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Although apparently lost in thoughtful reverie, the observant Hanoverian Major senses the purposeful approach of the French Marechal Corbin. After all, survival, when operating in open order, requires an acute sense of one’s surrounding. Enemy cavalry is always lurking just out of sight, waiting for the opportunity to ride under any unsuspecting Jager infantryman that they can catch unawares. As the Marechal begins to speak, the Major raises his eyes from his most recent victory to meet the gaze of this most determined, and respected, French soldier.
“What, this?” the Major says as he nods to the object he holds in his hand. “I am not sure that it is fit to have at the moment. I fear that I have temporarily soiled this item, although that can be easily rectified.” The Major steps to a nearby table occupied by a fully inebriated Frenchman. Taking the Frenchman by the sleeve, the Major cleans the visceral goo of the newly departed insect from the good Marechal’s baton. “There now, much better!”
While the deprecating action goes totally unnoticed by the affected Frenchman, it is not at all lost on his superior officer. Marechal Corbin’s eyes widen in temporary disbelief at the actions of this brash Hanoverian, before transfixing the impudent Major with a steady, baleful gaze.
“I find myself currently under orders from Lt. Generaal Bijl to engage one of your good Colonels in mirrored battles upon the field of Austerlitz”, continues the Major. “My honor requires that I grant your Colonel one more week before claiming a victory upon both fields. Should he fail to respond to the Order of Recall, I will be free to take on a new engagement. I do understand your desire to reclaim this item, for I am sure that it was knocked from your grasp by the panicked Lt. Iniesta as he fled the field in abject terror at the thought of facing the forces arrayed against him by Generaal Moss and me. It was an unfortunate turn of events, from your perspective, to be sure. As I greatly respect your esteemed rank, I accept your challenge to meet on a mutually agreed field once I have carried out my current orders. In the meantime, I will promise to refrain from using your exquisite Blue Masher to dispatch errant insects lest I inadvertently scratch its intricately wrought surface.” The Marechal carefully eyes his misplaced baton as the Major deftly replaces it in his belt from which it was earlier withdrawn.
“Now to the details of our encounter, or more specifically, the trophies we each hope to obtain. Since the Blue Masher is the object of your fervent desire, it will of course be relinquished back to your possession should you be victorious on the field. You must realize that I do this at great peril to my future career as the disposition of this item is not really mine to make. It is actually a trophy to be claimed by Generaal Moss as he was the ranking officer in our engagement and I have already claimed the good Lieutenant’s sword. There is a reasonable chance that I could be peeling potatoes for the Anglo-Allied Army for all eternity should I lose in our upcoming conflict. It is a risk that I am willing to take for the sake of both of our honors. Generaal Moss has always encouraged initiative so I would hope that he would be understanding in this matter. Feeling that it is not entirely fair to only risk that which is not inherently mine, I will additionally place my sword upon the altar of battle as well. Since it has never been touched by French hands in over ten engagements, I will leave it to you and the assassin Knox to argue over who shall claim it first.”
“As I have placed two items in the balance, I would expect that you do the same. Should I somehow miraculously emerge victorious from our fray, I request that you provide me with another Blue Masher identical to this one. As is my habit, so long as you do not fling it at me while fleeing from the field, I will not accept your sword as a trophy of battle. Every sword that has honorably been offered to me to date has been returned to the vanquished officer. I only retain the weapons of those that flee the conflict without an honorable surrender. After all, we are all fellow warriors, and a true warrior will always need his sword for the next battle. The second item I would request in lieu of your weapon would be a large bottle of boot polish to replace the one that Oberst Peters has lost this day.”
“If these terms of victory are acceptable to you, then we shall have a fine battle to come” says the Major as he steps back to the table and picks up the glove laid upon it by the redoubtable French Marechal. “One last thing”, he says as he holds the glove up for the Marechal to reclaim, “you will need this I think. It would not do for a French Marechal to get a blister.”
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