Chapter 6, A new normal

Author's Note: Short Chapter alert. But a lot of time passes in this chapter.

Two months have gone by since the city was taken. The hurricanes degraded in strength and missed the Bahamas. Then the Atlantic was quiet for a while, but it was now late august back home. So peak Hurricane season was rapidly approaching. Another storm was on the way. This one was already a category four and heading right towards The Bahamas. It was expected to strengthen before it hit.

Over the past few months extensive construction had taken place. The things the otherworlders built made the people of the special region both amazed and confused. The large antenna was first thought to be a monument of some kind. Turns out it's what enabled long range communication.

"A more advanced and reliable version of a communication stone."

After the improvements to the city and keep were finished, focus moved to the port again. The facilities were dug much deeper and new docks constructed out of metal and concrete came about. Though concrete was a common material in this world it was usually reserved for buildings or walls. Docks were almost always made of wood since it was cheaper. Typically concrete was used only for lighthouses as far as marine structures went. The lighthouse for Mare-Oppidum was upgraded by the otherworlders as well. It now had a much brighter light that could be seen for much further than the large flame used by the Empire. It also was powered by the sun somehow.

The strangest thing built of all though, was something they called an airfield. Members of the Imperial army said it was much larger than any of the bases used to house wyverns. The material used was interesting too. Most of the field was constructed using premade steel mats imported from the other side of the gate. These mats made up a hard surface for the otherworld aircraft to land on. Compacted rock was used to make a suitable subgrade to anchor the metal planks. Concrete was used for parking areas and as the foundations for the shelters to park their aircraft under. When this field was completed several new aircraft arrived that apparently had a larger range and flight time compared to the ones seen thus far.

A permanent POW camp was constructed near the shore line as well. The POW's were moved here and a command station had been built in the keep. This station was where the Allied commander made their plans.

"We got lucky so far. But September is approaching in our world. That's peak hurricane season. We can expect more frequent and stronger storms. Each one could delay shipments."

Kendal was in a meeting with his UK counterpart. They were discussing their next steps to finishing this war quickly.

"We've built up a surplus of supplies that will allow us to maintain operations through a month if supplies were cut off. But going on the offensive is another matter. I personally don't think we should move until the Harriers and Ospreys are here." Said Byrne.

Kendal nodded in agreement before speaking. "Ontop of that the lack of SAT's has made long range drone recon difficult. But I have some good news. General Atomics' best engineers came up with a solution. They will use Data link to relay information between drones, ships and ground relay stations. Which we have to set up."

In the city of Mare-Oppidum

Rory walked down the road that went by the city's docks. The sight seen just two months ago had been replaced already. Boats and equipment from the other world were busy extending the city's port facilities to include deeper berths for their ships. New buildings were built and curiously they had square glass panels on the roofs. These apparently provided something called electricity. It was the means by which the lights and other gadgets worked. Additionally they had guarded buildings with something called generators inside. They made quite a lot of noise. Between the two Rory preferred the panels. But they apparently had limited output.

An even bigger version of the glass panels was currently being installed just outside the city. They were much longer, Stretching several meters. And dozens of them were being installed. Along with another smaller one on the other side of the city. From what she was told these were called 'solar farms'. The military governor was expecting a team of engineers in the next few days. They were going to evaluate the possibility of something called a 'wind farm' here too. It was strange the otherworlders referred to these places as farms. From what she understood they did not grow anything, But merely collected energy from various sources.

Trade had been allowed to resume fairly quickly. And most of the city was allowed to continue their day to day with little to no hindrance. They even let some people out of the POW camp to farm the fields. It was nearing the end of fall now. Fields had to be harvested, and some replanted with Winter crops. Trade being allowed to resume meant goods could enter and leave the city. Though everything was thoroughly checked by the otherworlders with wands that could detect weapons. Multiple checkpoints were set up around the city. The only thing really barred from trade right now was weapons. But everything else, including information, was allowed.

In the Blue Sea near the gate

The HMS Portland brought up the rear of a convoy of ships. In the lead was the HMS Trent. Her task was to escort the tugs and barges. This was her Main reason for being here. It was a task she shared with the HMS Mersey. Every day they could make about three trips through the gate. She would escort the ships through the gate and to their dropoff where she would then wait until making the return trip.

Behind the Tornado was the Le Grand Bleu. A three hundred fifty foot luxury yacht that was commissioned by the US navy as a troop transport ship. Its was brought down to a skelington crew. And a good portion of the interior was altered to carry more passengers than normal. Currently she could carry a platoon of soldiers and was acting as a transport between Miami and Mare-Oppidum. It was a bit odd to say the elast, having a superyacht doing military missions. But neither the US nor the UK had any troop transports. Aircraft fulfilled that role these days. But they were not an option. So the military planners had to get creative, and the Le Grand Bleu was available. Her passengers certainly enjoyed the fact a superyacht was carrying them to their temporary leave in Miami. The full liquor bar was their favorite part of the journey.

Lastly between the Yacht and the Portland was three tugboats, pulling three barges each. They were currently empty and heading back to pick up the next batch of supplies. They believed they could get another six supply runs in before they would have to dock in Mare-oppidum to wait out the hurricane.

The Portland herself was heading to Miami for a quick rearm and resupply. Now that better anti-air facilities were built in the special region. They no longer had to act as the sole long range anti air asset available. The convoy of ships entered the gate.

At the airfield

A single Global Hawk was parked on the ramp. It arrived earlier this morning. It was here to provide long ranged high detailed recon imagery. But there was an issue. Without satellites to provide a data link, the drones range was limited to seventy miles at most. However they were ready to test the new long ranged surface based data link system. Specialized teams were deployed in areas along the coastline of the blue sea. They set up small communication stations that could uplink with the drone. In addition the ships were also in their positions within the sea. All that was left to do now was to take the Global hawk up, and test it out.

Theoretically they could control the aircraft almost as well as with a satellite uplink. Though there may be a more noticeable lag on control inputs. This test would determine whether or not the system worked. If it did they would begin deploying more of the ground stations. This time heading towards the enemy's capital city.

The Global Hawk departed and headed towards the sea. It got about 20 miles out before it established a connection with the first ship. Continuing, it connected with its first ground station. Then another ship. As it neared the extent of the airbases range. If it lost connection it would automatically return to its departure point where they could reestablish the connection. It passed the critical point. The operators still had a connection to it though. They ran a series of maneuvers. So far so good. It continued on its flight plan. They would take the drone out to three hundred miles away. Running a maneuver test every twenty five.

Later the Global Hawk returned after a successful test. It was able to make it three hundred nautical miles from the base. The downside was the more connection points between the drone and its control base, the bigger the lag in input vs output. It took time for the signal to be relayed through each station. But it was good enough to order the drone to fly maneuvers by itself, even if it wasn't good enough for direct control over the drone. Additionally text communication messages were possible to. They now possessed the ability to have long range recon and communication.

But this same system now needed to be sent in-land. It would take more time to erect the in-land stations.

Allied Command

Over the past few months trade was allowed to resume from the city. There was a restriction on certain items, primarily weapons and armor. But goods, food, spices, and other items were traded nearly freely. Everything was cataloged. If it entered or left the city the item was noted. The commanders knew everything going in and out of the city, and where it was going. They also knew from their local advisors about what was normally exported from this city.

There were people in the intelligence division of the allied command whose job it was to analyze this trade information. An army marches on its stomach, and the Imperial army would rely on foraging and requisitioning for a good percentage of their food supply when moving troops. Historically on earth, The Roman Military would send word to cities ahead of an army on the march. This was orders to leave food supplies in a specific area to be retrieved by the marching soldiers. It stood to reason that this world's Imperial Army would do the same.

"I've got something!" said one of the analysts. Their supervisor hurried over. The person went over their findings. Many merchants were moving a lot of food to the cities of Anderia and Valcum. These were coastal cities in the Vassal Kingdoms of the Empire. They knew from interrogations of prisoners that the Empire had two fleets. Both fleets were divided roughly evenly amongst four coastal cities. The Reserve fleet was in those two.

There had been no word of famine or disease; So odds were pretty good that the increased intake of food was to prepare the reserve fleet to sail. But this information needed to be verified. The next day the Intelligence officers had a few Merchants brought in for questioning. They were able to confirm that yes the increased food from this and other cities was delivered to the ports of those cities. Additionally villages and towns in the Alnus Valley region were also importing more food and supplies than they normally did. Though the Intelligence analyst could not verify what for. But everyone could hazard a guess.

This information was presented to the Military leaders in their daily intelligence briefings. The enemy was on the move. If the reserve fleet was moving out then the only target that makes sense is either the gate, or they would attempt to recapture the city. Both generals were confident in their ability to protect both from anything the Empire could muster.

But that last report; Supply caches being set up in the Alnus Valley. That made little sense. The caches indicated the movement of troops through the region. The valley did form a natural route to the Blue sea. But there were no cities or anything of strategic value on that side of the sea. Mare-Oppidum and the gate itself were on the far side. The capital was closer. Why have troops take a roundabout approach to nothing?

Kendal believed they may plan on having the reserve fleet sail with little to no soldiers except the crew of the ships. They would then pick up the soldiers marching through the valley. Byrne however was thinking outside the box.

"That may make sense for Roam." He said. "But we must remember our enemy has access to assets Roam did not."

Kendal thought for a moment before he realized what Byrne was getting at. "The Dragons." They ate a lot. To feed even a small formation of Dragons would take the same amount of food as to feed a Legion.

"Their planning a two pronged attack. Sea and Air." Said Kendal.

This information needed to be verified however. Byrne Suggested asking their new friend. The Ace of Hearts, who was captured in battle months ago. She would have some idea as to the enemy's tactics. They could simply ask her, maybe not directly. Over the past few weeks they had been slowly grooming her to suit their needs. At the end of this war someone needed to rule the country. Neither the US nor the UK was interested in propping up a nation in the medieval era. Especially when the gate was proving to be such a bottle neck that no trade with them would be very profitable. The citizens would likely not accept a military governor for their nation, But perhaps someone from within the existing Government, they would. She was of royal blood too.

Near the entrance to the Blue Sea

The USS Seawolf was sailing near the entrance to the blue sea. Ever since they secured the waters all four submarines were doing mapping and soundings all over the sea. Today they were just south of the entrance. The waters were fairly shallow here. Many islands both large and small dotted the waters.

Their orders involved a return to periscope depth twice a day to check for the presence of a drone. Ever since the experiment with the drones was a success, they were able to give status updates and receive orders. The captain was reviewing the latest message from SRNC (Special Region Naval Command).

"CON, SONAR. New contact bearing two-six-zero. Long range. Designate Sierra five."

The Captain replied. "Keep track on the contact, classify if possible."

Sonar kept track on the new contact for the next few hours. The things they heard in this new world were more mundane than they had hoped. The ambient noise of the ocean was much lower than back home though. This fact made them thankful the enemy possessed no Sonar capability. Though the captain, not wishing for his crew to get lazy, Still ordered all doors removed except the water tight ones that separated compartments. Now curtains were the only thing separating rooms from each other. But the sonar teams did get very good at being able to pick out the sounds made by the sailing vessels. Their lack of engines made them much quieter than ships of their world. But they could be heard all the same. You just had to know what to listen for.

After twelve hours and one shift change Sonar became confident in a classification of Sierra-Five.

"CON, SONAR. Sierra five is classified as multiple sailing ships. There's a whole lot of them"

The captain thought for a moment. They have heard so many sailing vessels the past few weeks. But they were almost always alone. Or in small groups of two or three. But now they hear a large concentration of them. Additionally they were told that Intel suggested the enemy may be moving their troops for a counter attack. But exact movements were thus far unknown. The captain decided to investigate. The possibility of this being an enemy task force was high.

The Seawolf relayed its report to Command at the next drone connection. It was moving to investigate.

Allied POW Camp

Piña sat at the table alone. She looked down at the tray with her dinner on it. For being a prisoner this was not that bad. She had feared the worst when she was captured. But these otherworlders were treating them well. Of course if anyone got out of line they would regret it quickly. But that only happened a few times. Once everyone saw there was no point in resisting, and once they realized there would be no torture or executions; tensions eased. They eased even more when they were moved to this facility. A camp constructed just for them. There was plenty of space, Comfortable beds, The food was good too. Just as good as that available from the best restaurants in the capital. Many saw their life here as better than what they had with the empire.

Most of the men here were sailors of the Imperial Navy. These men were pressed into service, Often against their will. Seeing an enemy nation treat them better than their own probably had them rethinking their allegiance. Piña herself was beginning to rethink hers as well. The enemy must know who she is, They have been talking to her. Interrogations at first. But then she met high ranking officers. They showed her pictures, and something called videos. It was of their world, and their wars. She knew the enemy had the Empire beat after facing them in battle only once. But then she did not realize just how, just how screwed they were. Aircraft that fly faster than sound, Ships that sail beneath the waves. Firing weapons that can destroy whole cities from hundreds of miles away.

And their cities. Buildings of glass reaching to the heavens. Vehicles that can travel hundreds of miles in a day. A communication speed that was instant across the world. The poorest of their people lived better than the richest of hers.

It was for these reasons, She did it. She helped them. She committed an act of treason. It wasn't hard. It wasn't even a choice. This war was lost, the only thing the Empire had control over was how badly they would be beaten. She was asked about supply caches being set up by villages in certain areas. When she saw the list of supplies, She saw it included livestock. There was only one thing it could be. Wyverns preferred to kill and eat their own food. Live stock was often used for this. If the caches were requesting livestock, That was the only possible reason. A legion would prefer pre-prepared food thats easier to transport.

Grey sat down across from her. The look on her face must have said a lot. She decided to tell him. He took it well. He even understood.

"The best outcome would be to end the war quickly." He said. "Helping this enemy will ensure it ends quickly."

She looked at him. "And what of the troops that are about to die. I just gave the enemy information of a possible counter attack. They will surely retaliate."

Grey nodded. "They will. But if you did not do this, the enemy has other ways of finding out. Even without forewarning, Their weapons are clearly powerful enough to repel an attack. Those riders are flying to their deaths. With or without your help"

Piña looked back down at her food. She hadn't taken a single bite. She only stirred the substance called 'mashed potatoes' around. Grey was right, But it didn't make her feel any better.

Imperial Armada

Imperial warship Saracen led the formation as they left the city of Aqastrum. They were there only two days when the 2nd element of the Reserve fleet arrived. The Armada sailed that afternoon when the land breeze started. The anticipation for the coming battle was high. Even though the enemy had already eliminated the Main fleet. From what they heard the fleet was not destroyed, In Fact only a few ships were. But the city had apparently been captured before the main fleet could sail. This meant that there were close to a hundred ships sitting in port. When they recapture the city their navy will be restored to full power. But they will be sure to sink every last enemy ship they come across.

Some ships from the main fleet had found their way to Aqastrum. Some of their sailors were still in the city too. They did not speak much. Only they had received word that the city had fallen. None of the ships there had even seen an enemy vessel. How they were able to take Mare-Oppidum so quickly was a mystery. Some ships did attempt to sail to the supposedly captured city, to see for them selves. They never returned. The ships of the main fleet based in Aqastrum joined the reserve fleet. They were more than ready to retake the city, and kill this enemy that so dared insult them.

Rumors had made their way to Aqastrum through merchants though. Metal ships, twice as big as even the largest imperial vessel. Sailing without sails. Firing weapons from miles away. Even capable of firing beyond visual range. The Leader of the Armada paid it no mind. He had been sailing for decades. A ship with such capabilities was the stuff of dreams, not reality. The armada sailed towards the Blue sea, And would reach it by tomorrow. Then an additional two days of sailing to the gate. The glory of battle awaited.

Ten thousand yards away, USS Seawolf

The USS Seawolf stalked a large armada of Imperial ships. They had heard them on passive sonar a few days ago. After visually identifying them through the photonics-mast, they stalked them through the night. Following their movements into port, where they joined another group of ships. It was quite a large armada. Estimated to be near a hundred, or more. And they were heading to the Blue Sea.

"Captain the drone will be overhead in 5 minuets."

The Captain turned to the one who just spoke. "Set course two-eight-zero. Bring us to periscope depth."

When the Seawolf was outside of visual range from the armada, It extended a communication antenna out of the water to link with the drone overhead. Sonnar continued to track the armada at a distance. Luckily it was easier than it had been when they encountered Imperial ships before. The low tech gave the enemy a natural advantage. Wooden ships sailing under wind power did not make a lot of noise. However it was an advantage they did not know they had, And thus could not use effectively. But this time with such a large concentration of ships, they were easily heard. So Sonar was able to keep their track relatively easily. They were also tracking several biologics nearby. What they believed to be small whales. But in this world, who the hell knew.

Southwest of subs position

Talia and her sister Tyne swam near the strange thing. In all their years they had never seen anything like it. The two had been swimming with their pod when they encountered a large movement of surface ships. Wandering groups of mermaids loved to follow these surface ships, particularly when there were a group moving together. The people who sailed on them would often drop or even throw things overboard. Things her people often found useful. But she and her sister had heard a strange sound following them. So they decided to check it out.

And there it was. A long black tube. If they didn't know any better, they would say it was a ship. But how does a ship sail underwater? There was something on the back too. Something spinning. They could hear it. A rhythmic churning sound. Her sister turned to look at her. A series of clicks and moans, with a few squeaks could be heard. The language of her people.

"Have you ever seen anything like that?" She asked.

"No. Never." Replied Talia.

The two moved closer. They reached out and touched the behemoth. It was cold to the touch. Un-feeling. It was definitely not a creature. Talia held her hand to the vessel. She could feel vibrations. A constant vibration, and several smaller ones. There was also a small amount of warmth. The surface itself was cold. But something inside was quite warm. Her sister used her hands to motion to Talia; they should return to their pod. What have they found though? Whatever it is the pod should know. It showed no signs of aggression now, But it was clearly following them. She gave her tail a power flip. Accidentally hitting the side of the ship.

Inside the USS Seawolf.

"Con, Sonar! Collision with biologic. Possible diver in the water!"

A diver? In a world with medieval tech? The only diver possible would be free divers. And they could only get this deep with a diving bell. The Captain thought for a moment. Sonar had reported biologics closing in, And communicating. But not in the same way whales communicate. This was deliberate. Like two people having a conversation. With complex language and sentence structure. Not simple sounds.

"Con, Sonar! Biologic contacts moving away at high speed. Their heading right for the enemy."

The captain continued to think. They had briefings and conversations with the sailors of this world. Mermaids and Sirens were real here. Amongst other things. Was it possible they could be the biological contacts? What if they were? Could they give away the submarine to the enemy? Would the Imperial sailors even be able to communicate with them? Or believe them if so? It's a risk he could not take. He decided to follow the procedure for contact with a hostile diver.

"Sonar! Transmit active, Maximum power!"

In the water nearby, Talia and Tyne swam as fast as they could. Though they did not think it a threat, something this large stalking their pod was cause for concern. Suddenly they were enveloped by sounds that could only be described as the collective screams of the dead and damned. A very high pitch squeal caused her eardrums to burst. The sound alone was enough to stun her. It reverberated through her bones. But worst of all, She could feel her organs rupture. A red cloud formed around her. She realized it was her own blood. The last thing she saw before everything faded to black and she lost consciousness; was her sister, who fared no better than she.

Imperial Capital City

The emperor sat in his private chambers. Using the last light of the day to read a letter from the commander of the reserve fleet. They sailed about a week ago, though the letter arrived in the capital a few hours ago. He estimates they should be approaching the city of Aqastrum in a few days. The Main fleet was divided into two main elements, Just under Half in Mare-Oppidum, The other in Aqastrum. With a few ships scattered around other port cities. The reserve fleet was smaller than the main one. But when combined with the part of the main fleet in Aqastrum; They would number well over one hundred ships. Quite a mighty Armada.

The Wyvern squadrons had been making preparations for the past two days. They were ready and would be departing tomorrow morning. They planned to fly towards Alnus hill, southwest of the capital. Then they would fly southeast through the Alnus valley to the Blue Sea. The sea itself was actually south of the Capital. Having the squadron take the roundabout route through the valley would add more time. The reason they were told to do this was to prevent the enemy from finding out. The otherworlds most assuredly had ships in the sea, and were probably patrolling the area south of the capital's port city. If the squadron was seen the enemy would be prepared. By going through the valley they could avoid detection until they were already in position for the attack. There would be little the enemy could do before the dragons arrived at the gate.

The Vassal armies arrive throughout the week. They were currently awaiting orders. The emperor decided to send The armies of Elbe to the east. They would be in position to prevent the enemy from pillaging villages for supplies when the gate was taken. The enemy may have defeated the reinforcements sent months ago, But that was but a single legion. The armies of Elbe had four legions with them. That would be much harder for the enemy to contend with. Additionally these legions were commanded by an old friend, Duran, The Lion of Elbe. An experienced, decorated, and respected commander. The enemy's days in this world were numbered.

The Emperor places the letter down and looks out the window. He looked just in time to see the sun setting in the west. He looks forward to good news. But he also was formulating his plan if this failed. Experience had taught him to prepare for any eventuality.