Unlike in the land forces, the Imperial Airforce is not assigned a single doctrine. It can be likened to War Magicians or Sorcerers in the form that they exist as auxiliaries to support military operations rather than conduct them singlehandedly. In this fashion, it is far better to review and familiarize oneself with the operating procedure of individual units rather than as the Airforce as a whole.

Most commonly used are the Bombers… We can differentiate between the tactics used in long-range, precise strategic bombardments, saturation bombings and close air support in the manner of… Imperial Air Superiority is typically gained through fighters combined with air support, over-extension is to be avoided…

Finally, the interception of enemy aircraft is done by only a small number of units, although this is typically due to the lack of enemy aircraft. This section will go into unproven theory against swarms of smaller targets which could theoretically disable…

The reader paused. The text had all the hallmarks of Kassandora's works. It was a combat manual, less so about the method of thinking and more a definite manual on how to wage war. It was slow to sit through, although it had to be admitted that certainly these were tactics were studying. A finger touched the page. Finally. The section had been found. Who better to listen to than the Goddess of War herself?

The interception of enemy aircraft is done through…

And the most important section.

The Rancais Interceptor 'Foudre' is the standard Imperial Interceptor.

- Excerpt from "Imperial War Doctrine", written by a collection of Imperial Officers and reviewed by Goddess Kassandora, of War. Although not officially for sale to the book, the fact every officer receives one ensures the book is common enough in the Empire and easily procured by collectors. This particular copy was sent abroad at the behest of a scholar in the UNN.

The reader pulled back. Now it was a matter of finding the Foudre blueprints. Easier said than done. It would probably require a miracle. But Arascus had said it himself: everyone was capable of a miracle.

Iliyal stood on the balcony of the chateau Paida had given him. The Goddess of Rancais had gone all out. She had transferred not a cultural location but one of her own ancient palaces for Iliyal to use. Good thinking supposedly, if a Divine needed to visit then the doors and corridors were already expanded for the size of one of the beings. There was even a private winery about which produced the Chateau De Paida. That too the Goddess had taken the pre-emptive liberty of giving Iliyal unlimited access to.

Iliyal Tremali did not know who she was trying to impress. The wine was good but if she thought that her position could be bought with expensive alcohol then she was sorely mistaken. At the very least, she had the smarts as to not try to make the maids terrible seductresses. That always ensured Iliyal would not need to return. They were pretty of course, and there was far too many of them for this to be the standard day-to-day operations of the Goddess' private palace but they stayed to themselves.

Iliyal breathed in the cold air as he thought of today's scheduled meeting. It was just a status report of the various, most important Bureaus. The subservient ones, such as Space Aeronautics which fell under Development, were not invited. Divines Affairs fell under Internal Affairs, the countless ones of specific Arts and other miscellaneous hobbies would be represented by Culture. The Bureau of War, that was the one Iliyal was most interested in hearing out for no other reason save it was the only one that typically reported with something more other than 'all operations are proceeding as scheduled.' That and the fact he simply enjoyed the topic the most.

It was warm out here, but the trees in the distance had started shedding their leaves in preparation for winter. The sun was out, still warm although definitely not the sweating hot of summer. He had been right to choose southern Rancais. If a jumper was needed here then a coat would be needed further north. He took one final gaze at the landscape. The Goddess' grapevines were organized in tight rows to the north and south, whereas straight ahead where gardens. Bushes had been pruned into perfect shape as gardeners worked to plant flowers that would bloom in winter. There was even a brilliant pond of water so clear it may as well have been a silken scarf of crystalline diamonds. The Rancais did know how to impress, Iliyal had to give them that. He took one final, deep breath of the clear air and turned around to see the ministers who were sat down inside the meeting chamber.

It had been a dining room before Iliyal had come here. He had done little redecorating bar tasking the maids with removing the cutlery and the drinks from the cabinets. Those were now filled with all the papers required for the day-to-day tedium of the Empire. Iliyal entered and took his seat at the head of the table. That chair was his greatest indulgence here, it was one of Paida's own seats. He could pull his legs up to cross-legged, or lean back as if it was a throne. "Welcome." Iliyal had seen how Arascus handled these meetings more than once. He even copied the clap Arascus would do whenever the God started. "Report from the Bureau of Science."

Minister Glaiei, a Rilian, stood up and pushed a set of papers towards Iliyal. "The Bureau of Science has nothing to report. Save for funding." Iliyal said nothing. The man always made sure to mention that he wanted more money.

Iliyal supposed he ask all of them a question to keep them on their toes. To show he was listening and thinking and not let them get too complacent. "How is integration with the Epan Universities going?"

"As scheduled. No delays. Rancais requests more funding as always through Epan Reconstruction." So no changes.

"Does ERA have money to spare?" Iliyal turned his eyes to the Minister of Infrastructure. A man in a black suit called Nicholas Arkinson. Internal Affairs's Wilhelm Trosk sat to his left, Imperial Treasury's John Adam Marshall sat to his right. Arascus liked to centralize everything bar the economy. Those three ran a tight ship and they had purposefully been chosen due to their petty differences. Arkinson preferred heavy investment, Marshall liked as little as possible, Trosk was the sort to be chosen by Malam to be an SIS commissar. They got along insofar as they were Imperial.

"It does." Marshall admitted.

"Is there anything else it can be used on?" Iliyal asked.

"Rancais has a whole list of petty requests as always."

"Have you got the most notable ones?" Marshall pulled out a single sheet of paper that was more white space than words.

Stolen novel; please report.

"These are the ones that seem most promising. Personally, I advise for the nuclear investment." And this was were Iliyal leaned back and waved his hand for the ministers to discuss their positions. The money had been assigned already, it had to be spent at this point.

"I propose against it." Trosk said immediately. "Rancais already has six under construction, seventeen active and that number will double once the repairs after the Anarchian insurrection will be finished. We're going to give them too much power." General Menith, one of the elves Iliyal had personally trained up and who had been appointed as the head of the War cabinet smiled at the joke. Trosk must have caught it. "Literally and figuratively. It would be better to set Doschia or Rilia up as a competitor." An SIS man through and through, Malam would have been ecstatic if she got her nails on one who as naturally sharp as him.

Arkinson shook his head. "Northern Rilia already has six and the south is an earthquake zone. Doschia is the choice."

"We run the risk of making Doschia self-sufficient." Trosk said. "They already have the manufacturing."

"Lubska then." Arkinson suggested and the room fell silent. Olonia's Land of Gods Project had already given Divine Affairs a headache. That was the solution though. Iliyal saw it. The Land of Gods was a cultural milestone but economically, Lubska was still behind. They would need their own power anyway.

"Lubska it is." Iliyal said. "Build them close to the western border though. Nothing in the eastern half."

"It shall be done."

That had barely scratched the surface. They went back to the discussion regarding ERA's investment into Rancais. Into reconstruction of Ordeaux. Into the Allian-Rancais undersea tunnel being dug. That one was a good project, it would host a train and it would join the powergrids as well. Then back to the Bureau of Sciences and their report on IBSA. The launch of the new Korona model had been successful, although all it had done was carry a set of satellites into the sky. The next step would be humans. Reusable engines were also being tested, although that ran into Menith's domain as well.

"In regards to that, I would like to propose cooperation between our department of Rocketry and IBSA." He said and Iliyal smiled. That was the sort of suggestion he liked and he liked it even more as Menith explained. "We are testing targeted rockets in the islands north of Allia. There has been breakthroughs recently, Camford physicists have gotten self-regulating flight down to some extent."

It peaked Iliyal's curiosity. "What's the status on them."

"The hundred-mile barrier has been breached." Menith said rather proudly. "It is reproducible to within two miles of accuracy depending on whether although we use pre-programmed co-ordinates. IBSA could benefit from that." Glaiei nodded enthusiastically to that. "And in return, if they can make rockets land on a pad." Menith trailed off for a moment. "Well, what is the margin of error on that? To within a dozen metres if that?"

Perfect. "Authorization granted." Iliyal declared. "IBSA and the Bureau of Rocketry are to share information." Both Menith and Glaiei raised their drinks to that as they shared a look. "What of their cargo?"

"It depends on the fuel within the missile. The Comet Rocket has cargo for about fifty kilo of explosives but we're working on the guidance systems. Scaling them up will not be difficult." Iliyal remembered back in the Great War when they were still dealing with trebuchets that threw rocks. How far had things come. These people did not even realise what sort of advances they were making in real time.

Iliyal nodded as he brought up the same thing he checked on each time. "What of the O-Bombs?" Olephia-Bombs, named after the Goddess of Uncreation. Menith shook his head. Explosives that could split the atom.

"We're waiting on a breakthrough. They request more resources but I have denied them." Menith said. "But I've pulled six Clerics from Epan hospitals to deal with the radiation sickness they're exhibiting. They have reported a casualty. Six to operate in three pairs of three in case one pair gets knocked down." Iliyal nodded along.

"Very well. Are Second Expedition Logistics stable?"

"As stable as they can be." Menith said. "The checkpoints are slowing us down. SIS is making a mess of it." All faces turned to Internal Affairs and the man raised his hands.

"I have tried to corral them already." Trosk said. "But they listen to Goddess Malam and no one else."

Iliyal took a deep breath as the eyes landed on him. To say he did not like dealing with Malam was an understatement but God Arascus had bestowed this task upon him. "I will deal with Malam."

Trosk nodded. "Thank you. She is at Norn." At Norn scolding the Epan Divines with Helenna for their Norn declaration. They had all been getting thoughts too high and mighty for their own good.

"No meeting tomorrow then." The Goddess of Hatred would drop the call as she had several times before. It was time for a face-to-face review with her. Terrible it would be. He knew exactly what sort of comments she would make. It had been one thing when he was managing the Cult of Arascus in secret and all decisions ended up at his desk. That method, he had learned from Arascus himself. But now that it was no longer a secret organisation, now that Arascus had returned, now that it was Empire with an Emperor, things were different. This was Arascus' project and he run a tight ship. Whereas Iliyal technically had the authority to make every decision required in the Empire when he possessed the God's seal, the third word was the most important in that statement: Technically.

No changes would be made, operations would run as they ran unless a problem came about. Iliyal took a deep breath as he waited for the ministers inside to settle down and bring out their papers. And besides, Iliyal had been trained in war. War he did. Settling art investments or IBSA operations or micromanaging various Divines was a job he could do but not one he enjoyed. "Anything else gentlemen?"

Glaiei spoke up once again. "There is actually and it has to be discussed." Everyone turned their heads to the Minister of Science save for Trosk.

"Is it the Sassara question?" He asked.

"It is." Glaiei said. "Over the past two weeks, we've seen increasing tectonic activity from the crack in the continent." Iliyal listened intently. "The Rilians keep track of them, they had two theories. Either the continent was settling." Glaiei's tone said it was not going to be that. "But the fact of the matter is that the activity is intensifying."

"Is there a risk of further shifting?" Iliyal said. "Continental-wise?" He was ready to mobilize all Arcadia to safeguard Southern Epa. The UNN would need to be warned too to pull their men. So would Northern Arika.

Glaiei shook his head. "We don't know. The current theory is that the crust was breached and we'll see a volcano chain rise out of the Sassara. That's just the theory. We need boots on the ground. Men need to be sent to know what is happening."

"There is an issue." Trosk said. "You're not going to get planes in there."

"Excuse me?" Glaiei said.

"We've already re-routed civilian airlines around the Sassara." Menith nodded and interrupted.

"Military routes too. Shipments into the Ashlands are harder now."

"Mmh." Trosk affirmed. "It's a no-fly zone. You're going to have to put boots on the ground and organise an…" The man trailed off for a moment. "Well, apologies for the word but an expedition." Menith smiled at the joke. The Second Expedition into the underground may have been a nightmare down below but up here, supplying it was migraine inducing.

"Are you certain?" Iliyal asked. These men always liked to jump to the most extreme scenarios. "No helicopters even?"

Trosk and Menith both nodded. The human saw the elf and gave way. "We've tried to fly routes but central Sassara is a no-fly zone. Engine blades are torn apart by the ash."

Iliyal took a deep breath. "Very well, Science and Internal Affairs will be charge, the Military will support and-" The door slamming open stopped Iliyal's instructions. One of his assistants was standing there. A local Rancais man named Mikard who was just tasked with communication and nothing else. Every head turned to the fellow in his black uniform.

"Sir." Mikard said. Iliyal let the man explain himself. Pre-emptive scolding could either humiliate the elven general or Iliyal himself. No reason to even go down that route. "There's a phone call for you on the internal line." He held out the phone in his hand.

Iliyal looked over the room as he saw the various ministers and bureaucrats all shift. He could not take it. Not in front of these men. Arascus would not do the same either. "You understand what is happening here General." Iliyal said slowly. Maybe it was his mistake, this elf had been trained in war and war alone. Of course he would not know civilian procedure. "Hold it for me."

"I know Sir." Mikard said apologetically. "But it comes from a man who claims to hold the Seal of Goddess Fer."

That was all the confirmation Iliyal needed.

Seal of Fer.

Meeting paused.

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