The Generalik has reached the base safely. We are ready to depart.
Svetlana
Good. We depart as soon as all units are ready.
Runner
Yes, Your High Excellency.
Anatoliy
......
Svetlana
Anatoliy.
Svetlana
I can tell by your footsteps.
Anatoliy
You can tell it was me, yet you do not even turn. Do you not want to see my face anymore?
Svetlana
I must say that I am disappointed by your actions in Zelgrad.
Svetlana
Why did you not obey my order to retreat?
Anatoliy
That's what I want to ask you... Mother.
Anatoliy
Why did you abandon Zelgrad? Why did you leave it to the rebels, when you had promised me the city?
Svetlana
We have gained everything we need from Project Zero. The city itself is worthless.
Svetlana
Our priority is to evacuate with the fruits of the research.
Anatoliy
Unbelievable... they were telling the truth...
Anatoliy
You have betrayed Ursus.
Svetlana
I'm protecting the First Army, and you.
Svetlana
Grypherburg is the epicenter of strife and intrigue right now. With the fruits of Project Zero in our hands, we'd be putting a target on our backs if we took a side.
Svetlana
I had hoped that you would understand this.
Anatoliy
Aren't we glorious soldiers of Ursus? Aren't we fighting for the glory of Ursus?
Anatoliy
I swore that I would bring down every last one of the empire's foes!
Svetlana
Enough. You're not in a good place. I'll have someone take over your mission. Go to your room and get some rest.
Svetlana
There will come a day when I leave everything to you, Anatoliy... I only hope that when that day comes, you will not be as juvenile as you are today.
Anatoliy
I don't understand... I don't even know who I am, Mother.
Anatoliy
I'm not a glorious soldier of Ursus, I'm not an Infected, I'm not a pure-blood noble, I'm not even sure if I'm alive...
Svetlana
Enough! No more such talk—
Anatoliy
Why... why do you despise me so...?
Anatoliy
Is it because I'm the son of a failure?
Svetlana
...No, Anatoliy, whatever the reasons I might be angry with you, your blood is not one of them.
Svetlana
This is the one thing that you never had any choice in.
<p=1>Assault Ship Volnov, Command Center</>Assault Ship Volnov, Command Center
<p=2> Jan 23, 1102, 00:32</> Jan 23, 1102, 00:32
Scioppa
Our previous campaigns were like picnics compared to the pace we're making right now.
Scioppa
This is what a high-speed battleship is like... max speed is usually not achievable in combat scenarios, but now—
Scioppa
Let's see what you can do.
<p=2>120km from frigate, 30km/h</>120km from frigate, 30km/h
Comms Voice
Unknown assault ship...
Comms Voice
This is Fourth Army Command. Identify yourself.
Comms Voice
...It might be the Volnov...
Scioppa
......
Comms Voice
Repeat, identify yourself.
Scioppa
Thirty.
Scioppa
Stay on course.
<p=2>100km from frigate, 42km/h</>100km from frigate, 42km/h
Comms Voice
Unknown ship, you are approaching a frigate of the Fourth Army. Identify yourself.
Comms Voice
This is your first warning. Identify yourself immediately to prove that you are not hostile and that you have not been hijacked.
Comms Voice
......
Comms Voice
The target is not slowing down.
Comms Voice
Have deck artillery on standby.
Comms Voice
Roger.
Scioppa
Forty-two.
Scioppa
Continue.
<p=2>75km from frigate, 55km/h</>75km from frigate, 55km/h
Comms Voice
Unknown ship, this is your second warning. Identify yourself immediately.
Comms Voice
The assault ship is on a direct course for the frigate, the only thing standing between it and the flagship.
Comms Voice
Deck artillery standing by.
Scioppa
Fifty-five.
Scioppa
Steady.
<p=2>50km from frigate, 68km/h</>50km from frigate, 68km/h
Comms Voice
Unknown ship, you have entered a restricted area. Identify yourself immediately!
Comms Voice
Under fifty klicks.
Comms Voice
Artillery positions, begin tracking target.
Scioppa
Maintain radio silence.
<p=2>30km from frigate, 78km/h</>30km from frigate, 78km/h
Comms Voice
Unknown ship, this is your final warning! Identify yourself immediately!
Comms Voice
Thirty klicks.
Comms Voice
Get a firing solution.
Scioppa
Seventy-eight.
Scioppa
Steady as she goes.
<p=2>20km from frigate, 85km/h</>20km from frigate, 85km/h
Comms Voice
Twenty klicks!
Comms Voice
Unknown ship, you are now within firing range!
Comms Voice
Open fire. Disable the ship, but do not destroy it.
Scioppa
......
<p=2>10km from frigate, 91km/h</>10km from frigate, 91km/h
Comms Voice
Keep firing.
Scioppa
Ninety-one.
Scioppa
Stay on course.
Comms Voice
...Blyat, it's the Volnov... why is it still accelerating?
Comms Voice
Keep firing!
Scioppa
<p=2>5km from frigate, 6km from flagship, 93km/h</>5km from frigate, 6km from flagship, 93km/h
Comms Voice
...Bzzt...
Comms Voice
...Confirm hit—
Comms Voice
Confirm speed...
Comms Voice
......
Comms Voice
Crazy zhopa!
Evgeny
Stop your reckless action now, Scioppa Razin, and I will forgive Sechin's previous transgressions.
Evgeny
Take your men and return to your station.
Scioppa
Pfft...
Scioppa
I gotta give you credit. You're trying to negotiate, even when the other side's practically shitting on your face.
Scioppa
Don't worry, I'm just here to return the Volnov.
Scioppa
Besides, Sechin's no longer part of the Fourth Army, as of yesterday.
Scioppa
Any more stupid questions?
Evgeny
Mudak! You absolute fool—
Scioppa
First zhopa, now mudak. Well, I guess I'll let it slide for old time's sake.
Scioppa
By the way, the navigation system of the Volnov is on lockdown and not even I can turn it off. I suggest you send your men to stop it quickly, otherwise...
Hierda... there you are. I've been looking all over the place for you.
Anatoliy
Why didn't you wait for me—*cough* *cough*!
Hierda
...I'm leaving, Anatoliy.
Anatoliy
What?
Hierda
I said, I'm leaving. I'm going to find my companions, whom I had entrusted to some people who could be trusted.
Hierda
I should have been devoting myself to helping people who suffer...
Anatoliy
What about me? What about me?!
Hierda
Come with me, Anatoliy.
Hierda
You will not find salvation here.
Anatoliy
Hah... yeah, of course! I stabbed my own mother because of you and that woman—because of what you said!
Hierda
No, it's not that. That was the right thing to do.
Hierda
Your mother brought you pain, and brought war to the city, causing countless people to lose their homes. But your actions will bring life to even more.
Anatoliy
...What?
Hierda
You have atoned for your sins, Anatoliy. You have done well.
Anatoliy
You—*cough*—ugh!
Hierda
Anatoliy...
Hierda leans forward to examine the young man once more.
The yellow rocks have spread across his body, creating irregular lumps under his clothes.
It is the end for him.
Anatoliy
What you think... doesn't matter anymore. Just...
Anatoliy
Help me, one last time.
Anatoliy
You can do it. Only you...
Hierda
But I don't want to, not anymore.
Anatoliy
...Hierda?
Hierda
If this is to be your end, I will accept it. I don't want you to continue to devote yourself to a painful, meaningless life.
Then perhaps she won't. As you said yourself, she may have chosen to stay on the sidelines again—
Concerned Noble
Ah, it's about to begin.
The Tsar unrolls a piece of paper.
In recent days, he has spent long hours consulting Witte and his other trusted advisors, scrutinized the details with the Supreme Court, and discussed with the citizens' representatives to arrive at the final draft that he is now holding.
Even he is surprised at how calm his voice is.
Fyodor
On my way here, I saw fire pots set up along the roads to provide illumination at night.
Fyodor
Yet we all know that Deity Grypherburg had long stopped using oil lamps and bonfires to illuminate our streets, well before this became a nomadic city.
Fyodor
Perhaps the Grypherburg's nights are as they were a century ago, a situation that has carried on for two months.
Fyodor
When the Originium mines closed, a once-affluent household in Grypherburg began burning furniture to stay warm.
Fyodor
This was when I resolved to exploit the national Originium reserve, so we would not lose people to this harsh winter.
Fyodor
...Even that seems too little, too late.
Fyodor
Too late to prevent the Katorga Incident, and the reallocation of energy from Tsarevgrad to the residential districts can do little to stem the tide.
Fyodor
This is a crisis on an unprecedented scale. It is not a temporary one, but one that threatens to wipe Ursus from the face of Terra, if no long-term solution is found.
Fyodor
The Winter Emergency Resource Allocation Act must be implemented.
Neither objection nor agreement, only silence.
Fyodor
...It is a provisional measure that will continue to be adjusted in practice, but it will at least save the people from the imminent plight of winter—
Unhappy Noble
Does Your Imperial Majesty intend to nationalize the enterprises that we have worked so hard to build?
Reserved Noble
Or distribute the energy to the Armies in exchange for their obedience?
Fyodor
......
Fyodor
No amount of industry and enterprise, no amount of territory will mean anything, if Ursus does not survive the winter.
Unhappy Noble
In that case, why not simply read out the provisions and go straight to the vote?
Unhappy Noble
Or have you decided that it is not worth the time to even go through the formalities, seeing our familiar faces?
Vasily
......
Respectful Servant
(Whispers) Sir, message from Chairman Witte.
Respectful Servant
(Whispers) About the original representatives... we just found out—
Fyodor's eyes widen as he sees the names on the piece of paper handed to him.
He frowns as he looks to the crowd.
All the whispering attendees have the same expression on them—one of scorn and mockery.
Respectful Servant
(Whispers) I'm sorry, sir... we made a mistake. We should have discovered the swap sooner.
Respectful Servant
(Whispers) Chairman Witte says that there's still a way to reschedule and hold a true citizen's forum, if you wish.
Fyodor
......
Fyodor
No.
Respectful Servant
...Understood.
Fyodor
Speaking of familiar faces.
Fyodor
I'm sure you know that I have personally met with the elected citizen's representatives from the various raions, in order to make sure that the people's voices are heard.
Fyodor
Miners, grocers, pipeline workers, tutors, and other trades that I had never even heard of. New faces, all of them.
Fyodor
It expanded my horizons and led me to reflect. I thought it was a beneficial thing, to learn about how the people live, to hear more about their real needs—
Fyodor
Only moments ago did I discover the truth.
Concerned Noble
(Whispers) Did we overdo it...?
Vasily
It was necessary.
Fyodor
The people I met with were not who they claimed to be. They were not miners, grocers, pipeline workers, or tutors.
Fyodor
They were actors from rural theaters, secretaries of counts, minor nobles whose names occupy a place at the very end of the Almanac of Nobility, the idle sons of wealthy urbanites—
Fyodor
It all makes sense now.
Fyodor
Their unusual eloquence, compromises reached so easily, and ill-fitting clothes riddled with holes in locations unrelated to labor...
Fyodor
Yet I did not realize at the time.
Fyodor
Perhaps it takes a fool to be fooled.
Voice from the Door
—No—
Eloysius
It is not so!
Unhappy Noble
Who are you?!
Unhappy Noble
How dare you intrude upon the council in session!
Concerned Noble
Wait, is she—
Upon seeing the face of the interloper, the nobles turn their heads to the Vice Chairman in the front row.
Vasily does not turn or respond to the countless eyes peering at him from behind.
His gaze is fixed on the Tsar on the podium, seemingly waiting for him to speak.
Fyodor
You...
Fyodor waves away the guards trying to stop the young woman.
Fyodor
What do you have to say?
Eloysius
It is not so, Your Imperial Majesty.
Eloysius
You are not a fool. If you have been deceived, it is only because there are arrogant traitors in our midst, trampling upon your dignity with their dishonor.
Eloysius
They are well-prepared, while you and those around you cannot be constantly watching them and their insidious plots.
Unhappy Noble
Gorchikov! Tell your daughter to watch her tongue!
Vasily
She's a grown woman. She's responsible for her own actions.
Fyodor
You are... Eloysius Vasilyevna Gorchekova.
Eloysius
I am, Your Imperial Majesty.
Fyodor
I do not recognize the one with you. Who is she?
Eloysius
The true representative of the citizens.
Fyodor
How do you prove that she is not an actor, like the ones on this list?
Eloysius
She is a survivor of the Far North, one of the witnesses who should have testified against the Grand Duchess.
Eloysius
Anyone who heard that broadcast from the Far North will remember her voice.
Fyodor
......
Eloysius
She and her fellow surviving miners should have been the representatives of Odoyev Raion.
Fyodor
The miners I saw—
Eloysius
I'm not sure you really saw any miners.
Fyodor
Why do you bring her here today?
Eloysius
What you should be asking is, what does she want?
Eloysius
What do you want, Vetochki?
Vetochki
H-Hello. I-I'm Vetochki. My mother calls me, Anya.
Vetochki
I-I come from the, Far North, Mining District.
Vetochki
I-I want everyone, at the treatment center, to have a, warm bed.
Vetochki
I want, the Infected, to have a roof, over their heads.
Vetochki
I-I want more, people like us—
Vetochki
To live through, the winter.
Fyodor
......
Vetochki
I want to, vote for... uh...
Fyodor
...The Winter Emergency Resource Allocation Act?
Vetochki
Y-Yes!
Vetochki
I want, to vote, so that people, won't die from, cold and illness.
Vetochki
C-Can I?
Fyodor
......
Fyodor
Of course.
Reserved Noble
'Of course,' Your Imperial Majesty? What guarantee can you make to this poor girl?
Reserved Noble
You see? Those 'citizens' you speak of do not know how to rule a nation. You may be demonstrating your benevolence and mercy by allowing them to participate, but you are not truly helping them.
Reserved Noble
Even this Act that you speak of is ultimately taking from one mouth to feed another. It cannot solve any of the major issues Ursus is facing.
Unhappy Noble
Besides, is this a playground or a middle school? Are people allowed to just walk in, claim to be somebody, and start lecturing on the nation's future?
Unhappy Noble
There is nothing we can do, if you wish to ram this Act through. However, you must know—
I thought that the enemy of the empire stood at the border of the Central Governorate.
Fyodor
It seems I was wrong.
The Tsar slams the pile of papers in his hand on the podium.
He scans the room, at the myriad expressions in the crowd.
Fyodor
The enemy of the empire is here.
Unhappy Noble
Majesty! I must remind you that your reckless decision may cause you to pay—
Fyodor
Take him away.
Unhappy Noble
Majesty!
Vasily
......
Unhappy Noble
Gorchikov! You coward! You and that spawn of yours will pay—
Soldiers quickly 'escort' the noble out of the hall, his shouts echoing in the corridor.
Fyodor
Anyone who wishes to go with him should do so now.
Everyone
......
Fyodor
If there are none, I shall proceed to the resolution.
Vasily
Majesty—
Fyodor
Since those present are in agreement that the 'citizens' who comprise more than ninety percent of the empire's population do not deserve to have a voice...
Fyodor
There is no need for a council that claims to represent these citizens.
Reserved Noble
Your Imperial Majesty can't mean—
Concerned Noble
Gosudar...
Fyodor
The Winter Emergency Resource Allocation Act is hereby passed into law, effective immediately.
Fyodor
In addition, as the Emperor and Autocrat of All the Ursines, I proclaim...
Fyodor
The entire legislature, both State Council and Imperial Duma...
