All the Queen's Men

**"All the Queen's Men"** is the eighth episode of *Revolution* and the 83rd episode overall.

The episode was released on March 20, 2022.

In the episode, the Free organizes for Rook James to visit Eusuchia Island. Flashbacks to the past illustrate how Vella's top allies came to be.

## The Episode

—Eusuchia Island, Vulpus—

—Fifteen Years Ago—

Neffy saw the soldiers approach in the riverboat. The dockhand helped them tether the boat. The captain in command paused to look up at the hut. He glimpsed Neffy at the window, holding the curtains back with her scaly hands.

“He’s here,” Neffy said to her husband, Akhe.

Their son was now ten years old. He was eligible for pre-conscription into the army. The current Vixen Queen had graciously halted the drafts and hadn’t ordered a single conscription under her reign. But Queen Vixen XXXI was no angel. She was plotting something else, and Neffy was determined to get ahead of her.

A dark cloud was falling over Equine Isle. Neffy’s Free allies were reporting mass graves. And now there was something similar being planned for Eusuchia. The borders were already closed. The crocodiles could not leave.

Akhe went outside to greet the captain.

“Good morning, Second Officer. I am Akhe…”

As they introduced themselves, Neffy rolled her son’s suitcase to the door. It was all of his clothes and some food, all he was permitted to take.

“Mama,” he said quietly, tugging on her tunic, “why do I have to go?”

Neffy held back tears and lowered herself to her knees. She gazed into his young eyes.

“Sweet boy, you will be safe with the army. You will be on the mainland, beyond this poor life you’ve lived. You’re going to be a soldier.”

He shook his head.

“I want to stay with you!”

“I know, sweet boy. I know.”

She couldn’t tell him what she suspected, that mass slaughter was coming to Eusuchia and that she wouldn’t be able to protect him. If he stayed, he may die. If he went to the mainland, he may live. What would any parent choose?

“Now,” Neffy said, taking a deep breath, “remember what you promised me.”

“I will always remember you, Mama.”

“Good boy. And heed this, but tell no one: get close to the foxes. Become like them. Climb as high as you can. Only then can you truly be safe. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mama.”

“I love you, sweet boy.”

He threw his arms around her. She held him close. Akhe and the captain entered.

“To attention, boy!”

Neffy’s son snapped into a salute, just as he was taught. The captain grinned.

“Strong lad. We’ve seen his examinations scores. Quite impressive.”

“He’s really clever,” Akhe muttered, not taking his eyes off him.

The captain saluted back.

“I am Second Officer Hans Einfach. State your name.”

“Rook James.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Rook. Come along. Say your goodbyes.”

Neffy gave Rook one final hug. He tottered over to Akhe and lingered in his embrace. Then, Officer Einfach took him away, down to the riverboat, and up the stream.

“We’ll never see him again,” Neffy murmured, leaning against Akhe. He sniffed, jaw trembling.

“He’ll be back…he will.”

—The Rook of Vulpus—

—Vista, Vulpus—

—April 14, 1051—

—Present Day—

There was a sealed envelope from Eusuchia on Skulksmarshall Rook James’s desk that morning. It had an “URGENT” stamp in the upper corner. He ignored all other mail and slit the envelope open.

*Skulksmarshall James,*

*You are instructed to visit CAMP 17 at Valley Ridge, Eusuchia Island, tomorrow the fifteenth of April, 1051. You will view the day’s scheduled standard procedure and report if methods used can be applied to other elements of military operations you oversee. Please proceed to the island at once. You are alone invited and need not bring support. Arrive prior to noon.*

*Signed,*

*Her Majesty Queen Vella*

Well, his day’s plans were just upended. He was unfamiliar with Camp 17, but assumed it was one of many penal camps on the island. In a way, he was excited! He hadn’t been back to Eusuchia since he was a boy. Rook fetched his coat and hat. Locking his office, he went to find Tick. The deer was in his own office across the hall, smoking a cigar. Rook never liked the smell of smoke, so he abstained.

“I miss this,” Tick said when Rook entered, savoring a long puff. “Toontown had no smokers.”

“It’s good to be home,” Rook agreed.

“Shall we search for pirates today?” Tick asked, projecting a map of Vixen Bay on his television monitor. Rook shook his head.

“Change of itinerary. I have urgent business to tend to for Vella. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Have you spoken to her today?” Tick asked.

“No, she’s left me a letter; isn’t she still in Vexastadt?”

“Until tonight,” Tick answered. “She and Jewellia are having a spa day.”

Rook guffawed.

“Must be nice. Haven’t had a moment’s peace since we got back.”

Tick nodded in agreement.

“Once we find the Toons…and these bloody pirates, we’’ll be due a holiday.”

Rook glanced down at the newest wanted posters for the Toons. The reward had just tripled. It was an obscene amount of money now. Vella was desperate to find them. Five remained missing.

“I should be back tomorrow,” Rook said, backing out of the office.

“Where are you going?”

Rook unfolded the invitation from his pocket and handed it to Tick, but as his friend reached for it, the phone rang. He glanced down at the caller ID.

“*Doe Mother*,” he mouthed. Rook took back the letter and winced. As Tick reluctantly picked up the phone, Rook slunk out. Tick waved goodbye.

—The Leap, Vulpus—

—Five Years Ago—

“Once, long ago, the Leap was part of the Kingdom of Cervidium. During the War, Queen Vixen VII brokered a purchase of the Leap to give Vulpus full control over the Vixen Cliffs. The Leap was a strategic hold for the Kingdom of Cervidium, but Stag Barrow was promised large chunks of conquered Capricon in exchange. The Leap then became part of Vulpus, and has remained such ever since. There are many in modern Cervidium who believe that the Leap should be returned to the deer. What say we?”

“NO!” Tick Hunter shouted along with the rest of the tavern. “Long Live the Vixen Queen!”

“Indeed, gentlemen!” the speaker bellowed into his microphone. “The Leap has been a part of Vulpus for 300 years! We are Vulpine, not Cervidian! We may be deer but we have hearts of foxes!”

Tick cheered.

“The Stag of Cervidium is dying. His daughter, Halley Cervus, will one day become Doe. She is weak, and perhaps with her on the throne we can finally absorb all of Cervidium into the mighty Vulpus Empire!”

The words enthralled Tick. He was a Vulpine Unionist through and through. The world would not be perfect until the Vixen Queen controlled everything. That’s what he was raised to believe and it was a sentiment he held close. It’s why he loved Unionist meetings like this, even if the same thing was said almost every time. The fervor among the crowd was worth it.

After the speaker concluded, Tick went to collect another drink. A hooded figure was at the bar. The way the cheeks protruded through the fabric was a clear giveaway that this was a fox.

“You don’t have to hide yourself,” Tick said to the stranger. “This is Vulpus, after all. You’re among friends.”

“I’m not hiding my species,” the stranger said, downing a shot of ale.

“Your identity, then?” Tick chuckled. “Famous or infamous?”

The stranger didn’t reply. Tick held out his hand in front of the fox’s face.

“Commandant Tick Hunter, of the Vista City Guard. Special Services to the Vixen Queen.”

The stranger shook his paw.

“I thought your voice sounded familiar.”

Tick raised an eyebrow, even though the stranger couldn’t see him.

“We’ve met then?”

“Let’s go outside.”

Tick paid his tab and sauntered after the stranger. Once beyond the tavern and on the darkened streets of the village, the stranger removed her hood.

“Your Highness!” Tick exclaimed, dipping into a bow. “I’ll be damned…”

“Call me Vella.”

“Why are you here?” Tick asked, shocked.

“Why are you?” she countered.

“This is my hometown,” Tick said. “I’m visiting my parents. But I also signed up for the speech tonight. Cervidium should become a part of Vulpus. I believe that.”

“As do I,” Vella said, “though my mother would disagree.”

“Her Majesty is close to Stag Elaphus.”

“Too close,” Vella said. Tick didn’t reply. He was hesitant to speak any further opinions in case they didn’t align with the Princess. “Is there somewhere private we can speak more? I am fascinated by your views.”

Tick gestured toward the cliffs. Together, they headed toward the edges. Tick’s hometown was a seaside village, though there was no beach. All of southern Vulpus bordered the ocean through cliffs alone. There was a sliver of sand at the bottom, but no safe way down there.

“I came here to see if deer really believed in Vulpine unity,” Vella said, removing her cloak and reclining on it. Tick sat next to her, stunned he was having this conversation. Commandants in his class never brushed shoulders with the royals! “It’s something I would want to pursue as Queen.”

Tick stared.

“You would make a wonderful Queen, your Highness.”

It was a safe thing to say. For one, he knew she was a determined young woman with high aspirations. He also knew that three sisters preceded her in the line of succession, so it would never happen.

“I would,” Vella agreed. “Maybe I will be one day.”

Tick heart’s jumped a beat.

“Will you?”

“Yes.”

She was watching him, analyzing him. What was she looking for?

“What do you think of my mother?” Vella asked. She seemed genuinely curious, but Tick knew he had to choose his answer carefully.

“I think she is a strong leader,” Tick said diplomatically. “She is a grand empress.”

“But?”

Vella’s eyes twinkled.

“But she is too close to Stag Elaphus. She is partial to the Macaw. She tolerates the Chequer. The Free runs rampant…”

“Mother is in over her head,” Vella said. “We need a stronger Queen next.”

“And you don’t think that’s Crown Princess Vyzanna?”

Vella laughed heartily. She rubbed her eye as if brushing away tears.

“That’s rich, Tick. Vyzanna is a moron. So entitled. She won’t last a year on the throne.”

So she was making plans to overthrow her sisters, and maybe even her mother. This wasn’t uncommon for Vixen Queens. There wouldn’t be 31 in 500 years if there wasn’t a few throats cut along the way. Being a part of a coup would be exhilarating, and ensure Tick’s position in the army. He may even be a Skulksmarshall one day.

“Hypothetically,” Tick said, “if you were to position yourself to be Vixen Queen, how would you do so?”

“Amass followers,” Vella said at once. “People who will stand by me til the end.”

“Loyal soldiers,” Tick said, smiling. “I know a few.”

“Like you?”

“Like me.”

The two were drawn to each other. Tick felt she was a natural sun, pulling him into her orbit. She could see his trustworthiness, and of course she knew where he stood on the subject of Vulpine Unity. He was a sensible one, willing to put Vulpus over his species. If he could change his species to fox, he would do so in a heartbeat. That was his only life regret, being born into a Vulpine deer family.

“If I am to be a candidate for the throne,” Vella said, gazing out over the cliffs, “I need to make a mark. Do something that distinguishes me from my sisters. As the youngest, I’m last for everything. Marriage, family, assignments. I can’t even serve on a committee until Vestia has been placed.”

“What sort of mark?” Tick inquired.

“I’m not sure,” Vella sighed. “Marriage and childrearing are usually well-received. But I can’t just pop out six daughters on command. Nor would that make me any more eligible. That only increases the chances of one of my daughters becoming Queen after me. I can try to eradicate the Free but without a committee or a personal army, I can accomplish little of that. I thought maybe I could pursue Vulpine Unity, partially why I’m here.”

Tick moved his head from side to side, thinking about what she said. His antlers swayed with it.

“I get that. Cervidium is almost like the last frontier for conquest. There’s nothing left.”

“It’s infuriating!” Vella exclaimed. “The Expanse has already been colonized so there’s nothing more to take down there! Everyone loves a Vixen Queen who conquers.”

Tick was suddenly reminded of a bedtime story from his childhood. It made him laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing. Sorry, I was thinking about the Invisible Kingdom.”

Vella stared at him.

“The what?”

“Haven’t you heard that story? My mother used to tell it to me to get me to sleep. The Invisible Kingdom of the South. It’s an old legend. They say after the War that people built boats and sailed south, building a new kingdom and hiding it in a shield of invisibility so nobody could find it.”

Vella groaned.

“I think I know what you’re talking about. I’ve heard something similar. It’s a myth.”

“What if it’s not?” Tick posited.

Vella clucked her tongue and shook her head.

“You’re not one of those gullible people who believe that the heirs to the Granite Bloc escaped, are you?”

She said “Granite Bloc” with rightful contempt. Tick shook his head.

“Of course not. I’m just saying if there is any uncharted territory down there, you can attempt to discover it. Become an explorer!”

“I’ll think of something else,” Vella grumbled. “I’m not leaving Vulpus. Everywhere else is…dirty.”

She collected her cloak and stood. Tick bowed again.

“I’ll call upon you back in Vista,” Vella said. “We are allies now.”

“Partners in crime,” Tick smiled.

—Vixen Strait—

—April 15, 1051—

—Present Day—

The ferry between the Ursus territory and Eusuchia Island was only open to high-level personnel of the Empire. As Skulksmarshall, Rook James qualified. The ferry had to depart from a southern port instead of the westernmost Cape of Alyaska because the Cape had long been a Death Field after the War. Nobody lived there; it was thoroughly uninhabitable. The ground sometimes still smoldered. Anyone dumb enough to step foot on the beach could be obliterated by unexploded bombs still buried beneath the sand.

“Captain!” Rook called to the ship’s pilot, “how long to the island?”

“About twenty minutes, sir!”

Rook was excited to return to his birthplace. The borders were closed to the island’s residents for fear of a plague similar to the one that decimated Equine Isle. Rook felt awful for the people still living on Equine Isle, bereft of Cartonian contact and left to fend against the plague.

“I have to say,” the captain said to Rook from the ship’s wheel, “I am quite shocked to have a crocodile aboard my boat that’s not a prisoner.”

“Hm,” Rook said with a courteous smile. “You mostly ferry prisoners, then?”

“Aye,” the captain said. “Eusuchia Island is primarily prison camps now.”

“That’s why most of us live on the mainland now,” Rook remarked. The captain raised his eyebrows.

“That so?”

“Well,” Rook shrugged, “there aren’t many in Vulpus. Not in Vista, anyway. I haven’t seen another one for a while. They’re mostly out in the east, I think.”

“Ah.”

“This is my first time going back,” Rook said to the captain, eager to show his excitement. “I was last here when I was a boy when my parents enlisted me in the army. Unfortunately, they’re both dead now.”

“Oh no,” the captain said flatly.

“Yeah,” Rook sighed. “They both succumbed to a virus a few years back.”

“That so?”

“Mhm,” Rook said. “I got a letter from the Eusuchia Island’s provincial government that they perished from disease and were buried in the village’s cemetery.”

“I see,” the captain said. He wasn’t looking at Rook anymore. He must be uncomfortable with death.

“It’s okay,” Rook said. “We all knew when I left that I wouldn’t be back. I’ll go visit the cemetery while I’m here.”

The captain did not respond. Rook was bothering him; he could tell. No need to continue to pester. He went down to the deck and watched as the island grew closer.

—The Rook of Vulpus—

—Two Years Ago—

Skulksleader Tick Hunter was pulled from his weight training by his superior, the Skulkscaptain.

“Princess Vella wishes to speak with you.”

Tick hurried at once to her chambers. She was being dressed for dinner by her loyal friend, Jewellia.

“Hi,” she said to Tick. “The Princess is almost ready.”

“It’s okay, Jewellia,” Vella said sweetly. “I’ll only be a minute.”

Jewellia curtsied and darted into the Princess’s cavernous closet. She began sorting clothes.

“It’s happened, Tick. You were right.”

Tick stared at Vella.

“About what?”

“The Invisible Kingdom.”

Tick laughed.

“Very funny.”

“Come look.”

She beckoned to him and pointed at a piece of paper on her vanity. It was an internet application for the University of Cervidium’s library. The name attached to it was Dr. Adam Molecule, from a place called Toontown.

“I don’t understand.”

Vella was grinning from ear to ear.

“Let me explain, then. This application came in years ago. It was rejected by the firewall because it originated from outside our internet. The address and name on the form don’t match anything in our databases. The Cervidians have been tracking abnormal signals like this one for a while, trying to see if the Free are plotting anything on the illegal internets. Look where this signal originated.”

She flipped the page over. A map of the Empire was displayed with a single red dot in the Southern Fox Ocean.

“From a ship?” Tick guessed.

“Perhaps,” Vella said. “Or, the map goes further than we thought. Maybe what we thought was the ocean is a gulf, or a large lake. Something else is beyond there.”

Tick shook his head.

“It could be a glitch. A mistake.”

“Perhaps,” Vella said again. “Or…”

She had mentioned the Invisible Kingdom, something she said at their first meeting was a myth.

“You think the heirs to the Granite Bloc thrones are living in the middle of the ocean?”

Vella stood to face him.

“My mother believes, as her ancestors had, that a group of Cartonians did escape and were living in the Vixen Mountainrange or the Expanse with the heirs to several kingdoms. I myself was skeptical of this, since it’s been so long and we have now conquered everything between the Southern Fox Ocean and the Vixen Cliffs. But now…”

She handed Tick a scroll, a decree from Queen Vixen XXXI. “Now, we have been ordered by Her Majesty to investigate the signal in the south. Just last week, two BioFreaks were created which have the groundbreaking power to control water. We can part Hurricane Haven with a small boat and sail toward the signal.”

“We’ve been ordered?” Tick asked, glancing over the decree.

“I volunteered us,” Vella grinned. “This is our moment.”

Tick felt the adrenaline course through him. Not only was he going on an expedition of discovery, but this could also be the rise of his friend Vella as Queen of Vulpus!

“We’ll need to make preparations,” Vella said. “And assemble a crew. Mother thinks we should take as many as possible, but I worry what we’ll find. This is an internet application, Tick. Whoever Dr. Molecule is, he’s clever. They hacked into our network! We may find a sophisticated civilization.”

Tick was still skeptical.

“In the water?”

“I don’t know! It’s exciting, isn’t it?”

Tick also learned of Vella’s secondary plan, to discover if the heirs were truly living in the south. If so, they would need to be brought back to Cartonia and killed. The Invisible Kingdom’s fairytale would crash down over the Free.

“As long as the heirs and the myth of their existence remains alive,” Vella stated, “the Free will always cling to that. Let’s take them down.”

“Make your mark,” Tick said, smiling with pride as his ally.

“The Chairfox of the Vulpus Senate Subcommittee on Intelligence has recommended a chicken to accompany us. An easily-manipulated librarian and genealogist named…uh…”

She consulted her notes. “Jerockle Padraic.”

“We should also bring Skulksleader Rook James,” Tick suggested. “He’s been a close friend. His loyalty to you is unwavering.”

“I look forward to meeting him,” Vella said enthusiastically.

“When do we leave?” Tick asked. Vella shrugged.

“A few months, maybe. We have much to discuss, and even more to do. We don’t know what we’ll find, but I am determined to find my destiny.”

—Eusuchia Island, Vulpus—

—April 15, 1051—

—Present Day—

It worked.

Skulksmarshall Rook James was here! Heinrich Meyer was floored. He did his best to hide his jubilation, and mimicked the attitude of his colleagues, which was unadulterated terror.

“He’s going to kill us,” someone muttered to Heinrich as they headed toward the reception room. “He’ll be armed.”

“Disarm him, then,” someone else hissed. “No weapons in the control room, we’ll say.”

“You tell him!”

“I’ll go,” Heinrich volunteered. “You both stay here.”

Skulksmarshall James was already greeting Commandant Weiss when Heinrich walked into the reception room. The Commandant was nervously shaking his hand. Rook’s weapons had already been taken to a locker. Heinrich felt a bit of ease because of that.

“I have to say,” Commandant Weiss said cautiously, “I am surprised you are here. We were not informed you were coming.”

Rook handed the Commandant the letter Heinrich had forged.

“I was invited at the behest of the Vixen Queen.”

Weiss’s eyes were wide.

“I see. You are to view today’s ‘standard procedure.’”

“I’m not quite sure what that means,” Rook admitted. Heinrich’s heart was pounding. He needed to steel himself to remain calm. There were only 2,000 crocodiles left in Cartonia, not including Rook, who was probably one of the last. Today was the final extermination of the crocodiles.

“Today is not a good day,” Weiss said. “Unannounced visits throw our schedule into disarray. We don’t have a procedure today. Perhaps next week?”

Heinrich’s heart sank. If Rook left, he’d miss the extermination. What could he say to contradict the Commandant without blowing his cover?

“No, Commandant,” Rook stated. “I was invited for today’s procedure. Are you saying the Vixen Queen was wrong?”

Weiss scoffed, but tried to mask it as a cough.

“Skulksmarshall, I only want your visit to be as productive as possible. We are…um…Third Officer Meyer?”

Heinrich jumped.

“Yes, sir?”

“What’s on the calendar today?”

Heinrich just stared, pretending to blank. In reality, the only items on the agenda were the final extermination, cremating the bodies, and happy hour afterward as celebration.

“Commandant,” Rook sighed. “I am losing patience. I was asked to travel all the way here from Vista on direct orders from the Vixen Queen. I demand to see this standard procedure, whatever it may be. I cannot imagine it is anything strenuous. This is a penal colony, for Vixen’s sake! How many are even interred here?”

Weiss swallowed.

“2,000 crocodiles, sir.”

“Shall we, then?” Rook asked. He was visibly vexed. The Commandant nodded and led the way through the facility toward the control room. Rook was ushered inside, and then the Commandant asked to be excused. He shut the door so that he could speak to Heinrich alone in the hallway.

“What the fuck is going on?” he whispered. “Why would she send him here?”

Heinrich shook his head in feigned disbelief.

“No idea…maybe she’s mad at him and wants to send him a message?”

“Ugh,” Weiss scowled. “And we’re the ones who’ll get punished for it. He’s going to go ballistic.”

“We don’t know that,” Heinrich said. “He won’t know these are the last 2,000.”

Weiss rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

The control room door opened and the Skulksmarshall glared at them.

“Gentlemen, let’s get this show on the road.”

Weiss smiled with force.

“You’re the boss.”

The three went in together. The control room was underground, and parallel with the execution chamber. A four-foot-thick sheet of glass separated the two rooms. At the moment, the chamber was empty. Rook stood in front of the window and crossed his arms. Heinrich went to take his place by the heartbeat monitors. It was his job to report when all the occupants were dead.

“Control room is positioned,” Weiss said into a microphone. “Are the prisoners ready?”

“Stripped,” came the reply.

“Open Chamber 1 Door 1.”

The main entrance to the chamber opened and the prisoners shuffled in. As always, they were naked. Rook was taken aback.

“Great Vixen, why are they nude?”

Commandant Weiss glanced at Heinrich.

“We, uh…tell them they’re going to take a shower. So they strip.”

“Oh,” Rook said and nodded in understanding.

He had no idea. Usa was wrong, and the Toons were right. The communication was that they were to test and see if Rook knew about the exterminations. He clearly was in the dark, and this was going to crush him. If Heinrich was not saddened by the role he was about to play in the near-extinction of the crocodiles, he would have been overly thrilled about what was about to happen to Rook. The Free viewed those closest to the Vixen Queen as invincible, but all the Queen’s men were just men.

The prisoners packed into the room, which had a maximum capacity of 2,000. There was exactly that many left. Rook seemed disgusted by the sight of them tightly crushed together.

“Is this effective?” Rook asked. “To have them shower so close together?”

“Very effective,” Commandant Weiss answered. Rook seemed confused.

“I don’t understand how the Queen would want me to apply this to military operations. What’s wrong with our current showering practices?”

Weiss did not reply. He merely lifted the microphone and stated,

“Seal the chamber.”

The crocodiles in the chamber were screaming and crying. Rook’s face was scrunched up, his eyes darting back and forth. He suddenly focused on the glass.

“Why is this so thick?”

Once again, no reply.

“Commandant?”

Weiss cleared his throat and ordered,

“Release.”

The gas canisters were slotted into place in the chamber’s ceiling, and opened. The noxious gas flooded the room. It was invisible, but the special thick glass tinted its color to the observer. You could literally see it being sucked up one’s nose. A small noise escaped Rook’s lips as he watched the last 2,000 crocodiles suffocate to death. They grabbed their throats, choking, falling onto one another, piling up as death assailed them. Rook’s lips parted, and he took a small step backward. On Heinrich’s screen, the death toll soared.

“Clear,” Weiss said finally as the species was extinguished. The sole survivor, Rook, continued to stare into the glass. Heinrich heard another sharp exhale.

“Thank you, Commandant,” he said to break the silence. “I think I’ve seen what I was meant to see.”

Without another word, he left.

—

The ship’s captain didn’t even greet Rook as he returned to the boat. He merely set sail, leaving Rook to hyperventilate by himself at the stern. He wanted to vomit and scream and pluck off his scales. The pieces of this twisted puzzle were coming together. There were no crocodiles left on the mainland, or the island. That was the last of them, and they were killed. All this time, crocodiles were being murdered en masse. His own species, exterminated.

Vella wanted to him to come here, but why? What had he done to her that she’d want to threaten him like this? He was being kept alive as one of the last if not *the last* crocodile for a reason. A token? A prize? Who else knew about this? Tick?

He felt sick. Were his parents murdered as well? How many had perished in Camp 17? What about the other camps? Who had ordered this in the beginning? Which Vixen Queen? How many people were a part of this?

Then, Rook did vomit. Because he realized that *he* was involved too. He was a Skulksmarshall, one of the most senior members of the military. This plot was far-reaching, embedded deeply into the fabric of the government and the military.

On the solitary boat ride back to the mainland, he was forced to confront himself with the earth-shattering question: *What have I been a part of?*

## Production

### Continuity and Story Arcs

In the flashback opening scene, Queen Vixen XXXI sits the throne. She was last seen being decapitated by Vella Vixen in the season 3 finale “Into the Fire.”

Vexastadt is named after Queen Vexa Vixen (Vixen VI) who made her only appearance in the 2020 Christmas Special “Hollow Crown.”

The cession of the Leap to Vulpus was brokered in the fourth season episode “Pro Patria Mori.”

The desolate Cape of Alyaska was invaded during the War in “Buried in Satin” and was the site of Princess Theodora Rose’s death.

Dr. Molecule’s application to the University of Cervidium, submitted in season 1 episode “Heaven Found,” was shown to Tick Hunter by Vella in a flashback. The application was originally discovered by the deer in the season 3 finale “Out of the Frying Pan.”

## Trivia

* The title of this episode is based on the line "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again" from the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme.
	+ The line was thought by Heinrich Meyer during Rook James's visit to Eusuchia: "The Free viewed those closest to the Vixen Queen as invincible, but **all the Queen’s men** were just men. "
* Neffy and Akhe James are named after Egyptian royalty Nefertiti and Akhenaten.
* Commandant Weiss is named after Martin Weiss, Commandant of the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau.
* The gas chamber scene is directly based on the Nazi gas chambers.
* With only two main characters appearing, this episode has the smallest main cast of the season.
* With only eight characters entirely, this episode also boasts the smallest cast of the season.
* This episode was written in one day, along with "Tarry Not the Final Quest," both completed on December 12, 2021. This is the only instance of two episodes being written in a single day.