Somewhere in the isolated regions of Parpaldia, on a field long left undisturbed by centuries of history, a vague rumbling drew the attention of a humble farmer tending to his crops. To his surprise, a series of rapidly widening cracks began to split the ground in half, almost as if something was about to erupt from the surface—
----------------------------------------
OFS Kestrel, Le Brias, Kingdom of Altaras — December 24, 2019
All right, this is it—the culmination of several weeks of manoeuvres and planning: tomorrow, the IUN and its partners will be launching a joint operation to seize the Parpaldian capital of Eshirant!
Needless to say, nothing of this scale has ever been attempted in the entirety of the Third Civilization Area, let alone throughout Elysia itself—if we are successful in this effort, what we will have achieved will both force the Imperial Crown to capitulate and solidify the position of the IUN and the Osean Federation as the dominant authority of this side of Elysia.
This operation will consist of a three-sided assault on the capital itself: the OFS Puffin and its escorts will conduct a naval landing along the docks, establishing a beachhead and clearing out the remaining Parpaldian naval assets while IUN forces push through the western and eastern limits of Eshirant. All sides of the assault will meet up at the exterior of the Royal Palace, cutting off the Imperial government from its escape routes and forcing them to either surrender or be apprehended like the former King of Louria for their numerous violations of international law. You will be tasked with providing air support where necessary or where you deem fit—as long as no Wyvern Overlords or any other new Parpaldian assets prove to be a threat to our ground forces, we don’t expect anything significant to affect what will likely be a swift and decisive end to this war.
If no one has any questions, then get to your planes at once! The Parpaldia Empire falls today!
----------------------------------------
Eshirant, Parpaldia Empire — December 25, 2019
“All callsigns, this is Long Caster. The President himself has given the order to launch the final assault on Eshirant—you are all cleared to eliminate your designated targets and move in on the Imperial Palace. Eliminate all hostiles with extreme prejudice!”
“All right,” Wiseman crackled on the radio, “let’s drive home to these Parpaldian boys what true modern warfare looks like, once and for all. Move in and give ‘em all you’ve got!”
The Osean fighters shot past Eshirant’s docks, barely giving the coastal defences even a cursory glance—the Osean and Muan fleets would make quick work of them—as they began to scour the streets of the capital itself for signs of any possible Parpaldian convoys heading to the front lines. Already, the battle was starting to escalate—artillery pieces from the hills to the east were battering down the city walls as soldiers and civilians began scrambling for cover, and the remnants of Eshirant’s wyvern forces were emerging from makeshift positions within the ruins of the Defense Base. With the entire Empire in disarray or simply no longer controlled by the Imperial Crown, the defences present in Eshirant were but a mere shadow of the sizeable garrison that had hounded Ambassador Harling’s rescue party all those months ago.
A dozen guided munitions from Cyclops Squadron eviscerated the docks where the remnants of the Parpaldian Navy were being stored; although the vast majority of their magical ammunition had already been recovered or stored elsewhere, the fiery deaths of Eshirant’s finest ships were no less demoralising to the Parpaldian defenders. With each passing second, the future of the Empire itself was somehow becoming far bleaker than anyone had even dared anticipate.
To the west, over two dozen tanks and armoured vehicles trundled through the ruined city gates and emptied their cargo—Osean and Muan infantry units began swiftly clearing the streets of barricades and traps, frequently exchanging fire with the Parpaldians as they fell back deeper and deeper into Eshirant. Neither magical cannons nor armoured creatures proved to be of much use against the sheer firepower being wielded against them, and any form of resistance that seemed to be somehow prevailing was swiftly eradicated by the numerous fighters circling above.
“Mage Two,” Sky Keeper remarked, “you’ve got a convoy of Parpaldian soldiers and armoured creatures heading towards the IUN forces along the docks. Take them out before they can pose a threat.”
Swooping down to face the designated targets, Trigger swiftly released a single bomb—the projectile smacked onto the ground precisely in the middle of the Parpaldian convoy, eradicating the entire detachment in a deadly flash of light. Down on the surface, an Osean soldier watched in astonishment as the pilot’s F-16 soared back up towards the distant sky.
“Hey, tell that Three Strikes guy that he’s just cleared out the path to the Foreign Affairs Department! We’ll clear out the place and grab the Auditor and Director Kaios if we find them! Thanks for the assist, Sky Keeper!”
----------------------------------------
“Director Kaios? This is Sea Goblin Actual of the OGDF! On behalf of the Osean Federation and its allies, Ambassador Harling requests your presence at once!”
“I’m here, I’m here! Listen, who’s your commanding officer? You need to tell your leader that—”
“Whoah, whoah, hold on, Director! What are you trying to tell us?!”
“You need to listen to me! Emperor Ludius and his staff are planning on escaping via a series of tunnels underneath the Royal Palace to the outskirts in the north! I have the information on where you can catch him if makes a run for it!”
----------------------------------------
“All callsigns, be advised: we’ve just received word from Director Kaios that the Emperor and his staff may be attempting to escape via a series of tunnels underneath the city. We’re currently trying to pinpoint the exact exit point, but we’re going to need to cut off that route if we want to force the Parpaldians to let themselves be encircled around the Palace.”
Clown glanced at this console, double-checking the ordinance his Falcon was currently carrying. “What are you thinking, Sky Keeper?”
“If we can find the exact point based on the intel the Director’s given us, we can cause a cave-in and seal off the escape route; otherwise, we’re going to need to send an airborne unit to stop the Emperor once he comes out. Does anyone have any bombs?”
“Golem’s only equipped with air-to-ground missiles and anti-air weapons,” Knocker gruffly replied. “We don’t have anything that could flatten the exit point—Clown, Trigger, you guys have anything?”
“I’ve got the bombs, don’t worry. We just need to find the actual location; Trigger, mind lending me a hand in swatting off anyone who tries to stop us?”
Mage Two’s wings flipped and twirled in acknowledgment.
“All right, listen up—the records in the Foreign Affairs Department are very old and partially damaged, but we’ve managed to pinpoint at least five possible approximate locations for the exit points. Use discretion when launching your ordinance, Mage One—we’re looking to minimise as much collateral as possible, and those GPBs in your inventory aren’t exactly precise.”
“Sky Keeper,” Wiseman interjected, “Cyclops Three and Four also have SFFS munitions—the collateral damage is potentially going to be a lot larger than a guided bomb, but we’ll be able to deal with the possible exit points as quickly as possible.”
“Hmm, I guess we’ll have to be quick if we want the war to end today. All right, you’re cleared to strike the five points on your radar—Mage Two, keep those Wyvern Overlords away from the birds!”
----------------------------------------
From a balcony in the Imperial Palace overlooking the battle, Ludius watched in growing despair as the three metal wyverns swooped down into the city itself, leaving a column of explosions in their wake.
A singular metal wyvern stood watch above its fellow crafts, moving swiftly to strike a wing of Overlords looking for a desperate chance at a quick kill—the would-be predators were almost instantly turned into prey, brought down in a series of aerial acrobatics that would render even the best wyvern knights unconscious. The green explosions that marked their demise only served to further illuminate the markings on the mystical aircraft: three white strikes, brightly emblazoned on its wings as a clear identification of the man’s identity—Ludius had a sneaking suspicion that he had seen that particular Osean before, not too long ago…
With no remaining enemies in the sky to challenge the Oseans, their metal wyverns struck Eshirant’s remaining defences with complete impunity—the threadbare barracks and warehouses that the Parpaldians had barely managed to erect were wiped out in an instant, the equipment and supplies within lost, only further reducing the amount of time Ludius’s planned resistance could hold out once the capital truly fell.
An aide rushed out into the balcony, bowing even as he hurriedly addressed the Emperor. “Your Excellency, we’ve lost contact with the soldiers sent to guard the northern end of the secret tunnels. We’ve sent a patrol out to investigate, but the damage to the network seems to rather considerable—”
Another explosion, this time larger than the previous, rocked Eshirant. Glancing to the north, Ludius saw a fireball where the Ancient District was located—and it was the approximate location of where his escape route would have ended, he realised. Had he been betrayed by one of his own men?!
“Damn it…Parpaldia will have to do without me…”
“Your Excellency? Emperor Ludius, we need to bring you back inside the Palace—the deeper levels of the complex should provide some cover against the Osean artillery and guided arrows…”
As he let himself be escorted back inside the Palace, Ludius caught a final glimpse of the singular Osean aircraft that had somehow dealt even more destruction to the Parpaldian Empire than anything else—next to the white lines was a small orange demon, its eyes staring at him almost mockingly, daring him to do anything to try and stop him.
Three Strikes was nothing if not a sign of ill omen, the Emperor mused to himself.
----------------------------------------
“The beachhead is ours! We’re moving in to secure the Embassies and link up with our ground forces!”
“Western defences have fallen, and the remaining Parpaldians have either surrendered or are pulling back to the Imperial Palace. How copy?”
“We’ve taken the eastern defences and are setting up artillery pieces to pound the Palace’s external walls! Ground forces are en route to meet up at the Embassies!”
Listening to the radio broadcasts, Long Caster nodded in satisfaction. “Golem, Mage, Cyclops, Strider, Sky Keeper—Parpaldian forces are disintegrating as we speak, and Osean forces will be arriving at the outskirts of the Imperial Palace shortly. Good job, everyone; this war’s almost over.”
“Man, don’t jinx us! We don’t know everything about what these Parpaldians have against us—or whatever else is in these parts,” Wiseman annoyedly complained. “Would be a terrible time for something to happen to us, you know…”
“What, exactly? We’ve completely trashed the Parpaldians—they literally have just the palace left, and that’s it!” Knocker glanced down at the place in question—already, he could see the explosions from the Osean naval and ground artillery barrage as tanks and APCs began to encircle what remained of the castle walls. “We’ll probably have to take out a few ballista pieces, and that’ll be it—”
From his console, Sky Keeper frowned. “Hey, what the hell? Long Caster, due north, approximately fifteen kilometres north and closing…”
“It’s not just you—all callsigns, be advised! We’ve got something huge coming in from the north—it’s bigger than anything we’ve picked up so far in Elysia, almost on par with Nosgorath!”
“Copy, we’ve got a visual—what the…”
----------------------------------------
A vast, circular aerial craft nearly rivalling the Arsenal Bird in size floated swiftly from the northern outskirts of Eshirant, its austere metallic exterior a clear contrast to the aesthetic white sported on the Arsenal Birds or even their predecessor of old. The numerous guns emblazoned on each end of the outer ring swirled to attention, a vague humming emanating from within signalling to all those present that they would likely be unleashing their payload fairly soon.
“Long Caster, what the hell is that thing?! Parpaldia shouldn’t have the capability to create, let alone use superweapons on par with our own Arsenal Birds!”
“Stand by while HQ tries to figure that out! In the meantime, stop that UFO before it poses a threat to our ground forces—shoot it down if you have to!”
Whirling to face his wingmen, Wiseman quickly barked out, “All right, you heard the man! Follow my lead and fire everything we’ve got at that UFO! Let’s see what Elysian superweapons are capable of, shall we?!”
Strider and Cyclops Squadrons swept around to face the incoming craft—a stream of missiles and gunfire hit their marks and scored a series of explosions on the surface, leaving a plethora of dents, scratches, cracks, and even fissures of smoke along the exterior. The Elysian aircraft was quick to react, its guns now swirling around to face their new targets—a storm of magical fire began to stream in the general direction of the LRSSG, even scoring a few light hits on the Raptors as they soared by.
“Effective hits! Mage, Golem, your turn for another sortie! Cyclops, Strider, damage report!”
“Nothing we can’t recover from, Sky Keeper. You folks are doing alright back there, too?”
“Looks like it, Wiseman. Conventional aircraft fire seems to be doing the trick for the UFO; we could also get the Puffin to provide additional fire support—their guns should be more than enough to pierce through the hull if our missiles can already do that much damage!”
“Good call, Jaeger,” Long Caster noted. “Puffin, you’re cleared to fire on the UFO—”
Atop the unknown vessel glowed a circular halo—in a matter of seconds, the blue circle expanded to form a spherical field that completely enveloped the aircraft. A series of explosions from a new barrage of missiles fired merely moments beforehand caused the shield to flicker for the briefest of moments, yet it still quickly regained its strength and flared as brightly as ever.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Shit, that thing’s got the same shield capabilities as the creatures up north! We don’t have any railguns on us, do we?”
“We can attempt a saturation attack on the shield,” Long Caster hurriedly theorised, “which should theoretically be able to overload the shield and cause it to break down. We’re going to need help from our naval assets, however—”
“Already at it! This is the Puffin, coordinating with the rest of the Kestrel II fleet—magic-tipped cruise missiles are ready at your command!”
“Nice, we already have a plan! All fighters, form up on Trigger—he’s the closest to the UFO—and fire on my mark!”
Six fighters formed up on each flank of Mage Two’s aircraft—F-16s on one side, F-15s on the other. Below, the missile bays on over a dozen Osean vessels opened up, the final checks being run on every guided projectile available as soldiers, civilians, and naval personnel alike scrambled for cover.
“Mage Squadron, standing by!”
“Golem Squadron, standing by!”
“Strider Squadron, standing by!”
“Cyclops Squadron, standing by!”
“Puffin, standing by!”
”This is the Ramayana, standing by! We don’t have any guided arrows, but our cannons should be more than enough for the job!”
“Long Caster, all fighters and ships are ready to fire at your command. Give the order!”
“Copy, in five, four, three, two, one—fire!”
The city of Eshirant rumbled as dozens of missiles and other assorted guided projectiles launched into the air with a thunderous roar—from the Royal Palace down to the smoking embers of the former coastal defences, the people of Parpaldia watched in astonishment as each and every arrow streaked through the sky and found their target with pinpoint accuracy. Taking on the complete brunt of the Osean barrage, the magical barriers shuddered and crackled from the sheer force being exuded upon it before finally starting to crack—a pair of Aegis missiles from the Kestrel II impacted and detonated their magic-infused warhead, resulting in a fatal feedback loop within whatever components were generating the ship’s magical shields, shattering the barrier altogether in a blinding flash.
Shockwaves reverberated for countless kilometres beyond the city limits of Eshirant itself, shattering windows and causing the Osean and Muan vessels to rock, shudder, and tumble as the waters splashed violently in response. From his cockpit, Wiseman’s eyes widened as the smoke surrounding the vessel—the object above the Parpaldian capital had finally lost its sole line of magical defence and was now ripe for the taking.
“The shields have collapsed! Free engagement; I repeat, free engagement!”
The cannons and turrets lining the exterior of the warship rumbled back to life, yet even their presence was negligible towards the vessel’s defence: panels and key components ruptured and were ripped apart, ammunition holds igniting and further cascading into vital systems as the Osean weapons remorselessly tore into the warship’s frame. Its arrival had seemingly been meant to jolt the newcomers out of their sense of superiority, but its imminent demise all but demonstrated that any such impressions had long since been established to have had merit.
With a mighty groan, the giant vessel listed over and exploded as it crashed onto the ground, crushing entire blocks with its gutted carcass and enveloping entire neighbourhoods in clouds of smoke and debris. The ancient ship—a former symbol of the terror of an ancient empire—now lay lifeless within the ruins of Eshirant, brought down by weapons it was never designed to face firsthand.
“Shit, there’s going to be a ton of casualties over on that side of the city! Long Caster, we’re going to need search and rescue operations once this is all done!”
“Already on it—several Muan and Qua-Toyne medical units are already on their way to the crash site; they shouldn’t have any problems securing the UFO and finding any civilians within the debris. Return to the main objective for now, and give our Osean forces cover until they reach the Imperial Palace.”
“Copy, Long Caster. You heard him, folks—let’s bring this war to an end!”
----------------------------------------
“All callsigns, be advised: we’ve surrounded the Palace and cut off all means of escape. Ground forces are preparing to call on the Emperor to come out and surrender; otherwise, we’re going to start pushing in—”
“Hang on, hang on! We’ve got someone coming out with a white flag! It’s some woman in a dress—that’s the Auditor herself! Be advised: I think Auditor Remille’s attempting to request a sortie!”
“Hang on, stand by…stand by, hold your fire…alright, all units within the castle perimeter are to cease fire and only engage if fired upon by the defenders! We’ve got orders straight from Bright Hill—bring the Auditor to the OFS Puffin at once!”
----------------------------------------
OFS Puffin, Eshirant, Parpaldia Empire — December 25, 2019
Remile stood tall before Ambassador Harling, her expression resolute even with her haggard appearance—witnessing the collapse of Eshirant and the subsequent capitulation of the Parpaldia Empire had no doubt taken a toll on her and the rest of her staff. It must have been some kind of personal training on her part to somehow continue to project the typical Parpaldian self-confidence in spite of her people’s current situation, Vincent reckoned.
“Before anything else, let it be made clear that the Parpaldia Empire has no knowledge about the vessel that attacked your ships today. We would also desire to secure conditions for the immediate cessation of hostilities between Parpaldia and the Osean Federation, as well as the various nations also involved in your military alliance.”
If Harling had any intention of highlighting the irony of the current situation or how the tables had somehow turned on Remille and her superiors in the span of a few weeks, the ambassador showed no signs of doing so. Instead, his face expressed a mixture of curiosity and mild satisfaction as he leaned forward on the table, focusing on his beleaguered counterpart as he responded, “Lady Remille, I take it then that you will be willing to submit to the terms of surrender demanded by Osea and its allies?”
The Parpaldian diplomat straightened her pose, seemingly even more confident of herself and what she had to offer. “We would like to negotiate those terms so that both the Oseans and the Parpaldians will benefit from the end of this wasteful war. Clearly, your nation has demonstrated that it can stand up to even the mighty superpowers of Elysia—we are now willing to work with you and your superiors as equals, as we were loath to do prior to the start of the war and as what we now realise that we should have done the moment we first encountered your nation a long time ago. As such, we are offering several conditions for all sides to cease fighting and return to their respective lands at once.”
“Very well—”
“In return for an immediate end to hostilities and the return of all prisoners of war, Parpaldia will renounce all territorial and political claims made prior to and during the ongoing conflict and release all protectorates from its supervision, alongside paying financial compensation to the Kingdom of Altaras for damages dealt to its armed forces during the failed invasion. We will also consider complying to the regulations and standards required by the International United Nations, in the hopes that we will be able to be fully integrated to your organisation once reconstruction has been completed—as a gesture of thanks, we will also be willing to propose to the upcoming World Leadership Conference that the Osean Federation be officially recognised as a fellow superpower.” The Auditor turned to face the conference table where Vincent was currently seated, as if daring him to somehow challenge her claims—almost as if she somehow still thought the terms she brought, already far more than what she had originally brought so long ago, would be sufficient to make up for what Parpaldia had done to this world.
Harling sighed, and looked Remille squarely in the eyes. “Remille, you and the Emperor still don’t actually understand the position that Parpaldia lies in, do you?”
“What? I don’t understand—”
“Your Empire at this point extends only as far as the Palace gates, and you somehow still imagine Parpaldia to still be the superpower of the Third Civilized Region, to be in a position to offer anything of value to your counterparts in Elysia or even your own neighbours? Your government would be so delusional to think that it has some way of avoiding the consequences of its own actions, when Parpaldia makes every effort to burn every bridge and refuse every offer of friendship and peaceful cooperation between themselves and everyone else?”
“I—”
“Your navies are gone, your armies annihilated, your experimental wyverns destroyed and outdated long before they even made it into service. Your colonies have either broken away or formed their own successor states, and your partners both powerful and miniscule have long since either broken off ties with you or gone over to our side. You would have no doubt killed countless Oseans with your machinations—myself included—had you played your cards right, but there was no scenario in this conflict where you and your glorious empire would have somehow prevailed in a open war against a nation that’s long planned against foes far greater and more terrifying than you. We have seen superpowers vaporised by the dying wishes of utter madmen and faced annihilation as one world when the skies split open and rained down, and yet we survived—what makes you think that the arrogant words of a lofty woman with no concept of total human extinction means anything to us? The Parpaldia Empire, the Kingdom of Mu, the Holy Milishial Empire, even the Ravernals of yore—their powers are considerable and their affairs are nothing to be ignored or taken lightly, but they are nothing—nothing, I tell you—compared to what the Osean Federation and our old counterparts have had to deal with in our own world. And as of right now, we have troubles far more pressing to deal with than whatever you or your Emperor desire out of us.”
The Auditor’s eyes flashed for the briefest of moments, and for the first time Harling saw a crack in Remille’s facade—there was fear in her expression: fear for what faced her nation and what she herself faced for the actions she took to bring the entire Empire to this point. The bluster was all that the diplomat knew it was—bluster—yet it came from some kind of desperate refusal to acknowledge what was going on around her. She either didn’t know or refused to recognize it, but Harling knew that his counterpart was all too aware that the glorious Empire she once knew was dying out with each passing second.
“So let me make this clear, and you will ensure that any remaining supporters of your regime understand as well: the Parpaldia Empire as a whole will agree to immediately cease all hostilities with all other parties and sign this document of unconditional surrender, and assign a delegate or series of delegates to participate in the peace talks in Selatapura this upcoming year. Otherwise, the consequences will be both severe and succinct: you will be arrested immediately in this room for crimes against humanity and every other atrocity that you and your Empire committed against the nations of the Third Civilization Area, and your Emperor will be hunted down and either rightfully arrested or killed as the war criminal that he is. Tell him that he may try and hide, but our eyes spread far and wide—the Ravernals may have once touched the skies, but we freely venture in the heavens above. Any village, any cave, any hole in the ground—we will find him and show him what happens to those who dare threaten the world with their delusions of grandeur and glory. The Parpaldia Empire is dead—do you understand?”
Quietly, Remille nodded.
“Good. If you agree to sign the Instrument of Surrender, then you and your diplomatic staff will be formally escorted to the Kestrel II—the signing ceremony will take place there, and your government will receive further instructions afterwards regarding the formal peace process. Is that clear—”
A pair of hands slammed on the desk, the Auditor looking up at Harling in visible terror—all pretence of dignity and arrogance was gone, and Remille’s expression was that of a woman with nothing left to lose, the existence of her nation and her own very life and career on the line. “Please! Show Parpaldia mercy—this is all we have left! We were everything before your kind showed up—don’t let us fade into nothing like the empires and kingdoms of old! Our pride, our people, our empire, this was everything that we had to avoid being left in the wayside—for the sake of Eshirant and what remains of Parpaldia, don’t take this away from us!”
“Oh, don’t worry, we won’t take a page from your playbook once this war comes to an end—I would certainly think the past few months would show that we are far more different than Parpaldia or even the rest of Elysia would have thought.” Harling rose from his seat, his face seemingly placid as he pushed forward once more a copy of the Instrument of Surrender.
“Then again, perhaps that was the problem, wasn’t it?”
----------------------------------------
“Long Caster to all callsigns, be advised: the Emperor and his government have surrendered! All units are to cease fire immediately and prepare for further instructions—”
The AWACS operator’s voice was defeated by the cheers of every individual within the plane and every other vessel within the seas and skies of Eshirant; Oseans, Muans, Altarans, Qua-Toynans, and more than a dozen nationalities alike began celebrating even as they began to clear out the remaining pockets of Parpaldian resistance throughout the smoking ruins of Eshirant.
“Hang on, hang on! Clear comms while I convey orders—all callsigns, break, break, break! Damn it, everyone’s already partying—calm down, we haven’t—”
----------------------------------------
“The experiment is complete, Director Zamuras, but the results are not as promising as we would have expected.”
“Astonishing…for them to disable a Pal Chimerae that quickly…I will inform the Emperor about this development. Continue your efforts to monitor the Oseans for now, and begin preparing the test subject for deployment at once. May the Ancestors guide our endeavours.”
“May the Ancestors guide our endeavours.”
----------------------------------------
Osean Broadcasting Corporation, Oured, Osean Federation — December 25, 2019
President Jack Bartlett today confirmed that the war between Osea and Parpaldia has now drawn to a close; in a special Christmas address, the President confirmed that the capital of Eshirant fell to a joint effort by the Osean-led military coalition that lasted for several hours but ultimately resulted in the complete destruction of the Parpaldia Empire’s remaining military assets within its core territories. Outside of the now-neutral Eastern Provinces and several isolated pockets within the Heartlands, the Empire itself is no longer believed to be capable of providing any effective means of resistance to the near-complete military offensive by the Federation and its allies; while reports of a possible new Parpaldian superweapon briefly posing a threat to Osean forces before being decisively defeated in Eshirant have been circulating in the past few hours, neither the President nor any other official in Bright Hill have commented or verified these claims as of now.
In a formal ceremony aboard the Kestrel II, delegates of the Parpaldia Empire signed the Instrument of Surrender, officially ending hostilities between the former superpower and the Osean Federation along with its partners and allies in the International United Nations. Effective immediately, all remaining Parpaldian forces outside of Eshirant have been instructed to surrender to the nearest coalition-backed forces as soon as possible—other terms also in the Instrument include the formal recognition of the independence of all former Parpaldian colonies and vassals, the abolition of slavery, and the handover of financial compensation to the Kingdom of Altaras in return for the safe return of all prisoners of war. While no official timeline has yet been established for several of these clauses, efforts by the IUN are now currently underway to gauge the logistical and financial efforts required to achieve these aims and bring a satisfactory conclusion to the largest conflict faced by the Osean Federation since the Circum-Pacific War.
In other news, preparations are now underway for the start of formal peace negotiations between the various factions of the Osea-Parpaldia War in Selatapura, which is expected to begin on New Year’s Day. While the Instrument of Surrender was signed with the intention of ending the conflict between Parpaldia and the Third Civilization Area, these talks are expected to begin laying the foundation for a postwar settlement between the countless nations and peoples affected by the collapse of the Empire itself. Details remain scarce as of right now as to where exactly the Conference will be taking place, but Bright Hill has confirmed that it will be releasing further details leading up to the start of the event…
----------------------------------------
Basset Space Center, Osean Federation — December 25, 2019
“T minus ten, nine, eight, seven—“
Along the curved track of the Space Center’s mass driver lay the largest spacecraft ever constructed in over two decades, dwarfing even the mighty Arsenal Birds by a significant margin. Yet there were no propellers to keep the ship afloat in the skies—for where this vessel would venture, not even the mighty Ravernals could have ever dared touch with such impunity as that the Oseans now achieved on a regular basis. The Space Elevator had proven to be a vastly efficient way of transporting Elysia beyond the heavens, but now a resurrected monument to decades of scientific research and cooperation was about to make its fiery return to the skies.
“—six, five, four, three, two, one—”
A dozen engines and boosters ignited simultaneously, working in close conjunction with the mass driver to rapidly accelerate the spacecraft to subsonic, then supersonic speeds; with clean efficiency, the ship neatly detached from the driver and glided upwards, cutting through the clouds and the atmosphere above with almost no visible effort. It was a majestic sight, graceful to the eyes yet astonishing to any native Elysian that happened to be in the area—could this be the beginning of something new for the entire world as they knew it?
“Liftoff; I repeat, we have liftoff! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a successful launch! The Arkbird has taken flight once more!”