8. Diplomatic Contact 2

Written July 20th, 2023

Day 5, Month 2, 1640, 30km South of Vauxnia

Marian hated flying. He was old enough to have seen the early commercial airliners, and they had been absolute death traps. Dozens of flights had crashed with myriad fatal problems. Since air safety had improved over the last decade those were events almost totally relegated to the past, but anyone who remembered could still be found taking the much slower but safer trains and boats to their destinations. Sadly, time dictated that a plane be used, and Marian was currently acquainting himself with the lavatory.

The knocks told Marian that the person outside was growing more and more impatient. He’d been here for some time, and with such little time before landing, he was tempted to force the knocker to wait.

Just hold it.

Another dry heave hit.

You’ll thank me later. This place smells like a pandemic.

The knocking grew louder, even more insistent.

Fine, I’ll get out. Maybe I can use one of those bags and make the whole plane miserable.

Outside was his assistant, Roland Hebras. Lean and with a full head of curly brown hair, he was too young to be worried about flying like this. “Sir, we’re almost at the island. Some of the other diplomats had pulled out binoculars and were catching glimpses of the island. They were all looking confused.”

“Well, get me a pair. I think I can hold steady enough to look out a window.”

They must have hit an air pocket or something, because the turbulence hit both the plane and Marian’s stomach. Using everything he had to hold it in, he stumbled to the window seat.

“Give them to me now, before that happens again.”

The other passengers had suddenly gone silent, the previous noise killed by what they were seeing out of the window.

Previously the island of Vauxnia was a simple trading partner with Mu. They were an extremely small island with small reserves of oil. Keen to avoid the militaristic routes of the past, Mu had entered a trade agreement with them, and even supplied a tanker ship for them to send oil more efficiently. The documents Marian had been given showed photos from visits by Mu tourists and traders which included some stone buildings, thatch roofs, minor use of rudimentary concrete, unpaved roads, and a generally small town of a few hundred people. More a village, if the reports were being honest. Coming from the south it was expected to see snow covered forests and some small rocky hills, but that was only part of what they saw.

Stretched out on the south side of the island was an utterly massive concrete and glass structure, easily the size of some of the largest buildings in the Mu capital. And beside it was a pristine airport surrounded by walls. Everything looked brand new, like some of the stuff designers were beginning to come up with in Mu for futuristic concepts. Snow covered everything, but what looked like cars were moving across the roads in and around the airport clearing snow quickly. The runway had lights flashing all across it in patterns that Marian couldn’t decipher, but the pilots in the cockpit probably could.

Nothing looked like the photos and Marian was about to toss them when they caught a glimpse over the mountain. The snow-covered thatch roofs still existed, and the port looked almost the same. There were no odd ships anchored, either. Where did this massive complex appear from?

“This is the pilot. We will be landing shortly. Please take your seats.”

—

Seeing it from the air didn’t do it justice. Even the stairs used to disembark from the plane seemed impeccably built, not to mention the runway. From the sky it looked flat, but after standing on it the runway was almost perfect. Marian, a complete layperson in terms of engineering, was in awe. The scientists and reporters that had joined them for the flight walked out, their chins almost dragging on the floor and their eyes about to pop out of their heads.

Besides their transport plane was another vehicle. Size wise it dwarfed the state-of-the-art transport plane that the Mu citizens had flown in on, and it looked completely out of this world. It had no wings to speak of, nor did it have any glass for a cockpit or for the pilots to see. As Marian tried to force his jaw back into place, an unfamiliar sound filled the air. Above them, one of the crafts he had been staring at was descending vertically to a point near the runway. It didn’t even land like a normal plane. What were these things?

“What kind of magic…”

“It’s…it’s not magic. None of the sensors are showing anything of the sort.”

“Then how…”

The engineers next to Marian trailed off, expressing what everyone else was thinking. At the base of the stairs waited a vehicle that looked like a bus, but with huge glass windows covering the outside. A trio of well dressed men was waiting near the bus and they quickly came over to help with the luggage from the plane. A second vehicle came over and some people in overalls began conversing with the pilots. Probably some kind of maintenance crew.

“Welcome to the United Systems Frontier base in Vauxnia, Fort Matthews. My name is Mason Young. Please, follow me onto the bus and we can get you to your accommodations, along with a quick tour of the base on the way.”

Marian was upset that he would have to ride on a bus but tried to keep his objections to a minimum. In Mu, buses bounced and rolled around the cities, jarring passengers at every bump, stop and turn.

When doors opened with a hydraulic hiss, the interior was nothing like the busses from Mu. Comfortable looking seats lined both sides, the glass roof letting in a beautiful view of the sky. Marian took a seat in the front row, worried that the comfortable look was to cover up a harsh ride. Once everyone was seated, Mason took the seat across the aisle from Marian and the driver took off towards a building away from the runway.

What a ride. It’s like we’re floating in a placid pool.

“What kind of suspension do you think they’re using?”

“Forget the suspension. Do you even hear an engine? How is this thing moving?”

“What perfect glass work. Look how flat these panels are! There are no imperfections!”

The engineers behind him continued, marvelling at everything around them.

“Once again, I’d like to welcome you to Fort Matthews,” Mason spoke loudly over the conversation around him. “Behind us near your ship you have just seen one of our S-23 airships, used for transporting supplies to and from this military base. Unlike the planes of the past, they do not require a runway, but can still make use of them.” He pointed at the massive metal diamond that was still dwarfing their plane.

“To our front we can see the hangars that we use to keep the S-23’s safe, with weather protection and a fully climate-controlled interior.” Massive concrete bunkers dotted the edge of the runway, and the doors to one of them opened. “Ground crews can prep one of these craft for takeoff in minutes, as we can see behind us now.” Just like the landing earlier, this craft seemed to just lift off the ground and fly away.

What power…

“Around the base we have our medium defensive walls. After the incident almost two months ago, it was decided that these would be able to defend against the naval guns that we encountered back then, with active defenses to help mitigate the damage well before those walls are even needed.” The bus took a turn and followed the wall around the airport as Mason kept speaking. Smooth as glass, the surface of the concrete was unbroken by any machine marks or edges indicating bricks. “You’ll notice the turrets every hundred or so meters. These are multi-purpose turrets for close in defense as well as long-range fires.” No one had seen a turret but accepted what Mason was saying as fact. Half of the engineers were too busy looking at everything else to even hear Mason.

“Ahead of us now is the main airport facility. Atop it we can see the air traffic control tower which you probably noticed on the way in. The computers in the tower can track thousands of planes from miles away and also interface with sensors at great distances to manage all of the incoming and outgoing traffic that could come to the airport. We have plans to open the airport up to civilians in the future, which this should help with.”

At the base of the tower the bus stopped smoothly and without the normal jerking motion that accompanied them in Mu.

“We have arranged accommodations between the base and the embassy, so please feel free to go anywhere that is not directly marked off-limits and ask any of the airport staff or diplomats to show you around. I’m sure they would be happy to do so or direct you to someone who can.”

More cars were at the terminal, these ones smaller than the bus but much more elegant looking. If the bus ride was this smooth, what was a nice car ride going to be like?

United Systems Embassy in Vauxnia

It had been almost two hours, and the entire diplomatic mission hadn’t been able to stand still for a single minute. Everything seemed to be new, almost dangerously so at times. Sheets of glass multiple stories high, buildings made solely of metal, concrete and massive glass panes. It was like something out of a fiction novel.

At last, they had made it to the embassy and while the engineers floated around, admiring door handles and pens, the diplomats moved into a meeting room with their counterparts from the United Systems Frontier.

After getting the formalities out of the way, it was time for the real work to begin, and now that Marian had finally recovered from the initial shock of flying and landing, he was ready.

“Welcome, Marian. Let’s get down to business. We’ve formed a relationship with the people of Vauxnia that’s been mutually beneficial for us. In exchange for protecting them from the Gra Valkans, we’ve learned a great deal about this world, specifically about your nation of Mu.”

“I see. Vauxnia is usually an excellent trading partner, some of our oil comes from the small wells around the islands, but they’re such a small island that we were only waiting for the day when Gra Valkas would come to take over.”

“Please, tell me more about these Gra Valkans. We’ve learned quite a bit after fending off their attack, but that was a military operation against them.”

“You’ll soon learn that the military is the Gra Valkans. Their entire culture, from what we have learned, revolves around conquest. The continent that we inhabit was half razed to the ground to fulfill their goals, Mu being the only real survivor on the mainland. Some of the islands that they ‘conquered’ are now uninhabitable, just masses of craters and death.”

“So, it’s the same as their plan here. Forced labor or destruction, no other choice had we not showed up. Luckily, they only brought a small force, but we have prepared the island for the eventuality that they return with a larger, more deadly response. As you saw from the base, we’re quite ready for them to return.”

Marian recalled the massive walls, seemingly monolithic in their construction. “I hope you’re right. Now, what can we do for each other? It seems that you have what you need here. I’m touring your food growing building, I believe they called it a ‘Hyper-conic’ or something. It seems really interesting that you’re able to grow food this far north, but that leaves us questioning the use of diplomatic ties here.” Unsaid were the worries that Marian had over the military might that even a simple airport had displayed.

“The problems we encountered with the Gra Valkans is something we as a frontier would like to avoid. We’ve been mapping the stars here and have come to the conclusion that it’s unlikely we’ll ever be physically reached by the rest of the United Systems. That leaves us alone at the moment, and allies are good to have all around. Vauxnia sang your praises, and your style of diplomacy seems to match ours relatively closely. Our side has drawn up an agreement that we can work on here, to hopefully facilitate trade between here and Mu, as well as some kind of mutual defense treaty. If it’s something we would have to work out with our respective heads of state, that’s fine, the timing isn’t urgent for the U.S.F.”

Sadly, the timing was urgent for Mu. With the Gra Valkan Empire pushing further and further east, they were eventually going to come into conflict with Mu. “I will have to read this proposal and take it back to my home city.”

“If you would like, and if you can authorize it, a flight could be made with one of our diplomatic S-23’s. It took you multiple days to get here, we could speed that up to a few hours.”

Remembering the ride on the bus, Marian was tempted to say yes.

Military Hangar, Airbase

Giselle was fascinated by the machinery and sophistication of the U.S.F. transport aircraft. From the outside she could barely see a seam where the rear hatch opened, and everywhere else was flawlessly smooth. The angles were harsh but seemed calculated and consistent. On the interior it was another story. Cargo space with odd connectors and tie downs all over the place made it look spartan and spacious. After being led to the front she was even more blown away.

“How…do the pilots see? Do they just fly by instruments? You must have extremely accurate instrumentation if that’s the case.”

Her tour guide, another woman engineer from the U.S.F. called Blair, smiled and motioned for her to take a seat in one of the two cockpit chairs. “Here, take a seat, I’ll show you.”

The comfort…this is an aircraft? It feels like a luxury hotel…

Blair sat in the chair next to her and began expertly flipping switches and moving knobs. Suddenly the metal around them flickered. What? Then it flickered again, this time disappearing. HOLY SHIT! A small yelp escaped Giselle’s lips.

“What!? How!?” Around them, ground crew members were wandering about, and she could see her peers being led by other engineers around the hanger. It’s like there was nothing there at all, just open, empty space around the chair floating meters above the floor. Another lever was flipped and details about the ship began floating in her view, following her gaze around. The other ship in the hangar suddenly had information about it pop up, floating in midair.

“We’re not done yet.” A voice came from what seemed like the ship itself.

“Simulation mode engaged.”

The world around them dissolved and suddenly the ship was flying above the clouds, bobbing and weaving between small wisps. It looked so real that Giselle had to look out through the back of the aircraft to remind her she was still on the ground. The displays she was seeing now showed airspeeds Mu planes could barely dream of, and altitudes that made her eyes water.

“Alright, enough of that. I could honestly sit there all day and just fly you around, but you want to see the actual technology.” Clouds flickered and disappeared, the metal walls of the cockpit returning.

“What…is that?” Giselle had begun inspecting the wall that once showed her the world from a perspective she had never seen.

“We call it the Crystal Dome. All of our armored craft have it, since a monolithic exterior is just so much more durable. There are hundreds of sensors on the outside of the craft that build an image using directional nano-pixels to give you full immersion and remove the barriers between where you are and the outside world. Even some civilian vehicles use it due to our previous climate.”

What an invention. Mu was the leader in optical technology, or so Giselle had thought, but this made everything they had done almost obsolete. “And those speed numbers, are those real?”

“The flight you saw was a recording of the last flight back to our home. It happened this morning. That was just the cruise, as well, and it was fully laden with cargo. Come back later and we’ll see if we can get a few passenger seats bolted to the floor for y’all to get a real sense of speed.” A deviously playful smile flashed on Blair’s face.

“Wait, it can go even faster?!”