Atmosphere (Russian Empire DME)

[Grey Wolf]

Prince Georgi Andreivich was never an early riser, but something had woken him that morning. He looked around the luxurious bedroom, illuminated in the weak sun of an early September morning.
"Hmm..." he said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
Forty-two years old, he had served the obligatory Romanov apprenticeship in the Guards, but opted to retire at the minumum length of service. Not for him ending up an old and irrelevant general, too important to be pensioned off, too important to be sent anywhere meaningful. He had retired to his father's estates in the Crimea, then upon the death of the Grand Duke had succeeded to them, and the wealth that went with them. Able now to be viewed as acceptable in court society - money would do that - he had been a surprise appointment to succeed the Tsar's sister Grand Duchess Maria Konstantinaevna as Regent in Saint Petersburg upon her retirement. Effectively ViceRoy for the emperor it was a role where you learnt on the job, so to speak.
Pulling on a blue and yellow satin robe, Prince Georgi made his way across the heavy persian carpet towards the double doors. There was definitely a commotion out there; was that someone shouting ? Where were the guards ? His annoyance bubbling up, he threw open the doors, ready to bellow at whatever fool was disturbing his lie in.
Instead he froze opened mouthed and stared at the dozen generals and ministers who stood outside arguing amongst themselves.
He closed his mouth, and pulled the gown tight around his person,
"Yes...?" he asked, the coldness in his voice tempered by the overwhelming curiosity he was feeling.
"Your highness", the local Minister for Shiping, bowed and bobbed, "There is trouble."
"Your highness", another minister older, more smooth of banner, also bowed, though more stiffly, "We cannot be sure that there really is anything in this other than strange atmospheric conditions."
"In what ?", Prince Georgi intoned the words steadily, but the steel was now back in his gaze.
The minister for shipping coughed; Vladimir he remembered his name was, Vladimir Miliukov that was it.
"Your highness, we first noticed it with the relay station at Reval, its not broadcasting this morning's meteorological forecast. Then we noticed that Riga and Danzig are not either - I had one of my men go up to the main transmitter on the Winter Palace and check for sure..."
"So...", Prince Georgi looked at all the others around him, "We are worried about a lack of weather today ?"
"Your highness", it was the only woman present, "We are unable to raise Constantinople"
"Or Aleksandrograd", Miliukov added.
"I believe it must be something to do with unusual atmospheric conditions, Your highness", the older minister persisted.
"But we can raise Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Archangelsk" Miliukov protested, "My man assures me that he could also pick up Petropavlosk"
"A concentrated local situation" the older man smiled as if at a child whose joke was beginning to get annoying.
"Your highness", the woman persisted, "We tried the telegraph also, and were unable to get through to Constantinople...in fact we could not get a return signal from Odessa either."
"I see", Prince Georgi certainly did not see, but it seemed the best thing to say in the circumstances, "Can we contact Reval by telegraph or Aleksandrograd ?"
Nobody had anything to say on that. He nodded, wondering if that was all it in fact was, local atmosspheric anomalies and a single failed telegraph line. Quite why everyone would be in such a flap about that, he could not say.
"Convene a meeting in the Little Hall", he instructed, "And send my valet to me. I shall attend presently."

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

By the time he reached the Little Hall, the number of people waiting for him had almost doubled, and he noted several very sombre looking messengers clustering around the generals and the Minister for War, or sub-minister, effective for Russia proper but subordinate to the ministry in Constantinople - if they were able to raise him.
Prince Georgi headed that way, ignoring the old man who was trying to signal him first, and ignoring the shipping minister and the woman, a signals' expert he seemed to recall, who were hunched over a stack of papers.
"General Kuropkin", he button-holed the most senior officer in sight, "What exactly is going on?"
The general pulled himself up straight, ran a hand through his beard and then announced,
"Your highness I believe we are under attack."
Prince Georgi almost gaped, remembered in time and kept his mouth shut. He put his fingers to his forehead then nodded sharply,
"Around the table - please !"
Everyone moved, the command seeming to cut through the uncertainty, give them something to cling on to, some measure of normality. He sat, poured a glass of water from a crystal vase and looked directly at the general and his advisors,
"Are we under attack ?", he stressed the first word, wanting it to be understood that this was no idle chatter but a serious matter of state.
General Kuropkin looked him in the eye, then dropped his gaze,
"Your Highness, we have to make some assumptions. We cannot contact any of the army commands by radio or by telegraph. But we have had some returns from up-stations on the major lines...", he paused looking unconfortable.
"You believe that saboteurs have crossed the frontier and isolated the army commands ?", Prince Georgi asked carefully.
"The uplines...", the general did not want to complete the sentence.
"Will somebody please explain", the Regent snapped.
A young captain in the garb of the a messenger, and seated on the general's left, made an effort,
"Your highness," his voice was steady but his eye was not, "One of the uplines on the Eastern Dnieper informs us that there are unfamiliar units on the other bank."
"On the Dnieper ?!", the Regent was astounded, "That deep within Russian territory ?"
"We have some theories about airborne assault", General Kuropkin said weakly.
"Right", Prince Georgi came to an interime decision, "Send from here to all frontier posts, log and relay. Then identify the furthermost station we can contact and instruct them to send a party forward to investigate."
There were nods all round, repeated instructions, qualifications, several men ran off to relay the instructions.
"Then ready the Imperator for take-off. Destination Constantinople. If all methods of contacting the capital are down we must inform the emperor of our situation."
The minister for shipping, Miliukov, sprang to his feet. As a ship of the air the imperial airship Imperator came under his jurisdiction,
"I shall arrange that immediately, your highness"
"Very good", Prince Georgi nodded at him, "General Kuropkin, just in case you are correct, I recommend calling up the first swathe of the reserve and mobilising the elite regiments here in the capital."
"Yes your highness", a glint reappeared in that worthy's eye. It was the kind of action he could understand.
"And Admiral Kanenin, I will review the fleet at Midday."
"Yes, your highness", the naval officer was on his feet, "With your leave, your highness, I believe it would be well for me to relay that news at once to the flag officers and captains."
"Quite so, you may take your leave, admiral."
"Now", the Regent looked around the table at those remaining seating, "I recommend we establish a permanent committee whilst this emergency lasts."
If the Regent recommended, then no one would gainsay him. A few minutes later everyone was in motion. Prince Georgi watched them for a moment, then made his way carefully to the telephone in the corner upon a small oak table. He dialled a number known to very few...and waited...and waited...

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

"This doesn't make sense"
Vassily Aksenov looked across the much-scarred wooden table and frowned at his colleague,
"If you have something to say Anton then say it clearly."
Anton sniffed at him,
"The vodka again, Vassily? You need to keep a clear head once in a while, it does wonders for the temper."
"So you are not going to say ?", Vassily slammed his empty tin mug down upon the table and made to rise.
"As a matter of fact I am going to say" Anton said
Vassily subsided but did not look completely convinced,
"What is it ?"
"Remember when I said earlier that there had been something from Saint Petersburg, just a faint test signal ?"
"Yes...." Vassily thought he did remember, though earlier was a never good time for him, earlier did funny things to his memory.
"It just happened again, same signal but stronger."
"Not to us?"
"Well", Anton smiled wrily, "not to us, but to Petropavlosk command."
"So ?"
"Why a test signal ? Why not use the telegraph ?"
"Maybe they are ? Maybe they aren't ?", Vassily wasn't sure what he was saying.
"Maybe", Anton looked thoughtful, "We haven't had any signals from Aleksandrograd today..."
"Well, we wouldn't" Vassily felt pretty sure about that.
"I mean not to Petropavlosk."
"None at all ?", all at once Vassily's head felt clearer, "We have had nothing at all from Aleksandrograd pass us by today ?"
"Nothing"
"The telegraph runs through Aleksandrograd", Vassily mused, "If that is the reason...?"
"You mean..." Anton was shocked, "The empire of Japan ?!"
Vassily nodded,
"At a guess, Anton, at a guess."
The other man looked out of the window at the cold grey seas outside, beyond the edge of the island. Suddenly that did not seem an adequate barrier at all...

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

Part 4

The Pobieda lay tied up alongside the quayside, the filigree work shining in the Midday sun. Light grey and white, the giant submarine was the pride of the Russian Pacific Fleet - Submarine Division based here at Petropavlosk.
Captain Robert Lobanov stood on the conning tower, smoking one of the American cigarettes he had picked up on his last voyage, a round-the-world tour taking in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, a stopover at Richmond, Virginia before crossing the Atlantic, visiting the French Empire, Naples, Egypt, traversing the Suez Canal, French Somalia, British India, the Dutch East Indies, the Spanish Philippines and back to Petropavlosk. It had showed the young crewmen that there was a whole world out there beyond the Rodina, nations with colonies all over the world...all over the warm world. Constantinople was as far as any of them had been before, and the weather there was indeed warm, but there was a whole world beyond.
"Captain, sir !", the voice of young lieutenant Andrei Pavlovich Kanenin came blasting up the voice tube. Personally, Lobanov thought he was too young for the position, despite showing promise, but when your father is an admiral you get promoted before your years. Still, it was not too bad, Lobanov mused as he cupped the cigarette and leant into the voice tube. At least the lad wasn't an idiot.
"Captain here."
"Sir, Division is calling all commanders to an emergency conference....now sir !"
"Now ?", Lobanov sighed and tossed the cigarette overboard, "I am on my way"
He stepped onto the gangway and down the side of the Pobieda. First of an intended class of nine, she had taken all the limelight until June when the first of her sisters, the Bayan, had been commissioned. Two more were to be completed before the end of the year, all built and based out here on the Kamchatka peninsular.
He strutted across the quayside, crossed the small expanse to the Divisional Headquarters, noticing that indeed other men of similar rank were making their own not-quite-hurried but definitely not lazy way there.
A Marine patted him down at the entrance. He frowned, the imperial eagle had not been in evidence on the rooftop, but such procedure was only the case when a senior member of the Romanov dynasty was present....or when they were at war !
He saw the same thought form in the minds of his fellow commanders, passed on in with them, and found himself led to a seat by an over-excited ensign. He sat, his hands steepled before him, waiting and watching. There was not long to wait. Without ceremony, Admiral Sergei Ulyanov entered, nodded to them all, and sat down at the head of the table.
"Gentlemen", he looked up, did not bother to look round, "As of this morning we have been unable to raise Aleksandrograd. Neither have we received signals from them, or any communication on the telegraph network. Twenty minutes ago I received the 'War Warning' from Saint Petersburg upon the radio."
He let the significance of that sink in, then continued,
"The exact situation is unclear. I believe that Saint Petersburg also does not know precisely the nature of the attack we face. However, under standing orders I am putting the city on alert. War patrols will begin immediately...", he paused, "There is something else - ten minutes ago I endeavoured to relay this message to Konstantine", he named the main city of Russian Alaska, "Neither the telegraph cable nor the radio elicited any kind of response. We must be prepared for the worst. Dismissed !"
All at once the place broke into uproar.

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

OK, obviously I have never been to Kuldja so the approaches to it are from my imagination. In addition, this only works if no one ends up taking China and it becomes that unpopulated wilderness. If this chapterette turns out not to have happened, no great loss.

Part Five

"Its not there..."
Count Ignatieff Voronov looked at her in annoyance,
"Of course its there, woman !" he snapped
"It is not", she was stubborn.
He leant over her, ignoring the breach in decorum in his anger, and stared down the line at... at...
"What the devil ?!" he growled.
Regardless of the fact that the locomotive stood stationary in what was but barren rocks, the Count heaved the door open and jumped down to the ground. Below them in the plains, the city of Kuldja ought to be stretching out before them, welcoming them after their long journey.
But it was not...
Other passengers were disembarking now, all moving around with a dazed expression
"That light" said one, remembering
"Yes!", the Count thumped the side of the carriage, eliciting a few not very friendly glares, "There was a flash, a light, earlier this morning. The steward remarked upon it !"
The woman only nodded, leaning out of the carriage,
"Its not there...." she said
"Yes..." the count had to concede that most definitely, "I wonder what we do now."

Grey Wolf

[DominusNovus]

Even if it is taken, it could be an area thats unpopulated.

[Grey Wolf]

"Your imperial highness, there is an urgent call from Saint Petersburg."
Tsesarevitch Konstantine Konstantinovich rolled over and looked up into the eyes of his valet,
"I thought I was not to be disturbed", he indicated the sleeping forms beneath the blankets.
The valet expertly avoided looking at what he knew to be two young girls,
"Your highness, it is your aunt, her imperial highness Grand Duchess Maria Konstantinaevna, she wishes to speak to you as a matter of the utmost urgency."
"Oh hell", the Tsesarevitch rolled himelf out of bed and stood before the mirror, naked, admiring his frame. Not bad for forty-plus, he thought.
"My aunt is almost eighty", he said to nobody in particular, "The last time she sent a royal messenger half way across the empire for me it was to present me with a new cravat for my birthday."
"You remarked upon the charming gesture, your highness, I remember that."
"Perhaps it was irony ?" the Tsesarevitch stared him down, "Oh very well, where is the telephone ?"
The valet presented it upon a silver platter.
"What time is it ?" the Tsesarevitch whispered.
The valet told him. He winced,
"Good afternoon, aunt Maria, I hope...."
She cut him dead,
"There's a war on !" she barked at him, "Don't good afternoon me."
"A war ?", Konstantine was suddenly aware of his own nakedness, "I am sure that if there were a war, my father would have been in touch before now."
"All contact with Constantinople has been lost." her cracked ancient voice came down the line.
"That is not possible", he was calm, assured, resolute.
"Of course it isn't !", she snapped, "But it has happened. The Regent has declared a War Warning, but I'll be damned if he knows what's happening."
"A War Warning ?!" the Tsesarevitch yelped.
Woken from her exhausted sleep, one of the girls poked her head out from underneath the covers, saw the valet and the telephone, yelped and dived back under.
"I hear we cannot even raise the frontier", his aunt said.
"Which frontier ?", he was disorientated, confused. Maybe clothes would help; he signalled to his valet who stepped away towards the wardrobe.
"The Western frontier."
"We cannot raise any of the units positioned in Posen ?"
"We cannot even raise Poland, any of it", his aunt sounded certain of her facts, "The Regent does not do things lightly."
"I see", he allowed his valet to put on socks, underpants, "What is your advice ?"
He was sure she had some, why else would she call....well, apart from the fact that nobody else outside of Constantinople could possibly have worked out where he was...
"Come to Saint Petersburg immediately."
"Can you organise a train ?"
"It can be done", she sounded uncertain but defiant, "It will be done one way or another."
He frowned, confused as to her reticence on the issue. No matter, he could take it up with her when he arrived in the city tomorrow.
"I will see you first ?", he asked
"The regent will meet you", she was a stickler for protocol, "I will see you when I am ready."
"Yes, of course, aunt Maria", he knew it was an apology.
"Then move quickly, my boy"
And with that she was gone. He stared a moment at the receiver, then replaced it onto the hook. A servant moved forwards to take the tray and reel back the cable. He stood up and let his valet pull up his trousers.
A movement in the bed caught his eye. He sighed; it was a pity he could not take the girls to Saint Petersburg but it would be a step too far. Maybe when he was Tsar...

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

The Kishinev was pressing its engines as fast as they could propel it, making as fast a speed Eastwards as a small airship could, in the wind and weather around them.
"Captain, I implore you - you CAN'T send that message sir !"
Igor Kollontai, Captain of the airship looked round at his second in command and raised his hands in a gesture of supplication,
"Vladimir, we must send the message."
"But it is MADNESS !", the other man wailed, "My mother's sister was put in a madhouse, I know what it is like. I will not have that done to me !"
"Vladimir, get a grip !", his tone was more severe now, "We are reporting what we saw."
"But nobody will believe us !"
"We saw it with our own eyes, you and me and Mikhail", he mentioned the Observation Deck commander, "No one can gainsay us."
"But its insane !" Vladimir slumped back against the pillar, "We cannot tell them what we saw, it cannot be possible."
"Do you doubt that you saw it ?!"
"I doubt that I am.....was.....", he broke off, and bent his head into his arms.
Satisfied that the outburst was over, Captain Kollontai turned his attention to the radio,
"Urgent Top Priority ! Urgent Top Priority !" he yelled into the system.
"Sevastopol receiving, make your report forthwith."
Kollontai noted that last word, it meant that so many reports were coming in that command needed to clear the sets as soon as one was over in order to accommodate another.
"Airship Kishinev, special recconaissance over Odessa and Moldavia. Report follows."
"You have our attention, Kishinev", it was another voice, more senior, more firm - Admiral Enqvist perhaps.
"Odessa occupied by foreign forces. Unable to identify, eagle of apparently Roman origin in evidence."
There was silence. He wondered if they had heard him, wondered whether Vladimir may perhaps be right indeed.
"Constanta occupied by foreign forces. Unable to identify. A stylised eagle much in evidence."
"Is that it ?!", the curt, angry voice definitely belonged to the admiral; that was an expression Kollontai had heard enough times in the past to be sure about.
"We have preliminary sketches, sir." he managed.
"Bring them in."
The radio went dead. Kollontai looked down at the weeping form of his friend,
"Perhaps you were right after all...", he sighed.

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

Prince Kyril Nikolaevich looked like he was in shock. Josef Sukhotin did not know much about the medical complaint, but he could tell that something had fairly knocked the minister off the tracks.
"Your highness ?", he ventured, holding out the reams of documents that the Regency's Foreign Minister had asked for.
Prince Kyril looked at him vaguely, then something approaching recognition dawned upon his face, He took the papers and placed them down in front of him.
"Er..", Josef tried to be tactful, seeing how the prince's gaze had gone blank again, "Will that be all, your highness ?"
There was no answer. After a moment or two's uncomfortable hovering, Josef chose to interpret the silence of his being ignored as an effective dismissal. He edged quietly out of the room. Something was definitely wrong here, something was very wrong indeed.

* * * * *

The Regent looked down the list of ministers that his secretariat had prepared for him, and groaned. He had forgotten that his cousin held the Foreign Ministry portfolio. It had never been more than a sinecure, a patronage position whose incumbent rarely did much more than go on foreign tours and host small gatherings of minor foreign diplomats. He could be sure that Kyril had done his share of that ! All the serious business was handled from Constantinople...except that in the current Emergency Constantinople could not be reached and with the situation at the frontiers confusing, at best, the ministers of the Regency were being called upon to act in the full capacity of their office. For some it simply meant a widening of horizons - Miliukov for example was having no difficulty over the other Mercantile Secretariats and extending his remit over all the aerial zones that Saint Petersburg remained in contact with. The Finance Minister had called an emergency meeting with representatives of all major banking houses for late that afternoon, General Kuropkin was beefing up his staff, turning the Army Co-ordination Office into a reserve General Staff in case Constantinople remained out of contact...in case...
Quite what Kyril Nikolaevich was doing though, Prince Georgi was not sure. No reports had come in from the Foreign Ministry. His name showed on the list before him but there had been no contact from his office. He would have to do something about that.

* * * * *

The fleet lay before him in the Gulf of Finland, twelve battleships, an impressive sight despite the rain and inclement weather that had seemed to descend without warning. Prince Georgi had intended to review the fleet from the Admiralty motor launch but in the prevailing uncertainty, as regarded almost everything, Admiral Kanenin had refused to alllow that. The Regent might have protested, but he was informed that the Admiral of the Fleet, Prince Mishkin, and General Kuropkin both seconded the decision. So he was reviewing them from the shore. Overhead two naval airships patolled, buffetted by the wind, but safe enough in any weather short of a faull-blown storm.
"The fleet is in good order, admiral." Prince Georgi remarked.
Admiral Pavel Kanenin smiled and nodded. It was not his doing and he could take no pride in it, but considering the circumstances he understood that he had the responsibility, and was pleased to have lived up to that at least.
"The fleet flagship, aptly named Rossiya for the Fatherland, steamed majestically at the head, flanked at a distance by a pair of gleaming scout cruisers.
"Very pretty..." he began.
"Those are the pair from the reserve", Admiral Kanenin read his thoughts, "Prince Mishkin has ordered them to be repainted to war colours overnight."
"Ah", he nodded and looked back towards the line of battleships, reciting their names in his mind. Rossiya, Svoboda, Oryel and Tsesarevitch. These leviathans of the water, completed in the late 1920s, boasted twelve 16" guns in four triple turrets and had a design speed of 30 knots. Until the completion of the new class, they remained the first word in Russian naval strength in the Northern theatre.
"Your highness", a tremulous voice said, behind him.
He turned scowling. It was the same same messenger who had dared to clarify Kuropkin's views as the meeting that morning.
"Speak", he commanded.
"Your highness...", he swallowed and then did his duty, "His highness Prince Kyril Nikolaevich begs to inform you that...", he looked at the floor, "that the Kingdom of Sweden has ceased to exist."

* * * * *

There was uproar in the palace upon his return. The standing committee he had appointed that morning had been overwhelmed, first by the masses of information descending upon them, then by the actual messages themselves. Scattered paper, broken glasses and smashed furniture bore witness to the rage of man when confronted with the inexplicable and impossible. There had already been two suicides - one a Guards officer, rumoured to have been unstable at any rate, and now...now this.
Prince Georgi Andreivich looked down at the body of his cousin. Prince Kyril did not look any better in death than in life, he thought. Of course, the bullet hole in his head and the congealing pool of blood did not help.
"Who is the deputy within his ministry ?", the Regent asked at length.
"Prince Mikhail Vyazemsky", his secretary replied, his mind being a storehouse for all sorts of usually irrelevant detail.
"I do not know him."
"Sixty years of age, your highness, a career diplomat, formerly posted to the embassy staff at Stockholm and before the Second Great War at Berlin."
"So he is experienced and can be expected to know what he is doing ?"
The secretary looked down at the body of the dead prince and pursed his lips,
"Your highness, given the circumstances, I am sure that I could not say."
Prince Georgi took that in his stride,
"Make sure he is at the full meeting at six o'clock tonight", he instructed, "I will meet with the committee now."

* * * * *

Elena Purishkevich could feel the energy running through her veins. She was striding through the chaos like a giant. Mysteries were her thing. As head of the Saint Petersburg telegraphic bureau, she was the closest thing to a civilian cryptologist that the Regency possessed. Mysteries, puzzles, ciphers and clues. They all invigorated her.
And there could be no bigger puzzle than this. She looked around the chaos of the Little Hall. Only half of the committee's members remained at their posts. Some had succumbed to drink, one or two lay exhausted on sofas they had dragged in from the ante-room, others had just simply wandered away. Whether to walk their way through to an understanding, or to disassociate themselves from the matter for ever, only the morning would tell.
She shuffled a handful of telegraph receipts, skim-reading their messages. Telegraph stations with no downline confirmation had been ordered, that morning, to investigate. The results of those investigations were now before them. It was still too difficult to put it into words precisely, but she was beginning to gain an impression of the overall pattern.
Without warning and certainly without fanfare, the Regent strode into the room, accompanied only by his secretary and a single harassed-looking guard. One or two of the slumbering officials leapt to their feet, attempted an obsequeous bow. But Prince Georgi ignored them and made his way across the plush blue carpet straight at her.
"Do we have an overview yet ?", he asked, then smiled slightly, "A coherent overview would be even better."
"I believe that we are close, your highness.", she said to the evident shock of some of thise around her, "Something beyond human understanding has occurred and yet...we must adapt to it."
That probably summed it up well, Georgi thought. He cast a glance around the room, and frowned.
"Do you have enough staff...enough reliable staff ? I want your findings written up by six o'clock tonight, ready to be presented to the full council", he paused, "I need it to be as unambiguous as possible."
"We could certainly use some additional stenographers", she said with a wry grin.
Prince Georgi motioned to his secretary to make a note of it.

* * * * *

The council chamber was full. Every minister had his deputy, his secretaries and his messenges. A bank of stenographers stood by to record every single jot of the proceedings. Two regiments of the Guard, including the elite Blue Cuirassiers, encircled the palace, guarded its doorways and patrolled its corridors. Searchlights cut through the air, probing the clouds of this stormy night. The occasional shadow of an airship might be made out, the imperial eagle emblazoned upon its side.
Inside, Prince Georgi Andreivich rose to speak. The room went quiet, expectant but hesitant. He did not stand on ceremony.
"In a moment", he spoke, "Miss Elena Purishkevich will hand each of you a dossier containing everything that we know to be true so far.", he paused and looked them in the eye, moving his gaze around the table, "I must emphasise that last part. The report you are about to see does not contain speculations or conjecture. Please bear that in mind before making comment. Miss Pureshkevich ?"
She moved round the horseshoe-shaped table, neatly dishing out beige folders as she went.
Once everybody had theirs and not before there had already been some gasps and exclamations, Prince Georgi directed their attention to the cover sheet which he had insisted be put together as a brief summary, perhaps also an agenda,
"As a summary of the situation, let me tell you that we have lost contact not only with Constantinople, but with everywhere West of the Dneiper. Reval and the whole of Livonia-Estonia are also affected. We have also lost contact with Aleksandrograd and Alaska. For the former, experimentation with the telegraphic relay stations afixes the line of disruption at an approximation of the border of the Amur Maritime Province. Throughout the day we have been conducting experiments and recconaissance. No contact can be made with our Mongolian or Manchurian provinces. The island of Sakhalin also appears to be outside of out network. Dzungaria and Kuldja, likewise."
He paused. They all seemed to be taking this part well enough.
"This, therefore is the extent of the disruption upon the empire... As for neighbouring states, we have picked up a few transmissions in unknown codes and several broadcasts which at first glance appear to be gross forgeries or impersonations. Circumstances demand that we take them seriously - you will find transcripts in the appendix. The Foreign Ministry also endeavoured to contact Sweden in person, sending representatives by rail to the Karelian border. Prince Vyazemsky - if you would ?"
The sexagenarian diplomat rose to his feet,
"To be stark, your highness, excellencies, we were informed in no uncertain terms that the Kingdom of Sweden did not exist, had not existed for some unspecified but lengthy time, and that we were addressing representatives of the United Nordic Kingdom, whose monarch King Frederick Christian Gustav III would not appreciate our attitude. Our representatives at that point did not attempt to cross the border, but returned post haste to the capital."
"Had....NOT....existed", Prince Georgi stressed the salient words and let them sink in, "The Kingdom of Sweden had not existed..."

Grey Wolf

[DominusNovus]

Ohhh, very nice.

[Grey Wolf]

The black train rattled through the night. His valet had urged him to sleep, but Tsesarevitch Konstantine Konstantinaevich was too alive to sleep, too caught up in the confusing and inexplicable news that had started with his aunt's telephone call and at every major station they passed through been augmented by whatever snippets of news were available to the railway controller. Orel, first major town to be reached after departing from the estate at Brasova, had been full of rumours. These rumours had had half a day to grow in size, and to change from the usual speculation to the more bizarre. The Germans were attacking. The Austrians were attacking. The Hungarians were attacking. Even, the Moldavians were attacking - after all, Odessa could no longer be contacted. Then maybe it was a disease, something far more perilous and fast-acting that the Bubonic Plague. Or a meteor strike, somethng akin to the Tunguska blast that had happened during his childhood, before he had ever set foot within the heartland of Old Russia. But even that didn't seem to account for everything.
Approaching Moscow that evening they had found the railway network in chaos. The Regency Orders that the train commander had, had helped clear the line, but even the Tsesarevitch's arrival in person on one of a dozen small platforms could not maked stalled and backed-up rolling stock evaporate. They had had to wait whilst the Governor of Moscow himself had been called, and had drafted in extra drivers.
Two hours late the black train had passed on through. The news they had picked up was even worse. No communication West of the Dneiper all day, strange signals, aircraft - the report said aeroplanes! - and in the distance oddly-shaped vehicles.
As evening turned into night, Konstantine sat in the luxury travelling study, paperweights holding down piles of paper, maps spread across tables and taped to the walls. Nothing was making any sense, although he was beginning to get a grip on the situation, crazy though it was. The Regent and the Saint Petersburg ministries had assumed full command. A War Warning was in force and the first tranche of the Reserve had been mobilised. The Imperator had taken off early that evening with a high level delegation on board, bound for Constantinople.
The clock struck Midnight. The Tsesarevitch ignored it. The least he could do was arrive in the Regency capital with as full an understanding of the situation as was possible.


Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

The Imperator soared above the Earth. Manned by sailors experienced in aerial matters, it had a more military tone to its crew than was usual. A detachment of the elite Blue Cuirassiers was on board, their commander on the bridge with the airship's captain and the head of the civilian delegation.
"Midnight", acting Commodore Yuri Semenoff read off the round brass clock, "One hour hence we ought to be over Moscow."
Bewhiskered in the old Alexandrine fashion, the sixty year old captain looked like a remnant from a past age. Even some of the decorations on his dress uniform predated the War of Unification - the First Great War, almost thirty years ago. Such distinction marked him out as a fast riser early in his career. The subsequent levelling out of its path was down not so much to an aversion to Alexandrine heroes, which though present could be overcome, but to the fact that he had found his ideal position. He remained an airship captain, but progressed from naval patrol, to long-range patrol, to imperial service, and in the last few years to being one of the half dozen regular commanders of the imperial sky yachts, of which the Imperator was both the newest and the fastest.
"Are we expecting any trouble ?"
The speaker this time was the florid-faced Prince Lavrenti Gorshkin, deputy minister of shipping, and deemed expendable. Of course, he was also of noble birth, possessed of sufficient status and above average in intelligence. The Regent had picked no fool to lead the delegation.
"Trouble, your excellency ?", asked Captain Semenoff.
Prince Gorshkin motioned to the map on the wall, and their course plotted across it,
"It looks as if we go uncomfortably close to what his highness Prince Georgi Nikolaevich has termed the line of disruption."
"The map can be deceiving", the captain smiled, "The pen used to mark our course would be ten miles across if it were to scale. At no point will we be closer than seventy miles from the affected area."
"That of course does not preclude whatever force is on the other side of that line from crossing it themselves."
They both turned to face the third speaker on the bridge. In the dress officer of a cavalry officer he looked at best incongruous in his present surroundings. But the Blue Cuirassiers were no ordinary cavalry unit, not even an ordinary Guard regiment if such a thing existed. And their commander on this journey was no ordinary captain.
Grand Duke Pavel Konstantinaevich was thirty-nine years old and the third son of Tsar Konstantine V. Unmarried, he was wedded, as they say, to his military career.
"Do you expect something of that nature, your highness ?" Prince Gorshkin asked nervously.
"I think it less likely in the dark" Pavel admitted.
"We should be over Orel by dawn" Captain Semenoff advised them, "Over two hundred miles from the affected area."
Prince Gorshkin looked again at the line upon the map,
"Between Kharkov and the coast the Dneiper bows East significantly."
"Our course will swing us likewise to the East, towards Rostov-on-Don", the captain explained, "Never less than seventy miles away from it."
"Hmm", somehow the prince did not feel as convinced as he had hoped to be.

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

The standing committee had changed drastically since the previous day. Most of the civil servants were gone, replaced by younger men - and a number of women. Messengers, radio and telegraphic staff and a smattering of students from the university had been drafted in. After the full council meeting had broken up, the Regent had taken Elena Purishkevich to one side, and told her to get whoever she wanted, and needed, on his authority, handing her a letter to that effect in case of obfuscation. There had been none - at least so far. The severity of the situation could hardly be ignored by anyone with any type of position of responsibility, and merely mentioning the Regent's name had produced the required results. Instead of the tired and exhausted atmosphere of the previous day, the youngsters brought energy and enthusiasm to the Little Hall, and controlled by the purpose and dedication of Miss Purishkevich they had created order out of chaos, and a filing system capable of dealing with whatever more chaos this changed world might throw at them.
The minds of the young were also more willing to hold two contradictory ideas, that everything they had known previously said it was impossible and that they should treat all the reports as serious.
The history students were proving especially useful, and a couple of classical linguists were busy working on radio transcripts that appeared to be in some degenerated version of classical Latin. There was a stack from further South which appeared to be in a similar evolved form of classical Greek. On the surface it was insane and made no sense, but if you treated it as a game, treated the world as a game, then you could make a kind of sense of it.
Everything was now pointing to the complete disappearance of all three Western army commands. Some military minds had insisted on calling it an 'elimination' or an 'eradication' but Elena and her team had seen no evidence of such. They simply were not there. The manner of their disappearance was another matter entirely, and was officially being classed as 'unproven. 'Speculative' would be a better word, she thought.
She looked up as a single figure entered the room. Prince Georgi Nikolaevich was a notoriously late riser, but he must have got up before six to be here this early in the morning. That is, if he had been to bed at all, and judging by the bags beneath his eyes, it was possible that he had not.
"Your highness", she rose to greet him.
A half dozen other workers made to rise. He waved them back down with a curt, "Carry on.", and crossed the room to Elena,
"Is there anything significantly new ?", he helped himself to a wooden fold-away seat and took the cup of coffee handed to him by a small pretty woman.
"Vera Voronovich, a student from the university", Elena introduced her after she had returned to her dutues, "A sharp mind. Professor Kozkiewicz recommended her personally."
Prince Georgi nodded, sipping the hot bitter brew,
"No new developments, then ?"
"Nothing, as you, significantly new" Elena sat back down and glanced at the clock upon the wall, "The Imperator should reach Constatinople tonight" she remarked.
The Regent nodded tiredly.
"Let us pray that there it shall find an answer to this madness."

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

The briefing room of Divisional Headquarters was far from crowded this morning. At the head of the table Admiral Ulyanov sat, flanked by his chief aide on one side and the senior officer of Naval Intelligence (East) on the other. Before them, Captain Robert Lobanov of the Pobieda, and Captain Vassali Petukhov of the Bayan waited patiently for the briefing to begin.
Sergei Ulyanov exchanged a few words with the man on his left. Ignati Kobylinsky held an undisclosed military rank, but was officially known as Deputy Director within the wider community. They seemed to come to an agreement. Ulyanov nodded then looked out at the commanders of the two great submarines currently in service,
"Good morning gentlemen", he nodded brusquely, "It is time to put our greatest assets to use."
They knew what he meant. Over the last twenty-four hours all of the coastal submarines and a fair number of the ocean-going submarines had put to sea. A few coastal vessels which had been at sea had limped home early that morning, speaking of tumultuous seas and horrendous weather conditions further South. Now, it was time for the great submarines to leave on war patrol.
"There have been, shall I say, lively discussions as to where best to deploy your vessels. Our feeling is that we have to cover the main potential enemies, namely the Empire of Japan and the United States of America. Dissenting opinions were raised with regard to British Canada, and even the Independent Republic of Prussian Manchuria, but with only two such vessels at our disposal we have resolved to send you to the two main theatres where we expect any direct threat to the empire will originate."
Lobanov and Petukhov nodded; there was nothing surprising in this at all. Ulyanov continued,
"Your mission objectives are listed in detail in these sealed orders", he patted a pair of documents in front of him, "There will be no surprise to learn that your mission essentially comes down to these simple requirements - get on station, investigate, locate, and if necessary terminate."
"We believe that one of these two powers is responsible for what is happening ?" asked Vassili Petukhov, flicking some fluff from off his immaculately-turned up cuffs.
Kobylinsky leant over to the admiral's ear and whispered something. Ulyanov nodded, then replied to the question,
"If there is a manmade reason for what we are experiencing then we have to assume that one of these major powers is responsible, at least for what we are seeing here in the Pacific. It must of course be noted that some natural phenomenon is instead responsible. The talk we hear of flashes of light, and rumours that Kuldja in Dzungaria no longer stands would perhaps indicate some kind of global meteor strike. We need to ascertain what exactly we are dealing with."
Kobylinsky decided to add something of his own to the discussion. He pushed his pince-nez glasses up onto his forehead and smiled thinly at the two senior captains before him,
"Let us be sure that even if the disturbance is natural in origin, rival powers will be attempting to gain maximum advantage from it. We can hardly expect a spirit of co-operation even in the face of disaster, least not from the Japanese! If the world is in chaos, the armies of our rivals and the navies of our rivals will be looking to take advantage of this."
"Yes", Ulyanov resumed control, "We have to require that your primary mission be deemed military in origin from start to finish. Should you come across a situation requiring humanitarian relief your instructions are to report it and resume patrol."
"Yes sir" Lobanov and Petukhov replied in unison.
"I believe that is all." Ulyanov looked across at Kobylinsky who nodded.
The admiral rose to his feet and picked up the sealed orders,
"Details of courses and patrol patterns, rules of engagement. You depart in one hour."
The two captains took their orders, saluted and hurried out of Divisional Command, eager to get back to their ships and to take the great submarines out on their first war patrol.

Grey Wolf

[G.Bone]

(is this allowed?)
-------------------------
[trans. in Russian]
Greetings;

I am Procurator Governor Herman Kardon. Although the Nation-State of Hawaii has never been formerly allied with your nation in our world, it is hoped that a diplomatic repoach can be made. We can offer you advanced technology in exchange for food. Any quantity and quality will be accepted. It is hoped that a ship from your Eastern providences (if possessing them) can make the voyage to here.

Procurator Governor Herman Kardon
Nation-State of Hawaii
Acting Imperator of the United American States

[Grey Wolf]

Sure its allowed, lol

It'll probably be picked up by the picket stations in the Kurils, relayed to Petropavlosk and get to Saint Petersburg late on day 2 for actioning. Day 1 had no easy contact between the two cities (Eastern government was at Aleksandrograd (Vladivostock)) and it will take till day 2 (which part 11 is the beginning of) before things begin to work properly within the Regency. I'll try and write up my response and include the broadcast bac within it later tonight, but there will be a couple of other pieces before it.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

Once again the full council meeting was in session. For a body that usually only ever came together on ceremonial occasions it was running the risk of soon outnumbering its appearances for the whole of 1938 in this single week of September 1939. Most of the faces were the same. The departure of the deputy minister for shipping on board the Imperator had promoted a seeming youth into his spot, but the Regent had no doubt that the man whom Vladimir Miliukov had chosen would prove to be expert at something, and no doubt at something they discovered they in fact needed someone to be expert at! So far, of all the ministries Miliukov's was proving to be the most able to adapt to the current Emergency.
Prince Georgi Nikolaevich looked up and called the meeting to order,
"This session of the Full Regency Council is now in progress.", he shuffled a few notes in front of him, "There is nothing substantial to add to the reports from yesterday evening, but we have every expectation that things will change during the course of the day. Suffice to say that we can report a negative - none of our neighbours have tried to contact us. This includes the Westphalian Empire of Germany, the Kingdom of Hungary and Moldavia. Given what we know about Sweden...", he paused trying to work out how exactly to phrase it and gave up, "...and how it is not there now, we may make some tentative assumptions about other of our neighbours. However", and he said this word strongly and with a pause after it, to make sure that everyone listened to what he said next, "However, such speculation is not germaine to the main business of this council. The agenda before us consists of updates from the various ministries, and the implementation of certain contingency plans which have been drawn up overnight. First item on the agenda, the Minister of Shipping."
Vladimir Miliukov rose, bowed to the rest of those assembled around the table and launched into his spiel,

* * * * *

Grand Duchess Anastasia Sophiaevna walked past the bemused guards and into the interior of the palace of government. They had orders not to stop any member of the imperial family from entering during this hour of the empire's need, but hardly thought to have to extend the privelege to a sixteen year old, and one of Sophie's brood at that.
Grand Duchess Sophie Konstantinaevna was the oldest daughter of Tsar Konstantine V and had married young, whilst already pregnant. Her husband was a dissolute prince of Hohenlohe-Langeburg, and this pairing had set the scene very much for what was to come. A 1925 decree of Tsar Konstantine had meant that any child born to a Grand Duchess who was wed to someone of lesser status, but not morganatically so, would bear the title Grand Duke or Grand Duchess if within two generations of a tsar. This had effectively boosted the now seven children of Sophie and Prince Augustus Eduard up the social rankings, and the pair made great play of this seeming favour, their parties and soirees becoming unmissable social events in certain sections of the Regency capital, and scandal and gossip following the pair around. It was assumed that at least the majority of Sophie's children were her husband's, certainly the eldest was, and here she was now entering the palace of government on her own, and without any kind of official escort.
Anastasia was bored. Sixteen was a transitionary age, formal education had finished and the world of the court awaited. At least that was how it usually went, but for the eldest daughter of Grand Duchess Sophia there had already been several years of parties, of introductions to influential members of the Saint Petersburg community, and more.
Now, there was a sense of crisis pervading the city. the guard was out, airships patrolled at all hours of the day and night, and the railways were locked down for military use only. She did not like feeling out of control, so after giving her mother the slip, she had ventured here, to see what she could find out within the walls of what the few newspapers being printed were terming the home of the Emergency government.

* * * * *

The reports from the ministries were over. Prince Georgi Nikolaevich brought another folder to the fore, and opened it carefully,
"We now come to the contingency measures worked out overnight", he left no doubt in anyone's mind that he had worked them out personally and had foregone sleep to do so, "We have to address the crises in government and the military together", he explained, "The disappearance of the Western army commands leaves our entire frontier viable, and whilst we are calling up the reserve and moving units closer to the line of disruption if the forces on the other side decide to press the attack we cannot guarantee to hold them back. Is that not so, General Kuropkin ?"
The head of the Army Co-ordination Office, now the de facto Head of the General Staff nodded uncomfortably,
"Any substantial push from the West cannot be met with anything like sufficient force to bring it to a halt. Once we have the reserve ready, and new lines of fortifications in place then perhaps yes. But if an attack is in the offing in the immediate term we cannot guarantee the security of the capital, of Moscow, or even of the Crimea."
"Thank you", the Regent nodded, "Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that a functional government remains if the worse does come to the worst. To a large degree Aleksandrograd always performed this function in the past, serving as the regional capital of the East with its own branches of the great ministries of state.However, having lost contact with Aleksandrograd we have to act on the assumption that it has been destroyed.Petropavlosk is the natural seat for a new capital for the East, at least during the present Emergency, but it will not serve as a reserve command centre for the Regency. I have, in consequence, decided to promulgate a two part plan."
There was hushed expectancy around the table as he paused for breath, then launched into the details,
"Grand Duke Dmitir Nikolaevich agreed this morning, at around five o'clock if I remember the precise hour, to take up the duties of government in Petropavlosk. He is to be our Viceroy in the East and to have full local powers. In addition, I have instructed the Civil Contigency Office of Minister Tarkanov's Ministry of the Interior to begin at once the task of duplicating all essential civilian and military government departments at Omsk."
There was a far greater hullaballoo about this latter announcement than about the first. Omsk ! Imagine the Regency being run out of Omsk !!!

* * * * *

"Hello", Grand Duchess Anastasia Sophiaevna walked boldly into the Little Hall, "What goes on in here ?"
Elena Purishkevich stood up from her desk, then bit back the words she was going to voice. There was no doubt about it - that poise and self-assured arrogance could only be carried by a Romanov. The girl looked to be in her mid teens, a flowering beauty though a bit on the heavy side, and with something of a sneer to the smile upon her face,
"You have me at a disadvantage, your highness", Elena bobbed a short curtsey
"Anastasia Sophiaevna", the girl tossed the name into the air with little ceremony, "I asked what goes on in here ?"
Elena sighed inwardly. That was all she needed, a distraction of this nature. Still, there was little she could do but attempt to assuage the girl's interest, and if she was still bogged down at Midday hopefully the Regent would come by and get the girl off her back.

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

The black train weaved its way between troop trains and trains laden with all the machinery of war. At least here in the Regency capital the normal business of mobilisation appeared to be able to function according to plan. As at Moscow, so it had been going Northwards - chaos, and confusion. Trains which should have been there absent, mobilisation depots beyond the line of disturbance, and the paraphernalia of war being lost, misrouted or accidentally parked in sidings for hours at a time as the controllers of the railway network struggled to cope with the loss of a huge Western tranche of their lines and rolling stock.
As the locomotive vented steam and the train came to a halt, the Tsesarevitch accompanied by his valet and a couple of personal bodyguards was already getting down from his carriage. The train commander hurried forward and saluted,
"Saint Petersburg, your imperial highness."
"Thank you, commander, carry on"
Formalities over, Konstantine Konstantinaevich headed straight for the delegation that was waiting to meet him further down the platform.

Yevgeni Tarkanov had not been relishing this aspect of his day's duties. Barely half an hour after the conclusion of another mind-boggling full council meeting, here the Minister of the Interior was at the main railway terminus, standing between the governor of Saint Petersburg and one General Luzhny, an aide of an unspecified type at the Army Co-ordination Office.
"Your imperial highness", Tarkanov stepped forward and bowed deeply, "Welcome to Saint Petersburg."
The Tsesarevitch allowed himself to be presented to the other two gentlemen, then interrupted them before the city governor could begin to introduce the several members of staff he had seen fit to bring with him.
"Please convey me to the palace without delay", he tried to keep the tiredness and irritation out of his voice, "I must meet with the Regent immediately."
Yevgeni nodded,
"There is automobile awaiting, your imperial highness."
"Then lead on please."

* * * * *

"Thank you", Prince Georgi took the report from his aide and sat back in front of the roaring fire with it. One hand swirling the contents of a glass tumbler around, the other turned the front cover and allowed his eyes to begin to devour the words set there before him.
"Urgent ! Urgent ! Urgent !" was scrawled across the top cover; well, wasn't everything urgent these days ?
"ERROR" was then centred on the page in big black writing, always something of a worrying sight he observed himself observing, and began to feel the tiredness gnawing at his bones again.
"No transmission received from Murmansk-na-Romanov"
"What the ?!", he sat bolt upright, sloshing the very expensive Napoleon brandy over the sides of the glass as he did so. He read further on,
"We regret to inform that in the confusion prevailing in the first hours of the Emergency several transmissions from minor White Sea ports were mistakenly logged as coming from Murmansk-na-Romanov. Their correct points of origin have now been ascertained by the Standing Committee. In addition, the committee has discovered no genuine transcript from Murmansk at all. We are instructing the telegraphic and radio operators to make urgent enquiries of the port at once."
"A filing error ?", Prince Georgi was incredulous.
Oh, on one level it made sense. He had seen the state that many of the original members of the committee had succumbed to, heard the stories of several of their number just wandering off, lost to the world by the insanity of it all. No doubt mistakes had crept in... But for one of this magnitude !
"Messenger !" he yelled.
A moment later the door opened and a liveried messenger stepped sharply into the room.
"I need to see Admiral Kanenin at once. Instruct him to come to the palace without delay."
"Yes, your highness", the man ran off.
The door was not closed behind him. Prince Georgi rose, a curse on his lips, then saw the reason for the apparent lack of protocol. Standing framed in the doorway were two men, one the Minister of the Interior and the other without doubt the Tsesarevitch.
"Your imperial highness", the Regent bowed stiffly, "It is good to see you."
"Georgi", Konstantine did not bother with the formalities. He sat himself down in front of the fire, and waited till Tarkanov, implicitly ignored had got the message and withdrawn,
"How are things ? I have read whatever I could get my hands on, and the Minister has updated me on your plans for Omsk - a good idea, if I might say so."
"Thank you", Georgi settled back down in his chair, and tossed the report he was just reading across to his cousin, "Maybe you should start with this", he suggested.

* * * * *

"I see", Admiral Pavel Kanenin was sitting in what he had grandly renamed the Saint Petersburg Admiralty Building, and was listening as the second in command of the Northern Fleet, Vice Admiral Alexei Biryukov expounded on the state of several of the submarines which had been at sea but which had limped into home waters over the last couple of hours.
"We also received a more confusing communication", Biryukov had deliberately left this until last, "The Albatros, an ocean-going vessel, signalled that she was heading for Danzig... Later we received a grabled message that the city was in the hands of the Hooked Cross ?"
"Hooked Cross ?", Kanenin was puzzled, "Is this some kind of religious allusion, perhaps to the Devil himself ?"
"I think not", Biryukov had not come to this meeting without getting someone to look things up for him, "We think he literally meant a hagenkreuz, or swastika...", he paused, "It is known that there is some ancient connection to the Finns.", he quoted now what he had been told.
"Finns in Danzig ?!" Kanenin was flabbergasted, "Or....", his mind did a double somersault, remembered the new reality and amended what he had said, "This United Nordic Kingdom....could that be in Danzig too ?"
"It is possible, sir", Biryukov did not care to voice his own thoughts on the matter.
From outside came the screech of a motorcycle, then the sound of running feet. Kanenin got up from his seat and walked over to the window. He could hear the voice of the messenger from in here
"I have an urgent summons for Admiral Kanenin from the Regent !"

* * * * *

"She has done a marvellous job"
The briefing over, Prince Georgi Nikolaevich was singing the praises of Elena Purishkevich as he hurried the Tsesarevtich along the palace's corridors.
"And you say she is now employing students and engineering grades to do this work ?"
"Yes, indeed, she explained to me herself that the mind of such people are more open to working out just what has befallen us... Ah, here we are."
"They have taken over the Little Hall ?", the Tsesarevitch did not know whether to be impressed, amused or iriitated. Instead he decided to see what the woman would say for herself.
But she was nowhere to be seen. The Regent looked around for a familiar face, then remembered the student who had served him coffee that morning,
"Vera ?" he addressed her.
Having been engrossed in translation she looked up startled, and leapt to her feet, even more shocked to realise who had just addressed her.
"Where is Miss Purishkevich, the Tsesarevitch wishes to speak with her."
Vera went white, swallowed and mumbled
"Your highness, your imperial highness"
"I do not bite", Konstantine assured her with a smile; well, not in any nasty way he thought with a secret grin.
"Er", Vera was still at a loss for words.
"Miss Purishkevich ?", Georgi pressed kindly.
"Oh yes!" Vera did her best to bite back what sounded like a frightened squeal. Once more under control she said more sedately, "Her highness Grand Duchess Anastasia Sophiaevna required a tour of our operation."
"Ana ?" , the Regent was confused
"You speak of a sixteen year old girl ?", the Tsesarevitch enquired, though not with much surprise. He knew his niece rather better than most people, and would not find it shocking she should behave in such a manner - annoying perhaps, but no shock.
"Yes, your imperial highness", Vera pointed to a door out of the rear of the room, "Miss Purishkevich took her to the telegraph lines back that way some twenty minutes ago."
"Hmmm", Georgi remained confused.
Konstantine decided to take control of the situation,
"Come, let us rescue your Miss Purishkevich, then perhaps I can take Ana to supper tonight... I am dining with my aunt."
That brought a wry smile from the Regent. The rather doubted that the fierce old woman was amongst the young Grand Duchess' list of favourite people...

Grey Wolf

[DominusNovus]

Technically, Danzig is a Roman city. And, if the Nazis take anything from me, thats likely to be one of the last places to fall.

[Grey Wolf]

Technically, Danzig is a Roman city. And, if the Nazis take anything from me, thats likely to be one of the last places to fall.

Oh, OK sorry...Maybe they saw an aeroplane, it doesn't really matter

But um somewhere else I posted a note that this submarine is trying to limp into Danzig so its you who will be faced with it then

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

"What ???" Vassily Aksenov stared at the machinery in shock and confusion.
Anton rolled over on his bunk and stared bleary-eyed at his colleague,
"Say it again ?"
"What ?", Vassily frowned at him
"Yeah" Anton snorted, "There you are - you said it again."
"Shut up" Vassily looked down at the transcript that his hand had automatically taken of the broadcast, "What the hell is a Procurator Governor ?"
Anton swung his legs over the side of the bunk,
"Something Roman I would wager."
"I never make bets with people who don't have their boots on."
Anton looked at his stockinged feet,
"Why would I need my boots on ?", he tried to guess what Vassily was up to.
"What does 'Acting Imperator of the United American States' sound like to you?"
Anton shuffled across to the table and poured himself a slug of vodka, ignoring the withering look this action gained him,
"Madness", he said with a shrug, "Imperator's not an American title, everybody knows that. They have things like president or congressman."
Vassily was inclined to agree, what sense could be made of a message like this ?

Greetings;

I am Procurator Governor Herman Kardon. Although the Nation-State of Hawaii has never been formerly allied with your nation in our world, it is hoped that a diplomatic repoach can be made. We can offer you advanced technology in exchange for food. Any quantity and quality will be accepted. It is hoped that a ship from your Eastern providences (if possessing them) can make the voyage to here.

Procurator Governor Herman Kardon
Nation-State of Hawaii
Acting Imperator of the United American States

He passed it across to Anton. Gulping down the vodka he stared at it for a moment,
"Do you know what I think ?" he said.
Vassily stared at him,
"A thought ? Let us hear it."
"I think some crazy person has siezed power in Hawaii. Maybe these storms are a global phenomenon and he had taken advantage."
"Do you know?", Vassily cracked a gap-toothed smile, "I think that might be the most sensible thing you have said all year!"
"Oh great" Anton laughed, "Must be the bottle speaking..."
"For some reason it is making sense today"
Vassily began to transfer the message to the encryption pad
"You are sending this on to Petropavlosk ?" Anton was astonished.
"That is our job" Vassily remarked.
"If we keep it", Anton poured himself another slug of vodka.


Grey Wolf

[G.Bone]

*Trans. in Russian & English

Greetings from the United Federation of Chinese States!

I seek an alliance with your nation in the hopes of creating a Pax Amerisia. Although we are of an alien nature to your sensiblilities, there is the underlining trouble of Nippon and the threat it has to our Eastern Coasts. I will gladly exchange whatever food supplies and armory in helping this threat from invading our lands and can help process the vaulable resources that might prove difficult to take out.

Premier Lelean Wong

[Grey Wolf]

Elena Purishkevich was running down the corridor. This was not something she was used to doing, anywhere, and certainly something she had no wish to repeat. Her bosom heaving, her lungs panting, she pulled up in front of the Regent's office,
"I need to see the Regent immediately" she shouted at the guards and waved a piece of paper in the air.
Knowing who she was, one of the guards turned around and knocked on the door
"Enter"
The guard opened the door,
"Your highness, Miss Purishkevich wishes to see you as a matter of urgency."
"Let her in, then keep everybody else out."
"Yes, your highness."
Elena entered, and the doors were closed behind her.

Prince Georgi was seated behind his desk. In prior days he had rarely used it, the business of the Regency having been a much simpler existence, or so it seemed now.
"Pull up a chair", he smiled across at her, amazed at her energy.
"Thank you", Elena sat and held the paper up, "This just came in your highness."
"Please go on."
"Relayed from Petropavlosk", she began, "It was picked up by one of the picket stations in the Kurils and passed on verbatim to Petropavlosk, and from there to us. It has to be several hours old by now."
"It is from outside the empire ?", Prince Georgi was trying to make sense of it.
"Yes, your highness.", she handed the transcription across.

Greetings;

I am Procurator Governor Herman Kardon. Although the Nation-State of Hawaii has never been formerly allied with your nation in our world, it is hoped that a diplomatic repoach can be made. We can offer you advanced technology in exchange for food. Any quantity and quality will be accepted. It is hoped that a ship from your Eastern providences (if possessing them) can make the voyage to here.

Procurator Governor Herman Kardon
Nation-State of Hawaii
Acting Imperator of the United American States

He read it twice, one time turning the globe upon his desk so that he was staring at the Pacific Ocean and the islands of Hawaii within it.
"There is no explanation ?", he asked at length.
"Only what it says."
"Hmm..and the picket station - they are reliable men ?"
"It is hard to know for sure, your highness, but I would expect they are good at their job...although on these remote outposts discipline in other areas often breaks down."
"As long as they are good at the job in hand, that is all I can ask of anybody at this moment in time."
"Yes, your highness... I had one of the students look over the transcript as it came in."
"Yes ?"
"He noted the use of Roman language, but warned against connecting it to events here in Europe."
"Hawaii would seem to be an unlikely partner", Georgi span the globe around, tracking the distance with his finger, then halted it with the Pacific in front of him again, "If we for the sake of argument take the message seriously, what are we to make of it ?"
"I am most taken by this phrase", Elena replied "Although the Nation-State of Hawaii has never been formerly allied with your nation in our world."
"Well, what about it ?" Georgi rubbed at his eyes. He would really have to get some sleep soon.
"Formerly allied ?", Elena nodded, "It sounds as if they are asking for an alliance. But 'in our world' ..."
"We all share the world", Georgi pointed out.
"It sounds as if the author means to imply there is a different world."
For the longest while Georgi was silent, then he stood up and moved across to the window. The view was hardly inspiring, being of an inner courtyard and a scene dominated by supplies being stockpiled by soldiers in the uniform of the city guard.
"I have been thinking", he said at length, "The United Nordic Kingdom, Latin to the West, Greek to the South...a different Hawaii..."
"Yes, I have been thinking also", she smiled, "The game becomes reality if it ends up being all there is."
"Yes, I know", he moved back to the desk, "If we are to take this message seriously they are in need of succour. I will pay a call to Admiral Kanenin and discuss what might be done... I do not think he would appreciate being summoned to the palace twice in so short a time."
"The fresh air will do you good, your highness, though you must sleep this night."
"Do not worry", he nodded, "I intend to."

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

*Trans. in Russian & English

Greetings from the United Federation of Chinese States!

I seek an alliance with your nation in the hopes of creating a Pax Amerisia. Although we are of an alien nature to your sensiblilities, there is the underlining trouble of Nippon and the threat it has to our Eastern Coasts. I will gladly exchange whatever food supplies and armory in helping this threat from invading our lands and can help process the vaulable resources that might prove difficult to take out.

Premier Lelean Wong

I am dealing with all these messages as if they are received for consideration on Day 2 - is that OK ?

An answer to the Hawaii one is being prepared as you can see in Part 16, its under consideration

This one will be considered in due course, but I need to know whether a couple of other things are happening - the submarine at Danzig, the airship over the Black Sea... If something dramatic happens there, then the Chinese message may well get lost in the hullaballoo

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

"Your highness,", Admiral Kanenin sounded almost apologetic, "I have to ask you a question."
Prince Georgi Nikolaevich looked out across the water towards where the Rossiya was moored, swinging in the fierce winds that still lashed the Gulf of Finland,
"Yes", he agreed without meeting the other's eyes, "You do."
Admiral Pavel Kanenin frowned, and shuffled some papers on the table, then heaved a sigh,
"Your highness, do you believe what some of the men are saying ?"
"Now then", Georgi looked him in the eye, "That is not the question, admiral."
"I suppose not", Kanenin said quietly, reluctant to spell it out for himself.
"I will help you", the Regent threw a map onto the table, "This is the map of those parts of the empire we retain contact with", he indicated a large blacked out area, "You will note we have amended it to take into account the Murmansk misunderstanding."
"Yes"
"On the periphery have been marked the information we have about .... things after the..... Event."
"Yes?", Kanenin leant over, "Latin spoken here ?" he read aloud, "Greek signals from here ?" he noted another, "Karelian border...United Nordic Kingdom...", he sighed, "We cannot get away from that reality...and that underlies the rest of the...situation."
"Yes", Georgi laughed, "Have we aswered the question without asking it?"
"I believe so", the admiral nodded, "And this ?", he picked up the transcript.
"I believe we have to act upon it as if it is genuine."
Pavel Kanenin pulled up a heavy black file, embossed in gold, 'Petropavlosk - Divisional Command'. He flicked through the pages to the most recent entries, notes of the sailing under war orders of much of the submarine fleet, including the two available great submarines. Flicking back a few pages he found what he was looking for,
"Five auxilary transports in port, and supplies of food sufficient for a two month siege"
"We could spare two...surface escort ?"
The admiral looked it up,
"I would not want to detach either of the light cruisers... Maybe one of the armoured cruisers could be made mobile, they are serving as guardships."
"Do it", Prince Georgi was well aware that this could be an elaborate hoax but under the circumstances inaction was not an option, "Load two ships with food, get an escort ready and sail them tomorrow morning. I will see to a message to be broadcast back."
"As you advise, your highness."

* * * * *


To his excellency, Procurator General Herman Cardon

Please be advised that two auxilaries laden with food are under escort to Hawaii, departing tomorrow. Request additional details on your situation and clarification of the term 'in our world'. Interest expressed in advanced technology. Responses will be routed to the capital post-haste, please use transmission identification word 'Alloa'

His Highness, Prince Georgi Nikolaevich
Regent of the Russian Empire


Grey Wolf

[Cockroach]

Transmission from: Union of Pacific Dominions
To: Russian Empire (?)
We greatly desire to establish diplomatic conntact and then perhaps trade. If you wish a diplomatic mission will be dispatched by ship ASAP
Sir John Monash
Governer General

[G.Bone]

Alloa

Your Highness, Prince Georgi Nikolaevich
Regent of the Russian Empire

Our situation is as follows;

In our world escalations were directed towards China, which was conquered by a dissident faction during the Reformation of the US. As a result of this, much of the population of the Islands are military and are over the limits that our Islands can offer in means of food and hearth. Although we do have control over Saipan, Guam, and other islands, they are simply not enough to support the troops stationed her.

The phrase "in our world" refers to the world that we hailed from.

We can offer you the B-Colt rifle, armored with a 15 bullet magazine, with it's loading mechanism being of bolt action (every 3 bullets). We can part with about a 100 of those. We also can offer the following;

1) Stryker Cannon; able to pin-point and destroy a target 20 leagues off, easily transportable
2) F-12 Lightning; a fighter plane armored with 3 machine guns, small incinerary bombs, and long range capabilities
3) Scanning Waves; a proto-device in detecting incoming planes via by radio waves, have been experiementing and is offered for improvement
4) F-14 Sparky; a long range fighter adapted to eradicate AA guns, ability to 'dive bomb'

Procurator Gov. H. Kardon
PKH, UAS

[Grey Wolf]

Replies or reaction to these will be sorted tomorrow as soon as possible - its after half past 1 am now and I need to get to bed in case I am working tomorrow. I rather think that Saint Petersburg is going to have to establish an office just for this, probably a joint effort between the standing committee and elements of Prince Vyazemsky's Foreign Ministry. But do note that from 'as soon as possible' there will be a regional governor/ ViceRoy in the East at Saint Petersburg empowered to make his own decisions as far as possible

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

He let go off his binoculars and let them fall against his chest,
"Log it as another bug." he intoned.
The lieutenant beside him did as he was told. It was the sixth sighting over the Black Sea, an oddly-shaped airship bearing a different rendering of the imperial eagle upon its flanks. Quite what it meant, the young man had no idea. Commander Eugen Matveev was keeping his own counsel on that one.
The voice pipe whistled. Matveev put it to his ear, listened and then spoke into it.
"I will be there immediately."
He shrugged off the binoculars and handed them to the young lieutenant,
"Log any more bugs, I think you know the drill by now."
"Yes sir"
Matveev left it at that and hurried up the passageway to the bridge. Captain Semenoff was seated at a small central desk. He looked up and nodded,
"Commander"
Matveev saluted,
"Reporting as ordered, Captain."
"Yes", Semenoff looked up, his bearded face framing his intelligent blue eyes, "These bugs of yours - what do you make of them ?"
Matveev decided to begin with what he considered to be the cast-iron facts; it was always safer when a senior officer was involved,
"Sir, they have all been off to starboard, indicating an origin in the West, probably in the Principalities looking at the angle of approach. Although they seem at a distance to bear the imperial eagle, careful study through telescope and binoculars has shown that it is significantly at variance in many small ways - illegally so, if you see what I mean."
Semenoff nodded but did not interupt
"The airships are of an unknown design. It is not possible at this distance to ascertain what their variance of shape implies, if anything. They appear to be fast and manoevrable, and are no doubt armed. In short they appear to be military vessels."
"And they match no known type ?", Semenoff wanted a definite answer on this point, "Ignoring the heraldic devices, these are not a design known to the Austrians, or the Germans or the French ? It would not be beyond the bounds of possibility for them to have sailed them here."
"You are thinking that perhaps they sail under false colours sir ?"
"That might explain the eagle which is not the eagle", Semenoff affirmed.
"Perhaps", Matveev was doubtful, "The Romanov eagle is so well-known, one would have to consider it a lapse of immense proportions to attempt to duplicate it only to get it wrong."
"Be that as it may", Semenoff was pushing for facts not opinion, "Do these airships match anything known to Naval Intelligence ?"
"I do not believe so", Matveev had not memorised the Air Recognition Handbook but was sufficiently acquainted with it to be able to recall most major types, "To be certain I feel that I would need to check on the American designs, and perhaps those of Brazil and Argentina."
"Please do so. Dismissed, for now."
"Yes sir"
Feeling somewhat confused and deflated, Matveev left the bridge and returned to the Observation Deck. He had intended to begin with facts and then move on to speculation, but the Captain had not allowed him that luxury. He headed for the control cabin and scooped up the Handbook from where it lay open on the desk. Now to make completely sure...

* * * * *

Grand Duke Pavel Konstantinaevich reviewed the reports with a sense of foreboding. Someone was keeping a careful watch upon them, or so it seemed, someone who flew airships of an unknown origin and used a variation of the imperial eagle on their flanks. He certainly did not like the sound of the latter.
Seated in the officers' mess at the rear of the airship, he was alone in the room of polished wood and green beize, seated in a leather armchair with the sheaf of reports upon his knees. After a moment, he sighed and placed them carefully upon the small round table beside him, and reached inside his pocket for the documents that only he knew he carried. Given to him personally by the Regent, they made far more sense of his presence onboard the Imperator than the official explanation.
With a glance in the direction of the door, just in case, he opened them out and studied the opening paragraphs in detail. He needed to be sure...

* * * * *

Whooooosh !
"What in the name of God was that ?!" Matveev was on his feet, then Handbook toppled to the floor.
The young lieutenant looked at him in silent alarm.
"Speak man !" the Commander demanded
But the youngster had no words for it. A runner came from further down the gallery, already reporting before he was at the specified proximity,
"Sir ! Lieutenant Adronik's compliments sir, but he wishes to report a small aerial vehicle just flew close to the airship."
"What does that mean ?!" Matveev stared at him in confusion, "What is a small aerial vehicle ?"
"We only got a brief glance at it sir", the runner explained, "It had wings but no propellers, and was much larger than an aeroplane."
There came another roar from outside. Matveev yanked the binoculars from out of the hands of his own second, and scanned the skies before him,
"Bug acquired !" he yelled, "Write this down fool"
The youngster leapt to it
"Grey in colour, as described somewhat larger than any aeroplane I have ever seen, though I expect there are designs of this size. Definitely no propeller. What the Devil ?"
"Sir ?", the youngster stammered
"On the tail there's a design like a cross and a crescent all mixed up, and something green and orange on the wing... You know, it could be some kind of aeroplane. The size is not that much different actually, its the construction that gives it a greater appearance of solidity. It appears to be made of......metal !"
Whooosh !

* * * * *

"Sir !" the radio officer was out of his seat yelling at the captain who was glued to the viewing portal on the opposite side of the bridge, "Sir, we have an incoming communication !"
Captain Semenoff pulled his gaze away from the apparition and hurried across to the radio,
"From whom ?"
"Sir, I think its from those....aerial craft. "
"You think ? Do they not identify themselves ?"
"I do not know sir", the man wiped his sweating brow with one hand, "I think they are speaking....Swedish ?", he didn't sound too sure of that.
"Swedish ?", Semenoff stared at him for a moment, then shrugged, "Lieutenant Karpov !"
A young man ran to him, leaving a trail of paper in his wake as he dislodged a report from off the captain's desk.
"Lieutenant, get down below and see if we have any Swedish speakers on board. Bring them to the bridge. We may need them."
"Yes sir", the youngster ran off to do as he was bid.
Silently, and without orders another bridge officer tidied the mess upon the floor. Semenoff turned back to the radio,
"Transmit in Russian then in Greek. Demand an explanation as to whom they are, and what they are doing over the Black Sea."
"Yes sir."
The captain nodded then turned to the man who had just tidied the desk,
"Please bring Prince Gorshkin to the bridge immediately."

* * * * *

"You do understand ?"
The cavalry lieutenant nodded,
"Yes sir"
Being of the same regiment as the Grand Duke, military protocol took over and he addressed his commander by his military rank rather than by his social one.
"Good. I will be on the bridge. Be ready."
"Yes sir."
Grand Duke Pavel nodded, then turned and hurried along the airship's central passageway.

* * * * *

"Sir !", the radio officer almost yelped, "They are replying in Greek !"
"What are they saying ?", Semenoff turned his attention back to the radio.
"Their Greek is a bit odd", the radio officer barked into the mouthpiece in Greek of his own "Please repeat the last section of the message."
The reply came over the airways. Semenoff frowned,
"Did I hear that correctly ?"
"Yes sir. The whole message reads, as far as I can translate it exactly - Unknown Airship, identify yourself and your destination, ordered to stop and await further orders."
"Orders ?!", the Imperator's captain snapped, "Who do they think they are to order us to do anything ?"
"I should imagine they think they are well-armed and dangerous."
It was Grand Duke Pavel who spoke, arriving on the bridge just seconds ahead of the red-faced prince, who was head of the civilian delegation.
"Perhaps, your highness", Semenoff accepted the contribution with ill grace. He turned back to the radio operator,
"Request and require an answer to our own questions. Who are they and what are they doing over the Black Sea ?"
"Yes sir", the radio officer did as he was told.
"Might I suggest we slow to one third cruising speed", Grand Duke Pavel spoke with a smile, "I do not think we should risk misunderstandings at this juncture."
For a moment Semenoff just stared at him, then he turned on his heels and addressed an officer of the bridge,
"Engines, slow to one third cruising !"
"One third cruising, yes sir !"
The momentum of the Imperator was noticeably slowed within just a few moments of the receipt of that instruction.

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

General Fedor Zhuzhgov looked at the message his radio officer had just handed to him, and growled,
"What the hell does this mean ?!" he demanded.
His radio officer could only stare at him,
"Sir, I have no idea. We just picked it up... It seems to be coming from Manchuria", he added.
"The Prussian Republic ?"
Although still crazy, it would at least make a small amount of sense. The Prussian Republic of Manchuria was deemed economically at risk and of unsound security by confidential Military Intelligence reports. If anywhere had collapsed and become a...he looked at the message again... a 'United Confederation of Chinese' states he suspected the Prussian Republic was a good bet, and the mention of 'Pax America' must be some crude reference to a federation. It seemed rather a grandiose new name, though, but perhaps that was explained by the content of the rest of the message which seemed aimed at a military alliance to repel what seemed to be a Japanese invasion, though the wording was odd... But then again the signatory was one Premier Lelean Wong, so you could hardly expect perfection from a Chinaman.
The general nodded,
"Yes, I think this must come from the Prussian Republic... They have been overthrown by this general Wong and as a result are under attack from Japan... The mention of Eastern shores must mean on the Liaoyang Peninsular."
"Er, yes sir", the radio officer said with no great conviction. It was a possible explanation, he supposed, but there were surely many others,
"We are still unable to contact Aleksandrograd or Harbin", he reminded the general.
General Zhuzhgov snorted,
"You have seen the storms that have ravaged the Okhotsk coast for the last two days, I do not doubt that fierce though they are here at Ayan, further South they are even worse."
"Yes sir", again the radio officer thought that the general was making speculation into fact.
"Shall we send a reply to this Premier Wong, sir ?"
The general rubbed his eyes. New orders had come in that morning to refer all external messages to Petropavlosk in the first instance, for relay to Saint Petersburg. What did they think he was ? Some sort of superannuated office-filler ? He was a General of the Reserve, and there was always a mobilised reserve in the Eastern Government. A whole division was to hand, based at various depots North of the Amur and under his immediate command. Maybe he could do something...end his career on a high note... He could say that the message had been relayed to Petropavlosk, but maybe got lost in transmission, that Aleksandrograd had been informed but remained out of contact, and that in the circumstances he had thought it prudent to take the initiative for himself.
"First of all", he said slowly, "Order the division to assemble at the muster points. Secondly, transmit our attention to Aleksandrograd."
"Surely you mean Petropavlosk ?", the radio officer butted in.
"No", the general's voice was cold steel, "Send to Aleksandrograd. Then send the following message to this Premier Wong."

* * * * *

To Premier Lelean Wong
Prussian Republic of Manchuria

I am mobilising the reserve North of the Amur and stand by to aid you. Our Eastern government at Aleksandrograd remains out of contact due to the ferocious storms buffeting the Eastern Pacific. Therefore I am assuming command of the situation. Please provide details as to the direction and nature of the attack. We are unable to provide naval support for Liaoyang at this juncture, but the division under my command will entrain for Harbin at the earliest opportunity and march South to your relief.

General Fedor Zhuzhgov
Ayan


Grey Wolf

[DuQuense]

Remenber I have half a Million Troops . In a System of Trenches and Fortifications that have been expanded and extented since the end of the Great war in 1919. [think French Mairgot Line] They extedent ten Miles north of the Amur and cover all the Passes the Russians may Use to cross the Amur Mountians. Of course You could take some troops Over the Mountains, but not a Army. I Don't think General Fedor Zhuzhgov will get to Habin.

OTOH my troop are Simply going to Hold and Repluse, they will not Counter attack.

[Grey Wolf]

There were three of them in the room. The Regent no longer sat behind his desk, and to be honest preferred things that way; he was less comfortable it seemed with the trappings of power than with the actual implementation of it. Prince Georgi had to admit that that had come as something of a surprise to him ! He felt rested, even though the three hour nap he had managed to catch hardly made up for the stress and sleepless night he had had. But he felt better, his eyes were staying open of their own accord and he found his mind was clearer, able to concentrate better than even that afternoon.
They sat in a rough semi circle, ranged around a couple of small tables which had been pulled together. Minister of Shipping Vladimir Miliukov had two piles of documents before him, sufficiently high to serve as a rest for his arms. Elena Purishkevich had one pile, but looked no less imposing for it. All that lay before the Regent was a leather-bound note book and a pot of ink for his fountain pen.
The Message, as they were terming it, speaking the capitalisation, lay in the centre, between them all. Prince Georgi took a sip of the brandy from his tumbler, then set it down. With the nib of his pen he stabbed at the first sentence
In our world escalations were directed towards China, which was conquered by a dissident faction during the Reformation of the US
"Miss Purishkevich, has your team got any theories which could help us here ?"
Elena nodded slowly; for this she did not need her notes,
"Vera Voronovitch - you met her...", she smiled, "In fact Andrei says you terrified her the second time."
"That was the Tsesarevitch" Prince Georgi grinned
"Yes, Andrei says that who you terrified her with... Anyway, Vera suggests that we take this literally and look at it from a global political standpoint. Her analysis is that the United States of this Message", she still felt unsure about using a more definitive word such as 'world', "did not conquer Mexico, but instead turned its attention earlier to the Pacific, taking over Hawaii and later China. The reference to the Reformation of the US may be simply a way of referring to their civil war; perhaps the South won in the 1880s ? Maybe it was an entirely different civil war."
"Yes..." Prince Georgi decided that however crazy it sounded as an explanation he could not fault it. Everytime his mind challenged him that something was just too insane to be true, he replied to it 'United Nordic Kingdom' and it shut up straight away.
"Minister Miliukov, would I be correct in assuming that the reference to 'planes' means some kind of aeroplane ?"
"I think so", Vladimir Miliukov nodded, "I believe that the Americans sometimes term them so."
"And this Hawaii has had an American presence", Elena pointed out.
"So, the technology they speak of is aeroplanes !?"
The Regent sounded almost disbelieving. What possible use would the flimsy toys be to a military power ?
"Your highness", Miliukov shuffled his reports and found what he was looking for, "His imperial highness, the Tsesarevitch did relay to us that there had been rumoured sightings along his journey of unknown aerial craft, craft which he stated that the descriptions made them sound like some kind of aeroplane."
"Is it really possible that someone can have devised an aeroplane that can stand up against an airship ?", Prince Georgi stabbed the words of the message with the pen once more,
F-12 Lightning; a fighter plane armored with 3 machine guns, small incinerary bombs, and long range capabilities
Miliukov reread the words,
"I think the first part is a designation, maybe a class name like we speak of in naval terminology. I am unsure what a fighter aeroplane is, but it certainly sounds warlike. How they have managed to reinforce the wooden struts to hold three machine guns I do not know. A small bomb - I expect that is no difficult feat, it could be attached beneath and released with a lever...In fact I believe that the Germans are working on something along those lines for their naval spotter aeroplanes in case they come into contact with submarines."
The Regent stabbed at another line of the message
F-14 Sparky; a long range fighter adapted to eradicate AA guns, ability to 'dive bomb'
"That is more complex", Miliukov admitted, "AA guns would appear to refer to anti-airship...or anti-aircraft weapons, we have sufficient of those. But I cannot see how a mere aeroplane could fight back against them."
"What is this 'dive bombing' ?" Prince Georgi asked.
"I have no idea."
"We need an expert on aeroplanes", Elena Purishkevich looked up at the two men, "Somebody who is familiar with such machines."
"Maybe the flight officer from one of the newer battleships...", the Regent began to suggest, but Miliukov had another idea,
"Prince Augustus Eduard has his own aeroplanes. He is known as a fanatic in such circles."
Prince Georgi groaned. Chasing the teenage daughter of Grand Duchess Sophia out of the palace had been hard work enough, now here he was with it being suggested that they call her husband in to join the team of experts.
"It would give her highness Grand Duchess Anastasia Sophiaevna somebody different to visit", Elena said with an impish grin. To be honest she had found the sixteen year old girl to be bright and interested, but it had just been an inappropriate moment and she had been unable to shake her off on her own.
"Make a note of it", the Regent sighed, "We will require his presence here for the full council meeting tomorrow morning."
"I am wondering what scanning waves mean", Miliukov commented after a few moments."
"The author attempts to explain them", Elena pointed out, "a proto-device in detecting incoming planes via by radio waves...", she read from the Message.
"How can you use radio to detect something if it doesn't reply ?", the Regent was lost, "Direction Finding works by triangulating an outgoing signal so that we can say for certain where it originates."
"I think we are going to need a scientific committee", Elena said slowly, "And I also believe, if I may be so bold as to raise the matter, that instead of these ad hoc meetings between my team and your highness, there should be some kind of Secretariat established to whom all messages originating from beyond our borders belong."
"Yes", Prince Georgi made a note of both suggestions, and understood for the first time just how fast the bureaucracy of government could grow - especially as all of this was going to need to be duplicated at Omsk !
"I think we should look at the second message", he said after a pause.
Elena replaced the one with the other. This one was shorter, and even more confusing if that was possible

Transmission from: Union of Pacific Dominions
To: Russian Empire (?)
We greatly desire to establish diplomatic conntact and then perhaps trade. If you wish a diplomatic mission will be dispatched by ship ASAP
Sir John Monash
Governor General

"British", Miliukov stated with a sour taste in his mouth.
"Canadian ?", the Regent was confused.
"Union of Pacific Dominions ?", Elena shrugged, "I have not heard of that term."
"If you wish a diplomatic mission will be despatched by ship...", Miliukov looked up, "I have no idea what this means, or why. A diplomatic mission from whom and for what purpose... Asap...that could be a codeword of some kind."
"I think", the Regent said slowly, "that our reply to this message is going to be easier to draft than our reply to the Hawaiians. We will simply ask who they are and what they are meaning."
"And we had better use the codeword just in case it is required as a recognition signal.". Elena put in.
"A good suggestion.", the Regent leant back in his seat, "Let us return to the matter of the Message from Hawaii. The ships leave from Petropavlosk tomorrow morning, but what are we going to say in reply to Mister Cardon's offer ?"

* * * * *

To Governor General Sir John Monash, ASAP
Union of Pacific Dominions

Please state location and meaning of previous message. The Russian Empire will welcome any civilian ship to its ports in time of peace. Trade contacts are currently being run through the Regency Ministry of Trade out of Saint Petersburg.

His Highness, Prince Georgi Nikolaevich
Regent of the Russian Empire


Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

Grand Duchess Anastasia Sophiaevna was surprised at herself. She had spent most of her adolescent years avoiding contact with her elderly relatives as much as possible, but here she was, dragged to her great aunt Maria Konstantinaevna's palace for supper with the Tsesarevitch, and she was finding herself strangely drawn to the old bat. For one thing she may be old and possessed of a high opinion of herself, but the former Regent was still in command of all her faculties. There were none of those cringe-worthy moments when some silly old cow forgets where they are, who their guests are, or what the subject under discussion was. Nor did her great aunt dribble or drop food all down her front - for all that she was almost eighty !
"So how do you think Georgi is handling all this ?", Maria was asking.
The Tsesarevitch placed the forkfull of potato back down upon his plate and wiped his mouth with a serviette,
"I think he is doing as well as anyone could be expected to do, given the circumstances."
"The destruction of the World !", Anastasia put in, more for her own benefit than to add anything to their conversation. She wasn't going to let them forget that she was there.
"It is a slightly fanciful description", Maria Konstantinaevna observed.
"Its what Andrei said was happening", the sixteen year old liked to mention the handsome young student she had met in the Little Hall, "He said we have to assume that the world beyond our borders no longer exists !"
"Something exists out there", Konstantine Konstantinaevich warned his niece, "It is indeed possible that the nations we knew and loved have disappeared, but the land is still there, and there are signs that new nations inhabit them."
"I never loved Sweden", the sixteen year old pulled a sour face, "Germany was alright, that was father's country."
"Indeed", Maria took hold of the stem of her wineglass in a wrinkled but firm hand, "Did you learn a lot from Miss Purishkevich ? Konstantine says that you monopolised her time for a good part of the day."
Anastasia shrugged, and slugged back her own glass of wine,
"She had a lot of theories and a lot of information. I don't know if she had many answers though."
"I expect nobody knows the answers yet", the Tsesarevitch put in, "It is like a jigsaw puzzle."
"I gave those up when I was a child." Anastasia snorted
"Then you will have never come across the thousand piece variety", her uncle admonished her, "The French designer Lacoutier has created many hundreds of complex geometrical designs, then cut them with a jigsaw into puzzle pieces. It takes the best minds several days to reassemble them."
"God", she groaned, "Imagine doing something like a jigsaw for several days, how intolerable !"
"And yet you enjoyed the visit to Miss Purishkevich's team", her great aunt pushed the issue, "This new world of ours may not be a series of clever tricks upon a wooden board, but it is composed of many pieces, none of which seem to fit together as yet."
The Tsesarevitch watched his niece internalise this as he made inroads into his dinner. The girl was bright, that was for sure, but she was wilful and the child of his sister Sophie, that almost marked her out for certain as lazy and indolent by nature. Could Ana conquer her nature ?
"So the radio messages are like one piece of the puzzle ?"
"They are more like one quadrant", the elderly woman told her, "Radio messages in Latin are one piece, radio messages in Greek are another piece, and so on."
"And those funny armoured vehicles one of the telegraphic teams reported, they are another piece ?"
"Yes", Maria smiled at her uptake
"A most disturbing piece, perhaps", the Tsesarevitch added his own commentary.
"Why would something so comical disturb you ?" Anastasia asked.
"Because who would build something like that for no purpose ? Surely not as an amusing toy ? What if they really do work as their appearance would suggest ?"
"A moving fort ? On the road ? Only an idiot would build that", Anastasia had all the certainty of youth, "Anyone else would use a railgun, or deploy the artillery then open fire."
"Perhaps", Konstantine was not convinced.
Before the conversation could go any further there came an urgent knocking upon the dining room door.
"Enter", Grand Duchess Maria was possessed of a loud and commanding voice when she wished to be.
The doors swung inwards and there stood Andrei, one of Elena Purishkevich's team of youngsters. He bowed in all three directions, evincing a giggle from the sixteen year old, and nothing but a respectful silence from the other two.
"Your imperial highnesses", he opted for the easiest form of address, "We have received communication from the Imperator. The Regent requests the Tsesarevitch's presence at the palace immediately."
Konstantine Konstantinaevich rose to his feet. It was too early for the airship to have reached Constantinople yet, therefore something had gone wrong. If something had gone wrong, then his brother, Grand Duke Pavel, would have acted upon his secret orders from the Regent. Yes, he was needed at the palace at once. He made to take leave of the two females, but Anastasia was out of her seat and standing stubbornly beside him,
"I am coming too." she announced.
The Tsesarevitch nodded. There was little point in gainsaying her; he could hardly have her arrested.
"Thank you for dinner, aunt Maria", he smiled, "I shall return to you in the morning."
"Take care my boy"
Off to one side, Anastasia exchanged an amused glance with Andrei, then they were underway, walking swiftly through the hallway to where the driver awaited with the automobile.

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

Remenber I have half a Million Troops . In a System of Trenches and Fortifications that have been expanded and extented since the end of the Great war in 1919. [think French Mairgot Line] They extedent ten Miles north of the Amur and cover all the Passes the Russians may Use to cross the Amur Mountians. Of course You could take some troops Over the Mountains, but not a Army. I Don't think General Fedor Zhuzhgov will get to Habin.

OTOH my troop are Simply going to Hold and Repluse, they will not Counter attack.

Yes, well he doesn't know that :) I'm not trying to play this as a wargame but as a sort of human adventure. Therefore if some idiot of an insubordinate general decides to take things into his own hands and walks into a trap, then thats fine by me.

I hadn't realised though that you extended North of the Amur in the ISOT. Not that it makes much difference to anything that has gone before, only in what is to come. It will probably take until day 4 or 5 before he is in a position to move anyway.

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

Commander Eugen Matveev stared through the binoculars. The aircraft - maybe it was an aeroplane, but unlike one ever envisaged as far as he was aware - was going slower now, no longer buzzing the giant airship like an angry wasp but moving slowly alongside the hull. Nobody opened fire - which, he thought, was a seriously good thing ! Presumably the unknown pilot was quite confident in his craft's abilities. Perhaps he knew many things that the Russians were not aware of.
Matveev studied the markings upon the grey body of the aircraft in more detail now. He had been right about the tail marking s being a cross and a crescent intertwined. Now he could see that the orange and green upon the wings were the feathers of a strange eagle's head. That made no sense to him.
"Is that a mouth ?", his young second asked tentatively.
"What ?" Matveev has no idea what the youth could mean.
"On the...what do you call the bow of an aeroplane ?"
"The nose ?", Matveev looked more carefully there. Yes, the lad was indeed right ! Some sort of beast's head with teeth ! Now that he knew what it was it seemed obvious. Beforehand, it had seemed to be but a pattern of triangular markings.

* * * * *

The radio officer was struggling to make sense of the Greek that was pouring over the airwaves into his headset,
"Please say again", he enunciated in best formal Greek of his own.
The message came again. Ashen-faced the radio officer turned to the captain,
"Sir, the leader of the aerial craft wishes us to fall under escort and accompany them to Constantinople. They have still not identified themselves or answered the questions we put to them."
"Demand an answer", Semenoff screwed a sheet of paper up and threw it across the bridge, "Maybe they do not realise with whom they are playing these games."
"Yes sir", the radio officer bent to his thankless task, asking again what the strangers seemed not at all inclined to answer.

Grand Duke Pavel Konstaninaevich watched the exchange, then stepped out of the bridge. A trooper of the Blue Cuirassiers was standing guard outside, as ordered,
"Relay the codeword 'Pravda' to the men." he instructed quietly.
The man saluted and headed off. Pavel stepped back inside, and smiled at Prince Gorshkin who had been about to comment upon his momentary absence.
Pravda - Truth. It was time...

* * * * *

Lieutenant Vyacheslav Adronik had the forward watch on the observation gallery, the view being one of the seas ahead illuminated by the stars above now beginning to poke their way into the twilight sky. He could see three of the strange aircraft now, keeping pace with the Imperator as it moved ahead at one third of cruising speed, a slowness and a lethargy which seemed unnatural, and would only be used during manoevring in normal circumstances.
Suddenly another aircraft appeared dead ahead. It was speeding towards them. Perhaps its velocity was exaggerated by the fact that they were heading straight towards each other. He flinched involuntarily, but could not drag his eyes away. The aircraft was still coming !
"Sound collision !" he yelled at his second.
Just as the youngster reached the alarm, the aircraft pulled up sharply and shot over the giant airship.
"Belay that."
The youngster let his hand fall from the handle. That had been very close, in more ways than one.

* * * * *

"Captain Semenoff, your excellency", he nodded at Prince Gorshkin, "I am taking command of this vessel."
"I think not, your highness", the sexagenarian captain was absolute in his belief, "This is my vessel and I am in command."
"And I remain head of the imperial delegation." Prince Gorshkin pushed his ample chest out as far as it would go, as if his girth would make the point for him.
Grand Duke Pavel Konstaninaevich drew the secret orders from out of his interior pocket, and smoothed them out in his hand,
"I have here orders from the Regent, endorsed by the Tsesarevitch. They lay out the precise circumstances in which I am empowered to take command of this vessel."
Prince Gorshkin took them from him, read them and silently handed them on to the captain. Semenoff read them then tossed them onto the desk in the centre of the room,
"I remain captain of this vessel, it is my charge, the safety of its passengers is my responsibiity. I will take advice but not orders."
"You will take my orders", Pavel said quietly, "At this moment detachments of the Blue Cuirassiers are ensuring that I have control over the armament, engineering and steerage decks. By order of The Regent, I am assuming command."
"You are seizing command !", Captain Semenoff all but shouted at him.
"If this mission turns from a journey to our imperial capital into an ambassadorial mission with foreign powers unknown, I am requested and required to take command of this airship. Captain, you will obey my commands, or be relieved of your command."
For the shortest moment, Semenoff considered continuing to defy the Grand Duke, then he desisted. He knew he was the best person to fly the Imperator. If someone had to do it under the Grand Duke's orders then that person ought to be his.
"What are your orders, your highness ?", he forced himself to say.
"Inform the strangers that we will co-operate. We will fall under escort to Constantinople. Broadcast to Saint Petersburg that the fox is amongst the hounds."
"Do it", Semenoff instructed his radio officer.
He strode towards the bow of the airship,
"Naigation Officer, prepare to come under escort. Engines prepare to increase speed as required !"

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

Captain Leon Bernov strode the bridge of the ancient cruiser Pamiat Azova, feeling like he was a participant in a historical film. Dating from before the War of Unification, the armoured cruiser had been in reserve for over ten years, and for the last few of these had been moored as a guardship at Petropavlosk. A superhuman effort overnight had made her serviceable for this journey. Luck had played its part - a full bunker of coal was already shipped, part of the ballast that had weighted her down. Crews from several ice patrol craft had been draughted in to fill the vacancies that a guardship inevitably had when it came to putting to see again.
"Clearing harbour lightship", the officer of the deck reported.
Bernov nodded. Behind his ship, he knew were the two precious auxilaries, two colliers and a repair ship. They knew not what they would encounter...

Grey Wolf

[Grey Wolf]

The weather showed little sign of abating, but it was flyable. The Kishinev lifted slowly from the mooring tower at Sevastopol and angled up into the air, approximate heading South-West. Under special orders from Admiral Enqvist, the naval patrol airships from the Crimean bases were setting off that morning on defined flight patterns which would take them over the line of disturbance. The Kishinev's task was to overfly Constanta, a task it had carried out in more normal times, and which it had been engaged upon in the very day of The Event.
Captain Igor Kollontai opened his sealed briefing in the privacy of his cabin only once the airship was aloft. Prepared by Naval Intelligence, the three closely-typed pages included information that could only have come from Saint Petersburg that very morning. It was not possible to get any more up-to-date than that.
He ran a finger down the pages, reading, noting...then stopped. The Rules of Engagement had changed.
"Do not engage the enemy ?!" he breathed out slowly. Well, he would see about that if it came to it...
Finishing with the rest of the sheets, he rose and made his way back to the bridge.
"Well, Captain ?"
Vladimir Mikov, First Officer stood still at his control position.
"Our orders are to fly to Constanta and see what happens."
"See...what...happens