Reincarnated as Napoleon II-Chapter 201: Aircraft Test Flight

The engine crew moved around the aircraft with measured speed. One man checked the fasteners along the engine cowling. Another crouched near the landing gear, inspecting the wheel assembly and brake linkage. Nicéphore stood near the left wing, speaking briefly with the pilot before stepping back.

The aircraft was now fully out on the field.

The propeller was still.

The machine sat low and compact against the open ground, but there was something in the way it held itself that made it feel less like a machine at rest and more like something waiting to be released.

Napoleon I kept his eyes on it.

"I only said what is already obvious," he said.

Napoleon II looked at him.

"That does not mean I want to hear it."

Napoleon I gave a faint smile.

"That sounds more like a son than an Emperor."

Napoleon II said nothing.

For a brief moment, neither did Murat.

The wind shifted lightly across the field. The markers along the edge moved just enough to show direction. Workers had already withdrawn to a safe distance. Guards stood farther back than before, keeping the perimeter clear. No one wanted loose movement anywhere near the aircraft once the engine was live.

Nicéphore approached them again, documents no longer in hand.

"We’re ready," he said.

Napoleon II nodded.

"The pilot?"

"Confident," Nicéphore replied. "He’ll begin with a standard takeoff and climb, then demonstrate controlled banking, speed variation, low pass, and a return circuit before landing."

Napoleon I looked at him.

"And if it fails?"

Nicéphore answered without hesitation.

"Then it fails in front of all of us. But I do not expect that."

Napoleon I gave him a long look, then nodded slightly.

"I like that answer."

Nicéphore inclined his head once, then gestured toward the aircraft.

"The pilot is Étienne Moreau," he said. "Former cavalry officer. Good reflexes. Calm under pressure. He has adapted to the machine faster than the others."

The pilot, already strapped into the cockpit, raised one gloved hand briefly in acknowledgment.

Napoleon II watched him, then turned slightly toward his father.

"You asked what it could do," he said. "You’ll see some of it now."

Napoleon I crossed his arms.

"And the rest?"

Napoleon II kept his gaze on the aircraft.

"The rest is not for a test field."

The propeller turned.

Once.

Twice.

Then the engine caught.

The sound hit the air hard, deeper and more violent than an automobile engine, but smooth once it settled into rhythm. The radial engine vibrated through the fuselage with contained force. Exhaust smoke burst briefly from the side, then thinned as the engine stabilized.

Napoleon I watched without blinking.

The propeller became a blur.

The entire aircraft seemed to tense against itself.

Nicéphore raised his voice slightly, enough to be heard over the engine.

"She’ll roll first at partial power. Once he confirms control response, he’ll open it fully."

The aircraft began to move.

Slowly at first, wheels bouncing lightly over the compacted ground. Then it straightened along the marked line of the field. The engine note deepened. The speed increased.

Napoleon I leaned forward just slightly.

The machine accelerated faster than any carriage, faster even than the automobiles at full road pace. Dust lifted behind it. The propeller remained an almost invisible disc at the front.

Then the tail lifted.

A second later, the wheels left the ground.

The aircraft climbed cleanly into the air.

Napoleon I exhaled once, not loudly, but enough to show that even he had not expected it to look that natural.

The machine rose above the field, gaining height at a steady angle before leveling slightly. It did not wobble. It did not fight the air. It moved through it as if it belonged there.

Murat shook his head.

"That is insane."

"No," Napoleon II said. "It’s engineering."

Above them, the aircraft banked left.

The turn was smooth and deliberate. Sunlight caught the underside of the wing as it rolled, then leveled again on a new heading. The sound of the engine carried across the field in waves, fading and returning as the aircraft widened its arc.

Napoleon I watched every second of it.

"How high can it go?"

Napoleon II answered without looking away.

"Much higher than this. Several thousand meters once the engine and airframe are fully refined."

Napoleon I gave a faint breath.

"And it still remains controllable?"

"Yes."

He let that settle for a second, then continued.

"This version is still limited. It is a prototype. But later models can carry weapons." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Napoleon I turned his head toward him.

"Weapons."

"Yes."

"What kind?"

Napoleon II looked back up at the aircraft.

"Machine guns first. Mounted forward, synchronized to fire through the propeller arc without striking the blades. After that, bombs."

Napoleon I was quiet for a moment.

"Dropped from the sky."

"Yes."

He looked back at the aircraft again, this time with a different expression.

Not wonder.

Calculation.

Napoleon II knew that look.

"You see it already," he said.

Napoleon I gave the smallest nod.

"Columns. Bridges. depots. Naval anchors. Troops caught in movement."

"Yes."

"And none of them can answer it unless they have the same."

"For now," Napoleon II said, "no one does."

The aircraft passed overhead in a fast straight line, lower this time.

The engine roared above them. The shape flashed across the sky with enough speed to force the eye to follow it after it had already gone by. A few men near the outer line ducked instinctively, though the aircraft remained well above them.

Napoleon I’s face changed again.

This time there was no need to ask what he was thinking.

He was measuring time.

Distance.

Response.

Reach.

Napoleon II spoke before he could.

"A ship from Brest to Algiers takes days even under efficient steam."

Napoleon I looked at him.

"With this?"

"A properly developed aircraft could cross distances like that in a fraction of the time. Longer routes that take ships weeks could one day be reached within a day, depending on fuel stops, design, and weather."

Murat looked over sharply.

"A day?"

Napoleon II nodded.

"One day."

Murat stared back at the aircraft now circling for another pass.

"That would kill distance."

"Yes," Napoleon II said. "It changes administration as much as war. Dispatches. urgent transport. Inspection. High value cargo. Personnel movement. Command presence."

Napoleon I gave a quiet breath.

"So an Emperor could appear where no one expects him."

Napoleon II glanced at him briefly.

"Yes."

That drew the faintest trace of amusement from Napoleon I.

"Now that," he said, "I understand."

Nicéphore stepped closer again, watching the aircraft’s movement carefully.

"He’s opening the throttle further now," he said. "You’ll see the response."

The aircraft came around in a wider arc, lower than before but still safe. Then it accelerated.

Even from the ground, the increase was obvious. The nose stayed level, the line of motion sharpened, and the machine seemed to cut through the sky rather than pass through it.

Napoleon I followed it with his eyes.

"That speed alone changes warfare."

"It changes everything," Napoleon II replied.

The aircraft climbed again, then rolled into a tighter bank. Not reckless. Not theatrical. Just enough to show confidence in the machine.

Napoleon I looked at Nicéphore.

"And you built this."

Nicéphore shook his head slightly.

"I built it with guidance."

Napoleon II did not look at him.

"I never doubted you."

Nicéphore was quiet for a moment.

Then he nodded once.

"That mattered more than you think."

The aircraft straightened again and moved into its final approach pattern.

The pilot brought it around with steady control, lowered altitude gradually, and aligned it with the field. The engine note shifted as power reduced. The wheels approached the ground.

Then touched.

A brief bounce.

Then a firm roll.

The aircraft continued forward, slowing under controlled braking until it came down the length of the field and turned carefully back toward them.

For a moment, no one spoke.

The engine idled lower now, but the sound still filled the field.

Napoleon I kept watching as the aircraft rolled to a stop and the propeller slowed from blur to visible blade.

Then he finally spoke.

"I was wrong."

Napoleon II looked at him.

"About what?"

Napoleon I kept his eyes on the aircraft.

"When I first heard you speak of flying machines, I thought it was one more thing beyond our reach. One more idea too early for the world."

He turned slightly toward him.

"It isn’t."

Napoleon II gave a small nod.

"No."

Napoleon I’s gaze returned to the machine.

"It won’t stay a test craft for long."

"No," Napoleon II said. "It won’t."

And as the pilot climbed out of the cockpit, with Nicéphore already walking forward to meet him, all four men standing on that field understood the same thing.

This was not a demonstration.

It was the beginning of a new age.