Unbelievable. I hunch over in my chair in dismay, staring down at my boots and the cold metallic floor. Everything about this is utterlyunbelievable.

It started when Olga’s Taiga raced ahead of the fleet and rammed into an enemy ship. When I found out about it, I was livid; and being livid means my scar tissue burns with aggravation.

I specifically said not to ram into enemy ships if one can help it— that can slow us down. And yet… I clench my fits in anger—Olga went and did it already.

Olga is too reckless—she's far too reckless being in command of a ship of her own. I should’ve given command of the Taiga to someone else who’s more conservative—a less reckless dolt that wouldn’t have to think twice of disobeying a direct order from me. What was Olga thinking?

With a hoarse sigh, I heave myself up and pace around the deck. This stinging makes it hard to clear my head—and it can take a good hour or two before it calms down. It gets hard to think, and in a time like this, it’s hard to keep a clear head commanding these battle-hungry dolts.

Regardless of Olga ramming into the enemy ship—it seemed to be beneficial at least at first. It must’ve been the flagship of this task force since the other Metropol ships didn’t take the initiative of anything. And that just makes me even more frustrated—and as I grit my teeth, my scar tissue stings with pain.

What would Olga have done if she got boarded? What would she have done if her boarding party failed and she was captured? What did she hope to accomplish by ramming into the ship? The rest of the ships under me and Sergi were too far away to capitalize on it. If she failed, it would have doomed us all. If we lose the Taiga we lose our trump card.

And yet… the Federation didn’t do anything at first, but once we intercepted a transmission from a low ranking officer saying she would get them through this perilous situation, I remained cautious.

I thought it was a bluff. Nothing more than an amateur move to hide their true intent—and when they fired off the volley as instructed, I expected them to withdrawal in typical Metropol fashion—the further they are from us the easier it will be to pick us off and whittle us down. Sooner or later they would be able to regroup at Ides and launch a counter-attack, and then the force besieging my brother would envelop us. I would have no choice but to concede defeat.

But… that’s not how it went down, and I stop pacing to look at the map overlay of the Federation formation slipping further and further from us.

It was not a feeble attempt at deception. That was the officer’s genuine purpose—and I was none the wiser. What caught me even more off-guard is the Federation force didn’t turn around and assault us from behind. Similarly, my men circulated fears that they were trying to divert attention to themselves and head for Lübeck.

But the radar operator made no mistake: the Metropol force wasn’t intending to do either. The Federation is, in fact, heading to regroup with their allies at Side Baltit. I’ll hand it to that officer; it wasn’t predictable—they had two ways of doing things—stay and resist until Federation reinforcements arrived or withdrawal. Both would’ve been costly—but more importantly, it would have cost me precious time.

Regardless I doubt they would have the maneuverability needed to turn around and attack from behind. The ships I have under my command aren’t particularly mammoth-sized like the Federation’s ships, it would be no issue adapting to the situation. There is no doubt they would have the edge at first—I would’ve suffered serious losses while my ships turned around, but it would’ve been acceptable—losing time is not.

I sit back into my chair and sink in, reverting to the hunched over-posture I was in, trying to rub my scar tissue to relax it.

I can’t give chase to that retreating force. And I can’t split my force either—I have to march to the formation heading to Ides before it’s too late. I say that, but; a feeling still nags at me: Olga… what am I going to do with her? If she had just kept pace with her escort ships, we would have been able to cut through the battlecruiser line without fear of firing on her. The Metropol ship’s short-range flak guns would’ve only been a minor hindrance, we would have no issue outperforming their slow-firing armaments.

I give my nose bridge a small pinch, wincing from the part of the damaged tissue that runs through it. Before I can deliberate any more on the matters with Olga and Federation maneuvers, I hear a subordinate from a deck below informing me of incoming transmissions from Olga and Sergi. I stand up from my chair and make my way to the railing, which I lean on.

“Very well, put them on display,” I reply wryly, not knowing how I should address Olga between the three of us. A dual projection of Sergi and an enthusiastic Olga are shown on the bridge’s monitors. There is an exchange of chest salutes between the two and my subordinates.

“Madame?” Olga is the first to speak. My grip on the railings tighten, and Sergi seems to pick up on my hesitation; he closes his eyes and makes a slight huff through his nose.

“Olga,” I start, and my tone must have made Olga wince if only slightly, “before I issue you two orders, I want you, Olga, to know that your decision to ram the Federation ship is an act of disobedience.

“You disobeyed a direct order— my order— of avoiding ramming Metropol ships if you can help it. You put yourself and your men in danger—” Olga is dumbfounded, eyes wide in puzzlement, “I will not… I do not wish to punish you, and I hate to do this in front of the men, but please, avoid squandering the Taiga with such reckless behavior. We need to act fast and can’t be doing such risky endeavors.

“You left me unable to fire on the Federation fleet, and as a result, it gave them ample time to organize themselves and catch us off-guard,” I clench my chest and ball my gripping hand into a fist, “but enough of that now. As for what’s next, I want the fleet to move the battlefield to the Metropol detachment heading for Ides—and cut them off from the main force.”

“Should we let the men rest first, Li?” Sergi says a moment after I finish speaking, averting his eyes from Olga all the while. Olga looks a lot less enthusiastic now. Her eyes are similarly averted from us, “also—I believe we should send a detachment to chase after the fleeing Metropol squadron. We might be able to catch up and eliminate them before they can supplement their numbers at Baltit.”

I only shake my head.

“No, it’s too risky,” I begin “we will remain as one contingent and strike at the Ides formation. Although I have played with your idea of sending a forward squadron to engage the fleeing formation, it could potentially end in disaster if our forward squadron is unable to finish it off in time.

"In any case, I've been outplayed by the junior Federation officer. It was rather bold of the woman despite her ship getting rammed by Olga,” Olga winces a bit. Just off-screen I can tell she is rubbing her shoulder at what she did, “if things had gone differently, I have no doubt the whole fleet would’ve been annihilated. But there’s no helping it now. As long as we get the Ides formation neutralized, our rear will be secure, and we can fight the Federation fleet on equal footing.

“If we’re particularly lucky, my brother will sally out from the Baltit —assuming he even has a fleet to speak of—and from there, we should either be successful at compelling a withdrawal of the Metropolitan forces or swiftly annihilate them…

“Oh, before I forget… how long until we can begin engaging the Ides formation?”

“Madame!” An adjutant on the deck below me presents himself to me, “I approximated the distance between the Taiga and the nearest Federation unit heading for Ides, and I believe we can bring the whole fleet to bearing down on them in about two hours!”

I rub my chin in ponder, and a part of the scar tissue that I brush against evokes a stinging sensation, “two hours, you say?” He reaffirms what he said, and I look back at Sergi and the rather quiet Olga. I let out a slight huff through my nose, “Sergi, you asked me if I should let the men rest? Normally, I would say no—but, I will permit about an hour of the fleet to relax— but no more. After that, I am forbidding anyone from taking breaks. The moment we finish off the Metropol squadrons we are moving the battlefield straight to relieve my brother at Baltit.

“Also, Olga,” I turn my attention back to Olga, who flinches a bit but otherwise maintains composure, “you will continue your distress signal tactic. The enemy may be aware now, but it should still confuse their ranks.

“…And I do not wish to reprimand you again, but please refrain from doing anything that will put you and your men in grave risk. You may not survive this time, and I do not want to bear the thought of losing you. Much less letting the enemy slip away and getting overwhelmed by a massed Federation force,” I finish with a chest salute, and Olga is the first to sign off with a look of dejection.

I turn my attention to Sergi, who looks at me with a disapproving frown. “Li, let me ask you a question,” he begins, “do you think you are being too harsh on Olga?”

“Harsh, you say? Well, perhaps…” I turn my back to Sergi and lean against the railing, looking down at my command seat in front of me.

“—I was rather surprised you lashed out at Olga—in front of everyone, no less. Even if it wasn’t a particularly good maneuver on her part, Olga still managed to paralyze the formation’s flagship and thus gave us enough time to buy us enough time to prevent the Federation from unleashing a devastating artillery barrage. I believe you should apologize to her later, she may have prevented us from suffering even greater losses.

“You shouldn’t be too harsh on those who genuinely care for you—even more than genuine, I would say.” And with that, Sergi salutes me and ends the transmission.

“Don’t be too harsh…” I echo the words wryly, before pushing myself away from the railing and seat myself. I cross one leg over the other and prop my head up with an arm.

“I suppose… the man is right.”