The Hohenzollern Empire 5: Holy Phoenix - An Empire of Jerusalem Megacampaign in New World Order

[GhostRider124]

Like in a previous conversation I mentioned I am working on the Meskwaki Empire update for Tianxia and there are some things that I want to be sure of before I fully start working on it. Those being:

If the Meskwaki Empire is TTL’s Austria-Hungary then why did they unite with the Cherokee since you said that in the DF you were going to make them have a “Haudenosainee consensus-style democracy from at least the 15th century” This makes me wonder why a democratic federation they would unite with a monarchy like the Meskwaki?

In the DF will the name of the Meskwaki Empire change after it united with the Cherokee like how in OTL the Austrian Empire changed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867?

Since the Meskwaki/Fox language is part of the larger Algonquin Language Family can I use Algonquin names from the "fantasy name generators" website?

What is the National Motto?

What is the Anthem?

What is the Meskwaki Government Structure?

Does it has two houses for its legislature like the UK or if it only has one and its/their names?

What is their version of a Chancellor?

A list of some of its Emperors?

A list of some of its Chancellors?

Its Currency?

When was it Established?

Its Area (core territory)?

Its Population (core territory)?

Is the Military also divided in that there is something like the Common Army, the Austrian Landwehr, Royal Hungarian Honvéd, Landsturm and Jagdkommando?

In the latest World of Kaiserreich - Austria-Hungary the narrator mentions that they are a Landjäger (I found this spelling in the comments) and when I look it up I find a Wikipedia page for a type of Central European sausage. Is there a unit called a Landjäger?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landjäger

Speaking about one of the last conversations about how the Haudenosainee were divided between the Meskwaki and Kanata does this mean that the Haudenosainee are TTL’s Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in how it was partitioned between its larger neighbors?

 

[zenphoenix]

If the Meskwaki Empire is TTL’s Austria-Hungary then why did they unite with the Cherokee since you said that in the DF you were going to make them have a “Haudenosainee consensus-style democracy from at least the 15th century” This makes me wonder why a democratic federation they would unite with a monarchy like the Meskwaki?

At this point it's more of a loose spiritual parallel than a direct Native American copy. The tribal confederacies that formed for collective defense against the Mexica later centralized power around certain tribes and clans, which became hereditary monarchs like those in the Mexica Empire and Tawantinsuyu. The early Meskwaki kingdom was one of them. While they retained the consensus democracy and tribal councils of the older confederacies, these institutions gradually lost power to the monarchies. Also, the Cherokee political entity that entered into the political union with the empire was by then reorganized into such a centralized monarchy, having little continuity with the older and more democratic state that got partitioned by its neighbors.

In the DF will the name of the Meskwaki Empire change after it united with the Cherokee like how in OTL the Austrian Empire changed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867?

No. It's always been the Meskwaki Empire. Well, it was the Meskwaki Kingdom early on but it became an empire as it centralized, absorbed more of its neighbors, and became the dominant indigenous power on the continent. There’s no reason for it to change the name or adopt the organization of Austria-Hungary since the Meskwaki didn’t have the same problems Austria did in the 19th century. Similar, but not exact.

Since the Meskwaki/Fox language is part of the larger Algonquin Language Family can I use Algonquin names from the "fantasy name generators" website?

That or the EU4 culture files, which I use as a reference these days for character names. Though those files tend to have a lot of European-inspired names or Anglicizations. I'm pretty sure "Pierremaskin" itself is derived from French.

What is the National Motto?

I don't know, probably something to do with pan-Eimericanism.

What is the Anthem?

I don't think they had one, and if so, it would probably invoke Pierremaskin.

What is the Meskwaki Government Structure?

In the 20th century, it would be a highly centralized absolute monarchy with significant power afforded to the monarch itself.

Does it has two houses for its legislature like the UK or if it only has one and its/their names?

In Vicky I mentioned there was a Council of Elders that seized power during the democratic revolutions, but I’ll probably retcon that. I’m partial to “Council of Peoples,” a variation of a name I used in TESB. It’ll probably be a unicameral legislature.

What is their version of a Chancellor?

Since I can’t find one specifically for the Meskwaki, I would use either the Algonquian sachem (an anglicization not actually used by any tribe) or the Ottawa gimaa (as the one used by the tribe physically closest to Michigan I could find) for their equivalent of a prime minister or chancellor.

A list of some of its Emperors?

Pierremaskin and Dohumme (reigning as of 1936) are the major ones.

A list of some of its Chancellors?

I don’t know, you can make up some names.

Its Currency?

I don’t know.

When was it Established?

Sometime during the Mexica expansion, so before the 13th century.

Its Area (core territory)?

Their original core would be OTL Michigan, as well as Wisconsin and the Canadian territories on the opposite side of Lake Superior. By the 20th century, they had everything east of the Rockies except

Its Population (core territory)?

I can’t estimate that, probably in the high tens of millions.

Is the Military also divided in that there is something like the Common Army, the Austrian Landwehr, Royal Hungarian Honvéd, Landsturm and Jagdkommando?

No, just a standard army.

In the latest World of Kaiserreich - Austria-Hungary the narrator mentions that they are a Landjäger (I found this spelling in the comments) and when I look it up I find a Wikipedia page for a type of Central European sausage. Is there a unit called a Landjäger?

I don’t think so.

Speaking about one of the last conversations about how the Haudenosainee were divided between the Meskwaki and Kanata does this mean that the Haudenosainee are TTL’s Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in how it was partitioned between its larger neighbors?

Not really, the only thing they have in common is that they were partitioned.

 

[zenphoenix]

A Sol of Ends and Beginnings, Part 3​

Outside Piddletown

From inside the Sigurd, Julius smirked. Everything was going according to plan. Unlike the diverse groups that made up the UNAP and Demofed, the Reich was united as one people, around one cause. There would be no bickering, no dissent against his orders. He was the emperor, and his will was absolute and final. Even if he continued to serve as the diversion. And what a diversion he did make as the emperor himself. Just the very appearance of the Sigurd and its red and black armor—of a deeper hue than the Balmung’s—would be enough to draw everybody towards him. His radio was already filled with the chatter of the Continentals as they all scrambled to target him, leaving them open to flanking attacks from the rest of his arm and bombardment from Gradivus. Not to mention everything he could do.

“There he is, the boy emperor!”

“He’s broken the third defensive line!”

“We need to evacuate!”

“Don’t panic!”

“In the name of the Continental Union and Demofed, we can’t fall here!”

“We can end this! We just need to take down Julius!”

“This is for President Ramirez!”

“Long live Avalon and the Knights Templar!”

His first opponent was a tank division. The Sigurd’s computers identified the tanks as old designs used by Avalon and the UAS during their invasion of California, right before the nukes flew. But their performance was reduced as they had been hastily converted to run on hydrogen fuel cells instead of the oil they were intended to use but was no longer available.

“Shoddy museum pieces, only fit for the scrap heap!”

The first tank readied its turret and opened fire, aiming for the Sigurd’s midsection, where Julius was. A pathetic rookie mistake, almost laughable. We have been using autoritters for years at this point. Even UNAP knows an autoritter’s weakness is in its joints. Disable their legs, and they might as well be dead in the dirt. Which is why we don’t let them hit our legs. Julius leaned to his left, and the Sigurd swiftly shifted to the left. The shell zipped through the empty air where the autoritter was a second ago. Julius shifted himself back to the right, turning the Sigurd to face the tank’s side, and then leaned forward to accelerate, his right arm drawn back to raise the autoritter’s sword. The tank’s turret slowly swivled back in his new direction, but it was too slow. He brought his sword down on the antiquated tank, translating the momentum of his charge into raw strength. The tank crumpled like paper, pieces of its armor and the still intact turret flying off. If the crew inside didn’t die from the strike itself, their vac suits most certainly were compromised.

“Is there nobody who will provide a challenge for me?”

The other tanks opened fire, but Julius remained on the move. Plumes of red dirt erupted all around the Sigurd, but Julius easily dodged every shell. The autoritter’s sensors helped calculate the trajectories of each incoming projectile, but after many years on the battlefield, he had figured out the basic attack patterns of his enemy and knew exactly how to counter them. Within seconds, the rest of the tank division had been reduced to scrap metal, and Julius continued on his way.

“Someone stop that monster!”

“A single unit did all this?!”

“Who is this boy?”

“Is he even human?”

Julius laughed again. “Oh, I’m better than that failed species. I…am a Terran!”

How did the saying go again? “Every time an Anniona is born, God flips a coin.” I follow in the footsteps of Friedrich the Founder, Matthias the Blessed, Gisela the Saint, Christopher the Great, and Octavia the Steel Empress.

“But more than that, I AM AN ANNIONA!”

And when they write my name in the chronicles alongside those legendary names, they will know me as Julius, the Ironblood Emperor!

Now the remaining Américain and Avalonian forces were in full retreat. The tanks had shifted into reverse gear, desperately firing their machine guns and cannons to cover the retreat of the APCs. Soldiers who couldn’t get back in their APCs in time stumbled and tripped over the rough rocks scattered all over the ground before being cut down by gunfire from the advancing Austrian infantry reinforcing him.

“Yes, run like the cockroaches and rats you are!” Julius cackled. “You cannot hide from me! You cannot deny the inevitable truth that is House Anniona’s universal birthright! This planet is mine. Mine, mine, MINE!”

Bending its knees and leaning forward, the Sigurd accelerated even further. A swing of his sword, and an APC crumpled. A punch with the autoritter’s left fist left a gaping hole straight through the side of a tank. A kick sent another APC flying right into a tank just as it fired, the premature explosion of the shell destroying both. Julius’ radio was filled with the panicked screams of the dead and dying, and it was glorious. “INSOLENT WORMS! EMPEROR JULIUS VON ANNIONA COMMANDS YOU, DIE FOR ME!”

And so they did. When Julius sheathed his sword on the back of the Sigurd, he found not a single enemy still alive. The bodies of hundreds of Américains and Avalonian laid scattered all over the desolate Martian landscape, their barely visible blood soaking into the red dirt. Their tanks and APCs were little more than flaming wrecks now, their fires snuffed out within seconds from the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere.

“My lord,” a voice came over his radio, “Knight Commander Gebhard Remmele reporting.”

“Yes, Knight Commander Remmele?”

“Piddletown has fallen,” Gebhard said, “My forces have destroyed the settlement’s militia and all remaining resistance. I am disembarking from my autoritter to receive the mayor’s surrender.”

Julius smirked. “Excellent. Operation MacDunn went perfectly.” I knew it was right to use myself as bait. Instead of defending their own capital, they would rather throw everything they had in a foolish attempt to kill me, with predictable results. “Have you located President Ochimeca?”

“We have reason to believe she is currently in Beck.”

“That is acceptable, then. I will personally be dealing with Beck soon. Thank you, Knight Commander Remmele. You will be rewarded for your valiant efforts today.”

“It is an honor, Your Majesty. All I’ve done, I’ve done in the service of the Reich.”

“And you shall receive an appropriate reward for your service,” Julius said, “I believe it is only right that you receive lordship over Piddletown and the Hellas Planitia region.”

Though Piddletown deserves a better name. I’ll think about it later.

“Really?” Gebhard said. “You honor me, sir! I humbly accept your generosity.”

“It is only fair, for such a skilled knight.” It is impressive that a man as old as Knight Commander Remmele is still a force to be reckoned with in an autoritter. “You may go now. Piddletown awaits your guidance.”

“Yes, my lord.” Gebhard disconnected.

Julius next radioed Gradivus. “Gradivus, this is your emperor. Respond.”

“Sir!” a similiar voice replied. “Your Majesty, we are honored to hear your words!”

“Captain Reinhard Higa,” Julius said, “I am glad to hear you are still with us. How goes Operation Fraternity’s Sundering?”

“We are proceeding according to schedule,” Higa said, “Gradivus is now close enough to Fraternity that it can’t use its missile defenses without being hit by debris. Though we did suffer a few injuries during the rapid deceleration burn. No fatalities reported.”

“Good,” Julius said, “Deploy the boarding parties.”

“Sir, are you sure?” Higa said. “Phobos Base is coming up over the horizon. It will most certainly fire at us as soon as it gets a clear shot.”

“I have that handled,” Julius said, “You need not worry.”

“If…If you say so, my lord,” Higa said, “We will commence the boarding operation at once.”

“Remember, I want that ship captured intact, with as few civilian casualties as possible,” Julius said.

“Of course, my lord,” Higa said, “We shall execute your will without deviation.”

“Excellent, Captain Higa,” Julius said, “You do your Empire a great honor. Do not fail me.”

“Yes, my lord!” Higa disconnected.

Julius had a little downtime before he had to go to Beck. He decided to take a break. With the flick of his wrist, the Sigurd entered standby mode, and Julius’ control interface turned off. He stretched and leaned back in his chair, drinking water from a tube in his vac suit. Julius typed on a keyboard, bringing up live footage from one of the Concordia satellites he had neutralized. While his men had destroyed most of UNAP’s surveillance network, he had ordered a few satellites kept intact but under Austrian control, giving the Reich a view from the heavens that UNAP had previously monopolized. Concordia was one of the reasons he had spent so long avoiding a direct confrontation with UNAP. For many years, he couldn’t go up against an enemy which could see every single Austrian troop movement before they reached their target. And so he instead focused his efforts on destroying the other factions, like Mangala, until he had enough materiel and industry and the stars quite literally aligned the way he wanted.

As he watched the Concordia feed, Phobos slowly emerged over the horizon. The larger moon of Mars was host to a UNAP military base and spaceport. It had gotten its start as a staging area for manned crews from Earth to prepare for atmospheric reentry, then became a refueling and repair area for spacecraft on their way back to Earth or out to the asteroid belt or Jupiter. After the war, it became a refugee processing center, organizing the hundreds of thousands of refugees arriving from the destroyed Earth on Giselbert and Fraternity but also other makeshift spacecraft. As the stream of refugees dried up and tensions rose between UNAP and the Reich, Phobos Base was converted into a military facility, armed with long-range missiles. Their main goal was to deter any military threats against Fraternity, but Julius had long known that they would not fire unless the threat was immediate and the chance of collateral damage had been minimized. Even the smallest explosion could create a large cloud of space debris which could render all orbital travel extremely dangerous if not impossible for many years, a death sentence for the surface. Phobos Base dared not directly target any surface habitats, for fear of killing civilian populations through destruction of life support systems. Julius took full advantage of that fact. Just like Olympus, the Reich’s soldiers were based in the very top layer of each settlement. There were no settlements dedicated solely for military purposes. Thus, Phobos Base could not threaten any Austrian settlement without hundreds of thousands of lives in collateral damage. In the end, your compassion was your downfall. What good is a weapon if you’re not willing to use it?

Something blue zipped by the edge of the Concordia’s camera. Half a second later, as Julius’ mind was still processing what he had seen, a pinprick of blue appeared on Phobos. Another blue dot zipped by the camera. Another half second later, a second flash of blue blossomed on the rocky surface of Phobos. A third and final mining ship, barely visible from its blue drive plume at such a high velocity, shot past the camera and slammed into what was left of Phobos Base, destroying any remaining missile silos. And speaking of the stars aligning…

Once he had confirmed the three impacts, he once again called Higa.

“Yes, my lord?” Higa said.

“Rest assured, you will not be fired upon during your EVA,” Julius said, “I have personally confirmed the destruction of Phobos Base. While I would have preferred we seize it for ourselves, the only thing that matters is UNAP’s tyrannical monopoly over orbit has been irrevocably shattered. Now capture Fraternity, for the glory of the Reich!”

“Your words reassure me, my lord,” Higa said, “I will do as you order. The next you hear from me, I will be using Fraternity’s frequency.”

“I look forward to that,” Julius said, “Dismissed.”

“Higa out.” Higa disconnected.

Julius leaned back. Once he was sure he was no longer broadcasting, he let out a mad laugh. “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IT IS WORKING, JULIUS! SOON, EVA SHALL BE AVENGED! THERE IS ONLY ONE MAN FIT TO RULE MARS, AND I AM HIM!”


Saxonia staging area, Beck

The cockpit was tiny. Dorothy was small, but she barely had enough room to stretch. Her arms and legs felt cramped even before the metal interfaces, intertwined with cables, came down over them. Her only view of the outside came from computer screens placed in front of her. The escape hatch was behind her, but if she tried to turn around and get out the normal way, she would only break the delicate systems around her. Fortunately, she wasn’t claustrophobic. After all, she had designed the whole thing. Though she should have added extra leg room.

“Beginning calibrations.” She flexed her fingers and stretched out her legs as much as she could. Text scrolled across the computer screens. It was mostly debug text telling her which part of the code was being called. Everything seemed in place. “Synchronization rate at 86%. Average input delay approximately 0.05 seconds. Reactor at 93% energy conversion efficiency. All systems green. We’re good to go.”

Outside, the technicians prepared to disconnect the power cables and other safety restraints.

“So this is what you’ve been doing most of the time on the surface?” Clara said. “Is it finally time to deploy it?”

It was then that she remembered…Clara didn’t know. And it was Dorothy’s fault. Dorothy had never intended to tell her the truth. It would have been too painful for her friend. She had hoped that the war would end first, so that it would all be in the past, like the rest of her. But here was Clara right in front of her, and she wanted an answer. There was no hiding it any longer. Deep down, a part of her knew this day was come.

“I…haven’t been fully honest with you,” Dorothy said, “I told you I was only doing practice runs and simulations down here. But I was also doing live fire exercises.”

The video feed went up, and Clara’s confused face appeared. “But…wait…no…”

“I’ve actually taken this thing into combat before.”

“WHAT?!” As expected, Clara looked horrified. “You can’t be serious.”

Dorothy was adamant. “I am.”

“How have I never heard about it?”

“We kept it under wraps,” Dorothy said, “Left no survivors, jammed the comms, kept everything classified at the highest levels. I couldn’t risk the information leaking. Not even to you. Not until we went public.”

That’s a lie. I never intended to take this public.

Clara put her hands on her hips. “As Secgen’s aide, I have clearance. You know I can be trusted not to leak.”

“I…”

“It was never about leaks, was it?”

Dorothy sighed. “You got me there. I thought it was best not to tell you.”

“Best to not tell me?” Clara said. “I’m your friend! I could’ve helped you!”

“And let you worry about me all the time?” Dorothy said. “Think about it, every time I come down to the surface, you’d anticipate I was going to be shipped out for another operation. The whole time we’d hang out, that would be on your mind. And when I do deploy, you’d be in the staging area, awaiting my return, constantly fearing that this might be the sol I never come back. And when you review the combat footage, you’d see what I do. I wanted you to see me as Dorothy, instead of the demon I become out there.”

“Dorothy, you dolt. Demon or not, you’re my friend. Friends shouldn’t keep secrets like this from one another. Especially if they both have the clearance. Have you stopped to think what would happen if you died and I still learn everything afterwards?”

“I decided that would be an acceptable tradeoff. Hundreds of sols of constant anxiety, as opposed to one sol of revelation after the fact. You would be spared the burden of waiting and worrying.”

“That’s still no excuse to keep it from me!”

“I’m sorry, Clara,” Dorothy said, “But this is my burden to bear. I chose to protect you and everybody else in UNAP from the Austrians, and I will do it. It is my duty and mine alone. I don’t want you to worry about me.”

Only I should worry about myself. This is my problem and not yours.

“Just…” Clara said. “Promise me you’ll be safe, okay?”

Dorothy tried to crack a grin, even though Clara wouldn’t see it. “Don’t worry. I wrote the damn manual for this thing.”

“You did say you wanted to make some improvements, though.”

“Yeah, I still do,” Dorothy said, “But that can wait until later. I can get some useful field data today.”

“Even so, please don’t do anything reckless,” Clara said.

“Alright, alright, I understand, Clara,” Dorothy said, “Jeez, when did they put you in charge of my damn maintenance crew?”

“One of the benefits of being Secgen’s liaison,” Clara said.

“Oh, hell, you most certainly are not a liaison, you glorified secretary!”

“Come down here and tell that to my face, Dorothy!”

Dorothy laughed. “Yeah, remind me when I’m done.”

“I’ll make a note in your notebook.” Clara opened Dorothy’s notebook.

“HOLD ON!” Dorothy’s face reddened. “Don’t open that! There’s…classified information!”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Clara closed the notebook. “I promise I won’t look. Even though I’ve got clearance.”

“Friend’s honor?”

Clara’s eyes narrowed. “When we get back, you’re going to tell me everything about your work. That is friend’s honor.”

Dorothy nodded. “Very well then. Alright, let’s begin startup.”

The maintenance crew got to work. There was nothing new about the process. She had gone through it before many times.

“Initial startup commencing.”

“Reactor operating within expected bounds.”

“Confirm pre-start. Reactor successfully switched over to field operation mode. Thirty seconds to reach full energy output.”

Clara walked around the room, watching as Dorothy’s team went through each step. Most of the jargon probably was going to fly over her head, but Dorothy appreciated that she at least tried to understand it.

“Initiating final activation stage.”

Oh, right, almost forgot. Dorothy reached into her pocket and took out the flash drive. She slotted it into a port underneath the computer. As she pulled her arm back into a neutral position, she heard several beeps and servos whirring. “Confirmed presence of pilot and valid key.”

“Confirm control interface. Engage.” A slight jolt went up the interfaces connected to her vac suit. Cables connected to her helmet, and her head felt fuzzy as a jolt went up the electrodes running between her helmet and scalp. “Synchronization complete, holding at 86%. Rejection weak. Stress levels low. All vitals within acceptable boundaries.”

“So everything’s going well?” Clara said.

“Yep,” Dorothy said.

“…status, all green.” Dorothy heard more servos whirring, computers booting up, and motors roaring to life. A steady hum came from the reactor. “Status of AI movement assist, enabled. UN tactical database, readable. All systems are a go.”

“Acknowledged, all systems are go.” The last remaining restraints and cables were removed.

“We are a go for deployment.”

Clara looked at Dorothy. “Well, then? It’s all you now.”

Dorothy smiled. “Right, then. Let’s get to it. Begin cycling airlock.”

Heavy airlock doors descended around Dorothy, separating her from Clara and the team. Darkness engulfed her cameras.

“Atmosphere vented. Opening outer door. Path is clear.”

“Acknowledged,” Dorothy said.

Light poured in from ahead of her, and she saw the open red plains of Arabia Terra. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for what was to come. Okay, okay, it’s just any other deployment. Don’t panic now, after you’ve come so far. It’s nothing you haven’t done before. Don’t worry, you’ve done everything you could.

Dorothy flexed her toes. She felt a slight upward change in elevation as the wheels underneath the feet were deployed. She leaned forward and placed her hands in front of her, almost like she was preparing for a sprint.

I’ve been running my whole life, but not today. Not when I’ve got people I need to protect.

“ROLAND, LAUNCH!”

(In Justice - Code Geass)​

With the sound of screeching tires, the Roland accelerated down the tunnel and shot full throttle out the opening, catching a few seconds of air before thudding onto the ground. Dorothy was thrown forward, but her inertia redirecting design limited the force that was transferred to her body, so it wasn’t too bad. And despite her concerns about the joints, they had absorbed a lot of the force as well. She easily maintained her balance and current course. The joints did a good job of keeping the main body of the Roland fairly steady.

“WOOOOOHOOOOO!” she said. “THIS NEVER GETS OLD!”


Central Authority

Dorothy’s excited screaming nearly blew out Murad’s eardrums before he turned down the volume. But he couldn’t deny her enthusiasm was infectious. They had done this many times before, but today felt quite different. It was as if the weight of centuries of Earth’s history—the memory of the weight of Earth’s gravity—was pressing down on everyone today. As such, they needed every advantage they could get, no matter how small, and use them to their full potential. He stood up and faced the other UN dignitaries.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the public debut of the Roland, the United Nations’ first indigenously built autoritter. We have been putting it through test runs with UN special forces for a long time now, but I believe it’s time we deployed it in public. I guarantee you, it will be in the safe hands of its pilot. Dorothy’s been working on it for a long time now, and she is excited to see what else it can do.”

“Hold on,” the president of Scandinavia said, “You’re saying she built that thing?”

Murad nodded. “She spent years observing the tactics and techniques of Austrian autoritter pilots, like Angelica Neumann, and scavenged for autoritter parts. Once she reverse engineered the design, she built her own autoritter in her spare time, adding a few additions of her own. Chief among them is the revolutionary next generation amphilicite-based fusion reactor that powers the Roland.”

“But we have only one of her and her machine currently,” the Russian president said, “How soon can we begin mass production?”

“Dorothy would like to iron out the remaining faults in the current design before sending it off to the factories.”

“So how do you expect to turn back the Austrians with just her? Even the most optimistic analyst would be hard-pressed to believe that one woman can defeat the entire Austrian invasion force, including the boy emperor and Ms. Neumann.”

“That is true,” Murad said, “It is unlikely she could take out their entire army on her own. But she won’t be fighting alone. We may not have more autoritters, but we do have the rest of the army and the element of surprise. The Austrians jealously guard all knowledge of the technology and fight tooth and nail to recover or destroy autoritters who have lost their pilots. Even if we did somehow get ahold of that tech, they would still think we would be incapable of reverse engineering and making use of it. And yet we did over the last few hundred sols. We have the Roland, and soon we will make more of it. They will be confronted with something they thought was impossible, and we will regain the advantage by attacking while they’re still stuck processing it. Their arrogance will be their downfall. The Empire will learn that we are just as smart as them, if not smarter. Our freedom allows us to learn and grow as a people, unlike the Empire which is beholden to the boy emperor’s whims. That is our strength, not our weakness. And we will defend our freedom against those who wish to take it.”

Livia rolled her eyes. “That sounds like something I’d say.”

“Oh, Madame President?” Murad said. “I must apologize, then. Sometimes I get carried away and feel like I’m still interning for Uncle Abbas.”

“No, no, you don’t need to apologize,” Livia said, “You said exactly what I wanted to say.”

“Sometimes, I wonder why we can’t really get along,” Murad said, “I can’t believe you’re the same woman who stormed away from the table earlier this morning.”

“You know…” Livia said. “I wasn’t in the right state of mind this morning. I saw some terms in the treaty that I didn't like and just stormed out.”

“We can always negotiate those terms.”

“Yes, I had forgotten that, for some reason. Would you like to resume negotiations, after we’re done with today?”

Murad nodded. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

---

Dorothy’s radio switched on. “Can you hear me, Dorothy?” Murad said.

“Oh, hey, Secgen,” Dorothy said, “Yeah, I hear you, sir.”

“We see Roland has been deployed.”

Dorothy smiled. “Yeah, and it’s functioning perfectly. I’m going to go tear up some Austrians now, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, please do,” Livia said, “We are counting on you.”

“Will do, bossman and bosslady,” Dorothy said, “You know exactly what I’m capable of.”

It was as if a switch was flipped, because Dorothy’s expression grew incredibly focused. Her eyes narrowed into a glare, her fists clenched, her brow furrowed, and her smile disappeared.

Time to get to work.

---

I named the Roland after the paladin of Charlemagne.

 

[Orror SANESS]

That's Amazing!!!

So, Higa is a villain in TTL, interesting.

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

No matter the timeline, no matter the circumstances, Julius will be hammy. It's a universal constant.

 

[CaptainAlvious]

We know that UNAP and the Americans are doomed, but Dorthy getting an Autoritter will help them put up a good fight with the HTE. Who knows, maybe this resistance will be enough for UNAP/American remnants to flee on the Fraternity and establish non Terran states like Aeternus.

How did the saying go again? “Every time an Anniona is born, God flips a coin.” I follow in the footsteps of Friedrich the Founder, Matthias the Blessed, Gisela the Saint, Christopher the Great, and Octavia the Steel Empress.

“But more than that, I AM AN ANNIONA!”

And when they write my name in the chronicles alongside those legendary names, they will know me as Julius, the Ironblood Emperor!

Julius is a prime example of why madness and greatness are not mutually exclusive and vary depending on perspective.

I was expecting something like "the Conqueror" or "the Unifer" as Julius' epithet, but I really like "Ironblood Emperor"

So, Higa is a villain in TTL, interesting.

Aside from maybe Julius, tho that is debatable, I’m not sure if anyone fighting for the HRE is really evil. Antagonist sure, but not villain.

No matter the timeline, no matter the circumstances, Julius will be hammy. It's a universal constant.

Zen must have really enjoyed writing Julius in this update with all that ham.

 

[zenphoenix]

No matter the timeline, no matter the circumstances, Julius will be hammy. It's a universal constant.

It must be done.

We know that UNAP and the Americans are doomed, but Dorthy getting an Autoritter will help them put up a good fight with the HTE. Who knows, maybe this resistance will be enough for UNAP/American remnants to flee on the Fraternity and establish non Terran states like Aeternus.

That depends on how everything ends.

Julius is a prime example of why madness and greatness are not mutually exclusive and vary depending on perspective.

The trope of the crazy genius is there for a reason.

I was expecting something like "the Conqueror" or "the Unifer" as Julius' epithet, but I really like "Ironblood Emperor"

“Unifier” better suits Octavia, and I might have given her that as a secondary epithet.

Aside from maybe Julius, tho that is debatable, I’m not sure if anyone fighting for the HRE is really evil. Antagonist sure, but not villain.

That’s definitely what I aimed to portray by having POV characters on both sides of this conflict trying to live their lives. But the war means the two sides see each other as enemies. Julius and Angelica see UNAP as holding back Terrankind from its true potential. Dorothy and Clara consider the HRE a tyrannical feudal dictatorship that threatens to destroy what remains of democracy. If I posted only one side—if I had never written this arc, or only this arc—you’d be rooting for whoever I posted because they’d by definition be the “protagonist.”

Zen must have really enjoyed writing Julius in this update with all that ham.

Believe it or not, while it was fun writing Julius’ ham, it was actually Dorothy I really enjoyed writing about.

 

[TWR97]

I love hammy Julius, contrasts well with how the Annoniaverse eventually will go, plus, I think that's gonna be how the Terrans will start reacting once they, ya know, do the endgame thing. Dawn of War Psyker levels of ham when they get to master psionics.

 

[zenphoenix]

I love hammy Julius, contrasts well with how the Annoniaverse eventually will go, plus, I think that's gonna be how the Terrans will start reacting once they, ya know, do the endgame thing. Dawn of War Psyker levels of ham when they get to master psionics.

With everything they’re about to go through, I’d be surprised if the ham didn’t spread to the general Terran population.

 

[zenphoenix]

A Sol of Ends and Beginnings, Part 4​

Outside Beck

Knight Alois’ computer beeped, having detected a new signal rapidly approaching.

“Huh?” he said. “What’s that?”

The IFF was that of a UNAP vehicle, but it was moving far faster than any UNAP tank or APC he knew. Must be a glitch. He drew his sword and turned in the direction the strange signal was coming from. “Oh, well. I’ll see it when it comes within visual range.”

That would happen much sooner than he expected. Something white and blue appeared at the top of a nearby hill. It seemed roughly…Terran shaped? An autoritter, perhaps? But why was it using a UNAP IFF? Why was it pained with the UN colors? And why was it approaching like this?

(Previous Notice - Code Geass)​

He didn’t get a chance to get his answer. The mysterious white and blue autoritter delivered a kick to the side of Alois’ autoritter, causing it to crumple against a cliff face.

---

Angelica’s radio crackled. “This is Unit B. We’re under attack!”

“What?” Angelica said. “I’m surprised they still have enough for reinforcements, with how overextended they are. Casualties?”

“Knights Alois and Denis were taken out. Waldemar and Enda retreated. I think four more knights from another unit got wiped out too.”

“How many are they?”

“Just one.”

Angelica narrowed her eyes. “One? Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I don’t see any other autoritters.”

“Wait, autoritters?” Angelica stressed that word. “UNAP doesn’t have autoritters.”

“That’s what I thought too.”

“That’s impossible. There’s no way they captured one of ours.”

“About that…it doesn’t look like any of our models.”

“WHAT?!” Now Angelica was extremely confused. “What do you mean, it’s not one of ours?!”

“I’ve never seen anything like—AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” He was cut off.

“Unit B, respond!” Angelica said. “What’s happening out there?”

Another knight picked up. “This is Knight Radbot. Squad Commander Kristoff’s dead!”

“I need a visual on that enemy!” Angelica ordered.

“I’m trying!” Radbot said. “But I’m more focused on trying to hit it first! It’s moving too fast!”

“Put some distance in between you and it!” Angelica said.

---

“This is Knight Radbot!” Radbot radioed to the rest of Unit B. “Kristoff is dead, so I’m taking emergency command! Execute Formation 4, switch to ranged weapons!”

“Yes, sir!” The remaining autoritters in Unit B reversed course, their wheels throwing up dirt and dust as they retreated from the Roland. Once they were at least two hundred feet away, they sheathed their swords and deployed machine gun and rocket turrets from their wrists and shoulders. Radbot lined up his sights with the large midsection of the Roland. If UNAP really did build this autoritter, they probably don’t learn the basics of autoritter design and combat from Lady Neumann, and their armor shouldn’t be up to specs. Which means this should be an easy kill! “Everybody, open fire!”

Unit B opened fire on the Roland, but their bullets merely pinged off the armor. The Roland easily sped away on its wheels before the rockets could impact. As the rockets flew in pursuit, the UN autoritter spun around, deployed its own machine guns from its wrists, and detonated the rockets mid-flight.

---

Dorothy smirked, her wide smile dripping with smugness. “How do you like that, feudal LARPers? Your bullets and rockets can’t hurt me as much as they can’t hurt you. Don’t write me off so easily.”

Did they seriously think anti-personnel weapons could hurt an armored unit?

She brandished her sword at the Austrians. It was easily eight feet in length, about the same as a standard issue Austrian one. But unlike the Austrian blades, which were forged from Martian iron to make a political statement, she forged hers from a discarded part of Fraternity’s outer hull. Lightweight yet durable at the same time. “Yeah, that’s right, Austria. We can fight you on equal footing! And our counterattack begins with this—the Roland!” She flicked her wrist, and a coat of plasma surrounded the sword, covering it in a secondary energy blade held in place by magnetic coils set inside the original steel blade. She had spent a long time not only perfecting the plasma magnetic containment mechanism but also adjusting it so it looked as close to a lightsaber from the old Starkrieg movies she used to watch as a kid. It had been finished just in time for today’s battles, and now it was aimed defiantly at the shocked Austrians, who just minutes earlier could not even comprehend that UNAP could build their own autoritters. “I forged this blade, the Durendal, with the hopes and dreams of all of us in the United Nations! The hope that someday, we can return to our homes and make the dream of a restored Earth a reality! If you stand in the way of that hope, then you are my worst enemy, and I will cut you down!”

She lunged forward with unexpected speed, her reactor working at maximum output. Before the enemy could react, she had already sliced one autoritter in half, the plasma cutting through Austrian armor as if it were paper. Her enemies, realizing their guns were useless, drew their swords again and closed in. Dorothy’s wide and smug smile grew even wider and more smug. “Right where I want you.”

The first attack aimed for the Roland’s head, where her main sensors were located. She leaned forward and ducked, then used the momentum to deliver a kick to the enemy autoritter’s legs, knocking it off balance. The machine fell to the ground with a thud, and Dorothy wasted no time in stabbing it through its midsection with Durendal. Another autoritter lunged from behind, sword extended directly in front of it, attempting to do the same to her. Pressing her heels down, she accelerated in reverse several feet. The sword stabbed at empty air. Before her opponent could react or even slow down, she grabbed the enemy autoritter’s arms and used the momentum to pull the autoritter even further out of balance, then swung it around to stab another autoritter, before using her knee to bash in the first autoritter’s midsection and then ripping the two arms out of their sockets. Tossing the now dismembered arms and sword aside, she turned to the rest of the group and began broadcasting on an open frequency.

“Alright…” She continued smiling gleefully, even after all of the people she just killed. This was no different from her past missions. “Who wants to go next?”

---

“What? Why can’t we hit her?! AAAAAHHHHH!”

“What do we do? Lady Neumann, help! AAAAAHHHHH!”

“DAMNIT! We didn’t expect this! AAAAAHHHHH!”

“It’s seven against one! How is she doing this? AAAAAHHHHH!”

One by one, Austrian IFFs disappeared from Angelica’s console. She banged a fist against the screen. “What the hell is going on there?! You are the pride of the Reich, and you are being beaten by one unit?!”

“We didn’t think she would be this good! AAAAAHHHHH!”

How the hell can the enemy be only one unit? Angelica thought. Impossible. Nobody is that good, not even me. UNAP must have gotten ahold of a defector or something. No, that can’t be. I’d know if a knight as skilled as her defected. And I’d kill them with my own hands before they got too far. But if not a defector, then who?

Unit B was completely destroyed now. She would have to call in new ones to deal with this unexpected threat. Autoritters were knights made for a modern age, hence their name. The kataphraktoi of the Byzantine Empire of the Greeks, the paladins of Matthias I, and the jaguar warriors of the Aztecs dominated the battlefields of their time, and the Autonomer Panzerritter did the same centuries later. They were powerful weapons which dramatically shifted the balance of power in favor of their masters. UNAP had taken down scores of Austrian autoritters before, but it was like building a sand castle within reach of the waves. They couldn’t resist the tide forever. However, it was a different story if they had even one autoritter of their own. Imperial strategies were based around the fundamental assumption that the enemy could never construct and field their own autoritters.

She began issuing orders. “Units N and P, hold your positions. The enemy autoritter is approaching. When Unit H arrives, surround that thing and attack with overwhelming numbers. Keep it busy until I arrive.”

“Understood, my lady!”

As Units N, P, and H moved into position, Angelica switched to standby mode and reflected on what had just happened. It was no longer in question. UNAP had an autoritter and a pilot, both of whom were already on par with the best machines and knights in the Reich for some ungodly reason. How they got it was not relevant. What mattered was taking it down before it upended the entire operation. But to do that, she had to figure out her enemy, both the machine and the pilot. The machine seemed to be made of high quality metal, much like the Balmung was. Yet the energy source was unlike anything used in Austrian autoritters. The Balmung, like the Sigurd and every other autoritter, was powered by a reactor which gathered energy from the fusion of deuterium and helium-3 nuclei and the neutrons released from that fusion. But such a reactor could only achieve roughly 53% energy conversion efficiency at the very best, like in the Sigurd and Balmung. By her estimates, the enemy autoritter was performing in such a way that implied an efficiency upwards of 80%. That extra power was going to make all the difference in a fight. And that sword…is that a goddamn energy blade straight out of Starkrieg? Where the hell did she pull that thing from?!

“We can’t stop it! AAAAAHHHHH!” Watching camera footage from Unit N as it got obliterated by the enemy—which the pilot proclaimed was named Roland—she gathered more information about the machine. That superheated plasma blade was incredibly dangerous, and the pilot knew it. Just a single slash would be enough to bisect one of her autoritters, including possibly the Balmung itself. But surely it cost significant amounts of energy to generate such plasma and keep it contained in a blade-like shape. If she could just wait until her enemy ran out of power for the blade, then she could even things out. Without that ridiculous weapon, Angelica could force her enemy to fight like any other autoritter pilot.

Next, the pilot herself. A complete enigma, at least at first. The woman’s tendency to boast and gloat about her domination of the battlefield gave Angelica plenty of audio to work with. She fed a few of them into a voice recognition system, which then queried the important persons database back in Olympus. The database returned one potential match: a woman named Dorothy, from New Jerusalem in Avalon. Late thirties and unmarried, like herself. No family or pre-New Jerusalem history on record, not even a surname. A stellar academic record. Was admitted to the Connecticut Institute of Technology at a young age, with a dual major in theoretical physics and mechanical engineering, and graduated two years early with high honors. Joined Fraternity’s Research Division in 2018 and was permanently stuck onboard after New Jerusalem was nuked. Officially, she was still listed as part of the Research Division. She seemed to spend most of her time on Fraternity, where she presumably worked on the Roland. That would explain why she moved as if used to 1g. Most knights barely remembered Earth, if at all, so their bodies had acclimated to .38g. Although she did remember, she couldn’t prevent her body’s own acclimation. For Dorothy, Mars gravity was much weaker than what she was used to, and her Earth-acclimated body would have an advantage in combat, able to withstand higher g-forces and apply greater strength to each blow.

Speaking about combat, where did a researcher like her get all that experience? Her official record said nothing about military service, but that just made everything all the more suspicious. There were several noticeable gaps too where Angelica couldn’t find out what she was doing. On a whim, she scanned those dates through the database alongside her face. To her surprise, she got a result. Those dates marked several major battles between the Reich and UNAP. In just the current year, there was Cyrus Base on Sol 12, Kirovagrad on Sol 54, a Concordia satellite in orbit over Mangala on Sol 271, Brutus Base on Sol 307, and New Ireland on Sol 479. The main thing tying them together wasn’t that they all were total imperial defeats—wiped to the last man—but that there had been a complete communications blackout during those battles, due to jamming deployed by UN special forces. And just prior to those battles, Dorothy’s face had been spotted in the area by public security cameras.

Okay, that explains the gaps in her official record. She was probably called down from Fraternity for a covert operation with special forces, who would have the technology to jam all communications. To prevent word of a test run from getting out, the special forces would also ensure not a single imperial soldier survied to warn Julius. It was in UNAP’s interest to keep presenting her as a brilliant yet clumsy engineer who worked on Fraternity’s most important systems, so nobody suspected anything. From what else’s missing, it seems she herself wanted to keep up the charade. It intrigued Angelica that the database found no surname or personal history prior to her immigration to Avalon. Perhaps it was something she was trying to hide or run from, back on Earth. In that case, if she could get the information, then maybe it could throw her off her guard in battle. Where the computer database failed, maybe the people wouldn’t. Out of the nearly 2.5 million subjects living within Olympus Province, there had to be someone who recognized Dorothy, either from the battlefield or even old Earth itself. So she transmitted the file to all military personnel, planning to expand her search to the public if she got nothing. Her request was simple.

“Lady Angelica Neumann asks if any loyal imperial subject recognizes this UNAP soldier. Anybody with knowledge of her will be handsomely rewarded by His Majesty upon completing the operation.”

Never mind that Julius hadn’t agreed to pay the reward yet, but he would come around.

Angelica leaned back and waited for a little bit, still monitoring Dorothy’s progress. Unit P had been reduced to two knights by now, both of whom were in full retreat, panicking in a way that was unbecoming of an imperial knight. Before Angelica could think about disciplinary measures, Dorothy had already bashed them to pieces with her sword. Unit H was supposed to reinforce them, but after seeing what remained of both N and P, they had pretended to “lose” the order and had instead hung back, trying to avoid that terrifying woman’s attention. Even Angelica would be lying to herself if she insisted she didn’t feel fear. Her hands were ready to exit standby mode and draw her sword at a moment’s notice. When was the last time I felt actual fear in battle? Maybe the first time I climbed into an autoritter? When we went to conquer the Malian settlements?

Her computer chimed. A new message had appeared. It seemed someone in the military had responded to her request. An autoritter knight, from the looks of it. Not one of her best men, but a lead was a lead. Angelica opened the message.

“I know who she is. Send me. I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

He sure is enthusiastic, for some average knight I’ve never heard of until now. Let’s see if his enthusiasm remains when he realizes how strong his opponent is.

She sent her reply. “Rendezvous with me at A5. Be prepared to execute Formation 2.”

I suppose if he does get obliterated like Units N and P, it won’t be that much of a loss.


Piddletown

Named after the Scottish astronaut Lawrence Piddle, the Democratic Federation capital of Piddletown was designed much like the average big city in North America. A city center where government institutions were located, streets organized in a grid and optimized for personal vehicles, and advertisements everywhere. A stock market had even celebrated its 1000th sol anniversary recently. Unlike in the United Nations territories, financial transactions in Piddletown actually used currency, namely the Continental dollar introduced as a common currency across the old union. Despite this, the currencies of other North American nations both inside and outside the old Continental Union—the Transient dollar, Américain guilder, the Mexican dinar, Haitian real, Canadian pfennig, New Anglian pound, and even the Californian annon—were still frequently used.

The persistence of the various national currencies was helped along by the various neighborhoods that Piddletown was organized into. Before the war broke out, the urban planners had decided to give each major nationality its own neighborhood and municipal government, with predictable results. Piddletown’s evolution over the last 21 years was almost a microcosm of North America’s history. The Mexican neighborhood of al-Dākhil (“the Immigrant”) was a hotbed of ideological violence. The Américain neighborhood of Nieuw-Vlaanderen was constantly at odds with the Avalonian neighborhood of Jerusalem-on-Mars. All three hated the Californian one, MacDunn. On Earth, indigenous and African groups had campaigned for their own neighborhoods in Piddletown, but they had been ignored by the planners who merely gave Jerusalem-on-Mars more land, so they settled in the residential areas of Atahensic Station and the settlement of Abraham’s Dream. Avalonian Jews, descended from Jews who went to the New World with the Knights Templar and briefly had their own independent state of Zion, saw the writing on the wall and dispersed into UN settlements. The Irish went to the landed ARC ship settlements of Saint Brendan’s Rest and New Ireland. The Canadians and Louisianans of Piddletown were largely refugees from the lost settlements of New Canada and New Louisiana.

None of that mattered now as Julius toured the city center, taking in the sights of every major government building being draped in the Austrian banner of the double-headed eagle. The old flags of the Continental Union and its member states had been cast down onto the street, to be trampled under his feet. The citizens of Piddletown gathered on the sidewalks could only watch in shock as he strolled down the street, flanked by bodyguards in autoritters. Though he was starting to regret having them remain in their autoritters for this victory tour, because the tunnels were quite cramped, despite being widened to accommodate multiple lanes of traffic. There was something about the old Avalonian cars parked on the sides, the Américain-style sidewalks, the New Anglian trees, and the low ceiling that made autoritters hard to maneuver inside. He knew that Beck’s tunnels were even smaller, so that ruled out autoritters there. Many of the generals following behind him had the same idea. They thought he couldn’t hear their scheming whispers, but he did.

“Once the planet is unified, we’ll have no need for those oversized robots.”

“A tank can fit into these streets much easier.”

“Not to mention the airlocks.”

“His Majesty only supports the autoritters because of Lady Neumann.”

“Upstart commoner, taking the glory away from us nobles.”

I’ll handle you all when I return to Olympus.

“Ah, my lord!” Gebhard ran up to Julius and saluted.

“What is it?” Julius said. “Can’t you see I’m in the middle of inspecting my new conquest? Oh, right, as the conqueror, I can give it a new name. How about…Julianopolis?”

“Didn’t you already give that name to Mangala Base?”

“Nobody said I couldn’t have two Julianopolises.” Julius nodded. “Yes, that is a good name. I am a more worthy namesake than that tea-drinking Scot.”

“Naturally, my lord—HOLD ON A SECOND!” Gebhard said. “I still have news to deliver!”

“Make it quick. I am busy.”

“It’s Lady Neumann, sir.” Gebhard looked alarmed. “She says the enemy’s fielding an autoritter, and it devastated our spearhead!”

Julius immediately froze in his tracks and stared at Gebhard. “Say that again.”

“UNAP has an autoritter.”

“An…autoritter?” Julius said. “Impossible. There’s no way they got ahold of one of ours.”

“They didn’t,” Gebhard said, “They built their own. Lady Neumann is going to investigate, but—”

As soon as those words left the old general’s mouth, Julius turned around and briskly walked back the way he came. “Prep the Sigurd for departure. I am going to Beck.”

---

The name “Byzantine Empire” is used by Angelica and other Austrians as a way to delegitimize the Eastern Roman Empire. The game used “Eastern Roman Empire" and "Eastern Roman Republic” from Victoria 2 on, but Dragoon still called it “Byzantium” or “Byzantine Empire” in the story. In-universe, I consider this a political and cultural push by the Holy Roman Empire to delegitimize the eastern empire and position itself as the true heir of the Roman Empire. The following from CK2 implies an in-universe use of “Byzantine Empire” at some point in the timeline, not necessarily at the time it was referring to (no year is given):

Of course this was the Byzantine Empire after all, and what they could not do with the sword they attempted to do with Subterfuge

After the defeat of Michael Anatolios and the partition of the eastern empire into provinces and FSKs, use of the term “Byzantine Empire” becomes common among the population of the HRE.

I chose the currency names based on the colonizers’ cultures. And then there was Avalon, which Dragoon very prominently portrayed with an Anglo-American culture. I guess you could say this was because the Templars launched their fleet from Ireland, but that’s a big stretch. Anyways, I just rolled with it. I use “dollar” instead of “thaler.”

The Mexican neighborhood of al-Dākhil is in a constant state of ideological violence because that’s what happened to Mexico in Victoria 2.

I wish I could have done more with the Avalonian Jews and the state of Zion. Dragoon mentioned a lot of failed colonial states, as well as the Great Lakes Confederation (which seems to have used the Meskwaki/Fox tag judging from its color—the idea of a Meskwaki republic that briefly stood against the colonizers is a cool idea), that I’d like to elaborate on but can’t at this point.

 

[Orror SANESS]

well that is.. an interesting tide of events. looks like the "holy romans" still deny the Romanness of East Rome, Sad

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

Dorothy probably needs some psychological help, but at least she loves her work.

 

[CaptainAlvious]

I see the ham isn’t exclusive to Julius and the HRE considering how Dorothy is acting. Let’s see how well she’ll fair against elite pilots like Angelica, Julius, and whoever knows her.

Hopefully you’ll find a way to distinguish the multiple Julianopolis from each other on the victory map. Dragoon said that Julius also renamed conquered settlements after Ancient Roman provinces, so I guess you can attach some of them to various Julianopolis.

About Jerusalem-on-Mars getting more territory, its a shame those minorities didn’t get their own neighborhoods in Piddletown. Still, for a country that started out as a theocracy and heavily defended slavery, it’s kinda funny how Avalon was the least racist of the American states by the end of Imperial Hearts.

 

[zenphoenix]

Dorothy probably needs some psychological help, but at least she loves her work.

You could say the same about a lot of people on Mars.

I see the ham isn’t exclusive to Julius and the HRE considering how Dorothy is acting. Let’s see how well she’ll fair against elite pilots like Angelica, Julius, and whoever knows her.

She knows how powerful her own machine is and isn't afraid of the enemy.

Hopefully you’ll find a way to distinguish the multiple Julianopolis from each other on the victory map. Dragoon said that Julius also renamed conquered settlements after Ancient Roman provinces, so I guess you can attach some of them to various Julianopolis.

I already have.

About Jerusalem-on-Mars getting more territory, its a shame those minorities didn’t get their own neighborhoods in Piddletown. Still, for a country that started out as a theocracy and heavily defended slavery, it’s kinda funny how Avalon was the least racist of the American states by the end of Imperial Hearts.

Yep, it was really weird when I dug through the old IH chapters and found that out.

 

[GhostRider124]

The tank crumpled like paper, pieces of its armor and the still intact turret flying off. If the crew inside didn’t die from the strike itself, their vac suits most certainly were compromised.

“Is there nobody who will provide a challenge for me?”

The other tanks opened fire, but Julius remained on the move. Plumes of red dirt erupted all around the Sigurd, but Julius easily dodged every shell.

This scene sounds similar to the one were Cornelia first battles against the Japanese resistance after she became Viceroy were she said a similar line.

“That is acceptable, then. I will personally be dealing with Beck soon. Thank you, Knight Commander Remmele. You will be rewarded for your valiant efforts today.”

“It is an honor, Your Majesty. All I’ve done, I’ve done in the service of the Reich.”

“And you shall receive an appropriate reward for your service,” Julius said, “I believe it is only right that you receive lordship over Piddletown and the Hellas Planitia region.”

Though Piddletown deserves a better name. I’ll think about it later.

“Really?” Gebhard said. “You honor me, sir! I humbly accept your generosity.”

“It is only fair, for such a skilled knight.” It is impressive that a man as old as Knight Commander Remmele is still a force to be reckoned with in an autoritter. “You may go now. Piddletown awaits your guidance.”

“Yes, my lord.” Gebhard disconnected.

Since Julius and Angelica are based off of Lelouch and Suzaku this makes me wonder who Gebhard Remmele and Dorothy are based on?

I would assume that Remmele is based off of Jeremiah due to his loyalty to Julius and Dorothy is the Kallen of the Annionaverse.

We know that UNAP and the Americans are doomed, but Dorthy getting an Autoritter will help them put up a good fight with the HTE. Who knows, maybe this resistance will be enough for UNAP/American remnants to flee on the Fraternity and establish non Terran states like Aeternus.

This makes me think that the UN of TTL could evacuate Mars after the Terran's take it like the Alliance did after the Draka took over Earth in that series?

Sigurd, Balmung and Roland

I wonder what knightmare the three named autoritter are based off of?

Also what design philosophy do the Reich and UN use. I would assume the Reich's autoritter's are based on those of Britannia and the ones by the UN on the Black Knights?

Avalonian Jews, descended from Jews who went to the New World with the Knights Templar and briefly had their own independent state of Zion, saw the writing on the wall and dispersed into UN settlements.

Is this a Principality of Zion reference?

I wish I could have done more with the Avalonian Jews and the state of Zion. Dragoon mentioned a lot of failed colonial states, as well as the Great Lakes Confederation (which seems to have used the Meskwaki/Fox tag judging from its color—the idea of a Meskwaki republic that briefly stood against the colonizers is a cool idea), that I’d like to elaborate on but can’t at this point.

For the Meskwaki republic you could take inspiration from the confederacy that Tecumseh tired to create in OTL to resist American settlers?

 

[zenphoenix]

This scene sounds similar to the one were Cornelia first battles against the Japanese resistance after she became Viceroy were she said a similar line.

I think I did take inspiration from that scene as well as the Narita battle.

Since Julius and Angelica are based off of Lelouch and Suzaku this makes me wonder who Gebhard Remmele and Dorothy are based on?

Dorothy gives off a lot of Kallen and early R1 Suzaku vibes. I didn’t base Gebhard on anyone.

I would assume that Remmele is based off of Jeremiah due to his loyalty to Julius and Dorothy is the Kallen of the Annionaverse.

I did give Dorothy one of Kallen’s lines from when she first used the Guren, albeit heavily edited because the original sounded weird.

This makes me think that the UN of TTL could evacuate Mars after the Terran's take it like the Alliance did after the Draka took over Earth in that series?

Depends on how things end.

I wonder what knightmare the three named autoritter are based off of?

I didn’t have any particular knightmare in mind, but I took general design cues from the Lancelot and Guren for Dorothy’s Roland.

Also what design philosophy do the Reich and UN use. I would assume the Reich's autoritter's are based on those of Britannia and the ones by the UN on the Black Knights?

Austrian autoritters definitely take after the Britannia knightmares, while the Roland is reverse engineered from those and then built from the ground up to resemble them. I could also see inspirations from the mobile suits of Iron Blooded Orphans now that I’ve finished that show.

Is this a Principality of Zion reference?

Nope, Dragoon made one reference to a custom Jewish nation he put in the New World that died before he got to it, so I mentioned it here.

For the Meskwaki republic you could take inspiration from the confederacy that Tecumseh tired to create in OTL to resist American settlers?

I could.

 

[zenphoenix]

A Sol of Ends and Beginnings, Part 5​

Beck

“This is the Secretary-General,” Murad said.

The calm voice of the Secretary-General came through the radio, covering the screams of the dying Unit H soldiers and the footage of their machines in the middle of being torn to shreds by the Roland. Unable to wave while in the middle of her work, Dorothy instead winked. “Hey again, Secgen!”

“I see things are going well,” Murad said.

“Yeah, they are.” Dorothy scanned her surroundings. Her computer marked any disabled autoritters which still had upper body function or whose pilots still had intact vac suits. Then she corrected that in the next few seconds. “I believe this entire prong of the Austrian spearhead has been wiped out. I’m moving south to relieve New Novgorod.”

“Good, good,” Murad said.

“You don’t sound particularly excited, Secgen.” To be fair, I don’t either. It’s getting harder and harder to keep this front up. “Cheer up, pops. The rest of your army can sortie now.”

“That’s why I’m calling,” Murad said, “The UN has begun its counterattack. The main battles will take place around Aesirlingby, but General Konstantinov has agreed to transfer several divisions to your direct command.”

“Hold on a moment, though,” Dorothy said, “Me? A field commander? Look, I signed up to be the Roland’s pilot, but you said nothing about commanding troops!”

“Word of your achievements is spreading,” Murad said, “Morale is rising again. Even before our counterattack began, the defenders of Khrushchev started pushing back the Austrians. Because of what you’re doing, everybody’s regaining hope. I think it would be best if they got their orders directly from you instead of me or Konstantinov.”

Dorothy sighed. “Well, as long as they listen to me, then sure.”

“Great,” Murad said, “I’ve put you on the relevant frequencies. Use them as you see fit. Dismissed.”

“Thanks, Secgen!” Dorothy disconnected and then tuned to the new frequencies. “Alright, listen up, defenders of Earth! It’s your girl, Dorothy! You got a problem with my voice, take it up with Mr. Secgen in Central Authority! Anyways, we got a war to win! Now’s the time to fight back against the Empire! Now’s our chance to drive them back to Olympus Mons! Attack!”

The radio was filled with cheers.

“Down with the Empire!”

“Democracy is nonnegotiable!”

“This is for Ramanujan Station and Phobos Base!”

“For a free Mars and a restored Earth!”

“We’re not done yet, medieval LARPers!”

Dorothy set a course for New Novgorod. Just as she prepared to switch to wheeled mode, though, another voice came over the public frequency. A voice that made her blood run cold.

“SIEG ANNIONA!”

Dorothy froze in her tracks, her feet still halfway through the motions for wheeled mode. Her entire body stopped responding for one long and agonizing second. Something in the back of her mind, in the most primal part of her brain, screamed at her to run all the way back to Beck and hide. As much as she tried to suppress it, she recognized that voice. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in years and wished she never had to hear again. She had hoped he died on Earth with the others. But of course that wasn’t the case. After so long running from her demons, they had caught up with her.

Her cameras picked up an approaching autoritter. A normal Austrian sword-wielding model, like the dozens she had already cut down, but she was concerned with the man inside. Using all of her willpower to regain control of her body, she put the Roland into a defensive stance. The enemy was approaching from a too obvious angle—right in front of her. There was a good chance a second enemy might attack from behind. She tasked her computer with watching her back while her eyes focused on the autoritter in front of her.

The autoritter stopped about a hundred feet away from the Roland and drew its sword. Dorothy’s radio crackled as the other pilot once again spoke over the public frequency.

“Is that you?” The color drained from Dorothy’s face. There was no doubt left in her mind. “Can it really be? Oh, what luck!” Dorothy felt her hands subconsciously clenching so tightly her knuckles started going white. Durendal wavered in the Roland’s grip.

“What misfortune, actually,” Dorothy finally responded, all of the enthusiasm in her voice replaced with a tired determination, “That we meet here.”

“Oh, oooohhh!” In the many years since they had last met, it seemed he had lost it. His words were obviously weirdly chosen, but his tone was also ecstatic and delirious, yet still held that same maliciousness she was all too familiar with. “It is you! I caught up with you at last! Oh, how God smiles upon me after all I’ve gone through! Now I can finally get my revenge! I’ll bury you, for everything you did to ruin me!”

“What…happened to you?” Dorothy asked.

“Oh, it hurts, it hurts!” he said. “The radiation, the pain, the weightlessness, the gravity, it’s all goddamn wrong! My head and bones and blood hurt and hurt and IT JUST DOESN’T STOP!”

I can’t make sense of this. He’s lost his mind. But I can still sense a hint of reservation. As if he’s playing it up. Like he’s trying to hide his true thoughts.

“I’ll use your organs to replace my own, and I’ll use your blood to free myself from the radiation!” he said. “How about it, sound fair?!”

Dorothy gritted her teeth, trying to maintain a level mind. He’s trying to rile me up, get me to lose myself in rage, then use that to give the ambusher behind me an opening. Her computer registered nothing behind her yet, but she knew someone was there. And if not, they would soon be there.

“I’m paying you back with interest for everything you’ve done to me!” he said. “And then I’ll be rewarded handsomely by Lord Julius. I think I deserve that autoritter of yours, too. It’s only fair!”

At this point, Dorothy didn’t even remember what she did. She did, however, know exactly what he did to her, back in the old Reich.

“It was your meddling that made me this way,” he said, “I knew I should’ve left you behind when Mother and Father died. It’s your damn fault!”

She remembered every single reason she ditched her entire old life and requested asylum in Avalon.

“Think you’ll die quick?” His autoritter shook its head. “Nah. I’ll enjoy your suffering.”

Dorothy shook her head. She had feared those words would have hit her much harder. But even though they were almost identical to everything thrown at her back then…she was barely moved. The voice in the back of her head telling her to run had stopped. After many years of going through contingency plans and hypothetical situations for his return—rehearsed and run through her head without even mentioning his name—she felt absolutely nothing when it finally happened. All of his threats no longer held any power over her. She had been free for years. And she was still free today.

“Shut the hell up.” Her voice was quiet but clear.

“Huh?” he said. “Hurts to hear the truth, doesn’t it?”

“You think you can pass judgment on me?” Dorothy slowly raised her voice. “It’s been years. You don’t know me anymore.” There was no reasoning with him, even if he was fully sane. She had tried that before. Just like before, it was a waste of time to genuinely try talking to him. Right now, he was beyond help. “Get out of my way. I won’t repeat myself.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said, “Because Lord Julius has ordered me to rid this planet of all of his enemies, and I shall carry out his will!”

“How pathetic,” Dorothy said, “Always trying to impose your will upon me, yet you yourself are enslaved to another’s will. If you were any other man, I’d show pity. Know that I have my own will, my own hopes and dreams that are my own. You never could comprehend that.”

“I am part of something greater!” he said. “You are the ones who cannot comprehend the grand vision Julius envisions for Terrankind. A vision which has no need for useless relics like Earth…or failures like you.”

“I and countless millions share the same hopes and dreams.” Dorothy remained resolute. “Millions who remember the mistakes of the past so they don’t repeat them in the future. We all have lost someone on Earth. Even now, millions are suffering on that distant blue dot, while we’re stuck over here on the red wastes killing each other. We all just want the killing to stop. We want to protect what we still have. And most of all, we want to go back and rebuild our homes. Because Earth is humanity’s home, our common birthright, and we owe it to ourselves and the next generation to make it habitable again. If you want to deny us our birthright, if you stand in the way of shared future, if you want to destroy our hopes and dreams…” She activated Durendal’s plasma blade. “Then I won’t waste my mercy on you. I will end you so thoroughly that there will be nothing for your precious Lord Julius to recover. I don’t care if you were once my brother. I will cut you down where you stand…Theodor.”

“Excellent…” Theodor said, his words dripping with a mad glee, “EXCELLENT! I’m getting some primetime entertainment with you! I do hope you’ll scream for me…Dorothea.”

“Make no mistake.” Roland got into an attacking stance. “The Dorothea Tesla you know has been gone for decades. The woman you see before you—the free woman you have no power over—is not that scared girl you once tormented. I am not your sister. I am not Dorothea Tesla. I am Dorothy. Just Dorothy.” Her computer’s proximity alarm beeped. “And I will not run again!”

Theodor charged at Dorothy. She felt no panic, no fear, as he drew closer and closer. Dorothea would have curled up and begged for mercy. But not Dorothy. She wasn’t going to ask for mercy, nor give it. She steeled her whole body, devoting her entire mind to a single action. A younger her would have hoped for a different resolution to this sad tale, but there was only one way forward. As Theodor pulled back, preparing to stab out, Dorothy raised Durendal…and spun around, dodging an incoming stab to her back from the Balmung. The Balmung’s sword instead pierced clean through the body of Theodor’s autoritter. Its blade emerged on the other side, covered in blood which quickly dried in the cold and thin Martian air. Theodor didn’t even get the chance to scream.

You don’t deserve anything from me, you monster. I’m thankful he’s still in his autoritter. I don’t need to see his face.

While Angelica adjusted her stance to pull her sword out of Theodor’s autoritter, Dorothy was still swinging Durendal above her, now bringing it down her enemy. Angelica engaged wheeled mode and barely reversed in time, throwing up a small cloud of dust and pebbles. The edge of Durendal’s plasma blade nicked the Balmung’s front armor, leaving a shallow gash of melted metal and paint.

“Well played.” Angelica’s heavily Norman-accented German came across the radio. “Seems they didn’t field you for nothing. That's the first time I've ever missed with that attack. You have my respect for that.”

“Well, well.” Dorothy smirked, gaining back some of her cockiness. She too spoke in German for the first time in years. “Angelica Neumann, the Empire’s very own Valkyrie of Alençon, has deigned to grace us with her presence. Though your attack doesn’t feel very honorable, if I do say so myself. Aren’t you guys obsessed with chivalry?”

“Chivalry takes second priority to victory on the battlefield,” Angelica said, “I believe you’d know better than anybody, Dorothy of UN special forces.”

Dorothy bowed her head. “Guess the secret had to come out eventually. Point taken. Doesn’t excuse your hypocrisy, though.”

“It was my lord’s will that we do whatever it takes to achieve victory,” Angelica said.

Dorothy scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You can’t absolve yourself of the horrible things you did by pushing them on someone else, you khoroshiy-russkiy. You think you can run from your sins that easily by shoving them on your emperor? Hell no. I don’t blame Secgen for everything I do on assignment. Everything I’ve done is mine and mine alone. The lives I’ve taken, all the ones I’ve left behind to die…why would I shove it on anybody else? I know what I signed up to do, and why I’m doing it. To deny it is to deny who I am—no, who I choose to be.”

“That’s fair,” Angelica acknowledged, “You seem to be a woman of principles.”

“And how would you know that?”

“I did a little research just now, and that’s my conclusion.”

“All you need to know is that I’m Dorothy,” Dorothy said, “Nothing more, nothing less. Who you see here is who I am. I am Dorothy, the cheerful and bubbly engineer who gets lost and falls flat on her face sometimes. Dorothy the repairwoman. Dorothy the inventor. Dorothy the soldier. Dorothy, who built some semblance of a new life after the hell she went through. Dorothy, who will do everything in her power to protect that life and everybody in it. All that is me. I am Dorothy because I cannot—will not—return to being Dorothea Tesla.”

“Very well, Dorothy,” Angelica said, “I will honor your wish.”

“Now are you going to shut up and fight me?” Dorothy said.

“If that is what you want, then by all means, we can begin.” Angelica raised her sword. “It’s been a long time since I had such an intriguing opponent. Do put up a challenge.”

“You’re going to pull all sorts of nasty tricks against me, huh?” Dorothy disengaged Durendal’s plasma blade to conserve energy. “Typical Austrians. Just like you betrayed UNAP.”

“UNAP betrayed us, for the record,” Angelica said, “But we are two enemy soldiers, and politics has no place on the battlefield. If you are concerned about subterfuge and deception, then let me put your mind at ease.”

Dorothy raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I propose an honorable duel to the death,” Angelica said, “A joust, if you will, with everyone around us as witnesses. Both of us will be free to use whatever tools are at our disposal. Our autoritters, the wreckage of other autoritters, the surrounding terrain. No cheap shots. The victor will be determined solely based on our skills. Nobody else will interfere. This I swear.”

“How do I know this isn’t another trick?” Dorothy said.

“This is the public frequency, remember? How would we be talking otherwise?”

Dorothy, you ditz. How did you forget something so obvious? Well, it’s not like I’m leaking classified information or anything. Though Secgen might be fuming right now. “…Right, right. So?”

“So then…” Angelica took a deep breath. “Hear me well, my fellow imperial subjects! I, Lady Angelica Neumann, the Valkyrie of Alençon, have challenged UNAP’s champion to a joust!”

“We’re seriously sticking with that name?” Dorothy muttered.

“An honorable joust!” Angelica continued. “The two of us shall duel to the death, relying on our own skills and ingenuity, not on anybody else. Nobody shall interfere. I will personally cut down anybody who does. Even His Majesty himself.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Ms. Valkyrie,” Dorothy said.

“Please, call me Angelica,” Angelica said, “It’s only right, since I call you Dorothy.”

“What is the meaning of this?!” Over the public frequency, Dorothy heard a young man’s voice, speaking with a regal tone and a heavy accent that definitely wasn’t Austrian. “Explain yourself, Lady Neumann!”

“Stay out of this, Julius,” Angelica said, “I have made up my mind.”

“Do you know what you’re doing?!” Julius said.

“I am an imperial knight!” Angelica said. “I mean every word of what I say!”

“Don’t say such silly things!” Julius said. “We are at war! This is no time for childish games!”

“Look, kiddo, the lady’s made up her mind,” Dorothy said, “We’ve decided to do this, so you best let us do it.”

“What did you just call me?!”

“I’m not wrong, though. I’m old enough to be your mother.”

“You shut up, enemy!”

“Why don’t you come here and make me?” Dorothy stuck out her tongue, even though she knew Julius couldn’t see it.

“Dorothy, what the hell are you doing?!” Murad said, over the private Central Authority frequency.

“Angelica and I’ve come to a mutual understanding of sorts,” Dorothy said, “We’re going to have ourselves a little one on one, mano a mano. You’re not going to stop us.”

Then Clara’s voice came over the radio. “Dorothy, remember who you’re up against! That’s the Valkyrie of Alençon herself!”

“Oh hey, Clara.” Dorothy’s face genuinely lit up for the first time since she had launched. “Uh…you caught me at a bad time. Yeah, I know. I’m on a first-name basis with Ms. Valkyrie here already.” Granted, I don’t have a last name, so…

“You promised!” Clara said. “You said you wouldn’t do anything reckless!”

“Just one day has been enough to devastate their front lines,” Dorothy said, making sure Angelica heard her response over the public frequency, “And this bad boy’s got so many improvements that the Austrians sorely lack!”

“Angelica!” Julius had also dropped the formalities. “You have no time to waste on an insignificant soldier like her! Your emperor commands you to conquer Beck! It’s literally right there!” There was the sound of furious tapping. “Captain Higa! I want you to fire Gradivus’ primary railguns on grid N5 immediately! … What do you mean you can’t? … Below the horizon?!”

Angelica heard papers rustling on the other side of the private frequency. “Konstantinov, I need you to send five tank divisions to rendezvous with Dorothy and the Roland ASAP!”

“Yes sir!”

“It’s no use,” Dorothy said, “We’ll be done by the time anybody gets there. And I have a feeling that whoever wins will decide how this battle ends.”

“She’s right,” Angelica said, “We’re our sides’ champions. The side that loses its champion will lose their morale, and there won’t be any point in continuing the battle.”

“No, I will not risk it!” Julius said. “Hold on, I am on my way!”

“While I appreciate the gesture, kiddo, leave this fight to the grownups,” Dorothy said.

“Julian.” That provoked another gasp from the boy emperor. “You should be more concerned that UNAP may use this as a diversion to strike our forces elsewhere.”

“You hear that, Secgen?” Dorothy said. “Our duel might be the stuff of legends, but don’t let me catch you slacking off! You’ve got the rest of the battle to fight!”

“How did it even come to this…” Murad muttered. “Konstantinov, you heard her!”

“Wait, am I supposed to send the tank divisions or what?”

“I don’t know, figure it out!”

“You better win,” Livia said, “Someone’s got to liberate Piddletown!”

“Yeah, yeah, bosslady,” Dorothy said, “That much’s a given. Been craving some New Jerusalem-style crab pizza lately.”

“Dorothy, please!” Clara said. “Think about what you’re doing!”

“Oh, I know full well what I’m doing and how this will probably end,” Dorothy said, “But somebody’s got to take a stand here.”

“Even knowing the outcome, you’re still going to fight?”

“Let it be known to everybody listening in that I hate doing any of this,” Dorothy said, “I’d rather go back up to Fraternity and test my other prototypes. But if I’m in a position where my inventions and I can save lives, I can’t back down. If I did, then I might as well have killed those people. I’ll stomach my own feelings if it means I can protect the people I love and the civilization I’ve helped build. Everybody’s counting on me. We lost almost everything 21 years ago. I’m not about to stand by and lose the rest of it.”

“But you could—”

“Die? If I die, I die. Someone else will pick up after me. I mean, that’s why I had you hold onto my notebook, right?”

“But the classified information—”

Dorothy laughed. “It’s all out in the open now. I don’t think anyone would mind.”

“You can’t be seriously laughing at a time like this!” Clara said. “We’re talking about your life! I doubt anybody could replace a mind like yours! What would we do without you?”

“Why should I be concerned?” Dorothy said. “I’m going to die eventually. Somebody’s got to fill in my shoes at some point. Might as well choose how I die and save as many lives as I can.”

“We’ve got those tank divisions on the way, you don’t need to do this!” Clara said.

Dorothy shook her head. “No. I’ve got to do my part. What good’s my work if I can’t use it in a way that helps people?”

Clara couldn’t figure out how to respond for a little bit. “You know, you can be really stubborn when you act like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Dorothy said, “I guess I overdid it again. No, not overdid it. That’s as much a part of me as the Dorothy you know.”

“I guess I can’t convince you, huh?” Clara said. “Do you know what Doctor Papadopoulos would say if he were here?”

“Oh, I imagine he’d flip out and say a bunch of things I probably don’t want to enter into the historical record with the rest of this conversation,” Dorothy said, “But if you do see him again, tell him that everything I did today was for him, you, and all of free humanity. And tell him I said thanks for looking after me the last 21 years. He was the closest thing I had to a dad.”

“Don’t speak as if you’re already dead, goddamnit!”

“I’m just covering my bases,” Dorothy said, “I haven’t given up at all. On the contrary.”

“Just…promise me, Dorothy,” Clara said, “Promise me and the doc. Promise me you’ll come back. When this is all over, we can go to that pizza place in Piddletown.”

Dorothy smiled. “I’d love that. In return, promise me something, Clara.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t watch. I’m going to become a demon on the wastes, so please…”

Dorothy knew that promise couldn’t be kept. As their earlier conversation proved, Clara cared too much about her that she couldn’t help but worry when Dorothy put herself in danger.

“Alright, I promise.”

“Friend’s honor?”

It was fitting, then, that Dorothy probably wouldn’t be able to keep her end either. “Friend’s honor.” She looked at Angelica. “I believe I’ve finished my preparations, Angelica.” The Roland gripped Durendal with two hands. “Why don’t we get this joust started?”

“By all means.” Angelica readied the Balmung in an attacking stance. “May the best knight win. Give me a worthy fight.”

“Come at me with everything you’ve got!” Dorothy said.

“As His Majesty’s sword, I will cut a path to Terrankind’s new future!” The Balmung accelerated.

“I carry with me the memory of Earth and humanity’s hopes!” The Roland also charged across the red wastes.

“ANGELICA!” Julius yelled.

“DOROTHY!” Clara pleaded.

---

khoroshiy-russkiy = “Good Russian.” At least from what Google Translate told me. It was slang adopted from the Soviets’ legal defenses during the post-WW2 trials.

I refuse to elaborate on whatever he may have done to Dorothy. I never even imagined it in my head.

 

[Orror SANESS]

Noice! Looks like the UN won a battle after getting defeated a lot.

 

[TheAnguishedOne]

There is always time for silly games.

 

[CaptainAlvious]

So Dorothy was Thea all along, that answers a lot, through it's a shame Alex mostly died on Earth. Good to see you were able to work in that mech fight between Thea and Theodor in the Annionaverse, even if it was a brief one.

As for the Dorothy/Angelica fight, yeah that's gonna be hype, but it will probably end in tragedy for both sides. You're doing a good job making me conflicted about who to root for.

At the least, losing Angelica might put Julius off of war and motivate him into becoming a more peaceful and benevolent ruler, sorta like Saint Wihelmina in the later half of her reign.

Come to think of it, Angelica's motherly relationship with Julius does remind me somewhat of Gunhilda and Wihelmina's mother/daughter dynamic.

Lately, I've been wondering about cybernetic augmentations, mainly the question of whether you would have them be widespread and used like in Cyberpunk, Ghost in the Shell, or Deus Ex, and what they would be like in your setting?

Also as an Attack on Titan fan, I remember its mangaka citing Muv Luv Alternative as an inspiration for his work, so I wonder if that would also be something you would draw from when finding inspiration for your mechs in the future given your recent discussion of mecha inspirations with Ghostrider?

Edit: Huh, this is the 9000th post. Kinda forgot we were hitting that milestone for a moment lol.