Muan Embassy, Eshirant — June 19, 2019/1639
Captain Andel Rubiso of the 23rd Mu Air Squadron, you and your men have been assigned to Eshirant for the past three years as part of our security detail and escorts for our Ambassador to the Parpaldian Empire. However, as of today, our embassy has been given new orders in light of recent developments in the Third Civilization Area.
Forty-eight hours ago, our radio stations in the homeland received unusual transmissions from a nation calling itself the Osean Federation, located to the east of Parpaldia. Not long after, our Ambassador was summoned by Lady Remille of the Empire’s Departments of Foreign Affairs—a envoy from this nation, according to her, had arrived at the city seeking to establish relations with Parpaldia. From her stories and similar eyewitness accounts throughout the city, the Oseans appear to be fairly advanced technologically and may quite possibly be a new regional power to be reckoned with; through direct radio communications and the help of local merchants, we have been able to arrange a meeting between ourselves and the Osean Federation in one of their main cities.
Your mission will be to escort Ambassador Mugei’s personal aircraft from Eshirant to the Osean city of Selatapura, where he will be received by the Osean government and formally establish diplomatic relations with the Federation. We have no idea as to what exactly awaits us across the ocean, so take care.
Any questions?
----------------------------------------
Selatapura, Osean Federation — June 20, 2019/1639
“Are you seeing this, Captain?! That thing’s just going straight up into the heavens!”
Every Muan aboard the diplomatic transport and its escorts gasped in astonishment as a tall white tower shimmed over the distant horizon, towering and majestic as it reached beyond the billowing clouds and into the heavens. Andel’s eyes gazed upwards as the needle went further and further and further up—
—a pair of silver fixed wings circling the otherworldly structure split off and began slowly circling towards the La Chaos, even with the naked eye clearly more than a dozen times the size of the Muan plane. Absent a body or a cockpit or even a clear means of rapid propulsion save four massive pairs of propellers on each wing that seemed to keep the humongous bodies barely floating above the ocean below, the two wings gently glided towards their path.
Rubiso’s eyes widened. “On the undersides of those things! There’s a bunch of objects detaching from underneath!”
Dozens upon dozens of smaller white crafts had fallen from the massive creatures, each almost immediately unfolding another pair of smaller wings and shooting forward with unparalleled agility; as the Muan pilot watched, the entire fleet seamlessly flew into groups of eight and began weaving and circling back and forth in a series of graceful yet complex manoeuvres—were these crafts showing off to Osea’s visitors?
“Mu aircraft, do you read me? I say again, do you read me?”
“Er…copy, we read you. This is Captain Andel Rubiso of the 23rd Mu Air Squadron, escorting the Mu diplomatic mission to Selatapura for talks with the Osean Federation. To whom am I speaking to?”
“This is AWACS Long Caster of the Long Range Strategic Strike Group. On behalf of the Osean Federation, welcome to Selatapura—we’ve got a squadron en route to escort you and your delegation to Tampines Airport, callsign Cyclops.”
Four Osean planes, all with sharp wings and a pair of stabilisers—where were the engines and propellers? Did these people have more advanced propulsion technology by any chance? Rubiso frowned at the thought—were approaching the delegation and were now assuming defensive positions around the La Chaos and its escorts.
“Good copy on that last, thanks for the escort. We’re looking forward to our trip here.”
----------------------------------------
Bright Hill, Osean Federation — June 21, 2019/1639
“President Bartlett, could you perhaps explain to me this…organisation of yours, the IUN? Is it a military alliance, some kind of extension of the Osean Federation’s political influence?”
Bartlett shifted in his seat, his eyes never wavering from the Muan ambassador. “The International United Nations was—no, is—an entity dedicated to ensuring the preservation of peace and order through the use of diplomacy, economic aid, and at times military force to halt aggressive actors throughout the Third Civilization Area—”
“‘Was’?”
The Osean president sighed. “A slip of the tongue, my apologies. Before the transference that brought my nation to Elysia, most if not all of the nations of the world were key members of the IUN, like us—the organisation’s existence has, admittedly, been thrown into question now that we’re the only original member remaining, but many within my government are still confident that we can still keep the project going as long as more nations can be persuaded to join us.”
“Hence the presence of delegates from Louria and Qua-Toyne? I’ve also heard rumours about Topa and Altaras requesting membership shortly after diplomatic ties were established—is participation in your ‘project’ a requirement for full recognition?”
“Not really—invitations normally come alongside the general greetings and diplomatic ties, but it’s not strictly necessary. Besides, we usually like to check the nations in question first before we consider formally inviting them to join; we do have international laws and regulations that some of our neighbours often choose to waive in favour of…other pursuits.”
Ambassador Mugei raised an eyebrow. “Parpaldia, for instance?”
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“Among others, yes. We generally detest slavery, for one.”
Mugei’s thoughts briefly wandered towards his previous trip to Leifor, where Gra Valkas had established Lars Filmyna and its diplomatic offices atop the ruins of the Grand Palace—the sheer contrast of the stark, unblemished concrete walls that towered over the shattered remains of the former great superpower and the sleek, shimmering, white foundations of the Lighthouse itself over the waters of Selatapura could not be any more different. Yet the awe and terror that the Muan ambassador felt as he looked upon both remained very much the same—what else did Osea exhibit that could potentially pose the same problems to the Concert of Elysia?
“And what about the incidents we’ve heard from Parpaldia and its neighbours about the Oseans sending soldiers and air assets to members during times of need? Wouldn’t that be considered a valid excuse for some of the…let’s say, more unsavoury nations of Elysia to simply annex these nations? I’ve read some of the historical materials your libraries have about Selatapura prior to it joining the Federation—what’s stopping Osea from doing the same to Qua-Toyne or Altaras, should the situation call for it?”
Bartlett shifted uncomfortably on his seat. “Selatapura chose to join the Federation by its own free will, but its ties with Osea were already well-established prior to the transference thanks to the Lighthouse—either way, it was the opinion of the Selatapuran government that in the uncertainty of being in a new world, it would be significantly easier if they were to simply join forces with something they were already familiar with in the first place.”
“And as for your other neighbours…”
“We prefer peaceful means of establishing connections and relationships with the wider world as compared to the warmongering attitudes the likes of Louria and Parpaldia seem to share. Read your materials again, Ambassador Mugei—the Osean Federation has had too many wars and foreign aggressors for its liking in the past thirty years, and we have no intention of repeating the same mistakes in this strange new world.”
----------------------------------------
“Wiseman, was it?”
The Osean pilot looked up from the engine parts he was repairing, realising who was talking to him. “That’s me. Captain Rubiso, I presume?”
“Indeed. Good to see you in the flesh—and thanks for the escort, by the way.”
“Ahhh, just our basic formalities. The higher-ups heard you Muans were the technological superpower in this new place, so we thought to put on a show. Hope you boys liked it.”
“I don’t suppose you also have any magic to impress the Mirishials, by any chance? Your machines might give even their best mages a run for their money, if they ever had the chance to see one of these things.”
Wiseman shrugged. “We haven’t been able to get into contact with them yet, but I’m pretty sure we’ll think of something when the time comes. Anyway, what brings you around here?”
“Well…” Rubiso shrugged, gesturing towards the F-15C, “I was kind of curious about these planes. Definitely not something you’d see in Mu, that’s for sure.”
“These Eagles? Yeah, they’ve been around for over fifty years at this point—they’re designed for air superiority, although there’s a few multirole variants available depending on the situation at hand. Damned great in a firefight, that’s for sure.”
“How about air-to-ground?”
“Oh, there’s a version of the F-15 for that. There’s also a bunch of new stuff the boys over at Gründer are cooking up, but I suppose you’ll probably see those yourself eventually in a few years’ time.”
“Indeed…how does primary propulsion work? I haven’t seen any propellers, so you must have something else: magic gems? Some kind of air propulsion?”
“Jet engines. Air comes in through these intakes, and air comes out through the nozzles in the back. Quite simple, although I bet the local mechanics would tell you otherwise.”
“…but that would require a lot of energy to keep the plane from crashing on the ground! How fast does this thing go?”
The Osean pilot grinned. “We’ve broken the sound barrier a couple of times.”
“Impossible!”
----------------------------------------
Otaheit, Mu — June 23, 2019/1639
To Ambassador Rubiso:
Crystal Kingdom has reviewed the additional terms Osea offered alongside opening diplomatic ties, and has agreed on the following:
* A representative will be sent to observe the International United Nations’ operations in the Third Civilization Area. If the organisation does hold enough promise, a formal request to join will be sent to Oured—prepare someone from your department while the Foreign Office makes the necessary arrangements.
* Physical copies of the IUN’s official laws and regulations have been requested for Mu’s personal use, both to assess Osea’s status as a potential ‘civilised’ nation and to refer to should any diplomatic situation arise between us and them.
* Your delegation has been tasked with finding as much information as possible regarding Osea’s technological capabilities: textbooks, photographs, recordings, or any other kind of documentation that could be used as hard evidence or potentially analysed for our own benefit.
* Runepolis will be informed about the latest developments with Oured—the HME shares our concerns about Gra Valkas’s presence in the Second Civilization Area, and Osea and its organisation shares some promise as a potential ally against this new threat. Broach the topic of Leifor to the President, but be subtle about it.
Crystal Kingdom approves of your actions, and we look forward to hearing more about your progress.
Muan Secretary of Defense
----------------------------------------
“Want a ride on one of these things?”
The Muan pilot blinked. “Say again?”
“Cyclops Squadron has a few two-seater F-15 variants that I might be able to borrow; we could take a quick aerial tour of Selatapura and do a few aerial manoeuvres with this thing in less than an hour, tops.”
“Hmmm…wouldn’t your superiors raise some questions about your proposition?”
“We could call it a cultural exchange—and besides, I don’t think Osea would mind me sharing some vague general information about these ladies for your superiors, wouldn’t they?”
----------------------------------------
Runepolis, Holy Mirishial Empire — August 1, 2019/1639
To Director-General Plior of the Mirishial News Network:
Hope this finds you well.
New orders from higher up: the HME requires information regarding a new nation in the Third Civilization Area known as the Osean Federation. Mu’s recently established diplomatic ties with this nation and believes that it may hold promise as a potential ally—the Emperor has therefore commissioned the MNN to have a look around and see if there’s any truth to the stories spreading around. If they’re true—and we may have reason to believe so—then our current situation may be about to change significantly.
Send someone especially good, will you?
Director Arneus
Mirishial Bureau of Information