Manifest Fantasy

Month 6, Day 23

2:23 A.M.

General Norasa remained expressionless as he watched two other n.o.bian generals attempt to calm down their emperor.

"To be attacked by barbarians, there is no greater damage to our pride! Such an egregious insult should not have happened in the first place!"

"I understand, my lord, but it is okay since this is actually a part of our cunning strategy," General Nirimi said. His voice faltered as he ended his sentence. Norasa smirked internally; obviously Nirimi was on his last straw and was desperate to save his neck from a beheading.

"Do enlighten me, what type of "cunning strategy" requires the destruction of my empire"s defenses?!"

Nirimi, having had but a few seconds to develop his argument, responded with an accordingly poor justification. "My lord, it was to give the enemy a false sense of security. They will believe that our forces are weak, and thus underestimate us!"

Wrong answer, Norasa thought.

"You wanted them to believe that our forces are WEAK?! The strength of n.o.bia should never be mocked! What you speak of is treachery. Guards, take him away!"

Two imperial guards marched forward and grabbed Nirimi"s arms, dragging him away as he screamed.

"Noo! Please my lord! Have mercy! I have always had the best interests of our great—"

Nirimi was dragged out of the throne room before he could finish his sentence, which was followed by the slamming of heavy ornate doors.

It was too easy to frame Nirimi as a spy; his incompetence as a general was too glaring to neglect. Norasa almost felt bad for the man. With Nirimi framed as the Sonaran spy, Norasa would be able to experience greater liberties throughout the n.o.bian High Command. No one would expect an additional spy in such a high position. Now, all he needed to do was figure out how Nosh acquired his information. Despite the errors with this information, the fact that Nosh was able to secure any at all suggested that a leak existed within the Sonaran Federation. Although unlikely, there was a possibility that n.o.bians could have infiltrated Sonaran ranks. If he could infiltrate the n.o.bian High Command, then he supposed someone could"ve embedded a spy within his own nation.

Now calmed down, Emperor Novus continued their discussion. "General Nosh, my most trusted warrior, I should have given you full control over the entire army."

"My lord, your judgement is always correct," Nosh said, bowing.

"Still, a large part of my judgement is derived from your counsel. So, what say you regarding the simultaneous attacks?"

"According to reports from our intelligence officers, the Americans have attacked several scout outposts, and destroyed bridges leading to key industrial sectors that they are capturing right now. We have lost control of most of our forges and mines in the recently conquered kingdoms. As for our industrial a.s.sets within the empire"s heartland, most have been bombed."

"It is a good thing they attacked at night; most of our citizens would have died if they were working inside the forges during the attack. What about the Sonaran attacks and the siege of Nokk?"

Norasa raised an eyebrow, remaining silent as Nosh answered.

"From what we"ve gathered from our intelligence a.s.sets in the Sonaran Federation, the Americans hid details of the operation from the Sonarans…"

As Nosh continued his explanation and briefing, Norasa thought about the spy. Given the inaccuracy of the intelligence, Norasa surmised that a junior officer must"ve been the culprit. He knew that the Sonarans were only told about the main a.s.sault on Nokk and the secondary Sonaran efforts at Nilmeer Fort and Norimaten Fort. Seeing that defending against Sonarans is easier than defending against Americans, Nosh had reinforced the two forts from adjacent bases, unwittingly allowing the others to be sacrificed to the Americans. The intelligence of General Nosh was indeed exemplified by this action, since he didn"t know about the impending American attacks on other key strategic locations.

Pleased with the information given to him by Nosh, Emperor Novus questioned the general further. "Despite what I have said to Nirimi, I understand that the Americans would have taken some of these forts regardless of our defenses. Your decision to transfer troops was wise. How effective was your strategy in defending Nilmeer and Norimaten from the Sonarans?"

"Very much so, your highness. Our spy in the Sonaran Third Army was indeed helpful in providing us with the relevant information. Our forces in both forts could not be reinforced in order to overwhelm the attackers, but we had enough time to supply enough troops and equipment in order to deter capture. The enemy forces are currently engaging our defenses there. Hopefully, the Sonarans will be sufficiently slowed down long enough for us to reevaluate our strategies and adjust them in order to fight the Otherworlders."

The doors to the chamber slammed open. Emperor Novus was just about to convey his satisfaction regarding Nosh"s advice. "My lord, pardon my intrusion, but they have ceased their a.s.sault!"

"I see. Return to your duties."

The soldier bowed before leaving. Novus, finding it odd that the enemy would suddenly stop attacking, asked Nosh what the action may have implied.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the force that attacked our capital came here to destroy our defenses, perhaps even demonstrate their power. I believe this a.s.sault was an attempt by the enemy to flex their muscles and intimidate us. To accomplish this, they sought out our defenses and demolished them, as if they wanted to let us know how much power they have."

"In that case, why have they attacked our treasuries and prisons? I remember hearing of a report about small teams of men with dark clothing."

"They are the American counterpart of our Dark Shadow organization. I had reason to believe they wished to rescue the prince, so I increased security in his holding site."

"Did they succeed?"

"Unfortunately, yes, but it should not be a problem given that your rule is followed with unquestioning loyalty. Our citizens will not be swayed by a false prince."

Emperor Novus smiled, relishing the relieving words of his top general.

"Excellent. Now, as for you, Norasa, tell me if the progress made with our research into eclipse magic."

—

Fort Washington

3:54 A.M.

"Lieutenant Colonel, report!"

Lieutenant Colonel Keyes saluted her commanding officer. "Sir, Operation Upper Hand is a success! We have secured the package."

"Any complications with the mission?"

"We have a couple injured from arrows. No losses on our side, although the extraction itself was a bit dicey. It"s like they knew what we were trying to do… some of our tanks got stuck in small traps and Taxi Squad got swarmed with hundreds of n.o.bians. The extraction would"ve failed if not for our air support."

"I see. I think I"ll have to talk with the Sonarans about this. Go take care of your men, colonel. Dismissed."

Once she exited the room, he sighed. Keyes" a.s.sault on the capital and the extraction made up the final segment of the whole operation; the other planned attacks were executed without much difficulty and with much haste. Donnager"s team completed their mission almost an hour after the others, which led General Harding to worry about the well-being of his people. Unsurprisingly, he was extremely glad when he found out that no American lives were lost. He made sure that his people did not underestimate the enemy, and used all advantages provided by their advanced technology and tactics.

Unfortunately for the Sonarans, they had no such advantage. Last he heard, the Sonarans were struggling to capture the forts, having met fierce resistance. According to Sindis, King Selios suspected a spy within his ranks. No wonder the enemy had double the expected troops. Still, Sindis rea.s.sured, it was nothing their forces couldn"t handle. Of course, they would be able to request air support should they need it.

Hopefully they wouldn"t need much, since he had just rea.s.signed a large force to a.s.sist Colonel Sanders in his mission of defending Site Beta One against the bandit army. According to Sanders, he had a new plan to eradicate the hostile army. Harding admitted, it wasn"t pretty, but considering the sins of the "soldiers" who made up this army, he reasoned that their demise would be for the greater good. Sanders scheduled his operation to begin on June 27th, since he believed that the final enemy reinforcements were arriving that day.

Putting away the various reports and files strewn throughout the desk, Harding stood up and walked toward the exit. Well, it was a long day. Harding turned off the lights in his office and hit the hay, now that all of his men were back home safe.

—

Month 6, Day 23

10:00 A.M.

"My, this cuisine is fascinating!" Prince Lonad exclaimed as he devoured a bowl of Twinkies cereal for breakfast.

"I"m sure it beats anything they"ve given you in the dungeons, Your Highness," Director Tempos joked lightly.

"I haven"t experienced the outside world for perhaps two years now?"

"One year and ten months, Your Highness."

"I see. How has the Reformist movement been?"

"Your imprisonment gave you the status of a martyr. More of our n.o.bian brothers and sisters have flocked to our cause ever since your father wrongfully sentenced you to the dungeons. Even the common peasant grew suspicious from this action."

"What of my allies within the n.o.bian army?"

"They too have grown in number and strength. Some of the lower ranking members of n.o.bian High Command will support you in the event of any coup. I suspect that even General Nosh would refrain from defending the emperor, since his true intentions are and have always been with the n.o.bian people."

"That is good. And how have you been, Tempos? Last time we spoke, you were promoted to Director of the Dark Shadow!"

"Ah, well unfortunately that promotion is no longer. The Dark Shadow was disbanded ever since I switched my loyalties to the Americans. I believe that Emperor Novus the First now sees the Dark Shadow as compromised, and full of potential traitors."

"So it would seem. At the very least, my father"s intelligence gathering and a.s.sa.s.sination operations have come to what appears to be a halt. Without the Dark Shadow to do his bidding, he"s going to need time to reorganize, with loyal men this time around."

"And that is why the Americans have decided that the time to act is now." Sliding over a packet toward the prince, he described its contents. "In this packet is the plan for the coup. One of the targets during last night"s operation was a city known to be loyal to you. This is where you"ll be transferred, so that you may reintegrate yourself within n.o.bian society and expand your influence."

Flipping to a page, Prince Lonad paused, reading something that caused him to raise an eyebrow. "Hmm, it says here that I will be provided with guards from the Otherworlders, for my own protection? Under normal circ.u.mstances I would have declined this, but at this point, I suppose it would be more wise to trust the Americans than my own people. After all, none of the Otherworlders have been tainted by my father"s corruption."

"Indeed. However, before you are transferred to the city of Nuskk, the Americans have requested that you prepare a propaganda letter for the people of n.o.bia. They wish for you to write a short essay in order to convince n.o.bia"s citizens to rally behind your cause, and they plan to ma.s.s-produce these letters and drop them from the sky onto our cities."

"Hmm, yes I have heard of such methods being employed before. I believe it was the Mekkanese who did something similar. They called it a "leaf drop" I believe."

"Leaflet drop, Your Highness. During the second Mekkanese-Lithurian war, the Mekkanese used a similar strategy in order to damage the morale of enemy troops and convince them that defeat was inevitable. The Lithurians had never before witnessed such ma.s.ses of paper."

"Right, I remember this from my studies with General Nosh a few years back. Considering that the Lithurians during that time were unaware of the printing press, they believed that the ma.s.s deployment of these propaganda papers represented the ma.s.sive resource disparity between the two nations."

Tempos smiled and nodded. "Indeed. It is good to know that your mind is still sharp, even after all that time you"ve spent away from society."

Upon hearing that final phrase, Lonad"s eyes shimmered with an unimaginable fury and thirst for vengeance, but just for a split second. He then laid back in his chair, contemplating his plans for winning his people. "Well, this "Twinkie cereal" was indeed a delectable dish. We should have some of these back home."

"I concur, Your Highness. I too have tried this dish and it is most pleasing to my taste buds."

Satisfied with his treat, Prince Lonad stood up. Immediately, Tempos grabbed Lonad"s dishware and placed it into the proper receptacle for dirty dishes. Once finished with this task, he returned to Lonad"s side in order to escort him to his temporary quarters. As they walked, Lonad asked questions about the Americans and their culture.

"So I take it that you have been living on this base for quite some time now."

"Indeed, I have been here for almost two weeks now. I have been settling in nicely."

"Ah, you know, experiencing that delicious dish earlier leads me to wonder if there is anything else that the Americans have that we don"t."

"Well, if you talk to Amba.s.sador Perry, he can most likely arrange for a trade agreement between our people and his own, after the coup is successful. At the moment, I can think of a few things that I do enjoy on this base. The lights are very convenient."

"Yes I"ve noticed that. Just flip a switch to activate the lights. I wonder what type of magic they use."

"Ah, the Americans know nothing of magic. Everything they build is considered scientific technology, much like the Mekkanese."

"But the Mekkanese have some magical devices as well. Do these Americans not have any?"

"No, their technology is purely scientific, although I hear they are thoroughly researching magical technology."

"I see, please continue."

"Another convenience that these people have are elevators," Tempos said as they walked up to a set of silver doors. He pressed a b.u.t.ton, causing the elevator doors to open.

Lonad was slightly surprised, until Tempos rea.s.sured him that it was safe and motioned for him to step inside. The music playing in the elevator was pleasant, and quite calming. Lonad watched Tempos press another b.u.t.ton once they were both in the elevator, and suddenly he felt a slight force on his legs. A few seconds later, he noticed a different force; the elevator stopped.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened, revealing a smiling Tempos and a pleasantly surprised Lonad, who remarked on the function of the elevator. "This would be very useful on some of our taller buildings, like the n.o.bian Imperial Library. I don"t see why the Americans would build such a device in a small building though, when they could simply use the stairs."

"I have seen a blue sign with a white symbol on it. It looks like a person on a chair. Perhaps it has something to do with this?"

"Or they"re just lazy and having an elevator in such a small building is a representation of the power at their disposal."

"Perhaps, Your Highness."

"Anything else?"

"Have you noticed that the temperature of this entire facility is constant?"

"Yes, now that you mention it."

"This is accomplished by the air conditioning, or "ay see" as they call it. There are lots of vents in the ceiling that house these "ay see" units which breathe cold air into the building."

"I wonder how such an accomplishment could be achieved without any usage of elemental magic. Surely there must be a wizard casting a spell throughout a vent system?"

"I shall reiterate, there is no magic among these people. This cold air technology is also present in the boxes from which the milk for your cereal was acquired."

"Fascinating."

Tempos answered as they approached the door to Lonad"s temporary room. "Indeed. There is also a drink called Coca Cola which is chilled by these machines. Would you like to try some?"

"Yes."

"I shall fetch for it right away, Your Highness."

—

Month 6, Day 25

10:00 A.M.

Sola"s morning light shone through the windows of the conference room. In it, five people were gathered for a meeting on the propaganda flyers for the leaflet operation. General Harding, Amba.s.sador Perry, Prince Lonad, and Director Tempos were all there. The fifth member was CIA Director Samantha Gray. Of course, due to the nature of her organization and its past experiences dealing with government upheavals, her presence was essentially required in order to ensure a solid plan and smooth operation.

Prince Lonad had spent the last couple of days drafting up a short essay for the purpose of convincing any readers to support him instead of his father. With the help of Amba.s.sador Perry and some staff from the CIA, he was able to finalize his work. Now, they were all reading the final product.

"Hm, I like this," Director Gray mused.

"I reckon you should, considering it"s your organization"s work."

Samantha smirked at Perry"s smarta.s.s reply before providing her thoughts on the short essay. "Overall, I"d say it"s good. Of course it could be better, but we simply don"t have the time for further drafting. Prince Lonad, how do you feel about this?"

"I must say, I feel a bit guilty for exaggerating my father"s sins, despite my vengeful nature toward him. Aside from this, I think I"m proud of this work. It"ll get people questioning their loyalty to the current emperor, and make them reevaluate their beliefs on the Sonarans. It is a good thing you mentioned the army lost right outside these walls, and outside the walls of Sofius. My citizens will certainly begin questioning the disappearance of over a hundred thousand men; my father simply cannot continue to hide his defeats from the population."

Samantha nodded, satisfied with Lonad"s answer. She then looked toward General Harding and addressed him. "General, it looks like we"re good to go from here. If everyone"s okay with this version of the flyer, I"ll go ahead and make arrangements to begin printing."

Everyone agreed in various ways, reaching the consensus required for Gray to begin the printing of the flyers. Before the meeting was disbanded, General Harding remembered something. "Wait!"

Everyone stopped and turned to look at General Harding, who directed his attention toward Amba.s.sador Perry. "Before we start making the flyers, I need to know something. Mister Amba.s.sador, did you get any response yet from the n.o.bian emperor?"

"I did, actually. But he basically just told me to screw off. His exact words, if I recall correctly, were "You dare attempt communication with us even after your insolence?! You will pay for your transgressions against us" and so on and so forth. Miss Sindis got tired of the babbling so we disconnected from the magical communicator."

"I see. Well in that case, Director Gray, you"re cleared to begin printing."

—

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