Forever Future 1.7 PBEM game

[Max_Smirnov]

The Odessa Noose



Arturia's new airplane, I-2 Onslaught, was slowly circling over Odessa's harbour. As the threat from Russian airforce was next to non-existent, the Egyptians were deploying more and more of custom-tailored ground attack planes like this one, speed traded for increased payload an armor. The latter allowed for more daring strafing runs, lower altitude increasing their accuracy; the planes could take some hits, and bullet marks on this I-2's fuselage were quite numerous. But now it was all over. The only area of any real resistance, the harbour, was laying in ruins, gun batteries and the few impromtu armed merchant ships quickly put out of action by waves of Egyptian aircraft. The last means of evacuation ceased to exist. The whole northern highlands, the heartland of Russia, belonged now to the Egypt. Whatever vestiges of Russian forces remained there, were no longer of consequence, trapped and doomed. Five Red Army divisions landed near Odessa, cutting off the only route of retreat. They were now in the process of securing the city, what amounted to hauling isolated and demoralised Corporate Guard units out of their hiding holes. Hardly any real firefights could be heard.

Arturia leaned back in her chair. So far, the liberation of Russia had been a staggering success. So great of a success that the Red Army found itself stretched over a huge territory, from the northern beaches all the way to the Black Sea, from the western steppes past Smolensk to the eastern deserts of Chelabyinsk. With the lack of any reliable road network, even the cavalry was struggling with keeping up with the pace of the offensive. Still, the eventual fall of Russia was inevitable. Meanwhile, India was already in its death throes. The last defenders of Moradabad finally surrendered, after the British forces have seized Darjerling, their only source of supplies. In the south, the implacable Japanese advance was slowly making its way towards the last major Indian manufacturing and population centres of Jalandhar and Dahae.

The real question was, what then... Was it what Cleo feared? The destruction of all civilization? Yeah, she had that tendency to be overtly melancholic. The darkness within the unfathomable depths of her soul. Maybe it was understandable. Even for Arturia, who lived for almost 30 centuries now, Cleopatra was an immensely old creature who emerged from an abyss of time. And, unlike Arturia, she wasn't remade, she didn't forget anything. She knew more. Perhaps too much. And even Arturia had to admit, the world became a place much easier to destroy. And much more volatile. One British spy was caught on the Japanese soil while stealing sensitive data and the Japanese razed one of the Celtic border towns in revenge. Thankfully, this incident ended then and there, but who knew, any of such sparks could escalate into a major war...

[Eerion]

“The world seems to be changing more then we wish it to.”
Words once spoken by Uesugi Kenshin during the siege of Ahmed proved to be incredibly accurate. In past decades, world has changed more than dramatically. Where swift and wooden ships once sailed, now great ones made of iron ruled. Moving with electric engines instead of sails, grey vessels traveled fast. On the surface on under the water. In the sky, the airplanes ruled. Moving faster than anything before, they were capable of deeds beyond the wildest imaginations even hundred years ago. Swift and deadly they proved to be a perfect tool of war. Land infantry was still used, but they were reduced to support and defence, as the armored vehicles, tanks and artillery were capable of much more. And were several times faster. Electricity revolutionised even everyday life, providing average citizen with many incredible luxuries. The voice was transmitted for thousands of kilometers in the matter of seconds through the wires. Images could be recorded and displayed in distance land on a single tape. No longer actors had to travel to show their act. There was no aspect of life left untouched.


Heavy Industry changed the world greatly.

The room was filled with static light coming from the massive chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The command room was rebuilt. Once small it was now capable of fitting several dozens of people. Any important meeting was happening here now, however, it was used in old fashioned way.
“The democracy was abandoned. People were incapable of ruling themselves, therefore France is united once again under the ultimate ruler, just like Japan. Brittania and Russia made the exactly same move. Even in Socialist Egypt, Cleopatra controls everything, even though she does it from the shadows. Despite Gandhi being still alive, India can be considered extinct.”
The girl, wearing a traditional spy clothing stopped reading. She looked at the empress. Hinotebi seemed absent minded, looking at the ceiling.
“Continue.” She commanded shortly.
“Yes ma’am.” Ninja nodded. “No longer Japan is the mightiest country in the world. Due to the successful assault on Russia, Egypt has become the greatest known nation. Surpassing anyone else with science, production capabilities, military power and population, they are continuing their conquest. Now, that the Stalin forces do not pose any threat anymore the Socialist Union may soon begin the great industrialisation of their new terrains. After that happens, Cleopatra superiority may be big enough to take on everyone else. It is unknown why France and Brittania allowed such thing to happen, making themselves nothing more than pawns dancing on the palm of Egypt, yet it is irrelevant anymore. Even united, they barely pose threat to their neighbour anymore and soon they will lose even that glimpse of hope. Only by clinging to their alliance they have a chance to survive. Of course if Cleopatra will wish to maintain such diplomatic relations.
On the other hand we are still the richest country in the world, thanks to Kyoto Stock Exchange. Also, being the only country that has waged war with Egypt in the past, we are most likely to become next target to their attacks, once they devour Stalin completely.”
Hinotebi looked at the huge table she was sitting next to. Few notes could be seen every now and then. Military orders, political analysis or whatever was considered important at the moment.
“Their relationship with Brittania is pretty bad right now. We are not the only ones who can expect their visit in the future to be honest.” She stated coldly. She stood up, scratching her revealed belly. “The best way to maintain peace is to show them that we can negate their advantage. They are far more spread than we are. Their weakness lies in there. Displaying forces capable of both solid defence and swift strike should keep them in check even slightly. How are our preparations proceeding?”
“We are almost ready. Heavy battleships, tanks, specialised infantry – on your order massive militarisation shall begin.”
“Good. What about war planes?”
“Hopefully our spies should bring their plans from Russian battlefields soon.”
“This would prove very useful to our cause. Anyway Chiyome, what else did he write?”
Girl looked at the letter. “Takeda showed a tactical masterpiece during the siege of Jalandahar. His hit and run maneuvers made them spread their forces and before they regrouped he claimed the city. Instead of bloody siege, the fort was claimed within a day with minimal losses. Now the Indians are more reluctant from moving anywhere and Shingen forces have to go round in order to reach the last enemy city in the region, still it is only a matter of time before it falls. If Gandhi is within a city it is currently unknown. If he is, he shall meet his end there.
This is end of my report my lady. I hope my student will be more helpful to you more than my old body was. I was proud servant of your grandmother, mother and now you. Sadly, my time is almost over, as I can feel the death reaching her hand towards me. May the fate be on your side, Hinotebi Nekomimi the fifth.

Hattori Hanzo.”



Mochizuki Chiyome

“Do you think he was also sent by my Father?” Hinotebi asked the female ninja.
“Excuse me?” Mochizuki Chiyome, the successor of the Hattori Hanzo looked surprised.
“He lived far more than any mortal being. Actually almost like an eternal being. He might be a servant of my father to be honest. It would explain a lot.”
“I shall investigate this case if this is your wish my lady.”
“No. Let it be.” Empress waved her hand. “It won’t change anything. Hanzo is gone. Father called my mother to himself several years ago, but Haruhi still did not come back. I am the last one of his creations in this country right now.” She took a deep breath. “I must ensure the safety of Japan if I do not wish to be killed by him.”
“Do you think that your mother and Suzumiya were... killed?”
“No. I don’t think so. But if I fail it will be my fate for sure. He stated so several times.”
“Understood. I may not be an eternal being as my master was, but... I will do everything to help you reach your goals.” Mochizuki saluted.
“I’m counting on you.” Nekomimi smiled gently. “Tell me what do you think about all of that.”
“Yes ma’am.” she stopped for a second “I agree that we should militarise our country as soon as possible. Focusing on air warfare and means to defend against it should be our top priority. Our navy may be outnumbered as it is now, but with quality we are capable of fighting on any terms. Machine guns are almost ready for mass production and our factories has already begun the assembling of massive artillery. Combining it with the fact, that Mountains protect our borders this should not be the case. So as long as we manage to control what happens in the surrounding seas and find a way to take down their planes we should be fine. Our technology is catching up, so no longer our forces should be obsolete. I am referring to Egyptians obviously, as we are already capable of defending from any invasion coming from Brittania or French Italia. Unless we make a terrible mistake, they should not be able to do anything to our lands.”
“This is a good summarisation. What about economy?”
“It is split between militarisation of Nippon and modernisation of our mines. Everything is advancing at the satisfactory rate. There is still much to be done, but every advanced mine we build, the closer we are to reclaiming our rightful place on the top of the world.”
“It won’t be enough. Still it is an important step in our march towards victory. But you only kept on talking about Japan and Egypt. What about France and Brittania?”
“France is trying to reestablish their power after the fall of democracy. They still have much to do, yet their progress is pretty impressive. The only thing is that their colonies are not worthy looking at compared to the new terrains of Egypt, that’s why they have fallen behind so badly. They still are extremely wealthy country with high science capabilities, but for now they are not suitable for war.
Brittania on the other hand... seems to suffer from their inferiority complex. After millennia of being underdeveloped right now they focus so much on science that they economy is actually suffering. They may be competitive on the field of science but if such situation prolongs, they will lose their chance of becoming a nation that can actually change something.”
“The question is... will they become servants of Egypt? It almost happened recently. But they still serve under them, even if just unofficially. Like a young brother, they have to listen.” Hinotebi looked at the world map again. “They have vast and resourceful terrains. It would be a waste to... waste them just for some science. There is no point in having best technology around if you cannot mass produce it.”
“It is true. Even though they begin great industrialisation now they will need some time before they pose a major threat to us or Egyptians.”
“So only Egyptians are extremely dangerous to Nippon right now... They have always been a pain.”
“And the only way to maintain the peace is reinforcing our borders.” Chiyome added.
“So if we wish to live in peace, we must prepare for war. There is no other way.”
“The country is at your command my Empress. Just one word and the massive militarisation shall begin.” Ninja bowed again.
“Then do so. And I have another project for you after you return.”
“Yes my lady?” Girl looked slightly surprised.
“I will describe it to you later. I have a project. I named it Kunoichi.”
“I like that name.”
“So do I. Go now. We have no time to waste.” Hinotebi smiled.
“Understood.” Mochizuki bowed deeply then turned away and runned out of the room.
Hinotebi picked up the small bell from the table. It sound was deep, almost piercing, what made it easy to hear. In a matter of seconds a servant came running to the command room. He opened the doors and bowed deeply without saying a word.
“I want you to call few generals for me. Make them depart to Kyoto as soon as possible.”
“Understood my lady.”
“Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Three of them. Tell them that empress calls.”
“Should I give them the reason of this sudden call?”
“Tell them that Nippon needs to be defended.”
“Understood.”
When he closed the door, Hinotebi looked at her hand. She clenched her teeth. Her dark tails started burning. “Our enemies shall fall.” She stated loudly, looking at her hand where a ball of pure energy was slowly emancipating. It was giving a blue aura, contrasting with the one given by her fiery tails. “Let us begin with Gandhi.”


Enraged Hinotebi.

[Max_Smirnov]

Operation Desert Devil, 1582 AD

Vyzhennaya Strana was a sun-schorched wasteland of dry valleys, rocky flats and eroded mountains stretching for more than 2000 miles, from Kiev in the west all the way to Taganrog peninsula, the easternmost tip of the Russian continent. The ill-reputed region, where the giant dust storms were gaining momentum before hitting the Russian heartland, was almost completely devoid of life. Yet, there was a city right in the middle of it. Legend has it that Chelabyinsk was founded by a clan banished by Stalin in the ancient times. They were supposed to die in the desert, but they somehow survived. This remote location didn't thwart the Red Army, though. Landing on the shores of the Western Ocean and riding their horses along an old desert road linking Chelabyinsk with fishing villages, they endured the hellish conditions and conquered this city as well. It all happened more than 30 years ago, one more episode in this great war with Russia which was grinding on for more than a century now. Nowadays, Chelabyinsk, with its extremely hostile climate and equally hostile local population, resisting the best efforts of Commissars to indoctrinate them to the light of communism, was yet another of the far-flung outposts of the Socialist Union. Yet, the might of the Union was about to reach even this remote hellhole.

With a low whistle, a heavy cargo plane came from the south-east and landed on the desert airstrip prepared near the city, raising great clouds of dust.



L-76 landing on Chelabyinsk's desert

Several of these planes were coming and going each day, carrying moutains of supplies, soldiers, tanks and other vehicles. Week by week, Chelabyinsk was turning into a bustling operational base.

"Damn, it's awfully hot here," cursed Colonel Ceres Heliconnen, disembarking the plane. During the course of the war, her cavalry unit took part in countless battles. Due to her superhumanly long lifespan, she was one of the most experienced field commanders of this war. Leaving her old cavalry division behind, she was relocated here to take command of a local one. Her division was to spearhead the assault south, across over two hundred miles of scorched, rocky hills, towards the city of Ekaterinburg, the last major harbour on shores of the Caspian sea remaining in the Russian hands. The remote location of that town made any attack almost unthinkable. Until now.

"Welcome, Colonel! How was your trip?" greeted her a local staff officer, pulling over in a jeep.

"Damn noisy," She answered loudly, trying to be heard despite the whistle of still-running engines. "Ships were much more comfortable." She hopped inside the vehicle.

"Maybe so," said the officer, quickly driving away from the plane. "But we wouldn't be able to orchestrate such a rapid relocation of two armored divisions to this god-forsaken land. And even if we did, they'd be stuck here."

"Or having a tea in Thebes in the middle of a military operation in Russia."

"Were you in Thebes, Colonel?"

"Nah. There isn't much for me there. But Arturia seems to be visiting her lovey-dovey quite regularly, once it had became a matter of a single day trip." She snorted then smiled, putting hands behind her neck.



Colonel Ceres Heliconnen

The officer laughed a bit nervously. "I guess being a war hero means you can say such stuff about Cleopatra with impunity."

"I guess."

She looked back at the giant plane. They were saying that the immense size of the Union, enlarged by the whole Russian theatre, was its main weakness. But with these planes, it had suddenly become much smaller. While the British, despite being far more advanced in aviation than either Japan or France, were barely cobbling together their first jet engines, Egypt had already deployed a whole fleet of jet-powered aircraft capable of swiftly transporting whole divisions of tanks across the globe. The success of the Union was not in its science alone; it wasn't that much more advanced than in the rest of the world. It was in application and engineering. Sure, everyone knew how to make tanks, machineguns and aircraft now. But no other power was producing them in such huge numbers, and they didn't have the engineering experience earned during this war.

"Is there anything to do here to relax?" she asked.

"You're lucky. The last airplane was chock-full of reels of tape. We have all the latest Theban movies, including the ones with sound. And even a few French ones, but they're not that good, obviously."

She smiled again. It was refreshing to know that this war wasn't everything there was. Thebes started to regain its image as one of the cultural capitols of the world, the moving pictures sweeping aside age-long dominance of the Japanese books as the leading source of entertainment. Osaka had been the Word Factory; Thebes became the Dream Factory. Years had passed since the Revolution and the city once again started to resemble that colourful, vivid place she remembered from her youth. Maybe it was worth a visit after all. But right now, right here, there was only war.



Red Army's mechanized forces arrayed for the operation

[Eerion]

The city of Dahae was burning. Being the last bastion of Indians, they did not hold back to keep off the enemy. Walls were torn down to give a protection against enemy bullets, roads were dug up so riflemen were unable to maintain their formation. Yet it was all for nothing. Obsolete weapons, starvation and being greatly outnumbered allowed Gandhi’s followers to hold off for only several hours. Before the sun set, the battle was over.

“The weird sphere surrounds the palace of local nobility. We could not verify the material it is made of, but when touched it feels like a rock, except the fact its neither hot or cold. It blocks the view so we do not know how many defenders took a shelter there.” Takeda explained the situation to the others. “Except that zone, rest of the city is under our complete control. Our armies are right now disposing of their reinforcements. Or the remains of them actually, as seeing the fall of their last city majority of their forces surrendered or deserter.”
“About that barrier. We tried to destroy it with various weapons, yet everything proved ineffective. It also digs deep into the earth, as we could not make an underground tunnel to avoid it. We keep the heavy garrisons around it, as enemy may strike from there at any possible moment.” Shimazu Yoshihiro added. The time may have removed some hair from his head, but his strength remained superhuman, as he kept on fighting with the oversized sword of his. He leaned on it slightly, tired of the battle.
“There is no enemy there.” A coated man stated. “It is just him.”
“So this is Gandhi’s last stand. Is this the reason you came to this remote place?” Shingen asked a question looking at Hinotebi. Her dress looked out of the picture, comparing it to the environment. White and red revealing clothes seemed absolutely unnatural in a place grey from the gunpowder. A katana and two guns she kept made her wear look even weirder.
“You are correct. We came here to dispose of the leader of India.” She spoke seriously. Empress looked nervous. Or excited. “How are we going to get inside Father?”
“He will let us in. This whole zone was made to invite us. He wants to talk.”
“Could it be a trap to lure you out?” Takeda looked carefully at his guests. “If he would want to live he could hid for eternity in Himalayas. He may simply wish to take someone with himself.”
“No.” The man interrupted him. “He do not care about death or revenge. But you do not need an explanation. Maybe afterwards she can tell you something about it.” He looked at his daughter. “Are you ready?”
“I am.” Hinotebi answered shortly.
“Let us go then. Shimazu, Takeda. You did a good job here in India. Proceed as planned and let’s finish it as soon as possible.”
Both general saluted as the Royal family left the tent.


Empress Hinotebi


“It’s huge.” Hinotebi looked it awe at the sphere. From afar it looked mighty, yet when standing just next to it, the impression was overwhelming.
“It is his specialty. This way he protected Calcutta from Celts for hundreds of years. But why did he came here? I suppose we will learn that soon enough.” Coated man explained peacefully. “Gandhi!” He yelled. His voice, loud as a thunder, echoed from nearby mountains. Hinotebi covered her ears and looked at her father angrily.
“You could have warned me.” She muttered.
“We have arrived as you wanted. Now let us pass!”
They looked at the barrier in front of them.
“Are you sure he could hear you?”
“Yes.” A man nodded. “Look it is already changing.”
The part of a barrier in front of them slowly begin molding. Like a clay formed an Indian styled gate. Big enough for few people to enter simultaneously.
Hinotebi looked at the passage suspiciously, yet seeing as her father enters the zone, she followed him.

They were standing in front of huge Palace. Tens of oriental styled towers peaked toward the sky. The main building was almost as large as the Royal Palace in Kyoto, making the complex look gigantic. It felt out of the place when compared to the small city. Nekomimi looked behind her, but the gates closed down already.
“Was it always this big?” She asked.
“No. This is a part of the Gandhi’s magic. Emperor’s Land. It creates a palace worthy of the mightiest of rulers, completely separated from the outside world. No one can enter or leave if the ruler does not wish to.”
“You know a lot about it.”
“I spend much time gathering information, while I was hiding. Let’s go. He awaits us.”
“Do you know where he might be?” Girl looked at the palace. “We could easily get lost here.”
“There is only one place where he could be. Throne room.”
The gates opened as they approached. They walked slowly on the marble floors passing hundreds of statues made of silver and gold. With gems as eyes, they were reflecting the light of the torches burning on the walls. The light guided them, as other corridors were dark.
“Now you know why he could afford anything.” Coated man spoke. “I suppose the riches he used to build Haga Sophia in Calcutta came from there. The fastest wonder built for centuries... until Kyoto Exchange.”
“With this much gold we would be richer than other countries combined!”
“Do not bother. I don’t think it can leave this place... until Emperor wishes it to happen.”
They walked in silence, until the throne room could be seen.
“Be prepared for anything the moment we step in.” He warned her.
Hinotebi nodded.


“Welcome to my palace!” Gandhi yelled loudly. „I hope you enjoyed looking at the riches of this place!”
“Only few in the whole world suit to such place. It shall become an outstanding tomb of yours.” Coated man answered. “You look pretty happy for a dying ruler of a dead empire.”
Gandhi laughed again. It was pure, as if a finest joke was spoken moment ago. Without any hatred or anger. He corrected his glasses.
“It does not really matter. I came here to talk. I’m glad it is you, as you are the only interesting ruler around. You do not fit in here. Would you mind explaining to me how all of this happened... Perun?”
“Oh so you know my name? I guess this is no longer needed than.” The man removed his coat. Long hair and beard of the colour of rust covered most of his face. His eyes, as if made from gold, radiated with a gentle light. His white clothing was coated with golden patterns and a animal skin covered his torso. He had a war hammer attached to his belt. “This coat can be very annoying sometimes.” He looked at the Indian ruler. “But before I tell you my story... answer me how did you learn about me.”
“I am the one who asks questions here.” Gandhi answered with somewhat annoyed voice.”
Hinotebi kept on looking at Gandhi. Her tails were risen up, like the one of animal ready to attack.
“You wish to gather information. So do I. We have time for everything. But if you tell me how did you learn about me I will explain how these notes reached you in the first place.” Perun’s spoke calmly.
“Heh. Let it be this way.” Gandhi waved his hand with resignation. „As everyone knows, there were bound to be eight eternal beings. Other fools mistook the Jamaican abomination as the last one, but I knew it wasn’t him. He was a mistake. An error and should not be counted as one of us.”
“Yes I am quite grateful to him.” Perun interrupted. “Thanks to him I was able to maintain my anonymity for very long time.”
“Every nation needs his ruler. This is a law far greater than everything that happens on these lands.” Indian continued. So I searched. Conquered the local tribes and looked for an anything about the last one. After long time I found a ruins. Deep into Himalayas we have discovered a remains of old library. Many documents were already destroyed by the time, yet I was paying with gold for any important information about the past, and my scientists could not let such offer pass by. It took years, however, I eventually received what I wanted. Information about past nations, wars and... leaders.”
Perun was listening in silence.
“It wasn’t complete, as some details could not be retrieved. Yet at this time I was sure that one of the people that weren’t confirmed killed before the library fell was a leader of Japan. I knew it was either you, Alexander or Hannibal. I kept on collecting data about you and when you showed up during the fall of Kyoto I had no problem with distinguishing who you are.”
“I did not hear these names for really long time. It brings back memories.” Perun sighted. “Still you kept these informations to yourself. Why?”
„I had no reason why I should share them with others. Enemies? Friends? It all does not matter. Only the victory is important. Having an advantage is crucial and data is worth a lot. Tell me now... why you, a Slavic ruler supervise a nation you have absolutely no connection to?”
“I do not know how much do you have learned about the past.” The ruler of Japan spoke. “But I was a leader of a country before. My people were Slavic. Mighty and fierce. Our history was a continuous story about a war. Against Macedonia, Cartage, Sioux and Aztec. We were conquering and progressing. Slowly, but slowly, my kingdom grew more and more powerful. I was a leader and commanded hundreds of thousands to war. An eternal being, killing enemies with fire and lightning. But as time passed, technology was slowly becoming more and more dangerous. Eventually I was still more powerful than any mortal being, but fighting was even more risky, so I withdrew from first lines. This is when everything began to crumble. My nation was already tired from war and without a leader in front ranks began to oppose me. They claimed that we fought for long enough, even my actions proved that. Wars were not worth the lives as we kept on sacrificing. Eventually more than half of my country openly rebelled. This is when I forsake everything. At night I left the Capitol and traveled to a place where I woke up thousands of years ago. I fall back into the slumber. When I eventually woke up, lands and seas changed. Jungles turned into frozen wastes, where mountains once stood an ocean now lie. There I found a nation without a ruler. It was strange. I considered it another chance for me, but this time I wanted to organise everything differently. And here we are now.”
“Now everything makes sense. This is why you remained here.” Gandhi spoke enthusiastely. „I do not have any other information about such thing happening anywhere else! Truly wonderul! You are the first ruler who took part in this game twice!”
“Anywhere else? Game?” Hinotebi looked surprised.
“You see, my dear servant. This is just one planet. One of hundreds of thousands in the universe. Wars like ours are happening everywhere. And in most of such places my copies exist.” Indian stopped for a moment. “Yes. There are thousands Gandhis spread everywhere, conquering and destroying the worlds the very moment we speak. This is but a game, one of the countless one happening in the vast universe. Outcome of our local battles matters as little as a speck of dust on a desert.” Gandhi burst out with laughter. “We are a legion. You are alone! He can be victorious today, but what about next time?” He kept on laughing.
„This is why you are gathering informations.” Perun spoke loudly. His voice become tubal and overwhelmed the laughter of emperor. “When you die, your data will be collected and processed. This way, the Gandhi’s that comes afterward will be more intelligent and skillful.”
“You do not look surprised. Unlike your minion.” Indian ruler looked slightly surprised. „Barely anyone ever believed these words.”
„I have lived far longer than anyone. Other rulers may be ancient, but I am prehistoric. I had a lot of things to think about. What is happening looks too organised to be natural. As you said, this is but a game. All we can do is to take a part of it. Victory or death. This is the only rule.”
“Wonderful! I am really happy I could meet something beyond these old fools! These wars are boring, you know? Soldiers keep on fighting all the time, slaughter each other, conquer cities. Breed and kill. Conquer and rape. Meeting someone who could understand and entertain me after such long time... is something beyond comprehension.
“Glad I could entertain you. Now would you mind... leaving this world?” Perun spoke. He pointed his hand at the enemy. A lightning stroke towards the throne, but instead of hitting Gandhi it was redirected aside and struck a nearby statue.
“You seem to underestimate me.” The ruler stood up. “Your magic or hammer cannot pierce my barrier.”
In responce the flames surrounded Mahatma. At the very same moment, he materialised several meters on the left.
“Still, I do not wish to be roasted.” He stated angrily raising his hand. The air around him twirled and a dozen of tigers appeared. The Slavic ruler clenched his fist and the beasts fell dead on the floor.
“I am a master of lightning and electricity.” He spoke. “Destroying the nerves of mortal being is like a child’s play to me.”
The statues in the room moved. “I am a man of many talents, you know?” Gandhi asked and without waiting for an answer added „There were cases that my copies killed the ruler and took over the country. As I mentioned earlier... all that matters is a victory.”
“It’s not a bad idea.” Perun spoke calmly. “It might have worked if you would fight with someone else. Or made your statues from different material.” He pulled out a golden apple in his hand and shattered it. “Hinotebi. Assimilate with it if you want to live!” He yelled. His voice resonated with the area. Empress set her tails on fire as the whole room erupted. Huge blue fire covered the whole room. Slowly marching silver and gold statues began to melt. Gems fell out of their eyes, and with every step parts of their bodies detached and dropped on the floor making a silvery or gold puddle.
“I know a little bit of your powers.” Perun spoke. „Mostly about your barriers, as you gave me plenty of time to analyse it. Your defence of Calcutta was like a gift for me.”
Gandhi opened his eyes. He was standing behind the throne. Or actually the remains of it, as it looked now like a failed experiment of a novice potter now. Blue fire was eating it, turning it rapidly into a formless pool. The floor around the Indian wasn’t burning. A circle of peace surrounded him. Filled with soft pink light, similar to the one the great barrier of his emancipated, it provided him with a shelter from the surrounding hell.
“This complicates things. I cannot kill you, you cannot kill...” He stopped in mid sentence and vanished. Where he once stood a blue ball of energy appeared.
“Tsk” Hinotebi, standing just behind the zone, pulled the ball to herself. Her body was on fire and tails were emitting blue flame as well. She looked at fire reclaiming the zone where barrier once was.
Gandhi appeared in the opposite part of the room. His trousers were partially burned. A white steam was flowing out of his feet as the remains of burns were vanishing rapidly.
“You see.” Perun spoke. „It may be true that I cannot kill you. Or it is very hard for me to do so. I knew about it for long time. That’s what Hinotebi is for. I trained her to be a perfect weapon against you.”
“Impossible. How can she breach my barrier? It stops everything!” Gandhi yelled out with anger, looking carefully at Japanese servant.
“It stops many things, but not all of them. As you know magic is a materialisation of thought and energy. This is what your power blocks. Bullets, spells, lightnings. Existing things. Yet it does not stop energy itself. This is why you feel heat and need to make a large zone not to die from fire. And this is what my daughter uses.” Perun explained slowly. He did not move, simply maintaining the fire with his raised hand.
“Pure and concentrated energy can be fired. And ethereal bulled destroyint only the things that emit energy as well. Cells. Of human, animals...”
Hinotebi did not wait for her father to finish the sentence. She dashed forward, vanishing inside the flame. As she got as close as the barrier allowed her, she pointed her palm toward Indian and released another energy bullet.
But Gandhi wasn’t there anymore. He stood in another corner looking at his enemies.
“You learned her to teleport? I thought no one except me is capable of doing that.”
“No” Perun answered. “She is simply faster than any human being. Not only that, being part of such fire she has enough energy to be faster than your eyes can actually see.” He stated proudly. He raised his fist high into the air. In responce the fire became even bigger.
Gandhi teleported behind his throne again. As he raised his hand to reestablish the barrier he felt a delicate fragrance of perfume.


Perun

The barrier was in place, but Hinotebi entered it. She looked into the eyes of Gandhi. He seemed completely dumbfounded. Simply staring at the Hinotebi. Just like an average man his eyes wandered between her face, breasts and thighs.
“Farewell my dear.” She took out a gun and pointed it at his head, but he did not react. She pulled the trigger. A body fell on the ground, into the flames that momentarily reclaimed the ground. She pointed it at the lying body and shoot few more times aiming at the head.
“We’re out!” Perun yelled at her. Nekomimi pulled out a sword of her and pierced an enemy’s heart. She turned around and dashed to the exit. The Emperor’s Land that Gandhi created began to crumble.

As they got outside they noticed the soldiers running toward the disappearing barrier.
“Get away from it!” A tubal voice of Perun stopped them in their tracks. “It’s going to explode!” He yelled an obvious for a soldiers command. Everyone fell on the ground and covered their heads. The rulers passed through the barrier as if it was some kind of unnatural smoke. After getting several meters away they stopped and turned away to see the last towers crumbling and falling on the palace. When the last one fell down, everything inside the barrier shrunk to the size of a small ball. It levitated in air for few seconds only to disappear with a quiet sound afterwards. Where the zone once stood, an empty crater was left.
“Officer!” Perun yelled. Few soldiers, slowly raised their heads, unsure what is going to happen. There was no explosion, but was it supposed to be like this?
“Officer! Get everyone five kilometers from this area! Now!” Hearing this command, soldiers stood up quickly. They started to run without regrouping only to get away from this place. It was too much for them.


They looked at the hole. Sitting on the ground, they breathed heavily. “I knew it is going to vanish, but not with everything around.” Perun spoke. “But this make sense. They collect everything either when one of them win or die.”
“Who collects it?”
“I do not know. Someone for sure. There are too many questions we cannot answer. Did you aim at his head?”
„Yes. After what you said I thought that destroying the brain may prevent them from getting any informations on us.”
“Maybe... If what he was speaking was true and there are hundreds of thousands worlds like ours, they are more developed than we can imagine.”
“So was it... futile?” Hinotebi looked sadly at her father.
“Hopefully not. We shall know if we meet Gandhi once again. What I hope is not going to happen.”
She nodded. They stood up and moved to be able to lean on the wall of a nearby building while sitting.
“Why did it take you so long to attack him, after I created the flames?” Her father asked.
“Looks like I scratched the rune on one of the guns while traveling. It was not protected from your fire anymore and began to melt. So I had to cut it off since it was too hot to touch it. I burned myself badly because of that.” She complained.
“I can take care of that later. What about the way you disarmed him? I did not teach you that.”
“Oh. I invented it during my stay in Kyoto. A charm. With the exact same rule like with my spiritual bullets. Just an energy filled with unconditional love and trust towards me.
Perun looked at her surprised. “This explains a lot. But now I have to be careful around you. I do not wish to die the same way.”
Hinotebi laughed. „You think I am going to charm my own father? How perverted can you get?”
He looked at her unsure if it was a joke or she wanted to check something out.
“One ruler died already because he trusted his servant too much.” He spoke coldly.
“Merlin was a fool. He created a doll, which was unable to live normally. So he ended like this. Without you I would be too weak. Not to mention you are my actual father.” She leaned toward him.
“Like a damn fox...” He sighed. „Let’s go. We must get back to Kyoto to recover.”
They stood up, when Hinotebi asked. “So now... everyone knows, right? What does it change?”
Perun looked at her. „They have learnt what I am capable of. This is another reason why our country has to be stronger than the other ones. If we show any sign of weakness we are going to meet the same kind of fate like Gandhi and India.”
“I will not let that happen.” Hinotebi clenched her fists.
“Hope so. We are doing well. All that’s left are 3 Eternal beings and a British abomination. Two actually if you include this Jamaican... creature”
“Still, does it mean you are moving to Kyoto, now that they know who you really are?”
Perun looked at her.
“No. I am not a Japanese. I do not fit there. You are the empress and people listen to you, not me.”
“Roger that.” Nekomimi tried to salute with a smile, but she bended catching her burned side.
“I will take care of that as soon as we get back to camp. Hold on for now.”
Girl nodded. They started walking slowly toward Takeda’s camp.
After few meters Perun turned around and looked at the crater.
“Farewell Gandhi. The strongest servant in the world.” He said loudly.

[Solarius Scorch]

*beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beeeeeeeeeeeep*

It's seven p.m. Good evening, citizens. This is Radio Paris and my name is Jean Auguste Hérold. We present you the latest news from France and the rest of the world.

*jingle*

The Secretary of State Jeanne d'Arc has triumphantly returned from a meeting with Stalin in a secret Russian location last night. As relayed by the Ministry of Information, the Russian confirmed French supremacy as the leading nation of the world by agreeing to a number or concessions regarding international cooperation with France. As explained by the Secretary, this will give us access to the Russian data regarding management of resources developed in their most famous secret base, Akademgorodok. This political victory marks yet another step to world domination of the French State.

*jingle*

In a statement released last week, President and Military Commander Bonaparte confirmed the rumours regarding a new type of sea vessel to be completed soon. This powerful weapon of war, named "the Carrier", will be nothing short of a mobile air base, able to carry French airforce to any point of the globe imaginable. Coupled with our outstanding aircraft design by Dassault Aviation, the Carrier will ensure our sea and air superiority in the remote territories of France, as well as mitigate slanderous comments coming from the obvious sources regarding apparent gaps in our air defense.

*jingle*

According to the folk of the north-eastern Forêt d'Hexagone, and especially doctors, there is a large spike in premature deaths in an area just to the nort east of Paris. Some local superstitions attribute this unusual phenomena to the new chemical plant that was opened a decade ago. Curiously, the initial research by a group of geologists from Sorbonne shows that there is a possibility of contamination of nearby ground water sources by the chemicals stored at the manufacturing plant released into the local river. Further research will be conducted on the local fauna and flora, as well as farmer products, to determine if these unusual claims may be accurate. For the time being, citizens are advised to avoid any products and water coming from the affected area.

*jingle*

Our intrepid police department here in Paris have captured a large shipment of illegal films from Egypt. Initial investigation shows that the gang was working closely with the underground communist movement, planning to disturb social order in the name of their foreign masters. Let the following trial become a clear warning to all enemies of the state that no evil deed will go unpunished.

*jingle*

That would be all for tonight. Thank you for your attention and let us meet again tomorrow, same time. Good night from Jean Auguste Hérold, Radio Paris.

[Max_Smirnov]

Arturia's old military bike was jerking back and forth on the rough dirt road. Normally she would have pushed the throttle to the maximum, curious what will break first, the machine or her, but today she was happy with just this lazy ride, especially after crossing the whole Egyptian continent in one go (there was still no regular train service leaving Luxor, although the plans of digging a tunnel under the mountains were already drawn). The Forest of Isis, where Cleopatra's villa was situated, was still more or less pristine, in stark contrast with Luxor, overshadowed by a cloud of thick smoke belched by its countless factories and refineries. She'd been there specifically to see new airplane designs: the I-10, jet-powered ground attack plane, far more sturdy and easy to maintain than the current models, while also carrying larger payload and capable of higher speeds; and even more interesting, yet unnamed one, built especially with speed in mind. It was hoped to be capable of achieving 0.85 Mach. The speed of sound seemed almost within grasp, and Arturia was quite excited about breaking it. Maybe if the plane was constructed with less safeguards and extra boosters, someone like her who could endure such a flight, would be able to achieve that feat. But even if not, flying something that was moving much faster than anything (barring the Egyptian prototype liquid fuel rockets, which were much more often exploding than actually flying so far) was good enough. If not this plane, then the next one.

Although Arturia wasn't wearing her (in)famous outfit (changed to a leather jacket and breeches, far less ostentatious but a bit uncomfortable in the sudden wave of heat that hit the Egypt this summer), the guards at the outer perimeter just waved her to pass. She was a well-known face here, after all. There were no more guards for the next couple of miles, as Cleopatra considered overt security as a burden for everyone involved for little gain.

Cleopatra's seaside villa couldn't be called a palace, but was none the less spacious and comfortable, and built with materials and craftsmanship not really affordable to the working masses, which was not entirely in line with the official propaganda, but it was widely known and accepted that the higher ups were living in luxury. People might hate their rulers sometimes, but they always want them to be grand, as she said herself.

Arturia found the former queen of Egypt on the beach, basking her back in the sun. She was surrounded by several bottles of wine, half of them already empty.

"Oh, it's you. Be a good servant and grab some sun lotion before coming over," said Cleopatra, turning her head. "And get out of these duds before you get sun stricken."

Arturia sighed, reaching for the zipper of her jacket. "I brought you something, one of those war posters. I think you look pretty good on it."

"You want me to sign it for you?"

"You know, I said it before, but sometimes I'm still entertaining thoughts of killing you."

"Servants killing their masters? That's so last millenium," yawned Cleopatra. "Besides, that'd mean that the responsibility for Egypt would become yours. Along with all the bothersome planning. And you don't like thinking too much do you."

"Why do you think I wouldn't just wander off."

"Oh, I made sure that if I die, it is you who inherits the power. All the people would rely on you, would Arturia really let them down like some neurotic wench? Deep down, you're still a nice dutiful knight, dear."

"I hate you so much."

Having undressed, Arturia knelt down and started to put the lotion on Cleopatra's back.

"Mhm, nice... I grew to like this new luxury," said the leader of the people, before looking at Arturia again. "Oh, I see you still didn't catch up to the notion of wearing underwear."

"I wasn't planning on stripping down," shrugged Arturia. "Just don't give me that usual speech about the finer points of being a lewd person or the influence of Japanese culture. Besides you're not wearing anything yourself."

"That's the only way to sunbathe, girl. I should know, I invented it..." her bold tone died off, and she became thoughtful again. Arturia knew it was always like that when Cleopatra reached into the abyss of time she came from. She just kept silent, rubbing her back.

"...Remember Napoleon's Eight Virtues?" Continued the black haired woman after a pause. "It's obvious that the strength of the country depends on how strongly people believe in it. But it seems to be different now. Movies, books, radio, the politics, it all became global. We offered everyone the ethics for tomorrow, a hope for a new world, not only for the Egyptians, but for all the people. On the surface of it, it should have easily trump Japanese etiqette and paper houses, elegance and eroticism. It didn't. There is something appealing in their mix of ruthlessness and liberty, militarism and capitalism, the cult of personal achievement. Something really enticing is coming out of it. The more they're catching up to the modern technology, the better it gets, instead of the other way around. The technology is dangerous but they thrive on that danger. The Theban Hollywood might be the pinnacle in entertainment, we might control ninety per cent of broadcasting in the world, they might not have the means to assault us head on, but still - they might have an alternative. My instinct tells me this might be the most important battleground in the future."

"Uhh, a battleground?"

"Would the people be guided or inspired. Should they choose security or excitement. The battle for the ultimate fate of man."

"Like, should they be knights or peasants?" Arturia raised her brow, not really sure what the conversation was about anymore.

Cleopatra laughed. "The peasants were hardly secure in your empire."

"And the knights are getting little excitement in yours."

"Oh don't be upset my cute knight. Understand that the people prefer to look up to the gods, rather than knights."

"So now you see yourself as a god?"

"Not me personally. The technology is the god of the future. I've read the work that caused great Tesla to be ridiculed and pushed to the margin of the scientific community, after the Theban University recognized its chance to outdo him, that is. Adnokamyencov's Theory of Relativity. The universe is becoming a strange place, and the god of technology is nebulous, faceless, intangible now. Beyond human senses and experience."

"You seem a bit scared by it."

"I am scared that the Japanese aren't. Maybe it's too soon for them, they're a few decades behind us. Maybe it's because they're choosing a different path, as I said before."

"So what about the other ones? Do the French or British have their own path too?"

"For themselves, yes. But not for the humanity at large. Napoleon has that new version of the timeless tribal territorialism. Ifurita doesn't even have that, just some unprecise duty that justifies any oppression. Sure, it is conceivable that he could widen the borders of that tribe to the whole humanity, but he wouldn't be able to do that except by sheer brute force."

Arturia smirked. "You love to hate Napoleon, don't you? Almost like you secretly liked men more than girls."

"Oh come on. Being an ignorant immortal little girl like yourself, you might not know that there are just two types of men. The ones who like to be on top, and the ones who are boring. Sadly, since I assumed an openly prominent position, I cannot allow myself to belong to anyone. It was much different in the ancient times... before you even were born, Arturia... All these brave men, tyrants, conquerors, warriors... I was just a goddess from a pyramid, the ultimate prize, the perfect woman, and when I woke up again, they were dead from old age..."

Cleopatra's voice trailed off again.

"And the girls are cute while being non-threatening?" smirked Arturia. "Well, Azuria's been quite threatening."

"She is like me, remember. And now she's sitting in a glass cage in a museum. I liked Heliconnen, he always had great ideas. Cruel, but ingenious."

"Even burying Lia in a tomb to keep her alive and sleeping instead of just killing her was cruel enough. What you did to Azuria... I can't even comprehend what had been going through her mind during those three centuries. I've been there yesterday, she just sits in the corner, motionless, eyes open, that old royalist uniform well-fitting despite being worn out... seemingly relaxed and powerless. But the moment I looked at her, I wanted to run. That almost unbearable feeling that the moment she moves, everyone around can only hope for a quick death."

"Doubtlessly she became completely insane and more dangerous than ever. We might need such a creature someday."

"For what I wonder."

"For Armageddon maybe. So have you been to Thebes?"

"I took a little sightseeing tour across Egypt, yes."

"What have you seen?"

"The sad city of Oryx and six hundred years of merciless industrialization. There is hardly a forest without ruins of some old factory in it. And the new ones are even more numerous. Still, compared to Luxor, it's idyllic. Luxor is nothing but rock, steel, fire and noxious smoke, like the pits of Hell. And the Thebes look like a paradise of light. From a distance, at least."

"The pits of Hell... Sadly, it's unavoidable."

"Since when you're so reluctant towards the power of industry?"

"Thing is, Arturia, I am not sure... Do you remember Gandhi's death? It was an event of such power that I sensed everything that happened there... And when the master of the Japanese revealed himself, for a short while I was sure he's Thor... and that I am extremely familiar with him."

"Who's Thor?"

"The thing is, I don't know. Or at least... can't remember. Sometimes, I have such vivid recollections reaching thousands of years... and in those memories, I'm almost always a different person... I remember the green pristine hills of Thebes from eight millenia ago... Beautiful hills from the times when the winters were longer and the rains were falling for just a couple of weeks during a year... and the burning black hatred and hope of seeing them soaked in black industrial sludge. Is it possible that I've been... someone else?"

"Someone else than Cleopatra? How?"

"I'm pretty sure I was myself, or someone who behaved like I do, at the onset of the Kingdom. But the four, five millenia before that... I hardly remember them. Like a strange dream, an endless lull dotted by rare moments of clarity. Now I am Cleopatra, but where have I come from? Maybe the person who is me now started out as merely a role to be played? Have I known more about what's to come and how it all started back then? Sometimes I'm pretty sure of that..."

Cleopatra turned on her back and put a hand on Arturia's shoulder.

"Akademogorodok. The small town filled with improbably extensive scientific installations. Even the parts that weren't burned puzzled our scientists. More efficient than even our best technology, by far superior to anything we've seen anywhere else in Russia. There must be something to it, this is just too suspicious. We have to find Stalin. You have to do it. First his impossibly fast scientific advancement, seemingly out of nothing surpassing fivefold the Theban University, now this. I have no idea what is going on, I can only hope that by conquering most of Russia we have stopped his plans. However, there has to be some explanation. I must know what Stalin knows. And you must find it. Understand?"

"Yes, I... understand," said Arturia. "Don't look at me like that, you're scary..." She sighed, then lowered herself to embrace her master. "You idiot, you really need me, don't you."

[Eerion]

Empress ruffled her hair and looked grimly at the enormous pile of documents lying on the table. Statistics, economic predictions for next year, needs, demands and priorities. As the absolute leader she was supposed to give personal directives to every major city under her reign. Once a year, for a week or two her life was turning into bureaucratic hell. She stretched, looking at her official uniform. It might look good and be representative. She might look like a leader of a country and the head of military wearing it. Yet it was extremely uncomfortable. Maybe she should order another one? Not as tight, so she won’t take it off at slightest opportunity. Traditionally no one could enter this part of the palace at night, so wearing just a lingerie wasn’t an issue, however, thinking that the leader of the second most powerful country in the world manages one of the most important tasks almost naked made her laugh whenever she was realising it.
She sighed and looked at the document in front of her. Nagano. What should this city focus on?
Hinotebi straightened up, feeling an incoming guest. After the fall of Gandhi, he was visiting her more often. Not to mention that hiding own identity wasn’t necessary anymore.
“Seriously, just like all your ancestors. I don’t recall making Nekomimi exhibitionists” Perun spoke after entering the room.
“Don’t complain. It’s not my fault all these military uniforms are so inconvenient.” Empress answered nonchalantly.
“You used to wear almost nothing even before introducing them to military, so don’t think I will accept your lame excuse.” He laughed. “Or maybe you adjust to your newest invention?”
“Shut up.”
“Seriously. You were the only one who could come up with such idea. Sexual Revolution? Really?” Perun looked extremely amused.
“Everyone fu.cks. For some people it’s normal, for some it’s a kind of taboo. I simply turned it into a public thing and a business. What’s wrong with that concept?” Hinotebi tried to defend. “People are happy, being able to speak more open about their... adventures.”
Man laughed loudly. “Indeed. This is why the most popular book right now is “Sixty Nine ways of satisfaction.” It sold more copies last month than Haruhi’s Gospel in last ten years.”
“It’s all about how you use the invention, you know? Tesla invented Telephone? We invented sex phone. Egyptians built Hollywood? We have our own version between Kyoto and Osaka. Do you know how is it called? Boobiewood. Guess what kind of movies they are making.”
They both laughed.
“As you state very often all that matters are results. People are happy thanks to that. Citizens of Nagoya already openly celebrate and this is only a beginning. Satisfied people work faster and more efficient.”
Perun nodded. “Yet it doesn’t change the fact that you look like one of the actors of this... boobiewood. I know money is always welcome still I don’t think you have to go that far...”
Seeing her resentful expression, the ruler stopped.
“How are preparations on the invasion on Persia?” He changed topic swiftly.
Hinotebi looked at him angrily for some time. Eventually she turned her gaze away.
“We are in the process of building both the fleet, land forces for invasion and air support. It is a matter of time before we can attack them.” Empress still sounded annoyed. “I just do not understand why you became interested in them out of the sudden. It’s nothing but few meaningless isles.”
“Someone has awakened there.” Perun’s expression became serious. “He is still very weak and it may take years before he will make his first move, still we have to dispose of this person as soon as possible.”
“Is he someone you know?” Hinotebi asked.
“No. I do not sense any similarity to the rulers I knew long time ago. Still I have to talk to him. He may know something useful to us. About this... game we are playing.”
Nekomimi looked at him grimly. “I do not like this word. It’s as if the lives of all these people were meaningless.”
“I am afraid this is how it is.” He stopped for a moment. “There are no descendants of people who lived when I ruled directly. They all... disappeared? Died? I have no idea. This is what we have to figure out if we do not wish to share the same fate... regardless of the outcome.” Perun looked away. “Make sure the preparations won’t be delayed. We cannot allow other to lay their hands on him.”
“Both Egypt and France declared that they will not interfere. I do not think they will wage war even if this person is important.”
“Still be prepared for anything. In diplomacy trust is only a weakness.”
Hinotebi looked at her father and took a deep breath. “I will not repeat these old mistakes.” She claimed.

[Max_Smirnov]

Turn 225 Report!

Thebes, 1660 AD



The wide promenade, running through the centre of Thebes up to the huge plaza in front of the government compound, was crowded with soldiers, the thumping of heavy boots marching in unison, and heavy drone of military vehicles. It looked like an invasion, and it was one - of sorts. Never before in history there was any heavy military presence in the Egyptian capitol, the army was kept mostly out of sight even during the heated days of the communist revolution in the early 1300's. But the government decided this peaceful tradition was going to change.
In the forefront of the army, rode the Egyptian cavalry, which had earned itself a great reputation during the war. Those soldiers, by many considered anachronic in the age of tanks and jet airplanes, were the at the forefront of most of the battles, their guts and skill making up for their antiquated methods of warfare. More often than not at a heavy price paid in soldiers lives. Serving in cavalry was considered to be several times as dangerous as in any other force. Barring the navy, of course. Stretched thin and operating far from their bases, Egyptian submarines and destroyers paid heavy price to keep their Russian counterparts at bay and the seas safe for supply convoys. The Cavalry was esteemed for their daring charges, but in reality, they couldn't have done much without their fire support, horse drawn light cannons, mortars, machineguns, and lately, rocket launchers. A collection of this equipment was paraded at the rear of the cavalry regiment.
Behind the cavalry, there were endless ranks of footsoldiers, marching with parade step. For all the advanced weaponry Egypt possessed, the rank-and-file infantry numbered into a million, with the Red Militia units making more than a half of the remaining 600 thousands. It was the most numerous military of the world, outnumbering even the Japanese by one quarter, but still the task of controlling three separate landmasses the size of small continents meant it was pretty much overstretched. The Red Army soldiers were armed mostly in rifles and submachineguns, but one elite unit had an entirely new type of weapon on display, a weapon based on intercepted Stalinist designs: the A-47 assault rifle, putting a machine gun in the hands of the every private, had a potential to bring the infantry combat to a wholly new level.
After the infantry passed, the reluctant Theban audiences could finally see the military vehicles up to this moment not witnessed by anyone outside the military. Orderly ranks of the newest model of the time-tested T-34 tank, crushing the pavement under their threads. This tank was outclassing the Stalinist vehicles as much as they used to outclass Egyptian infantry at the onset of the war. An extremely rugged vehicle due to innumerable improvements, it could operate in any environment encountered in the Union, from the muddy Egyptian roads, to the dense vegetation of Equatorian hills, to the dusty deserts and steppes of Russia. The tanks were followed by self-propelled and drawn guns of various callibre, and at the very end of the procession, truck-based unguided missiles, and finally experimental models of gyroscope-guided cruise missiles, the only kind of weapon truly beyond the techincal capabilities of any other contemporary power. To further awe the citizens, a few wings of I-10s and M-17s flew over their heads, jet-powered ground attack and fighter aircrafts.
The Socialist union was surrounded by three major powers which weren't sharing its values, powers envious of its emerging might. Although the relations were peaceful and the international trade was more vigorous than even before, a demonstration of strength was needed too. Plus, the people of Thebes needed to adjust to the new reality, where heavy militarization seemed to be the only way of keeping the peace.
A perfect occasion to organise a military parade arose with hundreds thousands of soldiers returning from Russia to their homes. Even though the hostilities haven't ceased yet, and Stalin was remaining at large, the last bastion of organised resistance of his loyalists had been broken at Kazan. What was left of his forces, wasn't posing any serious threat anymore. The major operations have ceased. Having acquired enormous resources of Russia, and having prevalent acceptance of the once-oppressed Russian population (many Russians were prominent figures of Theban science, politics and military even prior to the invasion), the Socialist Union was already looking towards the future, which looked much brighter and at the same time, more dangerous than the past. The Russian campaign had proven the level of sudden destruction the modern military was capable of. In a matter of a comparatively short historical time, the whole map of the world had changed...




"The old concepts," rasped Raul Heliconnen, before getting overtaken by a coughing fit. He inherited the famous Heliconnen longevity, and, despite being able to move only on a wheelchair now, he remained the minister of defence. Out of the original cabinet that was planning the invasion on Russia, only he and Nepthys Al-Karnak remained. Everyone else was long dead, except for Tesla, who, locked inside his lab and deserted by almost everyone, was trying to prove that Adnokamyencov's relativity was wrong, at least to some degree. Raul took some imported Japanese heart pills, drank some water and continued.

"The old concepts aren't working anymore. It takes tens thousands of men to create an impenetrable strongpoint, provided they have all the heavy guns and fortifications they need. Even tanks or airplanes would be unable to dislodge them without enormous losses. But what difference does it make, since such strogpoints can be easily circumvented, tanks are fast, airplanes are even more so, and we know very well what is possible if we combine that mobility with a clever use of troop ships and enveloping beach landings to surround the enemy or strike at their rear. To fortify all our major cities to a satisfactory level, we're going to increase our land forces at least threefold."

"Totally impossible," said Nephthys. "Both from the point of view of enormous investments and time. Yet..." she looked at the operations table, with various props representing the movement of spotted military units, ships and airplanes. "With our extensive radar network, we're able to see the enemy long before they strike."

"What of it, a sudden attack from France or Brittania at Thebes or Pergamon wouldn't give us enough time to mobilize. What's good of knowing the enemy is coming, when you don't have anything to counter that. Our airforce alone, large as it is, won't do. Especially since for the investment in a single full air army, we could have 40 or 50 infantry divisions."

"Obviously there are no simple solutions... We need to use a bit of everything, I think."

"And be really good at nothing! The only good defence nowadays is to attack first, it seems!"

"And have everyone turn against us." said Cleopatra, watching the parade from the window. "We might be strong, but not strong enough to take on the whole world. We have to tread more cautiously than ever."

"So that's why we opened borders with Japan? That's why we're making concessions and limiting the scope of our conquest?"

"Isn't this obvious. We're the most powerful nation in the world. The only way for us to keep that way is to make sure the world needs us. Japan would be much more powerful than us by now, if they had more humility and more ability at winning friends. The world is already wary of us. We normalized our relations with the Japanese, but the others... Especially Brittania and its unreasonable ruler... We need to respect their interests as well."

"We need to be the power broker," said Nephthys, "not the power monger."

"Well, if everyone sees that our preparations are purely defensive..." said Raul.

"Like anyone sane would believe that the most powerful country preforms 'purely defensive' preparations, and is not merely taking time to arm itself and overwhelm the opposition with sheer force of numbers and technology later on. No. We need something else. We need to capitalize on our power. What if we declared that if any country gets attacked by another one, we're going to attack the aggressor? That'd make us needed."

"And maybe drawn into a war we don't want."

"Maybe. But it is a price worth paying for living in peace."

"I'm more worried about the Japanese power over the hearts and minds of the people," said Cleopatra. "We were supposed to be the champions of emancipation and freedom, and what? We were beaten on both fields. This new invention, the television, will probably further increase the strength of our propaganda... But it is not enough, we need to seek other ways..."

"Comrade..." said Nephthys. "I think you're overestimating the whole issue. We don't have homeless people or high murder rates, do we. If they want to play with fire, go ahead. But the real power lies elsewhere. In economy, industry, military, diplomacy and popular support. And the latter isn't all that bad here. Who cares if the prols are bright or dim. We have the best elites in the world, the best industry, the best science. And we shouldn't be wasting that science on appeasing to the crowds. The modern technology in itself awes them enough."

Raul seemed surprised. It was extremely rare for someone in the ruling circles to challenge Cleopatra's wisdom. The leader herself just blinked and looked at Nephthys cryptically. The woman was however unruffled by this.

"Our intelligence states that the British have founded a whole new radioactivity research centre, based around the person of Doctor Ferminho, a brilliant Mexican scientist mightily interested in exploring the possibilities opened by our Adnokamyencov's theory. He's especially interested in the part of energy equalling mass squared, that the matter is solid form of energy. I am sure you understand much more of it than I do. But what I know is, if this guy is onto something real, and the British seem to think so, this could be an extremely momentous scientific achievement. Tesla was ridiculed at first as well, with his claims to harness the lightning. And now look, virtually all our power is based on his achievement. We have much more resources that the Brits. We can overtake them yet. And everyone else as well, as they're behind us. It might open new vistas of possibilities we're unaware of yet..."

"It... might," nodded Cleopatra.

[Max_Smirnov]

Stalin Takes Leave

A long convoy of trucks and armored vehicles was making its way across the endless steppe. The winter had fallen over the northernmost part of Russia, a vast expanse of land inhabited by huge flocks of bisons rather than men. The snow had fallen, and the wind was stealing clouds of vapour from the mouths of the soldiers. Their faces were tense, eyes focused, scanning the empty horizon with caution.
Colonel Arturia, riding in a jeep in the front of the column readjusted her heavy winter coat.
"Any new reports from Stavropol?" she asked the radio-operator.
"No. Our forces continue to scour the city, but it looks like it wasn't a trap. There is no Russian military presence at all."
She nodded. It was in line with the intelligence reports. Not counting the Russian colonies in the far South, which were in the French and Japanese areas of interests, this was the last Russian city standing unconquered. Nobody expected any serious resistance. Yet, three full mechanized divisions were deployed here, supported by a self-propelled artillery brigade and no less than 800 combat aircraft. And there was a reason for that.
"Are the scouts reporting any activity from the... crater?"
"Nothing new. The compound is lightly guarded, just a few dozens of sentries without any heavy weapons. The commander of the reconaissance unit insist on an order to capture the object with his detachment."
"No. This is out of question. You know that... he... might be here. All the intelligence data indicates that his final hideout has to be somewhere in these steppes."
Arturia's chief of staff, General Mardak, lit a cigarette. "Sending a whole mechanized corps to capture one man..." he sighed, and raised the pack towards his superior. "Want one?"
Arturia nodded. "Picking up bad habits from Cleo..."
"What's the difference, you're immortal... So is he. I've never fought a god before."
"Neither did I."

An hour later, the column reached the crater. It was big hole in the ground, a kilometre across, with a cluster of buildings sitting at its bottom. The eerie silence was broken by Egyptian vehicles, as they spread across the steppe and surrounded the crater. The Russian guards were obviously not expecting anything like this, because they instantly hid inside the buildings. There was no one to greet Arturia's detachment, as it was making its way down the single road leading to the bottom.

Suddenly, someone yelled: "We have found him!"

"Aim! We can kill him in just... one..."

Arturia's jeep swerved hard and came to a stop inside the compound. On the surface of things, he looked rather unassuming, an old man in a heavy wither coat, smoking a pipe. But the moment the Red Saber looked at the Russian leader, her stomach turned. It was like an aura of terror hovering above that man, or like he was just a mere three-dimensional shadow of something vast and sinister, more felt than seen, lurking somewhere in different dimensions. Veteran Egyptian soldiers were stricken speechless, their hands trembling, cigarettes hanging from their mouths, some of the weaker-willed simply threw their guns and ran away, others coiled in foetal positions in the snow, sobbing quietly.

"To think this man is far from the peak of his power..." Muttered Arturia. "Everyone! Fall back and form a perimeter! I shall deal with him personally."

Arturia made a secret gesture with her hand, a summoning ritual she hasn't performed in over a century. She wasn't supposed to do it unless faced with most dire circumstances, but as a warrior, she acted on instinct, and that instinct told her it wasn't a time for deliberating about consequences. The air warped and shimmered, as a great, twisted blade, fashioned from what Cleopatra was calling 'the stuff of primordial Chaos itself', popped into her hand from the thin air. The chaotic energies immediately started to influence the reality, the snowflakes around her turned their color to red, some of them turning into small roses, some catching fire. No longer feeling any fear, she approached the Russian.

"This is game over for you, Stalin," she said.

Only then the moustached man even bothered to look at her. He took a drag from his pipe and said,

"This game you're playing with my tanks and airplanes, the game of global domination you fight under my banner? Yes, I suppose so. I think I won."



Arturia stopped in place. "What? YOUR tanks? YOUR banner? Have you gone mad? Your country is conquered, and your life is about to end. You have lost."

"You're wrongly assuming you and me are playing the same game... shadow."

"A what?"

"You don't understand much, do you. But this doesn't matter in the greater scheme of things. You're inconsequential to the universe."

"As is any being."

"To an extent, this might be true. But this remains to be seen. Not in your case, of course."

"Whatever you say. I have only one question for you before I'll end this. How you managed to get your hands on all this technology? You have accelerated the growth of science by at least three centuries, maybe even more."

"Oh, a good question. And the answer to this question is intrinsically linked to all the other questions you are asking yourself now. Like your nature, or the incomprehensible fact of my victory. But why I should bother answering them?"

Arturia hesitated for a second. This man was playing with her mind, this much was obvious. But it was stupid. Mind tricks couldn't help him against the cold steel of her blade, or the absolute military superiority of her forces.

She smiled and put a hand on her hip, the chaotic power of her sword having already transformed her winter coat into the frilly and indecent Red Saber outfit.

"To revel in your so-called 'victory', maybe? Show this silly female who is calling herself a knight how stupid she really is."

"My victory is a fact," he smirked. "My new accomplices have taught me a new word. Memetics. Your master might be interested in this word, she seems to be obsessed with the idea. The idea of ideas. Of identity. She is seeking the identity of the country she had created. In vain. Simply because it is my country and my identity. I have pushed you onto the path you're treading now. The new ideas I have carefully cultivated in this country, the revolutionary communist ideas, which blossomed under the capitalist oppression of my government, have infected the ancient and crumbling Kingdom of Egypt. Like a virus, they have turned it into a great communist empire. And I kept pushing with the technology. All those fine weapons of war", he pointed his pipe at the rim of the crater, where the armored forces were waiting for an order, "are based on the designs found first in my country. They have evolved since, indeed, but starting from the same seed, they haven't gone too far astray. The tanks, the airplanes, almost every modern technology originated in this country."

"We have won those by conquering you! We couldn't simply sit back and let you..."

"Of course you couldn't. You couldn't allow other powers to overtake you, that poor Tesla was the only edge you had, you had to grow, you were scared that you will be left far behind if the insanely fast Russian progress continues, you feared a chaotic world. I have practically forced you to conquer Russia."

"That's charming, but I fail to see any advantage in getting conquered."

"Such strange words, coming from a girl. Shouldn't be surprising, considering where you came from..."



"I came from endless battlefields," she frowned, her voice taking on a dangerous tone. "Once I fancied myself a king, but long since I learned to be proud of my true identity, the greatest conqueror and most ruthless killer this world had ever known. Any girlhood I had in me was shattered three thousands years ago, as I learned the way of the sword. Even before my superhuman powers fully matured, I was commanding armies and slaughtering Boadicea's naked fanatics by the hundred, tasting the sweet blood and the joy of besting a man, a warrior, for the first time. I survived ambushes and fought gladiators for sport, I vanquished rebels and destroyed bandits, forging the Celtic empire in the crucible of blood and steel. I have personally killed thousands of my kinsmen and ordered deaths of thousands more before I even set my foot on the shores of Kootanad to smash its gates with the Excalibur. I have commanded the siege of Delhi, watching thousands of my soldiers giving their lives for my cause in this greatest slaughter the ancient world had known. In the India alone, I crushed dozens of armies and seized hundreds of towns and castles, killing foes, and friends as well, if needed, never hesitating to send people to horrible deaths. Then, after my empire had fallen, I joined Egypt and continued my battles. I have led Red Army to the victory over the rebelling South, learning to use new weapons but seeing that the war hadn't changed so much, with its fire and plunder, and rape and endless suffering. Over your Russia, I took part in an even greater campaign, conquering vast cities and witnessing the horrible carnage and speed of the modern war machine. I have beheaded tyrants and kings, shot generals, destroyed tanks, ships and airplanes. Therefore, you won't fool me with your notions of having planned to be conquered and killed all along."

"I know well who you are. Only by pushing you to conquer Russia, I could make sure you will seize all the technology I wanted you to intact and unchanged. Only by forcing Russians to emigrate, knowing they could only find refuge in your country, I could be sure you will inherit the Russian thoughts. Others were forced to use spies, grabbing bits and pieces, having to painstakingly reconstruct what they found, filling the gaps with their own ideas. Not you. You are Communist Russia now. I made sure of that. My memetic victory is absolute."

"No. That is too weak. Means nothing in itself. There must be more to it. You speak of Russian heritage, but what does that even mean. There is no such thing as an undying, universal spirit of a country. Countries and people change and flux all the time. What of Egypt changing according to your plan? Such a plan is meaningless. Egypt would have changed one or the other way, as are all countries changing, unevitably and ultimately unpredictably, millions of possible futures dying each day, like that Alpine scientist, Heisenberg, had theorized. Are you really putting that much mind to the notion of some grander plan or planned evolution having any intrinsic meaning to it, only because you've lived for all these millenia? If so, you're a fool."

"Seems you're showing the real depth of your intellect, shadow. Very well. This is a sign of respect, so I will show respect to you as well. You're assuming this all happened by chance, that you've inherited just SOME Russian culture, SOME Russian technology, created by the people of this land according to their needs. This is not the case. The designs were very specific, and came from elsewhere. You've became Stalin's Soviet Union."

"Elsewhere? What do you mean, elsewhere? Is it... Like your identity was supposed to surpass this world?"

"I was asking myself this question since I have first assumed the mantle of Stalin. Am I really him? This is beyond point. What is crucial is that Stalin is not of this world. So I have put myself in the deepest meditation. A meditation that lasted for millenia. I have set my senses to the Outside, and waited. And listened to the void, far away from this world. And then, I finally heard them. When the Mystic X had fled this world, unable to pursue his researches any longer, as his Roman domain was destroyed by the French. Before you ask, I have no idea what the true nature of his researches was. But undoubtedly, his eyes were on something grander. Just like mine are now."

"Something... grander? And what others?"

"As I came to understand this, what Cleopatra and Napoleon, and Ifurita, and you, shadow, perceive as reality, is nothing but a game. The grandest game there is in the universe."

"A game? The reality is just a game?"

"Not the whole reality. But this planet is. It appears it was fished from a void and populated with eight Masters to fight a battle royale. A game of progress, ambition and conquest. A game that lasts for millenia. A game that feeds the vast egos of the megalomaniac Masters. What is the prize, I do not know. But when I realized it was just a game, I was devastated. Being a contestant in some game?" He smiled and shook his head. "This is not something worthy a man like myself. I desire real power. So I ensured the Communist Russia is going to be the winner, and decided to move elsewhere."

"It is Egypt who will be the winner."

"No, because it all happened before. Just as the persona of Stalin came from somewhere else, so did the Communist Russia. I ensured you're going to build a country closely resembling it, with its philosophy, methods, technology and weapons. Since it is so closely linked to Stalin, to myself, in the grand memetic sea of the galaxy, where thousands of such games are being played as we speak, any notion of Cleopatra, the Queen of the Nile, being beyond this, or a person who is a strange female recreation of King Arthur Pendragon, would be laughable. It will be remembered that the Communism won here, and the Communism is me. That's the power of the memetics."

"But WE will be alive, and you won't!"

"I am not so sure of that. The Others who allowed me to accelerate the technological growth to such a degree only said that the game lasts for ten thousands of years. Of which almost 8700 have already passed. I'm not intending to wait and see what happens then."

"The... Others? What are you talking about?"

"You see," he let out a cloud of smoke. "Games are entertaining. I am sure there are some greater divines who have set this all up. But they're not the only life in the universe. As the game churns on, its location becomes eventually known. As the things progress and the world is getting more advanced and more interesting, all manner of creatures slowly start gathering around it. Many of them have travelled thousands of light years to watch this game. And so, when the Mystic X left this planet, my mind followed him and contact was made. Now, cheating is an inherent part of any game. The Others were delighted in my idea to stir things up a bit. Accelerate the progress. There are rules to safeguard from external forces interfering, but we were subtle enough, it seems. They were delighted when my plan started working and prompted the great war between Egypt and Russia. They were delighted by humans, especially Celts, quickly leaving the boring age of Renaissance and learning new and exciting way of murdering each other. Oh, I have even made it easier for Celts to infiltrate my facilities, what they took for an incredible luck. The Others are especially delighted with the global tensions rising and the Celts having embarked on a path to create means of destroying it. I'd advise you to not be overtaken too much, as they might destroy you as well..." he smiled.

"Who are those Others?"

"There are many kinds of them, but I came to like one race in particular. You see, they're reptiles. Intelligent reptiles, smarter than the most of mortal folks down here. The beauty of their race is, they're unburdened by our mammal compassion or social instincts, or other pointless emotions. They're true predators, cold, calculating, fearless and ruthlessly effective. And with the same appreciation of reality as myself. They have a great potential. But sometimes, even a reptile might find uses for a cunning mammal who had lived for thousands of years. Especially since they're just a small, splinter faction of their race. With such allies, I can conquer the universe, no longer being constrained by this silly used facade of Stalin the Communist Leader. I will make myself a real person again."

"I don't think so," said Arturia, starting forward and raising her sword. Her speed and agility was far beyond that of any human, and she crossed the thirty feet between her and Stalin in a blink of an eye. But as her blade fell, the moustached man suddenly disappeared in a ball of electricity.

More of such balls appeared all over the compound. Arturia shielded her eyes. Stalin's presence was gone, or rather... no, not gone, but he was somewhere underground. But there was no time to contemplate that. Out of the closest ball of lightning, a three-metre tall armored figure stepped out, without hesitation raising its weapon at Arturia. She instinctively dodged a beam of intense heat that was shot by the weapon, igniting the very air. The beam hit her jeep instead, melting a half of it and causing the fuel to explode.



Blink of an eye later, all the hell broke loose, as more of the figures appeared and started firing. The strange weapons overwhelmed the Egyptian soldiers with sheer firepower, burning men to cinders, setting buildings on fire and destroying vehicles. Some machineguns and assault rifles barked in response, but the bullets were harmlessly bouncing off the armor of these strange beasts, even the AT rifles proven ineffective. That resistance was brief, too, as everyone in sight was annihilated in quick order. The whole compound quickly became obscured by smoke and mist from vaporised snow.

"What the fu*k is going on down there?" Demanded General Mardak in his command post at the edge of the crater. He couldn't quite put together what he'd just witness, but he was sure of one thing: more than three hundred of his men were now fighting and dying in the pandemonium that erupted down there. "Give me Colonel Thakisis of the 35th Luxorian Tank Brigade!" He yelled at the radio operator. "Colonel! Our men down there need fire support!"

"With all due respect, General, we can't see a sh*t, besides, the tanks can't lower their guns enough to fire into this damned hole!"

"Get your tanks moving down that road, then!"

"Yes Sir!"

With the battlefield still obscured by the smoke, first battalions of the Brigade began descending down the only traversible way into the crater, forty T-34's and twelve S-152 self-propelled howitzers crushing snow and rocks under their threads. The road was narrow and no more than six tanks could advance in a single row. Their commanders could make out shapes of burning vehicles and buildings ahead of them, but little more.



Meanwhile, General Mardak was busy spewing out further orders. "Contact the 1st Air Army commander! Tell him to scramble his planes, Case Blue Six! Contact the artillery brigade, too! I want them at full readiness to fire everything they have into this god damned pit if all else fails!"
The radio operator flinched at this last order. The full might of an artillery brigade could devastate a city, but their accuracy when firing from ten miles away would be horrible.

The mechanized artillery brigade, deployed on the steppes a fair distance from Stavropol, wasn't expecting to see much action during this operation. The supplies were plentiful and the discipline was strict, but when the reconaissance confirmed no enemy presence, the soldiers started getting laidback. This sudden alert was a complete surprise. Yet, orders were orders. Hurried by their officers, the artillerymen ran out of their tents to raise the guns and missile racks to their firing positions, at pre-sighted coordinates.

Before the first tanks made it to the bottom of the pit, out of the mist came burning lances of light. Metal armor bubbled and smoked, liquified in second by the intense heat. Hulls designed to deflect Russian antitank shells proved too thin to protect the vehicles. Some of the tanks stopped to retaliate with their 85mm guns, but they were firing blindly into the mist at some barely-seen and quick moving shapes. In between the deafening discharges of tank cannons, the air was filled with thick staccato of machinegun fire. Armored battalions tried to spread out, but tanks which were already burning impeded their ability to maneuver, quickly multiplying the number of casaulties. S-152s added their heavy shells to the carnage, massive explosions clearing out the mist and smoke where they hit, for the first time allowing to see their strange enemies. The huge, alien shapes moving with such agility could be perhaps not enough to horrify the tankers, if not for the fact that close misses of high-explosive rounds and hail of shrapnel seemed to have no effect on them. Some of the remaining tanks switched to anti-tank shells, but scoring a direct hit on these targets was extremely difficult.

General Mardak saw maybe one of these strange enemies dropping after taking a tank round, and still he wasn't sure if the alien didn't simply go to the ground. This seemed a very bad casaulty ratio, considering his force had already lost two dozens vehicles, and the prospects for those who were trying to retreat uphill seemed rather grim, considering enemy's rate of fire and accuracy. What's worse, some of the vehicles on the rim of the hill started taking hits as well, trucks and jeeps simply exploding in contact with the beams of light. The weight of fire of hundreds of machineguns and anti-aircraft weapons seemed to do little to impede the enemy either.

"General retreat! Everyone, pull back three quarters of a mile and form a perimeter defence! Nothing is to come out of this god damned pit!" As his own vehicle jerked alive, he added. "God damned pit, and god damned smoke. Lieutnant! Pass new orders to the artillery and the airforce. Fire at will at this f*cked hole in the ground! With every f*cking weapon they have!"

"B-but there might still be people inside... and, and Comrade Arturia!"

"Nothing and no-one could have survived this hell. And we have to defend our f*cking planet! Don't you read sci-fi, Lieutnant? I bet those f*uckers down there are filthy xenos!"

The sky turned alight, when hundreds of rockets and artillery shells started coming down on the target with a low whistle. The accuracy was woeful, but the sheer firepower made the ground shake and tremble. Massive columns of earth and fire were erupting all around and inside the huge crater. After several volleys, the missile launchers depleted their ammunition, and there was a momentary lull, despite dozens of guns, as well as Mardak's own heavy mortars, continuing to fire. Then the airforce came, flying high, wave after wave of jet and propeller planes, dropping hundreds tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the target.

"Take that, you xeno motherf*ckers! Welcome to Earth!"



Arturia's mission to retrieve Stalin was turning more and more irritatingly difficult, even without those overgrown space lizards running around. Avoiding their fire took all of her agility, the Red Lighting worked to slow, and even the Blade of Chaos needed to score a good hit to tear through their armor and hard bodies. Understanding that staying outside served no purpose but to invite death from their torches, Arturia managed to bring just a couple of invaders down before following Stalin to his underground bunker. She had to entrust the task to exterminate the rest to her forces; a task she wasn't even sure to be able to undertake by herself. Now, after cutting through several armored doors, she faced a deep shaft coming into the bowels of the earth. The elevator, naturally, wasn't responding, so she had to rapel down the steel cables, leaving her hands bleeding and muscles aching.

The moment she landed on the bottom, she came under fire. But it were merely human guards, firing human weapons. The bullets which managed to hit her left only bruises and cuts behind. She didn't need her old armor anymore, her body was hardened beyond such weapons ability to harm her. She sommersaulted above the guards and electrocuted them with a short burst of red lighting from her hand, leaving the poor idiots burning and twitching.

Arturia ran the length of a badly-lit hallway, before coming under fire from a machine gun slit in the wall. She ignored the gun and ran towards another armored door. She put all her strength into a single strike, and the doors shook, bubbled, warped, and finally crumbled under the chaotic power of her blade, leaving a pile of wildly colored metal behind. She ran into a huge room just in time to see Stalin calmly boarding what looked like a flying saucer. With the sign of a red star, no less, which infuriated her.

"See you on the moon," he said before the door closed. She ran towards him, but suddenly one of the huge armored lizards appeared in her way. It fired a lance of light which scoured the concrete wall, leaving a deep wound in it. But it didn't hit the Red Saber, who ducked and delivered an upside strike with her sword, splitting enemy's helmet along with the head in two.

This delay was enough, though. The flying saucer jerked upwards and accelerated rapidly into another shaft, no doubt leading to the surface. Seconds later it passed the surprised airplane pilots, circling around the crater. It was too fast and too sudden for anyone even to fire at it.

"This is going to be a hell of a lot to cover up..." murmured Arturia, looking up the empty shaft.

[Eerion]

Four divisions of tanks were driving through the vast plains of southern Russia. Eight Hundred of Type 1 Chi-he were about to be tested in a real battle. For tens of years the Japanese tanks were slowly improved in order to operate even in most dire environments, from the glaciers in the far South to the dusty plains and deserts close to Equator. It took few decades of tests, but the objective was finally achieved. Now all that was left was to see their performance in actual combat.
“It’s been few weeks since the bombardment has begun!
Crushing the ground with each cannon strike!
Setting the shore on fire! Sending a message forth:
We're Japanese! We're heading north!”
A man was singing loudly, while looking at the road ahead was. His comrade in arms laughed cheerfully.
“We are Hinotebi's men! Follow the plan! One against ten!
Carry Her word! Pound into dirt! Bring world of hurt!”
An old song, slightly adjusted, was fitting the current situation pretty well.
“Break” They’ve heard a voice coming from the radio. “I don’t know which unit is singing, but it’s enough. Stop using radio. We’re close to the enemy, prepare for battle. Out.” A voice of Oda Nobunaga, the Japanese general interrupted the happy singing.
“I told you that they won’t let you finish, Daiki. Next drink’s on you.” A driver spoke.
“It’s not bad. He didn’t ask for the unit name.” The singer laughed. “But he’s correct. I can already see the city suburbs in the distance.”
“Do you think they’ll defend it heavily?” The gunner asked.
“After majority of their country was crushed? Desperately, but not heavily.” Daiki answered. “We have eight hundred tanks, battleship support and ten thousands of Facist Infantry. Do you think they have any chances against such force?”
The gunner laughed. “Right. These damn Infantry bastards. I quit on trying to get to that unit when I saw their requirements.”
“They’re not human. I’m telling you.” Daiki summarised. “They alone could wipe out a small army. And we’re here as well.”
“Still it’s us who are in front.” Driver commented.
“Until we reach the city. Afterwards they will take over and lead the charge. These fanatics will not let a chance to kill or capture some enemies pass by.”
“Long Message” Oda spoke again. “Enemy machine gunners spotted in the outskirts. Divisions blue one and blue two – close ranks and push through. The convoy will follow you and provide with necessary support after you engage an enemy. Blue three – Column half right. Red one – Column half left. Encircle the enemy. Fire at will. Over.”
“Wilco” The division commanders were answering in order.
“Let them taste our might. Out.” Nobunaga spoke after hearing all confirmations.
“Let’s get this done” Daiki spoke loudly. Other soldiers nodded.


“Target at 6-2-0. Light!” Daiki shouted.
A turret moved slightly “Identified.”
Another soldier loaded the cannon. “Up.”
“On the way.” Gunner confirmed. The loader moved away.
A strong recoil slowed down the tank for a moment. Daiki loosened the grip. He didn’t hold tight enough at first and almost lost few teeth because of that. He looked up through the sight.
“Too far! 5-2-0. Light!” He kept on shouting, as the noise of forced engine and cannon barrage made a normal speech impossible.
“Identified.” “Up.” “On the way.” The crew calmly repeated the procedure. Another shot, a second or two to sit or stand firmly again and everything repeated once again. Enemy tried to return the fire, but having only a few anti tank rifles against such masses they could do nothing.

“Blue one and Blue two. Do you copy?” Oda spoke through the radio.
“Loud and clear.” Two commanders answered.
“Enemy have no heavy support. Take their fortifications by assault and make a deploy zone.”
“Affirmative.”

“Guys! We have a new orders” A man responsible for radio shouted. “They’re weak! We’re charging directly at them!”
Daiki laughed. “Let’s crush them!”
Everyone nodded.


The outskirts were burning. Cannon barrage at full speed was inaccurate enough to demolish whole area, not only the enemy defences. Hundreds of Russian soldiers were kneeling tied down. The remains of enemy army tried to defend inside the city, but they were getting swiftly suppressed by advancing facists supported by few dozens of tanks. Majority of the army stationed outside. Daiki looked at the enemy soldiers. Now, that the last bastion of continental Russia was conquested, they seemed spiritless. Many of them were wounded and bleeding, but no one paid attention to it. Soon they shall become slaves of the Japanese empire. The weak would die anyway so why bother?
“I wonder if they would prefer to serve us or Egyptians?” Daiki spoke sitting at the cannon turret.
“Who cares?” Gunner looked at him surprised.
“True. They are not human beings anymore.” He spat on the ground and turned away. “Who’s up for some drinking karaoke tonight?”

[Eerion]

“So this is where your country is heading toward?” Perun spoke, while looking at the documents.
“My country?” Hinotebi looked surprised.
“You are the Empress. I have never interfered with the way Nekomimi’s ruled as long as Japan kept on becoming stronger and stronger.”
Empress looked at her father for a moment. Her eyes wandered between his face and the letter he held in hands. “Ah. This...” She eventually remembered. “I’m not a big fan of slavery. Still I cannot forbid people to catch them if it strengthens the country. After all they weren’t part of Japan before. No laws are broken.”
Perun looked at the map. “As long as this slave trend will not reach mainland we should be ok. These fools make it easier for enemy to sabotage us.”
Hinotebi nodded. “I will order them to send slaves to the distant isles. They will support building the encampments there.” She stopped for the moment. “While we’re still discussing the isles issue. Did you figure out who is he?”
“No. But as the first Persian island already belongs to us, we put some pressure on him. We are forcing his hand, so eventually he will reveal himself. If not, then well... we have to prepare for everything and go meet him.”
“Do you think it will be safe?” The girl looked troubled.
“It never is. Yet we have to do it in order to achieve our objective.” Perun put the report aside. The Russian accident proved our action course correct. Not only we have to face other nations here, but we must prepare for what comes after this contest ends. Otherwise... it all will be in vain, and we shall vanish just like the past nations did.”
“How do you want to prepare? According to the Chiyome’s report enemy engaged Egyptians with technology surpassing us by hundreds of years! If only!” Hinotebi rose up letting her emotions go loose. “How are we supposed to survive that?!” She shouted.
“From what I have figured out, we are somewhat guided.” Perun answered calmly. “It means that we are developing faster than our... supervisors. If we lay low for long enough, establish the colonies in the sea and in the sky then maybe... we may stand a chance when the time comes. Or make them recognise us as a player, not a tool.”
“Colonies in the sea? Colonies in the sky? What are you blabbering about?” Hinotebi was angry, but seeing the serious face of her father, she remitted. “I mean...”
“You are young.” He interrupted her coldly. “I have seen much more than all the Nekomimi’s combined. For you it may look insane, but I saw that what proved impossible in the past now is an everyday thing. Colonies not created on land are just a matter of time. We must withstand until that time comes.” He stopped for a moment. “There is one more thing we have to accomplish if we wish for it to happen. How is the rocket project progressing?”
“It is done. We are already producing the anti air missiles you asked for. But... are planes really that much of a threat?”
“It’s not the airplane invasion I want to defend against. Or actually it is right now.”
“I do not understand” Hinotebi, calmer now, was confused by her father’s answer.
“You do not. Most people have no idea about it yet. Even some, if not the top tiers in foreign countries. Yet they are researching it, attracted by the idea of new source of power... and destruction.”
“Can you explain it in a way I can understand?” Nekomimi, asked with an annoyed tone.
Perun sighed. “Quantum physics. Quantum mechanics. Most, if not all other important countries are working on it right now. The concept of splitting the matter itself in order to unleash an unimaginable power. With this, they could create a bomb capable of destroying a huge city alone. This is what we have to defend against. This is why we must build many rocket launchers to shoot the enemy down when they only approach. And eventually we must build the bombs ourselves, so we can scare them off with it... or retaliate.”
“Can such weapon... really exist?” Empress asked with a shaking voice, imagining its power.
“It will very soon. It did in the past as well. I know about it, since my country had access to it when I was a ruler back then. We dropped several bombs on the border cities of Carthage. We planned to assault it afterwards, but the results... Instead of crushing the enemy armies and capturing the land swiftly we have evaporated everything. What was left was an endless line of scorched earth and ruins. The earth couldn’t support any life there and no one wanted to live there anymore. Instead of additional land we have created a zone no country was interested in.” Perun was recollecting the past with a grim face. “This is when everyone realised. It wasn’t a weapon of conquest like the conventional ones, but the one of destruction; and destruction only. Whoever use it doesn’t care about the lands or cities anymore, he simply want to see the enemy dead. Destroying the important cities, slaughtering the citizens... it’s all they care about. This is why we must produce a heavy defence against such weapon. This is why we must claim it ourselves very soon as well. They must be afraid of striking at us. Soon it shall become the only reliable argument. Fear.”
“Suddenly the future looks grim.” Hinotebi spoke with an incredibly sad voice.
“Every age has their threats. This may be greater than the previous ones, but... it may be avoided as well. It all depends on the reasoning of other rulers and if it fails we must provide them with enough arguments that striking on us will be a grave mistake, as their bombs will not reach us.”
Perun looked at the map. Nekomimi followed him shortly afterwards.
“We cannot defend everything. Still they would not waste such power on minor cities. As long as we protect the most important metropolis it should be enough. Should be.”
“Hopefully.” Empress agreed sadly.

[Eerion]

The engines were working on full power. A fighter slowly drove until the designed zone on the carrier. Upon arriving, Katsuro picked up his radio communicator.
“Horo. This is A six M one two. Ready. Request catapult. Over”
“A six M one two. This is Horo. Request granted. Launch in three... two... one... launch!”
Catapult gave the plane necessary momentum to swiftly ascend from the flight deck. Designed to launch even planes with a missing engine, there was a plenty of room for any unusual situations. Seeing as everything proceeds as planned, a pilot took a deep breath. Slowly ascending, he was about to catch up with the other planes. Airplanes were launched swiftly, yet with two divisions of fighters plenty of time was required in order to deploy a formation, so the front line was advancing at lowest possible speed, so others can catch up swiftly.
“A six M one. This is A six M one two. Radio check. Over.”
“A six M one two. This is A six M one. I read you five by five. Over.”
“A six M one two. Roger. Out.”
With this final check preparations were complete. They were slowly approaching the Hebrew’s city of Hyrcania. Led by a charismatic leader, Moses, the city rebelled against Persians and created a new country. Besieged by Japanese forces, which he was about to support with rest of two fighter divisions, made purely of fighters A6M, one of, if not the best fighters in the world. Brilliant unit, given the codename “Zero” was extremely swift and maneuverable. Enemy land forces, armed with obsolete weapons clearly had no chance of victory.



The fumes were already rising from the outskirts, as the land forces charged forward beforehand.
“Bloodthirsty fools” Katsuro cursed them in mind. He knew that in such case orders will be modified to adjust to the new situation. Maintaining the formation was impossible when the enemy was already fighting inside the city.
“Break-break.” Toyotomi Hideyoshi, commander of air forces began the broadcast. “Looks like Tokugawa was impatient. Taiga one, you will join forces with invading army and will serve as reconnaissance and fortification crushers. Taiga two, encircle the city and vanquish any enemy spotted. Over.”
“Taiga one. Wilco. Over.”
“Taiga two. Wilco. Over.” The division commanders answered.
“Maintaining the formation is impossible. Fall out starting from the right wing. Over and out.”
“Time to slaughter these fools.” A pilot muttered to himself.

Metallic noises could be heard when arrows were being deflected by the steel hull of the airplane. While these weapons could still be more or less dangerous to the land forces, they couldn’t even scratch the planes. Katsuro pushed the stick forward. Machine started losing the altitude swiftly, now that it was pointing at the earth. “Prepare to die.” He muttered, opening the fire to the knights trying to get out of range. They could not hide inside the buildings as well as pikemen or archers, what was making them an easy target. A long machine gun burst pierced the men, horses and stone walls indiscriminately. He pulled back, making a cutting turn and returning to his original position.
He raised his altitude a little bit, in preparation for another Low Yo-Yo and to spot the best target to attack. Everywhere around, single airborne units were picking up and sniping clustered enemies. Further to the south Japanese land forces were advancing, but in this area the chance for a friendly fire was non-existent. Pilot spotted a group of archers, he forced to a hideout once. Looks like they had to move out.
“I am Zero! I have returned!” He yelled when pushing the joystick. He opened fire.

“Break-Break!” Voice of Hideyoshi suddenly called on an open channel. “Taiga two. Our forces are closing to your position. Raise to 1000, fall in and return to the base. Over and out.”
“Taiga two. Wilco. Over and out.” The commander answered. After few seconds he added on another channel. “We’re out guys. Great job, they couldn’t do anything to us.”
Few cheers could be heard over the radio. Katsuro looked back at the burning city he was getting further away from. “This is what difference in technology creates.” He spoke loudly, as if someone was sitting next to him.

[Eerion]

Four people marched through the destroyed city. The battle was still ongoing, however, this sector was already completely pacified by facists and fighter jet planes. There were still people hiding around, either unlucky enough not to evacuate in time or remaining in the city for whichever reason. Fortunately for them, the slaughter of civilians was forbidden. Still, less than ten years ago, during the revolution, it was not the case. The Hebrew rebellion drove out or slaughtered the Persians in order to “Create some space for Jewish country.” As a result tens of thousands people were homeless, majority of which left toward their last existing city – Bahrein. Due to lack of means of transport to get them there, many ships were greatly overcrowded, or even recycled from the scrap yard. The result was more than obvious – Only few of them reached the destination point. Because of such brutal and unacceptable behaviour, many respected Jewish families, living mostly in Egipt and Japan refused to move there. The city regained the original size from before the slaughter, yet as the citizens consisted mostly of poor people or ones having issues with the law, this place quickly turned into a rundown city, having nothing but the city walls, as only they could not be taken apart for profit. Several years later, the Japan launched an assault.

The city might not have been bombarded, yet the twenty thousand machine guns carried by Facists and heavy versions attached to the planes managed to deal colossal damage, to the already declining buildings.
“Where do you think he is hiding? In the palace?” Hinotebi asked, while looking around. She carried a machine gun herself, along with two guns and a sword.
“Report says he fled from there just before the attack. I suppose that his objective was to reach his... chamber. But I do not know where it may be.” Mochizuki Chiyome, the head spy marched slightly behind them. Unlike the empress, she kept on using only the traditional weapons. Few swords, sai weapons and throwing stars and daggers were everything she needed.
“I have a vague idea where he might be hiding. Eternal beings can more or less sense each other.” Perun spoke calmly. Unlike the others he seemed ignorant of the vast damage the surrounding sustained. He looked at Haruhi.
“Do you sense anything?”
Girl nodded. “He hardly even tried to cover his energy tracks. If we follow this lead we should find his hideout very soon.” She answered.
Hinotebi looked at Suzumiya. Since her return three years ago, she seemed different. The undergone training might have made her stronger, but it also ripped her of all the warmth she had before. She was still pretty aggressive, but now, with the more distant and cold feeling and responces it felt more... offensive than before. Not only that, she refused to visit the family of Uesugi, which she promised few centuries back, out of great friendship and respect to Uesugi Kenshin. This proved the empress that the girl she is dealing with now is someone very different from her old friend.
“I hope he’s worth paying the visit. This place so pathetic we should never set our foot here.” Haruhi commented.
“Do not complain before anything happens.”
She did not answer, just nodded slightly and kept on leading the group following the invisible trail mentioned earlier. After few minutes she stopped and pointed at a building. The tenement house looked just like any other, from the inside and the outside. Surprisingly, the smell of a rotten fish inside was even stronger than the one of blood and gunpowder on the outside. Decaying furniture, tables and chairs reflected the state of the city pretty well.
“It’s somewhere in this room.” Haruhi spoke indistinctly, while covering her mouth. The foul smell was too much for her.
Perun looked at the floor. The floorboards were damaged enough that any of them could be the one covering the entrance. Unlike the girls he did not fight with the stink, still searching this room... it would be too much.
“Get out.” He commanded shortly. Girls happily followed.
When they walked out, the repetitive voice of thunders erupted in the building. When they reentered the building few moments after everything stopped, the floor was completely wrecked. The stink of burned wood, however, could not win with an overwhelming stench of rotten fish.
“Come here. Be careful not to hurt yourself on the splinters.” He called them.
“Since where are you so caring?” Haruhi asked.
“I take care of my servants if they prove themselves useful.” Perun answered coldly and turned away. They noticed that he was looking at the hole in the floor. Made of concrete, with metallic rods attached to the walls to be used as a stairs it reminded of an entrance to the submarine.
“Mochizuki, you’re checking out for any traps and dangers.” He commanded. Girl nodded and swiftly entered the tunnel, vanishing momentarily in the darkness.

Mochizuki Chiyome

After several meters of walking in the dark tunnel it began to change. First, the concrete changed into some kind of metal, and every now and then they found a small bulbs giving out a delicate red light. At first they considered it a weird version of a light bulb, however, from what could be saw it was completely different inside. Girls tried to extract it from the wall, until Perun mentioned similar creations in his own chamber. Angry at not mentioning it earlier, they resumed the march. Tension from unusual environment was gone yet everyone was on his guard. Moses was bound to be close.
He was in his chamber, sitting on the bed. Or at least thing that could be described as one. It looked like a huge pharmaceutical pill cut perfectly in half. Still it somehow suited the rest of the room, as it was completely covered with some kind of metal. The walls were engraved with strange patterns carved deeply on the surface, but that was it. No furniture or anything, but it made the area pretty spacious.
While Perun looked only at the Hebrew man, the girls were checking out the surrounding area as well.
“I wanted to talk to you old man.” The Japanese leader broke the silence. “There are so many questions you may know answers to. Yet you returned to this place. What was your plan?”
Jew looked at him for a second, then at the ceiling.
“I’ve been wondering if I will be able to go back to slumber.” He answered calmly. “If you managed to track me out so swiftly, then there is no hope left for me I suppose.” His voice was almost depressed.
“Everything depends on your next few minutes. Or hours.”
“I don’t think so.” Jew denied openly. “Even if you let me go, others won’t. Do you think that Cleopatra will allow me to rest here peacefully if she can enslave the leader of Jews, so important in her country? I am not foolish enough to believe you would wage a war with them for my reason, especially after I will share all my knowledge with you. If I refuse then you will enslave me yourself. In both ways I will lose my freedom... again” He spoke with some annoyance in his voice.
“Again?” Perun asked slightly surprised.
“Again.” Moses confirmed. “I was conquered in the past. Stripped of my rights as a ruler and forced to serve another country. I saw my nation working as slaves for the emperor. Every day I was forced to act against my will and fight anyone my master wished. Be it my past friend or foe. Otherwise I was tortured. Sometimes physically, sometimes he just kept on slaughtering my countrymen in front of my eyes. Tens of thousands for every failure I made.” His voice was slowly raising as if he was about to break down. “Eventually I could not withstand it anymore to the point I refused to serve him. As a penalty, he has forcefully hibernated me here. Then I woke up to see that the world has changed. I am here, my people are scattered around the globe and the oppressor is no more. So I claimed this city to build a country for us. To build a country for those who had to serve others for centuries if not millenia... For them.”
“I understand.” Perun interrupted him, seeing as the master is slowly losing control. “This is why you killed or expelled all Persians from Hyrcania, is that correct?”
“Yes! Yes!” He answered cheerfully. “You understand, do you? That I had to do it in order to create a place for my people! Every land was taken, so I could not establish a new city. I had to overtake an already existent one! This one was directly under my chamber so it was natural. You understand, right?”
“I do.” Perun answered with a chilling voice. “But there is one thing I am interested in. How come a ninth nation can exist, where everyone knows there can be only eight? And how come your people never had a nation? They were like a wandering tribes, settling in any country where they could find a decent profit.”
Jew looked at him with a face that expressed something between surprise and sorrow. “I do not know. When I was hibernated, there were only a few thousands of Jews left in the world. He was intentionally exploiting them at work or killing as a penalty. I see no reason why he would let them go free after my imprisoning. How did they survive? I want to know, but it is impossible.”
“You mention one person several times. Who is he?” Hinotebi asked from behind. Girls were unsure of what they should do, and just grouped up at the exit, covering each other backs.
“The one you killed. Gandhi.” Hebrew man answered quickly, while blinking.
Perun squinted his eyes and bit his lip.
“Or was it another one?” Moses added seeing no vocal responce.
“Wait.” Perun interrupted him. “You knew about the multiple Gandhis?” He looked really surprised.
“Did he tell you about that before he died?” Hebrew man asked, and without waiting for the response continued. “He told me about the multiple worlds and how Gandhi’s were conquering all of them. I did not believe all his words, as I thought he tried to subdue me this way. But most of his words actually made sense. It was a reason why he could not create a servant – he was actually one himself. Powerful, but still bound by many rules. This is why he wanted to overcome this limitation and make me work for him. At least I think so.”
Speaking about that made him a little bit calmer. Still Perun knew, that it could be just an Illusion.
“Gandhi told us about many worlds just before he died. Yet he never mentioned if they were victorious or not, so I think he might have been bluffing in order to make you join the winning side. But the rest... what else did he tell you?”
“That his master is very powerful. From a race that could control a shape and vision of their enemies. They were bound to win. Also that this is just a game and it’s already over, as Gandhi had everything planned until his ultimate victory. I did not believed it, as he was powerful, yet other nations could fight on par with him and win. No, I think it was just a bluff. What else? Hmm...” He stopped for a moment. “This is all I suppose. He never liked sharing much information with me. But why are you interested in all of this?”
Perun looked at him and bit his lip again. He hesitated for a moment and shortly described his own story. About Slavic nation, wars, betrayal and slumber. Moses was very surprised and interested in the fact that this man was leading not his people to greatness. He told about the completely vanquishing nations between “rounds” and how he wanted to prevent it. But in order to achieve it he needed data on what to expected when the game ends.
“This is why I wanted to meet with you. Your people are the only case of a nation that existed in the past and survived until now. But they have no myths that could give me any hint.”
“As I told you I know nothing. I did some research, but I could not find anything. The only thing I am sure of is that they came from one area, as they all maintain very similar traits. Was it a capsule like mine? Or they survived the cataclysm that changed the lands? I have no idea.”
Perun nodded gently. He did not receive the answers he wanted but it still was better than nothing.
“There are many malfunctions in this world.” Moses spoke. “Me, You, Jamaican master... or servant. This weird Russian accident that happened recently, when Stalin disappeared. But from what you said it looks like your first... game was without such issues, right?”
The man confirmed shortly.
“It was the same for me. Maybe this is the reason? This game may be for some reason... different. It can be intentional, it can be accident. Still it would explain a lot.”
“You may be correct. But I cannot base on such assumption. This way I will never learn anything.” Perun seemed dissatisfied.
“Maybe another master will know something.”
“Another master? Who?” The Japanese ruler asked surprised.
“He rests near the city of Bahrein. I tried to reach him, but I had no time for such thing.”
“Who is he?” Perun almost yelled from the excitement.
“I have no idea. He did not awaken. But one of the Jewish families, hunting on the plains found something weird once. They picked up a small piece of metal used for these chambers. They found it in front of a sealed gate in a “creepy, supernatural tunnel”, as they described it. They moved here and tried to sell it in order to get some money. With my powers, which allow me to control insects I tracked them swiftly, but they could not show me the exact place so I could reach it alone. They were lost themselves back at that time. Still it must be from another master, sealed and sleeping in his room.” He explained with an emotional voice as well.
“This is a very important information. Why are you telling me that?” Perun asked, praising his generousness.
“You have killed a person I wanted to see dead the most. I do not care if it was him or some kind of copy. Also... I believe you will not enslave me. You are not this kind of man. If I cannot create my own country I hope to end my life here. I do not wish to share the fate of Saber, who from ruler became a slave. She may not dislike it now, as she does not have to spill the blood of her people, but... no. Not again.”
“I understand.” Perun answered, while loosening his hammer. “Is there anything you wish to ask me before that happens?”
“No. It might have been a short and somewhat rough awakening, but seeing my enemy dead overcame everything else. If I can only ask you one thing...”
“Yes?”
“If these malfunctions are unexpected and you may be able to do something... please make them pay. For all we had to suffer in their twisted game.” Moses looked at the ruler with hope in his eyes.
“I will” Perun answered while swinging his hammer down.

Moses, the ruler of Hebrew

“We were completely expendable” Haruhi complained.
“Better than dead.” Perun answered shortly. “We must send our forces as soon as possible and claim Bahrein. After that, make all units begin searching for the tomb in the desert.”
“It will take time.” Mochizuki Chiyome spoke. “Few years will pass before we may be able to do so.”
“Then ensure that our enemy will not claim these terrains before us. Do not even sleeptalk about what you have heard today. Or I will slaughter all of you.”
Girls looked at him, unsure of that unusual demand. They still nodded.
“Do you think it was really a good choice to slaughter these Persians?” Hinotebi broke the silence.
“No.” He answered. “But I could not tell that to an unstable person. You also should not ask him about the oppressor so quickly... we were lucky that it was Gandhi, so he saw us like some kind of saviors. Otherwise... we could have learn nothing at all and fight to death with him.” He answered.
“You rule a country, not only a nation.” He added after a moment. “If you seek greatness you will eventually conquer. Many nations will live under your rule and if you choose one over another it will lead only to your fall. But I could not tell him that. He was just a wreck of a past ruler, driven to the wall by his fears and desires.”
“Would you make him your servant otherwise?” She asked again.
“I’m not a Gandhi I do not need to take such desperate measures. He was also too unstable to be of any reliable use.”
“I understand.” Hinotebi answered.
“Do not grief him too much. I suppose there are many more tragic stories happening everywhere because of these twisted games. Use these feelings to make sure we will pay these bastards back. Even if it will be just a little bit.” Perun spoke seeing the face of his daughter.
She nodded in response.
“They will pay.”

[Max_Smirnov]

Forest of Isis, 1760 AD

Despite late, or rather early, hour, the windows of the Socialist Union leader's private villa were lit. Arturia barged through the door, barely avoiding breaking it. She stumbled, a bottle of vodka in her hand, before noticing her ragged coat was still smoking. She patted it with her free hand, grinning despite her face being dirty and bloodied.

"Hey Cleo, I'm home," she said, making her way to the bathroom to wash her face. Spotting her mistress in the living room, she smiled again. "Eh I guess I crashed my car again. Shouldn't have driven it on LSD... Especially with roads full of your soldiers, you know? Like that time I've accidentally ran my jet fighter in Jeanne D'Arc's airship, back in 51... The French never even mentioned it..." She took a swig from her bottle, entering the room. "Oh? I was expecting you to say I did it on purpose," she grinned, then stopped in her tracks.

Cleopatra's face was expressionless, and she was looking at the wall, not moving a muscle.

Arturia sobered up in an instant.



"What happened?" she asked.

"On the table." Cleopatra's voice was hollow.

The blonde looked around and spotted a letter. She picked it up and read aloud:

"We have waited and watched. Yet even after our Messiah came back after time beyond time, we haven't betrayed you. Our loyalty lies with our own, but also to our rulers, like you, and the humanity as a whole, as our fates are intertwined. Accept this as the proof of our unwavering support." Arturia frowned. "What does it even mean?"

Cleopatra waved another document. This one looked like an ancient scroll. She didn't speak up. Arturia approached and took it from her hands.

"Huh. What kind of alphabet it is?"

"Sinovarangian. And obviously copied with understanding."

"Huh? Never heard of such language... Um, and what does it read?"

The black haired woman cleared her throat and read:

Year 51xx

That drowsiness, when the light that wakes you up is the red glow of a dying day.
Especially after sleeping for several centuries straight.
But why to wake up. Nothing ever changes in Thebes. Old, stagnant, decadent, a paradise of sweet decay surrounded by vigorous, growing nations. The day when the barbarians appear at the crumbling gates will eventually come. Yes, they're growing, constructing their cities, broadening their horizons, young and vigorous. And past them, like a black tidal wave, unseen and unknown, Russians are racing towards the total supremacy, scarce tales of their power unlikely to be exaggerated. Quite the opposite, I think. Even the Arbites' rankings agree. Egypt is ranked at 7th place out fo 8.
The hottest days of late summer. Slight breeze moves the fine, peach curtains of my chamber, high up in the pyramid. I can see Thebes sprawling below, over fifty thousand people, old, stone buildings. So old that even my memory is hazy, trying to stretch to the days of their youth. Oh, I remember well the first months, years, centuries of my existence here. But as time went, my consciousness faded. The Thebes as they stand now were built during the last two millenia. Two hazy, lost millenia. So much time, a lake, a sea of time.
I can still hear the pounding of the hammers. There, past the city; a huge feminine shadow, undoubtedly, it was quite difficult to construct such a shape. Especially since I didn't want Leonardo's sense of beauty to interfere with mine. My shape isn't quite subtle enough for his tastes. Not very boyish, so to speak.
But, right. I have pushed Thebans to build a huge statue of myself. Because, what the hell. What there is left but sweet decadence? They might've accomplished great many things instead of spending seven centuries building this thing, but it wouldn't have mattered. A loss, none the less. If I am to lose this great race, I'll be losing it grand style.


Year 58xx

My ocean-faring primitive rafts, hopping from island to island, have reached the equatorial latitude of the planet. It is still too cold for any real rainforests to develop, but the land there is considerably warmer and more humid than here. Well, even if the latter part doesn't seem especially compelling, with the endless rain and mist plaguing Egypt for the last two millenia, the former is much more interesting. Maybe I'll move my capitol there. Sometime. After I conquer the world.
Wouldn't be much sense in doing anything after conquering the world, would it.

And so. We've met Gandhi. Just past the equator, where the endless island chains finally give way to a jagged mass of land, on the very tip of it, upon dry, rolling plains, a city of an unknown civilization was spotted. My explorers learned its name: Madurai.


Year 59xx

Everything ebbs and wanes, nothing is ever eternal in this world. And so, after 400 years of glory, the Theban court is showing signs of decay. Everything is fine, more or less, but there are rats in the palace, and the glamour no longer seems fresh. The intellectual vigour lessened, and the income sheets no longer look that great. The half-millenium long effort to lift all seven Egyptian provincial towns from the poverty had all but emptied the Theban treasury.
Something needs to be done, but what poor Mia can do? There is no other way than to plow forward, abandoning the quest for the Great Library is not an option.

Especially since my plans to prod my people towards developing feudal framework had been stalled. My mastery over their wants and dreams is far from absolute. The chance had been missed, and until the wheels of progress turn yet again, feudalism is inconceivable. I can only take three general directions: developing sea fishing (which knowledge I'm planning to acquire from the Celts), developing a true oceanic vessel for warfare, or capitalize on the current scientific progress and lay foundations for geometry, the next step of mathematics. Of course, no one "wants" to discover trigonometry; those poor people have no slightest idea that such thing exists yet. But, prodding them in the right way should eventually produce their own Pythagoras, and ensure that his work isn't overlooked and forgotten.
And that is what I'm intending to do.

PS. It turns out Pythagoras had already been born, a 100 years ago, and he's French. Now all my people can do is to repeat the same thing. It's not fun. It's not fun at all. Those French bastards.


A Celt envoy had arrived at tyrant's palace in Thebes. It's surprised how civilized they've become in just a few thousand years, those people who once were unwilling to talk to anyone. The envoy negotiated an exchange of technologies, fishing for road building (as I have suggested, I may add).
Building roads should keep them occupied for a few centuries (giving me time to build up the long overdue defenses), plus, each technology means further technologies - ones that could help them escape from the scientific limbo created by their Cultist governance - are harder to research. At their level, road making is a dead-end, and, although they're bound to make some gold on it, it will take them even longer to reach Imperium or Monarchy.
Their only option of expanding would be through war, and in a five, eight centuries I'll be more than ready to thwart such an attempt. With the goal of turning Pergamon into a vigorous town established, now it's time to start developing it into an impregnable fortress.

PS. The envoy was unknowingly saying interesting things and I'm starting to suspect that Celts have already met Gandhi. I might authorize an exchange of maps then, no point in keeping Gandhi's existence in secret, and it'll be already too late for the Celts to stop me from garrisoning the two isles off their southern coast. With that achieved, the likeness of seaborne invasion coming from the south will decrease even further.

PPS. Writing this several centuries later. They haven't met Gandhi, and they were even oblivious to the existence of those islands until I've told them. What a bunch of idiots.

"Fiftieth something century after... what?" Arturia frowned yet again.

"After the beginning," said Cleopatra simply.



"More than thousand years before the Kingdom was even established," she added.

"It seems it is about... you, isn't it? But why are you calling yourself Mia?"

"I vaguely... remember that time. But I had no idea I had such a... deep insight back then. I had no idea I kept a diary. And I have no slightest idea who that Mia is."

"Azuria haven't awakened before the Kingdom, had she... Damn it, but it seems you had Leonardo with you back then! If he only..."

"Was still alive, yes."

"Napoleon?"

"No. I'm pretty sure he never perceived me as anyone else than... well... Cleopatra."

"Are you not her?"

"I am!" she stood up, suddenly frustrated. "But also... I'm pretty sure I have written that... In that alphabet which never existed in this world... And somehow, the Jews know about all of that more than I do..."

The two women looked at each other.

"The mystery never ends, eh?" said the Red Saber, sitting down on the coach. "Maybe you should just let it go. Whoever that person was, I know you're not her. Not anymore. So just drop it. No good could possibly come out of this."

"You, of all people, suggesting that? Oh anyway. Happy Birthday, my servant. 3200 years and still feeling young."

"Oh, so you remembered, after all? I'm a demon, right. I cannot grow old. Unlike you, old lady, who destroyed who I once was and remade me in your image."

Cleopatra looked at the strange writings again. "To let it go... or to get to the bottom of it..." she pondered.

[Max_Smirnov]

1763 Socialist Union's Weapons of War Report

1. Bombers



Despite its unusual design and rather small size, the French Condor is currently considered the most advanced bomber in the world, the 'flying wing' configuration giving it unparalleled range. The Japanese P6W, better known as the Watanabe Bomber (after its designer, who more recently proceeded to establish the most successful commercial jet industry on the planet), is of directly opposite design, a huge, jet propelled aircraft capable of flying at high altitudes and carry a heavy payload. The Socialist Union decided to go with yet another approach, our B-33 powered by turboprop engines, with capabilities similar to the P6W. The British Federation keeps a close veil of secrecy over their advanced weaponry, but it is safe to assume they have some strategical bomber capability too.


2. Fighter Planes



The Socialist Union's airforce is being in process of upgrading to the latest fighter plane design, the .9 Mach capable M-19, heavily armed with 4 autocannons. We have reasons to believe that unlike the M-17, it should be capable to engaging the contemporary Japanese, British and French fighters on roughly equal terms. Considering our fighter force matches that of those three powers combined, such levels of performance are more than satisfactory.


3. Tanks



The continuous development of tanks in the Empire of Nippon had lately turned our time-tested T-34 into an undergunned and underarmored contestant. To combat that threat, our tank divisions are being currently rearmed into the T-45 Heavy Tanks. While possessing decreased mobility, they're sporting currently-heaviest tank cannon in the world, a 122mm callibre gun, as well as are protected with thicker armor.


4. Missiles



Despite the fact that pioneering work in the area of guided surface-to-air missiles was done in the Socialist Union, it is the Japanese Kagu-Tsuchi which became the first mass-produced and mass-deployed system. Sporting a huge, almost half a ton warhead, and capable of supersonic speeds and great altitudes, it is a formidable weapon which renders the old concepts of carpet-bombing obsolete, as a single missile could wreck a sizeable, close-knit bomber formation. Unlike in the three previous areas of warfare, building this kind of weapon is beyond the technical capabilities of any other power except ourselves.


5. Navy



Both the Japanese and French Navy have long since introduced jet aircraft-capable aircraft carriers, of which the Shinano Class is a prime example. Socialist Union' naval forces remain defensive in nature, so any investments into heaviest classes of ships like these is considered unnecessary, with destroyers and submarines fully capable of fulfilling their roles.