EaW: Across Burning Skies

"Does anyone think that maybe...we're the bad guys?"
-Thorax to General Pharynx, January 1007

July 9th, 1012
Royal Spire, Ditrysium Hive, Chrysalis Coast
Queendom of Greater Changelingia

“What am I looking at?”

Helvia knew what an automobile was. An internal combustion engine (though recovered Equestrian magitek tanks suggested arcane crystals were capable of replacing gasoline) wrapped up in a frame on a staggering variety of suspension (or lack thereof). Automobiles were spread across Faust, from the snowtractors used by Olenians to clear their roads, the various kinds of trucks used by the hives to transport freight underground, cute little country cars Equestria used for their idyllic green hills, the various aristocratic luxury stretch vehicles griffon aristocrats rode in, the simple but functional Riverpony cars and so on and so forth. Ditrysium Hive was well modernized, and as a result a large amount of the Royals in the hive and a sufficient amount of drones owned their own machines or at least knew the basics of driving one if they didn’t. She knew what the object of her observations -was-, but its presence in front of her spire gates was the true mystery.

“A Lowenstein 770 Größer ‘Tourenwagen’ W150!” declared Recina, eagerly sweeping the vehicle in question with her eyes, seemingly hungry to devour it. An avowed fan of machinery of all kinds, Recina was an expert on naval and aviation engineering. It seemed Helvia’s sister also had an eye towards luxury cars as well. “Stretch convertible, inline eight cylinder engine, four forward ratio gears with an overcharged fifth, capable of 3200 RPM while supercharging with a top speed of about 180 kilometers an hour.”

Recina practically looked like she’d fallen in love, ogling the vehicle that they had watched be unloaded from the massive packing crate that had been unloaded from the large cargo truck. Several mechanic drones and a Royal engineer milled around, having done their job and made initial checks to ensure the car was ready to go. Hanging from small poles installed over the headlights hung banners of the Changeling Queendom, already affixed when the car had come out, though an orange, yellow and black sash hung over the grille to indicate whom it had been sent by, as if the note that had come with it hadn’t been indication enough.

’To the Queens of Changelingia, from Kaiser Grover VI’ it had read. Indeed, a quick call had confirmed that the other queens Aurantia, Yaria and Argynnis had all received identical cars like this one, so it wasn’t a trick. Chrysalis, it turned out, had received both a car -and- several Imperial military vehicles, officially granted to the High Queen to show off the fruits of the Exchange. The Griefkonig alone was a piece of art when it came to panzercraft, and many in the Luftwaffe were eager to begin looking over the Habicht fighter to discover its secrets. Word was, Chrysalis planned to pack up an entire Tiger tank to Griffonia to one up the Kaiser and his Regents, which Helvia saw as a bit crass and petty, but that summed up Chrysalis’ personality in a nutshell regardless.

“It…is a nice car, I suppose,” Helvia remarked. To be certain, it certainly looked sleek, and Lowenstein’s luxury cars were among the most desired in the world. She didn’t see what made this one special, but Recina was looking at her sister agape, like she couldn’t believe what came out of Helvia’s mandibles.

“Sis, you realize this is the same one the Kaiser himself rides around in? I wonder if they put the armored panels in? There’s less than a hundred of these in the -world-! They don’t even tell you the price until you request it! And for Grover to send us -five- of these things must have cost a fortune!”

“More like his regents did,” Helvia grumbled. “You can’t expect a nine year old to know how this sort of thing works.”

She may shrug it off, but the staggering cost of the gift did indeed slap her in the face. In the midst of two wars, with the oceans contested to the point this had to be flown through Nova Griffonia and Polarland, such a grand gesture was not only a sign of attempts to strengthen relations but a subtle show of industrial and economic might. Five of the most expensive cars on the planet that were similar make and model to the Kaiser’s own on top of the tank, plane, rifles and who knew what else was a ridiculous cost. The message was clear; ‘if we can afford to do this at whim as a gift, what else do you think we’re capable of?’

“Don’t be so cynical,” Recina scolded the queen, an action she certainly wouldn’t have gotten away with if they hadn’t been Royal clutchmates. “And don’t be so dismissive. Grover’s got a lot of advisors who could have given him the idea. Have you ever met him?”

“No,” Helvia admitted sullenly. “Have you?”

“No,” Recina admitted back evenly. “But that doesn’t mean a thing. So, are we gonna take this thing out for a roll?”

Fifteen minutes later, the Tourenwagen was leaving the Royal Spire behind, flanked by a quartet of OCA Sd.Kfz. 234/1 armored cars, eight-wheeled beasts with 20mm autocannons mounted in their turrets. Normally used by the Royal Heer to scout for panzer formations and hunt guerillas in occupied territory, back here in the hives they made sufficient protection for the queens. Ahead of them, flying Queen’s Guard would alert the traffic ahead of the Queen’s approach, and trailing Guards would let the drones know it was safe to drive once more while also making certain the Queen was not being followed by those who wished to do her harm.

Like Vesalipolis, Ditrysium had greatly benefited from the massive amount of industrial growth the unification had brought them, and after Olenia had been made a Protectorate had become a primary hive processing newly harvested resources after Vraks. As a result, it was also one of the most modern, a benefit which it also shared from being Changelingia’s largest commercial port. Olenia’s ports were technically military facilities now, so all the trade that had previously come to the deer had been piped up into the icy waters around Ditrysium. Any who wished to sell their goods to changeling companies now came through Ditrysium, and the money had only flowed even further since. Automobiles were everywhere, all the hive enjoyed a glut of electricity, radio stations and luxuries like foreign alcohol, exotic foods, spacious apartments (for changelings), shopping arcades to purchase new clothes and modern appliances at and motion picture theaters to watch the latest flicks from Applewood Studios and even Talonsberg from across the Celestial when they could be flown in.

The convoy was headed to the harbor. Helvia wanted a good look at that which had built her hive’s fortune. Thanks to the Queen’s Guard and the armored cars around them, they made good time with no stops, the insulated window and material of the cab keeping the interior nice and quiet while the luxury suspension provided the best ride Helvia had ever felt. Even OCA, the company that made the very vehicles escorting her, didn’t make vehicles for royalty like the Kaiserreich did. Recina leaned over to a small box between them in the backseat, opening it up to reveal the ice inside and several vintages of Erdbeere wine as well as a small selection of glasses. Difficult to take up without claws or fingers, Recina didn’t even bother to try, levitating two with her magic and one of the bottles, working the cork out.

“How goes the battle for the Spa Islands?” Helvia questioned, wincing at the loud pop. Recina fixed her sister with a raised eyebrow as she poured two drinks, allowing Helvia’s magic to take her own glass.

“Don’t you have access to those reports yourself? Ditrysium is literally the center of Armada affairs.”

“Yes,” Helvia admitted, taking a sip of the wine and nodding as she found the flavor to her liking. “But Chrysalis’ posturing and temper tantrums has left more and more sycophants behind the desks. I’m not sure I’m getting the full picture. At this point, the only ones I can trust are you, Mimic and Lysander.”

Recina shrugged, admitting Helvia the point as she tipped her glass back, not bothering with sipping and going straight to downing the whole thing in one go.

“It’s tough,” Recina admitted. “The Celestia Fleet is a lot better equipped for surface warfare than the Lunar Fleet was. Now we’ve lost the element of surprise and they have New Mareland and the Reds behind them, I’m not sure we can force the straits anymore. Mimic’s U-boats are doing well, but there’s a lot of rumbling about Puerto Caballo.”

It wasn’t necessarily the colony itself they were concerned with, Helvia knew. Puerto Caballo didn’t have the numbers to be an actual threat, and so far had avoided sending troops to Equestria on the basis that they’d be left undefended as a result. Though Canterlot was literally being besieged at this moment, Celestia would never leave one of her domains vulnerable like that. Again, however, it wasn’t a few regiments that had the changeling fleet shaking. It was the massive Arisian fleet playing guest in their waters, leasing their harbor and training UK Marines right outside the conflict zone. As a good midway point between Zebrica and Equus, it was a natural staging ground for the hippogriffs to become involved, as everyling knew they eventually would find an excuse to. For now, it seemed Parliament and the throne were more focused on sending a show of force, but Helvia knew through VOPS naval intelligence division that the UK Navy was already enormous. All they needed to swell even further would be some wartime funding. It was a serious concern for the Grand Armada.

“Well, they’re not in yet. Should I be concerned?”

“About the Arisians?” Recina scoffed, pouring herself yet another drink of wine. “I would say no, but we all know they’re just waiting to see if Canterlot falls. Novo can’t justify swooping to save a nation three times their size if they still hold their capital. The isolationists would raise unholy Tartarus. Crack Lightning’s already calling for the Phalanx to arm themselves and wait for the disaster. They’re not shooting at us -yet-. But that’s not to say they -won’t-.”

“Could you beat them?” Helvia questioned, and Recina choked on her drink in response. “I mean in the short term,” Helvia clarified quickly as her sister glared back incredulously. “We can’t fight Equestria, Stalliongrad, New Mareland -and- Aris at the same time, however much Chrysalis keeps saying we can. We’ll eventually fold under the pressure. But making the fishbirds back off long enough to secure the continent would be a completely different story. Give us access to the resources and consolidate everything. Where’s the UK going to land if we have a bunker on every shore?”

Recina dabbed at her fanged mandibles, giving the idea some thought before she shrugged, clearly not liking the odds regardless.

“With the forces they’ve got deployed now, and the officers I know of, it’s possible. If we strike hard and fast and get -very- lucky, I could give you…six months of victory at sea.”

“Six months?”

“Maybe a year. Our sailors have a lot of experience now, and we have a good indication of what works. The next generation of carriers are doing well at their sea trials, and they’ll be out to the waters in the next month.”

A good thing they had worked on them in secret before even revealing their existence to Chrysalis, then. All that extra funding that had come after the destruction of Tall Tale had only helped to hurry up a project in progress.

“If a war at sea breaks out with Aris, and I get all the resources I need, I can give you six months of running wild with victory. After that, I have no expectation of success. If we had the Kaiser’s vessels onside that might be a different story. But as it stands…”

Helvia slumped over, sighing as she did so. With all the advantages they had, with their rampant U-boat offensive and the new power of naval aviation, they were in a good place to contest the Royal Navy. But Recina was right. All their advantages would be thrown out the window fighting an enemy at sea the changelings had to go to, where their own industrial base was secure and could move places untouchable to the Queendom such as deeper into Seaquestria. Right now, the Armada was stretched to most of its limit, each vessel only augmenting where they were now. They’d need years to consolidate and expand enough to become a world-class fighting fleet with all their naval yards working at max. The Arisians had the capability now, with their own industry still in a peacetime setting. Give Novo and Skystar a reason to take off the gloves, and the entire shoreline of north Zebrica would start spitting ships before a year was up. Their only chance was to deny an easy victory and only let the hippogriffs look forward to the prospect of a long, dragged out, costly liberation. In that scenario, Helvia could see the soft and sensitive hippogriff monarchy bending to Parliament and public sentiment as they always did and seeking a ceasefire.

“Okay,” Helvia said, downing another glass of wine like her sister had. It was a shame, such good alcohol deserved better. But right now, she didn’t care. “Get with your staff. Draw up the plans. Canterlot won’t last forever. We need to look at doing this soon. In the next few months, if possible.”

Recina nodded, thoughtfully. “I can give you something soon. But sister…I think this isn’t…it’s not a -good- idea. Chrysalis hasn’t paid much attention to the surface fleet, she’s lavished all this spending on the Heer and the U-boats. If I’m going to pull off this miracle for you, I need you to get me as many ships as you can.”

Helvia snorted, peering forward as the gates to the harbor came into view, and beyond it the open expanses of the fjord leading out towards Neverwarm Point.

“The second you can figure out how to get anything out of Chrysalis without pulling teeth, you’re going to die rich after the Oberkommando descends on you for your secrets.” Both sisters chuckled at that, the chauffeur barely batting an eye as he pulled in behind the armored cars, passing the gates to tour the harbor. “I’ll do what I can…but Chrysalis has her eye fixed on Canterlot. Nothing’s going to pull her focus off that…unless it’s Sombra.”

Another chuckle between sisters, and a knowing glance.

“Now!” Recina grinned, her expression feral. “Let’s actually celebrate this marvel of griffon engineering! I want to drive straight up to Armada Kommand and see what those morons have to say when I get out."