[yezhanquan]

Well, I do have a story in mind. It began from a chat I had over at the Game thread, as a suggestion for a retelling of the story from the Imperial perspective, for a possible sequel.

Spoiler for plot points and characters. Spawn, feel free to add your suggestions:

The story starts just before the invasion of Gallia. The Imperial Academy commissions a new batch of officers. Among them was a somewhat ambitious young lady: Louise Bathory.

Louise is proud of the Empire, although she has no illusions about the problems of corruption and incompetence in the army. In fact, after she returns home to wait for the letter detailing her first appointment, her father informs her that she was not top of her cohort because he refused to bribe. Louise was anxious to prove herself, and to reaffirm her belief that there are still good men in the Imperial army. So, the day came. While playing with her sister, Elizabeth, the letter came. She had been posted... to a backwater outpost, facing the Atlantic Federation. Meanwhile, Max sets his war plans into action. Gallia was now under attack.

Arriving at the outpost, Louise found the place to be in a mess. Previous commanders who came here only wanted to leave ASAP. The men were ill-disciplined and demoralised, the equipment was falling apart, and to top it all off, the commander of the Federation had treated the squad stationed here as his personal Chew Toy. After Louise had fully taken in the sad state of affairs, the Federation attacks to "put her in her place".

The only thing for Louise is that her 2IC (2nd in command) was a competent, tough young man, who is also a native of this border area. Indeed, the Imperial squad stationed here was mostly made up of natives. Louise was rather shocked when she found out that two of her female soldiers enlisted so that their families can pay the bills.

It was Louise's first battle, and the situation couldn't be worse. Her troops disregard her orders, and were outnumbered and outgunned by the Federation. Knowing full well that she had to gain the troops' trust, Louise puts herself right in the frontline. The jaded squad members, who were used to Dirty Coward commanders, were pleasantly surprised at this well-toned, but still rather slender woman, putting herself in danger, and encouraging them not to give up. The squad did not disappoint. They managed to put up a better fight than before, and the Federation withdrew, sat up and noticed this new commander.

Louise knew that the Federation would waste little time in getting serious. As luck would have it, a fellow trainee at the academy was posted to a nearby supply base. While asking for reinforcements, Louise did what she could to brush up her squad. Gradually, everyone warmed to her, even the cocky sniper who resolved to do things his own way when she first arrived.

The second attack came none too soon. This time, both sides were in for a serious battle. The ragtag Imperial troops were dangerously close to defeat, before the reinforcements arrived. After driving off the attack, Louise and her men resumed their training and re-equipment.

As with many things, improvements require time. But, Louise had seemingly done the impossible. In a matter of weeks, she had turned the situation completely around. The Imperial outpost was now the centre of a new battle front, and the Federation are sending their reinforcement to combat this new threat. Even the Imperial bureaucrats were amazed at the achievements of the "Bathory Rats". As victories came to Louise and her team, morale and pride of the members soared. Louise thought that she had accomplished what she had set out to do. However, it would seem that the war had something else planned for her...

Selvaria was looking for something to break the Gallian army. It wasn't the main army which caused the prince headaches, but Squad 7. She needed a team which could rival this seemingly ragtag, but deadly efficient unit. She then looked into Louise's folder. What she saw pleases her. Wasting little time, she summoned Louise.

Louise was reluctant to leave her men. After all, it was her first squad, and she had built them up from humble beginnings. Her men too trusted her and loathe to return to the old days of indifferent commanders. Louise made a demand: For her to fight Gallia, her whole squad would have to come along. After studying the situation, Selvaria agreed. Finding replacements for the Bathory rats was not an easy task, though, as their base was now a full battlefront, and its collapse would have consequences for the Empire, a marked difference from before.

Regardless, the rats made their way to the Gallian front. Max was unimpressed, and made it clear that he's still relying on his own plans for the war. Louise knew that to change the prince's mind, her team would have to face Squad 7, and win.