Rhaella had never seen the Plataea so busy. The massive castle was in a flurry of activity, and the former queen could almost feel the urgency that was present in the halls. For all that she felt the sudden movement, she had not been given much chance to see it. Jane was unavailable to guard her, and none of the other Spartans or Plataea servants had been assigned to make up for the absence of her once protector. She had spent the last two days all but confined to her rooms with Viserys.

Her son had not been happy with that. Viserys had recently been placed in a class with the Plataea's maesters, though he shared his lessons with other children, and every day he returned to their rooms with something to tell her. Only a few days ago, he had informed her some new knowledge regarding the shape and nature of the world. According to him, and the Plateaean maesters, the world was rounded so that one could sail in any direction, and eventually return from the other side.

Rhaella remembered hearing long ago of the journey of one Elissa Farman, who had stolen dragon eggs from her family in the days of King Jaehaerys and sailed into the Sunset Sea. No one had ever seen her again, but according to the journals of Corlys Velaryon a half-century later, a ship of great likeness to hers had been seen close to Asshai by the Shadow and the Saffron Straights in the farthest eastern parts of the world.

Viserys was now working in a small book, one he had been given by his teachers that contained many problems and such that the children could work through on their own time. When he was not writing in that book, he was drawing with his coloured pencils, sculpting with clay provided to him, or playing with some of the toys and games he had been given by Jane.

So focused was she on her own introspection, that when a knock finally sounded at her door, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Coming." She called through the door, rushing over as Viserys looked up from his work. Rhaella waddled forward. In the last few weeks since Elia had left and the year was coming to its end, her belly had truly begun to swell. So far, no letters had come from any lords regarding her pregnancy, and Elia had not spoken much of it in the letters they had exchanged since her return to Dorne, knowing as they both did about the reach of spymasters of all sides. Her once good-daughter and the mother of her grandchildren was doing well, given everything that had happened. She spoke of Sunspear and the joy of being back amongst her family. Of course, Elia made sure not to write in such a way as to taunt Rhaella with her freedoms, but sometimes the former queen could not help but feel a tinge of envy as her good-daughter wrote of some expedition or other. She had rarely left the Plataea and never been outside of the settlements surrounding the massive castle.

Reaching the door, Rhaella was surprised to find Lord Kurt standing on the other side of the threshold.

"My Lord." She said, curtsying meekly.

Viserys' head snapped to the man, looking up from his own work.

"Rhaella." The man regarded her. "I was hoping we could speak. There's been an… incident that will require your appearance."

The Targaryen lady felt her chest seize up slightly before it loosened. This was what Lord Kurt and she had agreed upon. Her presence at certain functions could not be avoided, both as his betrothed and as a lady of high birth sheltered under his roof.

"Of course, my lord. What is it that requires our presence as betrothed?"

"There have recently been several raids on our lands. Slaver ships from the free cities raiding fishing villages."

Rhaella gasped. Pirate vessels from the east were known to raid ships for cargo and crew, taking them back to the east to be sold, but such attacks usually took place along ocean trade routes. Rarely did raids actually attack land, and even then, Essosi pirates usually never came this far north along Westeros' western shores. More commonly it was Ironborn, whether disavowed pirates or thinly veiled raids seeking thralls.

"You are sure they were from the east?" She asked. "And not Ironborn flying false colours."

"Quite sure." Lord Kurt responded. "They were definitely not Ironborn, and when questioned they named their port of origin in the east. We've sent word to the Farmans, Casterly Rock and King's Landing. Lord Tywin will be about in a few weeks to deal with them."

"Why do you not do it yourself?" Rhaella asked. "They are pirates, you needn't trouble Lord Tywin with this. Especially if he has decided to travel here."

Her hands cupped her belly. Truthfully, she had hoped that Lord Kurt would be able to deflect any visits by lords that might require her presence, at least until her child was delivered and could be safely kept from the intrigue and gossip of the nobility.

"It's somewhat complicated." Lord Kurt said. "The long and short is that we will be using these attacks to present our own actions as retaliation, as opposed to an unprovoked attack. Not that we need a reason to attack, but the argument of defense never hurt anyone, and it will be useful to ensure Westerosi cooperation when we invade the Free Cities."

For a moment, Rhaella thought she might have misheard the man, then she thought she might have finally joined Aerys in madness considering all that had happened to her. It took a few moments after that for Rhaella to fully come to grips with what her future husband was telling her.

"Wha…? You can't- you can't simply invade the Free Cities!" She exclaimed,

"Why not?" Kurt asked, eyebrow raised. "Whatever your views on the interference of one power in the affairs of another, my people are fully capable."

"But- but what of the navies of the east? They control the waters of the narrow sea."

"It's of no consequence."

"But you cannot just attack. The numbers necessary, and the time to travel and invade would be ludicrous."

"Good points Rhaella, if we were not who we are."

The man gestured for her to follow him, and Rhaella hurried along as fast as her stomach would allow her. Seeing her sluggish pace, Lord Kurt slowed his own stride to help her keep pace with him without putting any more strain on her child. The door to her room slid shut behind them, leaving Viserys to his own devices until she returned.

"In the interest of solidarity during the meeting, I have elected to share some of the details of our operations with you. However, this is sensitive information, so you will not be allowed to share what I am about to tell you with anyone outside of the Plataea's residents and those living in New Currahee."

Not that Rhaella could tell anyone else. She spent nearly all of her time now in her rooms in the Plataea. Without Jane to guard her, her time outside the castle, even in the more relaxed areas of New Currahee, had become severely limited. The only person she reliably communicated with was Elia, with whom she exchanged letters.

"Now, on to business. The raids were, as far as I can say, conducted by a joint endeavour by the cities of Myr, Tyrosh and Lys, who were attempting a raid in order to attempt to capture some of our spartans."

Rhaella could most certainly believe that. The fearsome reputation of House Terra's spartans had only grown over time with their involvement in the Tourney of Harrenhall and then the war. Based on just what she'd seen of Jane, Robert and Shane, any slave master looking for a pit fighter would pay their soul and ten times their weight in gold for just one of the Plataea's warriors.

"Thankfully, these raids were repelled easily and we managed to capture the captains of the ships. They named their cities of origin, and though I have said that my people and I are fully capable of handling this situation, Lord Tywin had insisted on travelling here to speak with us."

"But if these men have named the cities of Lys, Mys and Tyrosh as their home port, you know that they cannot be where they truly make berth."

"I know."

Rhaella stopped, regarding the man before her in a new light. It was then that she noticed something, something that made her shudder. So long as she had known him, Lord Kurt Ambrose of House Terra had regarded everyone not of his house with a mix of calm and pity. It hadn't mattered whether he had regarded peasants in Onyx, or high lords at the Great Council, he looked at them all the same. Now though, that look was gone, and in its place his eyes held a hardness.

"To tell you the truth Rhaella, my people and had never expected to stay here amongst yours for long. We planned to leave, to return to our true home a long time ago. It is only in recent times that my people and I have come to the conclusion that we will be stranded here for more than just the short term. We are here for the long haul, as the saying goes. As such, given your unique and peculiar position as both a member of local authority, and a person we will be dealing with for the foreseeable future I have decided to show you more of our people's capabilities."

His words were some of the most ominous Rhaella had ever heard, and she felt an urge to wrench her arms free of his. She fought back that urge however, more to ensure that she didn't anger the suddenly much more threatening man. Her feet felt like they were encased in stone as she was led out of one of the Plataea's many dull grey corridors and out into a massive room. She recognised it after a moment as the same one she, Elia, Ashara and the others had arrived in after the attack on the Red Keep. It was still as brightly lit, and Rhaella could see out of one of the windows that the sun had set over the horizon and the stars were out in the sky.

Looking around, Rhaella had expected to see one of the metal beasts, the Pelicans, as they were named, though why she had no idea. Instead, there was a much larger beast. It too seemed to be made of cold steel, for it didn't breathe or move as any beast she had ever seen might. It was also massive, stretching far longer and wider than the 'Pelican' that had whisked her and her family away that night so long ago. What was most shocking though was that it was not alone. All along the massive room there were more of the beasts lined up. Five, ten, twenty? Rhaella didn't know, nor did she care to count as Lord Kurt led her to the one directly in front of them.

Rhaella felt herself shrink into Lord Kurt's side, despite the fact that he was arguably more dangerous than the imposing thing in front of them. Lord Kurt walked forwards without fear, taking her with him as some kind of ramp descended. As it did it revealed an entranceway into the beast, similar to the 'Pelican' that she had once ridden in. Was this thing similar to that beast, meant to transport men and women from place to place. She hoped so.

Unlike with the first of the Terra's flying beasts that she had ridden, she was not kept at the entrance, in a single bare compartment. Instead, she was led by Lord Kurt deeper and deeper. The inside of this metal monster was much like the 'Pelican's,' but was brighter as it had many of the Terra's lightbulbs attached to the ceilings of each room. A sound from behind her made Rhaella look back as she was led further in, only to see the ramp she and Lord Kurt had first entered close up behind her. Seeing that, she could not help but hope that this behemoth of metal was truly not living, for otherwise she had just stepped through its jaws and allowed it to swallow her whole.

A door slid open in front of them shaking her from her thoughts, and Rhaella was surprised to see Jane standing on the other side. Her companion looked different however. Rhaella had seen Jane in plain clothes, in the thin garments she trained in, and the armour she had worn during that night when everything had changed. However, this armour put everything else to shame. It was otherworldly, covering her in a strange black bodysuit with bumps and ridges all across it. The parts that actually looked like armour covered most of her body, and were covered in scuffs and scratches. Rhaella was not expert on warfare, but even she could tell that what Jane was wearing had seen a good amount of use. Under her arm was a helmet. It had the same strange glass as Lord Kurt's from his victorious trial by seven, but rather than covering the whole face, it looked more akin to that of an actual knight, thinner and placed where the eyes actually ought to be.

Seeing her, Jane's eyes widened and she stepped up.

"Sir. Rhaella. Spartan A-203 reporting for duty."

Lord Kurt regarded the woman without the warmth that he normally afforded his children.

"We will be taking Rhaella up during the practice flight, since we're undertaking colonisation efforts, and Rhaella is one of our main assets in maintaining local authority, I decided it was best to demonstrate UNSC capabilities."

Again, there was that notion. Rhaella knew that House Terra had their spartans, fearsome warriors all of them, and their flying metal beasts, and their massive castle of steel, but Lord Kurt was speaking of showing her a part of what his house, his people, were capable of as though all she had seen so far was trivial. If his warriors and all that she had so far seen were not worth mentioning as aspects of his house's power, what could he be planning to reveal to her?

"Understood sir, should I return to crew quarters, or stay with Rhaella?"

"Get your squad squared away. This is a practice for the operation. I want everyone to be prepared for when we commence."

"Yes sir. Rhaella, see you soon."

"Goodbye Jane."

Jane nodded, casting one last look at Rhaella before she disappeared. Watching her guard leave, Rhaella turned to look around the room. There were maybe a dozen other people with them, each of them standing or seated but not looking at her. Instead, they all regarded what looked like strange glowing scrolls. She couldn't make out much of what was on them, they were so small and the words moved quickly as the men and woman swiped their fingers along them.

"Rhaella."

Eyes suddenly snapping Lord Kurt as he said her name, she found he was gesturing to a seat. It was at another of the glowing scrolls, but unlike those she had seen from the others, this one was duller, and said only a few words.

'Input Service Number'

Rhaella didn't know what the message meant, but whatever thoughts she might have had were cut off as the people in the room began to speak.

"Thrusters are go."

"Nav-systems are go."

"Cloaking fields are go."

"Ready to take off at your word captain."

Rhaella looked at Lord Kurt, who was seated in a chair in almost the centre of the room.

"Launch."

There was a sudden lurching, and she could see out the window as the floor and walls of the massive room of the Platea began to fall. No, the room wasn't falling, they were rising. Rhaella recognised the feeling from when she had ridden in the metal beasts. The view swirled, and Rhaella suddenly felt nauseous for a moment before her stomach settled. There was a high-pitched whine throughout the room, and she felt herself being pulled back into her seat. The window began to point upwards, giving her a view of the sea of stars that made up the night sky.

"Thrusters engaged."

The pull she had felt before increased, though not to anything more than an uncomfortable level, but none of that was of any concern to Rhaella, instead she found herself enraptured by the view of the sky, it was growing larger and larger, almost as if they were racing up to greet the stars.

"Clearing Karman line in t-minus three minutes and counting. Ready for switchover to artificial gravity."

"Good. Make sure we're clear of the Thermosphere before switchover."

"Understood."

It was a flurry of activity around the room, and Rhaella could only spend the next few minutes watching either the window into the night sky of the people gesturing rapidly at the glowing scrolls.

"Clearing Thermosphere in t-minus 3…2…1…cleared."

"Switching over to internal artificial gravity."

The pull that Rhaella had been feeling, which had been pulling her into her chair lessened, and instead she once again felt herself pulled down to the floor It was odd, she knew that she had been lying in that chair, and there was no feeling of movement to indicate they had moved, but she almost fell to the floor as she felt her weight shift.

"Rhaella."

Hearing her name called, Rhaella looked at Lord Kurt, who was now standing next to her seat.

"I think it's time I showed you who we are."

Taking her hand, Lord Kurt helped her up from her seat. Feet still unsteady, Rhaella gripped his hand tight.

"Initiating yaw and pitch rolls."

The grip she had on Lord Kurt tightened as the floor moved beneath her, taking her with it. She stumbled, but was caught before she could fall to the floor.

When she had once again found her feet, she looked up from the floor, taking in the view out of the large window. Immediately Rhaella felt the air once more leave her lungs. Just out the window, laid out before her as if it was a map for her to peruse, was the world. The continent of Westeros was arranged in front of her. It was tiny, so small that she could make out few points with any clarity. Many of the larger points of geography were visible. Rhaella could see the Arm of Dorne and the stepstones, the Mander and Trident rivers, but even then, they were small.

Once, Rhaella had thought that the cities of the Seven Kingdoms were large; seen and known of and in King's Landing's case smelled for miles around. Whatever notions she had held, they were quickly corrected, for she could nor make out any of the great settlements of the continent. Rhaella felt her stomach drop, perhaps all the way back down to the world she now saw so far below her. Looking at Lord Kurt, it was not the first time she had feared the man, never before had it felt so primal.

"What are you?"

"We are the United Nation Space Command. The Plataea is one of our ships, run aground on your planet, and we expect your full cooperation in our efforts to bring some semblance of civilisation to your people."

Tywin Lannister was not especially happy. Even as he was served objectively delicious food and catered to with amenities that were lavish even when compared to Casterly Rock or King's Landing. Seated beside him, Lord Farman seemed even less happy, chewing begrudgingly on the food provided to them by the servants.

Across from the two lords, their host sat with his betrothed, the former queen of the continent. Tywin had of course been informed of Rhaella's pregnancy with Aerys' last child. For all the fact that no spies existed within the Plataea, the queen still regularly exchanged letters with the princess of Dorne, and Dorne, even Sunspear had spies that told Tywin of important news.

But even Aerys' last child, a potential rival to usurp Cersei's children by Robert, was not why Tywin schooled himself to keep the rage off his face and ensure that Lord Farman did not begin cursing his lordly rival.

No, the reason for Tywin's rage was indeed rather simple. Lord Terra had, since his defiance of Tywin's orders in regards to the royal family, been slowly and deliberately distancing himself and his house from Tywin's. Nothing yet had been done that could be considered treasonous, but the man pushed his boundaries with his every act since the Great Council.

Even with his bucking of Tywin's authority, the most frustrating thing for the Lord of Casterly Rock was that Lord Terra was still useful. Every few weeks or moons, new inventions and knowledge left the Plataea, first to Casterly Rock, and then outwards to the rest of the Westerlands and then the Seven Kingdoms. House Terra, for all that Tywin wished he could simply be rid of them, was too valuable, and still cooperative enough that destroying, or worse, alienating them was too large a risk.

The lord to Tywin's right however did not see any of Tywin's conundrum. Lord Farman had hated Lord Terra, and Tywin himself to a certain extent, since the queer man's people and castle had appeared. Granting nearly half of the island to House Terra had stolen from the ancient house power and authority, authority that Farman was still bleeding with every peasant who ventured south and beyond his ability to command. Already the lord had sent missives detailing how people, families and even whole villages had abandoned the lands his family still controlled and wandered over into those of House Terra. Onyx; the settlement that had sprung up around the Plataea as towns tended to do around large castles, was growing rapidly, and was set to eclipse the town that existed beneath the walls of Faircastle in the north.

But none of that, not the tension simmering between his banner men, not even Lord Ambrose's continued undermining of his authority, could compare to the contents of House Terra's latest missive.

"Lord Ambrose, I expect that this latest missive is some form of jest, and that you will punish whoever it is who thought to burden my house with this bout of lunacy."

"I'll have to ask what specifically you are talking about." Lord Terra said, hands folded on his lad. "We've sent quite a few messages to Casterly Rock."

"You're picking a fight with slavers in the far east on the ancient lands of my family." Lord Farman snarled.

Yes. There were few things in all the world that Tywin could count on, and one of them was on the bluster and arrogance of other, lesser lords. Prickling at their egos tended to make them forget their composure, but it worked well in his favour in this case.

"Lord Farman." Tywin snapped, using the man's outburst to both broach the topic, present himself as an impartial party between the two lords, and hopefully place Lord Ambrose on the back food.

"Crass though his words are, they are valid. Tell me my lord, how do you intend to wage this war? With what soldiers? With what supplies? The Free Cities are a continent and an ocean away."

"We have the means to transport weapons and warriors to Essos." Lord Kurt replied. "We have already begun, and more than a third of our forces have infiltrated the cities themselves."

"You have done this without the approval of your liege lord, or the King." Tywin growled.

This was no longer a matter of pushing boundaries. What Lord Ambrose was doing were liberties that no lord could take, at least not without the leave of men of much higher status than Ambrose.

"You commit acts of war without the leave of your Lord Paramount or the King, this is close to treason Lord Ambrose. However, I will be magnanimous this one time. You will cease this foolishness, return what forces you have gathered and sent, and submit yourself for redress."

Lord Farman's face, once a mask of indignity and rage, had morphed as the conversation progressed, and now his teeth showed from the width of his smile. Tywin himself felt a small rise of satisfaction. Lord Ambrose had tested his boundaries, and now he had overstepped so much that no one would be able to side with him.

"No."

"Excuse me my lord?"

"I said no. Even if I wanted to stop the operation, it is already underway. We launched this morning, and according to reports we have already secured a majority of the free cities of Myr, Tyrosh and Lys."

Had Lord Farman not utterly lost his composure and began all but frothing at the mouth, Tywin was not sure he would have been able to keep his own composure as still as it had been. Seeing the other lord devolve into a sputtering rage kept his mind focused enough that the only sign of his displeasure was the furrowing of his brow.

"Whatever progress you have made in the conquest of these cities. It will be undone soon. Do you believe the other slaver cities of the east will allow for you to hold even one of the three daughters? They will send all their forces out to recapture them, and in doing so will also make war upon Westerosi wherever they find them."

"I understand your points, Tywin, but this isn't up for debate." Kurt rose from his seat, making use of his height to stare down at the two men.

"So far, we have adhered to the local power structures of your people to minimise the effect we would have had on your society. However, minimalization is no longer our primary focus, and the rampant slavery of Essos is an affront to human decency that we will correct."

"Lord Ambrose." Tywin growled. "What you say is treason, against the crown, the king, and the generosity of my house when we granted you domains and power."

"I agree." Kurt said. "And please don't misunderstand, your generosity was and is greatly appreciated. Once we have established ourselves as an independent power, I would be happy to negotiate some agreements on trade to continue our work in enriching the Westerlands and all of Westeros, but my first duty is to my people, and to the mission I was assigned when I was placed in charge of the Plataea."

Kurt stepped back from the table, which prompted Rhaella to rise as well and take her betrothed's hand.

"I believe this concludes our business Tywin. Please know that as long as you are a guest, you will be unharmed and unmolested under my roof. If you wish we can prepare to have Tyrion's things packed up and he can leave with you if you would prefer he not be kept in our care.

Tywin Lannister slammed his hands on the table, restraining a roar of indignation. Settling a fierce glare on the man across from him, he stormed from the room.

Lord Farman rose immediately after, his expression a mix between rage and smug satisfaction.

"This treason and rebellion will not go unpunished." He snarled. "And I will see these lands restored back to their rightful place as I grind this castle into sand."

Kurt watched the two men leave, largely keeping his face clear of emotion. Despite that, he could almost feel Mendez's smirk from where he stood.

"About damn time sir. Was gettin' tired of listening to that jackass."

"You've made that opinion very clear chief. I only hope this doesn't cost us everything we've worked for so far."

"Lord Ambrose."

Kurt looked to the side, where Rhaella was still standing, though she had let go of his hand. She looked a little unsteady, and Kurt almost reached out to grasp her shoulder when he noticed something.

"Oh shit." Mendez cursed to his side.

"I think the babe is coming." Rhaella said, gripping the damp and darkening front of her dress.

Yay, Daenerys is coming. Right on schedule. I sometimes have a problem with time and pacing in this fic, since Asoiaf events are much more spaced out to compensate for the lacking communication and travel restrictions of the medieval world. The UNSC on the other hand doesn't have this, so there some pacing issues when dealing with chapters or sections that go back and forth.

As of now, the next chapters will be the final parts of the set up, and we will then go full force into colonisation efforts. There will be war, blood, Spartan fights, politics, ignoring politics to kick ass, settlement, romance and advancement. If anyone had some ideas for fun tech or ideas to introduce, leave a review. Remember though, the UNSC isn't going to give anything with obvious military applications so things like TNT and gunpowder are definately not being handed out, at least for a while.

The overwhelming winners of last chapter's poll are Kurt and Rhaella as the main pov characters, with foxtrot/wildlings as second runner up and spartans/locals in third. Not super surprised but good to gauge reader input. There will be some jumping around due to the wide reach of the UNSC in its colonisation efforts but Kurt and Rhaella will be present and focused on. I have some ideas for Rhaella's therapy, but it does get a little more explicit, so I might need to change the rating from T to M. Don't worry though there's not going to be smut (not yet at least) so enjoy.

Also I want to ask. How do you guys feel about an omake about the UNSC arriving during Aegon's Conquest or the Dance of Dragons. Just a chapter or two, but all the same I love the idea as it appears in my head.