Chương 34: Captain

For the second time in five minutes, I found myself gaping. The actual Emperor of France, Napoleon, was standing not ten meters from me. The face I had seen so much in portraits and on coins was right here in the flesh, and he looked, well, surprisingly normal. Then, Napoleon looked our way, pointed, and asked one of his aides a question. The aide consulted some papers and whispered something back. Napoleon smiled and started walking toward us.

I wasn't sure what kind of bow to make, so I followed suit with Juliette and the others, who bowed their heads and shoulders deeply in respect. As the Emperor approached, I saw the guards around him tense up, scrambling to form a tight protective perimeter. They looked nervous, their hands twitching on the hilts of their swords and the stocks of their muskets. I guessed they knew we were time loopers and didn't trust us much, but Napoleon himself seemed completely relaxed.

"Ah, the new Thomas Thomas time loopers," Napoleon said, offering us a brisk, confident nod.

"Yes, Your Majesty," said Juliette, dipping into a flawless, deep curtsey.

"Excellent," Napoleon said crisply.

"This skirmish ahead of us may seem small, but do not be deceived. Every clash on these waters is a pivotal moment for the Empire's glory. Wars are won by soldiers, but history is secured by time loopers. I am counting on your unique talents to ensure our victory." I kept my head down. Napoleon then moved on, much to the visible relief of his personal guard. We waited a few moments for him to gain some distance before we finally dared to raise our heads.

"He is trouble, that one," Juliette remarked in a low voice.

"Really?" I asked.

"He makes his soldiers believe he is some kind of war god," she explained.

"He makes them feel that every minor skirmish is a legendary battle that will be written about in history books. Because of that, his men will gladly die for him."

"As a good commander should," Victor pointed out.

"And to be fair, Napoleon almost always wins."" Almost," added Juliette. Another guard approached us.

"Thomas Thomas Contractors?" he inquired.

"That's us," said Juliette.

"Come with me," he instructed.

"The Marshal will see you now." We followed the guard. Victor leaned in and whispered to me, "We are going to see Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier. He is highly important here. He manages the land forces, coordinates all of the Emperor's orders, and is the head of time looper affairs." We were ushered into a small but accommodating office. Marshal Berthier, a stern-looking man with a brilliant military coat, sat rigidly behind a heavy oak desk.

He was currently engrossed in reading a long piece of parchment, meticulously looking it over as we waited. A few guards flanked the room, and to my absolute delight, standing near the door was the magnificent specimen of a man, Gaston.

"Welcome," the Marshal began, peering at us over his papers.

"You are... the Thomas Thomas Contractor. Three time loopers, and a time looper assistant... with combat experience?" He looked directly at Victor.

"Yes, sir," Victor said confidently.

"I participated in the Battle of Austerlitz and the Battle of Wagram. In the first, I was a Sergeant, and in the second, I already operated as a time looper assistant."

"Very good," the Marshal nodded.

"And also... it says here you have an English mouse with you?" Roger poked his head out of James's pocket.

"Indeed, sir," Roger squeaked in crisp British accent.

"Although I am primarily here for translation and advisory duties rather than frontline combat, I do possess a fair share of battlefield experience."

"I see," the Marshal nodded to the English mouse. Was this normal? It seemed normal to the Marshal, and none of the guards even blinked. Why was an English mouse talking about combat experience to French Marshal considered normal?!

"Very well," the Marshal continued, shifting his gaze to me.

"And you are the new time looper, with no experience?"

"Well, sir, I—" Juliette cut me off with a sharp elbow to the ribs.

"That is correct, sir," she supplied. Hey! I did have combat experience! I had been in a shootout just this morning, and a shootout was definitely combat! Was it not?

"According to standard procedure," the Marshal stated briskly, "we supply each time looper, regardless of experience, with a dedicated ten-man special squad, which includes a seasoned time loop assistant to serve as lieutenant. You will each be assigned highly distinct operational tasks."

"But sir," Juliette started, "this is Drizella's first loop. Also, she has no prior experience in war. To leave her alone in a squad will be—""I understand, but this is our policy," Marshal Berthier interrupted firmly.

"Time loopers are scarce and incredibly expensive. We cannot waste more than one in a single squad doing a single mission. Do not worry; she will have a highly capable time loop assistant at her disposal to show her the ropes. Furthermore, the soldiers in these special squads are already experienced in working with your kind."

"I see," said Juliette, looking obviously worried.

"That being said," the Marshal continued, looking right at me, "we still expect results. As I mentioned, we are paying a fortune for your services."

"Don't worry, sir," I said with utter confidence.

"I will show you... results." So I would be left alone with a bunch of soldiers? Good. I didn't need Juliette to hold my hand.

"Quite so," said the Marshal. He then outlined our separate fronts.

"Victor, though you are not a time looper, you will be assigned a squad to assist Juliette. You two will join one of our frigates. Your objective is to help the crew board enemy ships. Your primary target is to eliminate enemy time loopers. Your secondary goal is to sink enemy vessels and provide B. M. P. for any ships you destroy." The Marshal leaned forward.

"Your absolute main priority is the British ship, the HMS Naiad, commanded by Captain Philip Carteret. This ship has been taunting the Emperor's fleet for the entire loop. We must be the absolute best at sinking the Naiad and her accompanying frigates, despite the fact that she has her own time loopers on board. In the last cycle, that ship must not stay above water at any cost."

"Yes, sir," Juliette answered.

"And your... English man," the Marshal said, looking at James and furrowing his brows at a document.

"It says here he is an expert assassin. Well, we have a very special mission for him." The Marshal nodded to a guard, who promptly led James and Roger away. So James was an assassin! I didn't know that!

"As for the new one," the Marshal said, his eyes locking onto me.

"You will be assigned to a squad in the 19th Infantry Regiment, stationed on the shore." Thank Jove!

"The Emperor always rides out to the coast to personally inspect the flotilla," the Marshal explained.

"He stays near the coastal artillery batteries with his Imperial Guard. Naturally, enemy time looper squads already know the Emperor is within reach and will attempt to assassinate him."

"But why would time loopers want to assassinate him?" I asked.

"I mean, they know it's a time loop. He'll just come back."

"There are many reasons," the Marshal explained patiently.

"They might try to figure out the B. M. P. in case the Emperor inspects the fleet during the final cycle. They might also suspect the Emperor is a time looper himself, meaning killing him would be permanent. And the third reason is simply humiliation and provocation. Believe me, it works wonders. They have managed to kill him twice in previous cycles. Even though they couldn't confirm it, he was furious. I didn't hear the end of it for many loops!" The Marshal straightened his posture.

"So, this is your mission. You will be embedded with a squad stationed near the shoreline. Your first priority is to protect His Majesty and prevent any assassination attempts. Your secondary priority is to capture or kill the enemy time loopers, or extract information about them by interrogating their troops. You are expected to report to your camp each cycle by the evening of the first day of the cycle, so you will be ready for active duty at first light of the second day." I nodded. That was simple enough.

Catch enemy time looper. Don't let the enemy kill the Emperor. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"Gaston will take you to your squad," the Marshal concluded, "and supply you with the necessary details. Dismissed." Going with Gaston? Yippee! Gaston gestured toward the door, and I eagerly followed him out of the office. Was I really going to be in charge of a squad? I suddenly thought. That would be... so weird. Like, I'm their commander, and they have to obey every order I give! And some of the soldiers might be cute, I suspected as much!

"Let's head to the camp," Gaston said warmly.

"It's not far. I'm sure you have many questions, and I'll be happy to answer what I can." I did have many questions, in fact.

"So, how long have you been married?" Gaston raised an eyebrow at the sudden question but then smiled softly.

"Even a simple question like that isn't easy to answer," he said quietly.

"Since my wife is not a time looper, we experience the passage of time very differently."

"So for you," I said, intrigued, "the marriage has been longer?"

"For time loopers, there are two ways to measure time," he explained.

"There is 'real time' or calendar time. And then there is the time we actually experience, which we call 'subjective time.' To my wife, we have been married for four years. But for me, it has been almost twenty years. This... this can sometimes be very difficult."

"Oh, I see." I hadn't even remotely thought about a situation like that. I was mostly concerned about not getting married at all! But...

"Four years... turns into twenty? How can that be?"

"It's simple if you participate in most time loops," he said.

"There is an average of four time loops each year. Each loop has exactly 112 cycles. The cycle length varies, but it averages around four days. Do the math, and it gives you almost six subjective years for every one real year." So if we do this for a couple dozen years... what would that be? Three hundred years?!

"I want to stop being a time looper," Gaston admitted, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"After the war is over, I will find a beautiful place in the countryside and just spend my days peacefully with my wife."

"Wouldn't you miss it?" I asked.

"The excitement... and all that?"

"Oh, I've had plenty of excitement," he chuckled.

"Enough for a lifetime. Enough for several lifetimes, maybe. But being a time looper means being a soldier, whether for the Emperor or for a faction like yours. I've been fighting for many years, and I'm tired of it." He paused, his expression softening.

"I'm not saying I'm not glad I became one. I changed a lot because of it, and for the better. To be completely honest, I wouldn't have had the slightest chance of marrying my wife the way I was before!"

"Were you a jerk?" I asked, smiling. It was hard to picture this calm and gentle man as anything else. Gaston laughed out loud.

"'Jerk' wouldn't cover half of it. I was an absolute scoundrel," he admitted.

"I had a lot of growing up to do, and I'm glad I did." I wondered if he used to be like me—just... well, beautiful. I really liked talking to Gaston; he was surprisingly pleasant company.

"So how did you become a time looper, anyway?" I asked.

"Were you scratched by a Liasion cat too?"

"What? No." He looked at me funny.

"Near my hometown, there was a castle, and... I met this fairy. A lot happened, and I did many things I am not proud of. I think… I prefer not to talk about it." So I guess that means... he killed a fairy? But before he was in a time loop? Oh, I really wanted to know...

"Looks like we're here," Gaston announced. I hadn't been looking anywhere except at Gaston, so I completely missed the fact that we were approaching a massive military encampment. Gaston exchanged a few quick words and a salute with the sentry at the gate, and we were waved through. What I saw when we passed the camp walls left me in absolute shock. I had expected a field of canvas tents, but the Camp was essentially a massive wooden city! It was easily the size of my entire hometown.

There were endless rows of sturdy wooden cabins, neatly laid-out streets, and even small gardens. The air was filled with the sounds of thousands of men: squads running through training drills, hammers hitting anvils, and carts rolling over dirt paths.

"Where are all the tents?" I asked in amazement.

"In 1805, this place was heavily populated, with more than 150, 000 soldiers waiting to cross the Channel for the invasion of England," Gaston explained.

"But the invasion never came. Now, only a tenth of those men remain. They have been stationed here for years, waiting for an order that has been postponed again and again. That's why they built these semi-permanent wooden cabins. Frankly, many of them are bored and growing lazy; they're just waiting for a war that will probably never reach these shores."

"So the soldiers here are lazy..." I trailed off, scanning the rows of cabins.

"Anyway, are we going to see my squad now?"

"Not quite yet," he smiled, looking me over.

"We still need to put you in a uniform." I looked down at my lovely day dress. Army uniforms were... for men. Gaston walked purposefully toward a long cabin that served as a quartermaster's store, and I hurried after him. I looked around in distress at the soldiers passing by, trying to imagine how their clothes would look on me. They weren't all dressed the same. I saw line infantrymen in dark blue coats with stark white lapels, and others in the green coats of the light infantry.

I did spot a woman from time to time, carrying drinks or selling food to the soldiers. They wore military-style jackets over a skirt, with loose trousers underneath. Those might be fine... When Gaston saw my horrified expression, he stopped and smiled sympathetically.

"You will just look like a normal soldier," he assured me.

"If the enemy sees a female combatant, they might immediately suspect you are a time looper and target you." Oh. He meant I would purposefully dress as a male soldier. So not even a skirt! Seeing me still visibly hesitant, he sighed and added, "Besides, you might look quite cute in them."

"Well, if I must wear them," I said, trying to hide a sudden blush. But even if the enemy thinks of me as a man, my squad will know I'm a woman. That will still be so weird.

"Your squad is used to having time loopers as commanders. They've done this for years," Gaston said, guessing my thoughts.

"Many of those time loopers have been female. It will be nothing new to them. They will mostly think of you as an all-knowing witch, and they will respect your decisions. That being said, you will still need to win their loyalty and respect. Being a commander is not a simple matter." I nodded. Yes, I'll need the soldiers to like me... somehow. We entered the quartermaster's cabin. Gaston gestured to me and asked the old soldier behind the desk for a light infantry uniform in my size.

The older soldier looked surprised, but only for a moment, before disappearing into a back room. He quickly returned with a neatly folded uniform. He pointed me toward a small dressing room. I got changed and stared at myself in the mirror. I gasped. I was a soldier. I looked like a man. But, I dare say... a relatively cute one! When I stepped out, Gaston smiled widely.

"Yes," he said.

"You do look cute in them." I smiled uncontrollably to myself. I highly suspected Gaston was a bit of a flirt. Then, Gaston pulled out a dark blue patch adorned with yellow chevron stripes and pinned it to my sleeve.

"Your rank insignia," he explained.

"Time loopers are automatically granted the rank of Sergeant-Major. Even though you are a private contractor and not technically in the regular army, this high rank allows you freedom of operation and the use of army resources as needed. The soldiers will address you as 'Captain,' even though a captain normally commands a whole company. It just works differently with time loopers."

"Oh, I see," Captain, was it?

"Come, let's go find your squad." I followed him back outside. There were so many wooden cabins here—endless rows stretching out as far as the eye could see.

"Now, you must remember," Gaston said, gesturing to a massive section of the camp.

"All the cabins in this area belong to the 19th Regiment. Regiments mostly consist of Battalions, which are made up of Companies. However, you belong to the special 13th Company, which operates independently outside the standard battalion structure. The 13th Company consists of various squads and platoons reserved for special missions. They are stationed right over here." He pointed to an area that looked exactly like all the rest.

We walked a bit further until we reached a wooden barracks that was conveniently located next to a massive, split oak tree and a mossy boulder.

"This is the cabin of the 4th Squad, which has been assigned to you. Think you can remember it?" 19th Regiment, 13th Company, 4th Squad... It was just three numbers. I wasn't that stupid. Plus, the giant tree was a good landmark.

"Good," said Gaston.

"I will leave you to your soldiers, but before that, let me tell you a word about your mission. Specifically, about locating the enemy time loopers."

"Yes, that part does sound hard," I admitted.

"It is," said Gaston.

"You need to consider that there is a good chance you won't engage anyone for a couple of cycles. And when there is an assassination attempt, it's highly unlikely the time looper himself will be the one taking the risk. Your best method is to catch and interrogate his men."

"Yes, the Marshal mentioned that," I said hesitantly.

"Is it expected of me to... er..."

"Torture? Oh, no," Gaston said.

"That is barbaric, and we only resort to it when there is absolutely no other choice. Luckily, you have magical means for that." Gaston reached into his coat pocket and handed me a small, chalky white piece of bone.

"A truth bone," he said.

"Grind it up and put it in your prisoner's drink. They will be physically incapable of speaking anything but the truth for an hour or so." This was... scary magic.

"Couldn't they just choose to stay quiet?" I asked.

"Oh, no," he shook his head.

"I've seen that stuff work. The urge to spill everything they know is overwhelming, like trying to cough up a bone lodged in their throat. It's honestly unnerving to watch. So, if you capture any enemy soldiers, this is your ticket to finding out their time looper's plans a few cycles ahead of time."

"I see."

"Well, your lieutenant already knows the rest of the operational details," Gaston said.

"As I mentioned, this was their assignment before you even arrived, so they know the lay of the land. Good luck."

"Ah... thank you," I mumbled. Gaston then turned and walked away. Wait. Wasn't he going to introduce me? Was I just supposed to barge in? This was... a bit scary. Oh, stop it, I told myself. I was shot, stabbed, and confronted a house-sized demon. Walking into a room of soldiers is nothing! I opened the door and gaped. The inside of the barracks was pure chaos. A dozen unruly men were scattered around. Some were half-naked. Four of them were sitting on bunks violently gambling over a game of cards.

Three men were viciously wrestling on the dusty floorboards, and one of them looked like he was genuinely being choked to death. And the smell! Oh, it was a heavy, suffocating stench of unwashed men, and cheap tobacco smoke. It was horrible! I took a deep breath and stepped inside.

"My name is Drizella, and I'm your new—" No one listened. Oh... they were completely ignoring me already! Why was this so deeply embarrassing?! Wait. I need to look at this differently. These men were under my command. Which meant... they were basically my servants. Yes, that was it! They had to obey me, did they not? Putting it in those terms made it simple. They were just a bunch of lazy servants, and I definitely knew how to address lazy servants.

"STOP THAT THIS INSTANT!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs. Silence. The room froze, and every single eye locked onto me. The man being choked wheezed loudly.

"Your new Captain is here!" I shouted, glaring at them.

"Behave yourselves!" There was a second of utter bewilderment. And then, something magical happened. In an instant, they exploded into motion. The half-naked ones practically magically threw their coats on, the gamblers dropped their cards, and the wrestlers untangled themselves. Within three seconds, they were all standing at attention in a perfectly straight line, staring straight ahead, chests puffed out. Oh... these were actual soldiers after all!

Shoot, I couldn't just pretend they were servants if they acted like this! Now I was embarrassed all over again and had absolutely no idea what to say! Next cycle, I am definitely bringing Cinderella here! It wasn't exactly the romantic pony ride and musket heist I had originally envisioned for us, but this would be a lot more fun with her around. And besides, I was dying to see her in a military uniform.