Dimensional Travels: World at War-Chapter 54: Political Endeavors (2)

Remory looked at the man whom had last spoke and nodded. "Granted."

"Thank you sire."

He looked around the room, and to the other man whom had spoken.

"As it stands concurrently, we are fractured like never before." He began solemly. "Already, we are beginning to see fractures in culture, dress style, and ways of speech among the youth. Commander Milano, I cannot state enough how appreciative myself and my ilk are of your intercession between the empire and us. That being said, I am wary of the long term consequences for further allowance towards merging landscapes. Can we still call ourselves sovereign if you control most of it?"

A few murmurs began from the nobles listening. It seemed that there was some accent between them. Milano listened to the man’s words and groaned inwardly. He hated politics for this very reason. The man had twisted everything the battalion did while thanking him at the same time. "Slippery snake." He thought inwardly while looking to Remory.

"May I speak?" The king nodded. Milano decided to stand and pace. It was how he thought best.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I understand your cautiousness and wariness. I would mirror them myself if I were in your position."

He sighed as he stopped near the end of the table, turning to the table.

"We were not given a choice when it came to dealing with this empire. Your own princess came to ask us for assistance. It has become clear that we need each other.

600 soldiers cannot rule the world, no matter how powerful our systems are. We did not come to rule. We just wish to survive along with you."

A bevy of disagreements began after Milano spoke. As tensions rose, arguments became pointed and threatened to rise to physical escalation. Milano and Heuitt watched as the nobles argued amongst each other, and Heuitt turned to Milano. "Is this common?"

Milano sighed. "You would be surprised." He said simply while rubbing his face.

"ENOUGH!" The king finally shouted. "Are we madmen driven into a corner like a rat?!" He yelled as he looked at the men and women gathered. "I would have all your heads if I knew any better. We. Are. At. War." He turned to the nobles on the anti battalion faction. "These men have already signed a non aggression pact, they freely give us access to ammunition, as well as water when the dam becomes operational. Furthermore!"

The king was shouting now, his face red as he held his fists on the table. "They gave us mainstay and revenue profit from their newly acquired pieces of land."

Remory took a breath to calm himself. "What more do you want? Or should I have you removed from your stations? Has the power you have held for so long gone to your senile heads? Just last year we were on the threat of extermination. Now that we breathe easy."

He pointed to Milano. "Thanks to them."

He put his finger down. "You all are thinking about your profits again."

The man who started the spectacle stood up. "Sire. I apologize." He said as he bowed. "I merely wish to assauge myself of the worries. May I have permission to speak?"

Remory sighed as he put his elbow on the table, his hand cupping his face. "What more do you possibly need to know, Friam?"

Friam turned to Milano.

"What do you plan on doing once the empire is vanquished?"

Milano exhaled. Letting out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding in.

"We do not seek governance or control of your country. We simply seek to stabilize the landscape to ensure survival. Once the empire is vanquished and the war is over, all authority will be yours.

He sighed as he slumped in his chair.

"As it stands right now, we are a necessity. In the future it will not be so."

Then, he looked outside. "As for me? I have had enough war to last a lifetime."

Friam smiled as he walked up to Milano and shook his hand. "Thank you sir." He said kindly. "I apologize for my brusque nature, I have been concerned with your military assets, but now I see that it is unnecessary."

Milano smiled and shook the man’s hand. "I am glad we could work it out here and now."

The conclave ended late at night. After the original spat, it was decided the alliance between Riemskin and Battalion would be valid for ten years, or until the war was over. In that timeline, the two would continue joint operations like how they had been doing so far.

Milano sat down at the couch in his room as Riara walked in. "You can stop acting, you know?" Milano said, eyeing her warily. "Did Friam set you up for this?"

The lady bowed and curtsied "Appologies for this morning commander. Lord Friam asked me to put on the charade in order to test what kind of man you were."

Milano looked at the girl in shock. "And if I were to ’engage’?"

She giggled. "There are four guards standing nearby in case of anything out of hand happening."

Milano nodded as he reclined on the couch. The maid walked over, setting a platter of drinks near him. "It feels wrong to watch a woman my daughter’s age work as a maid." He said bluntly, then covered his mouth.

"I apologize. I shouldn’t be so crass."

Riara chuckled and waved her hand nonchalantly. "Think nothing of it, commander. The truth is, working as a handmaiden is better than some of the other services us orphans work at. Lord Friam freed me from such a fate, so I will forever work as his maid in whatever he wishes."

She walked out, smiling and waving as if she didn’t just drop a culture bomb on Milano. He sighed as he looked down with sad eyes. "So third world country meets industializing country." He said somberly, finding new respect for Friam. The "nobles" he had met before on earth used their power for all sorts of disgusting habits. Here, he was happy to see that pattern did not happen. The king is a good man, his daughter was getting married to a young LT, and the Queen showed the grace he expected from a noble lady...

Or maybe he watched too many movies.

After scrolling through his phone for a few minutes, Milano paused. He sat in silence as he stared at the screen, grim expression and shock kept him frozen in time as his jaw tightened. "Fuck."

Article after article had various bullet points talking about a "US apache" attack on wolves, with purple trees and teal grass. Clips on the blue social app and clip app showed two suns, and one clip showed Eric directing vehicles with the Vegas fracture in the background.

"We need to head back." He groaned.

He rang the bell to summon Riara.

Back at Hood Hill, Milano called an emergency meeting. "Get Dryer on the phone. I don’t care if reception is slow, or full bars. FIGURE IT OUT!" He yelled at the signals soldiers who were trying to argue with him.

"Alright ladies and Gentlemen. I am sure you have seen the clips. I am sure all of you are aware that we can communicate with Earth now...

Somehow." He exhaled as he looked up at the sky before turning back to his staff.

"We will continue operations as normal. If you see soldiers taking pictures and or on the phone will on duty, confiscate the device and revoke leave for the next month after that. No soldier is to be on their phones while on duty. I don’t care about off duty, morale is already low enough."

The call to Eric connected, and cheering could be heard in the background, with Eric yelling at soldiers. He sighed before turning back to his phone. "Howdy." He said, his face displaying his irritation.

Milano echoed the new orders for Eric, who nodded. "Copy that."

A whirring sound echoed behind him, and he turned around to watch the scene, his arms crossed.

"Whats going on there, Dryer?"

Eric looked towards the sphere. "They’re turning the power back on sir. There are some engineers and linemen here who believe they can get the power back on after the wolf attack."

He paused while he saw the lights coming on in the city. "Well damn. I didn’t think they would actually do it." He said quietly.

Milano thought about what Eric said and quickly widened his eyes. He thought back to what he saw this morning. "Wa-"

Signal was lost as he began to tell Eric to stop it. "GET HIM BACK ON THE PHONE."

Milano thought of the infrastructure Vegas had. Billboards, Televisions in stores, electronics, and finally,

The sphere. If that sphere turned on, it would broadcast the news and social media out to the world. Usually, Milano would not care, but now?

The number one google search was

"US battalion dissappearance."