Chapter 383 - We're Boned

Note :

No, I couldn't think of a better title for the chapter.

Also, sorry for the lack of chapters lately, but my life has been absolute hell. The construction at my place has reached a level where it's simply no longer inhabitable, and I'm going to have to evacuate. And according to the workers it will take at least another three weeks JUST for their crew to finish their part of the job, and there'll be follow ups.

Oh, and the bureaucrats who ordered that construction in the first place are now demanding even MORE and sending outright threats. Joy.

So I'm going to have to leave. I don't even know for how long. Hopefully I can at least grab my PC tower so I don't have to use my crappy laptop (which lags and churns when trying to just handle word files). But at this point nothing is certain sadly.

Hopefully once I'm in a place where I don't have a constant migraine due to an unending chorus of hammers, power tools and screams, I'll be able to get something done and not just pray for death.

Chapter 383

Red Sands Desert, Archduchy of Rebirth

Dungeon Factory, Command Center

"Well. That was unexpected." Said Alexandra, as she looked at the recording.

"We should have seen it coming." Said Allya. "It's obvious, in retrospect."

"In some ways, yes. In others, no. Don't beat yourself up about it." Alexandra smiled. "It's taking us short, sure, but in the end, we want to have people petition us to join up."

"I'm aware. But right now it throws our plan into disarray."

"No plan survives first contact with the enemy. And no schedule survives the first diplomatic meeting." She'd learned that the hard way, working with Arcadia during negotiations with the UIS. The AI was a hurricane in android form.

And now I am the hurricane.

"Uh huh. So, what do we do?"

"We carry on. If we show we're too off-balance, it'll damage our aura and credibility. A little bit of surprise is fine -we don't want everyone believing this was choreographed-, but we have to act like we planned for it and just smoothly continue on." She gestured, pulling up holograms of various documents and even maps. "With the question of the Kingdom's allegiance solved, we can start talking hammering out territorial dispositions."

"Shouldn't we start with vassal privileges and the Imperial structure?"

Alexandra shook her head.

"No. That can wait for a bit. For now, everyone can assume we'll use what we've done so far with Sarth as a template. They'll be wrong, not by much, but it'll give them some reassurance. And the first thing everyone will want to know is who gets what and why. We need to make extremely sure to hammer in first thing that Sunrise will still belong to the Asarian crown. We can't look like we're going to gobble up two thirds of the Kingdom and leave it a shadow of its former self."

"It is going to be a shadow though."

"No. It will be in the shade of ours, but not completely obliterated. Same for the New Republic. I'm going to guess that Amelia is going to try to offer us the northern territories eventually. Not now because ceding territory as a revolutionary force is, er..."

"Ill-advised?"

"And then some. So for now we make a lot of noise about the Kingdom, lots of reassurances that we'll uphold our bargain, however void it may have been made by the strategic situation, and stay quiet about the New Republic. Then, once that is done, we do cover our Imperial structure...and put as much emphasis as physically possible on the military pacts."

"Yeah. 'These are dangerous times' and all that."

"Exactly. Placing all of the Empire's military forces under one command means we can crush any one nation on the continent that even looks at us funny, and Tark will immediately smell the opportunity of having us pay for their buildup. Hell, even boost and continue it. I'm moving past their tech but we need their shipyards and a machinegun is a machinegun."

"Speaking of shipyards, the Empire of Lorvis has sent some hints through their observers that they may have more free capacity than expected."

Alexandra snorted.

"Right. They just realized you went from 'archduchy' to 'continental empire' and want to corner that market ASAP. Well, it's welcome. We're going to need all the production capacity and shipyard space we can scrape up before this is over."

"Agreed." Allya sighed as she looked at the time. "They'll reconvene soon. I need to get back topside. Anything else?"

"Go get them, tiger."

The archduchess gave her the most genuine smile she'd shown all day.

"I'll do my best."

*****

"Well, we're fucked." Vindal, Archmage of Evocation and minister of war of the Sapphire Kingdom, sat back into his seat. "Fighting off Crystal was gonna be impossible anyway. But this? This is just crazy."

"Won't having to help both divide her forces?" Asked Trivy, Archmage of Transmutation and minister of the economy.

"Only in the very short term. The senate and the Old Republic are unlikely to last very long." Answered Jaika, Archmage of Alchemy and minister of trade, still incessantly scribbling on her notebook. Rumor among the council was that she went through at least three every day, and there was an entire vault dedicated to storing them within her ministry's offices. "I had not expected such action from the Kingdom. This changes a lot of my calculations."

"So it does." Maes-Khan Trivor, Archmage of the Astral and minister of foreign affairs, said smoothly. "What we have just witnessed, as I'm sure you have all realized, is the start of a new Kingdom, like our nation of old."

"If it survives." Vindal shrugged as everyone looked at him. "Look, the Eris Empire hasn't gotten where it is today by ignoring such threats. They're going to be shitting bricks. Like, warehouses' worth of them."

"Thank you for that...vivid commentary. But they're overstretched. Badly."

"Hasn't stopped them before. And even if it does stop the higher ups, anybody willing to bet that's trickled all the way down? Or wish to wager on that admiral and her merry fleet of idiots creating some sparks in this damned powder keg?"

The silence wasn't deafening only because of Trivy hyperventilating.

The Erisian fleet arriving had been a shock to everyone back then, but it had failed to do, well...anything, really, events moving far faster than it could as the UDC imploded and fell into civil war.

But now...

There was a well defined, thoroughly obvious threat to the Empire's supremacy.

And it was static and sitting pretty in the middle of the continent. A perfect target...

A perfect target, surrounded by the graves of those who had tried to pluck it.

"It's a trap." Whispered Maes, horrified, as it dawned on him.

"What?" Asked Vindal.

"It's a trap. This summit."

"For the Empire? Don't be mad!"

"You said it yourself. Rebirth is a threat to the Empire. A threat that will be dealt with. If you had a choice, would you wait to be attacked on their terms, or force them to react on yours?"

Vindal was silent, and Trivy spoke up.

"That's...that's risky, though, no?"

"The dungone's mesa fortress has seven hundred and thirty eight apparent high caliber artillery guns." Said Jaika, as she pulled out another notebook and double checked. "Sorry. Forty seven after our spies' newest count. That is not counting field guns, missile batteries or other hidden weapons, new or old, of which we only know that there are most likely 'many' or 'too many'. A proper Erisian battlefleet would be able to challenge that...were it a normal fortification. But it is not. It is a fortification with a shipyard, within a walled city with its own defensive batteries and a fully functional docking tower. The equation is not in the Erisians' favor."

Vindal nodded. No one was surprised by the minister of trade having a firm grasp of the realities of naval warfare. Trade, after all, flowed with air and waterborn vessels for the Sapphire Kingdom. And it was hardly rare that they had to defend their interests or force them down someone else's throat.

"Yeah. She's right. If they pound their way through the walls and the defensive fleet, the mesa fortress will destroy the capital ships in a long range artillery duel they simply cannot win. Their only hope is to get close, blast through a side of the fortress with their main guns and then swarm it with marines. But if they rush it, the guns on the walls -and the ducal palace, let's not forget it is a fortress in its own right too- will rip straight down their asses while the fleet rips their sides off." He drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "Which is why they won't risk it. That admiral they put there, she's not an imbecile. If she was, she would have done something supremely stupid already. I mean the UDC's meltdown sure gave her plenty of opportunities if nothing else. And the Empire has as much of a vested interest in that shitshow as we do."

"She got herself stuck in that Eternity mess down south." Commented Trivy.

"Aye. But she didn't jam her co- herself fully in there, just a few fingers. I'm not saying she's a paragon of strategic genius, just that she ain't braindead and she at least tried to wrestle the chaos of the UDC's fall. She's not here to set the continent ablaze, quite the opposite."

"I hope you're right, Vindal. I really hope you're right. Because if we want to survive this, we have to get her Tivaro. And if the Eris Empire attacks her..."

"The idiots in the UDC will pounce."

"Precisely. And then our new Empress or Queen or whatever title the Asarians and Elkisians end up giving her won't care about negotiating."

"That depends." Trivy seemingly finally had gotten a grip, now that the gears were fully grinding in her head and not just spinning in a panic. "If nothing else, offering her Tivaro would be worth even more, right?"

"Yes, but she's not going to be interested in talking to us if we allow the UDC to attack her again." Maes shook his head. "Besides, depending on how this summit goes, we might be the only enemy she has left on the continent."

"What if we offer something else to sweeten the deal?"

"What could we possibly have that would interest her?"

"The Sapphire Throne."

Everyone stopped, before gazing at each other.

The monarchs of the Sapphire Kingdom had long since become puppets. Sapphire Arkhan had founded a powerful dynasty, but even his shadow couldn't reach past the disaster of the Wars of Shattering and the subsequent fall.

But...

The throne came with de jure rights to the whole continent. Rights that the Far Reach and Gorromar still honored, to some level or another.

The Far Reach...well, showing up with a dragon said it all on how dangerous they could be. The Republic, old and New, wouldn't soon forget at any rate.

And Gorromar? Gorromar was the hive of industry on the continent. Tark was mighty, yes. And ever hungry for more. But Gorromar?

Gorromar was a rock. A pillar of power and strength.

The Old Republic or the Asarian crown would have sold their souls for annexing Gorromar, or even a shot at doing so.

"Fuck." Maes covered his eyes. "We're going to have to talk to the King, aren't we?"

*****

Farmers and their livestock moved peacefully among the valleys. Once, these had crawled with metallic abominations, automata from the Old World. But it had long since returned to peaceful life, only broken by the occasional monster sneaking through the passes.

If someone cared to look closely enough, they would be able to see the scars, where battalions had fought during the First Purge. And the scars of orbital bombardment when the Citadel brought its Purifying Flame down on the Order.

The tranquility was broken again, by the merest of whispers. Strange ripples in reality...the hissing whisper of cloaking fields on maximum power.

"Tac-com, this is Valkyrie. Altitude seventy meters, nearing objective. Requesting final authorization."

"Authorization confirmed. Green light to engage. Stars be with you Valkyrie. Tac-com out."

The temple never even realized what was happening. Its sensor array only saw the faintest of pings before blaring into full alarm as something just appeared well within its inner defensive perimeter. Far past the hidden missile and gun batteries dotting the peaks.

A fraction of a second later, three thermonuclear warheads hit the outer shield like a sledgehammer.

The first detonated, bringing the unprepared fortified temple's defenses to its knees.

The second and the third punched straight through the atomic fury of their consort's death throes and the flickering remnants of the shield, and flew right into the temple's heart.

Even molecular armor couldn't survive two multi megaton bunker busters at point blank range.

A mushroom cloud rose above the mountains. And when the dust settled, a new valley was born.

And the Purge's coordination center was gone. Reduced to atoms.

Less than three seconds later, fire came down from the skies.

But the Order was already gone. And the energy discharges only lit up the firmament with bursts of eldritch light.

"Tac-com, this is Valkyrie. Target destroyed. RTB."