The moon illuminated the canopies of the Bouconne Forest -- the sylvan scene was betrayed by air transports, moving towards a clearing in the forest that was the large border town of Saons. It was in the Bouconne Forest that Ezra I died whilst escaping fascist forces during the Ceroulian Civil War. They hoped to beat a speedy escape to Saons, but they were cornered before that was possible. After a vicious skirmish, the Emperor was slain.

Now the infantry and their transports approached their drop zone, an airfield outside the town. Various officials stood by the hangar, waiting for their commander to drop onto the grassy fields next to the hard runway. Eudes Ballinger was one of the first to touch down on the drop zone. Quick to get out of the chaos of the runway, he bolted out the runway, eventually slowing down to a walk, walking towards the city burghers and police officers congregated in the hangar.

The noise of the jet engines continued to rain down on the drop zone, as the last plane of the airborne tercio settled down. The burghers notified Eudes of a connection -- a woman working with the pro-Ceroulian government ministers in Avergogne, the french speaking region of Holstein. She acted as a human messenger and was a mid-level grunt in the pro-Ceroulian movements of Holstein. She had asked to meet with the incoming Ceroulian forces -- Eudes was selected to meet her in the basement of a cafe within the town’s center.

Eudes stepped down into the bowels of the building, with five soldiers trailing behind him. The woman sat, sipping a coffee while waiting. Eyeing the men coming down the stairs, she yelled and unsheathed her gun, “Are you Coronel Eudes Ballinger?!” Eudes slowed his paces, and told the woman, “Yes, I am Eudes.” As Eudes into the light emanating from the lightbulb, the woman saw the Ceroulian uniform and lowered her gun. “Amelie Colbert, sir.” Eudes nodded and said to her “Madame, we must be on our way, we have a escort ready for you to take you to the city of Lutéce an-”

“Absolutely not!”, remarked Amelie. “I want to go to Borjes and speak to Marie, the Duchess of Avergogne. The higher ups - the men who I sent messages for had a plan. I want to to speak to your Emperor and the Duchess -- the electors and the whole senate!” Eudes did not want to go through the protocols changing plans, that would take time that they didn’t have. “Madame, we should go to Lutéce first, and then seek permission to go to Borjes. If we stay, we waste time.”

Amelie considered Eudes’s plan instead. Eudes’s quick caravan made their way back to the airfield with Amelie, where a bomber found itself on the runway, with jets flying overhead providing aircover. She boarded with 20 soldiers as well. It was around nine PM when the plane left Saons, and it arrived in Lutéce later at midnight.



Meanwhile in Borjes, Julian learned of the change in plan. “Bring me Marie de Lannoy”, said Julian as he sat the parlor of his apartments within the palace of Cadaques. “Maria de Lanoia”, as she was known in the Macean court, was a lady-in-waiting for the Empress, in all frank sense, she was the pretender of a large swath of territory stretching from Hallevel in the North to Avergogne in the south, she had often come into clashes with Julian over the fate of the Duchy of Hallevel, especially after declaring that the duchy would go to his younger son Juan. Julian was not surprised that Marie was one of the conspirators in the larger tomfoolery that was occurring in Holstein.

The guards brought in Marie as she prepared herself for bed - it was eleven at night. “Lanoia”, began Julian, “I didn’t know that you were a high level conspirator in this Avergois secession movement in Holstein.” Marie looked a tad annoyed and flustered. “Yes, Your Majesty?” Julian stood up from his large chair, dressed in his nightly sleepwear, “What did you expect of it? Become independent of me and just expect none of us in Valoria to interfere? The Helvans would have run you over, the Hardenburghians interfered, and I would have coaxed you to become an Electress. At this point, the Helvans have left you cornered.” Marie was confused “How did you figure out, Your Majesty?” Julian responded, “My tercio told me. Your informant, Amelie told me. An independence movement in Holstein is fatal when your are alone in the world, Marie." Marie had Julian figured out. "I know I’m cornered. Despite our...hatred for each other, Your Majesty, I think a life of an Electress would be very nice. However, I would like to some terms that we can agree to.” Marie was not interested in being a Hallevel lackey, despite her position in the line of succession. Marie could go unmarried, and have one her cousins inherit, but she was not very close to any them. The House of Lannoy had scattered to the far corners of the earth, some lived in Hardenburgh, in Helvany, in New Hallevel, in Saint Denis, and other places. None produced anyone of note that people that Marie prefered for the throne of the Duchy. “I would like for Avergogne to its own army seperate of the Imperial centered on Auvernia, Ophuissa, and Greater Macea. In addition, I would like for Your Majesty to revoke your hold on the Duchy of Hallevel and for it to return to the Duchy of Avergogne as it was in 1342. Your Majesty will be able to keep the the counties in the northern reaches of Hallevel.” Julian expected these terms anyway. “And what about a marriage, Marie?” Marie hesitated to answer. Here Julian would trap her into marrying the Imperial family. “Why not this, Marie. We will cede the Duchy of Hallevel to my cousin, Guillén and and you will marry him.” Marie was taken aback. “I won’t let you have the duchy while I or you are alive, Marie. Your son can have it. I give you my word.” Julian and Marie continued to haggle over the Duchy of Hallevel until they reached a consensus.

“Now what do we do, Your Majesty?” Julian walked to his seat and sat in his large chair again, and motioned at the chair opposite his. Marie soon took a seat and Julian responded. “The Electors approved a mobilization of 150,000 men into Avergogne yesterday. The first twenty thousand paratroopers landed on the borderlands last night. A friendly city, Saons, was taken. We await the capture of another friendly city, Auxerre. From there the rest will arrive by tomorrow and we propose that the nation of Holstein be divided amongst the Alesians and the Helvan speaking populations. If Helvany budges, you become the Duchess of Avergogne. If not, we fight a war. A global war.”