Chapter 69

Operation Excalibur

As with the grand hall, once magnificently patterned glass windows lining the western wall of the War Room had been replaced by inexpensive, single-glazed panes by My Blue Heaven. Between these windows were empty display stands that once displayed famous weapons and armour, long looted before the filmmakers came here. There was a considerable, marble-surrounded unlit hearth on the northern end of the room, which would have been very inviting when ablaze during colder months, though there was little need for it in the middle of Centran spring.

On the eastern wall was a sprawling tapestry, recently taken down to be thoroughly washed of dust for the second time in a century, showing the Planet as it had been a hundred years ago. The Empire of Esthar was coloured in a light blue, after its national flag, extending as far north into Trabia as it did today. The Holy Dollet Empire was shaded in off-white, highlighted with the Tower of Owen at Jericho and a red crucible over Dollet City; Dollet had blanketed the entire western continent in addition to the Albatross. The Kakashbald was the colour of the dunes, a pyramid showing the location of Karnak. Winter Island was the same jade-green colour as a shumi's robes. Fisherman's Horizon did not yet exist.

Steiner, still in his ceremonial armour but without his coronation crown, was seated with Beatrix at the north end of a grand, expertly planed rectangular table carved from sequoia. Lining the side with the tapestried wall were the western leaders. Vossler was nearest the royals, his medals shining on his olive green uniform in the sunlight. Next was DiMarco, in her crisp burgundy suit. And then a dressed down Laguna, in a pale-green buttoned shirt and chinos; Euthalia had been invited, too, and was on her newlywed husband's left, in the grey western business suit that emphasised her eyes. By her was the magnolia attired Selphie wearing Irvine's hat, then Squall in SeeD uniform, then Rinoa in black and baby blue.

On the opposite side, with their backs to the tacky windows, were Clyde, Relm and Noctis. While Clyde wore silver armour with the crest of the Knights of Pluto on his breastplate, Relm and Noctis had remained in White SeeD uniform. Relm's hands were below the table, as she was caressing Interceptor the Second in her lap.

Thalassa was to Noct's right, and at her right was Fujin, in her usual navigator's attire and long, white hair ponytailed. As neither a SeeD nor of any of the three western nations, Thalassa did wonder why Fujin had been summoned, when other GF bearers like Rhodry and Damian were back on Battleship Island. Fujin sat with her back straight, her garnet eye fixed on the king and queen whose subjects had previously referred to her as the Lady of the Vortex; Beatrix had once called her a Descendant of Garuda. Fujin's new barbed hook rested sideways on the redwood surface.

Though the point of the hook was not pointed at the royals, but at the disconcerting skeleton seated at the far end of the table, wearing a breastplate and helm melded from an iron giant's armour, with the helm itself crested with behemoth hair.

This was Hector. Internally elected leader of the Wraiths of Zefer after the loss of Kronos at Mysidia, Hector had also been invited to this meeting, as the Wraiths had unanimously decided to delay their journey to the Netherworld until Adel's heir had been defeated. Without Zefer's old hoplites, White SeeD would have been all but annihilated at Mysidia. The ancient hoplites still numbered over sixteen hundred, required neither sleep nor sustenance, and had had two millennia to hone their lamented prowess with the dory, the xiphos and the round shield.

The grinning skull staring at them from within that helm could not be ignored. Vossler and the politicians seemed to be particularly uncomfortable, glancing at Hector every few seconds, whereas anyone who had fought with the Wraiths was less perturbed. As Hector could not speak, he had been given a pen and paper in case he wished to convey or ask something.

Steiner cleared his throat. It was only fitting that the king be the one to start the discussions.

'Thank you all for accepting my invitation,' he said, his deep voice filling the chamber. 'I know how anxious you all must be to return to the west. Even as we speak, our common enemy rolls over the Hasberry Plains.' He turned to Vossler. 'Again, President Vossler, please accept my condolences for the murder of your predecessor.'

'Thank you, Sire,' Vossler said.

No one else added anything. Laguna had stirred, and Thalassa realised Euthalia must have pressed on his foot to stop him from speaking. After all, most of them knew that Ultimecia had taken care of a post-war problem for Timber and Galbadia.

'And in answer to your question at the feast, President Vossler,' Beatrix said, 'I anticipate the day when we ascend Mount Ordeals and jointly gain Alexander's favour. Though bound within the gauntlet of Mitsuhide Akechi, freeing Alexander will be no easy feat.'

'Now,' Steiner said, leaning his great girth forward and looking at Squall, 'Commander Leonhart, I would ask for the services of your Media Club one final time before we depart, so that they can document the Kingdom of Centra's formal declaration of war on the Empire of Esthar.' He turned his broad face to Laguna. 'And also those of your reporter, Vice President Loire.'

Laguna nodded excitedly like a kid who had been offered chocolate. The king paused, and everyone watched him eagerly.

'I have reformed the Royal Army – the New Royal Army,' he emphasised, 'which I intend to deploy west immediately. However, the Kingdom lacks an air force, and the Royal Navy is currently comprised of four captured Esthari ships; two airship carriers, and two civilian cruise liners, the latter of which are indefensible sitting ducks at sea, and good for only transporting army personnel. So, although there are means to expand the military – which I am about to propose – realistically, it will be a whole generation before we are self-sufficient enough to match a modern power alone.'

Beatrix had yet to glance at her husband, which Thalassa took to mean he had stuck to his agreed words. Though it was the queen consort that left her seat, walking to the sprawling tapestry map that was spectacularly lit by the late afternoon sun. She slid Save the Queen from its sheath and tossed her hair the way she did, whenever it palled her remaining eye.

'Pray forgive the outdated map of the Planet,' Beatrix said. 'Our seamstresses are currently labouring upon a new one – although we know not to add any border lines until the end of the war. Yet for now, this will do.' She turned to them. 'Steiner and I have travelled the world. We are highly familiar with its geography beyond this antiquated tapestry, and we have been to both the western and eastern continents, in addition to the Albatross.'

This was the first sign that Steiner was about to go off script. With a great scrape of his chair, his large form rose and thudded to his queen's side. He took a deep breath, rubbing his giant mitts together as Beatrix gave him irritated look.

'Indeed!' he said. 'It was my father, Friedrich, that made sure my humility was not limited to sharing the nomadic existence of my subjects! I spent my sixteenth nameday as a lumberjack in Timber's forests, my seventeenth as a day labourer in Deling City – as it was then known, my eighteenth fishing the frigid northern oceans in an FH trawler, and my nineteenth at a whaling village in Sorbald!' He returned his consort's look. 'Beatrix also had a similar enlightening journey during her adolescence, albeit marred by happenstance at Blauehaven.'

Most listened with genuine intrigue, as they had not known this. Laguna seemed to be outright fascinated, his mouth gaping like a unbeached fastitocalon.

'It was when I had seen twenty summers, when the post-First Sorceress War peace was shattered.' Steiner's eyes found Laguna's. 'After the last Lunar Cry, Esthar's trimmed down military was crying out for supplementary soldiers. Independently of one another, Beatrix and I were drawn to those crimson skies of the east. We were of the last two remaining Houses, and we both felt obliged to witness first hand the same phenomenon that destroyed our forebears' Kingdom. Many have argued that in constructing Lunatic Pandora the Esthari were the architects of their own destruction, though it was the common people that suffered most from their Cry, as they always do. And so, Beatrix and I enlisted in the auxiliary of Esthar's ailing military.'

'You were there?' Laguna blurted. 'Helping me, Sire? Helping my self-defense force?'

Steiner nodded patiently. 'Yes, we were, Mr Vice President. As Centrans, Beatrix and I were placed into the same century. I had never met her before that, though I immediately knew who she was by her blade. Yet, with Ragnarok missing, Beatrix knew me only as a Son of Almaj, and I was too ashamed to reveal my lineage. We spent almost a year fighting the Lunarians together, and we became close. Yet Beatrix did not learn of my true heritage until a moogle tracked us down. Dear Mogrio had been sent by my mother, to relay news of my father's death from sickness, and called me "Your Majesty".

'Beatrix and I did not depart Esthar until Sorceress Ultimecia, then known as Reina, seized power. We knew Esthar had lost much in the interwar period and would seek to reclaim Adel's old empire. Mother Centra was still sparsely populated, with the northern Shires used as theatres of horrendous battles between Esthar and Galbadia, and we expected the same to happen again as a third global conflict seemed inevitable. Moreover, Centra was now even more ripe for the taking. Beatrix and I knew it was time for a union between the last two Houses, and that it was also time for the Uncrowned King to unite his people.'

'The point of my husband's recital is this,' Beatrix said, betraying the faintest ghost of smile. 'As we served in Esthar's auxilliary, we are familiar with legionnaire tactics. Many of our warriors are alumni of the three Gardens, Battleship Island, or are former White SeeDs. When the New Royal Army makes its presence known, it will not be going in blind, or with half-remembered tactics from the fiftieth century!'

She raised Save the Queen to the tapestry, and its tip found a point in the Central Ocean that today was split by the Horizon Bridge, pointing to where Fisherman's Horizon was. Beatrix needed no other map for reference, she knew exactly where FH was located, backing Steiner's claim about their knowledge of the modern world.

'So, this is our proposal!' Beatrix said. 'That we sail for FH, as early as this evening, and seize both the naval base and the shipbuilding facility there. This will jointly provide the Royal Navy with much needed frigates, submarines and destroyers, as well as dealing the Empire another heavy blow. With Ultimecia's might now concentrated in Timber, she will not be in a position to stop this. And with the Eidolons on our side, our success will be assured!'

Silence fell over the occupants of the table, her words sinking in. In earnest, this is exactly what Thalassa had been hoping would be proposed. According to her contacts in FH's resistance cells, George Peterson was still imprisoned in the goal at FH. Although the rest of the Ross Torama's crew were dead, Ultimecia had been determined to publicly execute George herself, but had been too preoccupied with her new offensive on the western continent, and so the skipper had been languishing like a serial killer on death row.

'I'm in!' Thalassa said first. 'George Peterson is alive, and he's often talked of scrapping FH's pacifist policies! If we can rescue him soon and liberate FH, he will be proclaimed Mayor! His people will join the Allies, I know they will! Most of them have no military experience, but many have been employed in the shipbuilding plant, and are trained as test operators.' She looked between Steiner and Beatrix, grinning. 'I'd wager that in return, George will be happy for them to operate on your ships, and tutor your people as modern sailors at the same time!'

This time, the silence was one of incredulousness.

'Lassa, you're definitely Zell's daughter!' Selphie said, winking at her.

'Wishful thinking, I must say,' Clyde said. 'But not wholly outside the realm of possibility. Our other hope is that if FH won't join the Allies, they will at least be happy for us to remove all those warships from their territorial waters, and rather the Allies than the Empire.' He looked at Thalassa, one captain to another. 'Either way, I knew we could count on you, Captain Thalassa.'

'Don't mention it,' she said.

Beatrix turned to Squall, now. 'What say you, Commander Leonhart?'

Squall's eyes looked contemplative. 'FH is only a short diversion from Timber, and should be a relatively easy acquisition if we all work together. I'll commit Neo-SeeD to the cause,' he said, then added, 'Free of charge.'

This got Rinoa's trademark faint smile.

'And SeeD comes with not one, but two Descendants of Hyne!' Selphie announced.

'You have our utmost gratitude,' Steiner said. 'In that case, I have little doubt that part of our plans will be a success.' He had taken Ragnarok from his back, raising it behind Beatrix until its tip pointed south of the western continent. 'From FH, we can spearhead an assault and blockade Redwood, pushing inland to cut off Esthar's main supply lines to northern Timber.' He traced a curving cut, like a horseshoe around Timber's southern city to demonstrate, giving him little difficulty even when held with one hand. 'While I would like White SeeD to remain with us in this endeavour, Neo-SeeD will not be necessary for this, and your Eidolon callers will be needed in the north. In any case, taking Redwood will significantly relieve the Allies fighting in the north and hamstring Esthar's current offensive.'

Steiner looked from the tapestry to DiMarco.

'When this happens, Madam President, it would be the ideal time for your Forest fighters to launch a major offensive. If they strike from Timber City and the Roshfall simultaneously, it could trap Esthar's main column between the Obel River and the Monterosa Plateau. In the best possible scenario, the Saronans do not lose too much ground beyond East Academy, and Sorceress Ultimecia and her magicite holders will be surrounded on all sides.'

Thalassa's eyes widened, berating herself for having not thought of this already. She saw Squall and Vossler both nod wordlessly, finding little fault with the king's ambitiousness. To think that Centra had fought no wars for over a century, and that its new ruler was the brainchild of a plan that could end the Third Sorceress War by summer.

'Yes, Sire!' DiMarco voiced her agreement. 'Cassandra Elderwood will know exactly the opportune moment to strike!'

'That she will!' Rinoa piped excitedly.

'There is but one potential problem,' Beatrix conceded, raising Save the Queen again, this time pointing it toward the Kakashbald. 'Esthar's air force base in the desert.'

Rinoa shuddered, likely recalling it had been airmen from there that had apprehended her from the Ragnarok all those years ago. Its whole legion had rolled up in the dunes in fear of her, and though Squall had been willing to face them single-handedly, Rinoa had given herself up willingly. Laguna had noticed her shudder and immediately looked away, as it had been him that had given that order.

'The XIXth Legion,' Rinoa just said.

Beatrix nodded. 'When they realise that we are diverting to FH, the XIXth can and will try its upmost to stop us. They may even be ordered to send old nuclear weapons. When FH falls and we seize that fleet, Valkyrs will swarm to bomb the whole settlement, the production facility, and Horizon Bridge into the ocean. Even with Eidolons on our side, shielding such a large area will be very difficult.'

'In short,' Clyde said, leaning forward. 'We need to neutralise the Kakashbaldi base at the same time. The problem is, without aerial units of our own, that will be difficult. We can sail northwest of the desert, then it will be down to a ground force to cross the sweltering dunes. Even without drones and their IR scanners, the desert has become chock full of radiation with all the arms testing over the last century. Kakashbaldi nomadic life is now a thing of the past, with most of the tribes having settled in Karnak. The Esthari always have eyes on the safe routes, cybernetic or otherwise. Taking the base from the ground is not impossible, but it would result in many casualties – more than the Kingdom can afford, if we want to make a difference on the western continent.'

'Can't we just send a few GFs?' Laguna piped up. 'The ones that can fly?'

'We're going to need every last free GF at FH and in the west,' Squall asserted, giving his father a firm look. 'As it stands, Raine, Liu and Zhang are heading into the Roshfall. Tyris, Ballad and Gerra are all off the grid. We're already spread too thinly for my liking. If Ultimecia ambushes one or all of them, their GFs can be lost, and we lose our hard-won power advantage. Raine's team in particular are too exposed – I need to bolster her! For this operation to work, we can't afford to divert anyone else.'

Thalassa glanced at Fujin, knowing that Esthar's air force feared her more than anyone else on the Planet, as she had annihilated their entire fleet during the Battle of Balamb and done the same again on the Great Plains. She was the Bane of the Valkyrs, though was a freerider who answered to none, and was with White SeeD only for as long as little Ifrit was training with them, who would not be aboard their ship during deployment. More eyes affixed on Fujin, making her uncomfortable, and when she slid her maimed arm from the tabletop, her hook left a noticeable scratch on the redwood surface.

'Sorry,' she muttered.

But it was another sound that diverted everyone's attention. Hector was rapping his sun-bleached knuckles on the table to get everyone's attention. The ancient hoplite had been so quiet and immobile that Thalassa had almost forgotten he was there. Apparently so too had Euthalia and DiMarco, because the two ladies both flinched, looking at him with wide eyes before collecting themselves. Hector grabbed the pen and paper from in front of him, lowering his skull to look at them, but apparently had a better idea. He rose from the chair, grasped the spear resting upright beside it, then pointed the leaf-shaped head to the lower right corner of the tapestry map.

'Doga's 'tasch!' Steiner exclaimed. 'You would commit your hoplites to this, Captain Hector?'

Hector nodded once, and returned to his chair, resting his spear. He adopted his former position, and it was as though he had not animated at all.

'That solves it!' Relm said excitedly. 'In the desert, the Wraiths won't show up on IR, and they won't be affected by radiation either! They can run day and night through the dunes and be at full readiness when they get within striking distance! And when the base is taken, we'll have the airships to start our own fleet!'

Steiner frowned. 'Sadly, I can't see any surviving airmen being willing to tutor Centrans how to fly. It is unlikely that the Kingdom will have a trained air force before the end of the war.'

Selphie swivelled around in her seat. 'Wait, are you kidding me?' she asked, then hurriedly added, 'Sire?' Steiner brow furrowed deeper at her. 'I learned how to fly a Ragnarok in minutes!' she claimed.

Steiner glanced at Thalassa now. 'Truly?' the king asked. 'Captain Thalassa once spoke of this, but she was of eight summers then. I thought it was nonsense. Impossible.'

'No, Sire,' Laguna said. 'It wasn't hard to operate a Ragnarok at all, and I approved the prototypes for the Valkyrs!' he bragged, as though this were a great achievement. 'They were no less user-friendly!'

'Yes, I have to say,' Euthalia added crisply. 'Laguna took me for a test flight in a Valkyr, and allowed me to have a go at flying it myself. A child could fly one of those things. Which is very frightening, I know!'

'Maybe Hector's hoplites can even pilot them in time to help us in Timber!' Selphie said outlandishly, winking at Hector. 'Even without brains in those ancient skulls, I don't think it will take them more than, what, an hour to learn the controls!'

Steiner looked pensive, and moved to sit back in his chair, resting Ragnarok in the same manner Hector had his spear. Beatrix joined him at his side.

'We can do this,' the king said boldly. 'We can end the war in Timber. I'm certain of it.'

'Its gotta have a name!' Laguna said suddenly. Everyone looked at him. 'This whole offensive! All great operations have names!'

'You're right, Sir Laguna!' Selphie agreed. 'Any ideas?' she asked, her emerald eyes sweeping everybody. Most looked thoughtful, although it was hard to tell with Hector. 'No takers?' Selphie stood supinely, curling one leg and balancing on the other, the way she liked to. 'How about Operation,' she spread her arms. 'Booyaka!'

Squall and Rinoa rolled their eyes, while Laguna tittered. Thalassa just smiled.

'Booyaka?' Beatrix repeated slowly. 'Begging your pardon, Sorceress Selphie, but is that even a word?'

Steiner chuckled. 'The Kingdom is lacking for modern dictionaries! Or is it Trabian, perchance?'

Relm had lifted Interceptor so that he was sitting on the table surface, on his haunches. Eyes were drawn to the pup as he rose and tottered down the table. 'So cute!' Rinoa commented, as he meandered by her. Though as Interceptor got close enough for those developing eyes to properly sight Hector, the pup growled and ran back to Relm's hands.

'I've got one,' Relm said. 'Operation Interceptor!' She locked eyes with Clyde and spread her hands. 'Come on, father, it's perfect! We're gonna intercept the ships at FH, intercept the airships in the desert, intercept Redwood, intercept the supply lines! It's great, it all fits!'

Suddenly, Noctis stood and slowly removed his own sword from its sheath. The typically taciturn prince had not said a single word throughout the whole meeting, which was one less than Fujin and the same as Hector. As he barred his weapon, the gleam from it was dazzling, and the undead Hector recoiled in his seat, bone-fingers inching to the shaft of his spear as his chair screeched backward like chalk on a blackboard. When Noctis realised the threat to him, he tilted it in the opposite direction. Vossler looked at Excalibur in awe, as even Lightbringer did not glow like that. Thalassa had almost forgotten that Noctis had it.

'Gilgamesh said that this sword is called Excalibur,' Noctis informed them. 'It comes from his homeworld, and was wielded by one of the Warriors of Dawn. To my understanding, they were four chosen heroes akin to the Warriors of Light from our world. Now, Excalibur is not a name that's ever been given in our world, so if imperial spies get wind of a major operation by that name, they won't have any inclination as to what's coming.' He gave Relm a half smile. 'A little more discreet than Interceptor, don't you think?'

'I guess,' the princess acquiesced.

'Well, I think we have a winner,' Rinoa said happily. 'Operation Excalibur!'

'Excalibur, it is!' Laguna said.

Selphie, who had remained on her feet, started ecstatically jumped up and down.

'Alright, everyone!' she cried. 'Let's get this show on the road!'