The Imperial Horizon [Earth II]

[Itailian Maifias]

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"Ambition is like love, impatient at best towards delays and rivals"

— Sir John Denham

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The Imperial Horizon

Background:

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The Imperial Horizons is a thread that is intended to cover the activities of the Empire of Britain within the subcontinent of India, as well as the Pacific islands of Java and Sumatra; the thread originally begins in the early months of the year 1735, during the sixth year of the reign of King Tristan III, otherwise referred to as Tristan the Mad. He was obsessed with trying to match the accomplishments of his recent ancestors, such as Peter 'the Red' who famously invaded the Indus River Delta region, and Sindh, bringing parts of what is modern day Pakistan into the Empire. Peter's conquests proved massively profitable, albiet heavy in losses, for the Empire as it gave it wider access to Eastern trade, and exotics. Tristan was also delusioned as being "protected by God" due to being the great-grandson of King Iain I, also known as Saint Iain (ruled from 1504 till 1576, canonized in 1591); Iain was most notable for focusing on the inward expansion of Catholicism throughout his domain and famously set up the Monastic System that was so heavily prevalent in British society for centuries. Combing this and seeking to gain his own legendary accomplishment, Tristan sought to expand out of Sindh and into the Indian subcontinent, specifically the province of Gujurat and Rajastan. He had learned of India through a Catholic missionary, Quinlan Burnham, who had spent the last three decades traveling India. Burnham told him of the current reigning major Indian power, the Mughal Empire and the struggle it was locked in with the Marathi Empire, and most key to Tristan's ambitions, how no one had ever united the subcontinent entirely. Aided in his ambitions by his Lord of the Treasury, Cardinal Felix Gagnon, they conspired on how to use the conquests as a means to solve other problems; most notably unrest in Egypt after a few poor harvests and economic downturn. Tristan issued royal proclamations that directed a small 'royal host' to depart to Egypt with a contingency of the British Army, but also with instructions to raise the bulk of their forces from Egypt, hoping to take dissenters away.

Britain:

The island of Britain had in recent years begun flourishing in economic turns, mostly propelled on by the massive administrative reforms and framework laid down during King Iain's reign; not only that but the monasteries that now dotted from Northcumberland to Dummonia where becoming a real proponent of the economy, bringing prosperity to otherwise dull countryside and uniting communities like never before. Furthermore, the tradition that Iain began of appointing a council of Ministers with which to oversee the realm was continued by his successor Peter, and codified even to give them purview over matters of internal affairs so to allow Peter to focus his attention eastward on his conquests. It's also notable that King Peter II declared through Royal Proclamation in 1627 that the term "the Angevin Domain", which was the nation's official title more or less from the 12th century forward, was to be replaced with the "Empire of Britain"; he also certified the unofficial move in the 14th century that saw the royal court move to London from Chinon that the former was the legal, official capital.

France:

By 1650, Peter II was just concluding the second of what would be a series of wars between the British Empire and the Holy Roman Empire; this one, titled the 2nd Imperial War, ran from 1632 till 1650 and was initiated because Peter was seeking to finish the domestic efforts of Peter the Red, his father, in unifying all of France, or what the reader will recognize as modern day France. Peter sought to incorporate the wealthy lands of the Duke of Lorraine, who had grown significantly in the last century due to it's proximity to Flanders and Brugge, and the HRE capital of Aachen, and the Duchy of Provence whom controlled the major, rich cities of Toulon and more importantly, Marseille which would give Peter access to increased trade off of the Mediterranean. However, the two dukes had been in an defensive agreement for the last decade or so, fearing British aggression and when Peter invaded in 1632, they sought assistance from the Emperor, at the time Otto of House Welf. He agreed, and Ducal-Imperial forces sought to resist the British invasion, and for a number of years they were until Peter managed to score a series of successive victories at Salins, Geneve, and Boullion; terms were forced when Luxembourg fell to British forces in 1645, and a treaty ceding control of the two duchies was agreed by 1650. With the Peace of Metz, France was more or less finally unified under British control, more then four hundred years after they assumed the crown of France under Richard I. The unification allowed some of the implementations done in Britain to be spread to France, whose larger pool of natural resources, more available land and wider number of established castles and cities would prove to be key in turning this region into apart of the 'heartlands' of the Empire

[Itailian Maifias]

Commodore Rudolph Bloxham
Aboard the H.M.S. Halycon
February 8, 1735, inside the harbor of Hurghada, Egypt

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Rudolph squinted his eyes only just as he scanned the whole of the rather crowded harbor, the cloudy grey eyes that many had tried to decipher over his near two decade career took in all the sights as he spotted the familiar rigging of a Royal Navy supply brig pulling in at the far end of the harbor, undoubtedly wondering how to deal with the unexpected crowd. He wagered that the Hurghada harbor had never before had such a host as it had now, as he stood upon the Halycon's quarterdeck, one of the dozen warships now docked within the harbor; Halycon all though not the most impressive ship being only a second-rate ship of the line, the sight of her was still impressive especially in this Egyptian port, undoubtedly more so given the fact that as apart of the royal task force, it was accompanied by the fellow second-raters Dauntless and Rheims, their massive three-deck and 96 guns each were more then enough to evoke the terrible might of His Majesty's Navy, but they were not alone. Further joining them was the third-raters Fureur, Cairo and Alexandria, and the frigates Orion, Indomitable, Courageous, Redeemer, Apostle, Warwickshire, Valois, and Guyen; also accompanying them were four French brigs, removed of most of their weaponry in order to free up more cargo hold room to carry precious supplies for their mission, such as dried food, tools, weapons, and other basic supplies. The entire process was only made possible through the entire coordinated effort of the hundreds of quartermasters spread throughout the Royal Navy, and it was easily the most complex, involved operation Rudolph had ever seen in his career; and he was hoping it's success would help him gain a spot in the Admiralty upon his return, if he returned.

He turned on his heels, briefly glancing at the large Royal ensign which lay lazily on the stern flagpole that extended from the crest of the quarterdeck, no idle wind or gentle breeze to extend it fully before he began walking towards the port side railing, where one of his senior Midshipman, Malcolm Brooks, was carefully scanning over the same harbor that he himself had been examining, except he was doing it which a heavily worn spyglass, numerous scratches and wear evident even from a few feet out as Rudolph approached him "See anything useful to report Midshipmen Brooks?"

The man turned slightly towards his captain and bowed his head before resuming looking through his spyglass, giving his commanding officer a reply after a few moments of contemplation "Sir, the brig Chariot is just now moving into the harbor, although they're having to keep her outside of the harbor proper due to all of our ships taking up nearly all of the available mooring space. Her manifest will include undoubtedly the supplies that Lord Coven had requested to get the initial regimental barracks built so they could begin raising the battalions and training the men. I also have noted that the Courageous has sent over a message stating she intends to sally out to the Red Sea to conduct gunnery trials, and she appears to be readying herself for such a short voyage, I have noted them preparing the guns on all three of her decks, as well as taking on gunpowder and food supplies."

"Noted, any word on Lord Coven and the Army officers contingency?"

Brooks nodded and quickly folded up his spyglass and then turned to face Rudolph "Yes sir, we set a boat over to pick them up from the shore about an hour ago, and I spotted it coming just a few moments ago so it should be here shortly."

"Very good, ensure once they're abroad they are afforded every courtesy and shown to my quarters, I'll be there."

Brooks nodded in affirmation and conjured a quick salute as Rudolph walked towards the stairs to descend onto the main deck and then walked his feet towards the doors that led into his cabin, the mid afternoon sun already reflecting brightly in the glass windows on the two wide doors that opened into his cabin, which sat underneath the quarterdeck. He quickly moved towards the large table at the rear of the cabin, set near the wide array of windows that allowed him and any others in the room to look through the stern view of the ship, which right now was directed at the clustered sandstone buildings that sat close to the ring wharf that enclosed the coast-line of the city's inner harbor. The table was rectangular in shape, and had enough chairs and area available to seat the entire officer complement of the Halycon, as Rudolph frequently had officer dinner's in his cabin when time and mission allowed for. However, the normal items of cutlery and kitchenware were replaced with a number of maps unrolled and furled out across the head of the table, approximately five of them. Two were from his own collection and the others had been made in Alexandria and delivered to him for this mission, maps of the sea lanes leading to their eventual destination, as well as those of the new eastern lands acquired for the Crown and their cities, and other locations of importance. He studied them for a few moments absently before he heard as knock on the door to his cabin and his steward soon walked through them, bowing as three other gentlemen walked in behind him; the first two were easy to identify for Rudolph, as he had been given some dispatches by the Admiralty to help him become accustomed with the many different uniforms of the Army regiments; the first man's red jacket with the buff facings made him Colonel Laurence Weaver, the commander of the 3rd Regiment of Foot that Navy had brought with them on this journey, and the other man would have been Colonel Mervyn Pryce, the colonel of the 24th Regiment of Foot which Rudolph knew was a Welsh march regiment. The third man was dressed in simple dress, though of finer textiles and make from what Rudolph could tell which led him to believe he was one of the yeomanry nobles that was brought with them. He soon learned the man's name when he stepped in front of the two army officers and extended his hand for a greeting, the signet ring as it caught a glare of the sun through the windows "Earl Covens Captain Bloxham, my compliments at a smooth and uneventful journey from Marseilles to here. These are Colonels Pryce and Weaver."

Rudolph bowed slightly toward the group "My Lord, Colonels, please, take a seat so we can begin."

The men nodded and pleasantries were quickly exchanged and as the men sat, stewards soon entered the cabin bearing silver trays with tea and cups for each of them, as well as cream and sugar which had been retrieved from the markets in town before the men had arrived. As each took their own cup and prepared it to their own standards, Rudolph pulled forward one of the larger maps which displayed the Nile region and Red Sea coastline of Egypt, and began talking "As we discussed before departure back in Marseilles, Hurghada will serve as our primary point of focus for the initial stages of this plan; once the last of the supply brigs arrives at the end of this week, our warships will be firmly secured and two thirds of the crews will disembark to begin our work in the harbor and city, I've already secured the cooperation of the locals by supplying the royal proclamations and writs with the city's mayor and elite. The port facilities here are small, it's never been a trading hub though it has gotten some increase since the Eastern conquests. Our main focus will be expanding the harbor and surrounding infrastructure as well as a dockyard from which to repair and manufacture supplies and ships should the need arise. Now, the supplies we already carried were for the Army yes Lord Covens?"

"Indeed, it will help us establish the regimental depots which will be used to train the men. We will initially seek to move here just on the outskirts of the village and will commandeer the stables there for the purpose of housing the mounts of our yeomanry and establish tents for the soldiers. Colonel Weaver's regiment will establish a depot here within the city and will raise two battalions from the residents male population fit for service; Colonel Pryce will travel to Memphis with his men and establish depots in the surrounding local, we hope to raise two or four regiments from the men within that nome. I will be traveling to Heracleopolis with my contingency, one unit of the yeomanry will be stationed there and will seek to raise another cavalry unit, we're hoping to use the cities crafters and smiths to maybe get us some lancers, while my contingency will split; accompanying me are six barons or viscounts who were selected by His Majesty and given Royal Writs to raise regiments with their own funds, and will scatter all along the Nile, though no further south then Thebes. Most of the population is concentrated between Alexandria, Memphis and Thebes and thus, this is the center of the unrest that has begun to plague this country, so by raising these regiments, we will give them a renewed sense of duty and respect for the Crown and our fair Empire."

Rudolph interjected "Remind me my lord, how many regiments do we in total seek to raise?"

The earl thought for a moment before responding "We brought a fairly small contingency with us, the three yeomanry units and the two regiments of foot are a sizeable host but given the sheer size and reports we've had from India will be wholly insufficient to wage any significant, prolonged campaign in India. We know from our King's grandfather who conquered the Indus Valley kingdoms that he at the crux of his campaign had forty regiments to bear, with an even mix of infantry and cavalry. Granted, those conquests severely drained the Empire of coin, men and supplies so there is no way we can seek to match those numbers, so we instead seek to perhaps near it in half of it's strength, ideally I would like to get 20 regiments out of Egypt, with 2 battalions of five hundred men each. We've never raised regiments in any serious effort in Egypt in the five centuries we have been here, so it'll be a challenge to get men to join but we're hoping the promise of good pay and some persuasion will help."

"Where will the supplies for such a force come from?"

"Initially, we've brought a small stock to get started. I reached out to workshops in Alexandria, Cairo and Memphis while we were docked for resupply at former's grand harbor - we've managed to get the foundations for a basic supply system set up, though our quartermasters will be hard at work to see the unrefined materials and then the finished products eventually make their way from the north to us here in the central and southern nomes, though ideally once we're able to get proper depots set up, they'll have workshops necessary to get the men they house properly supplied, but we will need to be both quick and careful, we can not tarry too long in this process otherwise we could face an impossible task by the time we arrive."

Rudolph grunted "Indeed, once we get the dockyard here past its initial beginnings, I've already received dispatches from the Admiralty to proceed to a port city of Karachi, it's a rapidly developing city that the Royal Viceroy made his seat after there was some unrest when he tried to occupy the traditional seat of Thatta; they're having trouble with pirates and undesirables from India and wish to use us to counter them, destroy any interference with the trade and such."

Covens sighed "I suppose then you will take the full task force?"

"Indeed my lord, I have no idea what I'm up against and I would much rather intimidate then be intimated."

"Understandable I suppose, plus I doubt your men would stay occupied here for too long, no pirate or naval threat would dare to come this far into the Red Sea. Alas, the absence of the ships will still weaken our presence which will make my attempts to try and raise some cavalry all the more important."

"A hard task?"

"Undoubtedly, we have no centralized stud farms or established equestrian tradition; in ancient times, sure these people used the chariot and such but that is hardly a practical instrument of war these days. I'm unfamiliar with the horses that are present in these lands, for none are native and all are either imports from the famed Arabian peninsula stock or North African in origin. The issue is that the few Bedouins here are zealously protective of their herds, and the few horses we have used from Egypt are too small, or unsuited for our needs, and I fear we do not have time to get any stud farm going, it would be a generational effort. No, we'll have to see what we can scrounge together, and maybe see if they could spare us a regiment from home."

"Well, I believe you are fit for the task my lord and will succeed well, when do you depart?"

"We'll begin preparations immediately, those of us going to the interior will take a number of weeks to cross the rough terrain and harsh desert. Thank you for your hospitality Commodore, I believe we are joining you for one last decent meal this evening before we scatter to the four winds?"

"Indeed, it would be my privilege to host all of you. Shall I have my stewards fetch you around seven in the evening?"

Those present agreed to the dinner invitations and the conversation turned to a few finer details of the execution of their plans before they would all depart and begin their various preparations for their given assignments.

[Itailian Maifias]

Lieutenant Howard Kay
In the Old Citadel, Old Cairo, Upper Egypt
February 12, 1735

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"I hardly expected the smell"

"That's what centuries old rot smells like mate, nothing quite like it."

Howard couldn't help but to continue reflecting over that short, simple casual transaction between himself and one of the other lieutenants, Swann or something he thought, as they first marched into the central city's southern outskirts, coming in along the southern road that mostly snaked alongside the Nile that ran through the entirety of the country; Howard had known that Cairo was something of a misfit among the various cities and settlements within Upper Egypt, it was certainly just as old as the others with the original settlement date believing to date back to before the 10th century, but it only really came into the forefront of history because it was the center of Crusader and French power for the eight decades or so the splinter state was in existence, until Richard the first united the realms and formed the beginnings of the Angevin empire; after that, it more or less went back into the shadows, out shone in both significance and history by larger metropolis such as Alexandria, the capital in the north, or the historic and ancient cities of Memphis or Thebes, and even Heliopolis to a degree which in the current times was almost overlapping with Cairo being so close to it.

He braced himself against the hot white stone, the beads of sweat were already beginning to multiply and accumulate in great score, even though he had already removed his jacket and reduced his wear to the simple linen shirt underneath. He looked out the small window in the wall, that cut carefully and precisely through the stone, probably intended to serve as some archer's way of defending the citadel, even though now this room served as a small, spartan officers accommodation, he had heard the others complaining about taking up the old citadel here as their home base as a terrible dealing of the hand, but to him, this was already an marked improvement over what he had grown up with in central Britain. He moved away from the window and carefully began unpacking the small amount of things he had brought with them on this long journey, setting them in the large wooden chest as the foot of his bed, or like with his sword, carefully placing it against the wall. After a few moments, while he was placing his Bible carefully on the bed with its neatly folded sheets, something he doubted he would need in this humid, steaming weather he heard the sound of rapid footsteps and soon found a runner in his doorway "Sir, Major Dupont wishes to see you in his office."

Howard nodded and then quickly recalled something and shouted at the runner "Which room is that exactly?!"

"Get the the big great tower, third floor!"

Armed with this information, Howard used a cloth to quickly wipe his face and straightened out his appearance before quickly putting on his scarlet red officer jacket and began moving towards the great tower, which he knew sat on the northern end of the citadel; it had originally been the 'citadel' of this fort when it had been constructed in the 10th century, but when the French crusaders took the city and greatly expanded it began a tower wall of sorts, the northern perimeter walls married with it's base, though the tower itself was on par with those often constructed as keeps back in Europe or Britain. He had not yet fully explored the fortress that sat here in the heart of what the residents of the city referred to as 'old Cairo', but he knew the tower was a fair bit of distance from the barracks building where he had been quartered, and it indeed took him a considerable amount of time to make his way into the courtyard of the fortress and navigate through the large volume of traffic that it was currently experiencing; mostly supply trains being unloaded, and stores being built up, before their arrival the fortress had served as the home to a small militia from the local Duke of Upper Egypt but when he was informed of the expedition's purpose and such, he happily lent the site to the contingency that arrived; overall an odd company that was led by Major Dupont, and consisted of approximately twenty or officers and about thirty experienced soldiers who would be split up and used to raise the regiments they intended to man with the residents of the nearby regions.

Finding the room where had been summoned was easy to detect once he was inside the great tower, for a line of similarly junior officers had lined the staircase holding to the right hand side, waiting to be seen by the Major; if Howard was a betting man, a decision had been made with their postings, and their assignments. He took his place in the line, and began to try and summon some images in his head to try and distance himself from the swelling heat that he was sure was only to rise as the day grew longer and the sun rose higher, they had not yet even reached midday. He soon began to think of the slow moving Lune River near his home, the flat, green plains were a nice memory compared to the hot sands of this wide, never ending desert.

The waiting period seemed to take the longest, and the exact passage of time was lost on home as his daydreams of a colder, greener terrain were only interrupted by the shifting of the line, as it would slowly move forward as officers and enlisted stood before the Major, received their orders and then moved, allowing the line and process to continue. It was halfway through this that Howard realized he was near the end of the line, as he was the fourth to last and none others had joined it since he the three behind him, which made him wonder if this meant he was going to receive a much less desirable posting; he surely hoped not, maybe somewhere closer to the sea, just so the winds could help lower the temperature. What seemed like an eternity had passed for the second time before Howard found himself at the very front of the line, waiting on the highest step before the floor leveled off for the third floor of the tower, where a large table had been set up and was covered in all forms of dispatches and such, behind which sat the Major who was also accompanied by an Ensign who mostly function as his aide, at least from what Howard could gather. The current conversation and the Major were having did not take long, and once the man had departed, Howard carefully approached the desk, stopping a few meters in front of it and snapping to a quick attention and salute "Major Dupont, Lieutenant Howard Kay, formerly of the 24th Regiment of Foot"

"Formerly indeed Lieutenant. As you may have deduced, we have begun dispatching our officers and skilled veterans to their various locations so they may begin recruitment and training; you will be leading, or rather assisting in one such effort here. It is intended that I shall be of some temporary command of a regiment raised here out of Cairo, and I'm appointing you and a Lieutenant...Nathanaël Pryderi. Now, you are the senior to Pryderi, he only just received his initial commissioning as a lieutenant, while I see here in our files that you have served with the 24th as well as another regiment in Rheged and were present to help with the Petersborough insurrection; that experience is going to be of vital use, especially if tensions here flare with the presence of our fellow soldiers. You will be informally the senior to Pryderi and I want you to help mold him, we're going to need all the competent officers we can get for this grand mission of ours. He's billeted in the same barracks as you, so find him and then find a Sergeant Steven Yancy, he will be the senior sergeant while the Lieutenant and you try to raise two companies worth of men."

Howard nodded "Understood sir, I'm sure we will find the best His Majesty's citizens and residents have to offer. Any advice on where I may find the Lieutenant and Sergeant?"

The young ensign spoke this time "The Major spoke with them much earlier today, they were at the head of our convoy to arrive in the city, so I believe they've already begun their recruitment efforts. I heard the sergeant mention attempting to begin looking in the marketplace here in old Cairo near the Jewish temple, I would try there."

[Itailian Maifias]

Lieutenant Howard Kay
In the Old Citadel, Old Cairo, Upper Egypt
February 12, 1735

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"Lieutenant Pyderi?"

Howard maneuvered his way through the clutter and stands of the densely packed square, moving towards the two men clad in the red jackets of the Army, one shorter and sitting on the edge of market stall, the other taller and with a crop of fire red hair. It was this man who turned and replied to Howard as he shouted to him "Yes, I am Lieutenant Nathanaël Pyderi and my companion is Sergeant Steven Yancy. I take it you are the other office that Major Dupont mentioned would be joining us?"

Howard nodded, stopping a few feet shy of Nathanaël, offering a nod of respect towards the Sergeant and shaking hands with his fellow officer "Yes, I am Lieutenant Howard Kay, Major Dupont said to find you and the Sergeant, it seems we are to be companions in this mission that he has given us.”

Nathanaël nodded “Yes, the Sergeant and I arrived ahead of the column and figured we would get a head start, Major Dupont and his staff were less then forthcoming on what we could expect, so I figured we would do a little of our own scouting.”

“What have you found?”

Yancy spit on the ground and replied with a scowl “We have some rough waters to navigate, very tricky local populace. We got good responses here, but this part of the city is mostly Jews, they came up this way to get away from the native Egyptians, who they frequently clash with. We’ve also stopped by the French quarter, which is really any part of the city especially around the Citadel; a lot of descendants from when the French crusaders took Upper Egypt and I’d say we rounded up a good amount, but the problem is most people are Egyptian and they don’t like us.”

Nathanaël frowned “On top of that, the local workshops aren’t quite what I’m used to. Nearly blunt blades and axes, the only gunsmith I found was a Jean Blanchard and the look of his stuff, I can tell the only people he makes muskets for are for nobles looking for a little Nile sport and then return to their lofty chateau’s back on the continent.”
Howard nodded “I thought we brought our own supplies with us though?”

“Yes, for us, but no-where near enough for all these men we are supposed to be training; I wasn’t even given a number of what we would get to train with, and a regimental depot or barracks, did the Major tell you anything about that?”

Howard thought for a moment then nodded “Yes, it’s outside of the city, or well, along the fringes. Supposed to be an old marketplace that has been abandoned for some time, the Duke’s men picked it out. It’ll need repair work but it’s supposed to be minor.”

Yancy spoke out “Well, what are we waiting for sirs?”

Nathanaël smiled “Indeed, Kay why don’t you lead the way since you know which way you’re going. You any good with the heavy stick on your hip?”

Howard looked down and smiled; the long, basket-hilt sword that hung from its battered black leather scabbard was indeed unusual among his fellow officers, most carried rapiers or some form of shortsword. “It’s my fathers sword, he bade me to carry it on this journey of ours and I would say I have a fair arm with it.”

“We shall see, won’t we?”

Nathanaël beckoned on wards and the three men left the marketplace and headed west, towards one of the many bridges that crossed over the Nile, which ran through the city, and they crossed over it, Nathanaël and Yancy following Howard who knew their destination wasn’t far from the river. They managed to make it there in a hour or so, stopping some yards short with Howard pointing out their destination; looking as he had described, a former foundry or smithy of some kind, with a central structure that was connected to another that may have served as the workshop and smithery area and then two small warehouses adjacent, all enclosed by a sandbrick wall which had numerous holes and had fallen down in places. The entrance way bore no gate, or at least not any longer and the three of them proceeded inside the courtyard, surveying the emptiness of the courtyard for a little bit before four men walked out of one of the warehouses, wearing dark robes and head coverings, a khopesh or dagger on each’s belt. The Britons looked at each other with a look of concern, doubled when the men began shouting in some strange tongue, Yancy remarking “They don’t appear to happy to see us.”

Howard queried “Any idea what they’re saying?”

Yancy grimaced as he removed the pistol from his belt as well as a large dagger “Pretty sure it isn’t anything nice.”

With those words, Howard and Nathanaël realized the group had all drawn their weapons and were now getting closer slowly; the two men drew their own swords in response, holding them at the ready “Let’s see if they understand this.”

One of the men let out a scream and some Egyptian and they rushed the Britons, Yancy letting off a shot with his pistol that sent one of the men crumbling to the ground, while Nathanaël and Howard both quickly drew their swords and stood to receive the oncoming men, both being engaged by an assailant while Yancy tangled with another.

Nathanaël was able to easily side step the first over-reaching stroke of his opponent and brought his blade right down on the man’s back, the blade slicing through the thin layers of robe and leaving behind a large gash; the man screamed and jolted forward, stumbling and not catching himself as he bowled over some rocks strewn across the ground, but managed to stand back up before trying to half-rush Nathanaël again and pay some measure back with a poorly executed side cut; Nathanaël was easily able to parry the blade, with enough force to disarm the man before he ran him through the center of his chest with his own blade. He paused for a moment before he heard a shout and saw Yancy and an assailant locked in a stalemated wrestling match, but Yancy was slowly losing the upper hand to the larger opponent, which Nathanaël saw and he ran over and used a swift kick of his boot to separate the man and before the Egyptian could react, Yancy plunged a dagger deep into his breast. The man grunted and collapsed on his side, and Yancy nodded at his commanding officer, breathing heavily and wiping blood off of his lip.

Nathanaël wiped his blood-covered blade off on the shirt of one of the fallen men, idly walking the courtyard for the missing third member of their party when he saw movement behind one of the building suns and quickly moved towards it, shortly finding the dead body of one of the Egyptians against the rear wall, a sword stuck through his chest, and Kay looking despondent, but upon seeing Nathanaël looked up and offered a meek smile “Well, I suppose we know what our depot is like now, don’t we?”

Nathanaël looked at this fellow officer with one bit wonderment, and another of amusement “Well, indeed we do, and now I know you’re good with your sword arm. Come, I think we should collect Yancy and then find someone to help us bury these poor souls, there is much work to be done here before it will be fit to call it a depot that is home to one of His Majesty’s Regiments.”

[Itailian Maifias]

Lieutenant Howard Kay
'Argile' Barracks, Regimental Depot for the 57th Heliopoli Regiment of Foot
September 2, 1735

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In the preceding six months since the initial arrival of the Army expedition under the command of General Nicholas Brewen, the British soldiers had been working in overtime to try and meet the deadlines set by the expectations in London, and the pressure that was therefore passed down from the highest level with General Brewen, to the various lower ranking officers under his command. While the main expedition focus had been in central and Lower Egypt lead by Lord Coven and the two regiments of foot from the British isles, General Brewen had been disembarked at Alexandria prior to the expedition's journey to Hurghada and while getting a head start on the work, was given substantially less material and manpower; his column when it arrived at Heliopolis in February consisted of approximately one detached battalion of infantry, approximately 20 wagons, 9 quartermasters, and approximately 52 officers accompanied by around 81 junior sergeants or higher ranking non-commissioned officers, all of which were directed to raise no less then four regiments of foot and four horse regiments, an incredibly difficult task as General Brewen was given minimal monetary resources as well, though he found an early and significant ally in the Duke of the Nile, Hugues Gladwin who is a immense benefactor to the growth of central, royal power in the Empire.

Initial work was met with mixed success, much as Lieutenants Pryderi and Kay had discovered not all of the populace was keen on the influx of Army presence and recruitment in the region. Despite occurring almost a century prior, the rebellion of Kemet philosopher Djehepe Befere still lived on in the memories of many of the lower class citizenry, particularly those who lived in the northern regions in between the cities of Damietta, Alexandria, Suez and Heliopolis. Descendants of French and British immigrants that arrived in wake of the crusades in the 12th and 13th century proved to provide ample recruits however, though the largest group attracted were the disaffected and poverty stricken youth; three years of consistently poor harvests were the root of much of the economic downturn in Egypt and was only exacerbated by a mistrust between the ruling parties and residents; with the Army now in the region promising 50 shillings to the drum, many of the poor viewed it as a lucrative improvement to leave their life. General Brewen and his officers would soon find themselves overwhelmed with recruits, stretching their already limited pool of basic supplies, such as camp equipment, uniforms and weapons to the breaking point.

Despite the challenges faced, many impressive goals were managed to be met, and by the beginning of the first month of fall, September, Lieutenant Kay finds himself constantly tired as he helps in the training of 1st Battalion, 57th Regiment of Foot, Heliopoli. Not only had he had to deal with training the new recruits, they had also formally received the commanding officer of their battalion, a foul-tempered and arrogant Parisian by the name of Major Barnabé Béranger. Kay and the others quickly learned that Major Béranger was the kind of officer that preferred to stay inside his office at the top of the central building in the regimental depot, frequently enjoying cold beverages and complaining to his steward about the heat. Thus, the training of their battalion's 500 men had fallen mostly on Kay, Nathanaël and the other small amount of sergeants they had brought with them. Most of their five hundred strong were of French backgrounds, descendants of the crusaders back during that age in the 12th and 13th centuries, though they had also received a strong group of local Egyptians, most of whom filled out the fourth and fifth companies in the battalions.

On this particular day, Kay was watching as the first sergeant for his company, the first company, was lining up all one hundred men in groups of tens at the southern end of their compound, and running them through the paces of drill and stances. Kay himself was not too far removed, standing only a few paces away from the men. He waited until the sergeant had finished, having the men now standing at parade rest and walked over to instruct the men, standing to the left of the sergeant. He quickly ran his eyes over the men "Gentlemen, we have been hard at work for the last few months, and you all have come a remarkable distance since you first arrived here at the depot thanks to your own vigilance, and the dedication of our sergeants like Sergeant Planche here. However, soon, you all will enter our first crucible as we will depart soon on our mission. It is important in the remaining time we spend here that you all focus harder then ever before, as we must be as prepared as we can be before we sail for the East."

The next hour, Kay and Sergeant Plance would spend with the men drilling them on marksmanship lesson, as they endeavored to get the men to reach the regiment, and the Army's, mandate of being able to get off three rounds within one minute, and get them off accurately. Kay had spent a lot of time on the two month long journey from London to Alexandria reading on the various books that had been published concerning themselves with Peter I, also known as Peter the Red for his conquests, and his invasion of the Sindh region near the Indian subcontinent, an war that would last twelve years and drained the Treasury so much that it was only just beginning to get to pre-war levels in recent years, despite being nearly a century aftwards. He knew that they would most likely encounter similar tactics, and thus concerned himself greatly which the tactics that were observed, and knew that his men would have to be more superior marksmen, more disciplined if they were to succeed in their goal.

After the training and drilling, Kay retired himself to the officer's mess, which was located on the second floor of the central building in the depot. It had been extensively refurbished, one of the captains was evidently some Baron's son and thus spent a Baron's fortune redecorating the interior to be a richly decorated scene, with hand-carved wooden tables, a number of heraldic banners or flags, and an intricate fireplace that was the centerpiece of the room.

[Itailian Maifias]

General Nicholas Brewen
Fort Sella (Formerly Old/French Citadel), Heliopolis(Cairo), Egypt
September 10, 1735

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Nicholas stared keenly at Bloxham who was across the grand table from he, standing before a great map of the so called Indian Ocean, the waters separating the Red Sea and the Indian subcontinent from the rest of the known world. Bloxham had spent the last hour or so briefing Nicholas, as well as about a dozen of the most competent colonels in the expedition as well as a handful of staff on the exploration and map charting mission he and his ships had conducted over the last six months, as well as their progress with assisting the Viceroy in Karachi with removing threats to the trade in the region, such as piracy.

"So as you will see gentlemen, I think the maps here will illustrate wonderfully that the most ideal landing spot for our initial foray into India will be the Gujurati pensinula, which is province that shares the same name. Primarily, I thin our landing near Diu would be the best site. It's a small island, however on the eastern end the Imperial Crown Charter company has constructed and maintained a large fortress, and during my time there I was able to negotiate with company representatives that they would be willing to temporarily turn the fortress over to us for the duration of our campaign. From there, we can land all of our forces and begin marshalling them out, with two settlements nearby that you could potentially go, Porbandr which is further north on the coast, and Junagadh which is a city constructed around an old fort that a former power in the region constructed. I believe Junagadh would prove to be the most ideal location for a long term headquarters for you General, the merchant told us the the current reigning Prince and his dynasty rediscovered it a century ago and have reinforced it since then, though it is not widely used as most of their focus is apparently in the north near the border with the Marathi lands."

Nicholas nodded "Thank you Commodore, what of any reports of Indian naval forces? Will you face serious opposition in the sea once we make our presence known?"

Rudolph grimaced "Indeed, we may. During my time assisting the Viceroy with clearing any known pirates out of the trade lanes, and we encountered a number of surprising well armed and capable vessels. From what we can tell, the Mughals don't have much of any naval presence at all, most of the policing among the traders seems to come from themselves or organized private ventures, though we did hear a few tales of Marathi vessels. Regardless, all of the craft we encountered, most were much smaller then our ships of the line or frigates, and the few that did come equipped with cannon the crew and captain had seemingly little experience with battle tactics and we were able to easily enough to overcome. No, my fear is that I will not have enough ships with which to help you, our exploration of the subcontinent's coastline and what maps the Admiralty has provided prove that there is just too much land for us to effectively blockade or try to interfere with their trade."

"Thank you Commodore, indeed, it is a grand task before us, and I think it may perhaps prove to be more useful to employ your forces in a limited, concentrated effort rather than a wide-reaching strategy. Now, my fellow Army officers, we must discuss the status of our efforts here, and the launch of our campaign."

Nicholas paused for a moment, looking down and reviewing a number of the books or collections of documents that were laid out on the table before him that were a collection of figures, inventory and other items that served as a general account of the regiments they had been raising. "All of your recent efforts has led us to the raising of six regiments from the central nome of Thebes and other surrounding regions, with another two that are still fitting out or filling in it's ranks, per Lord Coven's last report in addition to those he has managed to raise a singular regiment of cavalry, though has been unable to get lances of any great quality or degree. However, here in the north we have managed to raise twenty and one regiments, with an additional six that are currently finishing their training - Colonel Sheppard, you have overseen the Quartermasters with us, how accurate are these supply and recruit reports?"

A man with a crop of longer red hair in the back of the room answered the General's query "Highly sir, we have been overwhelmed by the response here in the north. While Lord Coven evidently was depending on the historical center of the central nomes near and around Thebes to provide us with the most support, we have had much more support among the descendants of our fellow Britons and French that have been here since the Crusades. Furthermore, the local Greco-Egyptians are also eager to support, in fact we would have been unable to get our supply up and going without the help of Silas Raptis, an apparently very successful merchant and banker in Alexandria. He has largely provided us with references to local establishments, or direct support in establishing our supply network here. I estimate if we were to be serious, we could probably even raise a third battalion for each regiment if not more for some. Alexandria, Heliopolis, Memphis and the whole Delta region between them are very populated, and the only group that seems to be resentful towards us are the native Egyptians, but many are impoverished and see the Army as a chance to improve themselves."

Nicholas nodded "I see. Discussions need to occur today then, as to the when of when we sail for India. It will not be a short journey, we estimate it will take approximately 9 weeks if we encounter the most favorable winds and weather, 18 weeks at the worst. We will have limited room to carry all of these troops, and the supplies needed for them, and most of the carried food will be used up on the sail over. Therefore, we need to time our departure with the time of year very carefully. If we leave at the end of this month, we will arrive either in end of autumn or the middle of winter, and neither provides us with ideal circumstances with which to collect and forage upon our arrival. So, either we can leave neigh immediately and pray to God for no storm to hit us in the middle of the journey, or we can wait until the end of winter next here, sail out and arrive in the spring."

There was some whispering and small discussions around the room, before Colonel Pryce who was sitting to Nicholas' immediate left, spoke up "I think leaving now would prove most ideal General. While none of us are accustomed to fighting in India, or what their seasons are like, even their winter will be much warmer then the British one. Furthermore, it may play into our plans to arrive in the middle, for if they are content to shelter in place and await the coming spring, they may not be eager to commit to the field and we may be able to string together a succession of victories that would then allow us to consolidate and hold in place while we tighten our control of the seized regions, and get further reinforcement from home."

Nicholas nodded "I'm in agreement, particularly if we are to accomplish our goal of seizing the whole peninsula of Gujarat, I feel speed will be our keenest ally in this, the quicker we can catch this Mughal Empire by surprise the better, if we give them time to marshal a significant force before we can become firmly established, it would bode poorly for us I fear. I am in agreement with Colonel Pryce, Bloxham how quickly can your ships leave?"

Rudolph pondered quietly for a moment before answering "Give us two weeks to conscript some merchant ships to help carry the men, and we should be able to leave."

Nicholas smiled "Alright gentlemen, two weeks you have to finish preparing your regiments, I'll send dispatches to the others who weren't here to notify them. We will all gather at Hurghada and sail out from there,so for those of us here in the north we will probably have to depart in short order. See to your men, this campaign won't be easy I fear."

[Itailian Maifias]

Lieutenant Nathanaël Pryderi
1st Company, 1st Battalion, 57th Heliopoli Regiment of Foot
Diu Fortress, Diu, India
November 19, 1735

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Nathanaël rubbed his eyes for what seemed to be the hundredth time, but yet still they stung from all the salt as the water continued to lash against their dinghy. He readjusted his footing once more, finding it no less slippery for his half shin high black leather boots nearly failed to find a firm grip on the soaked wood, for ocean had been merciless with it's high waves since it had departed the Dauntless, disgorging the entirety of the first battalion upon the dozens of small boats it had carried along with it for this particular journey. The Diu bay was too shallow for the heavier warships to dock at it's pier, so they were forced to instead use the smaller craft to approach the fortress; a normally mundane task made frustrating by the unexpected thunderstorm, the only blemish upon an otherwise uneventful journey from Egypt to India.

The sound of wretching became very apparent to Nathanaël, and he turned his head slightly just in time to see Yancy picking his head up from the side of the boat. "Steady on there Sergeant, we're almost to the pier."

Yancy gave a weak smile "Gut wrenching ride in this boat, and then a march in the soggy Indian mud. They have mud here too right?"

Nathanaël didn't reply, and instead turned his attention to vague light that was in the near distant horizon, growing larger and clearer and within a few moments of heavy rowing he could make out it was a soldier with a lantern, standing as a guide at the end of the pier. The sailors rowing the boat piloted it in along the empty pier, their size made that much smaller by the immediate comparison of the warships that were able to navigate the bay and had already begun unloading, or the merchantmen who had docked in the town and were conducting themselves in a similar fashion. Once the boat was pulled alongside the pier and properly moored, Nathanaël made sure he was among the first to hoist himself onto the stone structure, and found himself internally slightly happier despite the miserable downpour to be back on a solid footing. He noted the lantern-bearer to wear the stripes of a corporal and he walked up to him, the solider taking a moment before saluting him "Beg your pardon Lieutenant, hard to see in this here rain."

Nathanaël waved his hand aside "No offense caused Corporal. Which regiment are you with?"

"3rd Company, 2nd Battalion, Luxor's Volunteers sir, Corporal Jeanes at your service"

"Corporal Jeanes, have you seen a Captain Parry of the 57th Heliopoli?"

The corporal thought for a moment, and then answered with slight excitement "That's the big fellow with the burn on his hand right? Yeah, he came ashore from one of the other warships, said he was assembling his men in the marketplace, head straight down this road that runs in front of the fortress, you won't be able to miss it."

Nathanaël thanked the corporal and moved to leave the pier, finding Yancy and the fifty or so men that had come with them in the boat huddled on a footpath just off the pier "Sergeant Yancy, stay here and collect everyone from our regiment best you can as they off load, it appears Captain Parry has already arrived and is assembling the regiment in the marketplace. Once I find him, I'll send for you and the men."

Yancy nodded "Understood Lieutenant, per chance once you see the Captain maybe ask him if we can have a solid roof soon sir."

Nathanaël nodded "I hope he has one just as well."

He tugged at the ends of his coat trying to get it to cover him more, but could not escape the feeling of chills beginning to set in, his red tunic and the rest of his clothes woefully inadequate for the stormy weather. He quickly marched across the road mentioned by the corporal, finding it clogged with disorganized mobs of traffic, groups of soldiers huddling beneath whatever tree or cover they could try to find, undoubtedly looking for some officer or the rest of their unit, orderless, while some were arrayed in neat columns marching to the instruction of a sergeant and officer into the fortress or town and alongside all of these was a steady train of quartermasters and their lackeys moving to begin offloading all their supplies and getting them into the fortress. He stopped to look up over his left shoulder and between the buffets of wind and rain, he could see the red stone walls of the fortress standing high above him, the royal flag waving fiercely in the storm off of one of the bastion's battlements. He continued on and rounded a corner, where he could see the main barbican and entrance into the fortress was but bypassed it and headed down a hill, towards what he could faintly make out to be a collection of stone and wooden buildings. Sure enough to his guide's directions, after a walk of a few minutes he found an area that appeared to be an open marketplace if he had to guess, and against one of the carved stone half walls he saw his commanding officer, getting shelter under a covered walkway from the storm outside with a few others. He walked into the plaza, which he noted to be deserted outside of British soldiers and approached Captain Parry, who recognized him immediately once he was out of the storm and the two briefly exchanged salutes and hellos before Parry beckoned him over to a small room where he had a map set up near a candle that flickered light across the otherwise dim room.

"Splendid job finding me Lieutenant, any word from Lieutenants Kay, Jaiden, or Marvin?"

Nathanaël shook his head "I know Lieutenant Kay was coming over with the rest of the boats that had first battalion, they're probably waiting for a free spot at one of the piers. I haven't seen Jaiden or Marvin yet."

Parry grinned "Well, I'm sure they'll turn up soon enough, be it here or on the coast washed up like flotsam. Terrible nasty storm, it's putting a whole damper on the rest of our operations. Now, come here Pyderi, see here.."

Parry began gesturing at the map, which appeared to be a very well drawn representation of the island that the town and fortress sat on, as well as the immediate area of the mainland surrounding them. "The General and his staff apparently were not informed by the most illustrious Company and their representatives that this little fortress and town are on an island that has no good connection to the rest of the mainland! The Company used it as a guard for bigger ports further up, have to overlook the spice you see, and the town just sort of exists here. Simple farmers or services devoted to helping the fortress. Now, there is a simple wooden plank bridge running here that the villagers have constructed, but it would barely hold one of their little carts they have here, let alone a full regimental column. Now, we have been tasked with securing this river and the crossing here, so the quartermasters can then come in and build us a much better bridge. It must be done with all haste, because without that bridge, we cannot advance further and that will just bottle our whole army here and let the bloody natives get a chance to form a proper response!"

Nathanaël nodded "I see Captain, I have Sergeant Yancy down at the docks gathering our men as they come off the boats. I can go grab him and the men he's gathered so far and sally out straight away."

Parry smiled and pointed a finger at Nathanaël "See, this is why I like you Lieutenant and make sure to tell the Major about it, you have the initiative of the strongest throughbred! Yes, I like it, the rest of the army will be still unloading for hours, probably days, and we can make our regiment look better then the rest if we have this matter hat in hand while they're still changing out of their sea legs. Get that Sergeant of yours and his men and move out to the crossing on the double, it isn't far from here. "

Nathanaël nodded and saluted the captain, moving out of the room and back into the storm outside, quickly retracing his steps as he returned to the docks. Initially, among all the chaos of people coming and going frequently he could not see Yancy or any soldier he recognized, but a quick search found that they had moved to fisherman's hut alongside the quay, with the sergeant standing outside the door, though he abandoned this slack posture once he saw Nathanaël "Sergeant, update on our men if you'd please."

"Certainly Lieutenant, we were graced with Lieutenant Kay's presence just a few moments ago, he's inside dumping some seawater out of his boots I believe. By my count, which I'd say is the best in my whole county's, we have all of first company here and some parts of second, I think the rest of the lads have been held up by all these merchantmen and the smaller warships pulling up alongside, the cavalry is clogging up the whole process. I think the heavy winds has the horses spooked."

Nathanaël nodded and then motioned towards the room behind them "Get the men ready in column formation, we're marching out of town. Captain Parry has given us orders to secure a river crossing so that the quartermasters can begin work on constructing a bridge across."

Yancy nodded "Did the Captain mention anything concerning us needing our rifles? I'm not sure we'll be able to get many shots off in this weather."

Nathanaël frowned "The Company has long held great influence over the town since they were allowed to establish the fortress and have continually expanded it in the last century or so, so I doubt we would see any Mughal or Marathi soldiers this close to it, but one should always be prepared. Have the men fix bayonets and if they have any covers, wax or oil, use them to cover the pan on their rifles. Even if we only get one volley, any shot is better then none."

Yancy nodded and soon headed through the doorway and began rounding up the men, and having them form outside into a column, Nathanaël feeling a small surge of pride as the altern bearing the colors moved to the front, though they were evidently missing their drummers somehow. The men were quickly lined up by Yancy into a double column, muskets raised muzzle up on their arms and Nathanaël fell in behind the end of the column as it marched off, smiling as he saw Lieutenant Kay join him. "Finish dumping the water out of your boots?"

Kay gave off a nervous smile "Getting the water out of me boots and avoiding a damn snake the size of a sword.I can't wait to see what this place looks like when it isn't downpouring like we ticked off Neptune"

Nathanaël chuckled "The storm will pass soon enough, I'll be eager to secure this bridge for Captain Parry - maybe it can mean more favorable quartering in that fortress."

Kay looked up with a questioning look, and Nathanaël grinned "Oh come on man, I know it was hard to see through the gales of rain and wind, but that red-bricked fort stood out for quite some time, and there's no way we all are going to fit inside of it. Big sure, but not big enough for all of the bloody regiments we brought. Undoubtedly a camp will have to be established here on the island outside of the fortress' walls, though if I was the General, I can't imagine we will be staying here for long."

The column continued to proceed down through the village, following the outer road as it wrapped past the huts and buildings and then carried itself out into the rest of the unsettled parts of the island, nothing much to look at except for a few passing groves or untended field. It would take the column of the two companies more than an hour to march clear of the village and down to the western end of the island where the shubbery and fauna had completely vanished and the river was now apparent, though the berms and hills on their northern side, the side with the river, grew larger and larger as they continued on preventing them from seeing much. During this, the rain had slowed down to an eventual stop all though the winds were continuing to buck, and Nathanaël couldn't help but feel a cloud of anxiety growing within himself - why? He had no reason to.

However, as soon as they came upon the spot where the hills broke away and an flat space that led to the river crossing appeared, Nathanaël could see the source of his anxiety. He began moving forward passing the various ranks of men until he was at the head of the column with Sergeant Yancy, the colors-bearer, and the column halted as the men peered forward at the mud-red tower on the opposite side of the river, with brightly colored banners of strange hues flapping hard in the rolling wind. Nathanaël turned to Yancy "Think that's those Mughals we kept hearing about?"

The men stood in silence for a moment until they noticed movement on the other side of the river, and they could soon see men scrambling presumably at the sight of them. Yancy remarked "It would appear so, looks like the Mughals didn't trust the Company."

Nathanaël laughed "I wouldn't either, can't blame them for putting a guard up. But we're not standing here to be shot at, time to show them how the King's men fight. Yancy, have the men assume double rank, advance thirty paces."

The bugler soon began blasting out horn notes to the effect of the orders that Nathanaël had relayed to Yancy, and then from Yancy to the bugler and soon the column carefully and quickly broke apart as the ranks filed out to fill out the double ranked line, Nathanaël and Kay moving to the center-front of the formation directly in front or next to the colors. Nathanaël looked out to the opposing bank and noted the figures of silver and grey tunics also forming a line of battle, and even the presence of a small group of horsemen had appeared, mounted and on their own left flank though further back. "That cavalry could prove problematic."

Kay shook his head "I doubt it, it's been hard pouring on this clay and dirt for what, the better part of a day? Go ahead and try to charge us down, you're more likely to have your horse get it's hoof stuck and twisted before you make a solid charge."

Within moments they could hear small sounds of gunfire as small bursts of smoke came from the Mughals, though no rounds Nathanaël could hear landing near him, but drew his sword either way. "Sergeant Yancy, have the men loaded their muskets?"

"Aye Lieutenant."

Summoning the loudest voice he could muster, Nathanaël began issuing orders "Helipoli, make ready!"

A few moments at the sound of shuffling in the formation "Present!"

The cry was echoed down the line by the non-commissioned officers as the approximately two hundred and fifty men readied their muskets, taking aim down the barrel and preparing for the final command, which would come after more then a few moments of dramatic tension-building "Fire!"

As Nathanaël issued the fire command, a rapturous roar rose from the British line as the entire first rank let loose a firm volley aimed directly across the short-span of the river onto the opposing berm where the Mughal troops had lined up. Within a few short moments, the second rank would repeat this firing their own volley, and then the third in short order before finally returning to the first rank, the non-commissioned officers rapidly issuing the orders to reload their muskets and to make ready. As the British did this, Nathanaël tried hard to concentrate on the Mughal line looking to see if he could observe any changes, other then that they too were looking to present their own volleys and make some effective returns. Nathanaël turned to look at Kay "I want you to take fifty men and move far out to our left, get right up on the river bank and continue firing on them. Once you do that, we're going to march up onto the bridge's very step."

Kay nodded and complied, moving to the rear of the line formation and selecting men from the back and sides, the main line shifting in their positions to accommodate for the missing men now, though a few of the redcoats would crumble to the groan, sent to their final rest by Mughali volleys. Nathanaël did his best to try and ignore the gaps in the lines that meant a soldier's death, what else was to be expected in battle, surely a few losses were inevitable and he hardly knew these men past their names, he couldn't afford to dwell on that. He returned his attention to the cavalry on the Mughali left flank, he had been doing his best to concentrate on them to see if they were moving to make a possible charge, and although things were increasingly becoming difficult to see through the thick smoke, Nathanaël noticed the Mughali horsemen moving slowly down the embankment and closer to the bridge. He paced across the line, moving from the center to the right and back to try and get a better view, making sure to time it so he didn't interfere with the constant output of volleys from his men. "Yancy look, they move to have their cavalry charge our line!"

Nathanaël pointed with his outstretched hand, and the sergeant paused in between firing to join the Lieutenant and assess the situation, grimly agreeing "Aye, that they are, and we're in a poor position to form a square."

Nathanaël shook his head "I don't believe that to be necessary, we need to enact my plan. Kay is already in position and firing off on our left flank, have all lines advance fifty paces, till we're almost ontop of the bridge, and concentrate fire on those horsemen!"

All at once, the ranks held their fire as the NCO's directed them into a careful and methodical march forward, slowly moving until they were right on the edge of the riverbank and the bridge itself. Commands were quickly shouted and the ranks were re-formed into three lines that stretched 50 men a piece and soon rippling fire broke out as each rank gave off their volleys aiming best they good at the Mughali cavalry. The cavalry seemed to be caught off guard by this, evidently hoping to remain hidden by the horrible weather conditions and the smoke from the fire, but this didn't work and they soon found themselves caught in very accurate volleys, more then a quarter of them tumbling to the ground. This seemed to cause a measure of panic and their organization broke apart entirely, and within ten minutes and five volleys from the British's lines, more then half of them were dead on the ground and the rest were fleeing.

At the sight of the fleeing cavalrymen, Nathanaël deemed the only counter to them advancing across the bridge to be gone so he ordered Kay to advance double time across the river to secure the tower and send off the remaining Mughali infantry, which the rest of the company would continue to fire at while they advanced. However, the charge from Kay's detachment ultimately proved to be un-needed because as soon as they had gotten half way across the bridge, the Mughali broke and began fleeing in the same direction as their mounted brethren. At the sight of this, Nathanaël ordered the entire force to advance across the bridge and within ten minutes, the King's colours were waving proudly from the top of the tower and his soldiers were picking through the fallen Mughali soldiers and Nathanaël himself was found in the courtyard of the small palisades that wrapped around the base of the tower, talking with Kay and some of the other non-commissioned officers. Their conversation was broken up when a runner on a roan mount came galloping across the bridge and then up the hill by the tower. Nathanaël and others turned to greet him, each party returning the other's salute's "Captain Parry's compliments Lieutenant Pryderi, he would like a status report, many of us became concerned at the sound of battle which we could hear even back at the fortress."

"You can tell the Captain we secured the bridge as instructed, encountering a Mughali force that held this tower and side of the bridge, as well as a small cavalry force. A short exchange ensued in which we were able to catch their cavalry out of position and decimated by some well placed volleys from the men, after which their infantry broke in short order. Losses on our end are light, 4 dead and a handful wounded it would appear the Mughali are not the most accurate shots."

The runner saluted again "Aye Lieutenant, I will relay that message. Captain Parry did not give me orders for you, but I imagine you can stand here until another runner comes or the Captain himself."

In short order the runner departing, galloping back down the dirt road and Nathanaël shortly ended his conversation with the other officers, wandering out into the road and open fields where he saw Yancy and some men dragging back a couple of horses, presumably captured from the enemy "Found your dinner Sergeant?"

Yancy balked at the suggestion "Never in me life, horse meat is horrible. No, actually, I was thinking about how all the other regiments have their officers on prissy mounts, and ours just slog it out in the mud and clay, and we gave them a right showing today, I think only fair you and the others have a reward. Found them a few yards over the hill, their riders one of the poor lads here on the field."

Nathanaël stepped forward and examined the horses, tall creatures easily fourteen hands long or more, one was grey and the other was bay colored. He took the reigns from both and chucked the pair that belonged to the grey horse towards Kay "You know horses very well Kay?"

"Not particularly, though I've ridden a few."

Nathanaël carefully examined the horse, carefully stroking it's neck in an effort to keep him calm "These are no French draft horse, they are Arabians, some of the finest in the world. Easily worth a prince's ransom dependent on the horse, I say we owe Sergeant Yancy and his men an extra ration of beer for their efforts."

A cheer went up from the men as the officers smiled and inspected their new mounts, the men eagerly gathering up to receive the beer as their first day in this weird, new, and strange land came to a close.

[Itailian Maifias]

Lieutenant Nathanaël Pryderi
1st Company, 1st Battalion, 57th Heliopoli Regiment of Foot
3.2km west of the village of Sassan, 38km south of Junagadh
November 26, 1735

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"Makes you wonder how quickly we can bring this all together doesn't it Pryderi?"

Nathanaël turned in his saddle to smile at Kay, who was riding a few paces behind him, to the right of their battalion's column, while Nathanaël himself was just a few strides behind Major Beranger, who sat at the head of the formation with their regiment's commanding officer, Colonel Westley, who was joined by his senior advisers and such. Behind them, assembled into a column of two rows that never seemed to end, resplendent in a sea of red coats, and glistening rifles. The colors at the head were flying in the northwind, and the drummers that accompanied them were consistently drumming out the regiment's steady march, and Nathanaël turned slightly more in his saddle to see the column continuing even further back, as far back on the simple earthen road as his eyesight would let him see. "How many do you think Kay?"

"Probably as many as Brewen could muster sir, it's a miracle we were able to get underfoot so quickly. I wonder if Coven's cavalry has joined us, I hear the Mughal's have a habit of relying on horse archers."

Nathanaël shrugged "I'll admit I am concerned about bowmen on horseback, however I'd like to believe our muskets will far out-match what ever archer or bow they can field."

Before they could continue their trumpets, they heard a series of trumpet blares, and from the rear of the column could see three riders, their golden and red coats with the adorned cuirasses denoted them assuredly as apart of Coven's mounted force, from his own judgement he could tell they would be upon him and Kay within a few moments, as they were galloping hard, and indeed they soon reached the pair of lieutenants, slowing their mounts as they reached them. A brief salute from the lead rider, which Nathanaël and Kay both returned promptly "Lieutenants Pryderi and Kay of the 57th Heliopoli at your service sir."

"Gauthier of the 3rd Yeomanry, Lord Coven has sent me to find a Colonel Westley, I bear an urgent message."

Nathanaël motioned to the front of their column and their riders departed, heading for the Colonel, where they staid but for a brief moment before departing and riding back down from whence they came. Kay urged his mount forward to ride alongside Nathanaël's "Whatcha think that was about?"

Nathanaël gestured to the front of the formation, where the officers were suddenly breaking off and the drummers began to change their beat. Captain Parry called out to them both "Prdyeri, Kay, Brewen wants us to make camp and hunker down! We're moving off to the fields here, just a klick to the north, you two go get the wagons from the rear!"

The two lieutenants saluted to acknowledge the orders, and yanked their reins to force their mounts to turn quickly as they rushed off to the back of the column, where the gargantuan wagon-train needed to support this endeavor was fitted into the formation. Dozens, if not hundreds of, wagons of all variable sizes and holds were in the massive column, and it took a great deal of Quartermaster's men to control them all, especially with the size of the camp once it was established. Standard Army practice at this time meant that each battalion of the regiment, which was five hundred men split evenly across equal strength companies, would form a core of the camp. The companies would ensure that each soldier rightfully set up their tents, which would be large A-frame canvas tents, in equal rows, which would then terminate with a company headquarters tent which would typically either be a larger A-frame, or a raised octagonal tent, that would be home to the company's officers mess, and leadership needs. The regimental colonel and his officer staff would have a similarly large tent, typically with the regiment's quartermaster set up just beside his in a large clearing, which would be necessary as all the wagons, hoists, horses and storage needs would be roomed there. The cavalry regiments would be similar, the only main difference being their quality of their gear; most were minor nobility, and had the means to purchase such luxuries as individual tents, chests that their horses could carry or the equipment needed to maintain their mounts.

Setting all of this up was no easy affair either, and despite the order going out long before the sun had reached it's apex for the day, by the time the sun had fall for the last time before the morning rise, and many campfires had been lit all across the camp that spread out over a large number of acres, completely taking over the entire field before the village that lay ahead of them. Even now, there was still many soldiers being used to deploy the items neccesary for the camp; whether that was teams of riflemen being conscripted to dig earthworks at the camp's perimeters, or outriders being selected to scout the surrounding regions, or dozens of foraging parties being sent out to look for food supplies and other items that the army could use. The management of an army and military campaign was much like a beating heart, and something that aided a General in this endeavor was a quality Quartermaster, and listening to that quartermaster. Here, early in the evening hours, General Nicholas Brewen blinked several times in an attempt to fight off the fatigue, as he sat at a grand wooden table that was completely covered by maps of the surrounding and nearby locales, and at the head of it was Colonel Sheppard, his personal Quartermaster on his general staff. "Although Diu is a good site, mostly due to the formidable fortress and fortifications on site thanks to the Imperial Crown Company being so generous to loan those to us for this endeavor, it is not a favorable base, as I much said back in Egypt. There is no port or harbor facilities on site, and it would simply be too expensive and there's too little land to develop such sites out. "

Nicholas waved his hand, the two were by themselves as most other officers were off seeing to other duties "I know Sheppard, but we agreed with the rest of the General Staff back in Egypt that an assault on one of the major ports, like say Surat, was too costly. That particular port is the epicenter of what remains of Imperial Mughal power in the region, and it was heavily defended by their Imperial forces. We agreed that that by landing here in the south, it is right at the frontier of the Mughal-Marathi border conflicts and it would provide us with a chance to exploit both sides for our own gains."

Sheppard nodded "All of what you said is true, but I can't reinforce enough just how crucial it it is that we secure Junagadh quickly; and ideally without massive losses. With no proper port for us to access our depots back in Egypt or the wider trade lanes, and with the ICC refusing to further support us directly with supplies because they don't wish to risk their own tradeports or relations with the Indian princes and other native rulers, we're at a severe disadvantage."

"Well presumably once we take Junadagh, we will erase that weakness no? Reports from European merchants ahead of our arrival report that the local suzerain broke away from the Mughali authority, and the Imperial authorities did little to re-assert themselves or bring the region back into the fold, presumably because they though it too great of a risk with the Marathi's right around the bend and since the new breakaway prince is just as hostile to the Marathi's as his former lords, it was the best they could do. We've had no reports over an large army or other such obstacles."

"It's not an army I fear General, I have no doubt you and your men will secure the city easily; and yes, assuming we can capture the city and fortress mostly in tact, it will provide us a formidable base to operate out of for the foreseeable seasons to come. But what I fear instead is how much of an nearly-insurmountable task I will face, in establishing a supply network in the surrounding regions once we do secure the city, and just how hard truly securing the region will be. I can't speak for you or others General, but I do not speak "Hindu" or whatever tongue the men of these lands speaks; I tried as a lad to get a hold on French but it just never took. We're aliens in a land just as alien to us as we are to it."

Nicholas chuckled "You should leave the worrying to mothers, for they are far better suited to it. I have no doubt in your abilities to get things rolling once my men do the heavy lifting by securing the city, if I did I wouldn't have asked for you to come from the Corps' wide selection of officers. Have no fear Sheppard, that city will be ours shortly, and once we have it, all of Gujurat will be next."