10. Living

Written July 25th, 2023

Day 7, Month 2, 1640, Hotel Vauxnia

Beautiful. Mere words couldn’t capture how majestic and imposing the structure was. From the outside it was a marvel of engineering. What had initially been thought to be glass was actually transparent alloy, something no Mu scientist had even begun to think of.

And this was merely the hotel. It wasn’t a military installation, a university, or even a house for an ultra-wealthy owner. This was just a normal hotel for the U.S.F., and like every building they had seen so far, it made their homes look ancient and run-down.

The interior was nothing to pass up, either. Utilitarian with warm touches and thoughtful layouts, it was a pleasure just check in or go to your room. Beautiful sculptures and artwork dotted the inside, leading you to a desk manned by impeccably dressed hosts who could tell you nearly everything about the hotel. The stairs leading up were a marvel. Transparent steps made Marian feel a little flight-sick, and it seemed as if you were floating up to the next floor. If you really wanted to go up or down fast, the elevators made the engineers drool. The magnetic lift mechanism gave the lifts perfectly smooth movement. The doors opening was a surprise about half the time because the people inside had been accelerated and decelerated so smoothly. It was all automatic, as well. Simple buttons on the wall were foolproof so there was no need for a person to operate the elevator.

Last but definitely not least were the rooms themselves. Every member of the Mu Diplomatic Mission had been given their own room, and they were the height of luxury. Beds that seemed to form to your body however you slept, chairs that you could call over and sit in and a whole wall that showed moving pictures. Going back home was going to be difficult for them, but it would have to happen.

Finley Price had made it clear that much of the technology from the U.S.F. would be protected, especially that of the U.S.F.D.F. Given this, the engineers had spent hours trying to figure out what could be transferred to them. Even the most mundane things like the wrist computers could be so useful for Mu, but most of the electronics and things were limited while construction techniques and materials were allowed to export.

They had been in meetings every day, the engineers talking to the miracle workers of the U.S.F. and the diplomats trying to get a treaty signed for whatever they could. Mutual defense was a huge topic of discussion, and the U.S.F. was wary of making any commitment due to their size. According to Mr. Price, the current outpost was only about half a million people, while Mu was over 100 million, getting close to 120 million now, and that wasn’t even the whole continent. Estimates put the entire Mu continent at about 300 million, vastly eclipsing the Frontier. Even for Mu, defending the island would be something that could take days, even weeks with their current navy, and the combat air force would be unable to reach the island from the Mu mainland.

It had been said that the Frontier had traveled to Vauxnia, but so far no one had revealed exactly where. Definitely north, that left a lot of possibilities. And with their level of technology, they could survive even the harshest conditions.

The diplomats and engineers continued to discuss what to do with this new nation. Luck was on their side as they did seem friendly, but no one knew if that was a facade or if the Frontier was actually just this benevolent.

U.S.F.D.F. Military Base on Vauxnia

“We’ve gotten some of their books and scanned them in. Everything we’ve seen puts them at about 1920’s Earth time. They’re currently going through a pretty large boom in their economy, and the world is looking good for them. They’ve luckily never been super isolationist, so we do have a chance to build some relations with them, but our resource and population situation are limiting us in what we can effectively do.” Benson Decker, one of Finley’s sub-diplomats, had been in talks with all of the Mu delegation at some point, handing out approved books to them and getting as much information as he could about Mu. He pointed to the map behind him showing the globe that had been scanned from space.

“As you can see, the closest place to us is this island, Vauxnia, and our current food output has helped us break even. Moving further south would spread us dangerously thin, opening us up to conquest by the Gra Valkans. We are still waiting for them to get back at us for the defeat here.”

Finley nodded. This was nothing like dealing with the corporate lawyers he usually had to worry about. These people had a sense of self preservation, and actually seemed to care about people, not just money.

“They’re also asking us a lot about technology sharing. We’ve maintained a firm ‘No,’ but we’ll have to check in with the scientists on what they want to share or what we can safely share. A bunch of our technology just won’t work with their current manufacturing processes, which could render them useless at best or dangerous at worst.”

“I think we’ll have to stick with just the construction and building technology for now. And even then, we’re scrounging through history records to find things they can do with their current tools. The thing that Mu brings to the table is really their knowledge. Having beaten us here by about 1200 years, according to their history, they do know a lot about the planet as a whole. Their relationship with the Mirishial Empire could also be helpful. Our satellites have been picking up unusual things coming from that continent lately. We’ll have to eventually make contact with them soon, whether we do it overtly or covertly will be a future decision.”

“We definitely should sign it, if not just for resources, then to at least have one somewhat powerful friend here on the world stage. As it stands now, we’re fully isolated from the world. Most of the habitable land on the planet seems to be claimed by some country or another, and finding this island was a stroke of pure luck.”

Watchtower Satellite

A lens on the satellite whirred into focus, the mirrors working the light into a readable image. Far below, on the surface of the ocean, a mass of gray ships started to turn north-east. Based on the current trajectory, they were heading to Vauxnia. The ship’s AI sent a message to the ground survey crews, and it continued to look around, all of its eyes trained on the globe below.

U.S.F.D.F. Reconnaissance Division, Home Base

The screen popped up a warning from the satellite AI. Ships had been spotted about three days travel at their speed from Vauxnia. Originally, they appeared to be heading to Mu, but now their headings had changed to point directly at Vauxnia.

“We’ve got a problem, sir.”

“Everyone, I want a full analysis on the ships we have heading to our shores. I want all the data we can gather. Use the drones to get close. Personnel counts, gun calibers, I want to know everything.”

The room resounded in a chorus, “Yes, sir!”

Each person here got down to business, sending communications to the U.S.F.D.F. air divisions and the base at Vauxnia.

It looks like Gra Valkas had been silent too long.

Gra Valkas First Subjugation Fleet

On the Wegner were over 200 aircraft. Unlike the older model carriers which were simply converted tankers, shipping boats and other large civilian vessels, Wegner had been built from the ground up as an aircraft carrier.

Able to carry a massive number of planes under the deck, it used steam elevators to push planes to the surface for flight. A completely novel idea for the Gra Valkans, it over tripled the number of aircraft they could carry, but it did have its problems. It was slow, cumbersome and it required so much steam that the engines were forced to only drive the elevator when in use, effectively making it only usable while stationary. For an aircraft carrier, this wasn’t an issue, though. Keeping anyone stupid enough away was a whole host of ships, including a full battleship that had been hastily assigned by the main fleet after the incident last year.

This is definitely a force to be reckoned with. We will crush these insects.

Mu had definitely interfered with the 3rd Subjugation Fleet, and it was Kuno Glas’ job to bring their overwhelming force to the island and take their revenge. Whatever garrison the Mu military had sent out, they were ready.

Submarines were lurking just above the surface, destroyers dominating above it, and aircraft carriers ready to darken the skies. Compared the the 3rd, this was almost triple the fleet.

“Get me the all-ships radio.” Kuno reached out and grabbed the headset from the radio operator, “Now hear this! Our glorious First Subjugation Fleet will be coming to Vauxnia shortly. We will level the island with our guns, bombs and treads, making it perfectly flat for an airfield!” Cheers could be felt through the deck, but the room Kuno was in remained silent. “Prepare yourselves! We will soon drink from the chalice of victory!”

Mu already knows our power. This will teach them to truly respect it.

Preliminary reports said that no ships had left north for Vauxnia from the Mu ports, only a single aircraft had left to Vauxnia. They were underestimating the power of the Gra Valkans after their fluke victory. Kuno would make sure it was the last time they did this.

U.S.F. Embassy in Vauxnia

“No, Marian, you can’t stay here. None of you can. We can’t say exactly, but there is a fleet approaching and it definitely doesn’t look friendly.”

“As dangerous as it might be, we have no way of getting past them with our plane. It’s just not fast enough nor does it have the range for anything but a direct flight to Mu. We simply can’t go back.”

Mixed emotions flooded Marian. The Gra Valkan fleet (He knew it was them) would be even greater than the one the Frontier had repelled last time.

“You must tell me what the fleet is doing. I can possibly give you an idea of their capabilities, as we’ve seen many of their ships around our waters.”

“There’s no need. We have all of the ships’ details, it’s just a matter of figuring out what we need to conduct our defensive operation.”

How? No one had left the base, right? I haven’t heard any of those massive craft take off, so how do they know?

“Sadly, we can’t tell you how we got this information, but we may be able to talk about this in the future. If leaving is not an option, we can get you and the other Mu citizens settled in the embassy. That place should be one of the safer locations outside of the base.”

Now Marian understood the imposing architecture. It wasn’t just beyond modern; it was meant to withstand attacks like this.

—

Preparations were under way by the Frontier Defense Force, CV-8’s were readying themselves on the shores and in the forests, digging in where possible, but the real star of the show was going to be the AS-23. Ships that traveled the sea were a thing of the past for the Frontier, their cost and utility just didn’t warrant use anymore over air and space craft with modern engines. The ability to head into space instead of just being stuck on land made them a must for any frontier. As attack craft with modern engines, weapons, failure modes, AI and shielding, they had become the sea ships of the future. But these ones could travel at speeds unimaginable to a sea ship.

Modified shells were being distributed with utility trucks to the different hangars, shipments of them having just arrived after the Gra Valkan fleet turned their bows towards Vauxnia. Loading doors marred the smooth surface of the AS-23’s as mechanical loaders filled the weapons bays from the ground.

Troops were also ready to sit in the holds in case boarding actions were necessary, which would take place from the sky. The maneuvering jets the troops used were massively more powerful than the ones Casey Simpson had used to jump out of the exploration vehicle at the end of last year. Able to hover and fully maneuver, these were truly fearsome weapons for individual aerial combat. Originally designed for boarders onto slower moving air and space vessels, the tests showed they would perform well within specification against ships moving at a measly 40 km/h.

Two Days Later

Some of the engineers had requested to watch the battle unfold. They wanted to see the U.S.F. weapons at work. Having already experienced them at the airfield and seeing some of them fire, they were fascinated by the sheer power that they seemed to have. Even the small arms seemed years ahead of anything the engineers had imagined.

At last, it was time. Finley and Benson were in the room with them, and the wall in front suddenly came to life. On it looked like a map, but so detailed it almost seemed like a photograph. Blue arches were currently flying over the open ocean at altitudes that made Marian’s stomach wince, along with a series of blue rectangles on the coast of the island. Ahead of them were dozens of red diamonds in an inverted ‘v’ formation.

Benson finally realized that the symbols meant nothing to the Mu and began an explanation, “the blue are our friendly forces, the arches are the AS-23’s and the squares our CV-8 groups. Red diamonds are the hostile ships we have scouted, and base on the composition we should be seeing some air power show up as red house shapes.”

“Is this what is actually happening? I can see the clouds moving around on the screen, but to get a photograph like this you would hae to be so high, no plane could take this.”

“Yes, they’re live. Everything you see in front of you is actually happening. We have images coming to us from orbit.”

At this some of the engineers almost fainted.

“We’ll be sending radio messages to them first, but if they respond aggressively or don’t respond at all, we’ll commence the operation in earnest.”

Data began to pop up on Finley’s personal feed, showing that the message drones were broadcasting. Now it’s getting real. Let’s see if they continue to run themselves into the concrete wall.