Chapter 18

I've returned to worldbuilding and massive elements in this storyline.

I am blending in real historical information such the Royal Houses of Holy Roman Empire (Germany))/Spain under Habsburg family of Austria and Medici families default control over the throne of France through Catherine de Medici, along with control over Italy via Papacy. In history, these two powerful families and their forces would align briefly during Elizabeth I reign, posing a dangerous threat to England, so I am just upping the ante a bit more. Additionally, the nature of military levies and militia mustering was introduced, just so folks understand how standard armies were raised. England in history at this time had very poorly trained armies and a lackluster command structure, the concept of militia armies via citizens would continue for centuries with varying levels of discipline. 

As to secret communications, most readers know I am disabled and I have been exposed to numerous forms of communication that most able-bodied human beings may not have seen, heard, or felt before. Tactile sign language is a specialized field of communication between two individuals, which can be innocuous and the hang gestures using one hand over another via transmission-receiver concept is not widely known. However, if intelligence agents and others were to communicate using such a measure, it would look indistinct from hand-holding or public displays of affection. It's a cool secret language that is distinct from more mainstream spy communications like Morse code, which can be easily learned and taught. I hope the use of this language in my story will be fun for readers.

Though, I think most people are going to be focused on the "Sky Fortress",  Surprise! It is a historical fantasy and science fiction genre for a reason. If you had the ability to transfer consciousness across time and there were individuals with strange abilities like Robert and Eli, then I would argue the power source for such miracles or actions would be epic as well. In reality, creating a flying Heliocarrier like Marvel's SHIELD is possible, but power source to maintain its propulsion systems would be beyond even the most advanced nuclear reactors. In addition, if you could have a power source that is outputting Sun-levels of watts, then a railgun would be a superior weapon compared to standard artillery since you're just using magnetic power to fire a shell at high velocities to generate kinetic damage. F=MA still holds true.

I was inspired by The Expanse for this particular aspect in my story, it's a subplot at the moment, but I may expand it into something far bigger down the line.

Winston Churchill, being a former First Lord of the Admiralty, requested a focus on air power before World War II, understanding that it was far more important to the future of warfare than armies or navies going forward. I thought the quote was apt and can be seen in this chapter on wide display with a decapitation strike by a foe that possesses air superiority against a foe without any countermeasure via bombardment alone. The Sky Fortress/ power display was not fully utilized, a shell could easily display kiloton levels of destructive potential similar to nuclear weapons.

The 17th law of Power from Robert Greene, "Keep others in suspended terror, cultivate an air of unpredictability," this principle is attempted by Mary I, she isn't operating under medieval rules, especially against English Protestants, who wronged her. Her use of brutality and force is a failed application of this rule as naked terror is used to repress and suppress her subjects. This rule has a connection to Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince written within this period in history and the application of cruelty and fear to gain power.

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Notes:

1. Yes Scotland was allied to Medici-controlled France via the marriage of Mary of Scots, heir of Scottish throne, to Francis II, heir of French throne. In history, France/Italy and the Holy Roman Empire (Germany)/Spain under the Habsburg were enemies, but in my universe, they are allied and technological partners. However, some technology was limited, like Sky Fortress for example, being used only sparingly by the Papacy to demonstrate their destructive potential.

2. Armored cars were one of the earliest motorized vehicles, since they could be built far easier than tanks and had greater mobility with the low-grade combustion engines. The separation between tanks vs armored cars came about in World War I and interwar years, when tracked vehicles gained the tank description versus the armored car designation using wheels of various types.

3. Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, was the father of Jane Grey and co-conspirator during Wyatt's rebellion in 1554. His part in the rebellion was a quixotic effort of a failed uprising, then he and his older brother hid in a house for a few weeks until Queen Mary found them and he was beheaded. My story took a much darker turn for Henry Grey as neither he nor his family were spared. A foreshadowing of what will come from the reign of Bloody Mary.