon them, which was one of the few things that could make their situation even worse.

That didn't help Tanya, who now had to suffer the indignity of being dragged like a sack of potatoes by Sergeant Schones and a large, burly soldier from a different unit. For once, she was actually eagerly looking forward to combat, because she had tons of frustration to work through! She looked around resentfully, glaring daggers at everyone who had much less trouble making their way through the ravaged ground. Being unable to see far due to a combination of the pouring rain and that unnatural twilight Veiel used, which was anything but magic, came as a mixed blessing. On one hand, Tanya couldn't see too many people handling the slog much better than she ever could without the aid of her magic, on the other hand, she felt contained, almost claustrophobic, and worst of all, helpless.

She felt like a child being carried and she loathed every damned moment of it!

Eventually, a ripple went through the people in front of her and they froze, some kneeling, others giving hand-signs to those behind them. Tanya strained to see what was the issue while fighting down the instinctive need to call upon her magic and sharpen her senses.

She saw a Stormtrooper appear like a ghost from the twilight, looking like something out of WWII movie, which naturally meant he fit right in this crazy ride. The man silently offered directions using more hand-gestures, then waved them forward. Soon, they moved parallel to a dirt road, which now had more in common with a mud-slide. It was telling that they made better speed trudging in the countryside around it, instead on it. A short time later, Tanya figured out what the brief pause was about. The Mages walked past a group of Stormtroopers busy dragging the bodies of Republican soldiers off the road. Others knelt nearby, scanning for any other obstacles, while a small group of the armored soldiers were busy fiddling with their weapons. Tanya squinted at them and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw them exchanging thick black silencers and examining their submachine guns for any issues.

This wasn't something she had thought about, and even if she did, she might not have seen any meaningful utility to be found, especially with the available technology. Besides, even silenced weapons weren't supposed to be that quiet, right?

The more important question was who had a good idea to introduce them and make them work in the first place. In fact, the more she looked at the Stormtroopers and thought about what she had heard about them, the more they appeared like their namesakes from Earth's World War One. On the contrary, while she was by no means an authority on the subject, she used to be a humble salaryman after all, they gave the impression of Special Forces soldiers. Moderns Special Forces at that.

It was at that moment, it dawned upon Tanya that she might not be the only one from Earth, or at least the future, who had found themselves in this time and place courtesy of Being X. If she wasn't a victim of that bastard, she wouldn't have really entertained the idea and chalked all this to merely an Imperial Officer with foresight, the right ideas, and connections. Given her situation, she had to consider more arcane options. Naturally, this led her mind straight to Colonel Veiel, who had powers that weren't magic as she knew it to exist.

Who or what was that man? Was he merely another victim of Being X like herself, or was he a pawn the bastard used to make her life even more difficult? Of course, those options weren't mutually exclusive…

Tanya grit her teeth. If there was someone else from the future in the military and already causing waves, it would explain why no one paid as much attention to her sensible ideas and papers as she hoped people would! If that was the case, she would have to push herself even harder and shine brighter to be noticed and pulled away from the front! She stared in the darkness, calculating look flashing through her eyes. Could she use Veiel? He did say he had read a few of her papers and if he was from the future, he should appreciate what she was trying to achieve, perhaps an ally. Or he could see her as an obstacle to remove. Was he merely trying to do the same thing and get himself off the front as well, or worse, was he genuinely happy to go throw himself into the fire, like so many of her fellow soldiers appeared to be contrary to all common sense?!

More crawling through the mud followed, all the while, Tanya's mind raced with possibilities, many of them terrible as far as her hopes and dreams went. There was hope in the far end of the tunnel of course, at least as long as she was able to keep her emotions in check and try to see the bright side of the situation. Eventually, the twilight began to slowly disperse. First, Tanya could hear the rain, which showed no hint of abating, then the echo of distant thunder. At first, she was sure it was merely natural one, though soon enough the sound of distant artillery chased it away. It seemed that the diversion Veiel promised was still ongoing. More importantly, there were no enemy shells raining upon them, just the ordinary, cold, sticky, and still very nasty rain.

Needless to say, Tanya was no longer happy about the storm.

=TDD=

Fifteen years old Otto Skorzeny felt pure exhilaration. This was what he wanted, what he lived for! No rotting in a factory for him, even though such jobs were certainly important. Ever since he could remember, he had wanted to be part of the Imperial Military, to protect the Fatherland, no matter what! When rumors of war began surfacing, he moved heaven and earth, begged, lied, did everything he could to enlist. He had been sure that the old NCO handling his case saw right through him, yet the grizzled veteran merely smirked, nodded in understanding, and stamped the necessary papers, declaring him just old enough to be picked up for training. What followed was tough, tougher than the Sergeant warned him about, it was both just like he had imagined it to be, yet so much different and better.

He still wasn't entirely sure how he managed to barely drag himself through the Stormtrooper selection course, which he finished dead on his feet and not entirely aware where he was, yet he somehow passed. All he could remember was Lieutenant-Colonel Veiel staring at him with an odd, satisfied smile, before giving everyone who managed to survive selection an electrifying speech.

What followed was pure hell. Otto had thought that basic training and the selection was hell. Stormtrooper training pushed him to his limits and beyond. Multiple times he was almost ready to quit because he had been convinced he couldn't cut – he had been spent, long before the task at hand was completed, yet every time he found additional reserves and pushed through, even though more than once he ended up all but unconscious from exhaustion.

In the end, Private Otto Skorzeny made it through, if by the skin of his teeth. Afterward? Otto was not only ready for everything, but he found that he excelled at many of the tasks, especially as he bulked up due to the intensive training and great food, not to mention growing like a weed.

Most importantly, the job was damn fun, if perilous!

There was no other way to describe sneaking through no-man's land, infiltrating the enemy defenses, cutting through the razor-wire, and when the artillery barrages moved away from the front, assaulting the Francois' positions close and personal.

He even liked the mud and rain, which while terrible to traverse, ensured that no one noticed them until they were within hand's reach of the enemy trenches. A very distinct crack sounded and over a hundred Stormtroopers threw grenades they had on hand. Before the enemy could fathom what happened, a whole section of their trenches turned into a slaughterhouse.

A number of the grenades were a special blend developed under Colonel Veiel's direction. They caused blinding flashes and deafening roar, however, unless they landed on top of you, they seldom left any permanent damage. However, in the constricted space of trenches, or within a room, the effect was as devastating as a proper grenade – the blasts left anyone caught within their area of effect blind, deaf, and dazzled. In the darkness, even a close-by detonation was enough to blind a machine-gunner, for example, buying precious time to advance and suppress, or properly neutralize a deadly position.

Under the present circumstances? When Otto charged past the last row of razor wire, ran over a buddy, who valiantly threw himself on it, relying on his armor to mitigate any damage, and jumped into the trench, there was no incoming fire. Everyone was either dead, wounded, or disabled for long enough. Skorzeny wasted no time and sprayed the first Republic soldier he saw with short controlled bursts, just like he had been painstakingly trained to use. The Francois fell with a scream, and Otto shot the next one, who blindly waved a bayoneted rifle around. More Stormtroopers jumped into the trench and the Private jerked his weapon up, struggling through racing blood and adrenaline to check his targets before even thinking about pressing the trigger.

He could hear only two machine-guns opening fire, and explosions silenced them both almost immediately. Skorzeny grinned like a maniac. They had their breach and that meant the diversion was working beautifully!

=TDD=

Part 2

=TDD=

Republic lines
the Rhine

It didn't take long for the Republic's artillery to respond. Every cannon within range focused on the perceived assault and went into a rapid-fire mode. Steel and fire rained upon the ravaged land between the trenches. Shells slammed into mud and water, often exploding to diminished, yet still devastating effect. Even in this terrain, the curtain of artillery fire was more than enough to stop any assault cold.

Yet, there were no regiments caught in the open, no massive charge through hell, just units of eager Stormtroopers, who infiltrated and vigorously assaulted the Republic's forward positions, striking at decapitated divisions, which were slow to properly respond. At the same time, far to the north, no one raised an alarm, no calls for artillery or even reports of a probing attack. By the time the Francois' crippled divisions noticed that their lines had been infiltrated and whole companies silently butchered, they had a salient to deal with, not held by Imperial infantry.

When the sun finally rose and the storm began to break, the Imperial artillery spoke in anger. To the south, it covered the retreat of the surviving Stormtroopers, who had achieved their goal. In the north, the shelling punished any probing counter-attack aimed at the salient taken in the wake of General Veiel's infiltration. In the resulting chaos, no one noticed the infiltrators for hours, until a platoon of Francois Aerial Mages flew above them, racing for the front…

Tanya Degurechaff knew nothing of this. All she was aware of was the fact that against all odds, they were still alive and obviously unnoticed. She aimed at the Mages flying above them, her custom-made weapon feeling heavy and awkward without magic flowing through her. One moment, the enemy was barely noticeable against the overcast sky, in the next, the world grew darker and oppressive. Thick purple lighting struck, connecting heaven and earth, swatting Mage after Mage from the air, like birds caught by a raging hurricane. Or perhaps, moths coming too close to open fire was a better analogy, because one after another, the French "horses" blew up, raining sizzling debris all over the muddy Imperials.

It was a localized lightning storm, Tanya realized, and it was in no way natural. As if that wasn't bad enough, she couldn't sense any magic in the air, even if it cracked with so much energy she was sure she could touch it if she tried, something she wisely chose not to attempt. What the hell was Veiel and where did Being X dug him from?!

One of the Republic Mages appeared to be either good or lucky enough to survive the onslaught, something he did through wild maneuvering and a steep dive. It all ended with the Mage yanked out of the air and dragged down screaming, just like Veiel did with that chair. Tanya could see the Francois land right in front of the General, who dragged him up so he could place a hand on the man's forehead. Above them, the lighting storm ended and it quickly became warmer, as if a cold wind no one notices, suddenly ceased.

Tanya could barely hear the Francois speaking rapidly in French in his microphone, no less while struggling with the implications of what she just witnessed.

"Next Phase is a go. First Platoon, 205th Company, launch. Second and Third, launch in ten seconds and pursue." Veiel ordered loud and clear, then grabbed the prisoner's head with both hands and gave it a sharp twist, breaking the man's neck.
Tanya idly counted to ten, then launched, heading after the ragged, fleeing line of First Platoon, wondering if this crazy deception had a prayer of working of if they would end up blown to pieces by enemy artillery. Finally, magic raced through her small frame, giving her the strength to carry all her equipment as if it weighed nothing. She sighed in relief, leveled her flight trajectory and matched speeds so she was barely gaining on the "running" First Platoon.

Magic and adrenaline drained Tanya's weariness away, giving her clarity she hadn't enjoyed ever since the slog in the mud began. She could finally see what Being X was playing at. With something like Veiel around, working like beside her, Tanya had no way to shine brightly enough without using the Type 95 orb and praying to the bastard for salvation! While she was a good Mage, one powerful for her years, she wasn't the kind of powerhouse, who could have the power and mana reserves to accomplish what she just saw Veiel trivially do… without using magic, the bastard, but that was something she wasn't prepared to think about then and there.

Yesterday, she thought she would merely have to push herself even harder to succeed, which was fair enough, even if not pleasant. Doing so would be more dangerous after all.

Today on the other hand? Tanya glowered at the slowly growling dots that were the Mages of First Platoon. She had no choice but to use the Type 95. She had to play her cards just right, do everything she could in order to distinguish herself enough so she could get as far away from Being X's agent as possible! And to do so, Tanya had to pray to that bastard for salvation, otherwise she not only might fail to impress Command enough, she might just die in this blasted wasteland!

Being X was a bastard, she knew that. Now she knew that he was cheating, treacherous bastard too!

Tanya shook her head and grimaced. She was letting her emotions influence her too much, which was a mistake, especially here and now. She drew more mana and extended her senses. Tanya could already sense distant signatures converging upon their positions and the siren song of artillery tracking devices. If there was one good thing about this insane plan, it was the fact that it put the Aerial Mages almost within their own range of the enemy artillery, and this face pursuit, surprisingly enough, allowed them to get into firing position. She grinned, a smile that most certainly didn't belong on the face of someone of her apparent age and took hold of the Type 95.

"Believers, have faith!" Tanya proclaimed on an open channel, so everyone could hear her. Power, pure unlimited power began pouring within her. "Our beloved Lord won't abandon us!" She aimed, seeing not the golden light surrounding her lithe form and shining like a beacon under the dark clouds. "Oh, Lord! Give me the power to smite the enemies of the Fatherland! Lord, give me the strength to strike down the sinners ravaging our fair land!"

At that moment, Tanya didn't really have to think or calculate. She knew what she wanted to happen, so her magic and the Type 95 raced to make it happen. She gently squeezed the trigger and a bulled raced out, surrounded by golden, blazing Artillery Formula. Tanya fired again and again, while First and Second Platoon ended the charade and respectively raced for the flanks to engage the approaching enemy Aerial Mages, while the Third went for the Republic artillery.

Golden light lit up the horizon, consuming everything it touched.

=TDD=

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