April 03rd, 1799

One year had passed since Francis and his friends were called into Obermann's tent, and received their promotion. The man himself was also raised to the rank of major general, and Laupin, elevated to the rank of general, upon his return.

The latter man's daughter —because yes, the long awaited baby turned out to be a girl— was named Laura, after the deceased Duchess.

Francis felt deeply moved by Laupin's tribute to the love of his life, and since finding out about it, came to consider him as something akin to an older brother. Their friendship had never been closer.

Having lost the Suzannets' in the destruction of Alvern, the young commander thought he had once again turned into an orphan, and that he was left completely alone in life. Thank God, this wasn't the case. Camille and his wife took their place by his side, and remained there, strong and proud. They even asked Francis to become little Laura's godfather —an offer which he accepted, merrily—.

In other news, general Bautzen had been sent to Lievre while Laupin was still away, carrying for his wife and baby, to be judged by the republican directory. But midway on his journey to the capital, he was saved from his certain death by a group of royalist farmers, whom had attacked his convoy and set him free. Now, Bautzen was on the run, and no one knew exactly what his next plans were. Would he lay low and settle down in the new republic as an ordinary citizen, with a new name? Or was he already scheming a plan to overthrow the directory? Who knew.

The Duke, however, had a darker fate. He survived Francis' beating, but was locked up for life in the prison of Lancaster. The former gardener considered killing the man before he was sent away to his rusty and dark cell, but quickly came to the realization that a life of humiliation, torture and servitude would be a better punishment for him, than the restful silence of the tomb. And so, Alphonse was jailed, and moved away.

A few months after his enclosure, the Ruhm empire agreed to sign a peace treaty. But the Staeltorn Kingdom still refused to do so, and kept trying to invade their country through the sea. The Vannes Kingdom, however, had forged an alliance with the newborn republican nation itself, and declared war on the Staelians. The Ruhmnians, fearful of losing their power over their own lands, decided to stay out of the conflict for once.

So now, to recapitulate, the main enemies of the revolutionary army —rebranded as the "republican army" after the establishment of the national convention/constitutional assembly— were the Staelians and the remaining royalist farmers, who had scattered around and were creating small uprises everywhere.

While Charlie and Jacques were sent back to the countryside to fight against the latter group, Francis remained near the coast, by the castle of Montpierre, helping to build a harbor and a shipyard on the beach it overlooked.

Whilst doing so, he made many new friends. Commodore Johnson, Squadron Chief Rouge, Vice Admiral Breton, to name a few. He also got to sail on the new ships of the reformed republican navy, and lead an attack against the Staelian fleet in person.

He always said he wanted to become a Jack of All Trades in the armed forces. And now, having been part of the three main branches of it, he truly felt like one. A rider, a soldier, and a sailor. He could be all three, separately and at once, if so required. And that fact earned him a reputation amongst his men, who both feared and revered him in equal measure, besides giving him an impressive amount of medals and ribbons at a young age – most of which he refused to wear in battle, and reserved only for diplomatic events-.

—I'm here to give orders and slay the enemies of our country, not to flaunt my accomplishments before our troops —he'd once said to Laupin, when asked why he kept his uniform bare of any embellishments.

—I understand, but have you considered that maybe your accomplishments might motivate them to fight harder?

—They will fight harder if they see that I'm a common man, just like them, who also wants to go home and rest. They'll keep pushing through their hardships if they know I feel their struggle too, that I comprehend their strife, and that I will stand beside them as they walk through the mud, the smoke and the fire... They don't need to know how great I am. They need to know who I am, and that's it. So I'll wear my epaulettes, and my special saber... But I refuse to put on any medal over my chest.

—And what if I were to tell you that your name is written on the list of candidates that will receive the Republican Cross?

Francis, who was staring at the blackboard in front of him, reading his plans for the afternoon, spun around and faced Camille with a confused expression.

—And what on earth is that?

—The Republican Cross? It will be the highest order of merit of the whole country... The three winners will be announced in May, by the Directory.

—And how does the Directory know I exist?

—Obermann spoke to them about you, and your excellent leadership during the "Storming of Montpierre", as the takeover of this castle is being referred to —Laupin explained, gesturing to the rocky walls around them—.The members of the Directory then asked me to give them more details about your feats, and your career thus far, to corroborate what Obermann said. Which I did... and then, they wrote me back, asking me to share with you the good news: you have been selected as a candidate for the medal... So congratulations, Francis. You deserve this.

The commander took a deep breath in, then out, and shook his head.

—I don't deserve it, though.

—Francis...

—No, I... I don't. My "feats" as you call them, aren't mine. All of the battles I've lead, all of the victories I've achieved, aren't mine... They are ours. We did this. Therefore, this medal is also yours. Its Obermann's. Its Arquette's. Its Jacques', Charlie's... It belongs to all of us. So no... even if I do win this award, even if I receive this order of merit... I still won't wear it.

Laupin shook his head and laughed.

—I can't believe you're real sometimes...

The commander smiled back and walked towards the general.

—I'm as real as it gets, Camille —then patted him on the arm—. Now let's go... Our troops are waiting for us.

---

Their next mission would be a difficult one. With the help of the navy, 8,000 soldiers of the republican army would travel from the mainland to an island near the coast, named Saphir, and then stablish an outpost there. The idea was to expand the line of defense against the Staelians for a few more kilometers, and force them to retreat into open sea.

This strategy had been Francis' idea, and the Vice Admiral of the republican fleet had agreed that his plan was a good one, since it could also help them secure enough open space in the sea to reopen a few of their old trade routes.

—It's a great strategic point to place our outpost, and also, a great landmark for merchants. If we can build a bastion fort and a harbor there, the Staelians will have a much harder time attacking us through these waters. Especially if their ships are constantly being blown to pieces by our fixed cannons.

So, with vice admiral Breton's approval —and army major general Linières as well—, Laupin and Francis put all of their men inside their navy's newly built frigates, and sailed away.

They decided to travel to Saphir during an unbelievably foggy day. That way, it would be harder for the enemy to spot them once they got closer to the island —which of course, had already been taken by some Staelians—.

The republicans fought against the foreigners for hours, relying mostly on cannon fire to subdue them. They had decided to leave the canister shots for the end of the battle, during the afternoon.

When Laupin and Francis realized the Staelians were losing strength, they came up with a landing plan on the spot, to take over the island for good.

While the rest of their fleet continued to attack Novoa beach —were their enemy's forces were concentrated—, Commodore Johnson's frigate —a vessel in which they were in, and carried about 200 republican soldiers of their total of 8000— moved towards Tipton beach.

After approaching the sand, they climbed inside lifeboats and were dropped onto the sea below. Then, rowed towards the shore as quickly as they possibly could, and stepped on the coast, ready to fight to death against their rivals.

This was the first amphibian operation of their newly reformed and rebuilt navy, and it worked better than they thought it would.

They only lost one smaller ship during the attack, and managed to take control over the whole island before the sun set.

Although this was the easy part of the whole operation. Soon, the hard one followed.

........

AN: Here, have a REALLY OLD drawing of Francis, with his oldest design, that was inspired —you guessed it!— by another one of my weird dreams:

And here's this one: