The One Day War

The Muffin sat just outside of the Gwałtowni Głupcy capital city in just under an hour. Her port side faced the great city that was said to have an ironclad defensive wall that had never been breached. Through telescopes, the VIPs could see the defenders on the wall pointing at the huge ship as it hung in the air near them. A few men fired arrows at the ship and one ballista crew even managed to get a shot to bounce harmlessly off the hull which angered Madeline greatly, "They scratched my Muffin!" She bellowed, "Drop the troop gate and send out the messenger with our terms." She turned and said to one of the crewmen, "Port cannons load Single Shot, all cannons target that wall."

A crew member reported, "Troop gate has been dropped, reporting that ten thousand allied troops are on the ground." On the ground under the ship, a small ten by ten panel from under the ship dropped to the ground with a public gate built into it. Once on the ground troops started to pour out of the gate and quickly formed up into neat rows. Once a response was given to the men on the ground, a flagman signaled up to the ship. On the bridge, a crewman called out, "Ground reports enemy fortress refuses to comply with terms."

Madeline called out, "Fire control, port cannons fire one round of Single Shot, on my mark. Fire, fire, fire!" Once again the ship lurched and then a loud, 'Pssshhhhaup!' The ironclad defensive wall crumbled to a dusty cloud. The huge wooden gate fell over after the stone around it was no longer solid enough to hold it up.

A crewmember called out, "All tanks green, all cannons report ready!"

Madeline called out, "Main guns load Single Shot and target the castle, secondaries load Canister Shot and target enemy troops that approach allied troops." She waited a few long seconds and then called out "Fire control, main cannons fire one round of Single Shot, on my mark. Fire, fire, fire!"

The castle standing atop the city took a blast from the two giant turrets, the eight main guns hurling massive metal slugs at the castle walls with deadly force. The once beautiful castle was instantly left wide open to infantry. A large force of soldiers started to assemble behind the ruined walls of the fortress city. Once they were organized into neat rows. Madeline called out, "Fire control, starboard secondary cannons fire one round of Canister Shot, on my mark. Fire, fire, fire!"

The men who had been standing in neat rows were almost all lying on the ground now. A few of the buildings around the soldiers also lost walls. Madeline called out, "Send in the troops, capture the enemy leadership." The ten thousand troops from Pays Des Abrutis were flagged to advance to the castle. Once they received their orders the troops marched in orderly lines through the dying and wounded soldiers belonging to Gwałtowni Głupcy. They Marched straight up to the ruined castle and began to search for any living leaders of the country.

As the troops searched and met with light resistance they would receive periodic reports from the flagmen on the ground. "Lady d'Aumont, the Ground Commander reports that Gwałtowni Głupcy minister of defense has been recovered." A few minutes later, "Lady d'Aumont, the Ground Commander reports that Gwałtowni Głupcy King and Queen have been recovered."

Madeline smiled and then turned to the VIPs, "Your Majesty, would you like to greet our prisoners now?"

King Gerard nodded and asked, "Will we need to go to them, or can they be brought aboard the ship?"

Guy answered in place of Madeline, "Your Majesty, the troop gate that we dropped works exactly the same way the gate we used to board the Muffin works. Once the Muffin is ready to return to Pays Des Abrutis Airspace, she will pick up that troop gate and be ready to drop it in another location. To meet the prisoners, we simply need to go back to the ship's hold where we originally entered and the prisoners will be waiting in our brig."

King Gerard grinned and slapped his son on the back, "Well done, young man." The group then walked down a long passageway to the back of the Muffin where the red gate was tethered. Off to one of the sides was a room labeled brig. Inside they found several large cages packed full of Gwałtowni Głupcy nobility looking haggard and completely unprepared for their captivity. King Gerard walked between the cages and smiled, "Gentlemen, I am King Gerard from Pays Des Abrutis. Your country declared war on my own today. I have come to your capital to accept your formal surrender. Which of you is capable of signing the document and authorized to pay the war reparations?"

The King of Gwałtowni Głupcy stood up on tired legs and slowly walked to the front of the cage he looked miserable and ashamed as he replied, "I am their King, I will sign our surrender. Please, end the killing."

King Gerard nodded and asked, "Was it you who said I was not the legitimate King of Pays Des Abrutis and you would not accept anyone other than an heir of the la Marche family as King?"

The King of Gwałtowni Głupcy winced and then nodded, "I apologize for the misunderstanding, I will formally recognize your right to power."

King Gerard nodded and said, "The document for your surrender is here. We only require three point five million gold in compensation and an immediate cessation of any and all hostilities with Pays Des Abrutis, including allowing another nation to make transit through your own for the purpose of war with Pays Des Abrutis."

The King of Gwałtowni Głupcy swallowed hard and then hoarsely managed to reply, "The terms are fair." he quickly signed the document.

Once the two copies of surrender were officially signed by both Kings, they slowly returned control of Gwałtowni Głupcy back to the men in the brig, once all the troops were returned through the troop gate along with the ransom paid out of Gwałtowni Głupcy's treasury the Muffin retrieved the troop gate and headed back to Pays Des Abrutis. The VIPs went through the public gate back to Pays Des Abrutis.

Madeline sighed a deep breath of relief once the VIPs were gone, she took a cup of tea and sat on her chair smiling. She turned to her second in command and said, "The crew performed flawlessly in combat, ask department heads for recommendations for awards to the crewmembers who did exceptional duty in our first war."

"Yes your Excellency, would you also like to know of any mistakes made?" The crewman asked.

Madeline shook her head, "No, have them retrain at the lowest level. We all have a great victory to celebrate, we'll allow celebratory ship leave by shifts once we return to home."