Intel

The New World, United Nations, Haven, Fortress Singapore

"Commander!" Intel Officer Tavor barely finished his knock on the door before he stepped into the office of Commander Ford. "We got a issue!"

"What is it?" Commander Ford put down the report he was reading and took the file given. "What the... How long has this been going on?"

"We spotted a massive build up of Protectorate forces along their cities!" Lieutenant Tavor tapped a few keys at the wall display and brought up a satellite map of the Protectorate region. "We spotted movements of their ships two weeks ago. But only until now, we can be certain they are massing for something."

"Two weeks?" Commander Ford frowned. "Why until now then it was reported?"

"The Protectorate routinely move fleets around their cities," Lt Tavor replied. "As to what purpose, it could be anything from military exercises to duty rotations."

"But normally, not more than one or two fleets sized forces would ever be stationed at any city," Tavor said and he tapped on one of the dark blobs on the map and zoom in the image. "Here, you can clearly see at least dozens of airships parked at the fields. The numbers here are equal to at least four fleets worth of ships under the Protectorate force organization."

"And not only that," Tavor swept the image and jumped to another location. "Here and here too."

Each image showed the typical layout of a walled Protectorate holy city and the fields around it were covered in dark dots. Further zooming in of the image showed rows after rows of blood red colored airships. Tavor panned the image and continued, "At least another four cities and three towns shown similar build up."

"And here," Tavor panned the image again and jumped to another location. "They are mobilizing their ground troops too."

Commander Ford's frown deepened as he furrowed his brows at the image. He saw the neat rows of War Jacks lined up on the field and hundreds more of steam wagons and other weapons of war. He gestured to the image, "So they are going for war... But who is the target? The Iron Kingdom?"

"Most likely," Tavor said as he panned the image out. "Their military build up is just within their own lines. This means that unless the Iron Kingdom has spies that were able to penetrate past the Protectorate's border cities... They have no way of knowing of such a mass build up of troops."

"The Protectorate must be making use of the Tri State's invasion to strike at the Iron Kingdom..." Commander Ford theorized. "Oh fuck... The Captain's is at the Iron Kingdom's Capital now!"

"We need to warn them!" Commander Ford said. "Shit!"

"Sir, do you want to call General Frank to mobilized his troops to reinforce our base in the Old World?" Tavor asked.

"No... Yes! Inform him and all relevant divisions too!" Commander Ford ordered. "Shit... we need more hulls not bodies!

"Call for an immediate general staff meeting!"

-----

The Old World, Iron Kingdom, Arcanium of Steamworks and Magic, The Grand Library

"So according to the translation done by the Scholars and Professors here," Blake tapped the neat writing on the scroll. "We would need something that belonged to the Princess, like her hair, or blood."

"We got some strands of her hair with me," Dr. Sharon's voice came from the comms speaker.

"And the Plate of Finding, which we have," Blake patted the fengshui like compass on the side.

"And I am learning the Suugon spell! " Magister Thorn added from the side. "That is, once I master the Suugon tongue..."

"How long do you think you need?" Blake asked as he push away the scroll. "And the materials stated, do we have them?"

"We also got more than enough mana stones to power the spell..." Magister Thorn replied. "As for the rest of the arcane components... we have some, others, we might have to ask around and see they can be purchased off the market..."

"As for the language..." Magister Thorn frowned before he said, "Give me a week... It should be enough time for me to become fluent with the spell and also to gather all the materials for the spell."

"One week eh?" Blake closed his eyes and sighed before he nodded. "One week it shall be!"

There was a knock on the door and an attendant appeared. The attendant gave a bow before he announced, "His Royal Highness, Prince Herod, has requested your presence at the drawing room."

Blake gestured for the rest to continue with their work and he followed the attendant out and found the Third Prince seated with a tray of refreshments on the table. Prince Herod stood up and greeted Blake warmly, "Captain! How is your research going?"

"Greetings your Highness. We have some results," Blake politely bowed and accepted the cup of tea the Prince offered him. "I have some materials that might require your assistance to obtain..."

"Not a problem!" Prince Herod gestured to his aide. "Tell him what you need and he will do his best to procure it for you as long it is available in the market."

"Thank you," Blake replied before he asked. "How are... things... on your side?"

"Not very good," Prince Herod shook his head. "They have... quite a bit of financial backing..."

"But... as long as I prove my worth in the fight against the Tri State..." Prince Herod took a sip of his tea before he continued. "I can garner enough support to overturn the court's decision and take the position of Crown Prince."

"What about your father, the King?" Blake asked. "Can't he overrule the court's decision?"

Prince Herod shook his head again. "No... He is too ailed to influence any of the decisions made by the court."

"Hmm... but isn't he recovering?" Blake was surprised as from the report given by Dr. Sharon, the King should be in full recovery.

"I am very thankful for Lady Sharon's help..." Prince Herod let out a deep sigh as he turned to look out of the window. "Lady Sharon has done a great service to the royal family for waking him up... But... Even with her skills, my royal father has suffered a demonic possession... And no one has ever recovered from such a condition..."

"Trust Dr-, Lady Sharon," Blake said with a smile. Dr. Sharon had diagnosed the King with stroke and it seemed the physical symptoms made the locals think it was some kind of demonic possession. "Your father is strong, he would go down so easily, especially with Lady Sharon looking after him."

"I hope so..." Prince Herod replied before he stood up. "Will you be continuing to stay here for your research?"

"Yes," Blake nodded. "At least a week more."

"Hmm... I see..." Prince Herod suddenly asked. "Will your ship be available for hire?

"My ship?" Blake rubbed his chin before he asked. "Why?"

"I wish to hire your ship and crew..." Prince Herod replied. "As I said before, the only way for me to win against my opponents... I need clout and the only way is to win the war against the Tri State."

"But my ship is just an old junk," Blake shook his head. "What do you need it for? Transport of supplies? Troops? I am certain you have dozens more capable ships compared to mine."

"Haha! Your ship looks unremarkable from outside..." Prince Herod laughed. "But for some reason, I am certain that your ship is more than it seems! I want to hire your ship to be my flag ship!"

"Still, I am certain you have better ships," Blake replied with a frown. "No matter how you think my ship performs... It still can't match a real warship! The most we have is speed."

"Precisely!" Prince Herod said with a wide smile. "I want that speed! I don't want to ride a warship into battle! I want to lead from your ship! And with how... striking it looks... It will leave a great impression on everyone!"

"I am willing to pay you and your crew handsomely for your services!" Prince Herod added. "What say you?"

Blake shook his head as he firmly rejected the Prince's offer. "No, I am sorry, Your Highness. But I can't have my crew and ship take the risk on the battlefield."

"But we are allies yes?" Prince Herod knitted his brows. "How can you reject my offer? Is the rewards not enough?"

"No," Blake continued to shake his head. "Your Highness, please understand this point. We are not mercenaries! We formed a contract with you because it mutually benefits us both... But I will not risk my people lives unnecessarily."

"Than what can you bring to our alliance now?" The Third Prince's demeanor changed and his voice carried a hint of anger. "I demand for your assistance in this war!"

"How about intelligence?" Blake suggested, unfazed by the Prince's displeasure.

"Intelligence?" Prince Herod's frown deepened. "What is that?"

"Oh, what I meant is information..." Blake sighed at his mistake. "Troops movements... enemy numbers... and so on..."

"Hmm... That would be helpful..." Prince Herod's temper simmered down. He let out a deep sigh and asked again, "Can you reconsider o-"

"Your Highness," Blake cut him off with a wave. "My answer is no. Please do not make it difficult for me..."

"I see..." Prince Herod shook his head regretfully before he walked towards the exit. "Then, I hope to see this... 'Intelligence' information of yours soon."

Blake stood up and gave a bow, "Of course, Your Highness..."

He watched the Prince and his entourage depart and frowned before he keyed his comms and said, "Pack it up, we are falling back to the ship!"

-----

The Old World, The Free City of Ender, Ivory Palace

"He is still... ALIVE!" Dragon Lord Alder growled as he glared at the tiny figure before him. "Our deal was that he was to die!"

"You have taken our blood! Taken our mothers!" Dragon Lord Alder bared his fangs at the Suugon envoy before him. "And he is still alive!"

"Already my people have infiltrated into the Iron Kingdom," Lord Lei replied calmly. "They are just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike."

"It is taking too long!" Dragon Lord Alder sunk back his neck and said grumpily. "He must be taken care of before he becomes the Crown Prince!"

"It's better to make slow progress than no progress at all," Lord Lei said with a confident smile. "And I have received word that the Second Prince has been nominated as the Crown Prince instead of the Third."

"The Second Prince? The fat and useless one?" Dragon Lord Alder mused. "Someone must be controlling him from behind."

"That is a fact," Lord Lei replied. "The Second Prince is not known... for his intelligence..."

"Even better! The Third Prince must still die, even if he doesn't become the Crown Prince!" Dragon Lord Alder declared. "He has committed too much sins against my kind!"

"He shall meet his end," Lord Lei smiled. "I am just waiting for him to appear at the front lines against the Tri State."

"The Tri State..." Dragon Lord Alder frowned. "What are they thinking... Suddenly invading the Iron Kingdom..."

"It should be due to the amount of magic crystals they brought back from the New World," Lord Lei replied. "They do not want the Iron Kingdom to grow stronger and upset the order of things..."

"But isn't what they doing now, upsetting the balance?" Dragon Lord Alder sighed. "And the crazy fanatics... They certainly wouldn't sit still..."

"The Protectorate?" Lord Lei gave a shrug as the Protectorate did not matter to the Suugons as they do not share any borders. "They certainly would take advantage of this mess to spread their chaos..."

"No matter," Dragon Lord Alder waved the issue with the Protectorate away. "Kill the Third Prince as per our agreement! Or return the mothers to us!"

"Do not worry," Lord Lei gave a bow. "We will see to it!"