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HMS Queen Elizabeth
Northern Sea
Admiral Lucian Miller looked over the Captain - he was a tall, well-built man who seemed more situated to be a bodybuilder than the commander of a ship. And, although Lucian knew that malnourishment was common in the era that it appeared this man came from, the man showed no signs of it.
"Afternoon, Captain?" He said, and when the man nodded, he continued, "I'm Admiral Miller - I'm here to deliver some diplomats to meet with your government." he looked over at the two men in the corner. While he remained convinced of their diplomatic status, several members of their entourage seemed to have honed their skills on a shooting range rather than in a meeting room.
"I can certainly help with that. I will have my men communicate with them about it," the burly man said.
"Good. Would you mind terribly if we follow you back to port when you communicate with them?"
"What do you mean? We can communicate with them from here." He pulled something out of his pocket and spoke, "Captain Morgan to Lieutenant Erikson, do you read me?"
"Reading loud and clear, Sir", a voice came out of the device.
"Well, Admiral, what do you want me to relay to them?" the Captain asked.
Lucian momentarily deliberated - before replying, "Inform them that diplomats from the United Kingdom of Great Britain of Northern Ireland will be arriving alongside the first fleet of His Majesty's Royal Navy."
He had just been informed that because military funding had skyrocketed - he didn't know how, as that had nothing to do with him - and that the navy was being reorganized into four fleets. One in HMNB Portsmouth, one in HMNB Devonport, one in HMNB Clyde, and one in Mare Harbour (after considerable improvements are made).
He would be in command of the first fleet, which, in the future, was to comprise HMS Queen Elizabeth, 2 Daring Class Destroyers, 4 Type 26 Frigates, 2 Type 31 Frigates and numerous support vessels.
"Alright, I'll do that," the Barwan captain said.
Barwanese High Command
"Is this report correct?" the man at the head of the table asked the man who had just reported Captain Morgan's message.
"It appears to be Your Majesty - Captain Morgan is one of our most reliable men."
"He said that the United Kingdom's diplomats would be visiting with their first fleet, didn't he?"
"Yes, my lord."
"And he said that their ships and weapons resembled those of the Amel Empire's?" the King continued.
"Yes, my lord."
"Prepare a welcome for them - we can't afford to offend them. Have our navy escort them in and prepare the finest accommodations."
HMS Queen Elizabeth
Admiral Lucian Miller was surprised to see 150 ships heading towards them, but Captain Morgan informed him they were there to escort their fleet into the harbour.
The capital of Barwam was a sight to behold - it was considerable for a medieval city - having a population of over 100,000 people and large majestic walls surrounding it. It was clean, having unblemished paved streets and properly built houses.
As he stepped off the gangway, a man approached him, "Welcome to Barwan - I'm Douglas Earll, Prime Minister of Barwan. We have prepared accommodations for you, but first, the King would like to meet with you."
"Lucian Miller, Commander of the First Fleet, of course, we will meet with him, but I'm sorry that I must say that protocol insists that we stay aboard our ships. I can't comment on the diplomats and their entourage, but unfortunately, my men and I will have to decline."
"That is a shame - we had prepared the finest accommodations in the palace's west wing, but we take no offence. If you could please follow me."
As they walked into the gigantic throne room, a friendly-looking man with a crown upon his head greeted them, "Welcome all - I have prepared a great feast for all of us to enjoy and celebrate this day."
And a great feast it was - by the end of it, Lucian was stuffed from eating the many dishes present, many of which he had never tried before.
After a short rest, they got down to business. He had decided to sit in on the negotiations between the two nations.
The British diplomats listed their needs first, "We need a large variety of things, but the main two are food and oil." They then shared maps of the strategic resources and ideal shipping lanes to the UK.
"This map is so high-quality - how could you have produced this? But more pressing, this map must be wrong - your country can't be there, the entire west side of your country is in Skipian waters, and those have been patrolled many times," the King commented.
"To tell you the truth, we don't know what happened either - one day, we were just minding our own business when suddenly, poof, we appear here, where everything is foreign to us," the British diplomat said.
The King looked shocked, "That seems difficult to believe."
"We know, it sounds insane."
"If it's true, perhaps you can help us. The Skipians are constantly provoking us, sinking merchant vessels, for example. They are trying to provoke us into war so they can seize our land. We are strong, but Skipia is much larger, and they have many more soldiers than us. They even have 300 Dragon Knights that can bombard us from the sky compared to our pitiful 20 Dragon Knights. But you have aircraft, like the Amel Empire, you can help us."
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