Good idea. I need to do more with them.
All interesting factions I could expand on. No ideas yet but I’ll try to remember when I get around to them.
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So would the order you would recommend to watch Gundam be:
Stand Alone
1. 00
2. Witch from Mercury
3. SEED, Destiny, C.E. 73: Stargazer, Freedom
4. Wing
5. Endless Waltz
6. G Gundam
7. Gundam X
8. Build Fighters
9. SD Gundam World Sangoku Soketsuden
Universal Century
1. Gundam
2. Zeta
3. ZZ
4. Char's Counterattack
5. War in the Pocket
6. F91
7. Stardust Memory
8. Victory Gundam
9. The 08th MS Team
10. G-Saviour
11. MS IGLOO
12. Unicorn
13. The Origin
14. Thunderbolt
15. Twilight AXIS
16. Narrative
17. Hathaway's Flash
18. Cucuruz Doan's Island
19. Requiem for Vengeance
20. AGE
21. G
Stand Alone
1. 00->A Wakening of the Trailblazer
2. Witch from Mercury (make sure to watch the "Episode 0")
3. SEED, Destiny, C.E. 73: Stargazer, Freedom
4. Wing -> Endless Waltz
6. G Gundam
7. Gundam X
8. Build Fighters -> Try -> Try Island Wars. If you want you can then try Build Divers -> Re:RISE (again, Divers has an Episode 0). You can skip everything else in the Build series. (Edit: Don't watch the English dubs for these ones where they exist.)
9. SD and AGE are optional.
Universal Century
1. Gundam 0079 (Didn't watch the Cucuruz Doan's Island movie, but it was based on an episode here that was never dubbed in the West.)
2. Zeta (Do not watch the compilation movies, the ending is changed there.)
3. ZZ
4. Char's Counterattack
5. War in the Pocket (Can technically be watched at any time after 0079 because it's fully standalone, but watch it here so the change in animation quality isn't as jarring.)
6. F91 (If you have the time, follow it up with the Crossbone manga.)
7. Stardust Memory
8. Victory Gundam
9. The 08th MS Team (There's a bonus episode "Battle in Three Dimensions" they made several years later.)
10. G-Saviour (I don't recommend this, it's the infamous live action movie that the fanbase would rather pretend doesn't exist.)
11. MS IGLOO
11.5. Gundam EVOLVE (These episodes tie into a few of the UC and 90s AU shows. There's also an SD episode here.)
12. Unicorn (You will have a better experience the more you remember from the first four entries and Stardust Memory, especially ZZ and CCA.)
12.5. Reconguista in G (There's a bonus short that has a minor Unicorn tie-in you can find on Youtube, but there are no subs and it's not important to the overall story.)
12.6. Turn A (Only after watching everything previous and the 90s AUs (G Gundam, Wing, X).)
13. The Origin
14. Thunderbolt (warning: it's not finished yet)
15. Twilight AXIS (optional)
16. Narrative
17. Hathaway's Flash (Make sure to avoid spoilers about book events that haven't been adapted yet.)
18. Cucuruz Doan's Island
19. Requiem for Vengeance
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Lately, I felt like taking a stab at seeing what the Draka series would be like in TTL and made this write up with Zen's help, hope you all like it.
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The Domination of Malina
Intro
The Domination of Malina (also called the Malina series or the Malina saga) is a dystopian science fiction alternate history series by Roman author Matteus Steiner.Intro
The series comprises a main trilogy of novels as well as one crossover novel set after the original and a book of short stories.
The series focuses on Malina (later The Domination), a totalitarian, expansionist Neuromanian republic founded in the 18th century where cruel slavery plays an increasingly central role.
Fictional Universe
The world of the Domination diverges when a pro slavery faction in Neurhomania known as the Sons of Malina, made up largely of crypto Reformed Iconoclasts and Purists, assassinates Kaiserin Victoria II when she is visiting New Berlin and declares independence from the Reich. This revolt would eventually spark the Second War of Eimerican Independence, later called the Malina Revolution or the Fourth Commonwealth War, as the Commonwealth, Scandinavia and the Mexica intervene on the side of Neurhomania. Neurhomania triumphs and establishes the Domination of Malina, named after Malintzin. Malina becomes a haven for remaining Roman heretics, the Phetchaburi mercenaries, Lithuanian and Scandinavian immigrants, Seljuk, Song Dynasty, and Tran royalists, and later Siegfriedist and Maximist expatriates, who overrun and assimilate the earlier Gemischt population. With its capital at New Berlin, now called Malina City (not to be confused with Malintzinstadt, called New Persepolis here), Malina develops into a militaristic slave-owning society controlled by a hereditary plantation aristocracy. Other societal groups include a technocratic subclass of industrialists, a small navy controlled by the Gemischt, and a secret police known as the Security Directorate, controlled by Maximist and Siegfriedist immigrant families, particularly the Wilson family, out of “Skull House.”
Malina culture draws heavily from Persian and Chinese influences as well as Classical Antiquity, specifically the Roman Republic and Classical Greek city states like Sparta. German is the only spoken language, and the Malina accent is described as difficult for foreigners to imitate, with inspiration from Hunsrik. The economy is heavily dominated by cartels known as Combines, though there is also a considerable small-business private sector. The Malina currency is known as the Auric. Although most Malina remain at least nominally Christian for several generations, with other religions in Malina being purged due to the influence of radical Iconoclasts and Purists, by the 1960s, the practice of organized or even moderate Christianity among them has declined to the point where the few remaining Christian Citizens are subject to intense scrutiny by the Security Directorate, and are unofficially prevented from attaining officer ranks in the Citizen military.
The majority of the Domination’s free population owns at least one or two slaves. Indeed, subject races are estimated to comprise 90% of the Domination’s territory; slaves, or “Helots,” have no rights and are thus viewed less as living beings and more as expendable fodder, to be used for a variety of purposes. Politically, the Domination is a meritocratic republic ruled by a Diet of appointed senators chosen by the Citizens through a fair examination, which in turn conduct an examination among themselves to appoint an “Archon” or head of state, who serves for a twenty year term. Originally the title of Archon was passed around the noble houses of Malina, similar to the Malaysian and provincial Britannia's systems, but it would eventually evolve into a meritocratically chosen office with strict military qualifications. Examinations are mediated by a Bureau of Qualifications, which is split between two competing branches to prevent corruption. Citizens have a considerable degree of free speech, but any fundamental criticism of the State or the slave system is forbidden.
While originally, Helots consisted of Nsoralans and Eimericans and citizenship was open to all Europeans, the Malina eventually began to see themselves as the one true Master Race; all non-Malina existed now as threats to be subjugated. As a result, Malina carried out a policy of enforced miscegenation between the Europeans of Malina in order to homogenize them into a single race after several generations. Due to a societal fixation on military training from infancy for all citizens regardless of gender, Malina citizen soldiers are depicted as being the equal of several elite enemy soldiers in combat; they give no quarter in battle and all prefer death to capture. The rest of the army is filled out by slave troops, known as Ghilman, who are less well-equipped but still formidable. Having leveraged conquered natural resources to offer research grants and incentives, Malina technology is shown to progress more rapidly than technology in reality; their military equipment is several decades ahead of their opponents, and by later books in the series includes genetically modified animals, combat spacecraft, and advanced computer viruses.
Over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Malina conquer and enslave all of the Eimericas, starting with Tawantinsuyu and ending with Kanata. Malina refines its system of slavery with inspiration from Tawantinsuyu's corvee labor system, the Mexica Empire’s despotic rule over their subject peoples, and a twisted interpretation of divine right to justify the regime's brutality. K'awai Makki, a Muslim Andalusian Mayan, escapes subjection and persecution just like his 12th century ancestors and publishes the Equalist Manifesto in Persia. Other world powers are likewise much more expansionist in this timeline, with Iskander Yinal’s Persian Republic beating back the Romans and Indians and conquering Central Asia and Mesopotamia, The Reich conquering all of Africa, India annexing the Ghaznavid Empire, and China controlling most of Asia with the notable exception of Ryukyu, which beats back multiple invasion attempts from both Malina and China. The Domination takes advantage of the Maximist Wars to seize large swaths of Africa, Mittagsland, and the Roman Pacific islands, while Lithuania and Scandinavia seize Poland, Pommeria, and the British Isles. Public anger at this humiliation results in Maximillian Goering defeating both the Maximists and Siegfriedists, slaughtering the Hohenzollerns, and taking the Roman throne. Siding with the Central Powers during WW1, the Domination seizes Japan, Penglai, and Southeast Asia from China and the collapsing Indian Empire, which becomes an Indian Republic allied to Persia. Meanwhile, the Reich reconquers territory occupied by Scandinavia and Lithuania, the former never being partitioned and the later being absorbed into the Soviet Commune of Volodymyr Ligdan along with Yavdi.
Plot Summary
The first book of the series, Marching Through Nanjing, is set during the Eurasian War, where the Reich, under the despotic and tyrannical Goerings, rages war against the Soviet Commune, the Chinese Empire, and an Indo-Persian backed republican revolt. The Soviets and Chinese, weakened by civil war and overstretched from reinforcing their borders with the Domination, collapses to a Roman invasion before a Malina attack falls on the Roman army in China. While both sides' weaponry is somewhat more advanced than in our reality, with jet and rocket aircraft and advanced armored vehicles, that of the Malina proves superior. Since most Eurasian countries are loath to unite behind the Reich after the atrocities of the Goering dynasty, the Malina are eventually able to conquer China and the Soviet Commune. The republicans put pressure on the Reich in an attempt to capture Berlin before the Malina do, but the Domination advances rapidly from the former Soviet Commune and the war ends in 1944, with multiple Roman cities destroyed by nuclear weapons and the eastern provinces occupied and enslaved by the Malina. The remaining free countries join the Schengen Alliance, with the newly established Roman Republic inundated with refugees and heavily fortified against any potential Malina attack.
The second book, Under the Yoke, depicts Eurasia under Malina rule. The Malina, having long applied modern science to the practice of slavery, ruthlessly crush any resistance and obliterate old institutions. Their methods even include the use of thermonuclear weapons on the rebelling cities of Prague and Budapest. Many former Eurasian royal families and governments, such as the Ming dynasty, are reduced to being slaves of Malina nobility. The third book, The Stone Dogs, depicts the cold war between the Malina and Schengen, known as the Protracted Struggle, which is fought mostly on interplanetary colonies throughout the inner Solar System. Schengen also intensifies its efforts to recruit Malina defectors, of which there are few.
In the 1970s, the exposure of a Schengen covert operation against a Raganorker nationalist party leads to Scandiavia formally seceding from Schengen, only to be conquered and enslaved by the Malina within less than a week. Even so, long-term trends are depicted as favoring Schengen; its larger economy and free population give it an advantage in physics and computer research. Both sides engineer a superweapon for the expected Final War; Schengen creates a sophisticated computer virus which causes any Malina war machines to self destruct should they go to war-footing, while also secretly constructing a starship known as the Gunhilda, ready to escape to Alpha Centauri in the event of total defeat. The Malina have more advanced biological sciences; by experimenting on slave subjects, Malina geneticists eventually develop a virus known as "The Stone Dogs," a heavily derived strain of HIV which can induce homicidal madness in those affected, which they infect most of the Schengen leadership with. To prevent losing the virus's secrecy following a breach in security, the Domination uses it preemptively on Schengen in a surprise attack. In the resulting war, costing hundreds of millions of lives on both sides, Schengen is narrowly defeated; a truce between Malina Archon Eric Von Shrakenberg and Commander Fredrick LaFarge allows the remaining Schengen personnel to launch the starship. The Malina conquer the Earth, now devastated by a years-long nuclear winter. All remaining free humans are enslaved or granted limited Malina citizenship, allowing for their children to cast points and join the military. The Domination eventually imposes “The Final Society,” securing their grip over the solar system. Soon, baseline humans are hunted to extinction by the newly ascendant Homo Malinsis, who then produce a new variant of the species known as Homo Servus that is genetically tailored for servility, as well as unable to breed with the Malina "Master Race." Only a few isolated groups of baseline humans are said to survive and are kept locked in a Stone Age existence, with their former homelands used as Hunting Preserves by the Malina.
The fourth novel, Malina, starts in 2442 when research into wormhole technology, or “Molehole” technology, needed to bridge the gap between Earth and the Schengen colony of Samothrace at Alpha Centauri, ends up sending a single Malinsis and a pursuing Schengen cyborg into an alternate 1995–2000 where the Malina never existed. In the original timeline, the Malina barely beat back a wormhole-enabled Schengen assault from Alpha Centauri, while in the alternate timeline, the Cyborg manages to prevent the Malina from reopening the wormhole and invading. Using technology captured from the interlopers, the alternate Earth begins to prepare for the next incursion of the Malina.
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For the record Zen, I added in a few more details into this post and I want to see what you think of them, hope you like my edits.
How about talking about the crossover book you mentioned, and maybe a fourth mainline book focusing on the war in space and the ultimate downfall of the Malina?
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I'm strongly considering an addendum to this post going more into this timeline in the future, so I'll think about it. I've added a brief summary of the fourth book into the update now.
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A Day of Ends and Beginnings, Part 2
Takomaan - 8:00 AM local time
“Hey, could you try that again?” Magnus’ voice came over the radio.
Leyla froze, keeping her scanner where it was. “I’m sorry?”
“Are you getting this, Alexandra? Something’s popped up.”
“I’m getting a strange reading here too.” Alexandra studied her tablet. Although she had set everything to the most precise setting, the readings were still fuzzy. “Go back a little.”
After hacking away the vegetation, they had been digging for two hours now. Everybody was a few feet deep in a pit. A mound of dirt had built up on the far side, and a ramp had been made on Alexandra’s side. Yet despite their efforts, they had found nothing…until now.
“A little more? Yes, over there. Careful…” The image cleared up, coalescing into clearly artificial right angles. “Yes, we got it! Finally!” Alexandra pumped her fists.
“Really?” Samir said.
“I think so.” Alexandra pointed at the area Leyla was scanning. “It’s over there.”
Gulichi brought his shovel down on the spot. At first, he only got dirt. But on the second swing, the tip of the shovel abruptly stopped with a loud and metallic clang. “I can’t believe it…”
“We found it!” Alexandra set down the tablet, climbed into the pit, and picked up a spare shovel. “Let’s get digging!”
The four of them concentrated their work on the spot, and gradually a metallic hatch appeared. Alexandra replaced her shovel with a brush and lightly cleared away the remaining dirt.
“We should really be more careful,” Leyla said.
“Leyla, it’s not like a zombie’s gonna pop out.”
“We’re opening up something that hasn’t been touched in thousands of years! Who knows what kinds of traps are down there? Or…monsters?”
Gulichi picked up his rifle. “If I spot anything that moves and isn’t us, I’ll deal with it. Samir?”
Samir sighed. “You guys are getting worked up over old movies. I’d be more concerned about all that age making the metal brittle.”
“Want me to try again?” Gulichi asked.
“No thanks, I don’t want to try my luck.”
She continued brushing carefully, tossing up a small cloud of dust. Samir coughed and stepped away. “Tengri, that’s almost as bad as the dust from April 2.”
A little bit later
The entire hatch emerged from the dirt. It was a dull gray square, with bolts ringing its edges and what appeared to be a lever and lock in the middle.
“It looks surprisingly normal,” Leyla said.
“Guess they design their hatches the same way we do,” Gulichi said.
“One question though,” Samir said, “How do we open it?”
“Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing.” Leyla used the scanner to point at the lock. “The ancients definitely didn’t skimp on security. Makes you wonder what else is waiting inside.”
Alexandra lightly laughed. “Imagine that, the archaeological find of the century, something that could save a country and thousands of people, getting stopped by a simple lock.”
“I wouldn’t call it simple,” Samir said, “I doubt they made their locks the same way we did.”
They heard footsteps from above. Magnus peered over the edge of the pit and waved. “So I take it we found our super ancient miracle cure?”
“Not exactly.” Alexandra explained the situation with the lock.
“At this point, why don’t we just bash it open?” Magnus said. “It’s been thousands of years. That metal’s probably brittle by now.”
“It would’ve broken when Gulichi hit it, though,” Alexandra said.
“I didn’t put in my full strength,” Gulichi said, “I was too afraid of damaging it.”
“Damaging it?” Leyla said.
“This is a historical relic, isn’t it? It would amount to cultural vandalism if we damaged it.”
“Imagine what we could learn from the metallurgy, the lock design,” Alexandra said, “If we break the hatch now, there’s no guarantee we’ll find another one somewhere else.”
“Alexandra, it’s just a hatch,” Magnus said, “There’s only so many ways you can design one. Just break it open. We’re pressed enough on time as it is.”
“No, we should find some other way first. If we can avoid damaging it, we should.”
“And breaking it might unleash all manner of spooooky traps,” Leyla said.
“Leyla, if the metal’s been degraded enough that we can break it open, the same should apply to your alleged traps,” Magnus said.
“So…” Gulichi held up his shovel. “You guys want me to do it or not?”
Before any of them could react, Samir unsheathed his scimitar and drew over the edge of the hatch. Then he reached down and pulled the lever. He pulled hard, and the hatch popped open, throwing up more dust and revealing darkness underneath. Setting the hatch down, he sheathed the scimitar and looked at the others.
“It’s unlocked. Or the lock fell apart. Guess they did skimp on security.”
“Or maybe it’s the first trap,” Leyla said.
“The f-first trap?” Gulichi dropped his shovel, picked up his rifle, and aimed at the dark opening. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it!”
“Calm down!” Alexandra said. “Nothing could’ve possibly survived or remained powered down there for all this time!”
“You don’t know that!” Leyla said.
Apparently, Gulichi had caught some of Leyla’s fear, despite having not watched the same classic adventure movies. Or maybe… “That’s why we brought weapons, right?”
Alexandra sighed. I swear, they’re worse than Alex and Thea watching a horror movie. Making up her mind as fast as Samir had, she gathered all of her equipment around her. Shovel? No, leave it over there. The shovel was tossed against the dirt wall. Flashlight? It was strapped to her belt, but she now turned it on. Tablet? It was in her knapsack now. Gauntlets? She reached into a box and took out Olga’s gauntlets. Alexandra slid them over her forearms and adjusted the straps, then put on additional guards for her upper arms and shoulders and connected them to the wrist components, so the gauntlets could actually hold her weight. As a result, the gauntlets worked best in the hands of lighter individuals. Maybe we should’ve used the rope instead, but hey, I want to make sure Aunt Olga’s stuff still works! She fired two cables at the ground near the edge of the pit, embedding them deep in the dirt. Then she leapt into the pit before anybody could react.
Alexandra was in the air for one long second. The sudden feeling of freefall was like the crest of the roller coasters she used to ride in Rhodes. Her heart leapt up to her throat, as did her stomach. She held back an urge to vomit. Then she hit a button on her gauntlets, and her arms were suddenly pulled up by the cables going taut. The gauntlets had locked the cables in place and now used both the edge of the opening and the ground outside as counterweight to stop Alexandra’s fall. Directly under the edge, her feet made contact with something hard and metallic. Probably the wall. Her senses settled back into place, having taken a little bit to realize she was no longer falling. As her heartbeat and breathing remained elevated, she brought her mind to bear on her surroundings. She now saw the flashlight shone on the wall in front of her, confirming her deduction. It was a wall. There were regularly spaced grooves as well, probably where a ladder was long ago.
“Alexandra!” Magnus peered into the hole. “You okay?”
Alexandra gave a thumbs up with a smile. “On that day, humanity received a grim reminder…”
“That you’re still a huge dork.”
“Hey, I got to be like Aunt Olga if I want to use her stuff!”
“Anyways,” Samir butted in, “What do you see down there?”
Alexandra moved her hip in such a way to shift her flashlight into shining down. The floor was only a few feet down. “Guess they liked their ceilings as high as we do.”
She tapped the button again. This part was like rock climbing. She let out more cable at a slow but regular pace, gradually lowering her onto the floor. Soon, her feet touched down with a small echo, telling her the room was a little big.
“We should have enough rope,” she said, “Toss it down anywhere. The area’s clear. Oh, and can you help dislodge the cables?”
“On it!” Magnus said.
It took a minute, but Alexandra felt the cables going loose again. She hit the button, and they reeled back into the gauntlets like tape measure being put away.
Leyla crouched down at the edge of the hole. “So…I can’t see much down there. You any better?”
Alexandra swung the flashlight around, trying to find anything of interest. She saw nothing other than metal walls and stone floors,, covered in what appeared to be long degraded tiles. A hole in the ceiling looked like somewhere a lightbulb would have been placed. There was a doorway at the far end of the room. The accompanying door lay on the floor next to it in pieces. It didn’t appear to have been violently destroyed. The damage came from the lack of maintenance over the eons. She was surprised there was still something left.
“We’re standing in a place nobody’s been in for thousands of years.” She was starting to realize the significance of being where she was. “It feels like I’m walking through sacred ground, even if I see nothing but a room. The stories this room could tell…it feels like I could just reach out and read it, if I look more. You guys could lend me a hand, too.”
“But is it safe?” Leyla said.
Gulichi appeared at Leyla’s side, rifle ready to go. “Is it?”
“Don’t worry, the room’s clear,” Alexandra said, “Now let’s move all of our stuff down, and we can start exploring!”
Magnus rolled his eyes. “Yay, dungeon crawling…”
Baku - 7:00 AM local time
“We’ve pushed through the second line.”
The briefing was conducted in the improvised tent city that housed the Roman exiles. Gebhard, Shayan, Börte, Igre, and the rest of the military leadership attended, as well as Izinchi and what remained of the civilian government. Other generals who were occupied on fronts elsewhere were still present via radio.
Everybody in attendance stood around the map of Baku and the Absheron Peninsula. The Roman forces were stationed in the west, at the base of the peninsula, while the Crusaders were arranged in three lines to their east, running north to south along the width of the peninsula. The first two lines had been overrun, and remaining unit counters had been moved back to the third line.
“The Crusaders are currently planning a counterattack in this area.” Gebhard pointed at a spot on the southern coast, near where the peninsula met the mainland. “According to our scouts’ estimates, they have one full-strength armored battalion.”
“One battalion?” Izinchi said.
“Yes,” Igre said, “It may not sound like much, but we can’t underestimate them, even after everything that’s happened. We’ve dealt with these tactics before on the march south. Jerusalem would pressure peripheral defenses with a large number of armor, then suppress the front with more troops. If they break through our lines, the defenders of the third line could sortie and attempt an encirclement. We’d be finished.”
“So we’ve tae deal with them before they dae, eh?” Izinchi said.
“Yes,” Shayan said, “Our objective is the destruction of the staging ground for their counterattack and the elimination of the armored battalion.”
“What about losses so far?”
“Our losses since operation start are within acceptable parameters.” They had indeed lost a few tanks and a dozen troops in the last two hours, but all units maintained cohesion. Morale was still high. “A couple units can be reassigned.”
“Let’s gie on with it, then. What aboot the Liberation Legion?”
They turned their attention to the eastern tip of the Absheron. One Roman unit counter was surrounded by three Crusader ones.
“Making steady progress so far,” Gebhard said, “Refineries 1 through 4 have been secured. They’re starting to push in from the shore.”
“Already?” Izinchi looked surprised. “I thought they were supposed to secure 5 through 9 first.”
“That’s what I thought, but then Corporal Marks explained it was part of a strategy to secure those other refineries.”
“He’s jumping ahead in objectives,” Shayan said, “It borders on insubordination.”
“You could call it initiative,” Börte said, “They jump ahead in objectives to secure earlier ones.”
“It still concerns me,” Gebhard said, “They should have cleared it with me before doing it. That’s chain of command.”
“In my experience, the battlefield moves much faster than military bureaucracy. A competent battalion leader must be able to improvise new ways of achieving the objective.” She said that in spite of herself being in her twenties, while Gebhard was above retirement age. Gebhard interpreted it as an implication that his decades of experience in old wars would not apply to this one.
“But if I’m not informed of it, any tactical benefit gained would be outweighed by setbacks on the strategic level.”
“Chain of command should always be respected, yes. But it should not be stifling.” Börte clasped her hands. “Yes, I agree there should have been better communication. On the other hand, if the reality of the battlefield demands it and it does not sabotage strategic objectives, then we should encourage our soldiers to take the initiative. They’re the ones out there.”
“Generals,” Izinchi raised her hands in a conciliatory gesture, “Let’s all calm down. We can discuss this once the operation’s over. Right now, we should focus on winning.”
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Ruby reloaded her rifle and looked behind her. The rest of the squad was fanning out to secure Refinery 5. The Crusaders defending it hadn’t expected to be hit from behind. Any radio warnings they could have gotten from the defenders of Refinery 4 had been jammed.
“Hey, Ruby!” Billy yelled from up ahead. “Need you up here!”
Ruby took off and met Billy about twenty feet away. They crouched behind an abandoned forklift.
“You’re moving a bit slow, for a scout.” Billy flexed the arm of his exosuit and checked the movement of the shoulder gun. “Especially compared to me.”
“What’s the plan?”
Billy pointed to the northeast, at Refinery 5’s northern side. “We have to clear out the Kreuzies there and cut off reinforcements from 6 and 7.”
“What about the rest of the squad?”
“They’re suppressing the remaining defenders of 5 and pushing the line against 6.” Billy took out a paper map of the refineries and drew a line of attack. “The two of us will be enough, especially with the exosuit.”
Ruby memorized the attack plan and nodded. “It’ll be just like Normandy, right?”
“Oil.”
“Fine, let’s get on with it. But can I add something to the plan?”
“I’m all ears.”
Five minutes later, the Crusaders on the north end of Refinery 5 heard the whirring of a forklift’s motor rapidly approaching. The outermost soldiers barely had the time to see the explosives duct taped to it before Ruby detonated them. While the dust and smoke was still settling, Billy set upon them with the exosuit, Ruby following close behind. She hugged the wall near a loading bay, waiting until there was a pause in the enemy gunfire before continuing. Once she was able to make out the shapes of the enemy, she tossed a grenade and hit the ground. A loud boom echoed in the air and rippled through the ground. When she got back up, the enemies were gone.
Low caliber bullets raked the ground about two feet away from her. Too close. She took cover in a destroyed doorway and scanned the surface for any stragglers. When she found nobody, she looked up and spotted a Kathartes drone hovering over the battlefield. Its bladeless rotors had allowed it to sneak up on them in almost complete silence. It carried no Thronaxes, but it was one of the few remaining of its model that had been mounted with machine guns. Most had been destroyed during the offensives of April 2.
“Billy!” She made eye contact with her fellow ex-rebel and pointed upward. “Drone!”
Billy found the Kathartes immediately. The exosuit’s shoulder gun promptly aimed upward—Billy having to lean back a little bit because the gun couldn’t aim at that high of an angle—and fired a quick burst, striking the drone across its upper left and lower right rotors. It went into a spiral and plummeted out of the sky, shattering against the rooftop of Refinery 5.
“North side secure,” Billy said, “Begin the assault on Refinery 6.”
Frankfurt - 5:00 AM local time
The Panopticon server rooms lay ten floors down, at the very end of a floor that was designed almost like a maze. It was filled with unrelated server rooms and winding hallways, all reinforced with concrete and steel that could withstand high temperatures and heavy gunfire. Intruders would then be diverted to the wrong rooms or into dead ends, where they would be slaughtered by Hellhounds. But that was assuming they didn’t have the floor plan or taken control of the Hellhounds.
“Moritz,” Ludolf said, “You’re first through the door. Then me, then Qazai.”
“Verstanden,” the Crusaders said.
“Alright,” Binar and the rebels replied.
Moritz pushed on the door to the stairwell with one hand, while the other readied his gun. The door swung open, revealing a dark hallway, lit up in night vision green. The Hellhounds that would have shredded less-prepared intruders on sight instead stayed inactive, having been given a standby command from Ludolf. The map in Ludolf’s Panopticon HUD drew a route on the floor, a bright white in a sea of green. He sent it to everybody else in the squad. “Follow my lead.”
They slowly advanced through the maze. Although all of the Hellhounds had been neutralized, none of them let their guards down. At each corner, Moritz went around first, followed by Ludolf. Each Hellhound was sent a second shutdown command to be sure. The rebels made up the rear. That way, they could watch for attacks from behind, but they could also keep their eyes and guns on the Crusaders in front of them.
At the end of a door, they reached a door. There was nothing setting it apart from the other doors they had passed, but the map indicated this was the one. One rebel attached a breaching charge to the area around the doorknob, while Moritz and Binar readied their guns. Everybody took a step back. “Clear!” There was a bang. Sparks and smoke flew from the charge, and the door flew open. Moritz went in and swept the room, followed by the rest of the squad. “All clear.”
Ulm
“General, this is Ludolf. Gate is open. Repeat, gate is open.”
Cheers and applause erupted in the situation room, though only among Frederica’s rebels. The Crusaders said nothing. Heinrich wanted to cheer, but he had to keep up appearances. All he could do was smile.
“Awaiting admin credentials,” Ludolf said.
Having made the earlier decision, this one was much easier for Heinrich. He typed in his credentials and transmitted them to Ludolf’s Panopticon. “Key is sent. Repeat, key is sent.”
“Unlocking.” As Ludolf said that, data scrolled across Heinrich’s screen. The connection had been established and the upload was now in progress.
“It’s working.” Heinrich couldn’t believe it was working. “We should soon have full control of the Panopticon network.”
“How long?” Frederica said.
“I’d say…seven hours?”
“That’s not soon at all,” Sigmund said.
“It’s better than nothing. Only problem is we’d have to hold the facility for that long.”
“Can we do that?” Sigmund was concerned. “We don’t have the manpower.”
“We have the drones,” Heinrich said, “It should buy us some time.”
“Sigmund, I’m going to need you to monitor the surroundings for reinforcements,” Frederica said, “Call in all of our remaining cells in Frankfurt. General Dandolo?”
‘Yes?”
“I need more of your troops.”
“You’ll have them.” Heinrich looked at his staff. “You heard her. Get our boys in position ASAP.”
Isfahan - 8:00 AM local time
The door swung open. Alex opened his eyes and sat up. He didn’t expect them to come by so early. Did they move up his execution several hours? Damn Mozaffar, he lied again…
“You here to take me now?” He spat at the guards outside.
“We’d like nothing more than to go home, but unfortunately not.” One of the guards casually lit a cigarette and blew out a small cloud of smoke. “We’re here to spend even more taxpayer money fattening up you pigs.”
“Pigs?”
“Yes, that’s what you are. Taking our charity and giving nothing back to the nation. You’re only fit to slaughter for the greater good.”
“No, I mean pigs.” He was hearing some grunts outside now.
The realization hit the guard. “Ah, right.” He turned to his colleague. “Bring in the prisoner!”
The other guard tossed Angelica inside and took off her gag. The Norman immediately responded with a loud “Damn you, bâtarde! I swear when we’re free—”
The guards didn’t even pay attention to her outbursts. Angelica lunged for the door, but they slammed it in her face. All she could do was pound her fists against the steel. “Let me out! Damnit, let me out! We’re the good guys here!”
“You do know that nobody says ‘we’re the good guys’ like that, right?” Alex said.
Angelica looked at Alex and finally recognized him. “Alex?”
“Uh, hey, Angelica.”
“So this is where they put you.” Angelica looked around the room. Her eyes settled on the chains and the cot, then on the drab concrete walls and floor. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
“How’d they get you?” Alex didn’t want to waste the remaining time he had left. “Last I heard, you were with Julian.”
“That’s the thing,” Angelica said, “I really don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
Angelica cautiously looked around the room again. “Not bugged. Good. Not sure if they didn’t post someone at the door, though.”
“Something sensitive, I take it.”
“Yes.” Angelica spoke quietly. “We were trying to rescue…someone we all know who could have helped us. He—” She clearly meant Julian. “—gave me an infiltration route. But it failed. I was captured instantly.”
“You messed it up?”
Angelica shook her head. “No. Definitely not. I followed the route exactly to the letter, yet as soon as I started it I ran into a Persian patrol. Next thing I knew, I’m here.”
“Then Julian messed up.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Angelica remained confused. “Julian never messes up.”
“He can’t catch everything.”
“When has he failed us in the last two months?” Angelica said. “Why would he mess up now, when the stakes are even higher?”
Alex thought for a moment. He hadn’t been that involved in Julian’s plots, but everything he heard pointed a good picture of the boy’s mentality. A perfectionist, with contingencies upon contingencies. Paid extremely close attention to every detail. Covered every possible variable. Thinking many steps ahead to see which thread to pull to get the desired result. Why would he fail now? Unless… “Maybe he didn’t mess up.”
“He…didn’t?” That confused Angelica even more.
“You were the one who says Julian never messes up,” Alex said, “So what if he didn’t? What if this was his plan all along?”
“Okay, let me get this straight,” Angelica said, “So I was supposed to free…our target. I fail, get beaten up by a few soldiers, and am thrown in prison where I can’t do anything but wait to die. And you’re telling me this was what Julian wanted all along?”
“Maybe,” Alex said, “I’m not certain, but it does line up.”
“H-He wouldn’t do that to me.” Angelica’s voice now filled with a stammer. “Or a-any of us!”
“But maybe he just did.
“But why, though? Even if he could have done it, why did he?”
Alex lay down on his cot. “Beats me.”
---
The operating room was quiet. Josh lay face down on the operating table, his arms strapped down with sterile leather. Mozaffar couldn’t see the surgeons’ faces behind their masks and goggles. Their gloved hands reached into trays and picked up scalpels and syringes. None of them had anesthetic—it couldn’t be used in brain surgeries. Whatever that man was going to feel, it would hurt. But to everybody else in this room, it’s what he deserves. He would be lying if he said he didn’t feel the same way. He did not sympathize either. He felt nothing at all. Josh had been responsible for innumerable atrocities in at least four countries. He deserved to rot in jail for his crimes. Yet…
“Imagine what data that Panopticon has!” Parviz said.
“Even if the user doesn’t remember, his implant will record nearly everything he sees,” Theodor said, “And not only that, you can program it with whatever commands you want, on the go!”
“The perfect killing machine is within reach…” Parviz said. “With the Panopticons, our troops will become invincible!”
“Not just invincible, but completely obedient,” Theodor said, “Your orders will be followed exactly to the letter, with no dissent or deviation.”
“I can’t wait for this surgery to be over. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. Right, Mozaffar?”
Mozaffar didn’t share their enthusiasm, but he forced a smile. “I’m looking forward to the gala.”
“Oh, the gala.” Parviz dismissively waved. “That’s nothing compared to what’s next. The world’s entering a new age, and this new age will be Persia’s.”
Persian hegemony, built on Jerusalemite technology and Jerusalemite atrocities… Mozaffar again looked down on Josh. Sure, that man didn’t deserve any sympathy. He even felt a little fear looking at the face of one of Jerusalem’s worst killers. But the power they would gain from his suffering…that was what scared him even more.
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Surprised that Julian is ruthless enough to let Angelica be captured like that, given how close they were in the Annionaverse, but I guess it fits with his philosophy of waking in the dark so that others can be in the light. Also as evil as Josh is, seeing him become a guinea pig for human experimentation instead of going through a fair and honest trial is pretty grim.
"By the end of this, you'll be rooting for the bad guys." I never said who were the bad guys, though.
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Josh's fate is actually making me worried about Gustav now, since we haven't seen seen him a while and I wonder what happened to him.
Moving on, I actually tried my hand at renames for Karl Marx and Vladmir Lenin in the Draka update based on recent, so I wonder what you think of those names and if you'll consider them for DE?
Moving on, I actually tried my hand at renames for Karl Marx and Vladmir Lenin in the Draka update based on recent, so I wonder what you think of those names and if you'll consider them for DE?
I haven't thought to much about it at the moment beacuse I didn't have room for him in this current arc. But I'll eventually get back to him.Josh's fate is actually making me worried about Gustav now, since we haven't seen seen him a while and I wonder what happened to him.
They look great, though "Volodymyr Ligdan" sounds a bit too close as the given name is just the Ukrainian version of Vladimir.
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Fair enough, I'll try again with Lenin in the addendum.
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Well, at least Alex has come company. As for our heroes spelunking, thankfully things have reached the point that even if they unleased some unknown evil, it'd be hard to make the situation any worse.
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At this point, they might actually consider unleashing the unknown evil for a “let them fight” scenario.
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I'm also considering the Sons of Malina being a real organization in DE, similar to New England Puritans, the Knights of the Golden Circle, and a dark version of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators and the American Sons of Liberty. I think their conspiracy would spice up the events around Victoria II's abolition of slavery and give stakes for a story arc surrounding Julie d'Aubigny with her having to thwart it, what do you think of that idea Zen?
I might give them another name, since “Malina” would have been coined by the author of this series, but I like the concept.
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Forgot to mention this, but a couple weeks ago I did finish Gurren Lagann. Though like most of what I'm watching nowadays it's not going to affect my writing that much.
Out of curiosity, do you have a list of have a list of noble families in Neurhomania and Mittagsland based on their rulers from EU4? Thinking about referencing specific Neurhomania Dynatoi (or Daimyo, a name I’m thinking of Malina getting from Boer/Kongsi republic like Japanese polities on the fringes Fusang) in the addendum.
Also after seeing how William Walker was the villain of an another series by S.M. Sterling, I’m floating around a few ideas for Malina filibusters in the addendum. One of them includes Malina Foederati (mercenaries) gradually taking over client countries like Fusang and Mayapan and turning them into Malina provinces. I guess there can be parallels to Hawaii’s annexation as well.
I know you said before you want to keep Abyssinia Christian and retcon and replace the Gideons in Abyssina with the Solomonids since they seem to be mythical, but I wonder if the Beta Israel taking control could be explained with Wilhelm shenanigans like with Persia, Scandinavia, and maybe Russia, which when combined with Christian syncretism could tie into Abyssinian recognition of Jesus as the Messiah?
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Not really, but from looking through the save file for previous discussions, the Komnenoi would have been a major family in Mittagsland.
I like that.
No, I’m not going to involve Wilhelm in more historical events than I have to.
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