Contact

USS Enterprise,

It had been only a few days since the pivotal UN summit where the "New World Cooperation Pact" was unanimously ratified. This resulted in a joint effort by the five nations to deploy reconnaissance aircraft in a show of cooperation.

Following the UN's directive, a joint task force was quickly mobilised, from Russia's Nagurskoye base. Despite the hesitations of the American and Japanese representatives, the mission moved forward.

Their primary objective was to find any sign of habitation in the continent north of Russia and possibly establish friendly diplomatic ties with the land's newly discovered inhabitants if deemed sufficiently developed.

Thus a formidable fleet of five aircraft carriers, accompanied by their escorts, were dispatched.

From afar, these colossal vessels resembled moving landmasses, each teeming with crew members, chosen to demonstrate their strength to the locals and serve as hosts for their respective diplomatic teams.

At the forefront of the joint fleet was the USS Enterprise taking the lead, followed closely by the INS Vikrant, PLAN Fujian, and RFS Admiral Kuznetsov, with the rear covered by the JDS Izumo, distinguished from the rest being a Helicopter carrier.

Just beyond the carriers' visual range, an impressive battlegroup trailed with a formation comprised of frigates, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, serving as a protective shield, guarding the carriers against any lurking threats alien or otherwise.

The Enterprise carefully approached the small vessel that its sonar had detected, ensuring no collision with what appeared to be an ancient wooden sailboat, seemingly plucked straight from the annals of history.

As they drew closer, the deck came into view, revealing oil jars, ballistae, and a lone catapult alongside a multitude of men, donning forged armour and dark robes, wielding bows and staffs, gazing up at the massive carrier, expressions of sheer bewilderment etched on their faces.

Seeing as they had little idea of this world's social structures, they decided to avoid injuring the natives and carefully decelerated, lowering the boarding gate's gangway ladder quickly ushering the natives in noticing, that there were no other ships nearby.

Soon enough, the crew brought the natives to the ship's deck to speak with their diplomats.

...

Midori looked around in bewilderment, thinking, "Can this truly be called a deck? It's vast enough to host royal jousting tournaments." But what puzzled him more were the individuals before him, dressed in strange clothing, none of whom bore the traditional sword or spear.

Upon closer observation, he noticed a man dressed in a refined blue marred with stars at the centre and rightfully assumed to be the leader of this awe-inspiring vessel.

While he only saw the few men before him, Midori surmised that a vessel of this magnitude would require a vast crew thus, If, by any chance, his group harmed these men, they likely wouldn't make it back to their ship unscathed.

Nevertheless sensing little hostility, he mustered his courage, took a deep breath and began " I am Captain Midori of the Warship Pima, representing the Qua-Toyne Principality Navy's 2nd Fleet. You currently navigate the seas adjacent to the Qua-Toyne Principality. Venturing further would place you within our territorial waters. May I inquire about your ship's origin and the voyage's purpose?"

The group before Midori widened their eyes in astonishment and exclaimed, "What on earth do they understand us?"

Confused by their rather unusual reactions, Midori pondered what their apparent surprise was all about.

Just then, one of them, a man wearing what seemed to be glasses responded, "Please excuse us for the outburst, I'm Maverick Wilson representing the United States of America. We seek a diplomatic engagement with what I believe is the Qua-Toyne Principality, along with our allies"

Midori inquisitively looked at the man and asked "So I would be right to assume that you're the envoy?"

The man nodded affirming his suspicions " Yes, indeed. We come with peaceful intentions; rest assured."

Midori men shuffled about as they calmed down, still rather anxious given the size of the vessel they were aboard.

"I understand, we will relay your words to our country as soon as possible but I'm curious about those metal dragons which soared through our skies a few days ago, were they your knights?" he questioned somewhat unsure about their purpose.

"Knights?" Maverick tilted his head puzzled for a moment before grasping the meaning." Ah, you're referring to our reconnaissance planes. Yes, five of them, each representing the nation-states of the United Nations. We sincerely apologise for any distress they might have caused."

Midori was perplexed by Maverick's mention of a 'Playinnn' nonetheless, he allowed the man to continue. "Our countries had suddenly arrived in this world thus, to ascertain what kind of world this world is, we launched many patrol aeroplanes, and one of these patrol planes ended up intruding on your country's airspace. We deeply regret any inconvenience this may have caused."

As Maverick concluded, four individuals approached and stood alongside him. Their appearances were distinct as foreign, two having features reminiscent of the Mu'an people, one bore dark, elf-like skin but lacked the characteristic pointed ears, and the final individual had the palest complexion Midori had ever observed on a human.

All this baffled Midori and his subordinates as they glanced over the group.

It was completely understandable though, since the idea that an entire group of nations had materialised out of thin air was hard to swallow even for him.

However, judging from the serious expressions, Maverick and his fellow diplomats possessed, it didn't appear to be a joke.

Seeing that there was little he could do, Midori decided to report everything he heard as is.

"I understand, no problem," Midori responded, signalling his Vice Commander to grab something. "I'll relay your intentions to our high command immediately. Please be patient."

Maverick inclined his head, inquiring, "How long might that take? A few days?"

Shaking his head, Midori replied, "No, not at all. Just a few moments. I'll use our manacomm to contact our command since I don't have the authority to make such decisions on my own."

Maverick nodded, "Of course. We'll await your response," and then turned to his group to discuss further.

...

Qua-Toyne Principality, 2nd Navy's Control Room,

A staff member burst into Commander Nouka's chamber, slamming the door open frantically breathless, "Commander Nouka‼ A dispatch from warship Pima has come ‼"

Nouka rose from his seat, eagerly awaiting news from the vessel since its departure.

"Calm down and read it!" he instructed.

The aide cleared his throat and began," Performed an inspection aboard one of the colossal vessels, they don't seem to harbour any hostility. Furthermore, there are diplomats from the United States of America and four other nations. The nations that dispatched the ships wish to convene on a diplomatic mission to our country."

Nouka, lost in thought, signalled for the aide to continue.

"Their ships are massive with the largest being over 330m in length and others ranging from way to 300m with a width of at least 40m by eye. Strangely, there were no sails or oars in sight. Perhaps they utilise magic stones for propulsion?"

His jaw dropped as he heard about the length, he had known it was a large warship but this was beyond any expectations, a 300 m ship was basically a floating palace.

The aide, sharing Nouka's astonishment but pressing on, added, "Regarding the unidentified object incident a few days ago, it was their patrol units that had entered our airspace. They were on a reconnaissance flight to gather information about our continent. The diplomats claim... their nations have been transported to this world."

Nouka's eyes widened in disbelief. "This is preposterous! Nations appearing out of thin air? How am I to relay this to my superiors?"

Unable to remain seated, he swiftly stood and reached for the transmitter. Fortunately or rather unfortunately, in this case, they could comprehend each other's language.

"As if the Flying objects weren't bad enough, the fact that they possessed a fleet of 300m long warships was bad, really bad, it would be a disaster to conceal this." the aide commented, somewhat more composed than Nouka.

Furthermore, he continued, "Their governments offered a formal apology to our country thus, it warrants an answer from the Principality's Foreign Affairs Ministry."

Rubbing his temples in frustration, Nouka exclaimed, "Goddamnit... What a load of shit I've stepped into!"

Suddenly an idea struck him. "Wait! We can leverage this."

Puzzled by the sudden shift in Nouka's mood, the aide inquired, "What are you thinking, sir?"

Nouka turned to him, grabbing his shoulders with confidence and declared, "There's a meeting going on right now about the UFOs, quickly go and inform them."

The young aide saluted promptly, acknowledging Nouka's directive, and hurried off to update central command on the unfolding situation.

...

Qua-Toyne Principality Kyvérnisi Conference,

A plethora of government and military officials had gathered in the grand conference hall as Prime Minister Kanata was worried as the representatives of the Country had gathered in response to the Airspace Violation three days back according to the report given to him by the Commander stationed at Clemens.

A group of unidentified objects had infiltrated the country at such incredible speeds that, even their famed dragon knights barely had a chance to react before they flew away.

Their national affiliations were questionable at best, as none of the unusual flags were from prominent civilisations in our area.

With a heavy heart, Kanata walked up to the podium and announced, "Gentlemen, what are your opinions on this report?"

Immediately as if waiting for a chance, the head of Analytics rose and said, "According to our investigation, the object closely resembles the Muan flying craft known as the 'Plane', however, contrary to our initial conclusions, the craft greatly exceeds the speeds of their planes which range from 200 to 350 km/hr nearing approximately 600km/hr, but ..."

Kanata, his interest piqued yet laced with unease, pressed, "Go on. What is it?"

The head took a deep breath and looked him dead in the eye coldly stating, " There have been alarming reports from the far west about a mysterious entity, the so-called 'Eighth Empire'. They've been aggressive, swallowing neighbouring nations with unparalleled force. There are even rumblings that they've declared war on the Continental National Alliance. However, specifics about their arsenal remain unknown."

Laughter erupted in the hall. The idea of a fledgling empire, no matter how ambitious, challenging the entirety of the Second Civilization Area, especially the Mechanical Civilization of Mu, one of the world's renowned superpowers, was ludicrous to them.

A delegate, unable to contain his mirth called out, "Surely, there's a limit to foolish bravado! They're marching to their doom!"

Kanata ignored their brash comments and steered the conference back on course. "Regardless of these events, our nation lies nearly 20000 km far west of Mu.

Even if their military prowess is unparalleled, the sheer logistics make any confrontation with us highly improbable."

Soon, the conference came to a standstill as conspiracy theories ranging from Louria's secret weapon to a Parpaldian Invasion kept on being reiterated by some officials with others questioning the credibility of such information.

It didn't help that the diplomatic standoff with the Lourian Kingdom had seen no sign of ending anytime soon.

Kanata rubbed his temples, wearied by the bickering. He knew that if the opposing party had had benevolent intentions, they would have replied to their attempts at contact.

Instead, they drove unabated into their territory, their metallic monstrosities sowing panic amongst the populace.

Just as the mood had reached a deadlock, a young staff officer from their diplomatic section rushed into the conference hall gasping for air.

Kanata looked at the man and instantly knew that something must be amiss.

The Foreign Minister, recognising the officer, rushed to his side, gripping his shoulders. "Speak! What's transpired?"

The officer stared in abject horror as if he had seen demons as he blurted out, "URGENT REPORT!"

Gathering himself, he relayed, "Earlier today, our Navy established contact with the entities operating the metal beasts. They've anchored near Clemens with a fleet of colossal warships, each stretching over 300 meters."

He continued, "Captain Midori of our Second Fleet communicated with their envoys. They claim, to represent an alliance called the 'United Nations,' encompassing five nations, The United States of America, the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of India, and Japan."

He paused, glancing around the room, ensuring he had everyone's attention," Furthermore, they have conveyed having no intention of hostility as such their actions will mirror our own - aggression for aggression, peace for peace. 

Our inquiries have unearthed a startling revelation, these nations claim to have been involuntarily transported to our world, severed from their own. 

In their bid to comprehend their new surroundings, they dispatched reconnaissance units. Their incursion into our airspace was inadvertent during one such mission. They express deep regret for the transgression."

Drawing a deep breath, he concluded, "They extend an olive branch, seeking to initiate diplomatic dialogues with our nation."

The entire hall lay silent at the announcement, it was a crazy story after all, a group of nations capable of wielding such large vessels suddenly transferred away. Even if it appeared in myths, it was impossible in the real world.

Nonetheless, since they understood basic courtesy, having apologised and offered a diplomatic meeting, it seemed only fitting to reciprocate their gesture.

Thus it was unanimously agreed, that they would be welcomed at the Prime Minister's Residence for further discussions.

...

Somewhere in Asia,

In a dimly lit room, an ornate oak table stood as the centrepiece, around which an assembly of individuals sat. Wisps of smoke curled upwards from their cigarettes, creating a misty veil.

Soon, the door swung open to reveal a man dressed in a pristine white suit. A dragon emblem was embroidered on his left sleeve, while a jagged scar marred his right eye.

He swept the room with a sharp gaze and asked, "What's the status of the task I assigned?" as his eyes settled on a woman with pale skin, half her face concealed by a green mask.

Standing up gracefully, she responded with a sly grin, "It's finished. General Zhang Chen is in our pockets soon with the Russians on board, we can set it in motion."

The man in the white suit nodded and sank into a throne intricately carved with dragons, "Well done, Bai Ze, now only India and the United States are left. 

Soon we'll be ready for the next phase!"

His eyes, cold and calculating, fixed on a jade tiger sculpture on the ceiling as if challenging it. 

Picking up a small bear statuette from the table, he mused, "The Wall of Light has indeed presented us with a golden opportunity to execute our grand plan."

"Thus, we act on it!" he stated as the bear statuette shattered instantly under his grip, its fragments scattering like a rain of diamonds. His maniacal laughter echoed as he strode confidently from the room. 

The group of eleven trailed behind him, the dim light revealing the intricate tattoos on their skins, each representing a sign from the Chinese zodiac.

With a sly smile, the man in white led the way, fully aware of the game of shadows about to unfold.

...

TBC