Nations in space 2.5/?
anonymous
April 18 2009, 21:28:09 UTC
There were benefits to have a brother who was the embodiment of one of the most powerful space fleets around, certainly. For one, it kept the (still) eerily grinning Ivan and his novabusters well away from them. It was also nice how Italy and he could save resources and didn’t need to build an army. Which would have been mostly for show, anyway, since no new colony could realistically have a proper space for the first hundred years. No, Gilbert was more than happy to give them a discount on a dozen starcruisers for their defences.
On the downside, the Celestial Knight was, well, Gilbert. More powerful and crazy than he had been even under Prussia’s heydays.
Gilbert had refused to die after Prussia fell, but hung around as a paler and paler spectre of living memory until Ludwig thought that his brother would go invisible before he finally died. He’d had nightmares about hearing a disembodied voice nag at him to touch Hungary’s boobies now that his poor brother was decorporated.
And then, whoops, someone discovered FTL-travel through wormholes and the world was in an upheaval. Hong-Kong up and left, Sealand was quick to follow (with all of Arthur’s blessings and many tearful farewells from the Scandinavians) and then America, Russia, China and India were all racing to send off as many kids as possible into space with as big guns as they could build. That had been a very nervous century, even worse than the Cold War.
And Gilbert? He had invited Roderich and Elisaveta over to Ludwig without even telling him, damn the man. Ludwig had opened in only his underwear since he thought it was Italy and they tended to lose their clothes rather quickly those days...
Once Ludwig was properly humiliated and Hungary had taken a dozen pictures, a slightly drunk Gilbert had turned up, red eyes suddenly full of life again.
While handing out some truly foul rotgut, Gilbert told them that this was his going-off celebration because America was giving him a fleet of his own - imagine, a whole fleet! And he even got to keep it! - if he promised to train the little ones and slow down the other super-powers to the best of his ability.
He told Germany to take care of himself, pinched a surprised Hungary’s butt and kissed an even more surprised Austria goodbye, and was off for the stars, just like that. Though sporting some fresh frying-pan shaped bruises...
The years passed and what with environmental disasters and international tensions, Germany hadn’t really had time to do more than occasionally hope that his brother had made a new life for himself out there somewhere.
When Ludwig and Feliciano were on the move towards their new home, Gilbert had popped up after a few worm-hole jumps and scared the shit out of everyone with his giant flagship (named, for some unfathomable reason, The Amazing Five Meters) and a fleet of ten million ships.
Since several hundreds of years had passed since they’d last seen each other, it took Germany a while to recognize his brother, though he blamed this mostly on the many “interesting” cyber-implants Gilbert had acquired. Gilbert blamed it on his brother being a forgetful sissy.
Turned out, Gilbert had happily followed America’s orders and then, once the four Earth powers began to make peace and their fleets started to settle and become independent, he declared war on his own. Against everyone.
Cue the first proper intergalactic war.
“Didn’t your boss protest that?” Italy had asked with wide eyes from his position behind Germany’s back. His beloved’s big brother had grown really scary out in space!
“Nah,” Gilbert said and grinned, showing off his razor-sharp titanium teeth, “my last human boss wanted to ditch America and go live on some boring little colony way before that!”
“Your... last...” Italy just gaped.
“Yeah, real stick in the mud. So I spaced him,” Gilbert said with a shrug.
“You don’t have a boss!?” Germany yelped.
“Sure I do,” Gilbert had said, and patted his computer. “Old Fritz, meet my brother.”
“Gott mit dir, Kind,” an artificial voice said regally. “I am the governing AI of the Fleet of the Celestial Knight. Most know me as Friedrich der Große, but since you are my nation’s younger brother, you may also call me Fritz.”
For one, it kept the (still) eerily grinning Ivan and his novabusters well away from them. It was also nice how Italy and he could save resources and didn’t need to build an army. Which would have been mostly for show, anyway, since no new colony could realistically have a proper space for the first hundred years. No, Gilbert was more than happy to give them a discount on a dozen starcruisers for their defences.
On the downside, the Celestial Knight was, well, Gilbert. More powerful and crazy than he had been even under Prussia’s heydays.
Gilbert had refused to die after Prussia fell, but hung around as a paler and paler spectre of living memory until Ludwig thought that his brother would go invisible before he finally died. He’d had nightmares about hearing a disembodied voice nag at him to touch Hungary’s boobies now that his poor brother was decorporated.
And then, whoops, someone discovered FTL-travel through wormholes and the world was in an upheaval. Hong-Kong up and left, Sealand was quick to follow (with all of Arthur’s blessings and many tearful farewells from the Scandinavians) and then America, Russia, China and India were all racing to send off as many kids as possible into space with as big guns as they could build. That had been a very nervous century, even worse than the Cold War.
And Gilbert? He had invited Roderich and Elisaveta over to Ludwig without even telling him, damn the man. Ludwig had opened in only his underwear since he thought it was Italy and they tended to lose their clothes rather quickly those days...
Once Ludwig was properly humiliated and Hungary had taken a dozen pictures, a slightly drunk Gilbert had turned up, red eyes suddenly full of life again.
While handing out some truly foul rotgut, Gilbert told them that this was his going-off celebration because America was giving him a fleet of his own - imagine, a whole fleet! And he even got to keep it! - if he promised to train the little ones and slow down the other super-powers to the best of his ability.
He told Germany to take care of himself, pinched a surprised Hungary’s butt and kissed an even more surprised Austria goodbye, and was off for the stars, just like that. Though sporting some fresh frying-pan shaped bruises...
The years passed and what with environmental disasters and international tensions, Germany hadn’t really had time to do more than occasionally hope that his brother had made a new life for himself out there somewhere.
When Ludwig and Feliciano were on the move towards their new home, Gilbert had popped up after a few worm-hole jumps and scared the shit out of everyone with his giant flagship (named, for some unfathomable reason, The Amazing Five Meters) and a fleet of ten million ships.
Since several hundreds of years had passed since they’d last seen each other, it took Germany a while to recognize his brother, though he blamed this mostly on the many “interesting” cyber-implants Gilbert had acquired. Gilbert blamed it on his brother being a forgetful sissy.
Turned out, Gilbert had happily followed America’s orders and then, once the four Earth powers began to make peace and their fleets started to settle and become independent, he declared war on his own. Against everyone.
Cue the first proper intergalactic war.
“Didn’t your boss protest that?” Italy had asked with wide eyes from his position behind Germany’s back. His beloved’s big brother had grown really scary out in space!
“Nah,” Gilbert said and grinned, showing off his razor-sharp titanium teeth, “my last human boss wanted to ditch America and go live on some boring little colony way before that!”
“Your... last...” Italy just gaped.
“Yeah, real stick in the mud. So I spaced him,” Gilbert said with a shrug.
“You don’t have a boss!?” Germany yelped.
“Sure I do,” Gilbert had said, and patted his computer. “Old Fritz, meet my brother.”
“Gott mit dir, Kind,” an artificial voice said regally. “I am the governing AI of the Fleet of the Celestial Knight. Most know me as Friedrich der Große, but since you are my nation’s younger brother, you may also call me Fritz.”
“...ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR BLOODY MIND, BROTHER?”
“Hm?”
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