"Mono/Dialogue"

  'Inner thoughts'

  Narration

  [Message/communication apparatus]

  Date: 14th January 1920 NWC or 647 AU.

  Location: Nova Eureka, Eurekan Autarchy, Western Regalian Control Zone.

  POV: Narrator

  “Welcome, brother.” Neumann smiles as he reaches out for a handshake with Freddy. The man smiled back as he took it. “I thank you for the welcome. You must have been busy, but you still bothered to receive me personally.”

  “What nonsense was that? Please, no matter the occasion, I will remain committed to taking our tradition to honor guests very seriously.” They released their hands before motioning their respective retinues to enjoy the venue. Officers and bureaucrats soon mingle over drinks and snacks, many of which elicit surprise from the officers who had never tasted these eccentric foods.

  “I heard that you are on track to be promoted to Rear Admiral? I suppose more congratutions are in order.” The Autarch of Nova Eureka hands him a gss of wine, a special stock from the Umbral Pace meant for Autarchs holding office.

  “Oh, please, you’re going to embarrass your good brother if you proceed.” He raised his gss. “As all good Elder Brothers should. Now then…” They clinked it together, savoring the taste that would make the tongue dance in joy, and delivering a unique mix of chill and gentle sourness that complements the sweet aftertaste.

  Moonrich is a special grape cultivated in the Umbral Pace’s Patial Orchards, yielding just one hundred barrels yearly. Neumann watched with a smile, his eyes flicking from one to the other as they were afforded generous accommodations. It is well within his rights to make use of the Sector Autarchy’s resources, although there is a very thorough oversight.

  As for Freddy, he was stunned by the taste. Sweet and sour flowing gently down his throat, it left tracks of chill that should have been brain-numbing, but instead eased and cleared his mind. It even gave a faint, but lingering, warmth that settled nicely in his chest, energizing him further.

  “I can’t say I don’t feel jealous just now...”

  “Hah, then I did great. Truth be told, it is quite the stressful office, but at least I get to order that loathsome woman around better.”

  “Still holding a grudge?” He smirks as he takes another sip, wondering just how expensive it would be if Moonrich could be sold. “Grudge? Never. I do need to air out my grievances to a more productive matter, and truthfully? She is as willful as ever, giving me no end of headache and amazement.”

  “Sir Simon’s protégés are a cut above the rest.”

  “Quite... now, may I bother you with a private audience? Of course, you may decline and mingle with the rest.”

  “Hmm... I suppose I can spare the time, lead the way.” Neumann nodded before leaning over to his adjutant, whispering some arrangements here and there, before the pair extricated from the venue.

  The walk out of the ballroom led them further upstairs, and the hallways are watched over by men in uniform. Their uniforms weren’t those of the Regalian Autarchy Armed Forces, but an interesting blue and a sash of white.

  “Your folks, I take it?”

  “Naturally, I take those who have been with me the longest to be part of Eurekan Constables.” There’s a hint of pride in his voice, and it is perhaps warranted.

  The Constables are armed with a carbine version of the M11A4 currently being passed out for the more reliable A3 variants. These honor guards, despite their fine vestments and fatigue, are still armed and protected to the teeth. Freddy spots the telltale sign of a Kevr vest underneath, a few grenades tucked neatly around the belt, and a peculiar rim on their beret suggested that there is bulletproof steel underneath.

  Normally, an honor guard with such heavy equipment will be unnecessarily burdened. But these are Regalian. Their body stronger, healthier, and can take in more than a common human can. The caveats are dimensional pollution, incursion, and death. Take that away, and you have a superior breed of human with little to no demerit other than their infted, but thankfully not acute, ego.

  “Constables, eh... I would have sworn you would anoint them as Death Gliders or Merry Men.”

  “Such a radical opinion, had you so little fate in my naming sense?”

  “Well, your folks were the cause for our third-best ace squadrons to be called Reaper’s Rejects.”

  “Heh, I shall excuse your insolence.”

  “And I thank you for your utmost generosity.” It doesn’t take long until they reach his office. Freddy takes in the neatly organized shelves filled with books. Her Grace’s Photo hung at the highest point above Neumann’s study. A firepce that is being attended by a pair of maids who curtsied when they entered. Then another pair of maids deftly chopped up roasted and prepared the refreshment.

  Neumann takes off his frock coat. “Thank you, my dear.” His compliment made the maid blush, but she kept it cool as she pced the coat on a hanger. Freddy was attending the same way, and he waited on one of the sofas, with a table chock full of smaller ornamentations and snacks, should he partake. As the host, Neumann is not entitled to serve the guest personally if they aren’t above him in hierarchy; he just chooses to do so.

  The Ex-Sky Marshal deftly worked with his knives to serve a generous portion of steaks, with lemon grass, gravy, and so on. “Would you be interested in a massage, Young Master?” One of the maids offered Freddy, so she is quite beautiful, but he saw the muscles beneath her proper uniform. “I am afraid I have to decline.”

  “Very well, we will be avaible should you require... services.” She added with a wink before joining her sisters, the girls sharing giggles and whispers all the while.

  ‘Huh... Numa remains the same as always. He doesn’t seem to care what his staff are doing, he doesn’t change... good for him.’ He feels a pang of nostalgia, reminded of that horrible family dinner where Neumann goes ballistic and calls his own flesh-and-blood ‘Moronic Fanatics’.

  He was a teenager then, and the scuffle between his in-ws was a sensation for Hurtigern’s Autarchy. The retionship between Neumann and his family remains frosty, but his retionship with the Lucas Family is stronger than ever. Mostly thanks to his sister, Esmeralda Lucas, as she was the voice of reason that ended such an unfortunate gathering more amicably. That being said, Neumann was still exiled, and thus he joined the Air Force.

  ‘Uncle Desmont must have been chagrined.’ Lucas chuckled inwardly, reminded of Desmont Hurtigern, who might be tearing his hair out in both pride and rage, knowing his informally disowned son could rise to his station.

  “Thank you for waiting.” He pted down the appetizing meal on the table, piping hot thanks to the gravy and skillet. “Oh, yes, of course. I have half the mind of preventing you, but we know it won’t happen.”

  “Ah, astute as always.” The two men share a warm ugh, both for being family and camaraderie through that war. They soon shared the table and dug in, enjoying their family meal between conversations. They talked about many things; inconsequential things mostly. The meal soon ended amicably, and the maids left the scene.

  The brothers open the balcony, letting the calm and breezy air of the coastline be ushered inside. As they gaze towards the setting sun, Neumann’s eyes were pointed at a certain white-haired woman who was both admiring and downright terrified of RNS Sajanus.

  “What do you think?” Neumann offered Freddy a gss of wine, a different sort that was confiscated from Helicar. The Young Commodore (and would be Rear Admiral) nodded gratefully as he received his gss; he too noticed his brother-in-w’s gaze. “That woman is looking through what we try to hide. She done an astounding effort, deciphering meanings and ideas from empirical comprehension.”

  “Indeed. You understand where I am going with this, right?”

  “To stifle the growing racial sentiment back home. We are not so superior, and once shock wears off... the world could unite once more... Frankly, a nightmare scenario, we remain unsure regarding the full scope of their might…”

  “Correct. We must not make the same mistake. Worst comes to worst, the locals could be our speed bump. For that to be realized, we need to coax opinion back home to be more moderate. Center-Right should suffice.”

  “Uncle will not be happy.”

  “Maybe, but the Old Coot knows when to step back and bid for time when defeated. As vexing as his unseemly fanaticism was, my father was not a moron. His alliance with those Icefnders made him practically unassaible. It won’t take long before he becomes an integral part of the Newt-Sapien Coalition simply because it serves his interest well...”

  “You are asking an outrageous price... Casherlish remains muted as Her Grace is. They won’t take a side, they never will.”

  “As expected of a Valedictorian who forfeited his more prestigious career possibility in GSN...”

  “If you wish to mock me, better do it another time, dear Brother-in-Law.” He pced the gss on the table, a faint smile adorning his face. “The factions are too entrenched in their belief, and the Grand Autarch will never interfere unless it reaches a critical mass. She can shape the people to be obedient, but her conduct shows she is giving us mercy… she has the means, but she does not.”

  “Her Grace has all the support she needs to re-ascend the throne, yes. UFSNE will no longer be able to coerce Tenebrea from having a true leader... but she didn’t... There might even still be hope for the Dream of Federation.”

  “What you are speaking is high treason, cease.” Freddy’s eyes sharpened with looks that can kill, but his Brother-in-Law wasn’t the least perturbed. “Was it really? Truth be told, if what I said was truly as dire as you cimed... we would be dead by now. Why don’t we, then?” Neumann taps the rim of his gss.

  “Her Grace... she truthfully does not need titles. We, mortals, are like ants pying on a sandcastle, and she built said castle…”

  “...” Freddy takes a small sip from his gss, but his eyes never leave him.

  “She had been taking the burden of her office as if that were her lifelong duty. As an Elder, she is entitled to many more... they are stronger, smarter, born with myriads of blessings, and... immortal. Elders who truly ‘died’ were quietly inferred as the ‘Forlorns’ by... eclectic circles.” Neumann gazes towards the harbor. The operation will begin soon.

  “She had not abandoned us. She had not given up on the mortal realm. She expects much, or perhaps we are more amusing with free will and not mere puppets.”

  “Amusing… You weren’t the most pious in our family, what provoked this? Surely it wasn’t a revetion?”

  “No, and I still am; I refuse to acknowledge her as a goddess in the same manner as my retives' burgeoning descent into insanity... Was it not written that she cimed never be part of these divinities? Those cold, uncaring, holier beings? The very beings many madmen and women cimed of granting them rule over us? Those? ... Heh, how horrid.”

  Freddy eyes him. ‘He really doesn’t change... he won’t change. He wants the world to see his view... although...’ Freddy is... ambivalent. ‘I understand his point. She had led us to victory... but is that what she wants?’ This is the problem: no one seems to really know what the Grand Autarch wants.

  Tenebrea had ideas and a governing ethos tested over and over. They had been the Commonwealth of Tenebrea, safe and secure, before the Elders all descent to madness, and the only sane one committed suicide. From there, the Commonwealth was no more before Cylene led her people from abroad.

  They suffered a lot, and they persevere. From there, they reunited the nd piece by piece, and ushered in the age of peace through blood that had been spilt. It was all well and good as they continued the policy of isotionism to focus on containing the rampant corruption under the rule of the first Federation, with Cylene acknowledged as the Empress.

  This glorious moment was soon shattered when Victorian came. The Federated States were destroyed and conquered at a speed that beggared belief, forcing Casherlish to fold inwardly, fighting over and over and resisting before Victoria left after tasting what sort of madness they are being forced to contend with: SIEZ.

  Victoria, which had been repairing its retionship, suddenly turned 180 degrees and supported VIpR’s in their offensive. Luna Sea’s massacre was technically a pyrrhic tactical victory for NIIO, but it was a decisive strategic victory. Regalia lost 1/3 of its best, and from there, things went into a spiral. The Frost Pegasus had been beaten, forced to abandon its wider war to establish a foothold in SIEZ.

  That is the budding seed of their xenophobia.

  Casherlish were aliens, but they stood up shoulder to shoulder and helped unite Tenebrean to be one people. Victorians did no such thing; they came in because they were in the middle of a colonialism spree, and then they simply left because it was just not worth it. They shattered a Federation for shits and giggles. To many, the whole war was merely a continuation of colonialism that was cut short due to insufficient technology and opportunity.

  Cylene then enacted her second war of unification, and eschewing the Old Calendar. Brief was the war, and yet she was forced to compromise with UFSNE so they would help her and Tenebrea keep the Victorian at bay. The Empire was dead, and long live the Uncrowned Monarch for the next six centuries.

  No obstacle barred her path to decre her authority over the race of men… but she didn’t. She remains the same enigmatic personage who stands above petty politics unless it gets dangerous. Perhaps this greatest virtue of not demanding complete obedience, is also her weakness. When Immortals are detached… mortals need to move.

  “Aye... fine, what is it that you wish to rope me into?” Neumann stood up... and cast his gss of wine onto the terrace below. The shattering of it did not rouse the people inside, currently reveling in bliss. The only people who moved were his men, and they moved quickly.

  “Her Grace veered away from politics, as I had predicted… It is time for men to take center stage. We can’t lose her; this nation depends on it.”

  POV: ???

  “Yes? My deepest apology for my tardiness... it had been a momentous time.”

  [Don’t beat yourself over it. I will much prefer someone who worked themselves well than otherwise.]

  “... You won’t be contacting me this te in the evening.”

  [Indeed, as my Great Tyrant had ordered me to. We are preparing the surprise on our end, too. Routes had been secured, terrains mapped, and all we needed to do was swing the door behind their ass. There are also several other things we could think about, if you are interested, of course.]

  “You never specify who this Great Tyrant is. Why is that?”

  [... I don’t recall giving the greenlight for you to question about it, or was I wrong, worm?]

  “... I duly apologize, it is not my intention.... Merely... passing curiosity...”

  [Bah, I am jesting with you. You are quite the specimen, reminding me of an endearing little quim who wants me buried under more than my own dear father. I wonder... does he seethe as badly as he had these days...?]

  “No wonder Autarch Neumann has much displeasure to be sharing a room with the likes of you.”

  [High praise already? I am fttered. As for your question... nothing much, it is just protocol. Make yourself valuable, and only then do we talk amicably as friends moving forward, was I able to understand my dear comrade?]

  “Then I wish to confess these cloying uncertainties. I know war would always evolve, but to be this ugly... I need to share this...”

  [Sure, shoot.]

  “The issue of how to exert control. We know for a fact that the Kingdom had been fragmented, mutited. Pns to incorporate more soldiers in a speedy manners wasn’t the most patable ideas.”

  [We always go to war with what we have, not what we want. That’s an adage from my home, further eastward of these waters. You are losing the war before it started when taking into account your future so soon. Not that I don’t understand, but maybe win first?]

  “Your report had been discouraging the Chief of Staffs. Is this truly how the war shall be moving onward?”

  [Human getting ground into paste and bloody smear? It would have been duplicitous should I cim otherwise. Introduction of firearms was felt by the Knights, correct? Imagine what will happen when a stupid, bloody commie peasant gets a hand on one? It only takes one loudmouth to drag people to hell. Intelligence was never necessary.]

  “This communism you had preached against... was it so... terrifying?”

  [Terrifying ain’t cutting it, it’s a pgue. All smokes and mirrors by championing equality and be beacon of freedom, but those underneath starve and sit on the field they toiled. Equality for us only exists in death. Our government had eschewed such useless illusion. You told me about the superpowers porization and deadlock, and how the second was paralyzed while the first was busy sucking dick?]

  “Your crudeness aside, yes. What little I could ascertain is the increasing dissatisfaction. The First Kingdom used to be the World’s Premier Peacekeeper, but tely, its infighting has caused significant problems.”

  [My oath used to be more proper, and I act appropriately when commanding, but now I am allowed to wage a war as honest as it can be. It’s hirious, how Neumman and I are considered two moderates back home... are you still with me?]

  “I am, and you are a moderate? It is frightening to think about. Do your people believe in being... um...?”

  [Supremacy? Oh yes, of course, you can bet your paychecks that there are people like that. People who think that the sky belongs to them but then get angry when someone else beats them to the punch. People who haughtily cim it is for the best, but turn around to condemn something they would do in a heartbeat as inhumane. People who will crow on their superiority but immediately py victim when it suits them. I don’t like wasting my time with them.]

  “Quite the great deal of honesty... I cannot lie that such a possibility enhanced my apprehension.”

  [Good, now it’s my turn... what kind of social hierarchy do you think is best?]

  “An enlightened rule where those with necessary skill hold all the necessary power without being crippled with gold and riches. A rule where a nation could function optimally, and oversight of the state was kept minimal.”

  [Greedy. How do you see people?]

  “I... Hmm... It is hard to put into words without making it sound awfully dismissive.”

  [Go ahead, the channel is secured.]

  “For monkeys to climb and make noise as they please, but never more, for horses to graze and trot before tilling the nd, and for fish to swim and migrate? That’s the ideal world I wish... everyone knows what to do. No more trying to be the best, only do what your homend asks of you... Was that so lofty?”

  [Mhm, that could make a lot of people mad, but I think that’s good. Some said that idealists are the best realists because they know what they want and try reaching it, rather than sitting on their bum and compining all day.]

  “This is the first time I heard someone who reacted so positively to my childish aspiration.”

  [One of the Greatest Storytellers was the one who never once shied away from reading fairy tales. It is reading, to be embarrassed just because you read something shows how childish you are... so had you read that draft I offered?]

  “The idea you offered me had been nothing but remarkably insightful, and with a tantalizing caveat of maintaining proper ruling... Yet I fear this will push for the next phase of a war that will tear people asunder. You mentioned how education will never equate to intelligence.”

  [Absolutely. People are stupid. People are strong despite being stupid. And so people will always be stupidly strong in their thinking and virtuous. Stupidity is the worst form of adversary, even a donkey will have ten times the thought and understanding of its footing, but never people.]

  “There’s a significant amused disdain... and... respect... in that tone of yours. It is vaguely revolting at how easily you categorized what, who, and when... How enviable...”

  [Again, people are stupid, but happy, stupid people are the best defense one could hope for. Stupid people are emotional. Bleeding heart is no weakness either; that’s an opportunity. You got problem with manpower? Demonize your enemy; you have plenty of ammunition there. You have deserter problems? Make them feel guilt, let them stew in their inadequacy. Is your industry gging? Frame your war as one to protect these idiots, which is a truth.]

  “Such insidious schemes... Was what my na?ve old self would think. She would be the best example of how chivalry has no pce as a pure application. Justice died when banners of war were raised.”

  [Chivalry is bogus, no surprise there.]

  “Not bogus, the ideals were unreasonable. Knights had been taught to protect the weak, but those who did so could be counted in both hands by comparison to those who only seek prestige.”

  It’s a human desire to live and prosper; it’s a country’s prerogative in how to utilize this human craving. There is salvation in death, a patriot embraced and sanctified. There is prosperity in victory for those who came after you. A hero’s greatest service is to be a martyr.]

  “... Putting aside your bleak logic... how do you truly control these... imbeciles?”

  [No, no, no. Imbeciles and stupid are two different things. Imbeciles are not worth the thought, heh, because they can’t muster enough brainpower, but they are obedient. Stupid folks are dangerous, and they can think, just not the way you want them. Despite that, stupid folks are simple, why? All you needed to do was clothe, feed, and house these stupid. Terrific.]

  “No matter how many times you talked them down, not many people will be these stupid folks, as you call them.”

  [We call them individuals. Someone look you and me. We are individuals; we must try our best as we can to guide these stupid folks to be useful. Repceable as we are, we are the cogs to keep this whole stupid wheel rolling.]

  “Unfortunately, these individuals are more than likely to be scooping their living off the Imperial’s coffer.”

  [Tough luck. Useful people often can get away with a lot of things; brain and wealth are two most obvious reasons.]

  “It enrages me to no end that appeasement is the only viable short-term solution that we are settling for. The thought that these disloyal louts will be given a new lease on life is... I wish to wring their necks with their own guts.”

  [See? This is why I take a liking to you, we are not so different.]

  “Regardless... what must be done with the rising personages for this upcoming war? If it goes well, some of them will start harboring ambitions of their own.”

  [Those with greater use and ambitions were vetted and brought through the wringer. What kind of wringer is up for you to decide, am I wrong?]

  “No, your words were appropriate. It is challenging to lie upon myself, over and over, with no end in sight. I merely hope that those of the same mind as I do step out of the shadow.”

  [Now we are getting somewhere... what do you think of the proposed parliamentary system and the banking scheme that Meat Sorceress suggested?]

  “Nobles will undeniably hate them. Rise of the Imperium’s enterprising subjects had lit a fme of rebellion in their nds. Handing over means for rebellion to their hands is incredibly unwise.”

  [That’s just how people are. With guns or not, neither of us were peaceable person. You best believe that humanity's penchant for self-destruction is as old as time itself. We were told not to, but we did anyway. We did it from curiosity, interest, expression of freedom, or just spite. No changing any of that, and frankly? I have no problem. It’s an endless game of tug.]

  “That’s what I think, but what do you-”

  [Bad management and pin incompetence. Bad management because the nd owner is a donkey who can’t count past ten, or worse, too shortsighted, and thus a stupid person with failing intelligence. Incompetence because they don’t have what it means to control the next best thing: Fear. Sure, it is brittle, but at least it will always be better than anarchy.]

  [Those with brains had always learned how to live beside someone they hate with passion. Otherwise, why are we even bothering to trade after a particurly destructive war? Hate will never fade, but it can be put in the backseat.]

  “Regalian frankness had been an intriguing facet; it makes me wonder how war will turn out to be should Helicarian adopt such an honest norm. It might make duel a less bothersome affair whenever one could air their grievances eloquently.”

  [It certainly beats beating around the bush with dancing and whining until one side grows too irritating to silence. What will that boy of yours do, I wonder?]

  “I, humbly, ask of refraining from referring to His Majesty as ‘boy’, he had been born with a great burden... and now forced to don a mantle she would do better without. This is the man I put my faith in, a man who might allow me to exact justice as I see it should stand.”

  [Oh, please, if we go and apply divine rights, then the Great Tyrant is entitled to have this continent be ruled. Codified. Ordered. If we want to choose from an angle of accomplishment and adversaries, this world is immature in many things... but I digress. Do forgive me for my enthusiasm, it gets quite hard when I get into the swing of things.]

  “I thank you for your understanding... how many?”

  [Splinters? Dozens that I found. More is going underground and controlling the flow of trade through bck market deals. Food price skyrocketing while racketeering is soaring. Helicar looks increasingly unlike what I had been told. Secession is imminent, unless we nip the problem in the bud.]

  “I had hoped against all hope that war would be simple, but it can never be simple.”

  [Even without this Otherworlder’s overmeddling, people will get fed up one way or another. So, focus on gathering your loyalists and comrades who share your aspirations. Leave the south to us, we are experienced in nurturing compliance towards authority.]

  ‘I doubt that was a tongue slip, she is considering it very seriously to intimidate my people and me... It is best if I pretend not notice her phrasing.’

  “Thank you for the reminder... and are you certain this would work? No offense, but your position has proven to be far more perilous than I am comfortable gambling on. Our men barely crest half a thousand, and there are a few problems in the documentation process.”

  [Come now, girlie, just a simple work and division of bor. When things are in pce, everything is a sealed deal in a jiffy. Early bird takes the worms, and as you had illuminated me, time might be running short.]

  “The resources invested were enormous; it is in our best interest to show that none had been wasted. His Majesty’s ideal depends on our combined efforts.”

  [Yeah, yeah, you can get your throne or whatever. So in exchange... You know, right?]

  “... My Lord will not be amenable to our arrangement, and the time stretches thinner than I care to admit. We have enough to form a division worth of soldiers, but I fear they will merely fracture into seditious elements.”

  [Uh-huh, go ahead and compin. Listening and providing counsel are included in my desk job.]

  “... Hah... The nobles will not be happy. Turncloaks, I mean.”

  [Oh goodness gracious, who would have thought about that?]

  “It is no ughing matter; this might escate future crises. As the de facto leader of the Armed Forces, it is well within my rights to exercise decisive control action.”

  [If it's colteral damage you are concerned, I promised you that-]

  “Colteral damage wasn’t the concern; it’s stability that pgued my nights. As long as food, trades, and luxuries flow, the plebs shall breed happily, and thus contribute by not hampering our progress.”

  [Hah, plebs. I am one, ya know~? Mucking on shit and dirt, munching on hardtacks harder than bricks, and fooling around as if it is a frat party.]

  “For the record, I do not know what this ‘frat party’ you spoke of is. Second, I hardly consider you as plebeian. Disgraced as you are, many admire you, and there’s the matter of your lineage. Perhaps it is time for you to keep the lips of your retainers sealed?”

  [Why should I? Loose mouth is indeed dangerous, but that means you suck in whom to trust. If you have someone who bbs sensitive information, getting that close with you, that means there’s another bigger problem at py. Me. You. Or them. There will be many right, but only one correct answer. Besides, rumor could be used~.]

  “I shall remember that.”

  [Oh, speaking about rumors... there’s one floating about interventions.]

  “So... those must be others with nefarious or alternative agendas. It is no secret that our continent, being the smallest and the most backward, has been stumbling along merrily in blind revelry. We are considered too great a problem to bother... that is, until the Crown was activated.”

  [Crown, huh... it sure is a stinker kind of deal, but I know you will disagree with my opinion.]

  “It certainly made us arrogant enough to lose that war, but it was never the Crown’s.”

  [Hey, arrogance is where we learned. I got all of these scars because I take too many gambles for my own good. Crown or not, blood will always flow, so the question is ‘whose blood?’]

  “Your philosophy had been remarkable in appeasing my interest in the wider world, but I cannot deny we would have had much less to work with. If heaven permits, we shall earn an unmutited victory.”

  [For a troubled nd, those who could do what is necessary shall be the one who knows how to throw a punch or behead the opposition. To let live and cultivate, or squeeze all the worth of a person. A ruler needs to be ruthless but never cruel, simple as that.]

  “I do need to admit... You are quite the radical thinker, my dy...”

  [Hah, you ain’t seeing anything yet... regardless, we will pave the way forward for you. Remember, this conversation will never be recorded, and no matter what you do... the die had been cast.]

  Date: 21st January 1920 NWC or 647 AU.

  Location: Aquysor Fasthard, 400 miles from Helicar.

  POV: Narrator

  While men and women toiled underneath the surface and on the runways, the pilots were given a small moment to appreciate the seas that had always haunted them. The Forgotten Ocean appears to have been tamed, and even if any beasts persist, the naval gun and drop charges would turn them into fine fish meat.

  This calm would have sufficed, but the pilots are watching over the yonder. Not more than three miles from where they are, a gargantuan vessel accompanies the voyage. A steel beast of science and industrial warfare from an older age. Old, but never outgunned. Never matched in its ability to inspire terror and awe.

  A battleship.

  “What magnificence...” Narina voiced what was on everyone’s mind when they beheld this magnificent vessel sailing far from their RNS Fastidious. With a length of 243 m (800 ft), a beam of 32 m (105 ft), and a draft of 10.2m (33’6”), the vessel in front of them dwarfed the ship currently transporting their Royal Dragoon Division.

  That ship is RNS Sajanus, belonging to the Regalian Naval Force, which happens to be avaible to join them in the upcoming battle. This Taskforce, under the command of Commodore (and soon to be Rear Admiral) Freddy Lucas, was redesignated as ‘Vandal Expeditionary Force’. Consisting of one fast battleship (RNS Sajanus), one light carrier (RNS Fastidious), two light cruisers (RNS Vercing and Etorix), two destroyers (RNS Sarivo and Elmer), eight corvettes (RNS Anto, Barbo, Colombo, Dago, Endo, Ferego, Goro, and Holo), and two LSTs (RNS Jamu and Kha).

  On paper, they are only tasked to provide security for Nova Eureka, and could be ‘requested’ by the Autarch. How that task was interpreted is left deliberately ambiguous, and thus, Neumann does his magic, and the natives are looking at one of them right this moment.

  Sajanus has three double 14-inch guns, CIWS, VLS, and a secret hold buried away from sight. The ship is truly terrifying to behold. This massive ship could cruise comfortably at 28 knots due to its superior engine sourced from Victoria before the breakout of hostilities. Victorians are obsessed with battleships so much that they made most of their capital ships capable of reaching 40 knots, truly insane. Of course, none of the locals know about that.

  To them, a ship as big as a castle just moored at night and is now seen by day to sail for war coming on the horizon. Regalian sailors who came from further eastward were... surprisingly welcoming. The Captain’s name was Paleniskos, and he had apologized that his superior, Commodore Freddy Lucas, was unable to make an address properly with King Zorphal Xel Arganea.

  Many had expected that those who came from further eastward would be belligerent, and unfortunately, Paleniskos confirms it. He told them that RNS Sajanus and its Taskforce are mostly crewed by the more... open-minded Regalian. He shared that average Regalian from their homend will not be acting so fondly, especially to those who sport overt physical differences.

  Regardless of that, and because it is depressing, many stop thinking too much about it. At least, the Regalian back in Eureka are getting used to living alongside races so unlike them. Strangely enough… There seems to be a notably warmer reception to those possessing sharper ears.

  In any case, Narina focused on a gring discovery. “Cannons far bigger and more destructive…” She was enthralled and terrified at the sight of gun batteries that huge. ‘Regalian Navy had solved the problem of accuracy with this FCS I keep hearing about... that is the reason why they never require more than one or two guns... but what would happen when there’s this many accurate, rge guns?’ It made her shudder at the implication.

  ‘Regalia deems us a viable source of investment that they sent a battleship and a carrier, but...’ Narina had been studiously learning about what knowledge she managed to gain from the public library. She knows that many materials there must have been controlled and doctored by the state, as shown by how cautious the Regalian were when talking amongst themselves, but it gives enough general idea of what the Regalia is capable of.

  Generally, their ships are categorized as Civilian Boat, Small Boat, Patrol Boat, Cargo, Submarine, Corvette, Frigate, Destroyer, Cruiser, Battleship, and Carrier. While no clear specifics, she had been aboard a destroyer and cruiser whenever there was training nearby. Neumann is more than happy to accommodate her request, and the Regalian High Command, after deliberation, allows her to join a limited exercise.

  Cruisers rarely have guns bigger than 11 inches, but no matter what or why, this FCS maintains accuracy close to 100% for every shot. She had yet to see a submarine, and just now she sees what a battleship looks like. The book gave only vague diagrams about what is expected on paper, but seeing it firsthand?

  “That’s a moving fortress for sure... Why does Regalia only show up now with a ship like those of Superpowers?” A Regalian pilot beside her murmured, his hand caressing a pocket watch that was given to him as standard issue equipment.

  “Wait, this is considered Superpower’s ship?!” Another excimed as more than a few heads turned to the man. Seeing everyone’s attention on him, he nods and expins. “Ma and Pa were merchants, and I am not a native Helicarian, you see? I had been through their voyages before the shipwreck. We had been to the Pilrs World, although only briefly, because... It’s not really a good pce.”

  “Never try minding those sods, however…” He changes the subject and points at the superstructure, then the barbettes, and finally the massive guns. “Regalian cannons are stubbier and spherical, unlike those far west. However, this ship doesn’t seem to be brittle whatsoever.” He crossed his hands. “It is puzzling. Why would cannons be used when missiles exist? Sure, it won’t reach as far, but there’s simply no logic to maintain them… unless…”

  Narina knows where he is going and interjects. “It is cost-efficient.” Her words elicit murmurs from her people and soldiers. “It doesn’t take much investigation to understand that a big lump of metal is much cheaper than missiles.” The Fleshmancer can taste an unknown sort of bitterness and dread.

  ‘If there’s something out there that made Regalia choose to fight in attrition... what manner of monsters were out there? I know Aquysor Fastharad is a hell on this world; a blight... but the Regalian had been dispatching these monsters with ease... Heavens save us... There’s a monster dangerous enough to require this level of firepower, but numerous enough that missiles won’t be feasible for attrition...’ She looks around her and notices those who understand the implication go silent as well. Knuckles whitened, and fingers dug deep.

  ‘Perhaps... that’s why they expand so te... they have their own enemies.’ It is not a comforting thought whatsoever. ‘What sort of foe could force a nation as mighty as Regalia to adopt a strategy so time-consuming and costly? What manner of wonders and ruins lie beyond this sea...? I was indeed arrogant... Many had changed in the st century, but that might be nothing... to the horrors the Regalian had been forced to endure.’ Her head was raised higher, eyes gazing upon the superstructure of a floating fortress.

  “The titans are not so mighty, it seems...” Thus her mind could never feel ease, for there… beyond the greater yonder of world she had never seen before… a darker veil of shadow had just fallen upon this world. Greater mystery, greater fountains of the unknown… and even greater conspiracy. One can only wonder whether Regalian’s interventions weren’t supported by the more sinister force.

  [END OF CHAPTER]

  Author’s Note:

  Yo there, this is me, myself, and I, the author who has been somewhat vibing in life.

  It is honestly looking up right now, but I don’t wanna count my eggs before they hatch.

  By the way, these are the ships:

  Duke Valor-css / RNS Sajanus = Modified Lion-css Battleship.

  Princess Boleyn-css / RNS Fastidious = Modified Colossus-css Light Carrier with extra 2.000 tonnage from lengthened runway and berth due to the nature of their mission back in SIEZ.

  Count Comet-css / RNS Vercing & Getorix = Modified Minatour-css Cruiser.

  Viscount Castor-css Destroyer / RNS Anto, Barbo, Colombo, Dago, Endo, Ferego, Goro, and Holo = Daring-css (D 05) that had been altered and modified

  Knight Malka-css Corvette = Original, see chapter four for its specification.

  Prince Jal-css LST / RNS Jamu and Kha = Converted Tarawa-css Escort Carrier, and 1.000 tons heavier than the original. It has been modernized to allow carrying twelve R/AH-67 Onyx Eagle and six UH/M-17F, and STOL-capable small aircraft.

  Update as usual… or maybe I will take a break, idk.

  Ciao