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Vol 2 – Chapter 25: Prelude to War

Translated by XianPiete

In the Royal Palace, the newly crowned King Gerard de Montfort was putting together his own staff made of people that he trusted in his previous territory along with Andre and Olivier de la Marche. Due to the inclusion of the la Marche brothers, a few key ministers also stayed behind feeling that the transition of power would be smooth. As a Duke, Gerard de Montfort was known as a level headed and practical leader which made it much easier for the vast majority of the Nobility to accept him as their new King. Only a few stubborn standouts were still quietly provoking troubles for the new administration.

The la Marche family guard transitioned with the Montfort family guard essentially trading posts. The Montfort family army was slightly smaller but boasted much more battlefield experience. The seasoned men and women of the Montfort royal guard proudly donned their shining silver armor. The new royal guard uniforms were dark blue tunics over red trousers. Gerard wanted his soldiers to match the mighty air battleship Muffin, the new symbol of power in the world.

On the fourth day of King Gerard\'s reign, messengers arrived from the north. Several Kingdom\'s sent messages stating that the Montfort government was illegitimate and that until a la Marche family heir was on the throne, they would consider the country of Pays Des Abrutis to be an unoccupied territory and therefore by international law, fair game to occupy. King Gerard immediately requested an audience with his son. As Guy entered he smiled and said, "Son, it seems we may have to test the Muffin in actual combat sooner than we anticipated." He handed the message to his son.

Guy read it and shook his head, "We will take a small company of soldiers on board the Muffin with us to clean the battlefield. I recommend we bring soldiers from Duke Harcourt\'s territory as that is their home ground. The Duke may wish to lead his men as well. It will give him an opportunity to feel me out."

King Gerard nodded and said, "That was going to be my suggestion as well. Son, that ship, is it as strong as it is intimidating?"

Guy grinned and said, "The Muffin will send shockwaves around the world. Only our allies to the east can match our might. The Muffin can decimate a conventional army without so much as a single injury on our side unless someone slips and falls in a hallway."

King Gerard nodded and asked, "I saw many of those long tubes on the Muffin, what are those for?"

Guy smiled and said, "Those are called cannons. They use pressurized steam to launch a heavy projectile at a target. It has the power of a trebuchet only falling with a much higher velocity for a greater impact. The Muffin has eight separate steam tanks that can generate enough steam to fire each of its steam guns or it can use four of the tanks for propulsion to be moving while leaving four of the tanks for half of its guns while engaged in ship to ship combat."

King Gerard nodded and asked, "What about anti-personnel weaponry?"

Guy smiled and said, "The guns on the ship can also be loaded with a type of ammunition we call, \'Canister Shot\'. Rather than a single large projectile, we fire a large canister filled with tiny metal balls that can cut through plate armor like a knife through butter. As they leave the barrel of the cannon they spread out to hit multiple targets. The tests we did on wooden targets were quite lethal at medium to short range. A single shot from the main guns would decimate most armies."

King Gerard frowned and asked, "What will warfare of the future be like?"

Guy said, "If we are lucky? No country will feel like starting a war anymore."

*****

Madeline sat on the bridge of the Muffin happily sipping a cup of tea when a crewmember ran up and excitedly said, "Lady d\'Aumont, the radio room reported in, the first transmission has been sent and received. The Muffin now has contact with the capital."

Madeline smiled and said, "I don\'t know why he is so excited about that project, it\'s just as easy using messengers through the gate. I suppose it will have its use, or he wouldn\'t have invented it."

"Lady d\'Aumont, a message from the capital, we are to proceed to the Harcourt border and to prepare for an imminent invasion by hostile forces. We are free to engage at will. Ground support troops will meet us at the border. " A messenger saluted and then gave a copy of the message to Madeline.

Madeline read the message and then called out, "Lieutenant Brouillard, prepare for the arrival of VIPs, expect Duke Harcourt and Prince Montfort at a minimum, but make plans in case his Majesty comes to watch during the engagement." She looked over at a woman who was standing at a table with charts, calling out, "Bearing and distance to the Harcourt border gate?"

The crewmember called out, "One hundred forty for two one miles, your Excellency."

Madeline called out to a crewmember standing at a giant ship\'s wheel, "Bring us to heading one four zero, half ahead, revolutions to fourteen hundred." The crewman shouted an acknowledgment and the view out of the window started to change as the great ship turned to the new heading. Madeline\'s eyes lit up as she watched the view changing and the mammoth ship began to speed toward the border. Madeline turned to another crewman on the bridge and said, "I want lookouts to report any signs of troop movements on the other side of the border."

The crewman gave her a salute and then said, "Yes, your Excellency."

Madeline stood up from her chair and walked forward to a waist-high armored railing in front of her chair that looked out over the floor of the bridge. Twelve foot high windows curved around the bridge giving them one of the most amazing views on the ship. From Madeline\'s position on the bridge, she could see off the bow of the ship down the blade like nose giving her a view of the ground in front of the ship. At various points along the side of the hull were lookout spotter windows for tracking the cannon fire and making long-distance observations through powerful telescopes. She smiled and thought to herself, \'I never imagined a future like this, how can the life of a Queen ever compare to the life of an airship captain?\' She glanced at the gages in front of her and called out, "Engineer watch the pressure on number four, it\'s still in the red line."

The ship\'s massive horn whistled as they let off the pressure from the tank. It sounded like a cross between a fog horn and a train whistle. People observing from the ground would stare in awe and fear at the massive sky whale that seemed to float through the sky ominously. Normally the Muffin would fly higher in the sky, but due to the need to watch for an enemy troop formation, the Muffin had dropped down to just over two hundred feet above the ground. At times it looked as if the massive turret under the ship might scrape against the tops of the trees.

"Lady d\'Aumont, the forward lookout has a sighting on enemy forces at seven zero degrees, ten miles. three columns approximately four hundred thousand." A crewman saluted.

Madeline called out, "All stop, set for starboard broadside. All Cannon load Cannister shot, prepare to fire on my mark. Bring my glasses."

A crewmember bounded up with a pair of binoculars. Madeline looked at in the direction the lookout gave her, "I see them, Gwa?towni G?upcy? They are flying the flags of the Czerwony Sze?? army. That must be the famous General Porkins. Send a message to the capital, Ten minutes until we engage enemy soldiers."