March of the Habsborg
Chapter 14 - Sword of Allah
Eastern Mediterranean Sea
June 11, 1731
As the Venetian fleet sailed toward Cyprus, Doge Alvise Mocenigo III stood on the deck of the
Sconfitta, lamenting the fate of humanity. He wondered if he had made the right decision by choosing to evacuate Venice in the face of a Borg siege. It seemed reasonable at the time; the enemy had assimilated all of mainland Europe save the cities of Venice and Lisbon, not counting the Ottoman possessions. By moving the entire Venetian army of 60,000 men to the well-fortified island of Cyprus, Mocenigo had bet that he could hold out long enough for the combined armies of the Islamic world to turn the tide.
He backed the wrong horse.
A mere four days after the evacuation, the Borg sent a fleet of more than 50 sailing cubes to pursue the Italians to Cyprus. And on June 15, as the Doge and his subordinates were still constructing defensive battlements on the island, more than forty thousand drones invaded the last overseas bastion of the world's last republic. The Venetian defenders fought bravely and died bravely but never stood a chance. With Prinzeugen at the forefront and utilizing lethal Maneuver Operations, the Borg quickly overran the island and assimilated every last soul.
With the destruction of the army, the assimilation of the Doge, and the city still under siege, the remaining residents of Venice hastily elected Gian Kerriano, who promptly surrendered the city to the Borg, stating that justifications for further resistance did not meet a "global test". Venice was dead.
Delhi
December 17, 1733
Muhammad Shâh, the Great Mogul, paced his way regally through the gauntlet of makeup artists, clothing-primpers, and preparatory sycophants on his way to the balcony, from which he would give the most important address in the history of the Mughal Empire. He looked down at his speech for what must have been the thousandth time:
My people! Today is a joyous day in the Empire of Bâbur! For today, our sometime vassal, the Khanate of Sibir, becomes one with the Mughal nation! (hold for guard-prompted applause) While the Khan undoubtedly would have liked to be here, he suffered a dreadful accident (make quoting gesture) while en route to the city. (hold for laughter)
Many of you may wonder why I have chosen this path. While it is a crime to question the decisions of the Great Mogul, I shall humor your inquistiveness with a response. As you well know, armies of the Borg collective have already landed in India and engaged forces of Vijayanagar. They will most certainly attack us soon. In order to strengthen the Empire's strategic position against these demons, I have ordered the annexation of Sibir and the placement of the Khanate's armies under the command of Mughal generals. This will allow us to more effectively beat back the hellspawn that threaten the Allah-fearing world.
We will continue to coordinate our efforts with our longtime ally, the Ak Koyunlu, as well as with the Ottoman Empire. Together, the Islamic world shall fight this foe, and the sword of Allah shall be bathed in their blood! (unsheath sword dramatically, encouraging mass chanting and whatnot)
Confident he had committed it to memory, Muhammad put it back into his pocket, stepped out onto the balcony to be greeted by the cheering throng of peons. When the adulation died down, he promptly forgot his speech and had to wing it.
Extent of the Mughal Empire following the annexation of Sibir:
In 1741, the Borg offensive against the Islamic world began. Waves of battle drones, freshly created in the collective's new Conscription Nodes, attacked the Ottoman Empire in Africa, Egypt, and the Balkans simultaneously, overwhelming the overstretched Turkish forces and paralyzing their commanders. In less than a year, the Borg had taken Hellas, Alexandria, Morea, Macedonia, and several provinces in Africa. As if such an offensive were not frightful enough, the Inca and Aztecs, controllers of vast gold mines in the Americas, were also overrun, and both Russia and the Order of the Knights of Some Overrated Do-gooder breathed their last.
On September 16, 1743, the assimilation of Poland was complete, thus ending the existence of the last remaining Habsborg puppet state. This allowed the collective to advance against Islam along a broader front. The Ottomans continued to take a beating, losing the remainder of their Balkan possessions and most of Asia Minor by 1748. The theft of 1,875 ducats from the treasury of Vijayanagar by Borg drones in 1753 was also a bit of a setback for humanity. The expanded Mughal Empire, however, put up quite a ferocious fight, losing a mere eleven provinces during the first decade of open war. Of course, among those provinces were Ganges, Kutch, and Astrakhan, three of the four trade centers controlled by the Mughals, but the fact that they fought so valiantly is really all that matters.
With the demise of the Venetians and all their expertise on fighting the Borg, the Portuguese took up the responsibility of coordinating humanity's resistance. They were rubbish at the job, mostly due to the fact that they were much too busy failing to defend their far-flung colonies and trading posts from being pillaged, burnt, and annexed by the neverending stream of drones being created in Austria and Holland. They did, however, have one more cunning plan up their sleeves ...
Lisbon
October 10, 1754
José I, Marquês de Pombal and King of Portugal, had just finished listening to the plan concocted by his military advisors. "So, let me see if I've got this straight ..." he began.
"First, we cut open the head of one of the Borg we captured while retreating from Mayumba. Then, we install one of these 'black boxes' as you call them, into its brain. We then reactivate the Borg and send it home, where it will link back up with the collective and set off a chain reaction that will cause all of the Borg's 'energy-recharging nodes' to simultaneously self-destruct, thus crippling the collective. Have I got that right?"
"Yep, pretty much," responded one of the assembled bootlickers.
"Well, at the risk of sounding dense," replied the King, "has it occurred to any of you that we have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of how the Borg operate, never mind how to fabricate such a device as this 'black box' you speak of?"
"And yet, we've already created one."
The King was flabbergasted. "How?!?"
"Beats us. Sounds like a plot hole for the AuthAAR to work out."*
* Like Hell it does; I'm on vacation. Complaints may be forwarded to my union representative. - C.K.
Will the Portuguese plan work?
Read March of the Habsborg, Chapter 15 - Surprise of the Dragon to find out!
