In the House of Flies

200px-Dead_Rasputin.jpg

STANLY
Stanly lifted the rifle from off the ground, and slung it across his shoulder. More Siberians. What the hell was wrong with these people? It seemed like every other complaint in Port Arthur was dealing with some Siberian starting trouble. Their ability to drink ale as if it were water was astounding, but their penchant for bringing their arguments out into the streets was annoying. Stanly had broken up three fights, before ten o’clock, all of which dealt with Siberians.

Why the Tsar would stuff so many Cossacks and Siberians in this port was beyond Stanly. Though, it was not his place to question, he reminded himself. “The will of the Tsar… and his large Treasury.” Truth be told, Stanly was making a living off of yelling at belligerent people.

“Just keep a level head, no reason to be mad. People will be people, and after all, my job is not that bad.” Stanly had invented the rhyme when he was first assigned to Port Arthur. It was juvenile, true, but if it helped his anger issues, then it was worth while. He had grown frustrated over the constant head-busting, and would prefer to be anywhere else besides this wretched port, but orders were orders.

“Officer!”

The soldier turned to see a man with crusted blood on his forehead running towards him. His disheveled appearance could only mean one thing.

“Oh god dam- What is it?”

“Sir! I really respect your job and what you do and how you protect people and would not want to cause any harm-“ the man’s words rolled off his tongue almost as much as the smell of booze, “but, there is a quarrel erupting down by Ozer’s. I was hoping you could-“

“Out of my way.” Stanly knocked the drunkard over as he began the short jog over to the tiny inn. He did not want to deal with the idiot more than he had to. Ozer’s was next to the harbor- if any sailors were involved Stanly’s job just got a lot more complicated. As he rounded the final corner, he heard the shouts, and brought up his rifle. It was a precaution though, he was not forced to use it often. When he took in the scene though, the seriousness set in, and he placed his finger on the trigger; he could make out a large man with a broken bottle over his head, poised to strike a man flat on his back in the street. “You, halt! I will shoot!”

The large man turned to regard him, stuttered, and then turned back to the man in the street. He brought his arm down like an axe- Stanly pulled the trigger. The man with the bottle hit the ground, and the man on the street struggled to his feet. “Th-thank you!” A couple of bystanders quickly darted into the alley, but the man who had been lying in the street was not quick enough (or sober enough) to catch on. When Stanly made it over to check on the man he had shot, it was too late.

“Did you know this man?” He asked the survivor. Stanly viewed the unmoving corpse- his shot had went straight through the man’s cranium.
The other man’s eyes widened, and he turned to run, but Stanly shot his hand over to the man’s collar and pulled him down onto one knee. “No, no. What is your name?”

“I-Ivan Meglokavich, sir!”

“Well Ivan, did you know whoever this was?”

“N-no sir! Ill I know is he said he’s from some village in Siberia… Kustol? Or something like that?”

Stanly sighed, and released Ivan. “What started this dispute?”

“Why sir, he called my mother a prostitute and my father a pig fu-“

Stanly stopped the man, “Enough, you are going to have to come with me. My superior will like to know why I had to execute a man out in public.”

Footfalls on the cobblestone were quickly followed by a command to halt. Stanly turned to see two of his comrades standing near the end of the street, their own rifles out and aimed, “Relax, I was the one who fired. We got us a dead Siberian though.”

“Wait!” Ivan yelled, causing all three men to turn and look at him, “I remember his name, it was Rasputin! Yeah, Grigori Rasputin!”


X-X

No offense to Siberian people.
 
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I was beginning to wander where the POD was. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks in that last bit.
Very well written.:D
 
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Thank you! There is actually a slightly earlier POD than Rasputin getting shot (that is an effect of the POD), but I tried to make it more subliminal. It will all be explained soon though!
 

DUKE NICHOLAS

The Tsar stood regally in his military uniform. Every little detail of his appearance was taken care of- the hair on his head and chin was perfectly manicured, the tassels on his epaulette were all separate and hanging vertically, his buttons polished and in place, etc. Around him was some of the Imperial court, though mostly the halls of the palace were filled with military officers: The Tsar was honoring his victorious army and its reforming commanders.

Though the battle at sea had been disastrous for the fleet, Grand Duke Nicholas had succeeded where the navy failed. The Grand Duke had taken over command after the disaster at Sandepu. Many were pointing the finger to incompetent officers, and the hesitancy of the overall commander. Kuropatkin was removed from office, and the Tsar was considering leaving the capital to go lead the army himself when the Grand Duke beseeched Nicholas II to allow him to lead the forces. While the Tsar had been reluctant to allow a loyal commander to leave the capital, he was eventually pressured to do so by advisers and the poor state of the army.

The Grand Duke arrived in time to re-organize the army, and begin a massive attack against the Japanese. His adjutant, one former Cavalry commander, Aleksi Brusilov, took direct command at the battle of Meaing, where he massed his men against the Japanese and broke their center. The Japanese were from then on unable to win on land, and negotiated a hasty peace. The Tsar had his warm-water port on the Pacific.

Grand Duke Nicholas stepped forward, and allowed the Tsar to place the medal around his neck. “You have defeated our enemies, swinging a righteous sword to remove those who oppose our will. Go this day, with your head held high, a source of pride for all of Russia.”

Applause engulfed the large ballroom, and the Grand Duke stepped back. He smiled, and nodded slightly to the Tsarevich, then tightened up, and marched away from the throne, in unison with the ceremonial guard. The medal was not the only thing the Tsar had given to him that day- he now held general command over the armies. The reforms made in Manchuria were to be applied to the entire armed forces, supposedly to root-out corruption.

The Tsar’s behavior toward the army had been curious- he was increasing pay for the soldiers themselves, but replacing the high-command. He was trying to end the corruption and incompetency that was made apparent by the conflict with the Japanese, but the Grand Duke thought there was something else that was going on just beneath the surface of reform.

As he marched out of the ballroom, and into the small parlor, he was immediately assaulted by Ustoli, his new adjutant; Brusilov had been made a general and given a command in Poland. “Sir, we are having more supply issues in the Caucuses. There are multiple petitions from captains demanding foodstuffs and clothing for their men-“

“Get Sukhomlinoff to stop writing letters and to supply those men.”

"Right away. Oh, and the Tsar’s council wanted you to confirm this order.”

“What is it?” The Grand Duke asked, grabbing the piece of paper from the man: another brigade was to be sent to Poland. He signed the paper, but got an odd feeling…

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Thank you Zert and Wolf-Brother! I doubt Rasputin would have gone to Port Arthur in, but in this tl he is swept up with other to re-settle the city due to the above POD.​
 
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I like it!!!

I have subscribed.


“You have defeated our enemies, swinging a righteous sword to remove those who oppose our will. Go this day, with your head held high, a source of pride for all of Russia.”

Stuff like that tends to make me happy.
 
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