New Civilizations Rome ( IC, OPEN)

[Reatra]

“Yes, so bring that hundred men from the coast down… here… alright?” Riley ordered.
“Alright, Riley. And then this group will go up here?”
“Yes, the shipbuilders will build ships, Heng… because they’re shipbuilders…”
“Wow the salt is real.”
Riley smiled at the modern expression creeping its way into the ancient language. “Ha! Wow, never thought I’d hear a two thousand year old man say that.”
“Never thought I’d learn the truth about the universe from a man who won’t be born for two thousand years. Anyway, Riley, I am sure that the laborers will have the apartments built within the month, since we’ve got your nanites working on the stonecutting.”
“I love those things.”
“Alright, so now that we’ve got these five thousand people set and in the process of organization, what’s next?” Heng asked.
“I go back to the Middle Kingdom. I bring back even more families.”
“And who’ll govern in your place?”
“You will.” Riley said with a smile.
“Ah, I figured as much. Well when are you leaving?”
“The very second the sailors are ready and the supplies restocked.”
“So today?”
“Today.”

---

Back on the sea, Riley despaired. He had to leave his wonderful San Francisco Bay for this endless ocean. The trip to California was far more happy, because he could only imagine what life would be like once California was his, but now he left it for weeks, to gather as many men as possible. His main ship the Rylonian Freedom was followed by five smaller yet still significant vessels. Their silk sails bloomed and their hulls creaked and shifted. The compartments ensured they wouldn’t sink, but still, cannons were put onto the decks in case of attack. Luckily no pirates attacked on their way past Japan and into the East China Sea and then into the Yellow Sea. He landed in the docks of Le’an, the largest port province in the empire, and met with the officials.

Over the next three weeks he recruited families from all across the Middle Kingdom, including mercenaries, after almost a month he left once again, this time with seven thousand new people to colonize with. He also ensured that he told other families about the greatness of the Eastern Land, California, even if he wasn’t able to take them, that way when he or other sailors returned they’d be willing to leave. Soon there would be tens of thousands of people all across California. The last meetings with the local chieftains had gone well, and already Riley had scribes documenting their languages and cultures, so soon it wouldn’t matter that 60% of them would die from disease, he would try to save as many as possible, of course, and then assimilate them, but his success in this plan would rely on his ability to convince the chieftains that he is peaceful and wants nothing but to save their people.

Eh, whatever, time to build a city.

[Republic of the Cristo]

Tyrannius kept a stone and serious face, " Yes I am quite certain that I want hear your life story. You are obligated Continue."

[The Assorted Saharan Outposts]

Samantha nods. "Well, better make yourself comfortable." She said before taking a deep breath. "Well, sometime in the 21st century, when my mother and my father loved each other very much, they decided to show it through physical contact, nine months later I was brought into the world. I wasn't the nicest kid on the block, that was for sure. School went well enough for me, though. I was smart enough and passed my classes. I learned Latin, Greek, Mandarin, Canton, Persian, Hindi and Aramaic. Not at the same time, of course, but I learned them all eventually, I think sometime in secondary school. I'm just summarizing here, by the way, tell me if you want anymore details. Anyways, eventually, a few years after I graduated high school, things started to get pretty boring for me. I couldn't enjoy myself all that much, so I decided to do something a little fun. I know that they had figured out how to time travel, so I wanted to have some fun and maybe change history a bit. So, I took my revolver, my trusty MP3 player and my headphones and went back in time, to this time era, to be exact. I landed on a beach on the south part of Rhodes, and then walked until I found some small fishing village; this was where I met Alex, or Alexander, for the first time-" She gestured to the boy in question, who didn't do much in response. "And afterwards, Alexander took me to the capital of Rhodes. I had met the current governor, a friendly guy, certainly, and with a little persuasion on my part, I was able to make him resign and rest control onto me. Now I just plan on doing what I am told to do and living a decent life." For now, that is. She had plans for the future, but it'd take a long time before she was able to execute those plans.

[Republic of the Cristo]

Tyrannius squinted, " This is no joking matter and your nonsensical answer will be reported. I will ask you again, under penalty of death, answer the question honestly."

[The Assorted Saharan Outposts]

Samantha shook her head. "No, really, I'm serious." She said. "I swear on my life I am not lying to you at all. I know you don't have any lie detectors, but isn't there a way you can tell I'm not lying? I'm not that familiar with the technology of this era, unfortunately. "

[Republic of the Cristo]

Tyrannius glared at the girl with a cold hard stare. " Seize this fool." Two of the Praetorian guards jumped forward and grabbed Samantha by arms, holding them up and squeezing quite hard. One of the Praetorians frisked her down and found the pistol he pocketed it in his waist sash. Tyrannius turned towards Alexander. " Tell me boy, where would holding cells be located?"

[The Assorted Saharan Outposts]

Samantha frowned and struggled, wincing slightly from the guards' grip. "Hey, let me go." She said. "This is not how you treat a lady." Of course, they probably didn't care about that. What she did care about was how they found her gun, so now she couldn't even defend herself.

Alexander blinked and stared at Tyrannius. "Uh...probably in the training camps just west of here." He said, pointing to the direction in question before glancing at Samantha. "What do you plan on doing to her?"

[Republic of the Cristo]

" Did you think I was joking when I said penalty of death? Thank you boy." Tyrannius turned with his Praetorians and marched off to the training grounds. Once there, he threw Samantha into a holding cell, to be guarded by four of the Praetorians. Tyrannius began a letter to be sent to Puerignis in Rome. He gave the full report of what Samantha had said. Although he was almost certain that his holiness would demand her execution, he wanted the imperial okay first.

[The Assorted Saharan Outposts]

Alexander's eyes widened at this and he watched the men leave the building with Samantha. What could he do anyways? It wasn't like he could do much without getting in some serious trouble.

Samantha sighed when she entered the holding cell and looked at the four guards. "Isn't this just a bit too much for a little woman like me?" She asked. Well, little wasn't the right term, considering she was decently tall, but she meant it more in the sense that she couldn't do any harm. "I'm not even armed."

[Republic of the Cristo]

" Shut up." One of the Praetorian guards said in accented Greek.

[The Assorted Saharan Outposts]

"Well, you're a rude one, aren't you?" Samantha asked before leaning against the wall. "I suppose your mother didn't teach you how to be polite, though I guess your job requires you to be the tough brute."

[Reatra]

“People of this new city! I am so happy with our progress! In only a few months we have turned a previously wild land of backwards people into one with fortresses, apartments, mines and shipyards! We now house thirty three thousand people, and everyone has a home, a family, and a job! I would go so far as to say that we are now a successful state! And, so, I will take it upon myself, as leader of this new city, that we will declare ourselves an independent nation! Henceforth, we will be the Impirrenship of California! From our capital here in San Francisco we will form a new nation, one of communalism and respect, not like the country we left behind. The Great Han was an empire of greed and selfishness, and we will be better in every way! We will give our resources to the government who will redistribute it, we will respect our fellow man, we will serve our country, we will make this region great! A new nation! A new beginning! We will make things right from the get-go! Follow me, people, and we will make our lives and the lives of our children and anyone who joins us wonderful!”

The crowd cheered wildly. A new nation, he said, a new beginning, he exclaimed. This was a message that others could get behind. In the fervor of foundation, the population was blinded to the fact that they effectively gave Riley complete control over their lives. Although perhaps that wasn’t so different from their life in China.

Riley spent the next several days reorganizing the population into distinct units. Family units, then villages, then cities, commanderies, counties, and then provinces and all that. He let the people know that they were to give up some of their time to the government to work on state projects, and that their resources will go to warehouses. Everyone agreed, why wouldn’t they? This was a promise of security.

Some weeks in Riley began to have ships built. He had made sure he got several skilled shipwrights from China, and with Californian pine and redwood, there was no limit to the size of the fleets available. Small ships were built to sail up the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers to mine for ores. Also to set up fortresses to help assimilate the natives of California. Already many had begun to die of disease, and the translators that Riley had begun to train were making it incredibly clear to the chieftains that Riley wanted only to help the people survive. That Riley knew of the plight they would experience soon, and that he only wanted to protect them. Many nearby chieftains who knew that the Rylonians (as Riley’s followers were called) wouldn’t leave any time soon agreed to seeing how Riley planned to help.

Riley also began the training of engineer-officers, men who would be educated in modern science, engineering, and math as Riley knew it and, of course, in the art of administering territory. These young men were not so stuck in their ways as older officials, and were perfect for the colonies soon to be established at other parts of the continent. Riley already had plans for settlements at Seattle, Hawai’i, Sonora, and Panama. There was more than enough iron or coal or gold or grain in California for a large population, but some things would run out in the next few decades or centuries. Riley had to think long-term, he was immortal, after all. A colony in Hawai’i would allow for easier trade with Asia, one in Mexico would allow for iron mining, Seattle for minerals and timber, Panama for access to the Atlantic. But those settlements were, at least, a few years away. For now, San Francisco would grow immensely, because Riley willed it.

Riley had his palace-fort at Fort Point, the entrance to the Golden Gate. The steam-powered cranes were bringing blocks of stone came from the quarries and wet concrete from the mixer only a mile away. Molds were made and the stuff poured in. This Palace of the Impirren would be a twin structure, with the planned Palace of the Sun across the strait, these two palace-forts would provide the defence of the Bay. Defence bolstered by cannons, rockets, and, of course, machine guns. Riley had brought his three ammunition punches from China, along with his other machines, and they were helping to supply the growing stockpiles. Lead from China, copper from the Sierra Nevada, iron from the hills, coal from the south. Oh the list goes on and on, it was sad that no civilization took advantage of California until far later in history.

“What is this? Heng?” Riley asked.
“A way to reload our cannons quickly and easily.”
“Oh? Show me.”
“Well, if we fire this gun…” Heng said as he fired the cannon, waiting a moment for echoes to stop. “I can pull this lever and the next round just plops right in!”
“Oh Heng. Oh my god. Just… I want you to make cannons with this. I love you so much right now.”
“I will, but I’ve found a problem… the gunpowder leaves residue that can make the gun’s lifespan less since we’re firing again and again.”
“Oh,” Riley said. “I’ve got something for that. Smokeless powder. Not only does it not leave so much smoke, it also makes less residue and is four times as powerful as normal gunpowder. I just need the ingredients, and then we can produce it on great levels.”
“Well, we should prioritize that, no?”
“I’ve already got scout ships on the way to known deposits.”

[Heidelski]

As the legionares charged they saw a horse man ride up with a rifle in his hands. He put his hands up and shouted to the ceturion. Bring your leader to me. I wish to talk with him. I won't put the gun down till I see him. He waited for a response.

[Republic of the Cristo]

19 miles outside of Rome, 101 A.D.

Maximus stared at the man on the horse. He looked again at the thing in his hands. It looked vaguely like a Zarotan... only different. It was not quite as long, and had a curve at the bottom. it was also pure black. Still, he was fairly sure that it was a Zarotan. He yelled out to the man, " Yes, hold on one moment." He turned towards the Army of Fire, " Kill that fool. Ready... Aim... Fire!" The deafening sound of 70 rifles thundered through the air, as over 70 bullets all flew towards the man on horseback.

[Heidelski]

VLadimior was startled. He jumped off the horse and hid behind it as the bullets flew. The horse collasped limp and poped of and started firing back. Soldiers with old rifles fell and he ran backwards towards the woods out of range. His other men were their with 13 bows and 13 gladius. He whispered to them "Hold your fire until I say so". He then checked his magazine. 48 bullets left. He looked t the field. 10 men dead. He cursed. Terrible shots! He yelled out "I was willing to make a deal with the emporor but you fired on me. The emporor will have your head. Wait, nope, I'll kill you first!"

[Cuprum]

Emperor Taizu dispatched emissaries to Japan with a letter saying:

''Cherished from Mandate of Heaven, the Great Emperor sends this letter to the King of Japan. The sovereigns of small countries, sharing borders with each other, have for a long time been concerned to communicate with each other and become friendly. Especially since I rule at heaven's command, innumerable countries from afar disputed our power and slighted our virtue. Korea rendered thanks for my ceasefire and for restoring their land and people when I ascended the throne. Our relation is feudatory like a father and son. We think you already know this. Korea is my eastern tributary. Japan was allied with Korea's realms and sometimes with China since the founding of your country; however, Japan has never dispatched ambassadors since my ascending the throne. We are afraid that the Kingdom is yet to know this. Hence we dispatched a mission with our letter particularly expressing our wishes. Enter into friendly relations with each other from now on. We think all countries belong to one family. How are we in the right, unless we comprehend this? Nobody would wish to resort to arms.''

The Emperor essentially demanded that Japan become a vassal and send tribute under a threat of conflict. However, the emissaries returned empty-handed. A second set of emissaries were sent, returning empty-handed like the first. Both sets of emissaries met with the Chinzei Bugyō, or Defense Commissioner for the West, who passed on the message to Shikken, Hata Tokimune, Japan's ruler in Kamakura and to the King of Japan in Yamato.

After discussing the letters with his inner circle, there was much debate, but the Shikken had his mind made up; he had the emissaries sent back with no answer. The Chinese repeatedly resent demands, some through Korean emissaries and some through Mongol ambassadors, However, each time, the bearers were not permitted to land in Kyushu.

The Imperial Court suggested compromise, but really had little effect in the matter, due to political marginalization after the War between the petty lords of Japan. The uncompromising shogunate ordered all those who held fiefs in Kyūshū, the area closest to the Korean Peninsula and thus most likely to be attacked, to return to their lands and forces in Kyūshū moved west, further securing the most likely landing points. After acknowledging its importance, the Imperial Court led great prayer services, and much government business was put off to deal with this crisis.

A mass construction of ships began on Korea's south-eastern shores, while the Chinese continued to demand Japan's surrender. King King Taejodae of Goguryeo offered counsel to the New Emperor. According to him:

''Japan is yet to know the world is hallowed. So dispatch emissaries and convey our military power to Japan. Battle ships and military rations are well prepared. If you appoint me, I encourage you to the extent of my power. According to the History of Yuan, King of Goryeo ask Kublai Khan for conquering Japan. I am building 150 ships and encourage your conquest of Japan.''

The Chinese fleet set out with an estimated 15,000 Mongol and Chinese soldiers and 8000 Korean soldiers in 300 large vessels and 200-300 smaller craft. They landed on Komodahama beach on Tsushima Island. So Sukekuni, governor of Tsushima, led a cavalry unit of 80 to defend the island, but he and his outnumbered unit were killed in the engagement.

The Chinese and Koreans subsequently invaded Iki. Tairano Takakage, the Governor of Iki, fought the invaders with about 100 of his cavalrymen, but he killed himself after his unit was defeated.

After the two islands were conquered, the Mongol forces landed in Hakata Bay, a short distance from Dazaifu, the ancient administrative capital of Kyūshū. The following day brought the Battle of Bun'ei, also known as the "First Battle of Hakata Bay".

The Japanese were inexperienced in managing such a large force and the Mongols and Chinese made significant initial progress. It had been approximately 50 years since the last major combat event in Japan, leaving not a single Japanese general with adequate experience in moving large bodies of troops. In addition, the style of warfare that was customary within feudal Japan involved single combat, even on large battlefields.

The Chinese possessed foreign weapons which included superior long-range armaments and easily had the upper hand in open land combat. The Japanese force at Hakata Bay needed time to await the arrival of reinforcements, with which they would be able to overwhelm the Mongol invaders.

[Republic of the Cristo]

Port of Rome, A few miles West of Rome, 101 A.D.

The deep blue waters of the Mediterranean were speckled by the shining down of the sun, so much so that viewers from the pier were blinded by the light. Their eyes were soon shaded, however, as a long and large lumbering vessel sailed through the water. It was exceptionally long for a ship of any size, and notably wide. A wooden Trapezoidal structure, with numerous square openings was placed on the top deck. On the back of the ship was a massive set of paddles and gracefully splashed through the water. Puffs of steam could be seen exiting from the top of the trapezoid.

Puerignis was so impressed, he almost put his arm around Hector's shoulder- but didn't, because, germs. They, and a group of generals and senators stood on the pier, looking on at Hector's newest modern marvel; the Aeoliphile ship, or the Aeo Ship. Hector had tried, to the best of his ability, to explain how the Aeo ship worked. The Trapezoid on the top deck would cover up the top part of a large aeoliphile that was at the heart of the ship. As the Aeoliphile turned, the wheel would in turn, spin a series of gears and pipes, thus turning the massive wheel from behind the ship. It was a most marvelous, and expensive, ship. Hector had made great usage of the resources given to him! He had also insisted that Puerignis christen it. He dubbed it, " The Prometheus".

Imperial Palace, Rome, 101 A.D.

Puerignis had retired from the pier and was now back at his palace. Since taking over, he had gone about turning his new home into a virtual fortress. Not for his personal protection, but to keep out the filth from the city outside. He had slaves mop and clean the floors daily; all palace staff had to bath daily; lavender bushes were located all over the palace, and anyone found so much as coughing was immediately escorted out of the palace. Currently, Puerignis was reclined out on his very large bed in his equally large room. He wore fabulously comfortable white pajamas made of silk. He lied against the back board of his bed and read some of the reports he had for the day.

He finally found the report from Tyrannius. His heart skipped a beat when he saw it. He was about to find out weather or not this " Samantha," was also a time traveler. He fidgeted the scroll open. He was surprised to see how short the letter was ( he'd thought that all the question he had asked her would have taken much more space). After reading through the third sentence though, he understood. This, Samantha, had not even made it through the first question before getting caught. " A mad women your holiness, a complete fool!" Puerignis was now reading Tyrannius's conclusion of the report. " She seems to wholly believe in her own story. Why the governor ever surrendered to her is beyond me ( side note: we executed him your holiness, just as you ordered). We arrested her on the spot and have transported her to the garrison prison just outside of Rhodes. We frisked her and found an odd silvery tool of unknown origin. I request permission to execute her immedieantly your Holiness.

Signed,
Your loyal subject Tyrannius of Latiea"

Puerignis held down the scroll and looked at the wall for a long while. Rome, the center of the world, with over a million people in it, had gone deathly quiet. That quiet was broken by the sound of the Divine-Emperor throwing the scroll across the room and hitting his doorway. " More!" He began yelling out in English. " I was supposed to be the only one! Me! How can they still be coming back?!" He grabbed his head and nearly pulled his hair out. He had to think of what to do with this girl... this fool! He probably should just let Tyrannius execute her.... But.... she may have knowledge that he desperately needs. Perhaps, something is different about the future? The safe thing to do would be to kill her off now... but he may be blinded by an even greater danger if he were to do so. He went to his desk and brought and piece of lead down hard onto a piece of parchment. He froze, not sure what to write; really, not sure what he was doing. After a few seconds of thought though, he was determined.

Rhodes, City Garrison, 101 A.D.

A tall crucifix had been set up in the center of the garrison. As troops marched around it, Tyrannius stood there, looking up at it and smiling to himself. At his side and aide appeared. " Um, Sir?" Tyrannius turned around and looked and the aide, whom and appeared a scroll in his hand. Tyrannius's smile grew even wider. He took the scroll with both hands. He breathed out a satisfactory sigh. " Today, my boy, we will rid ourselves of one less lunatic." He quickly undid the seal on the scroll and smiled as he read the parchment. A few seconds later the entire yard froze at the sound of a screeching " WHAT?! "

5 minutes later...

Tyrannius appeared at Samantha's cell door with the rest of his guard. He looked into the cell with angry eyes before turning the keys to the cell door and opening it up wide. " You... are to come with us."


Fukuchiyama, estate, Japan, 101 A.D

Yamatai Fujiwara, head of the Fujiwara clan sat on his matt. He faced two other clan heads. Their personal assistants and generals were also in the room. This was not the age of samurai, this was the age of civility emerging from barbarity. Although it was custom for the aides to talk, the clan heads went ahead past them, at the direness of the situation. Yamatai, " One by one, they in the north fall to the Han. They choose to fight, not together, but separate. They refuse to acknowledge that this is an enemy that they cannot beat alone." Shenzin Tokugawa, head of the Tokugawa clan starred back furiously, " They are but savages, we have dealt with their kind before and -" Yamatai cut him off, " We have never dealt with savages in this great a number, let alone with such weaponry."

Shenzin quieted down. In his place, Maru Hidaka, head of the Hidaka clan spoke. " It is not that we are completely opposed to such a union, only who is to lead it? Obviously, this would be a matter of great concern to any general." A sudden tenseness rose around the three clan heads at the proposition of whom should lead the union. Yamatai reached into his dress ( not a kimono) and pulled out three pieces of straw. He said nothing, only holding his hand out. The three clan heads reached down and plucked them. Maru, pulled the shortest straw, Shenzin, the middle; thus, leaving Yamatai with the longest. The two other clan heads breathed out a long sigh, but bowed honorably.

1 day later....

It was a grey and wet day. Early morning fog still hung in the air, and the forest looked of a dark and shadowing green. It was hard to trudge through the wet grass, but the men made do. In the plaza in front of the Fujiwara estate, stood 2,000 men. These men were aged anywhere from 16 to 40. They were mostly leather armor, but with the somewhat more experienced and well off warriors wearing iron or bronze armor. They held high in their hands 9 foot long pikes. They stood with tall and straightened backs, their eyes forward at Yamatai on horseback in front of them.

The newly dubbed warlord Yamatai Fujiwara. Rode back and forward along a path in front of his newly acquired men. " Men, husbands and brothers, you are here because we refuse! We refuse to let our homeland be overrun by the foreign savages! We refuse to be divided and conquered! We refuse to be slaughtered by those inferior to us! We are not women, we are not children, we are warriors! Warriors fight, and warriors die for honor! We will hunt these foreign devils down, and we will send them back to Hell!" The men in the plaza raised up their pikes in agreement.

Inside Han encampment, Japan, 101 A.D.

Misu-Misu was undoubtedly the prettiest girl in her village, and the soldiers knew this quite well. There was hardly a night were she was not invited over to their encampment for, a little fun. She was well paid, and had plenty of wine to drink. Before she and the soldier even began, she was sure to get them all drunken up, so that way it could all even be more fun. After they were good and drink, they would exit into their nearest tent. After about 15 minutes, they would simply lie on the ground together. Misu-Misu was always quite curious, asking " You won't be moving soon, will you? I do love our parties." Or, " Where are you moving to? I want to know if I can still walk over." Or perhaps most often, " Tell me about those thundering tools you use, they look scary."

Yes, Misu-Misu was quite curious. After she and the soldiers had their fun, she would walk back to her village, and directly to the Hidaka estate, to speak with her uncle Maru of what she had picked up.


San Francisco, California Imperrship, 101 A.D.

A tall and muscular red skinned man walked just outside of San Francisco. Behind him were dozens of people. He waited for the ruler of San Francisco to meet him.

[Imperial Idaho]

Massalia, Gaul, Roman Empire

James had spent the past day in Massalia, the people here were too dependent on Roman trade to revolt, so the city was very peaceful. James had done some hunting outside of the city in order to earn some coin, and he was heading out of the market after selling some venison to a fellow hunter. He made sure to keep some for himself, though he knew he couldn't preserve it for very long. He was about to go to the harbor and go directly to Rome when he was tackled by a flying ball of fur. James winced as his wound hurt from his fall, when he looked up he was very surprised at what he saw. It was a wolf, a very familiar wolf. James brought himself to his feet and dusted himself off. How had this wolf managed to follow him throughout Gaul? "What are the odds" he thought to himself. The wolf sat there happily panting, staring at James. He reached out to pet it and it slowly backed away, so he reached into his backpack and pulled out some venison and dropped it. The wolf slowly approached and began to chew on the meat, when James started to walk away it followed him. "You seem to like me huh?" He said as he let it sniff his hand. "I'm gonna call you Libertas, you like that name?" The wolf seemed to brighten up at being called the name, so he kept it. "Now come on, we have an Emperor to talk to." James said to Libertas, and they walked to the harbor.


"Hey! You going to Rome?" James said to a tall man who wore better clothes than that of the ship workers, presumably the owner of the ship. "Yes, i'll take you there for 7 denarii." The man said, James handed him the coins and he and his new friend Libertas got aboard. They were put in small and uncomfortable room that smelt of fish and salt, though he would manage, as he knew he would get to Rome soon. James checked Libertas' wound and noticed it would healed quite well, which relieved some stress for him, as he had been curious how the wound would heal. And with that, James got some sleep after a day without it.

15 miles from Ostia Antica, Italia, Roman Empire

James had woken up just a moment ago and was looking through his things to make sure nothing was stolen, as he knew it was possible on ships like these, when he overheard whispering from outside. "I'm telling you, I've seen some soldiers with things like it in Rome. He must be a Soldier, or have killed one." one voice said. "Not he's not you idiot, I don't even believe you on what the thing does, its probably just a farm tool or something." a deeper voice said disbelievingly. "If he was a farmer then why is he going to Rome? I'm telling you he must be a soldier or something." the first voice said. "HEY! Get back to work!" James could hear a voice that vaguely resembled the owner's yell at the two men.

Things like it? His gun? If so then how had the Romans managed to make them? The only thing logical that could have happened was that someone else had joined him in the past and gave the schematics to some inventor. Yes, it was the only thing that could make sense. James sighed, though he knew his entire plan was likely derailed from the coup in Rome. And now he had this mystery "God" to blame. He could only hope his modified plan would work. The ship owner knocked on the door and said "Hey, we're almost there pack your things and get ready". James stood up, pet Libertas, and gathered his things.

[Cuprum]

The expedition ended in military disaster for the Japanese troops, as the Chinese forces were modernized and organised effectively. By contrast, the Shogunate army was composed of antiquated feudal forces from the Bakufu and numerous neighbouring domains, with only small elements of modernised units. Many domains only put up half-hearted efforts, and several refused Shogunate orders to attack outright, notably Satsuma who had by this point entered into an alliance with China.

The battle started when Shogunal forces moved in the direction of Yamato to deliver a letter from the Shogun, warning the Emperor of the intrigues plotted by the court nobles who supported it, such as Iwakura Tomomi.

The 15,000-strong Shogunal army outnumbered the Chinese army by 3:1, and consisted mostly of men from the Kuwana and Aizu domains, reinforced by Kyushuans irregulars. Some of the men deployed in the front lines were armed in archaic fashion, with pikes and swords. The Bakufu had almost fully equipped troops and Chinese troops were the most modern and organized of all.

Although the forces of China were outnumbered, they were fully modernized with Kaláshnikov. The Shogun relied on troops supplied by allied domains, which were not necessarily as advanced in terms of military equipment and methods, making up an army that had both modern and outdated elements. Shogunate forces retreated, making the Toba-Fushimi encounter an Imperial victory, although it is often considered the Shogunate forces should have won the encounter. Osaka Castle was soon invested putting an end to the battle of Toba-Fushimi.

King Taejo of Korea led the victorious imperial forces north and east through Japan, winning the Battle of Kōshū-Katsunuma. He eventually surrounded Edo and Yamato, leading to its unconditional defeat after Katsu Kaishū, the Shogun's secretaries, negotiated the surrender. Some groups continued to resist after this surrender but were defeated in the Battle of Ueno.

After the surrender of Japan, most of Japan accepted the Gaozu emperor's rule, but a core of domains in the North, supporting the Aizu clan, continued the resistance. In May several northern daimyo formed an Alliance to fight Imperial troops, the coalition of northern domains composed primarily of forces from the domains of Sendai, Yonezawa, Aizu, Shōnai and Nagaoka, with a total of 50,000 troops. An Royal Prince, Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa had fled north with partisans of the former Japanese King and was made the nominal head of the Northern Coalition, with the intention of naming him "Heavenly King Tobu".

The Shugodai of Nagaoka inflicted high losses on the Imperial troops in the Battle of Hokuetsu, but his castle ultimately fell on May 19. Imperial troops continued to progress north, defeating the Shogun's forces at the Battle of Bonari Pass, which opened the way for their attack on the castle of Aizuwakamatsu in the Battle of Aizu in October, thus making the position in Sendai untenable. The coalition crumbled, and a week later Edo was renamed Tokyo, and the new period officially started. Aizu was besieged starting that month, leading to the mass suicide of the rebels. After a protracted month-long battle, Aizu finally admitted defeat.

[The Assorted Saharan Outposts]

Loret, who had been leaning against the wall when Tyrannius and his guards entered the cell. She smiled and gave them a wave. "I'm coming with you, then?" She asked as she walked a few steps away from the wall. "Can I assume this is not for my execution, and instead for something else, or have I gotten my hopes up for nothing?" That would be unfortunate. She looked rather calm as well, to be honest, even though while she was in that cell she knew she could have been killed at any moment. She didn't seem to care, it seemed.

[G-Tech Corporation]

Forsaken Cave, Slopes of the Himalayas, Indian Subcontinent
Some Time, 101 AD

A crack of rolling thunder filled the air at the mouth of the deep cave, and upon the gray pebbly dirt suddenly a flash of light appeared. It continued for several minutes, a miniature sun dawning over the wilderness of the vale of the Ganges before eventually resolving in languid fashion in to the form of a man, a man whose skin glowed with a pale golden glow.

Jarnassus rose, shaking his head to clear it, even as his eyes swam with tears from the brightness of his passage across the time bridge. Looking down, the man smiled at seeing the last twining lines of indescribably luminescent chronotrons crawl back to the microscopic rifts in the time-space fabric from which they had come. This timeline, at least, shouldn't have too many spare events rolling around. He was late to the party, this area having been opened to sojourners a year ago within the local timestream. But a bit of competition had never bothered the ambitious warrior before. Born in the wrong era for the raw striving of man that he relished, Jarn had returned two millenia to the past to see what he could make of this new world.

Tilting his head to one side, the dapper Slavic man noted two things; his drone had come through in one piece, and he was naked. The former fact was vital to his ongoing success, his plans as laid out to the time-office, but the latter was a momentary nuisance. Here in the distant past predatory beasts still might prey on man, and if nothing else the parasites would be happy to exploit his nubile flesh. Rules have prevented him from bringing more than a single charge for the drone though, so first matters first.

Placing one foot in front of the other, Jarn carefully dismounted the hillock he had found himself atop in the foothills of the Himalayas. The going was steep in places, and somewhat treacherous, but this manner of pure physical exertion delighted the robust frontiersman, and before more than an hour had passed the tall emerald-eyed brute found what he was looking for, a stream. Within the confines of his skull datastreams passed to and fro, wirelessly communicated via his cybernetics to the linked robot, whose feeder tractor began devouring both water and stones from the little rivulet's edge at an aggressive pace. Nanoscopically reassembled by the onboard fabber, before long the unit began extruding the synthpaste that resolved itself as Jarn watched in to a tiny annieplant, exactly what was needed for his purposes.

Starting with nothing was well enough, but Jarn had no intention of staying with nothing. Carefully affixing the annie plant to the drone's input port, even as noting its waning power supply, the giant then used a long leaf to carefully drip water in to the annihilation unit. Condensed in to picoscopic grains of neutronium fuel by the breeding capabilities of the reactor, he grinned a broad brilliantly white smile as the vaguely non-sentient began buzzing to and fro in happiness at seeing its power level rise so precipitously. Item one on the docket, addressed. An air-filter unit would probably be a good investment of time-hours in a while, but for now he set the drone to work fabbing some comfortable clothes as he washed away the grime and sweat of his subtropical hike under the light of the rising sun.

Not a bad start to his new existence. Not a bad start at all.

[Republic of the Cristo]

Rhodes, Garrison cells, 101 A.D

The same stare that Tyrannius had when he first ordered her arrest was now present on his face. " You... have been called to Rome, to speak with his holiness, the Divine-Emperor, Puerignis Son of Fire." Before she could speak back the praetorian grabbed her by the arms and escorted her towards a transport boat whose destination was Rome.

Rome, Magis Opera, 101 A.D.

Hector stared down at the black mass that lied down on his table. It was a dark and ugly thing, not nearly as eloquent as the original Zarotan that Puerignis had gifted him. A bullet hole punctured the back part of the stock. Hector picked up the gun and felt around. The metal he recognized, but there was a smoother material in play which he could not pinpoint. It was nothing he had ever seen before. " Can you recreate it?" Puerignis was standing next to Hector, watching him inspect the gun. Hector shook his head doubtfully, " I don't know. Some of the internal parts have been damaged, I may be able to replace those... but I don't even know what most of this gun is made out of."

Puerignis breathed out before speaking. " We call it Chalq. It is a quick and easy material to make and form... for an immortal that is. The being whom was shot today was entered into this world... only he was not immortal." Puerignis starred deep into his friend's eyes. " My departure from the spiritual world has triggered something. More beings like me will be coming, and bringing with them pieces of technology beyond your wildest imaginations." Puerignis doubted that. He imagined that Hector had quite an imagination. " They will try to conquer, and they will murder. It is up to us... it is up to you! You have a mind that rivals most other beings, in this world and the next. I will provide you with all the divine technology I have at my disposal, but I need you to recreate them for mortal uses. What you do, in this workshop, will affect the entire world. Can you do this, my friend?"

Hector held up the rifle one more time. " I... I will try."

[Reatra]

A man dressed in rich clothes, compared to the mostly naked men behind him, approached the town. After some of the few dozen translators figured out he wished to see Riley, he, and only he, was escorted into the Central Plaza of The Palace of the Impirren. There, among the gold and bronze statues and still mercenaries-turned-guardsmen, Riley sat, with Heng and some group of his students, seeing the chieftain he rose and met the man.

"Ah, a chieftain! From what tribe, what village, translator? Oh, Miwok, and from Olumpali? I've seen that village, very pretty. Now, what is it you want, great chieftain?"

[G-Tech Corporation]

Forsaken Cave, Slopes of the Himilayas, Indian Subcontinent
March 3rd, 101 AD

Jarn stretched out on the rock at the edge of the wide pool, feeling the sun dry his skin and favoring the pleasant warmth. It was all so different from the life he was accustomed to, the artificial skies, the concrete and steel. Here a man could really get in touch with the planet, understand where mankind had come from, look at the future with a dispassionate eye.

Not that he intended to keep this verdant paradise the same forever. No, for all this world looked to be the one he had come from, it was just another instance in the chronosphere. And this instance would serve the will of one Jarnassus Riva. Lithely rising from his repose, the forefather of what would be a changed existence took the slick stillsuit from where his drone had finished converting some of the nearby foliage in to carbon nanoweave garments. Shrugging them over his head and form, the Slavic man almost sighed in relief as the smart material began whicking the sweat away from his skin and shielding him from the worst of the day's heat.

So this was India. Assuming the coordinates hadn't dropped him anywhere arbitrary, he should be just above one of the largest coal and iron deposits in Asia, the North-Eastern Belt. Indeed, looking up at the hills nearby already betrayed the thick presence of bauxite and ferrous oxides staining the cliffs orange and dirty red. Precisely what one needed to forge some good milisteel.

With a flicker of his mind, the burly giant filled the Annie plant on his drone with some more water, enough to keep it running for days. It never hurt to top up one's energy sources, reflected Jarn as he walked along to a nearby hill through the thick foliage, drone whirring alongside. Normally he would be somewhat trepidatious about such exotic jungle, but this was a subtropical forest, not true jungle; its inhabitants, though dangerous, had not by any means the poisons or ability to overcome the life-sustaining nannies swimming in his blood. Speaking of which, hunger was already gnawing at his midriff. Part of the price the Slav paid for functional immortality was a greatly accelerated metabolism to keep pace with the energy demands of the invisible machines.

Reaching out as he walked, Jarn sheared several leaves off of a tree, and ground them up between his teeth almost without thinking. Though such an action would make most individuals of even the far future wretch, in truth he tasted the pulpy concoction for mere moments before the morass of organic sustenance passed on in to his gullet. There his machine-assisted organs would quite contentedly rearrange the molecular structure of the nominally inedible food in order to produce vital sugars for energy upkeep.

That wasn't to say the sojourner didn't enjoy a good meal- quite the contrary in point of fact. One of the pleasures he enjoyed the most was well-prepared repeates. One could get tired of a great many hedonistic activities, but at the end of the day a thick creamy malt chilled to perfection with a greasy true beef burger was hard to beat, in this millennium or any millennium. Jarn shook his head. No time for idle thoughts. Bending his will forth and calling to mind the blueprints his cybernetics thoughtfully supplied, the giant dealt with the next item of business; redundancies. As the drone's reconstitution array ground in to the mineral-rich rock of an exposed bauxite spur, he fed it a steady stream of designs. An hour passed, the danger spitting out bits and pieces of his next plot, until as the sun rose towards noon Jarn finally nodded.

Slotting the A/M cell in to the rear of the fabrication drone, he smiled as its artificial mind joined the other unit's chorus in his awareness, the fuel compressor chewing through some castoff aluminum slag for potential energy. Stooping, Jarn then picked up the rucksack the machine has sourced for him, and the small vial of repair naniotics and spare parts, stuffing both in to the ruck before slinging it over his shoulders. With two devices, one to use if the other failed, he felt much better about his prospects.

Organic matter sources, energy sources, mineral sources. A good start. Jarn frowned though, as rain began to drizzle down on him out of the late morning sky.

[Republic of the Cristo]

A man dressed in rich clothes, compared to the mostly naked men behind him, approached the town. After some of the few dozen translators figured out he wished to see Riley, he, and only he, was escorted into the Central Plaza of The Palace of the Impirren. There, among the gold and bronze statues and still mercenaries-turned-guardsmen, Riley sat, with Heng and some group of his students, seeing the chieftain he rose and met the man.

"Ah, a chieftain! From what tribe, what village, translator? Oh, Miwok, and from Olumpali? I've seen that village, very pretty. Now, what is it you want, great chieftain?"

The Chieftain spoke to the nearest translator. His speech was peppered with a number of token hand signals. The chieftain wore the traditional dress of a Miwok. White pants with a red V around the crotch region; numerous red and blue beads hung down in a series of necklaces from his neck; and from his back there was a cape like flap around his waist, made up of numerous small mammal pelts. He held his hair back in a pony tail, revealing his deceptively young face. He spoke quietly and smoothly to the translator whom responded with the following, " I am Kampowing, chief of the Miwok people in Olumpali. I have heard many tales of the Impirren and their magic. You, as I understand, are Riley?"