Forever Future 1.7 PBEM game

[Max_Smirnov]

June 1410, Thebes
The Eve of the War



The map of the World

"When you're going to war, the first thing you need is a good map," General Raul Heliconnen mumbled an old maxim without thinking about it. The Minister of Defense of the Socialist Union, he inherited the stocky build of his deceased father, Reuben, and to a lesser extent, his brutal features. Meanwhile, the map he was looking at was one of the best there were. Nothing less could be expected, since it covered a whole wall of the main council room of the Politbureau, the elite body responsible for making real decisions concerning the fate of the Union. Naturally, his eyes were drawn towards the small red flag pinned into the British-Japanese border, indicating ongoing war. The Queen of Brittania generally accepted the border treaty, brokered by that half-breed of Raul's uncle, Feyd, who was still refusing to die despite being hospitalized for the past decade. It was, of course, greatly beneficial to the Japanese, but in politics, the might makes right, and her kingdom was an underdog. She had to settle for guarantees of Egyptian and French military intervention should the Japanese try to grab more land that it was agreed upon. Still, while remaining silent on the matter, she effectively refused to give up the border city of Ahmedabad. The Japanese had to take it by force. They were more than willing to oblige.

"What a massacre," mused Raul. "She should have executed the local lord and pulled out the forces. Now these idiots, thousands of them, are being killed for nothing there. How many months had it been already?"

"Seven. They set sail on early December, which is late spring on the southern hemisphere, once the coastal waters of Japan became reasonably free of floating ice," answered a voice of a much smaller figure. Dressed in a business suit, dark-skinned and wearing a long-braid, Nephthys Al-Karnak was a rare example of a classical Egyptian beauty in this increasingly multi-national city. She was also considered one of the smartest people in Egypt, and it was probably true; despite the supposed gender equality championed by the Revolution, very few women managed to make it to a high place in the political hierarchy. And she was near the very top, being the Minister of Finance, having outsmarted a multitude of contenders to this extremely lucrative post, presiding over the nationalized business of the Union.

"They're running a regular supply line to keep their fleet able to keep up such a prolonged bombardment. Quite a feat, considering they concentrated thousands of cannons and almost a hundred thousand people there. Quite an expensive one, too. They're using up years worth of ammunition and had to make severe financial cuts just to make the operation running." She smiled. "Sacrificing some wayward lord and some unenlightened civilians, she made Japan unable to make any other major military deployments in years. All they're going to get in return is some bare rock."

Raul laughed. "You're as clever as you're ruthless, woman. And so is Eucliwood. Now it is obvious. It's the Japanese who are fools there. The pinnacle of conquest is to take the enemy assets intact..."

"A very fitting statement, comrade," said a new voice, female, too, even softer but somehow immensely powerful. All conversations have stopped, and all the eyes in the room turned towards the late arrival.

Cleopatra. She needed no title. She started building the Socialist Union long before the actual revolution started, the technocratic structures of governance, based around the seed of the East India Company and various industrial monopolies had been working together over the heads of Egyptian nobility for centuries. Half of the current Politbureau was comprised of people originating from that shadow government. As they were true experts, they were indispensable, and they were happy that the obstacle to enlightened, scientific rule, the old Kingdom, had fallen. Even more indispensable was Cleopatra herself. Her vast knowledge and superhuman abilities were an asset to the Socialist Union, and having distanced herself from the nobility, she easily regained her political power and people's admiration after the civil war ended and stability was needed. She was wearing a simple military uniform now, and her palaces have been turned into museums, but she didn't seem to mind. Yet, the masses had to be appeased all the time. They were numerous, empowered and that made them dangerous. No-one was surprised that Cleopatra started the council with internal situation.

"We are indeed here to plan our invasion on Russia," she said, and two Russian revolutionaries and idealists, Tesla and Molotov, outcasts in their own country, but powerful people in Egypt, nodded. "However, is our society ready for this? My observations are far from encouraging." Her gaze fell on Kushina Kamizonos, the Minister of Internal Affairs.

The blonde woman pouted. She was a distant descendant of a Japanese family, which settled in Egypt back in the antiquity, in the times the Kingdom was still young. They once were powerful nobles, but the gears of progress have impoverished the family to the point they became mere clerks. The revolution turned the tables again, and Kushina, fervent communist, fierce and loyal to a fault, after joining the People's Militia, quickly climbed to the very top of the ladder of the security apparatus.

"The situation is sh*tty," she stated bluntly. She hated to beat around the bushes. "People are lazy, and many do not understand the necessity of bringing the Revolution abroad. This creates breeding ground for countless reactionists. The Militia is deployed throughout the whole country, they're loyal, but there is limit to what they can do. Our working camps and prisons are full. Party bureaus have been organized. Still, the people are on the verge of open defiance. I guess I could remedy the situations with more prisons and secret police... But the cheaper options have been exhausted."

"This is impossible for now. There is a limit to resources we have, and with diminishing returns, only heavy investments could help at this point," said Cleopatra.

"Then we need something new, and we need it f*cking quick. I guess the French are in much deeper s*it, especially after their ancient concepts of Ascetic Virtues have crumbled in the modern world, but still. We're driving close to the edge."

"Prognosis for the future?"

"Yeah, I can hold my own with what I have. Barely."

"This will have to do," decided Cleopatra. "Now, General Heliconnen. The state of our army."

"Oh yeah, it's growing very, very fast. And the smokeless powder and the new, long range guns we owe to our superior science are giving us an edge. We have mobilized over 100,000 men, mostly modern cavalry armed in compact rifles, mortars and machineguns. With airships for scouting and fire support, this army is superior to any other in existence. We're also starting to deploy batteries of heavy artillery of a destructive power being far above and beyond anything that the Japanese, Russians or the French have."

"What does our intelligence says about Russian forces?"

"They're very numerous, and are already being armed with new weaponry... including self-propelled vehicles. They're still using black powder, though. Their main weakness is, they lack a single coherent structure, being a motley of private-owned forces. Hordes of small, disorganized units, basically."



Typical Russian unit of the era

"What about the fleet?"

"Well, so far, the situation isn't that stellar. We still have 80 or so Ships of the Line, which makes us outnumbered three to one by the Japanese. These ships might be outdated, but with such superiority in numbers, they're having an edge on us. Of course, we have the submarines. No other army has them, and the 30 or so we have could make up for the difference in numbers. They have proven their worth sinking innumerable Russian trading vessels. The problem is, our fleets are stretched thin. Guarding the Persian Bay, blockading the Russians, guarding the eastern and northern waters... However, this is all going to change very soon! The Dreadnought battleship is almost complete. While no other country decided so far to arm their fleet with steam-powered ships, we're making already another great leap forward. Displacing almost 20,000 tons, covered with armor all but impervious to cannons, and armed with the biggest guns ever built, the Dreadnought will surely turn the tables."



The Dreadnought

"It is but a single ship, though," laughed Katsuhiko Jinnai, the Minister of Youth and Bodily Health. "Are you stupid? What can it even do?"

"I'm pretty sure it'll be able to sink a hundred sailed Ships of the Line without even breaking a sweat."

"The town of Moradabad shall become the testing grounds for the new artillery and the Dreadnought," decided Cleopatra. "I want the Russian campaign to be swift, so we'll go with what we know. Cavalry, armed with new, but evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, weapons. Send Arturia to Moradabad, as well, I want her to oversee the operation."

"Swift...?" wondered Nephthys, looking at the giant country painted in green. "It took the Japanese hundreds of years to conquer Persia... You're talking about defeating a major power here."

"We can do it!" boasted Heliconnen.

Cleopatra looked out of the window. "This is going to be a war of the type the world had never seen. They shall see what happens when Cleopatra goes to war." She turned to Nicola Tesla, the Minister of Science and Industry.

"Is our industry ready for the task?"

"The third phase of industrialization had been completed. The power plants have been built in all major cities, and the mining had been expanded and modernized. I'm pretty sure we're the leading industrial power in the world now, with potential greater than that of France and Brittania combined. We could easily support an army thrice as big as the one being organized to liberate my homeland from Stalin's oppression. Yet..." he winced. "There is still more that could be done. More power plants, more mines, there is a lot of untapped resources. I'm not entirely happy that the army was given the top priority... Both in production and science."



The Socialist Union war factory

"We're not living in an ideal world," said Cleopatra. "But, you might be right. While the South has to strengthen the border defenses, I'm authorizing to use half of its resources to further improve our industry. The North must keep full military production. What about your laboratory?"

"After initial successes with such individuals as Arturia, our work on unlocking the secret of human brain and body had sadly made little progress... I believed in a dream that humans can be enhanced with electricity, but... It looks more and more like a forlorn hope. I'm also deeply saddened that the fruits of early research, incomplete and faulty, were hijacked by the security apparaturs..."

"They don't seem faulty to me," smirked Kushina. "Actually..."

Tesla winced. "For barbarians like you, maybe. But from the point of view of pure science..."

"I'm perfectly aware you considered using the power of the Theban university to develop more deadly weapons was quite barbaric," said Cleopatra. "But Stalin won't yield to more subtle persuasion. By the way, how is Russian science doing?"

"I'm sad to announce that the technological superiority enjoyed by Egypt since antiquity is a thing of the past. Within the last decades, the Russians were able not only to get to our level, but overtake us. They have mastered the internal combustion engine, far more efficient than even the best steam ones we're using. We have our... big guns, but this is the only advantage left. And their science is still advancing at a mind-boggling speed. If things won't change, soon we're going to be left behind. The only ace in our sleeve is some breakthroughs recently made in Thebes and my institute in unlocking the secrets of the universal electric field," his eyes flared. "The technology is far away from reaching maturity, though."

"What about other countries?"

"France had developed their internal combustion engines as well, and is perfecting them. With more power in smaller package, they are testing the possibility of heavier-than-air flight, without much success so far, though. However, they're developing slower than the Russians, and still lack our knowledge of human brain. Japanese are currently even more behind, but not very much so. They've already built their first large-scale experimental power generators. They're lagging in chemistry and food processing, though. However, with the extent of their spy network, they could catch up by stealing Russian technology. The Russia isn't exactly hard to infiltrate. As for the British, well. They've barely entered the industrial age, and lack modern scientific methods."

"All the more reasons to stop Russia before it develops... Hell knows what," said Heliconnen.

There was brief silence, and Jinnai took an advantage of it.
"This is all for naught if we continue to neglect our youth! My education facilities have been given the absolutely lowest priority! And the healthcare is limited to biggest cities! How can we talk about anything, if the base is neglected! The base goes before everything else, right? We have neglected the education, and this is a root of all problems! The French and the Japanese have schools in almost every city! At this rate..."

"The Theban elites are enough. We have the biggest, wealthiest and most enlightened city in the world. Who cares about those prols," said Nephthys. "Especially since our budget is so tight nowadays."

"Any ideas of remedying this?"

"We could increase the resource extraction, build more railways, or banks... Banks are a problem though. The masses distrust them, and we have enough social problems already. All in all, all those remedies are costly for their limited effect. We might be forced to employ them, though. The budget is shrinking at an alarming rate, and I ordered to stockpile gold in preparation for a black scenario. We could also increase the taxes, but the policy of low taxation has its obvious perks..."

"So what are you suggestions for increasing our budget?"

"Logic dictates just a single one. War."

[Max_Smirnov]

THE FINAL BATTLE OF AHMEDABAD. 15 JULY 1410

I was asked by Daniel to describe his final attack. This is a commission then!

It was raining. A cold, winter dawn was rising over the former city of Ahmed, renamed to Shiroushi. Colonel Tanaka, the commander of the garrison in this 'city of ghosts', as his soldiers began to name it (a notion he tried to supress, with little effect), was inspecting the defenses once again. A solid barricade was being erected all around the ruined town, material being easy to find in the form of shattered masonry. This served also a secondary purpose, to clear at least the major streets. A thousand riflemen, manning these defenses, had to be spread rather thin, but Tanaka knew they were top-notch soldiers, and their position was easy to defend, elevated over the surrounding rocky and uneven ground. They were also supported by thousands of sailros, having little else to do while their ships were crowding in the tiny harbour, being steadily resupplied from large, lumbering steamers coming straight from the Japanese mainland cities of Gamagori and Kagoshima, his hometown.
The local British army had been thoroughly massacred, and even at its full former strength it couldn't have challenged his defenses, but still something made him uneasy. Soldiers were saying that with so many civilians slaughtered here, their ghosts were out for vengeance. Such talk was pure superstition, yet Tanaka felt driven to make personally sure the garrison was at maximum combat readiness. "Goddamned rain," he cursed. "Back at home, it's already too cold to even snow, and the visibility is perfect..."

Another colonel, wearing dark blue uniform of British Royal Cavalry, had completely opposite feelings regarding the rain, even though he and his four thousand of horseless cavalrymen have been completely soaked by now. The heavy rain which started yesterday and kept up throught the night was nothing short of a miracle. Another miracle was that he lost only a few of his people, traversing the treacherous terrain in almost complete darkness, local scouts recruited from the decimated Akeshi's army. But now, they were in better positions he could have dreamed.
He smiled at the sky and drew his huge revolver, a reliable, Egyptian-made smokeless six-shooter that was an object of envy of every other officer in his regiment.
"Any orders, Colonel Callaghan?" asked a young Major. He wore a small rose on his jacket; a sign he was engaged and uninterested in other women. Harold Callaghan smiled to him; all he could do, considering their mission was suicidal and this man was unlikely to ever see his love again.
"No. We wait. We have no way of contacting the rest of our force without revealing ourselves. But don't worry. The fates carried us this far; they won't surely abandon us now."

The silence of the morning was broken with muffled rapports of rifles, two, four, then many. Tanaka felt his stomach twist. Against all reason, the Britts were able to attack them. He ran out of the small building he was in and towards the gunfire.
"What's going on? Who's in charge here? I want a raport!"
"My lord, the British are attacking, from the north!"
"How many?"
"Difficult to tell, but not more than several hundred... looks like Akeshi's soldiers are counterattacking! We should move our reserves here!"
"Akeshi's men?! Are you sure? They were massacred!"
"Absolutely, my lord! They're wearing black uniforms, and are armed with crossbows!"
Tanaka raised a hand.
"No, stop. This is not right. We have a hundred riflemen here, they will be able to easily hold them off. Reinforce them with the sailors from the western part of the city. This can't be the main attack."
"Main attack? But I think they're throwing at us all the survivors."
"Yes. So the main attack can only come from the eastern pass. The Royal British Army. Move all the reserves here, and inform Commodore Kita of the situation. He has to prepare his ships, and maneuver at least some of them into firing positions!"
There wasn't any chance for those poor British bastards, they're going to be shot to pieces... but they were surely the decoy. It was a trap from the beginning! And the intelligence failed!
He rushed towards the southern defenses, just in time to witness a large explosion blasting some stones from the top of the barricade and wounding several soldiers.



"My lord, the Celts! They're crowding through the mountain pass, several thousands of them! And they have many cannons!"
There was quickly more and more difficult to talk for the increasing fussilade and explosions of cannonballs, nicking the barricade, wounding his soldiers and crashing into few still-standing buildings, sending flying masonry everywhere.
"Return fire and hold your positions! I have ordered thousands of sailors to reinforce this part of the wall, and the British cannons are powerless to penetrate it! Send a man to Commodore Kita! We need his ships firing on those cannons, as soon as possible!"

"It is time," said Colonel Harold Callaghan, hearing cannonfire. "Now let's hope the Japanese really did left the western side lightly protected..." He stood up. "Men! Follow me!"
With a battlecry, four thousands of Royal Cavalrymen started into a mad charge, springing from their hiding places and running straight at the Japanese riflemen. Gunfire erupted, and many had fallen there, but they covered the distance very quickly, and outnumbered the defenders at least ten to one. Bombs and handguns, then sabers were put to bloody work, and soon, a river of British soldiers was pouring into the practically undefended western part of the city, sweeping away any sailors, ill-suited for city fighting, who were trying to stop them.

After the initial onslaught, things were starting to look good. The sailed ships couldn't maneuver at all, but it wasn't really needed. Following coordinates, a dozen or two of Commodore Kita's Ships of the Line opened up at the advancing Celts, blasting apart their flimsy cannons on the mountain slopes. Coordinated fire of Tanaka's riflemen was moving down the advancing infantry. The battle was slowly turning into a slaughter, the Japanese riflemen were taking casaulties, but the Britts were dying by the hundred, trying to climb the slopes under the rain of fire, and their cannons didn't seem to be of too much help.
Then, one of the warships docked at the edge of the harbour, suddenly exploded. Commodore Kita couldn't believe his eyes. The cause of the explosion was the ship next to it, firing a full broadside from the point-blank range.
"What the hell is going on?"

Having circumvented the fortifications, Callaghan's men were able to strike directly at the weakest point - helpless ships of the line, docked in the harbour. The cavalrymen charged across the pier and simply boarded them, running up the ramps directly inside and overpowering the crews, sailors being no match to well armed elite troops. Those first few were an easy prey. The things got hairy later on, one bloody boarding action after another. Ships trying to break off were fired upon, cannons extremely deadly at those ranges. Japanese didn't hesitate to fire on their own ships either, sometimes confusing those already lost with those still under their control. It was a prolonged, chaotic and extremely bloody battle, casaulties quickly mounting into hundreds on each side. Yet this was of little importance; Commodore Kita felt increasing despair as one after another mighty, seemingly-untouchable warship was sinking, like a fish shot in a barrel, the small harbour quickly turning into a ship's graveyard. The pride of Japanese fleet was being lost, and he was the one responsible...



Still, there were simply too many ships, too many sailors, and even Tanaka's riflemen retreated, trying to help to save the fleet. Or what was left of it. The situation was being slowly contained, a dozen or so remaining warships destroying those which had fallen in British hands, numerous crews overwhelming the remains of the boarders elsewhere.
The Commodore was pale, unable to say a word when Colonel Tanaka reached him.
"The second British attack had been a ruse as well... they were destroyed, but this... this is a disaster. I have failed to keep the enemy outside of the wall..."
He stopped when he heard new gunfire. This time, it was coming from the deck of one of the supply steamers, sitting in the heart of the remaining formation.
"This is... oh no, this is munitions ship!" Exclaimed Kita, breaking out of his stupor. In this chaos, he couldn't even command his forces anymore. There was only one thing he could do... "Quick! Tanaka! Take your squad, we must stop them!"

The impromptu squad reached the munitions ship as the Celts were trying to set it on fire. Rifles barked, killing many of them, and the Japanese stormed the deck. The remaining saboteurs, all wearing blue coats of Royal Cavalrymen, retreated into the bridge and returned fire, bloodying the Southerners. Tanaka could see the British leader; a tall, blonde man with some exotic handgun, killing one Japanese with each shot. He swung his rifle to his shoulder, took a careful aim and pulled the trigger. But the hammer only hit an empty chamber.
"I'm out of ammunition!" cried Kita.
"Me too," said Tanaka, checking his bandoliers in vain. It seemed everyone had similar problems; the prolonged fight depleted their amunition. Tanaka calmly drew his katana. Kita swallowed hard and followed his gesture.
"Forward!"
A swift and bloody skirmish ensued, bayonets and swords drawing blood in the close quarters of the bridge. The celtic commander was nowhere to be seen.
"He escaped to the cargo deck!" cried Kita. He turned around, but everyone else than him and Tanaka was already dead. The colonel nodded. "After him!"
They've found the British commander in the cargo hold, his handgun pointed at the door.
Colonel Callaghan smiled to the Japanese officers.
"So. Have I fired five, or six times? Do you feel lucky?"
"Five," said Tanaka calmly. "But there are two of us, and you've lost your saber. You can kill only one. Then you're dead."
The British colonel chuckled. "So it seems." Then he aimed his gun at the nearest gunpowder barrel. The Japanese rushed to stop him, but it was already too late.

The old steamer was loaded with over hundred tons of gunpowder. The explosion tore it to pieces in an instant, a column of smoke shooting a mile in the sky. The shockwave was so powerful it crushed and sank every ship within a several hundred feet, instantly killing everyone caught inside the blast, rupturing their ears and internal organs, flattening what was left of the ruins in the port area. Secondary explosions and fires destroyed what was left. Not a single of the eighty Ships of the Line survived.

Touma, the Chronicler, thought he had seen everything, every shade of hell. Now, looking at the mushroom cloud rising over Ahmed's harbour, over the bodies of thousands killed there, he understood it was the final act, the senseless annihilation, the fittingly horrible and absurd end to this 'battle'. So many dead, and for what...?
"Ain't this a sight," said the leader of the mountain axemen unit which Touma was added to. Somehow, they have survived the disastrous retreat, and, to protect the Chronicler, haven't participated in battle. Still, there were only four hundred of them left, many wounded, bandages covering heads, chests and stumps of missing limbs. "Let's go boy. We need to beat it before the Jap commander reacts. Mountains are harsh in the winter, so better prepare yourself."
Indeed. During the following weeks of gruelling, mountainous hike, that claimed the lives of one quarter of the survivors, in the deadly cold and with little food to go around, before descending towards civilized Nagpur Valley, Touma found out that the hell still had many ways of torment yet unknown to him.

[Eerion]

The winter rain was heavy and loud. Thousands of big drops falling every second were like a bunch small drums, playing an endless and chaotic song. It did not bother the majority of soldiers, as they were tired after hard day of building huge drains, so the camp would not get drowned. They were sleeping safe and soundly, oblivious of the nature’s doing. Uesugi, however, couldn’t do so. Maybe because he was getting old, and his body did not require as much sleep as in his younger days. Maybe because he was worried about the Shiroushi wasn’t defended as good as he wanted to (but stationing there would cause huge logistic issues, as the supplies line was narrowed down due to the tens of ships docked there), or because the rain made hearing anything impossible, what could lead to anything. Maybe it was just a little bit of everything, together creating a small burden on his mind.
Where the officer rushed inside his tent, reporting that scouts noticed the fighting within the city he wasn’t really surprised. Such outcome was always within the range of possibilities. The Celts were too passive during this long siege.
Finally, all these worries were moves aside. It was time to react and to fight. Exactly what a soldier like him should do.

They marched slowly. Walking uphill, fighting with small streams flowing down and unsteady ground wasn’t an easy task to do. Every now and then Kenshin saw soldiers slipping and falling on the ground, sometimes tripping their friends during that. The formation was loosened, as it would be impossible to march otherwise, yet they moved up slowly. What was worse, they were far from their optimal fighting capabilities. Any assault now would lead to heavy casualties. Still they moved on. They had to. The sounds of a fight could slowly be heard more clearly. Especially the heavy barrage of ship cannons.

Until a terrifying explosion occurred. They were still pretty far from the city walls, but the shock wave hit them badly, throwing back and dropping small stones onto them. The ones who withstand the first shock fell on the ground and protected their heads. It took few minutes until they decided to stand up, seeing that there is no aftermath of the explosion, only the huge pillar of smoke erupted from where port was. Uesugi looked at the soldiers around him.
“Move the wounded to the back lines and give them time to take care of these injuries. Make front line prepare for an attack. We need to reach the city as soon as possible!” He commanded his officers.
The trumpets, fighting with the sounds of a rain, were giving orders to the further units.

The city was dead. Literally. As the reconstruction of the city concentrated around the port, the few buildings that got, or were in the process of rebuilding, got completely destroyed. Bodies of Celtic, as well as Japanese soldiers were lying everywhere. Thrown around by the explosion, like a puppets they were often missing a limb or head. The blood was getting washed away with the rain, making tens of dirty red streams flowing slowly toward the sea or the crater. The other claimed huge part of the land, crushing the rocks around with pure strength. The itchy smell of gunpowder was dominating even the smell of blood or the rain.
Uesugi looked at this with grim face. He recognised several soldiers who stationed here, now lying dead. He saw plenty of the bodies of civilians. One of the belonged to the girl called Yana. Lying in the pool of her own blood, her head was crushed by a huge rock. She used to be the scout and survived the slavery. And now she is dead. Like every other freed slave, as they all lived in proximity of the port. The place that turned out to be deadly.
A ranger approached him “Sir! No enemy army within or close to the city! We believe they died in the explosion as well!”
“Any wounded?”
“There are some of them close to the barricade in the north. Our medical teams were dispatched here. We found few survivors from Celtic army as well. Do you wish to interrogate them?”
Kenshin looked at the city. It was a surprise, but a plain attack. A desperate one, as the winning army met its end here as well. There won’t be much to hear.
“No. Execute all of them on the spot. Do it swiftly.”
„Understood sir!” The soldier bowed and turned away.
“Wait. I have another order.” General stopped him. “I want you, and whole reconnaissance team to grab some gunpowder from the Riflemen. Destroy every single road leading to the city within one day of traveling by horse. Including every bridge you spot. I want it to be done as soon as possible.”
“Understood sir!”
“It really has become a ghost town” Kenshin thought after the ranger left. He walked towards the port. Most likely the Mori will arrive soon... if he will manage to land here.

“The plan B is already set in motion.” Motonari spoke. “The settlers will arrive within few weeks, so we may be able to rebuild a fort here.”
“These are good news. What about your fleet?”
“We have lost eighty Ship of the Line and huge amount of gunpowder and ammunition. In case of prolonged aggression we will face a shortage of both, not to mention the fact that we have now just a little bit over half of our original fleet.”
Uesugi looked at the tactical map.
“It should no happen. The city and its proximity is empty. I ordered rangers to destroy every bridge that the Celts built west from here, so they should not be able to reach us anytime soon.”
Mori nodded with approval. Kenshin continued.
„My soldiers are right now rebuilding the barricades. We made a mistake and will not repeat it. From now on nine thousands of riflemen are going to station here. We have to move the resupplying and maintaining ships to Mishima.”
“Still, the losses are great. The Grand Admiral Haruhi is going to be mad.” the Admiral pointed out.
“So will the empress. But it is not time to think about that now. We must reestablish the border fort as soon as possible. When this place will become safe we shall think about the consequences of our failure.”
Motonari nodded again. The amount of work they had to do was insane. But they must react quickly. They barely stopped the slowly spreading diseases in the abandoned city and now they had to do it again, so the settlers will be able to reestablish a city as soon as possible. And with a threat of an attack it is not going to proceed too smoothly.

[Eerion]

The army marched. Otomo Hibekatsu, an officer of Japanese army was responsible for tracking down enemy soldiers. His scouts reported him about a division of Indian crossbowmen traveling from Jalandahar towards Pasaragade. Thousand men armed with obsolete weapons against his three thousands of riflemen and militia. The ambush wasn’t even necessary to get rid of them.
On the following day, few hours after the dawn, he received another report about two people approaching them. They were traveling from Haruhipolis. One of them apparently had several tails and cat ears. “An Empress” Officer thought. He swallowed his saliva loudly. “I have a bad feeling about that.”

The sky was cloudless and it was around noon when the riders finally approached them. One of the riders wore a heavy coat with a huge hood, completely covering his head. It looked especially unusual, since the sun was pretty strong on that day. On the other hand, the second rider was an absolute opposition. A young woman of outstanding beauty wore only a short dress, with a cut on the thighs. Black clothing, lined with white fur on the edges fit the dark tails of her. Otomo knew she wasn’t an empress. Ahri was ruling for long time and there was no way she could look that young. Still, she had to be a relative of her. No one else in the whole world could have such tails.
He kneeled down. His army followed him.
“What is your name?” She asked with a soft voice.
“Otomo Hibekatsu my lady!” The officer answered without raising his head.
“I see you try to intercept enemy reinforcements. Is that correct?”
“Yes my lady.”
“Good. I will join your operation. Stand up.”
He stood up, but avoided to look at her. Her beauty, combined with very skimpy clothing were too much for him. There was no way he could withstand such temptation, especially since she was riding a horse like a man, while wearing such dress. For looking at the Royalty’s breasts or thighs he would get killed. He was absolutely sure of that fact. Therefore he kept his head down and looked at the hoofs of her mount.
“You will wait until the soldiers pass you by. Your objective from now on is to cut off their escape route. After you get to your position you do not need to hide. We shall intercept their march alone. When they start retreating, cut down all of them. Let no one escape, do you understand?” She explained her plan almost casually. It was ridiculous, but she spoke as if describing a lazy evening.
“The two of you? A thousand man?” Hibekatsu thought to himself. It sounded like a madness. But who was he to oppose the plan of such person? “What if they will not retreat, but move forward?” He asked quietly and uncertainly.
“They won’t.” The second traveler answered. His voice was very deep. “And do not expect much of a fight. It won’t look like it at all.”
“Understood sir!” Otomo saluted swiftly. He had no idea who this man was, but someone important for certain. Both of them were powerful and dangerous.
“Be happy. Not many people have enough luck to meet the future empress, Hinotebi Nekomimi in person.” She spoke to the officer and turned around. They rode toward the distant hill. To cut off the enemy forces.
“A luck? But a good or bad one?” He thought



The army was approaching. Despite being less than two kilometers from the travelers, they behaved as if there was no one there. As if thousand man should worry about two passerbies. Several times the villagers approached them to see a marching army. What else could theses two people do?


“It is time for your test. Are you ready?” The person spoke.
“Yes, I am.” Hinotebi answered.
“You better be. You must be able to deal with powers far greater than yours. If you will fail I won’t rescue you. I do not help losers.” The warning sounded very grim.
Hinotebi bit her lip. “I will not fail you father” She stated loudly and clenched her fists.
“Then do your job. Take this and eliminate them as I instructed you.” He gave her a small item and moved aside.
It was an apple. A little bit bigger than her fist and made of gold. Or something similar, since it was incredibly light. A metal would be way heavier. She took a few steps toward the army. Standing on a hill gave her a clear view onto the enemy unit.
“Die” She said quietly, raising her hand and crushing the fruit. It shattered with ease into thousand pieces, yet instead of falling on the ground they flew upward and disappeared. Hinotebi clenched her teeth and, with a huge effort, pulled her hand down.
A sound of a thunder roared the sky. A lightning struck the marching unit hitting several soldiers. The second one, one second later, hit the same spot. The following one, incredibly big, formed a ball big enough to cover a standing man instead of hitting the ground. It hovered above the unit for a split second and then exploded.

Otomo looked at the enemy soldiers and trembled. Something terrifying and incredible was happening before his very eyes. The ball made purely of light exploded, blinding for a few seconds. When he regained his sight he saw a hell. A tens if not hundreds lied on the ground with their bodies completely burned. Way more tried to crawl away with ripped limbs. He saw few soldiers, completely shocked trying to carry away their dead comrades, who were beheaded or had a huge hole in their bodies. The rest of them just ran. To get away from the person standing on a hill. Hinotebi, as for some reason he was sure it was her, stood there but all he could see from the distance was her silhouette. He looked at the approaching soldiers. They dropped their weapons and simply tried to get away from her. Otomo raised his hand. “Soldiers! Take aim!” He commanded.
“Fire!”

[Eerion]

Yuureishi. A city of ghosts. The name, used by soldiers after the fall of Ahmed became official thanks to Uesugi. He proposed it as a name for a new city after the massive funeral. The bodies of fallen soldiers and civilians were burned and buried. The ashes of sailors were given back to the sea. The shore, filled with debris, remains of gunpowder, ashes and blood looked grim and smelled terribly for weeks, as it took that long for it to dilute in this peaceful sea.
But now things were going back to normal. Reports stated that the Celts were building fortifications on a mountain several days from Yuureishi. The quick invasion in any way was impossible due to the destroyed roads and bridges. Bound by the agreement with Egypt and France, the Nippon did not planned any attack and nine thousands of rifleman were more than enough to hold off forces much greater than anything the Brittania used so far in this campaign. The fortifications secured only the inner part of the city, however, it was enough. The city used to host more than eighty thousands civilians before, yet now only ten thousands lived there. Many areas, mostly the northern ones, including the demolished palace remained uninhabited.
And this is where the Uesugi marched to. Surrounded by few dozens of rifleman as bodyguards and a translator they were supposed to meet with Britannian envoy. Celtic head spy to be exact. A person serving directly under the empress Eucliwood. Sending such person was a slap in the Uesugis face. A great general and warrior meeting with a spy and assassin... but he was partially at fault as well. Due to his order of destruction of bridges and roads leading to Yuureishi, the official diplomat could not reach the city. Though the Yuureishi was cleansed, many areas east from it weren’t and through such terrains, filled with abandoned villages, rotting bodies and wild animals feeding on the corpses, the envoy had to march. The rangers, tailing the expedition form afar, reported that the bodyguards caught some kind of disease and after several deaths the whole envoy decided to retreat to Nagpur. This Celtic spy, however, was arriving through the Himalayas so this disease issue is irrelevant from him. If Kenshin would like to meet with someone more honorable than him he might have to wait several months for that. But it was out of question. He was already tired of this place and its cursed weather. His old body belonged to the South. Cold and snowy places were most suited for him.

They entered the palace with cause. Not because of the possible trap, but rather because some parts of the building were destroyed or made unstable after the explosion. They marched slowly toward the throne room, place most obvious for such meeting.
He was leaning on the broken column. Several rangers in a loose formation stood behind him. They were armed with bows and short swords. The riflemen momentarily pointed their guns at them, but Celts did not react.
“Put them down” Uesugi ordered them calmly. “Scatter”.
A spy straightened up. “You do not ask them to look for potential traps? That’s very brave of you” He spoke with an emotionless voice.
„If you want to kill someone you do not send an assassin as a diplomat. And I see your soldiers are equipped poorly to show you mean no harm. The other ones as well” Kenshin answered him coldly. “Intentional or not, your empress disgraced me sending you here. Let’s get over it. My name is Uesugi Kenshin and I am here on behalf of Empress Ahri the fourth, the ruler of Japanese Empire.”
“My name is Sarutobi Sasuke. I am here on behalf of Empress Eucliwood, the ruler of Brittania.” Spy answered. “I came here with a proposition of peace.”
“Speak.”
Their eyes met. General was sure he saw few sparks of hate in the eyes of Celtic man. He was not used to be spoken to with such tone.
“Eucliwood is willing to sign a peace treaty. She offer you the Ahmed and the terrains surrounding it. The border would be go south through the Lone Mountain in the east and south from Calcuta, which soon will be ruled by Celts.”
“Basically you give us the terrains we have already conquested. You do not offer us anything. You simply ask for peace, having absolutely nothing else to offer.”
“We offer you the peaceful area surrounding Ahmed you old man. Otherwise it may be full of Celtic soldiers.”
“Yuureishi.”
“Excuse me?” Sarutobi looked slightly surprised.
“This is how the new city established here is called. If you wish to siege it, go ahead. I made a mistake leaving light garrison here before, but it will not happen anymore. If you want to build a mountain of your brethrens corpses once more, then I will happily provide you with materials.” Kenshins voice was calm, but filled with hatred. Soldiers looked at each other unsure how this meeting was going to end.
“I would happily challenge your so called perfect defences, yet my lady wishes for a peace. She knows about your agreement with Egypt and France and simply offer the end of bloodshed. Both countries have more interesting things to do, rather than slaughtering each other out, don’t they? Or do you wish for another war? Far greater than everything you have seen so far?”
“No. Tell your empress I agree with her offer. But tell her one more thing. The next time a prince or general of her will rebel and fight with Nippon, we will not stop at his corpse. So she should learn how to rule them. Empress Ahri does not allow others to behave such disrespectfully and will not accept any excuses next time.”
“Still he was a soldier of yours once, and you let him escape, so who are you to speak about that?”
Sarutobi pointed something out.
“Nippon is huge. An unimportant lowly officer getting away is not anything worthy the attention of the empire. Yet he ran away, because in my homeland fools never hold such responsible positions. Looks like it is a lesson you still have to learn.”
Sarutobi smiled gently “I will pass on your words to the empress.” He bowed his head and said “I bid you farewell old man. Hopefully we will not meet anymore.”
“This is my wish as well.” Uesugi answered him coldly. The general waited until they left the room.
“We’re out of there. I have few letters to write.” He commanded the soldiers. “Meanwhile you have to destroy the ruins of this palace. It has become an eyesore.”

[Eerion]

Ahri looked at the report once again. She has already read it few times, however, she kept on refusing what was written there. Her finger tapping on the letter and small fires jumping from tail to tail ensured Uesugi that she is like a volcano just before eruption.
“You are trying to tell me...” she stopped for a moment “that provided with twenty thousands of riflemen and more than two hundred ships you managed to lose that much?”
The general did not respond. He knew it would be a mistake. He might have felt too secured, maybe he got old and soft, as he was long past his prime time. All of that, however, was completely irrelevant. He still was responsible for such heavy losses and there is no excuse good enough to forgive the fact that more than ten thousands soldiers lost their life there.
“What was the point in giving you such overwhelming army if you cannot use it properly?” She was speaking with loud and annoyed voice. “If you wanted to kill some of our people you should just attack the city without bombardment. At least we would have tens of thousands people working for our empire. But now... you have lost both the city and the army. Only ruins and small establishment are left there.” Empress voice slowly turned from anger to dissappointment. “You let me down Uesugi. I did not expect you to betray my expectations this much.”
Kenshin sighed. He knew better than anyone what it meant. “If this is your wish I shall end with my life. It is in your hand my lady.”
“It certainly is. And indeed you are of no use for me anymore. Too old for a new campaign and too foolish to control a huge army...”
“You do not have to be so strict. This is nothing, but a proof that Celts are catching up to us.”
Haruhi interrupted the wigging. She entered the room wearing her admiral clothing “They deployed the riflemen, armed militia and cannons. They aren’t the potential punch bags anymore. Their attack was reckless and suicidal, but it was a message that they can fight back. Uesugi could deploy more riflemen in the city, but I think the result would be very similar if not the same.” The goddess defended the general.
“I haven’t heard anything about your return.” Ahri commented coldly.
“I arrived in Kyoto less than hour ago. Also I’m not coming alone. You have guests. One is here with me, another will arrive shortly.”
A young, nine tailed woman entered the room.
“Impossible...” Ahri spoke dumbfounded. She looked at the woman as if she was some kind of phantom, while walking slowly toward her.
“It’s me mother. I am back.” Hinotebi answered. She tried to hide her emotions, yet her voice was trembling very slightly. They embraced each other.
“Welcome home.” Empress said while sobbing.
Haruhi turned away from the family reunion and approached Uesugi.
“Your head is safe. You did a good job in Yuureishi. It could be better, but still you succeeded and made sure it did not turn into anything more problematic.”
“Thank you Grand Admiral.” He bowed towards her. “I am very grateful for your help today.”
“Do not mind it. You were a good subordinate and it saddens me that it is most likely the last time we meet.”
Kenshin straighten up and look at her confused.
“He called me back.” She clarified.
“He?”
“The father of Hinotebi. And the person overseeing the Nippon since it was created.”
The general nodded, unsure of what he could say in such situation. The highest rank generals have heard about this person, and what he did during the fall of Kyoto, but he couldn’t really say anything about it.
“Will you return?” Uesugi asked.
“He said that I still have much to do. Still, he kept Hinotebi for almost twenty years. I do not know for how long I will be kept.”
“Kept?”
“I asked Hinotebi about what happened during that time. Apparently he was disappointed with how unprepared the rulers were when faced about modern threats. He complained about fragility and lack of defences. Most likely I will be training as she did. He has some kind of a plan, but he does not share any information with anyone.”
“I hope you to stay safe Grand Admiral.”
“Same to you Kenshin. Enjoy your retirement. Spend some time with your grandchildren. Maybe I will visit them one day.”
“They will await your arrival.” He bowed again. “It was a honor working with you Grand Admiral Suzumiya.”
“Stay safe.”



“You managed to survive. I knew you are not that stupid to ignore my words.” The man, leaning on the doors frame spoke to Ahri.
“I did it for Hinotebi, not you. You should know it well enough.” The empress answered. Her voice was still somewhat shaky.
“I do. Still all I care about are results. Here is your gift. Prepare Hinotebi to become empress. I have taught her a lot, but she needs some practical experience.”
“I would do that even without your commands. She was born to rule this country.”
“Indeed she was. So enjoy your time, as it is limited.”
Ahri looked at him with a mix of anger and fear.
“Another threat of yours? What is it this time?” She spoke.
“It is not a threat, but a simple statement. I am taking Haruhi for now. She has much to learn. And you are next in line.”
“I may die of old age before that happens.” The empress stated smiling slightly.
“You will not. I ensure you of that.”
She felt a shiver going down her spine.

[Max_Smirnov]

THE YOUNG ENGINEER

---

An illustrated communist youth magazine

---

11th august 1432

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A RUSSIAN INVENTOR ACHIEVES HEAVIER-THAN-AIR FLIGHT

No more than a year ago, a prominent Theban scientist still claimed that the heavier-than-air flight is a technical impossibility. Thankfully, the Russian and French inventors couldn't care less, pointing to the obvious evidence of birds, as well as Leonardo's works, and engaged in a fierce race to make the impossible a reality. Two clear leaders quickly emerged, both using a double-wing and an internal combustion engine setup: Félix du Temple de la Croix in France and Igor Sikorski in Russia. The French inventor was the first one to make a successful jump last year, but it seemed like his Russian rival was simply biding his time to become the clear winner. And in 12 June he succeeded: his machine made a controlled, half-a-mile long flight, two dozen feet over the fields near Moscow. In the intervening month, he had managed to double that distance. The French, however, aren't giving up and are looking forwards to repeat that success as soon as possible. There is no doubt a fascinating story is beginning to unfold, since several Egyptian inventors stated that they're going to join the race as well, either using imported internal combustion engines or the newest, miniaturized steam engines of our own construction.



Igor Sikorsky and his aircraft

---

TESLA'S NEW INVENTION ALLOWS VOICE TO CARRY OVER 4000 MILES

Barely a month passed since Sikorsky's first flight, when our own genius of science, Nicola Tesla, presented his newest invention - the RADIO, a device which can carry sound and human speech over theoretically unlimited distances - instantly.
Last Saturday, 9th of August, a simultaneous presentation took place at the Theban university main aula, where Tesla himself was presenting the device to the scientific society and the government officials, and the main square of Hawara, more than 4000 miles away, where the local people could observe with their own eyes a twin device shipped straight from Tesla's laboratory near Pergamon. Below is the transcription of this historical communication between Nicola Tesla, and Comrade Arturia, the Red Saber of the Revolution, who is currently stationed in Hawara to oversee defensive operations against Indians.

"...This is Colonel Arturia, from the main square at Hawara... Can you hear me, Comrade Tesla?"

"Loud and clear. All the people gathered here at Theban university can. How is the weather at Hawara?"

"Oh, it's actually hot as hell here and I'm sweating all over... ummm... Yeah, it's over forty centigrade, high humidity, the sky is cloudless and there is a light breeze from the Celtic Sea. Over five thousand people have gathered here. Can you tell us how this device works?"

"...Indeed. As you know, my lifelong dream was giving the humanity access to the sea of cosmic energy that surrounds us. My earlier works were on increasing human energy, but with the current technology, it was possible only in special cases, as you well know..."

"Yes, of course, in cases of people who, by chance, are naturally attuned to the cosmic energy, like myself..."

"...Seeing little progress being made, I have left the seeds of my research for the future scientists to cultivate, and turned to the less challenging goal of the wireless transmission of energy. This device we're talking through today is the first, baby step into this territory. It transmits energy into space, which can be received by another device of its kind. While the amounts of energy are minuscule, unfit for industrial use, it allows for transmission of information. It is tragic how the humanity was hampered in the sharing of information by its natural evolution, considering how little energy is needed to cross vast distances."

"How can you describe the future of this invention?"

"At some time, not far from now, it will be possible for an officer in Thebes to dictate instructions, and have them instantly appear in type at his office in Busiris or elsewhere. He will be able to call up, from his desk, and talk to any person on the globe. An inexpensive instrument, not bigger than a watch, will enable its bearer to hear anywhere, on sea or land, music or song, the speech of a political leader, the address of an eminent man of science, or the sermon of an eloquent clergyman, delivered in some other place, however distant. In the same manner any picture, character, drawing, or print can be transferred from one to another place. More important than all of this, however, will be the transmission of power, without wires, which will be shown on a scale large enough to carry conviction."



Nicola Tesla during the presentation at the Theban University

[Max_Smirnov]

Operation Hammer

The tropical Moradabad, built on sturdy granite cliffs overlooking the Celtic Sea, had been a fortress town for longer than anybody could remember. At first, Indians were using it as a forward base supporting forces besieging the nearby town of Hawara; as the balance shifted, it was becoming more and more of a defensive bulwark against possible Egyptian attacks. The mountainous area between the two cities became riddled with fortifications. Moradabad could have fallen long time ago if a large Egyptian army was sent to capture it, but the Egyptians were unwilling to commit too many forces to this comparatively insignificant area, and even less willing to cope with resulting heavy casaulties. So they resorted to their cannons, hoping to crush the defenses to the point when their local forces could capture it. Those attempts have been performed every couple of years, after stockpiling enough ammunition. Yet, the attack plans had always been cancelled. The Egyptian firing positions were half a mile away from the forward Indian earthworks, which were far too sturdy for the cannons to do any real damage to them. The city itself was high up on the mountains, and the shells had little power left after flying up there. What's more, Indians became well accustomed to the bombardments, and in addition to building their structures sturdy, they have riddled the granite rock under the city with endless tunnels, where the civilians and soldiers were evacuated the moment Egyptian preparations were spotted.
The Indian garrison was fifteen thousand strong, and another fifteen thousand stationed in a fortress sitting beyond the Egyptian reach and overlooking the supply routes that linked Moradabad with the rest of India (or, more precisely, the provincial capitol of Darjeerling), which the Egyptians lacked manpower to cut off. Should the Egyptian bombardment cause any serious casaulties, the soldiers could quickly be moved to reinforce the city via an underground tunnel. Those soldiers were poorly armed in comparison to the Egyptians, but the fortifications, coupled with numerical superiority, were more than enough to make up for the difference. And so the siege churned on for centuries, countless Egyptian bombardments being unable to cause any lasting damage; as their cannons were getting better and more numerous, so were the Indian fortifications.
It seemed like another repeat of this routine was drawing close. The Indians have spotted increased enemy activity and put the city on an alert. But, unbeknowst to them, this time was going to be different.

The Egyptian command staff, untypically including several high-ranking officials and scientists, gathered in a squat tower, constructed from large stone blocks and situated on a high ground, providing a breathtaking view of the whole area, from the white Himalayan ranges to the south, across the huge, forested basin of the Mora Valley, the multiple defensive lines surrounding Moradabad, to the endless, sunlit expanse of the Celtic Sea to the north. A tall woman in a revealing red coat was observing the area through a pair of binoculars. Despite formally being just a Colonel without a set assignment, Arturia was in supreme command over the operation.

"To think of it. As a knight, I've always disliked the idea of ranged weaponry. I can't say I'm not excited today, though!"

"The knights were misled lapdogs of the nobility, assisting those leeches in exploting the working masses," grumbled General Nefer, not exactly happy with this blonde freak of nature taking over his command. But she was impossible to get rid of other than through an assassination. Despite her foreign, shady origins she had already racked up an impressive account of military victories for the Revolution, thus gaining popularity amongst the people. Despite her outrageous choice of clothing, her morals and political views seemed otherwise pure. And most importantly, she enjoyed protection and support of Cleopatra. Still, it was irking to think this annoying person was probably the most experienced military commander in the world.

"Yeah, yeah," said Arturia. "I was being misled allright..." She shifted her gaze to the sea. A slab of grey steel was floating there, perfectly visible due to its size despite being anchored almost ten miles off the coast. The Indians were unlikely to even know what the Dreadnought was, but, judging by the activity within Moradabad, they preferred to stay on the safe side. The civilian activity ceased, and the military posts were strenghtened. She cleared her throat. "Contact the Dreadnought. They're clear to fire at will."

"Roger that!" said the radio operator. "This is the HQ. Dreadnought, you're clear to fire at will."

"Understood. Firing the main guns," came an answer.

Because of the distances involved, it was all happening in an eerie silence, interrupted only by the clattering of a movie camera. Puffs of smoke appeared over the battleship, as it fired full broadside, four out of five turrets, two 12-inch guns each, by far the most powerful guns ever produced. Arturia wasn't sure, but she thought she could see small black dots of projectiles quickly climbing into the air. Several seconds have passed in silence.

"Have they missed?" asked someone.

"At such ranges, a shell travelling at almost 3000 feet per second still needs over fifteen seconds to arrive at the target," explained one of the scientists.

Few more seconds passed and suddenly, eight huge pillars of water erupted from the Moradabad harbour area, each of them dwarfing the harbour buildings.

"Twelve hundred feet short. Adjust the aim," relayed the radio operator.

The guns of the Dreadnought were already being reloaded and she was able to fire another salvo within just twenty seconds. This time, the shells landed perfectly on target, right in the middle of the town. The scale of the immediate destruction was enormous. While the cannons the Egyptians were using up to this point struggled to crush even a single rock-made structure, the explosions caused by Dreadnought's guns completely annihilated a part of the city in an instant, shattered rock flying hundreds feet in the air. The exact scale of the damage was impossible to tell, though, as everything became covered with smoke and dust.

"Time to make things more interesting!" said Arturia. "Tell the artillery batteries to start firing as well."



Far behind the command post, a frantic activity started, as the Egyptian cannoneers were tending to massive, 9-inch callibre siege mortars, which were to be tested today as well. Over a hundred of those mortars had been amassed for this operation, and now they started firing from a distance once thought impossible, lobbing heavy shells over five miles of defensive lines and straight into the enemy town. While they were far less destructive than Dreadnought's guns, they were far more numerous and better supplied with ammunition. Their shells had armored tips, designed to fall almost vertically and explode only after burying themselves several feet deep into the rock, causing the ground to shake and structures to topple. Even the tunnels, as it turned out, failed to provide protection in many cases, many of them dug too shallow caved in after first direct hits. Soon the whole town of Moradabad was covered by the constant barrage of smoke and fire.

"Impossible... I'm sure nothing can survive this," gasped one of the politicians.

"Hardly impossible," smirked the scientist from before. "The satanic science of destruction, as Comrade Tesla once put it. The Egypt might had been outdone on some fields, but not when it comes to this."

"I'm sure this kind of firepower would've killed even an Immortal," said General Nefer, looking sideways at the Red Saber.

"Oh yeah, I would love to test these guns against Gandhi's Sanctuary Field," said the scientist. "Too bad no-one knows where he is."

"What about the Japanese superweapon? One that eradicated several hundred of Celtic crossbowmen in one shot?" asked the politican.

"They're just rumors. And we're already deploying similar super-heavy mortars and units of machinegunners on the Japanese border," said Nefer. "In reinforced bunkers. I'd like to see them try attacking us."

"That is, unless they build airplanes and fly right over them," smiled the scientist sourly. "True, they lack the technological base to conceive an airplane of their own, but with the extent of their intelligence in Russia, it's only a question of time before they'll procure the blueprints."

"Hah, I've seen those flimsy contraptions in Pergamon," answered the general. "I don't think the airplane is ever going to become a serious weapon of war."

"I don't know about the airplanes," said the politician, "But I'm not doubting the power of the technology. I believe the propaganda value of these new moving pictures," he pointed at the camera, "is going to be immense."

"Indeed," nodded the scientist. "It's funny how the accidental results of Tesla's researches are at least equally amazing as what he intends to develop. Maybe because his goals are such ambitious. Some even say, unrealistic. He's completely ignoring the latest discoveries about the nature of light, for example, as they don't fit with his vision of the universe..."

Arturia was just smiling, paying more attention to the bombarded city than the discussion. "Somewhat impersonal, but beautiful, isn't it? Hmm?"

The guns kept their steady barrage for over two hours, methodically pounding Moradabad into dust. Then, finally, sudden silence fell over the mountains. People, used to the steady, thundering noise were shaking their heads. Within another hour, the smoke and dust slowly cleared, revealing a cratered hell stretching where the town once stood. Hardly any building was left standing. Even the mighty earthworks laid largely demolished.

"Now, let's send our forces and capture the city!" General Nefer raised his fist. But Arturia shook her head, assessing the damage through her binoculars, her expression serious and focused.

"No. Too much risk and there is little to gain. When the darkness falls, we're going to send in a small force of infiltrators to assess the damage."

"What? We must seize the moment! I'm starting to think the stories about your boldness, Colonel, are greatly exaggerated!"

"Shoving your hand into a nest of cornered rats is stupidity, not boldness," said Arturia, putting a chocolate candy in her mouth.

---

Next morning the staff gathered in the same tower again.

"These are the reports from the infiltrators... Seems we were overenthusiastic," said a staff officer, shifting through the papers, Arturia and Nefer listening intently. "The extent of damage is enormous, but hardly decisive. The city is levelled, but the deeper parts of the tunnel network are untouched. Estimated 40,000 of civilians and 7,000 soldiers killed. The infiltrators were able to plant explosives in one of the caves, burrying another thousand of Indian soldiers beneath the rocks, before they were intercepted by their reinforcements, already flooding through the tunnel connecting Moradabad to the neighbouring fortress. Out of 150 men, only 35 made it alive."

"So there is still ten thousands or so Indian soldiers inside. And assaulting the ruins is as difficult as assaulting an intact city. Damn," said Nefer. "We can't do that with just two infantry divisions. Still, in just a couple of hours, we caused nearly as much damage as the Japanese managed to cause to Ahmedabad in half-year-long siege."

"We have expended well over a thousand tons of ammunition," the officer looked at another paper. "Any serious bombardment now is out of question. The closest heavy munitions factory is in Pergamon, and we're unlikely to receive more, as everything is being stockpiled for the incoming invasion against Russia."

"That's it, then. The operation is cancelled. Soldiers are to return to defensive positions," decided Arturia. "Prepare my airship for takeoff, I'm going back to Thebes."

"So nothing changes on the Western Front..." sighed one of the generals. "This siege failed like every previous one. Except we have never killed so many civilians before. Is this really how the wars are going to look in the future?"

[Eerion]

Two generals were sitting in a tent over a tactical map. It was more than a week since the Japanese army began its march towards the Pasargadae. Now, at the outskirts of town they were preparing for the decisive attack.
“The enemy has reinforced the city very recently.” Shimazu Yoshihiro explained the situation. “Not only, they made sure the defenders replaced the forces unsuitable for city fighting, but also they adjusted the city itself. Many buildings were destroyed to widen the roads and, especially in the southern part, the roads were crushed, so horses won’t slide on them. They plan on effectively using the knights within the city boundaries.”
Takeda Shingen looked at the map. The Pasargadae became a trap for unsuspecting attack once. It was his duty not to repeat the same mistake.
“So they focus on the defence of inner city completely ignoring the rest, is that correct?”
Shimazu nodded. “It is true, however, we have spotted huge reinforcements north and east from the Pasargadae. If we won’t capture and reinforce it quickly, an army of 11 000 men will make our task harder.”
“No it’s not going to happen. Listen. Prepare our first and second army to storm the city. Make the army including the garrisons from the Bist attack from the west, while the Kyushu army will assault from the south. With double sided attack they should be suppressed successfully. And since the enemy want to focus on the city fights, breaching the walls should be easy.”
“Indeed. Our scouts reported that only the inner walls are occupied. They intentionally want to lure us in.”
“So let them think we will fall for their plan. Swift deployment with suppressive fire should prevent their knights from charging and hold the rest in check as well. Call the commanders of these two armies to us. We must instruct them personally. But before that... Get the second Kyushu army to block their reinforcements. We must ensure their army will not advance too smoothly. Eight thousands riflemen should pose a threat big enough to give us time to claim and reinforce the Pasargadae before they make their move.”



“Jinbo Goro. For disobeying the general orders, betraying your brethren, the Nippon itself and allowing thousands of people to die I, Takeda Shingen sentence you to die. Do you have any last wish?” Takeda looked into the eyes of the officer. There was no repentance in them. Kneeled and bounded he looked at his general with hatred.
“They were not Japanese. It was better to let these Persian fools die rather than Japanese.” Jinbo spoke angrily.
“They were fighting for Nippon and proved to be more useful to our country this day than you were for your whole miserable life.” The Shingen spoke completely emotionless. “Die in disgrace you deserve.” He pulled the trigger and shoot him in the head. The dead body fell on the ground only to be carried away to the small pile of others. Hundreds of soldiers around looked at the mass execution silently. Both generals were killing those who refused to attack simultaneously. In result, the Indian army managed to surround and crush the invaders. Due to the obsolete equipment the Gandhi’s forces paid a great price for this attack, yet they succeeded. Only after the heavy fights were over, the Kyushu army entered and literally executed the remaining enemies.
And now every officer and warrant officer, responsible for this decision lied dead, killed for the betrayal of the country. Instead of smooth action the Japanese army suffered great losses and even though only every third soldier of the first army died, the majority were heavily wounded and in no position to continue fighting. Whole army had to be disbanded.
It all started in with Hinotebi. This woman began promoting the idea of absolute superiority of Nippon over others. The Japan was clearly better and foreign products were always worse than local ones. It did not take long for some people to use this policy to people as well. What greatly backfired in the multicultural lands of Northern Nippon. Before, neither the empress not her daughter cared about this extreme faction, yet now it resulted in slaughter of whole army and for sure is going to slow the whole campaign in India.
“Soldiers!” He shouted. „Today, due to the betrayal of your brethren, the forces of Nippon lost an many people! Thousands of soldiers were killed or gravely injured! All because of a foolish opinions that one race is better than another! But the people who died together were no other than the citizens of our Empire! Even if not since their birth, they lived, fought and died for Japan! In order to make it stronger!” Kenshin stopped for the moment. „And were betrayed! These foolish officers not only killed their own allies, but also harmed the bond we have as soldiers! The bond which let us trust in each other and protect each other lives during this war! We must stay strong! This is why from now on any racist, as they call this ideology, concept is forbidden! Those who shall even speak about it will be executed and their entire families forced to commit suicide! Soldiers on Nippon! It is not your origin that matters, but how greatly you care about our country! Do not let anyone tell you it is the other way around! Together we shall win! Divided we are bound to fall!”
As he finished, the soldiers began shouting. Most of them, as Takeda saw few that obviously did not appreciate his speech. He have to get rid of them of them. Extremists, religious or political were extremely dangerous and he knew that well enough.
“It is going to be tough.” He thought to himself. “I must write to Ahri as soon as possible. They must do something or it will go completely out of control.”

The image of Takeda Shingen.

[Max_Smirnov]

The Battle of Moscow, 7 June 1461


A mortar shell exploded, showering the whole unit with earth. Lieutnant Ceres Heliconnen instinctively threw herself to the ground, then crawled towards the rocks that were their cover, to take a look at the vast plain where the battle was taking place. Her once pristine uniform was now completely covered in grime and dust, that infamous Russian dust that was getting everywhere, causing skin to itch and weapons to jam.
The massive curtain wall, surrounding the Russian capitol was looming in a distance, miles long, hundred feet tall and dividing the river valley in two. That was their ultimate target, but first, they had to breach the loose line of small forts and earthworks that protected the big city's outer perimeter. Ceres' unit, like many others, was dispatched to a forward position, to supress the Russian defenders at key locations with concentrated machinegun and light cannon fire. The whole army was mounted, and the speed was the key to success, so they couldn't take any of the really heavy weapons with them.
The air was filled with lines of tracer bullets, the incessant rattling of machineguns punctuated by discharges of cannons and mortars. In the midst of all the chaos, it was impossible to tell if the plan was working, but the Red Army seemed to be dishing out far more firepower than it was taking in return. The Russian Corporate Guard forces, stretched along the very wide front, despite being dug in pretty well, seemed to simply lack the numbers to repel this multiple pincer attacks. Still, another mortar shell landed nearby, hitting one of machineguns directly, killing its crew and wounding several riflemen. Their screams merged with the hellish symphony of the battlefield.

---

It all started on a day very different from this one, amidst the cold, Egyptian spring rains, that tended to fall for weeks. The sky was weeping, even if Ceres herself was unable to. Dressed in her new Lieutnant's uniform, she was watching the casket being lowered into the earth. So far away from the long-lost city of Assak on the Persian coast, where Feyd Heliconnen was born. It wasn't like Ceres was indifferent to her father. She was more shocked than anything, not even really noticing the rain, which had thoroughly soaked her by now. Despite former Baron's wealth and power, he wasn't exactly held in high regard in the new communist Egypt. The ceremony was thus a small, private one, with hardly anyone attending at all. Not even Raul showed his face, not really wishing to 'undermine' his high office. The more surprising was the appearance of Arturia among the few guests. Dressed in black, with her face concealed behind a veil, she said some solemn words to Ceres, but the girl couldn't even remember what those were.

And then, the next night, the orders to embark arrived. Ceres remembered endless columns of cavalrymen, slowly making their way through Memphis towards the harbor. Everyone seemed hopeful and in high spirits, the inhabitants of the city crowding on the pavements, throwing flowers and cheering on the soldiers like they already were heroes. Still, deep down everyone knew they were going to war, and there was a slight air of sadness in the midst of all this cheering.
Ceres also remembered the ships, one of the most beautiful sights she'd ever seen. Twenty huge steamers, endless windows glowing with electric light, dark smoke rising from their chimneys into the air. Still having not fully recovered after the funeral, riding her horse amidst thousands of other soldiers, it was almost like a revelation. She wasn't sure what was exactly revealed back then, what kind of a religious experience it had been, but it had changed her in subtle ways. The world was both a beautiful and a horrible place. Whatever it had in store for her, she was going to take.

---

The huge battlecry rising from tens of thousands of throats momentarily drowned even the sounds of gunfire. The hills on the northern side of the valley turned dark, as an endless tide of cavalry rode down, red banners flowing, hooves raising clouds of dust. The sea of riders slowly parted into six huge wedges, one full division thrown against each weakened point of the Russian perimeter. The steppe was trembling under thousands of hooves.



The Corporate Guard shifted their targets, machineguns and snipers, mortars and cannons, but it was of no use against such mass. The perimeter was quickly overrun and the mass of cavalry continued towards the walls, not even slowed down by Russian stragglers, waiting for them in the suburbs. They could be taken care of later.
Ceres jumped to her feet. "Everyone! Unlumber the guns! Mount the horses!"
Her fire support was no longer needed here, her unit had to join the attack on the city itself. The curtain wall was imposing, but again, it would take many thousands of soldiers and hundreds of guns to fully man it. The Russians had maybe a tenth of those numbers. Not enough to thwart such a massive army, to stop them from blowing up the massive iron gates with explosives or precise shots fired by their 1.5 inch anti-armor cannons.

---

Many generals were doubting Cleopatra's idea of not using any heavy artillery for this invasion, to keep the Red Army a fully mounted, highly mobile force. For one, so far this allowed them to avoid any serious problems during the landing in a coastal town of Kaluga. The Egyptian infiltrators, aided by the local resistance against the capitalist oppression, had taken over the town prior to the invasion, but still, the local harbor was quite small and not really prepared to receive a whole fleet of steamers. There were some ships of uncertain allegiance sailing around, too.
Ceres even remembered overhearing a conversation on her ship's bridge, where she was sent to receive landing directives.
"What the hell? What kind of ships are those? Russian? Are they insane? We're having a war here! First, you're a Russian, who are they?"
"Hard to say... Pirates, smugglers, corporate traders... This is a scum of villainy, you know. I reckon about two out of five are Russian military..."
"Have you heard that, comrade?" the captain of the troop ship addressed the submarine fleet commander over the radio. "Do something, I can't execute my orders with these ships around... but what if we hit some neutral ships?"
"No worries, Comrade," answered the radio. "I'll order my men to set the torpedoes to destroy just two fifths of the target."
A massive pillar of water shoot into the sky, an explosion tearing a nearby sailed ship to pieces.
"Oh well. I think my torpedoes are a bit overzealous."

Both Egyptian armies, 15 divisions amounting to more than 40,000 men in total, armed with thousands of cannons, machineguns and mortars, amassed around the small town, before one of them marching off down the Volga Valley towards the Russian capitol, while the other one launching itself against the second target, city of Kiev, famous for its gold mines. Soon before the battle of Moscow started, radio news from Kiev came, stating that the city was taken with only minimal losses, five thousand defenders surrendering after mounting only a brief resistance. Moscow, however, was supposed to be a much harder target. Especially since nobody knew what Stalin is really capable of, and this city had been his lair for thousands of years.

---

They were proceeding along one of the eight wide, empty streets converging radially towards Kremlin. The resistance within the city limits stiffened, but was still episodic, Russians waiting in ambushes and opening up from close range to kill as many cavalrymen as possible, before escaping. Or trying to. Ceres' unit was in the process of clearing one of such ambush sites with hand grenades, before storming in to kill or capture any survivors, when the young Lieutnant heard sudden bursts of machinegun fire coming from the street, followed by screams of men and desperate neighs of horses.
Ceres rushed to the window. So did some of her men. She was only blinking, as they started to curse.
"Sh*t! The Russian armored cars! They were holding them in reserve up to this moment!"
The cavalrymen were desperately firing upon the oncoming vehicles, but the bullets only ricocheted off their armored hulls. Those Egyptians who didn't quickly take cover in the neighbouring buildings were being mowed down by automatic gunfire. The vehicles were advancing slowly, their engines droning ominously. A couple of them were disabled by some courageous men, managing to get close enough to throw a well-timed grenade under their wheels, but the remaining armored cars were easily shrugging off any attempt to destroy them. A disaster was unfolding.
"Lieutnant! Your orders, Lieutnant!"

---

It was becoming a common practice in the Red Army for the officers to carry the same weaponry as their men. The art of swordfighting was becoming outdated, and the officers were ditching their sabres in favour of rifles to fight shoulder-to-shoulder alongside their men; at the same time, the famous Egyptian handguns became so plentiful that almost any private could afford them, and the combat doctrine, shaped in the times of the civil war, didn't forbid non-standard weaponry. Ceres Heliconnen followed this trend. First she intended to use a standard carbine, or maybe even one of the unreliable submachineguns, but then, her attention was drawn by new kind of specialist weapon, developed particularly with this campaign in mind.
"Girl, you won't be even able to lift it!" laughed the quartermaster. Then his jaw dropped as Ceres casually grabbed the oversized, anti-armor rifle with one hand.



"Y-yeah, I think I'll be taking this," she said.

---

Breaking out of stupor, Lieutnant Heliconnen braced her rifle against the window frame, took careful aim at the leading vehicle and pulled the trigger. A deafening discharge followed, but despite the appearances, Ceres wasn't an ordinary human. She hardly flinched at the massive recoil.



The steel-tipped bullet hit the frontal plate protecting the driver, easily penetrating it and unleashing a hail of red-hot pieces of broken armor inside the vehicle, killing and maiming the crew. The car rolled to the side, as Ceres drew the bolt back, spent cartridge clattering on the floor, before loading fresh .6 inch round into the chamber, aiming, and firing again. Another car was disabled, quickly catching fire.
"Radio Operator!" she shouted. "Call the command! We need a full unit of anti-armor rifles on this location!"

---

By the evening, the Egyptian cavalrymen hoisted a red banner over the Kremlin. In the furious cityfighting, they suffered almost 5000 casualties, mostly due to the sudden appearance of Russian armored cars. Russian losses were similar, the whole garrison killed or taken prisoner. About the Russian leader, there was no word. Nobody had seen him, his chambers in Kremlin empty. It seemed like he suspected the Moscow was going to fall. Not only he was missing, but also any and all important documents have been burned.
The Red Army was to stand down and recover. With the imminent arrival of 10 fresh divisions, they were to resume the offensive soon and push further into the Russian mainland, along the Volga Valley, towards Novosibirsk and Smolensk, to capture them before the coming of the infamous dust storm season. It was widely recognized that if they don't make it in that time, the whole offensive might be bogged down by massive Russian mobilization, which was sure to start soon.

[Max_Smirnov]

Another post commissioned by Daniel. Enjoy!



Despite the very late hour, fireworks were still lighting up the night sky over Numantia. The people were cheering, as something that so many of them hoped for, something long argued by the intellectuals, including the British Queen herself had finally come to pass in the spring of 1463: the first free, universal, democratic elections. Shocking many of the old nobility, the Queen had abdicated. There were already voices of outrage, coming from the warlike, southern provinces, but here, in the heart of the British empire, the collective mind of the people was shaped by modern thoughts and modern inventions, and the rule of law and justice held sway for so long it was considered natural. There were signs of danger, too, the powerful Communist Worker's Party was using the freedom of speech to convey messages of directly joining Brittania with the Egyptian Socialist Union. But the taller of the two seemingly-young women, sitting at the forested edge of a glade, was blind to such subtleties, and the other one didn't feel the need to waste her remaining time on discussing them. She had already said (or rather, wrote) almost all that there was for her to be said.

"Such a perfect day," mused Ifurita, observing the sky. "Are you happy now, Eucliwood? Everything you've told me about is coming to pass. The age of tyranny is ending. Of many tyrannies, not only the human one, but the tyranny of ilness, of gruelling work, even the one of the night itself... U-uh?"

Ifurita suddenly felt Eucliwood's hand going under her arm, pulling her closer. She blushed. She loved her queen, her... mother, that mysterious, wise, brilliant, selfless gentle woman, more than anything else in the world, but such displays of affection, physical proximity were extremely rare.

"HAVE YOU ENJOYED YOURSELF TODAY?" appeared on Eucliwood's notepad. It was being dark, but not to Ifurita's eyes, which could spot a man from many miles away.

She recalled the events of the day. The long-promised day which Eucliwood, finally freed of the burdens of governance, could fully dedicate to her pupil. They've spent long hours in the library, reading together Ifurita's favourite books. They were walking around the town's parks and shopping districts, Eucliwood showering her with small, subtle presents. They visited Numantia's Great Arena, which once held brutal gladiatorial games for Arturia's amusement, now being a place of cheerful sports competitions. And there were good meals, cotton candy, and a photo taken together. And even a bit of alcohol which Eucliwood practically forced Ifurita to drink. Most importantly of all, the former Queen was smiling a lot throughout the whole day, seemingly carefree, with no usual worries gnawing on her soul, and nothing could be more precious to Ifurita than seeing her mother happy.

She just smiled, and nodded. "Yes."

"PROMISE ME YOU WON'T HAVE ANY REGRETS."

This was surprising. But how to refuse? Eucliwood seemed suddenly serious.

"Sure... I won't..."



"IT IS TIME."

Eucliwood dropped her notepad and gotten up, looking at the glade.

"Hey, your notepa..."

Ifurita's words died out when Eucliwood started to slowly remove her armor. The tall woman quickly turned her head away, blushing.

"What-what are you doing?" she managed. She fully realized the true purpose that armor was serving. Arturia's mail was supposed to be highly resistant to magic, and Eucliwood was wearing it to dampen her powers, so they won't go out of control. She never, ever was taking it off, even while bathing, unless in complete wilderness, dozens of miles away from any human settlement.
With a corner of her eye, Ifurita could see the dropped notepad. The next page became revealed as it fell.

"YOU KNOW WELL WHAT IT MEANS. PLEASE DO NOT LET YOUR FEELINGS TO GET IN THE WAY."

Ifurita's heart almost stopped, and her spine froze. As she heard parts of armor and clothing falling to the ground, she frantically started to turn the pages.

"EVERYTHING I HAVE DONE FOR YOU WAS LEADING UP TO THIS POINT."
"MY WORK IN THIS WORLD IS NEARLY DONE."

Ifurita's reason knew exactly what Eucliwood meant but her heart was still refusing to accept it.

"N-no, not now, not today..."

"DON'T BE SAD. YOU KNOW HOW MUCH OF A CURSE AN ETERNAL LIFE IS."
"I AM HAPPY TO BE FINALLY FREE."

Ifurita heard a sound of splashing water, and she finally dared to look at Eucliwood. The woman... looking more like a girl now, without her armor, was standing in the lake, looking at her, water covering her pale skin almost to her bare shoulders.

"I-I understand. But why now, why tonight, why not to live at least a few more years, now, when we have all the time for ourselves? What about Arturia? Or Cleopatra, for that matter? They lived far longer than you did!"

"DO NOT THINK OF THE OTHERS. THEY'RE DEMONS, NOT HUMANS. AND SO ARTURIA WAS RESHAPED INTO ONE."
"AS YOU WELL UNDERSTAND, THIS IS A WORSE FATE THAN DEATH ITSELF."
"EVEN MERLIN FINALLY UNDERSTOOD, AND I FREED HIM FROM THE PAIN OF EXISTENCE."
"MOMENTS ARE PRECIOUS EXACLTY BECAUSE THEY'RE FLEETING."
"FAR MORE IMPORTANT IS HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE, THAN HOW LONG IT IS."
"THERE IS BUT ONE MORE THING FOR YOU TO LEARN."
"THE MOST POWERFUL WORD OF ALL."

Ifurita stood up, tears swelling in her eyes.
"Eucliwood! I'm sorry! I don't want to betray your teachings! B-but I... I... I LOVE YOU! And I don't want you to..."

"DIE."

The world immediately went deadly silent, as the quietly uttered word exploded from Eucliwood's mouth. Her unfettered power made Ifurita's vision to twist and blur, colors and shapes losing their coherence. Immediately, the grass surrounding the glade turned brown, then crumbled to dust. Trees withered and died within seconds, before their blackened leaves even managed to fell to the ground like a dry rain. Ifurita felt the magic ravaging her own body as well, telling each limb, each cell, to just give up and die, die, die, what is the purpose of fighting this, everything dies, immortals die, worlds die, suns die, even the universe itself is going to die someday, why to prolong this, why to suffer, why not submit to the final silence, just die, die, don't be silly and die, die, like a final command that couldn't, wouldn't be disobeyed, thrown from impossible heights at this puny speck of dust that dared to call herself a conscious being. Her behaviour, her clothing, her skin, her memories, her will, everything mere decorum, a laughable mask to hide the flesh, which had been rotting since the day of her birth, eager to return to the dust it arose from. Ifurita felt her mind breaking, and she accepted the command to die.

Then, something else happened. Something inside her body turned, twisted and suddenly a coat of golden light surrounded her. The outside world faded, and suddenly, Ifurita felt elated, dreamy vistas opening before her eyes, a state of joy without want, without need, an absolute peace of mind beyond life or death. It might have lasted a split second or a billion years. It was impossible to tell.

But when it passed, Ifurita was standing there, alive and untouched. Eucliwood's eyes were piercing her. She picked up the notepad once again.

"IT IS THE AVALON. THE LOST SHEATH OF THE EXCALIBUR."
"IT IS INSIDE OF YOU. YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WORTHY OF IT. BE PROUD."
"NOW YOU KNOW THE FINAL WORD."
"PLEASE, USE IT ON ME."

Ifurita clenched her fists. She understood, Eucliwood was preparing her for this moment for years, but she refused to accept it. How she could kill the only person she loved?

Then Eucliwood looked at her. Ifurita had never seen that expression on her face before. A pleading, pitiful look of those vulnerable eyes. Eyes pleading her to grant the final release in the only really dignified way possible. And then, the tall woman remembered something else. True love cannot impose its feelings on others. To truly love, was to truly respect.



She nodded. If her heart was crying, she was going to silence it by her force of will. Crush her feelings. Nobody said it was going to be easy. But it was the only way. It was the only way of showing respect to Eucliwood. If she walked away now, she'd betray all love and trust placed in her.

Killing in itself never was something difficult. Not once her mind was made up. After all, it was the very nature of her being. Eucliwood tried to make her a human, but deep down, Ifurita knew the truth. She was a living weapon, first and foremost, an impure, sinful, pitiful creature. What she was about to do now, was just a realization of her original purpose.

She closed her eyes and focused the power. Unlike Eucliwood, she didn't need to speak anything aloud. The intent was enough. Eucliwood's body flashed and disappeared, her frail bones visible for a split-second, before they evaporated as well, leaving no trace of her existence on the surface of the dead lake.

Ifurita sank to her knees, tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked at the final words, written in the notepad.

"I LOVE YOU TOO, IFURITA. AND SO I LOVE BRITTANIA. PLEASE TAKE A GOOD CARE OF IT."
"NOW I AM GONE, BUT I WILL REMAIN FOREVER WITH YOU."
"KEEP THIS AS MY FINAL GIFT."

The next page was empty. Ifurita felt her stomach clenching again, as she realized these were the very last words she was going to ever hear from the one she loved. Suddenly, something new happened. Eucliwood's pen, which was laying nearby, a pen which had been with the Queen for as long as anybody could remember, started to quickly grow, shifting its shape. It finally transformed into a white quarterstaff-like device. Ifurita picked it up, and when she did, tendrils of white substance shot out of it, tearing her clothing away and replacing them with a tight-fitting suit.

"I won't... let you down," she whispered. "I promise."

She gathered her powers again and shoot up into the night sky. She indeed was finally ready for the new world. More than Eucliwood could ever be. And she knew that. If Eucliwood wanted her heart to turn to steel, so be it.

[Solarius Scorch]

"Eucliwood died tonight."

"What are you saying, Monsieur?" Madamme D'Arc, the former Minister of Education, gave her former President a surprised glance. "How? I mean, how do you know?"

Bonaparte continued looking outside the window, into the night. It was his favourite residence at the time, a large but tastefully simple villa overlooking the Hexagon Forest. Not very far from Paris, but nearly unreachable by politicians, journalists and bankers. Virtually inaccessible to anyone except his servants and guests, and naturally Josephine, it was quite perfect for his needs. He hardly ever left it these days.

"I saw her burst into flame, as one could put it. Figuratively, of course. Such an event is hard to miss, if you have eyes like mine."

"I see", answered Madamme D'Arc wistfully. She wasn't the type to desire immortality, but she was quite prone to drama, which sometimes tended to permeate the world of Immortals. "Was it an assassination...?"

"No. She seems to have left us behind, bored of our..." He almost said 'grand game', but decided against it, "Our vale of tears. It must have tired her out."

The woman nodded slowly. Despite being in her early sixties, she was still rather handsome, with straight, blond hair and eyes of blue steel that would better fit a winter soldier than a teacher. Frankly, she vaguely reminded Napoleon of Arthuria, whom he always found quite appealing. Had she been born a couple hundred years ago, she could well become a knight too, and probably meet an ultimely end due to her combination of moral purity and will of action. "I guess I should give you my condolences."

"Thank you, Jeanne," he responded without turning to her. "Although I never liked Eucliwood much - honestly, she was downright creepy - I can't deny that her death made me a little melancholic. Philosophical, even."

Silence fell upon the two, filled with ticking of a grandfather's clock. Napoleon continued gazing into the night, while Joanne was still sitting on a sofa, looking at his back.

"Is there anything on your mind, Monsieur?" finally asked Jeanne, unwilling to endure this awkward silence any longer.

Napoleon actually gave it a moment of thought. "No, not really. Nothing important, anyway." His voice was hollow, like of a person who either lost their emotions or suppressed them.

"If you forgive me, this demeanour doesn't suit you at all", said Madamme D'Arc with as much conviction as she could muster. Frankly, looking at Bonaparte these days was a little frightening. He seemed either annoyed or troubled, she couldn't really say; either way, it didn't bode well. "You should cheer up... or..."

She never finished, because Bonaparte abruptly turned toward her. "Why?" he asked; his voice was calm, but his eyes hinted of some deep, suppressed anger. "Why the hell should I cheer up, when things are going to hell faster than an aeroplane? When was the last time you were in Paris, or any other French town? Do you even read newspapers? Do you have any idea of what's going on around us?" Although his body remained at ease, one of his fists was slightly raised, like he was thinking of punching someone - which was probably true.

"Monsieur, I know that we are in a bit of a crisis and that our party fell out of favour of the public. I'm sure it's temporary though, and in a few years-"

"In a few years it will be the same, dammit!" Napoleon raised his voice. "Can't you see, Jeanne? It doesn't matter whether we win or lose, the country isn't going to get any better in the long run." He started pacing the room back and forth. "It's not just a political crisis, it's a complete failure. The economy is in tatters, the army couldn't even defend us from Persian if they decided to attack us, and the people only care about money and silly soap operas on the radio! And all we can do about it - we, the elites - is to make sure the country doesn't collapse on us all." He stopped in front of an old mirror and gave himself an almost wistful look. "It's not what I had in mind back then..."

For a few seconds Jeanne wondered about what to say and, as usual, decided to approach the problem directly. "Do you regret putting the power in voters' hands, Monsieur? Was it a bad decision?"

Napoleon shook his head. "Not as such, no. I believed in the French nation back then and I still do now. They can and they will use their strength, their force of will, their best judgement. I haven't cultivated their spirits for over eight millenia for nothing. France is mature and strong, Jeanne. However, it is also in bad health. Infested."

"Infested? You mean, by political movements? Like the communists?"

"I mean infested with foreign element. We can hardly remember who we are any more. Half the world is controlled by the Japanese, from underwear design to political thought, and the other half by communists. France today is merely a reflection of this, with very little substance of its own. Without this substance, we cannot exist; no nation could. Sooner or later, we'll be done for, just like the Romans."

The Romans. Their fall was also France's last moment of glory. Neither of the two mentioned it, so obvious it was to them.

"...So, is there no hope for France?" Jeanne D'Arc asked tentatively. "Is that it?"

"You know, Jeanne, for a moment I thought so", answered Bonaparte unexpectedly calmly. "But it's not quite true. I'd say we have just one more chance to turn the tides. Just one chance, no more."

"Then... then we must act, don't we?" Jeanne felt something was eluding her, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it; talking to an Immortal, her Maitre, was frustrating at times. "Taking action against this infestation you mentioned would certainly justify a coup d'etat", she stated bluntly.

Napoleon sighed. "You're not listening to me, Jeanne. Haven't I told you that I put the fate of France in the hands of its citizens? Did you think I was being figurative? Why do you think I never created any Servants except Josephine?"

It only struck Jeanne now, leaving her almost speechless for a moment. "So... So it means... You blessed us all....?"

Napoleon nodded. "Strange as it may be, I have always been an egalitarian. Empowering one person more than others is wrong on many levels, being unjust, wasteful and dysfunctional. I believe in equal chances, so that the best could prevail over the slightly less good. This is the only true power a nation may attain and remain as honourable as in the old days." He paused for a few seconds, then added, "But obviously, I miscalculated. Nevertheless, millions of shards of my power are still out there, with my people. Without them, I cannot do a damn thing."

"And you do not intend to take them back by force, do you?"

"That would not only go against my principles, but also ruin my entire plan. I am not interested in ruling over mere slaves. Even if I wanted to, I simply don't know how. I am not Cleopatra", he stated simply.

"Then, the only way to win is if they return this power back to you willingly", answered Jeanne.

Napoleon gave her an approving glance. "See, Jeanne, now you're starting thinking. That's why I chose you for the cabinet, not because of your pretty eyes. The problem is, how to make people give us not just their votes, but their souls?" He sat down in a chair and poured himself a glass of wine. "And to think that winning allies used to be my forte."

"Monsieur, I do not really know much about such things", said Jeanne slowly, "but I certainly know enough to believe your words. And haven't you said yourselves, not long ago, that the French nation still strong and mature enough to decide for itself?"

"The ultimate trial, eh?" Bonaparte smirked. "That's a nice way of putting it. Please write it down, it'll become our slogan."

Madamme D'Arc obediently produced a notepad and a pen from her bag. "You mean, of our party?"

"Yes, at first. Then, of our nation." Napoleon's eyes were intense now; calculating, cold. The change from just ten minutes ago was quite impressive.

"Our nation..." Jeanne echoed, trying to picture such a change.

"I see you're as loyal to our cause as I suspected when I invited you, Jeanne. Tomorrow morning you will go to Paris and contact the Radiola broadcasting company, tell them I would like to give an, umm, interview. The CEO owes me a favour, plus my appearance will hardly be harmful to his business."

"An interview, yes." Madamme D'Arc stood up. "With your permission, Monsieur, I would like to leave tonight to get to Paris on time."

"Permission granted. But first, come here."

"...Monsieur?" She approached Bonaparte, not quite understanding. Was he flirting with her? Impossible, she was much too old for this, wasn't she? Also, he was said to be surprisingly faithful to Josephine...

"Don't be afraid. I simply decided to make a small exception to my principles. You will not regret this."

Jeanne's speculations were swept away when she looked in Bonaparte's eyes. His gaze was hard and far, and something seemed to burn deep inside his eye sockets, like a purplish radiance hidden within his body. When he raised his palm, it also glowed; the light started to seep from his body and illuminate the room better than any electrical light, but somehow it didn't hurt Jeanne's eyes.

Jeanne was not one to kneel before a man, not even Napoleon. This time, however, she didn't hesitate. It wasn't fear, not even submission; it was simply the right thing to do.

"I will need your help", he said. "You represent all that France has been striving for since forever. Therefore, I need your spirit to become a symbol. A bridge between me and them."

Jeanne's eyes went wide. She couldn't tell what exactly was about to happen, but she felt it was something not quite meant for a human to see. Not for a mortal anyway.

Napoleon's body was already surrounded with a white-purple aura. In his open palm there was a... ball of light? No, that wouldn't do it justice. It was like a living creature woven from light, a creature much wiser and braver than herself.

"BEHOLD THE STAR OF THE WEST", said Napoleon Bonaparte with a voice that shook the windows and sent a strange, ecstatic shiver down Jeanne's spine. "IT WILL GUIDE YOU, LIKE IT DID SO MANY OTHERS BEFORE."

Then he extended his arm and the Star touched Jeanne's forehead, accompanied by the sound of exploding windows and falling furniture. And then everything changed, beginning with her almost forgotten feeling of youthfulness returning to her.

[Max_Smirnov]

Attack on Sevastopol



A field airstrip on the outskirts of Moscow was bustling with activity. A wave of planes, several dozens, just returned from their missions over the Russian Highlands, and were being quickly resupplied, ground crews pumping fresh fuel into their tanks and resupplying their magazines with long belts of machinegun ammo. The Socialist Union managed to make its first heavier-than-air flight several years after Russia and France, and had been initially completely dependant on importing French engines and aerial fuel. But now, few decades later, everything had changed. The Red Army was the first force in the world to deploy large numbers of aircraft, and the Socialist Union engineers were providing it with the most advanced designs in the world. The old biplanes were being already phased out, replaced by new models, fully made of metal.
Another airplane approached, over ten minutes late. Its pilot was well known for her reluctance to leave combat, and as to make sure her identity was obvious, she made a few barrel flips and landed at high speed. Only from close up her airplane was recognizable, machineguns replaced with Tesla coils to enhance her innate abilities and allow them to be used in long-range combat.
"It's the Red Saber!" yelled someone. The ground crew, mostly female, ran towards the pilot, who just jumped out of her cockpit, straightening her coat.
"Man, I'm never going to tire of this! These new airplanes are awesome!"
It was widely known that Arturia fell in love with airplanes the first time she tried to fly one (and crashed it). As the airplanes were getting faster and more agile, this love only seemed to grow. Seeing a huge potential in her popularity, the high command allowed her to be moved to airforce. Her potential as a warrior with superhuman reflexes and endurance was obvious; and her skill at airforce tactics had shown itself pretty soon as well.
An officer made his way through the small crowd of women, swooning over this celebrity.
"Qiet! Silence! Comrade Arturia, here are new orders for your wing. You are to drop current operations and immediately support ground forces assaulting Sevastopol. We are now throwing at the city every airplane we have, the Russian defenses turned out to be much more powerful than we anticipated."
Arturia smiled.
"This is going to be a long day, then!"
The ground crew were already fastening bombs under the wings of her machine.

---

The city of Sevastopol was one of the largest in Russia, its citizens numbering over half a million. The sheer size of it would be a problem for the five infrantry divisions sent to assault it, but yet again, the numbers of the Corporate Guard, a force not very popular with the civilian population and suffering high desertion rates, coupled with their low morale, turned insufficient to turn this city into a hell for the invading army. The forces of the Socialist Union earned a lot of experience in this prolonged campaign, and were now being equipped in vast numbers of submachine guns, an ideal weapon for house-to-house fighting. However, they were lacking heavy support, and the attack faltered at the river, which was dividing the city in two. The Red Army lacked any effective means of defeating the Russian cannon batteries, concentrated on the other bank. They also lacked effective means of countering the Russian armored vehicles, which were becoming better and better armed and armored.
But the Russians lacked any serious airforce. What little they had, had been already swept from the sky by the first waves of Egyptian craft. Now, the main force had arrived, more than two hundred airplanes, armed with bombs, cannons and machineguns.
Arturia looked around. Seen from above the city resembled a huge arena, criss-crossed by the anti-aircraft fire and numerous trails of smoke.
"This is the Red Leader," she said over the radio. "Our targets are the gun batteries at the river bank, near the church, azimuth 015. Everyone, follow my lead."
She pulled the throttle, and the engine buzzed louder, her machine accelerating for the attack run.

[Eerion]

It was a chaos. At least it looked like one. Massive movements of armies looked to the Indians absolutely random. Thousands of riflemen approached Indian cities only to retreat without engaging weeks later and fortify somewhere else. Armies did not stack, even opposite - they were scattering in random directions like only to regroup months later. Indians were left confused. They tried to reinforce the cities towards which an enemy army marched, only to be intercepted by it or the second one stationing nearby. Loses of the Indians were counted in tens of thousands already, while the Japanese ones were minimal. The armies were not mounted, yet somehow they were mobile.
Shimazu was sitting in the Pasargadae overseeing the militarisation of the city as well as gathering reports sent by Takeda and his officers. From the Tiger of Kai, this is how the Shingen was called by his soldiers. An image of majestic beast seemed strange to Yoshihiro at first, but the more time he spent with him, the more he thought it actually suits him well. Active, mighty, versatile. He supervised every single movement and never spent too much time with one army. Few times he was even sleeping in his saddle to catch up with another battalion to command it directly during an operation.
After the Pasargadae Issue Hinotebi made an official proclamation that every discrimination of citizen of Nippon will be punished by death. Country must be strong and focus on external issues, not struggle with internal distrust and betrayal. When it happened Takeda swiftly began execution of racists in his army. Until that moment they were just being tracking dow. With official backup it was a swift operation, like the one made by a doctor in hospital. It gave the general full support in Northern Japan. From Tochigi to Yuureishi, next to the flag of Nippon, the red flags were displayed. Not communist ones, but the Red flags with four black diamonds. The symbol of Takeda clan. While the once peaceful motherland struggled with the concept of militarisation of the country and the primacy of the state, the Persian and Indian provinces remained perfectly peaceful. If it was his wish, Takeda could separate whole north from Nippon and create new country without any inner rebellion. This is how great support to his cause was.
Shimazu looked at the red flag.
“Fast like the wind.
Silent like a forest.
Intrusive like the fire
Immobile like a mountain.”
This is what every diamond stood for. This is what Shingen armies were doing right now. When Indians were expecting an assault, he fortified. When they thought they can regroup their forces he stroke swiftly, even if enemy moved through Himalayas to remain secure.
“My lord! I bring the news!” An officer entered the room, interrupting the Yoshihiro’s reflections.
“What is it boy?” He answered with his tubal voice.
“The supreme general engaged enemy reinforcements close to Dahae. It was a slaughter! More than seven thousands of Indians were killed before reaching the city. Our losses did not surpass five hundred men!”
Shimazu looked at the tactical map. He removed another figurine representing Indian forces. There were more models on the table than on the map.
“Anything else?”
“No sir! Takeda is retreating toward the Euphrates as planned.”
“Good. You’re dismissed.”
When the subordinate left, Yoshihiro looked again at the map. Everything was almost complete to claim the last Indian fortresses in this part of the world. He remembered the words of one of Takeda’s soldiers before they separated. When he explained the meaning of the four diamonds, he said one more thing describing Shingen.
“Under heaven and earth, I alone am feared.”
For Indians, these words couldn’t be more true.

[Max_Smirnov]

Brittania, the waning days of the XVth Century. Another commission for Daniel. Enjoy!

Never before Sarutobi had so much work on his hands. In the last years of Eucliwood's rule, he finally received enough money to create a large spy network. The initial results surpassed his wildest expectations. Numantia's military labs have already received an impressive crop of the latest Russian technologies. But it was getting more difficult now. When the war started, all Russian forces have been put on high alert. Infiltrating their installations was nowhere as easy as it had been before...

What's worse, Eucliwood was gone now, and the new government was in constant turmoil, difficult to work with. At least he anticipated that in advance and created alternative sources of funding.

He understood that further actions against Russia were unlikely to yield any substantial results.
"I have to start spying elsewhere..." he thought. A new spy network was being constructed, and he had no time to relax.

---

After the major victory of the Communist party in the latest elections, they're finally able to form a new government all by themselves. It is already known that for the post of the Prime Minister, they choose Comrade Balalaika, a revolutionary from Russia, veteran military officer with an impressive track of successful operations against Stalin's government. She immigrated to our country ten years ago, after being seriously wounded in...

Touma dropped today's newspaper. He couldn't shake off the sudden feeling that something went really, really wrong. He of course had the general idea what to expect of these elections, but the course of events surpassed his worst fears. The communists weren't even trying to keep the appearances. This woman wasn't a politician, she was a revolutionary and a master tactician. Some were saying that the years of battle took her sanity away. So this is where the democracy, so celebrated in the beginning, had finally led them? It didn't bode well. At all.

Later that day, he mustered all his courage and visited Sarutobi's office. Surprisingly, the spymaster found time for him.

"There are indeed reports that the elections might have been rigged. The intelligence, however, cannot yet officially confirm or deny these notions. Still, she has some really influential sponsors, and the people are quite desperate due to the economical crisis. They want to be saved, even by a devil. Anything is possible."

Touma felt only worse. Was this Eucliwood plan all along? To plunge the country into chaos? How could she have abandoned them? And who could save them now, as they couldn't save themselves?

---

The parliament in Numantia was in chaos. In the midst of a heated meeting, as Balalaika was laying out her plans for Brittania to join the communist block, the doors were kicked in, and an unit of soldiers, armed in automatic weapons, marched in. Anyone who tried to stop them was wrestled to the ground and manacled. After the soldiers, Ifurita arrived, her face severe. She ordered to arrest the leadership of the Communist party, before stepping onto the podium. Most of the politicians were cowering under their tables, but a dozen or so representatives of the Nationalist party gave her an encouraging applause. Then she started to speak, her words transmitted over the radio.

"Throughout the years of my willing exile, I've been watching closely those, who took the power over the people of Brittania. And year by year, I was becoming more and more disappointed. Corruption, petty thievery, concern only for the private gain... not the well-being of the people! But if the people were choosing themselves, who was I to judge? So I stayed on the sidelines. Up until now. Incompetence can be forgiven, but treason cannot. So, with the cooperation of the military, I am forced to step in and put an end to this. Economical disaster, mass poverty, and now - outright notions that the Brittania shall become a province of the Egyptian communist empire? Never! We are a proud nation who can stand on its own! All it takes is to believe in Brittania! But mere words are insufficient to avert the disaster and restore order. Enemies of our nation have mastered the art of honeyed words, but they respect only strength. So this is a message to them. Our people will stand on their own. Whoever dares to raise their hand against the common cause of Brittania, shall be annihilated. Therefore, I have no other choice than to declare that the communist party is hereby delegalized, and I'm putting the country under a temporary martial law, until the order and justice can be restored. It is every citizen's duty to protect their county, and, however painful it might be to impose such harsh laws, I am not intending to abandon mine."