Playing the Game - BT x CF SI - Chapter 4
🕑 Added 2024-09-24 07:33:38 +0000 UTCChapter 4
“Capital” town, Emeri Empire
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
September 16th, 2980 AD
The ‘capital’ was a description too grandiose for what was essentially a large town with an old military base serving as its keep, and the biggest building being the “palace”. The base still possessed some fencing and reinforced walls, but hundreds of years of non-maintenance and changing of hands dozens of times over that period, had not left it in any shape to survive anything but a civilian uprising. Given the lack of modern weapons and equipment save the handful in the possession of warlords across the planet, the current setup was as good as it needed to be.
The town was burning, and people were still inside trying to put fires out, or at the least get other people out as their lives turned to ash in the wind. My eyes went to where my old hut was, and it was gone. Nothing but blackened ruins along with all the other buildings nearby. Next my eyes shifted to where Bron, Roake and their family lived, and it too was gone. At least there was a skeleton of a structure left with logs still burning, but otherwise their home was gone now too. A quick scan revealed no human remains, and I felt some relief.
“They might have gotten out.” I said before an alert chimed in. My radar detected laser an machine gun fire near the ‘palace’, and zooming in on the location revealed seven more active battlemechs, and twenty-four combat vehicles.
Looking at the silhouettes, two were inside the base, and were the two Stinger mechs the emperor won before. The five who were fighting them were a Locust, a Vindicator, a Dragon, and a pair of modified Chargers. It was also ten friendly combat vehicles versus twelve.
“This isn’t fair at all.” I growled as I shifted my machine and boosted.
I flew over the town and landed beyond the wooden log wall, before going into a full run toward one of the Chargers, which began to turn and face me, lashing out with a large laser that struck my force field. It took about twenty percent of the integrity away in that single hit, but I didn’t worry as fired off a burst of plasma fire from my cannons, and a twenty-shot swarm from the needle launchers towards the Locust. The fast moving machine was chased down by the needles until they struck it multiple times in the right side of its back, which collectively brightened ass they all explode at once. The machine was taken down in that instant, sent flying as its right leg and arm exploded opposite its body.
By the time I reached the Assault Mech, it had lost most of the armor on its left arm and side. It had also turned its torso completely to bring its weapons to bear, and fired the other large laser and twin SRM-6 launchers. They also struck my force field, taking it down to zero percent and exposing me, but I was already upon the machine. I struck out with a punch as I rushed by the machine, hitting its left side, and removing armor from that side entirely. The force of the gravity impactor the machine tripping backwards into a fall.
Ignoring the falling machine, I focused on the second assault which was now focused on me completely. It’s set up wasn’t all that different from an Awesome, three forward facing PPCs. They had to sacrifice an engine, or armor to get that setup for sure. Engine from the slow stomps it was making. It fired off a pair of PPCs, both of which flew past me as I closed the distance. An unexpected strike upon my left side from a large and medium laser threw me off, but I kept going as I boosted up and put a foot into the cockpit of the machine with a kick.
The Head was crushed like a melon, its parts sent flying across the landscape. As I landed, the lumbering assault slumped and fell over to its side. Spinning on the heel, I turned and boosted to do the same to the other fallen Charger. It was struggling to get up, and fired off a wild laser shot as I began to come down. I didn’t hit its head, but a foot through the chest, followed up by a gravity impactor assisted stomp, mission killed the mech.
All of this happened within twenty seconds, and the reaction of the field showed, as all of the infantry and civilians who were fighting were now openly staring open mouthed at what just occurred. The Grasshopper and Vindicator, along with half of the combat enemy combat vehicles now actively targeted and fired upon me. Autocannon, machine gun, laser, and missiles all rushed towards me. The lasers struck easily enough, burning into my armor, and the Autocannon rounds that were Class-5 did only twenty percent of their full damage to me. Everything else did nothing at all. Small lasers only made the armor glow a bit, and machine gun bullets scratched whatever paint this machine had. Missiles spreads were sporadic, not focused, thus they didn’t do enough to actually cause any damage aside from slight dents.
I grinned. “Nothing to worry about.”
Hitting the thrusters, I slide across the distance towards the Grasshopper. It was moving backwards, firing off all its weapons, hoping to do some damage. I could tell it was running hot now, and I decided to help it out by firing my plasma cannons upon it. Rapid firing bolts of energy and heat unleashed into its torso, melting off armor and transferring heat directly into the machine. Soon it red lined and shut down to reduce its heat. I could see the pilot panicking as he tried to hit the override, only for me to clothesline the machine. The Grasshopper was sent flying upon its back with a loud crash that sent dust flying.
The vehicles were being removed from the field by soldiers and friendly units who managed to get their heads back in the game, leaving only the Vindicator. I turned, only to find it was already being handled by the Stingers, who were striking it with medium lasers, machine guns, and what appeared to be makeshift swords. Soon enough it was handled and done.
I stood there, just watching as the capital forces began to finish the fight, now rallying without the enemy mechs to worry about, and felt a star fall.
[spoiler=“Clang!!!!”] -Full Storage (Modded Fallout) (400CP)
This old, half-broken Pip-Boy seems to be incapable of even starting its operating system, the diagnostics indicating that the entirety of its vast 64k RAM is already in use. Most people might simply discard it or strip it for spare parts, but a closer look will reveal the exact reason for its fault: its internal database has been crammed full of Fallout design specs, schematics, scientific principles and so on. How full, you ask? Well, it's got just about every semi-common piece of Fallout tech in there somewhere, from Laser Rifle schematics to Assaultron software and Berry Mentat formulations to Power Armor designs. Though mainly limited to the kind of technologies one could have found in the Pre-War world of old, a number of designs that were only finalized in the two centuries following the apocalypse can also be found here (such as the Hydra drug, the Enclave's X-01 and Hellfire armor designs, and the Radium Rifle). Though you'll still need a way to actually build all of these things, this database is nonetheless one of the most spectacular treasures scavvers could find.[/spoiler]
The old Pipboy appeared in my lap, and I couldn’t help but grin a little. I would need to connected it to Ada when I got back. Speaking of back.
Gazing about, I had a small crowd beginning to gather about, and I turned my head to all of the mechs on the field and began to scan them. The scanner was already much more powerful due to its modification, but at this level it was even more effective at scanning the structure of the machines and more than one at a time so long as they were within its scanning field of view. It took only five seconds each, and by the time anyone could wonder what the lightshow was, I had scanned all the machines, and even the vehicles.
It was then I scanned the people, and found what I was looking for. Brona and Roake, along with their father were carrying bolt action rifles near one of the barracks, and looked tired, but otherwise uninjured.
My worry was gone now. So, I can just leave now.
Turning in place, I began to walk out before boosting into the air, flying into the distance away from the shocked crowds behind me, with radio calls asking me to stop and come back.
It was only a few minutes when I saw the damaged Awesome, and a small cadre of vehicles moving towards the capital. I landed before the mech, and they all skidded to a stop.
“Did you…”
“The deed is done. Your people, and home, and my friends, are saved this day. Now I return to where I came.”
“Wait! Who are you!? What kingdom do you represent?” The emperor asked quickly, desperate for answers to questions I knew he must have had. I decided to feed some…well…maybe not bullshit, but not really truth either.
“I used to be one of your subjects, but after seeking my destiny I have become Sovereign of the Abyssal Kingdom of Subnautica. A kingdom under the sea, claiming the Leviathan’s Trench as its home.”
“…Are you having me on?”
“No. I am quite serious. See to your fishing village to the north coast. Your most recent addition to the Empire. They will confirm my words. If in the future you seek trade, or perhaps an alliance in this…stupid world we live in, then give us a call. We may find accord.”
Hitting the boost, I flew into the air and off.
“Until then, farewell…there’s quite a mess to clean up.”
There were some calls after that, but once I left their range, I enjoyed the silence until I reached the coast.
“I’m here. Make a show of it and surface.”
“Acknowledged.” Ada replied.
The village an its people saw me coming at a run instead of flying, and were alarmed when I didn’t slow down until I leapt into the air with a boost over them again. The whole village watched as I flew out a half kilometer and jut hovered in place. Then the water boiled and bubbled as Mody Dick surfaced beneath me. Such a massive, and advanced ship had never been seen by these people in their entire life, and probably the whole planet save those near the space port with dropships.
I landed upon the open hanger, whose robotic arms reached up and took a hold of my machine, positioning it prone into the submarine before closing. Soon after the sub turned and made its way out to sea before diving beneath the waves and from sight.
Climbing out of the cockpit and into engineering, Breeze was there, and greeted me with a whistle.
“That was well one Star Forger.” Breeze’s new voice sounded out over the intercom.
“Thanks, and thanks for letting forcing the issue. I was pretty…distant from worldly affairs after being down in the deep for so long.”
“I expected such after reading ‘Ada’s logs.” It turned its head and looked at the pipboy in my hand.
“What is that?”
“This is a gift from the Forge. It’s a primitive piece of technology from another universe, but it is acting as a data core for that society’s technological development. Everything they ever made, weapons, armor, vehicles, medicine, programming, software, hardware, energy production, etcetera, is all in here.”
Breeze reared back in surprise before moving its head to look at it more closely. I however took its tentacle and placed the Pipboy in its possession.
“I trust you to handle this better than I. Place all of it into Ada, and let’s begin to reproduce what’s in it.”
Breeze warbled with a nod, and took the Pipboy away to the bridge. I followed after slowly, stretching and working out sore muscles before sitting in the captains chair.
“Return us to Base Five. We have work to do.”
“Acknowledged.”
---
“Capital” town “Palace”, Emeri Empire
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
September 22nd, 2980 AD
Carson Emeri paced around his office, several of his subordinates such as his Man-At-Arms, his wife, Queen Saffina, who was also their diplomat, and his son, Prince Harold, watching while sitting in a chair with a cast on his arm, as he looked at the wall of papers that had been building up over the last six days. People gone missing, dead, killed in action. Damage done, repairs required, and losses in resources an equipment. This attack had been devastating.
Foremost on his mind however was the Sovereign, and Subnautica.
As loony as the man’s words were, people didn’t simply have machines like his, and make shit up like that without there being truth to it. So, it has been his experience. People lie all the time, boasting and making themselves bigger than they are. Rare is the man who makes claims, and proves it.
The “former” citizen was still unidentified, but he had friends in among his people in the city. With so much to do, he couldn’t just interrogate everyone who knows someone who went to coast at some point. So instead, he made the announcement of the Kingdom of Subnautica rendering aid, and if people who knew anyone from the coast, come forward and speak of them.
There were a handful of people so far, with most of them recently after gaining the Pesh territory. He quickly set men to check those villages, but not everyone was accounted for yet.
The village he focused on specifically was the one where the Mech had traveled to. Everyone there confirmed a stark white ship named “Moby Dick” appearing from under the water, and the mech landing an being placed inside before then heading out to sea, and going beneath the waves again.
While he wasn’t the most informed in naval craft, even he knew what a submarine was. That was Lostech.
It gave the idea of an underwater kingdom some credibility. Even so, the idea of an underwater kingdom was…fantastical. The idea of an entire society of people living beneath the waves was absurd.
Why would the Sovereign himself defend his people, empire, and destroy his enemies instead of simply sending out an army of his own, and conquering the land with machines like that mech? That machine…it was practically unstoppable. He had never seen anything like it deal with other mechs with such brutality in a short amount of time.
He had watched the battleroms of his own mech and those of the palace battle. If the combat time of both engagements were added together, the man had put down eight mechs in less than fifty seconds. That is not just incredible, it’s impossible.
“It has to be Star League technology. There’s no other way to explain it.” He muttered as he rubbed a hand through his hair, massaging his scalp.
“Was Star League technology really that powerful?” his son asked with a slight tremor.
Robert, his Man-At-Arms, and one of the few who fought in the Inner Sphere’s wars, nodded. “What you saw was just a piece of it. There were machines called Land-Air-Mechs that could transform from an Aerospace fighter, into a mech, and to something in between, because they could.”
A disbelieving look came across Harold’s face until his mother, another Off-Worlder nodded. “It’s true my son. They do exist…or they did anyways.”
Carson sat down at his own chair, giving everyone a gaze.
“So, it’s obvious that something exists out there. Whether it’s an actual kingdom, or someone hopped on delusions of grandeur as so many do, we can only guess.”
“Given the submarine, there’s enough of an organization for there to be something of a kingdom there, even if they’re just a nomadic kingdom.”
“He mentioned claiming the Leviathan’s Trench as his territory. What is that?” Carson asked Geris Warhol, his Magister, the closest thing this world had to an educated man who valued keeping records of events and knowledge of the world in general. The man had poured over what he had of geography for the last few days to answer this.
“When the Star League did their mapping of this world, they took into account of all of its features, on land and in sea. I was able to find that the Leviathan Trench is an underwater canyon that exists not too far from the coast where the fishing village, Seabreak, is located. It’s…deep. Eight kilometers deep. I am not very keen on oceanography, but the little I have learned in the last few days make me wonder if this man lied.”
“Why?”
“The oceans are…interesting in how they function my lord. When you are at the surface, it’s normal, but as you go deeper, things start to change. This is because you are going through water that is being weighed down by the water above it, increasing the pressure exerted upon anything at those depths. Go even deeper, and you need a special suit to simply survive because the air you breathe changes. At the depths of that trench…the pressure we are talking about is so great, because of all the water above crushing it down, that you have, according to my calculations, over eleven thousand pound per square inch of pressure around you.”
Everyone listened, but boggled at the number.
“What would that do exactly?” Harold asked morbidly.
“It would crush you like an egg under a mechs foot, Son.” Carson answered for him.
Geris nodded. “Exactly as you say m’lord, which makes having a kingdom there dubious, assuming it was real to start with.”
After a few moments, Harold nodded to himself, coming to a decision. Carson knew his habits well enough, and was proud that his son could be decisive after a few minutes of thought with whatever knowledge he was given. It will make ruling easy for him in the future, provided Carson can fix things before then.
“Well, then the only thing to do is to give him a call and see, isn’t it?”
After a bit more discussion, it was agreed to call them out five days out once some of their mechs were repaired. Then arrive with a show of strength, but not for war, and see what happens.
With everyone having left save his wife, Carson sighed. “I never liked you playing diplomat. Not with these warmaking fools about.”
She grinned. “We usually know who those are. Fellows like this one are the ones we make the effort for.”
He reached for her and wrapped his arms around her, with her softly placing her hands on his. “I hate risk.”
“All potential ends have risk. The end determines if it was worth the risk.” She replied.
The two just stood there, looking out at the workers outside their home, thoughts of what could be, good and bad.
---
Fishing Village of “Seabreak”, Emeri Empire
Novo Franklin, Periphery Space
September 27th, 2980 AD
They arrived in the morning, causing a stir among the people as they showed their fealty to their Queen, and then put together something of a gathering before attempting to make the call.
After ten minutes they received a reply, and were told they were expected. The Sovereign would arrive in an hour with his entourage fleet.
An hour later, the Queen and her knights, and guard platoon stood to attention.
“You think they’ll really come?” Samual asked his Queen. Her personal champion was the only one to speak frankly with her, and she shrugged.
“It’s on them at this point.”
Another five minutes, and then the bubbling began. Bubbles exploding out of the water from over a dozen places. It caused the royal procession, and the villagers to be alarmed, but they went silent when dozens of Cyclops class drone subs appeared out of the water, and onto the surface. This followed by the appearance of a dozen mechs like the one that had saved the Empire. They floated in the air, a strange warping around their legs and back, showing the method of their flight.
Finally, a large submarine…more like a giant of the deep, emerged from the middle of them. It was stark white, and appeared to be over a thousand feet long with a two-hundred-foot width and one-hundred-and-twenty-foot draught.
This ship was, in itself, a statement of power, wealth, and resources. The idea of “Subnautica” being real suddenly became much more likely. The twelve floating mechs suddenly flew down in formation, landing at intervals of equal distance to each other before facing one another.
Then from the great ship, a single machine flew out, appearing as a bigger version of the others, with more bulk and power belying its skinny build. It’s coloration being a stark white compared to the dark navy blue all the other mechs and ships possessed.
The Mechs standing in formation saluted, a single fist pump with their right arms, followed it crossing over and clanging on the left pectoral of the humanoid machine, and finished with a roman salute, fists remaining closed all the while.
The white mech floated slowly between the mechs that turned as it passed to face the group before finally landing, before them. It was an imposing machine that stood twenty meters high, and she felt her heart thump in her chest as it kneeled down.
The head opened, its arm reaching up, and then lowered with its pilot being placed on the ground from the open hand.
To her surprise, it was a handsome young man before her. He was as tall as her husband, and with perfectly proportioned muscles, a bit pale, with brown hair and eyes, sporting a small smile on his face. He wore what appeared to be an ornate suit that was more suitable for swimming than state craft. Given they are an ocean-based society, it would make sense their clothes suited their environment.
Even his footwear was suited for the ocean as they appeared to be small flippers than shoes.
Under other circumstances, this would be amusing. To giggle would be disrespectful.
The man seemed to smile more as he walked towards them, his mech standing back up looking down upon them, with the other mechs repositioning themselves so they were all seen. A show of strength on their part, a reminder to not pick any fights.
Standing before her, the young man looked at her wholly without a hint of lust, and then her retinue before speaking.
“You have called, and I have answered. I am the Sovereign of the Abyssal Kingdom of Subnautica.”
This young man was their king? Oh dear. She was expecting a counterpart to herself. Given she was a Queen, perhaps they felt they had to bring someone of equal standing or more? To bring himself here, the man was hands-on indeed.
She curtsied before returning the greeting.
“Greetings to you Sovereign of Subnautica. I greet you in the name of the Emeri Empire, for I am Queen Saffina Emeri.”
He bowed slightly with a smile. “A pleasure, your royal majesty. To meet the lady of the Empire is a privilege.”
She flushed lightly. His words struck the right chords, and were said in a manner similar to proper nobility of the Federated Suns she experienced in her youth.
His words appeared to have released the tension in her knights and guard as well. They were ready to jump at the slightest aggression due to all the forces arrayed against them, but now they have calmed down.
“It pleases me that you have accepted my invitation for dialogue. If destiny wills it, we may begin an association between our two kingdoms with the potential for growth.”
Oh, he was good. She smiled.
“I am happy to hear that. I too hope for our discussions to bear fruitage for all.”
He nods. “For the Greater Good, for one and all.”
Oh, she liked that.
With greetings over, the Knights escorted them to the reception area. Basically, a table with chairs. She wasn’t expecting to meet someone of such high means and regard, so used to dealing with lords who were more like thugs, she felt embarrassed.
The man didn’t seem to mind and sat easily enough.
“My lady Emeri, if I may, I have a ship off shore filled with the fruits of the ocean. Among them the foods one can earn through proper effort. Would you be terribly inconvenienced if I called it now?”
Her brow rose slightly. It had been a long time since she had been spoken in such a way, gruff and backwards as the so-called “lords” of this world presented themselves. Her husband had to be taught proper etiquette by her before he became a proper Emperor. This was a breath of fresh air.
She smiled and nodded. “I do not mind. By all means, be my guest.”
With his own nod, he pressed a button on the vambrace of his suit, and within a few minutes a ship came to shore. The sides of it inflated, and it turned from ocean craft to a hovercraft, and came closer to the group. It stopped about fifty feet away and slowly opened, revealing…
She gasped lightly, but her guards and knights were not so restrained as Robots of pure white came out. They were…beautiful. Their forms were smooth, with an appealing aesthetic that made them easy to watch. The black faceplates possessed green animated “eyes” that were very expressive when the Sovereign spoke to them.
Soon the table was filled with a variety of fish, vegetables, and soups.
“Almost all of these are from plants and animals that live in the depths. I hope you will enjoy them. Also, for your men we have more if they too wish to partake.”
The assortment before her was…it took her back to her youth when her family had dinners…before they were…She had to control herself. She pasted a smile on her face.
“It looks wonderful.” She said before looking to her Champion. “Let’s partake in his gifts.”
Samual nodded and gave the word, and soon the robots were passing out plates with fish and sea based vegetables covered in a sauce.
Trying out for herself, she was surprised to find how delicious the food was. “Oh my!”
Once more the man smiled. “One can find many surprises in place one does not expect.”
They ate their meal, with him illuminating what each dish was. She had no idea that the ocean was not just full of so much food, but full of thing that could be used as resources. When discussions moved to the subject of how he so much for such a fleet, he spoke of things beyond merely what he had.
“It is a shame to say, but despite humanity traveling to the stars, to thousands of worlds, some of which were thousands of light years distance of Terra herself, we collectively do not use all the resources at our disposal. Many worlds have resources untapped for one reason or another. This world is no exception. To this day, Terra’s own oceans are barely even utilized beyond shipping and fishing.”
He shook his head. “Not with Subnautica. We chose to go against the grain and take a hold of the untapped potential that laid in the oceans. While we only have utilized less than one percent of the entire ocean’s potential, we have gained access to many minerals that normally you would have to get off world. Titanium, Lithium, Cobalt, Copper, Lead, Silver, Gold, Uranite, to name a few. With these you can make cities, ships to travel over, and under the sea, and even to the stars if you reach for that.”
He spread his arm, gesturing to the mechs, the fleet of ships, and the robots, and the bounty of food before them.
“This is all within reach for those who wish for it, and there is enough for all.”
He then crossed his arms with a frown. “So, it would be in a world where greed did not rule the wills of those with power. Most of the lords on Novo Franklin are like this. Thinking about what is in front of them, rather than seeing what could be down the line if they were to put greed aside for the greater good.”
She didn’t know what it was. His words, the way they painted images in her mind of things she scarcely thought of, or simply how true they were. Whatever it was, she found herself, and her people, captivated by his words. The idea of a world where men were willing forgo short term goals for the greater one down the line, that benefited all. It was a naïve view, but, it was one he acknowledged the reality, so less naïve and more…grounded.
“It is through these labors to use these untapped resources that Subnautica is what it is now.” He finished as locked his eyes upon hers. Her breath caught in her throat at that look. Like he was testing her now.
“What are your thoughts on such things, your majesty?”
She didn’t know why, but when she spoke, she spoke her honest thoughts.
“It is a beautiful idea, for all men to work for a greater collective destiny, which would elevate all. That simply is not possible, because human beings are not naturally altruistic, but selfish by nature. Self interest guides every action in our lives, for our individual goals. To attain power, wealth, or to simply continue the blood line. To bring about such a change, requires force, for no man comes to such a thing willingly if it goes against their self-interest. It thus requires control to maintain it, for no man stays with it when they gain what they seek, and seek something new that requires going astray.”
The man smiled and nodded. “A very astute view. It is something I have thought a great deal about. To enforce such a thing would require going against man’s worst nature. Which is why I must appeal to their better nature, or at the least, use their worst nature as a means to push forth progress towards the greater good. It is manipulative, but as Lords, we must look at things in such a way to reach that unreachable star.”
Once more, she found herself agreeing. If one does it correctly…it is possible. It would be a hard road, but…one could reach that star if they try correctly. Humanity is among the universe now due to that drive, was it not?
After a few minutes of contemplative thought, the Sovereign smiled and leaned back in his chair.
“I apologize for such a heavy subject. I hope it wasn’t disturbing to you.”
She shook her head. “Not in the slightest. It is quite different than what I usually have to speak to other leaders about. Delightful.”
He grinned. “I am glad.”
She felt torn, but she had to bring things back to why they were here. It must have been on her face, as he spoke up.
“I have gotten us off track quite a bit however, so, let us return to what we are here to discuss.”
She took the line. “Yes. I must be honest, but we…had a hard time believing your kingdom even existed.”
“Yes. Underwater kingdoms across the inner sphere could be counted on one hand.”
That made her pause. “There are more?”
He blinked. “Oh yes. There’s one…I cannot quite recall its name, but it was a Star League research colony that aimed to genetically engineer people to live underwater. Gills and all.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
He waved it off. “That’s assuming it still exists however. Once the Star League fell…”
She nodded. Like many colonies and worlds without support, they would just fade away or be forgotten about.
For a moment a blank look appeared on his visage, before he smiled again*.
“Once more I went off track. So, Subnautica is quite real. So, the next question would be, how can we help each other, and bring benefit to all within Subnautica and the Emeri Empire.”
Such a grand level of thought. I have to bring him back to earth a bit.
“To start, you mentioned an interest in trade. Given what you have spoken of, I cannot see how we could benefit you.”
He grinned with a nod. He understood my real meaning. Tell me what we can give you, and what you will give in return. It’s not a normal process by any measure, but not unheard of.
“You can benefit Subnautica in providing the goods that only the surface can produce. Lumber, meats that are not fish, vegetables, and plants not of the sea, cultural infusion such as creatives, and of course immigration. While Subnautica itself is not open to immigration, our other habitats are.”
“You have more than one…habitat?”
“Habitats are what we call our outposts, of which Subnautica is as well. It’s quite different to live underwater than it is on the surface. Many more requirements, and while we have unlimited space, so to speak, you cannot just plant a flag and call it a day. As for numbers, we have many habitats. Some as small as a single person home, with Subnautica being larger than your capital by several magnitudes.”
It shouldn’t be surprising, but it was. How could such a thing go unnoticed for so long?
“I know we have kept getting off topic, but that is something I wanted to discuss. You mentioned you used to be our subject during the battle those many days ago. Exactly…how long ago was this?”
He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together.
“I will be honest, and hoped that had been forgotten about. It was said in a spur of the moment. I cannot give details, but the truth is that I was not a true citizen of your nation. I had a rather…interesting event in my life that removed me from the safety of home and threw me upon the surface of this world. I ended up staying as a serf in your capital for nearly three months before I regained the means to make my way back to where I needed to be.”
Her eyes widened in shock. He lived as a serf! How?! Why?! The Knights were wide eyed at this, many questions on their mind were the same as hers, plus a few only a knight would ask about. The guard standing nearby were shocked at the idea of a lord being on their level for a time.
“It was…interesting to say the least. I wasn’t all to happy with being made a levy for two battles, one of which was against that fellow, Becker? I must say, your husband played the game very well with that clod.”
She felt her hand reach for her forehead. Oh god no! she thought loudly. The idea a lord was forced to participate in a battle not his own, it was…mortifying. The Knights paled, as did the guard.
“As for the ‘friends’ I referred to, it was a family who lived in the capital. Their sons and I became close acquaintances, and were good men by my measure. It was refreshing to have friends who were my own age that weren’t aware of what you were. The association was genuine.”
He leaned back, more relaxed. “Once I returned, it took time for me to reach Subnautica and reassert myself, but I succeeded. I was master of my own destiny once more.”
A hard expression appeared. “And then I was alerted to the attack on your lands. While I had no personal loyalty to you or your nation, I did for those I called friend. Knowing what was happening and why, I made an emotional decision and stepped in.”
He spread his hands. “The rest you know.”
That certainly painted a different picture, but it was one filled with intrigue. Perhaps someone tried to depose him? Make him disappear? Regardless what the case was, the fleet behind him showed he was in full control once more.
She bowed her head slightly. “I am mortified by that story. Please forgive us for putting you through such conditions.”
He waved it off. “There is nothing to forgive. I know the world we are in, and the kind of people you were dealing with. I helped stop the last battle afterall. I just wish I got more than potatoes, carrots, and dandelions when I worked the fields for the daily meal.”
She blanched, and so did her knights. The guards broke out in a cold sweat.
If any, ANY other lord had to go through what he just described, there would have been blood. It just showed how different he was compared to them, especially with the power he had behind him.
He stood, and lifted her chin, to face him again.
“I forgive any transgressions, for you did not know I even exited and made no effort to be known. So please, be at peace.”
She almost cried, but she kept her composure and smiled. “Thank you, Sovereign.”
They finally got about to the business of talking trade, and while it was standard fare, he began to add more than she was prepared for.
“Excuse me? Technical assistance?” she blinked.
He nodded. “We have mechs, and advanced vehicles, and construction techniques to suit our nation’s unique environment. That means we also have the means to render this technical capability to anyone we wish to. Pesh has a lot of arable land that is free and ready for farming or ranching should you choose to. Becker clearly didn’t make use of it as far as I had seen in the two times I traveled through it, so I would trade. In exchange for your nation to build farms or ranches to take advantage of this, I will give technical assistance to “modernize” your agricultural industry to maximize this. This also can include modern infrastructure, and…repairing and maintaining your military equipment to protect it all.”
She swallowed. Normally this would be a step too far with a nation they barely knew, but given everything up to this point, his being a serf, his saving her nation, his willingness to forgive and forget, and his passion, she felt…this was a genuine act on his part.
“I’m…I’m afraid this would be my husbands place to decide than mine.”
He blinked and then looked pained. “I apologize. I put too much on you.”
“No! no, it is alright. I will most certainly bring it to his attention, and we will give it serious consideration.” Especially with a fleet behind you that is far more advanced than anything you would render in this.
He nodded, and they continued on before finally standing up and giving a simple handshake.
“If your husband, the Emperor agrees to these terms, I will come to your capital to sign a trade agreement in person, plus all the agreement entails.”
“I truly hope we can come to an arrangement.”
With that, they said their goodbyes, and he left them the food and good from the boat as a gift to take home. Then as quickly as they appeared, the fleet sank beneath the waves, and vanished as if they were never there.
“Ma’am. I hope to God this turns out well.” Samual said, tired and wary.
I do too.
Comments
Wildebranch
He went full on Dumbledore/Grindewald on their asses with the Greater Good, did he get a boost to his Charisma Stat with the Pip-boy? It was really funny.
