Nearly two months have passed since the start of the Kalkara War and a ceasefire still has not been reached. There was hope that one would be reached by the summer solstice, but the Valkyrians have no interest in relenting. The Valkyrians have pushed beyond Kashkarra and is slowly but surely marching its way to the Hystaigan capital. There has been loss of life on both sides of this conflict and the death toll has increased to 8,500 on both sides, including Hystaigan civilians. There have been accusations on both sides that the laws of war have been violated and civilians were being used as human shields. One thing was clear: there were no heroes and there was no honour.

Lieutenant Commander Treye Kingslee managed to survive the autumn, but it was clear that his forces were not fighting a winning effort and the Valkyrians were on the offensive. He has endured massive loss of life on his end, watching civilian families mourn their losses and sending deceased comrades off to their funerals. The way he saw the war was one of survival—not one that could be won. In private, Kingslee wept for his comrades and his country, feeling hopeless in being able to defend either. More and more, the war was uncontrollably eating away at his soul and Kingslee was helpless.

Even though Valkyria was winning the ground offensive, they had to recall their naval forces on the southern end of Cordilia. The Hystaigan Navy was able to stave off a naval invasion and protect their capital. This was much to the chagrin of Captain Morgan Thornton, who wanted to push through the enemy's naval fleet without regard for the loss of human life, deeming them to be necessary sacrifices for the greater good of the country. Instead, he was called back to the mainland and was going to take a month's reprieve before going back into the war to join the ground offensive. Needless to say, he saw this reprieve as a waste of time.

On the outskirts of Sydney, Second lieutenant Lucilla Bennett was nearly two months into her training and told by instructors that her class would join the war effort as soon as 15 February. Her parents were furious that she was going to be sent to fight in a war that none of them believed in and her father Steve made that clear in Parliament back in Stockholm. As expected, some in Parliament—especially those in The New Right—and conservative political commentators have called him a "traitor" for making these statements. Even though he is seen as the most unpopular member of Parliament, he is not relenting in his opposition to the war.