En route to Research Outpost A179
Planet Bordeaux, Aquitaine system
11:32 am, 12 January, 743 A.G.S. (827 A.S.)
The refitted luxury shuttle soared through the skies of planet Bordeaux, over the green sea of lush jungle below. Yet the pristine beauty of the recently-conquered world couldn't draw the attention of the pilot. Despite all the amenities and conveniences, the mood and atmosphere aboard the shuttle remained tense, almost palpable. And although Adelaide didn't know what the passengers were doing or thinking, she could guess that their thought was the same as hers.
Joseph DeFrance. The man who had been presumed dead or missing for years. The man who could've saved the Kingdom of Gallia from collapsing upon itself into what was now known as the Confederacy. The man who had made a dramatic reappearance just a few days back. A potential heir to the Gallic throne. And now Adelaide was coming to meet him, a member of the family she had been serving for a whole decade.
Of course, there was more to that meeting. The resurgent prince made it clear that he intended to take what he deemed rightfully his. And the Enclave command needed to verify that the man wasn't an opportunist pretending to be the late or missing Joseph DeFrance. Nobody dared to express that doubt to the man's face, but he had apparently addressed that concern in the message to the Enclave.
At any rate, Ade's job was mostly to pilot the ship and be present at the meeting. Normally an unfitting job for a naval Commandant. But then again, the people that she was piloting to the destination were far more important than her...
Rose-Marie tapped her comm device once while the shuttle was lowering altitude to the destination. She was conflicted and worrisome inside that this might all be a farce. She knew she had to have contingency plans, so she devised a plan. Her Battlegroup's atmosphere capable ships were all on yellow alert and waited at Issoudun, except she felt she would call one to the high orbit of Bordeaux. "Dumont to Tremblay, prepare to be on yellow alert at high orbit of Bordeaux on dark side of the planet. Link with Dutertre and Lance Royale for intel and data feed. Also have someone drop a wing of Caracals, as well as a GAT at a moment's notice. We cannot risk anything. Precise location will be disclosed only in case of emergency, otherwise it is classified information. Over."
On the receiving end of the line, an ex-Foreign Legion captain, Tobias Wayne was sitting as Tremblay's X.O. He got the orders, nodded and cut the comm. Then turned around and barked orders at his helm officers, fitting the Bretonian defector's nature. Tremblay gained momentum and two short beeps was sent to Contre-Amiral's comm device, signaling execution of the order.
Dumont made a brief nod and smiled at seemingly nowhere as the ship was to make it's final approach at the outpost.
Joseph leaned back in the chair, taking in a deep breath of the sterilized air around him. This place certainly wasn't home, but it did enough to get him and his personal guard by. The outpost he was located in was one of many abandoned outposts located on the world formerly known as Gaia. Years before the invasion of the system Bretonia's Cambridge Research Institute had built a number of research outposts upon the surface to study the various flora and fauna that inhabits the planets vast eco-system, and it's this particular outpost that the Prince had found himself at so many years ago.
He closed his eyes and released the breath he was holding before getting up out of the chair and making his way towards the exit of the habitation module. He soon found himself outside where a light rain had begun to fall mere minutes earlier. The camp itself was small, only a few dozen Royalists were in his presence, a large majority of them being his own personal guard who had survived the fighting and the subsequent crash of the Royale DeFrance, Joseph's personal Valor and flagship of the former Burgundy fleet. There was no doubt that the morale was low within the camp, but it seemed to stabilize with his recent announcement and reestablishment with the rest of the Royal Forces - or rather what remained of them, but he wouldn't disclose that information to his own guard just yet. Though he had his suspicions that many already knew the state of the war, and their beloved Kingdom. Time would tell, of course.
"Mon altesse," Some approached quickly from his left. Joseph looked over at the young woman, not bothering to answer her. "Scouts are reporting back that there's a low altitude craft enroute to our position. We were able to identify the royal sigil on it's underside, and tail. It's a luxury shuttle, and will be here in about five to ten more minutes."
"Alright, thank you Sophie." Joseph raised his voice, grabbing the attention of the other Royalists around him. "For all we know, these could be our enemies. The next few minutes will decide the fate of our kingdom. Everyone get to defensive positions and wait for my order to open fire. Oui?" There was a resounding and collective yes in response as people began scurrying to predetermined ambush and choke points around the makeshift landing pad.
The luxury shuttle carried an armament that would easily level the research facility, though he was hopeful that his mere presence would deter such an attack. Mainly because he knew that if it was Council, or otherwise, they would rather bring him in alive and try him for war crimes, than out rightly kill him. Of course... should the shuttle begin firing down at them they had weaponry to fight back with. So... he was hopeful for the most part.
The distant humming of engines grew louder and louder as the shuttle approached the outpost. He took one final look around as the last of his men were in position, out of sight. He remained a good distance away from the landing pad and crossed his arms behind his back. Raising his chin as he watched the shuttle approach. "Let's see what we have here, shall we?" He said aloud to himself.
Louis remained silent for the entirety of the short flight. His thoughts however, were troubled. Was this person really a true DeFrance? Would he be the one to replace Charles?
And the most important: Would his lead be at least somewhat competent? He tried to rest his mind when the shuttle approached the landing site of an old, dilapidated Bretonian ground base.
Nothing where one would expect a king. "Totally not a trap..." He whispered so quietly that he believed neither Dumont nor Gauthier could hear him.
There were no disturbances during the landing, what made Louis calm down a little. The shuttle slowly opened its door.
What could be seen, was a lone man, having his hands hidden behind his back. By that gesture alone, Clèment expected a trap.
With only a small move of his hand, he ordered the two guards he brought with him, to exit the ship first.
When it became clear, that the person in front of the ship was no threat, Louis took a quick glance at the two women accompanying him, and decided it would be impolite to wait for them to enter the potentially dangerous situation first.
He quickly decided to leave the vessel shortly after his guards, who took position on the left and right side of the exit, not giving the "prince" any attention at all.
Louis walked slowly towards DeFrance, but decided not to get closer than five meters from him.
He tried his best to hide, that he lost some of his manners during the war and bowed slightly to the prince.
"Your highness, amiral Louis Clèment, Chevalier de Cosne-Cours, at your service."
While he didn't want to give this man not too much appreciation before his ancestry was proven, he also wouldn't like the possible new king of Gallia to be his enemy.
So he didn't dare to speak again until DeFrance told him to.
Adelaide stayed in the pilot's seat for a while longer, to check the system and put the ship's engines on standby. She then made a gesture to the co-pilot, who took over for her with a silent nod. Her helmet now on the dash, Ade stood up and adjusted her red hair and black uniform. With a deep breath, she stepped out of the cockpit and walked to the exit ramp, expecting to be the last of the ranking officers to join the meeting.
When outside, she saw Amiral Clement already introducing himself to the alleged Prince Joseph. Figuring out that it wasn't her place to introduce herself, Ade took a position next to Clement's guards, as if she was one of them. Except for wearing a uniform with commandant's insignia, of course. In a way, she was a dignified guard in this case, as her superiors were supposed to do most of the talking.
His eyes narrowed on the shuttle as it touched down, blowing up some dust into the air that made him turn his head slightly to cover his eyes, once the dust had settled, he turned back to his stoic posture patiently waiting for the bay doors to open. For the first time in a long time he was pretty nervous as he ground his teeth together in anticipation of a marine group surging out with weapons drawn. When the ramp finally touched down, two marines stepped out and took up positions on either side of the ramps, clearly looking for any potential threats, once they scoped the area out they gave the all clear, and almost immediately a man marched out towards him.
Joseph locked eyes with the Amiral as he approached. "Your highness, Amiral Louis Clèment, Chevalier de Cosne-Cours, at your service." The Amiral gave a slight bow, to which Joseph had decided to ignore, he made a gesture and gave a quick whistle, signaling for his own men to stand down, with the order given a few soldiers began making themselves known, some lowering their weapons completely while others kept their weapons at a low ready. The most notable of the soldiers wore uniforms that resembled the Royal Guard, while others were wearing the standard issued uniform. "Amiral Clèment," Joseph responded as he broke his gaze from the Amiral, looking past him as a fourth person appeared from the ship behind them, "It would be wise to never bow to me again while we're in an active war zone, least you want to get us both killed. Oui?"
"Regardless of that, I understand that times have changed rather recently, and that your group is here to hear me prove that I'm the real deal. You'll have my full cooperation as long as you meet my two simple demands. My first demand is that the test be a DNA test from my saliva or blood - this should ensure complete accuracy and verification with the records of the Royal Family aboard your capital ship, as an Amiral of the Royal Navy those records should be viewable, and unchanged. My second demand - if you want my full cooperation - is that I am granted permission to remain in the lab until the results are completed, to ensure that they aren't tampered with."
He paused as his eyes left the woman who had stepped into view moments ago, turning them back towards the Amiral. "Failure to agree to these demands will result in your immediate termination from service via bullet, and the lovely madame behind you will receive a well deserved promotion. Do we have an agreement?"
He smiled as he locked his eyes once more on the Amiral.
Meanwhile Rose-Marie also left her seat and joined Amiral Clément. As she heard DeFrance's comment about bowing, she merely nodded pitched in to the conversation and demands of DeFrance. "Contre-Amiral Rose-Marie Dumont, Commander of L'Unite 34 'Marteau des Hebrides', your highness." Then she tapped her comm device discreetly once and set a short beep to Tremblay. She did not bring guards, however she was armed with an engraved, custom service pistol and she did not see the need to hide the weapon too much.
She was not very fond of DeFrance threatening Amiral Clément with such casuality, however there was not much she could do. All she could do was keeping wits to her and not let the frowning surface to her face.
Louis remained calm until the end of Joseph's demands. Only when he mentioned Dumont, he showed an slight emotion, which however only lasted for a second. "Do not think that you can stir up my soldiers against me." He slightly moved his head, as if he was looking for something in the clouds.
Suddenly he seemed very tired, but still cold and calculating. "Our world has changed drasticly, we all have to adapt and move on."
He looked back at DeFrance, with an confidence which seemed a little unfitting for a man who was risking execution by even answering. "I believe there is always an easy, and an complicated way for our actions. We either cooperate, and try to restore what is rightfully ours, or we lose ourselves in arrogance,
but then nobody of us will leave this place alive. I'll leave the choice up to you. I am replaceable." He made a short pause, probably to find out if he'd be shot yet.
Before the sound of a gun could beat him to it, he broke the silence, and said: "I don't mind where you wait for your test results. I want to know the truth, nothing more.
Whether you're still here or not when we come back is up to you." Louis turned halfway around, as if he was eager to walk out. But then he stopped,
looked back into the sky and said: " One of my fleets controls the orbit of Bordeaux. It has the records of your heritage saved.
Now, I believe madame Gauthier will be you a better company when taking your samples. If the others have nothing to add, we will speak again when the results are complete." He slowly went back towards Gauthier. With a slight nod towards one of his guards, he headed back towards the shuttle.
That sound of a weapon going off never came, instead a distant crackle of thunder could be heard as the brunt of the storm cell approached.
The rain began to grow heavier as the man spoke, though this didn't deter Joseph in the slightest as he didn't mind the rain, instead he remained where he stood with his hands still clasped casually behind his back, and just... listened. He wore a smirk on his face as he studied the man's subtle movements, the short pausing and the slight gestures he had made in a vague direction that Joseph really wasn't paying attention to. He just smirked, quietly applauding the Amiral for having the guts to not be a mere push over. But sooner or later the man would need to be put in his place. Either casually, or forcefully - which ever came first.
Joseph remained amused however by the Amiral's lack of proper decorum. As soon as the man stopped speaking, Joseph simply laughed. "Amiral, It seems we both have an agreement then. I'll return with you to your flagship where we'll perform the test. I've personally grown bored of this encampment, and this planet entirely. I could also use a bit of fresh air." He finished, giving a nod towards his guard captain, who in return waved down three others who were wearing similar Royal Guard designations on their uniforms. The four highly trained soldiers slung their weapons over their shoulders and proceeded towards the ship. "My guard will accompany me to the hangar of your flagship, Amiral. Once we've arrived they'll return here to round up the rest of the men and women here to bring them back aboard. Lord knows they all could use a fresh shower and warm food."
The air outside the ship was fresher, especially thanks to the rain. But this didn't make Ade feel any less tense. She maintained a respectable distance from the Prince and the Amiral. Although Ade only heard bits and pieces their discussion, she did hear and see enough to realize that Clement wasn't in position of power here. An unusual situation for a senior Amiral of the Enclave to be in.
Then the Prince smirked and gestured for his guards to lower the weapons. This gesture had more effect on Ade than the sound of thunder in the distance. The tension wasn't gone entirely, but it sure was eased by a large margin. The sudden change of plans and the Prince's agreement to go to the flagship was still somewhat surprising. Nethertheless, the Commandant nodded when the Amiral mentioned her name.
Unless addressed directly, she would remain silent, waiting for all the dignitaries to go to the shuttle and take their places. She'd be the last one to board the shuttle, giving the second pilot a gesture to start the engines and take off. Inside, she'd wait for everyone to get seated before occupying any spare place.
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