The Game Called Revolution - - (free ebook reader for iphone txt) 📗

was over I didn’t have the strength to force her back to our airship. Two—I couldn’t bring myself to kill her because it would have been too painful for our queen.”

Brissot didn’t buy it. “She is a vital member of the enemy’s forces! She would have been a powerful bargaining chip against Leopold II and his coalition of ally nations.”

Roland said, “Calm down, Monsieur Brissot. Jeanne de Fleur has proven herself a more than capable commander of the Ordre de la Tradition. I trust in her judgment.”

The king, perhaps wanting to change the subject, said, “Ahem, where is Monsieur Robespierre? Wasn’t he supposed to be here today?”

Brissot gave a humph! “I haven’t seen him since these knights returned from the Netherlands. Frankly, we’re better off without that spineless cur. All he’s good for is keeping our heels dragged.”

“On that, I think we can all agree,” Roland said.

The knights said nothing. They didn’t trust either the Girondists or the Montagnards. Both factions had been instrumental in stripping the king of both his power and freedom.

Instead, Jeanne said, “I’ve been told the war is not going well.”

“Unfortunately, you heard correctly,” Louis XVI said.

Roland clasped her hands and rested her chin on them. “The coalition has proven better organized than we expected. They have routed our forces in several battles and have gained a solid foothold along our northern borders.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Brissot countered. “We’ll push them back soon enough. Our biggest problem is their airship factory. We have to destroy it before they can build any more like that black airship you faced in the Netherlands.”

“Have you located the factory?” Victor asked.

Roland said, “We’re very close. We should have the location pinned down in a few days. Until then, you knights need to make preparations to move out. Your head engineer has informed us that the Minuit Solaire’s crew is working around the clock to make all the necessary repairs. You should be ready to go by the time we find the factory.”

“Understood,” Jeanne said.

“Know that we have the utmost faith in the Ordre,” Louis XVI said. “We know you can do this.”

“We won’t let you down,” Pierre replied.

 

***

 

The Jacobin monastery, Paris, September 20, 1789 (Infini Calendar), 9:15 a.m.

Maximilien Robespierre sat in the small library of the monastery which the Jacobin Club had recently begun renting in Paris. He was putting the finishing touches on his speech which he would soon deliver to the Assembly.

There was a knock at the door in front of the table he was sitting at, and the Marquis de Sade entered the room. As usual, the Marquis wore a twisted smile on his face.

Robespierre didn’t take his eyes off the paper he had been writing on. “There are other people in this place, you know. You don’t always have to be bothering me.”

The Marquis, however, was undeterred. “Oh, but few of them have the country in the palm of their hands like you do. And—I’m sorry to say—they don’t care much for me. Maybe it’s my reputation for kidnap and rape, hmmm?”

“Probably.”

Robespierre was quickly growing tired of his sociopathic partner in crime. Once the king and queen were dead, he would be able to get rid of the deranged Marquis once and for all. The only reason he had bothered arranging de Sade’s “release” from the Bastille was to acquire his help in planning the overthrow of the Ancien Régime. Unfortunately, their plan to assassinate the royal family back in July had ended in failure thanks to the intervention of the Ordre de la Tradition. Robespierre had underestimated them. That, he vowed, would not happen again.

“I hear those knights are going on another mission soon,” the Marquis said.

Robespierre allowed himself a smile. “Yes, the Assembly is sending them on their most important mission yet. And their last.”

“Oh, you’ve decided to go with my latest suggestion?” de Sade laughed. “Won’t it be wonderful!”

“Wonderful, indeed. I’ve been gathering everything I’ll need to eliminate the king and queen for good. When the knights leave on their mission, I’ll call a special meeting of the Assembly. In addition, I’ve arranged for a special demonstration of the people’s unrest. The royal family’s fate shall be sealed.”

The Marquis clapped his hands playfully. “And then we shall usher in a glorious new era for France! Of course, I’m just in it for the bloodshed.”

You mean I shall usher in a glorious new era for France, Robespierre thought scornfully. You won’t be around to see it, my dear Marquis.

 

***

 

Unknown place, unknown date, unknown time

Everywhere she looked, there was only darkness. It was cold, wherever she was. Cold and empty. No other life existed here. Jeanne had no idea where she was, save that it was someplace she did not want to be. She desperately wanted to be anywhere but here.

Suddenly a bright light shone somewhere above her head. Despite its intensity, it did not illuminate the rest of the void. Perhaps there was nothing else to illuminate.

She shouted, “Who’s there?”

A voice responded, but she couldn’t make it out clearly. Was it male or female? Old or young? Friendly or hostile? She could barely hear it.

Soon…ill come…u must be…eady.

“What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

Your…ncestor…failed. You…need…make…choice.

“Did you say my ancestor? Are you talking about Jeanne d’Arc? Do you know why she didn’t wear an eye patch, even though she was supposed to have passed down the God’s Eye to us?”

…rue form…incomplete…lacked faith.

“Who? Who lacked faith? Was it Jeanne d’Arc?”

Time…draws near…show every…ower of…man… spirit.

Jeanne awoke in her bed. It must have been very early in the morning, as she hadn’t retired until well after midnight and her room was still completely dark.

She thought back on the dream she had just had. If she had understood the voice correctly, it had said that her ancestor, Jeanne d’Arc, had lacked faith and thus failed in some task. But if that were true, what was the task? And how could the legendary Jeanne d’Arc have lacked faith? According to historical records, she had successfully followed God’s instructions and led the French to victory over the English. She even managed to escape certain death by avoiding being burned alive at the stake. What, then, could she have failed at?

The more the current Jeanne thought about it, the less sense it made. Maybe it was just a dream and didn’t mean anything. At any rate, she needed to get back to sleep. There was supposed to be a briefing at the Tuileries in the morning and she wanted to be rested for it.

2

 

 

 

 

The Tuileries, Paris, September 22, 1789 (Infini Calendar), 9:00 a.m.

Jeanne, Pierre, and Victor entered the war room and sat down once again with the king and queen, along with Brissot and Roland. Jeanne found herself still bothered by the dream the previous night, but she managed to push it out of her mind and focus on the meeting.

Brissot said, “Let’s skip the pleasantries and get right down to business. We have found the factory where Leopold II and his coalition are building airships.”

“Where?” Jeanne said.

“Inside a volcano in the Austrian Netherlands called Mt. Erfunden,” Roland said.

Pierre was visibly surprised. “A volcano? Are you kidding me?”

“Not even close,” Brissot replied. “Mt. Erfunden has been dormant for centuries, so that makes it the ideal spot for concealing an airship factory.”

“How do you know this is really where the factory is?” Victor said.

Marie Antoinette said, “We sent a number of scouts into the Austrian Netherlands to find it. And one of them reported seeing smoke coming out of Mt. Erfunden. If the volcano is dormant, that shouldn’t be.”

“Maybe the volcano has become active again,” Pierre suggested.

“That is a possibility,” Roland replied. “However, there is more. In addition, the scout said he saw a small platoon of Austrian troops entering the volcano. Not enough to get the attention of most people, but suspicious nonetheless. Even if they’re not hiding an airship factory in there, there’s still something going on inside that we need to know about. Add in the fact that the volcano is located near the Prussian border, and this is a situation we cannot ignore.”

“We’re sending the Ordre de la Tradition in to investigate. If there really is an airship factory within Mt. Erfunden, shut it down,” Brissot said.

Pierre said quizzically, “I figured you’d want us to capture any airships we found there. You know, take them for France.”

Brissot explained, “Ordinarily, yes. But the place is too far behind enemy lines; you’d never be able to hold it long enough for us to send in enough people to man the enemy vessels. Besides, their operation could be radically different from the Minuit Solaire; we don’t even know if there’s anyone in France that could fly them, to say nothing of whole crews. Just focus on making sure any operational vessels you find don’t stay that way.”

“You’ll be leaving in two days. Please ensure that all your preparations are complete by then,” Roland said.

“Understood,” Jeanne said.

 

 

***

 

The Austrian Netherlands, September 24, 1789 (Infini Calendar) 2:04 p.m.

Jean-Paul de Fleur sat in the motorized carriage as it barreled across the green landscape of the Austrian Netherlands. This particular model of steam-powered carriage was outdated, and for good reason. It was bulky, noisy and produced massive plumes of smoke from the boiler attached to its rear. Any enemy would notice it coming from miles away.

However, in an odd twist of fate, that was exactly why it—along with a dozen others of its make—was being used in this mission. They wanted to be noticed heading towards Mt. Erfunden. They wanted the volcano’s defenders to rush out to engage them. And they wanted the Minuit Solaire to slip in while the enemy was occupied and destroy the airship factory.

The iron carriage hit another bump (going about thirty miles an hour) and Jean-Paul was lifted up a few inches out of his seat. He readjusted the leather strap around his waist and clung to the seat in front of him. Crammed into the carriage with a dozen other soldiers, he couldn’t wait until he was able to get out, which hopefully would be soon.

Jean-Paul had, unbeknownst to his sister Jeanne, insisted on joining this mission. He still bore the wounds from his recent treatment at the hands of Farahilde Johanna and he knew his worrisome sibling would have done everything in her power to stop him. Nevertheless, he couldn’t just lie in bed while she put herself in danger to save France from its enemies. He needed to do his part. And since he ended up being useless in his last mission (what with getting captured and all), he was determined to do everything he could to make this operation a success.

They soon came within a kilometer of the volcano’s base, and that was when the carriage’s driver saw it. “Heads up, people! Here they come, right out of the damn volcano!”

So, the enemy had taken the bait. Jean-Paul just hoped he and his fellow troops could keep them busy while the knights of the Ordre smashed their factory. The French forces only numbered around one hundred, so discretion would definitely be the better part of valor in this battle.

 

***

 

The Austrian Netherlands, September 24, 1789 (Infini Calendar), 2:10 p.m.

The Minuit Solaire flew towards Mt. Erfunden from the east, while the French troops charged the volcano from the southwest. Jeanne hoped the enemy fell for the