Ever since his defeat in the naval battle against the judean destroyers, Admiral Kirk stayed home together with his loved ones, especially his wife and sons. In more than 50 years of fighting in the sea, this was the time he got the closest to dying.
That was, of course, until 30 minutes ago, when a transport helicopter landed on his villa's garden and called him for an encounter with his Majesty, Isaac I.
As of now, Kirk was in a drawing room somewhere. During his flight, he realized that they went somewhere near the sea, and it seemed to be encircled with a forest. He was, of course, nervous. Why was he called?
Soon enough, the door opened, and a man in an black business suit entered. It was Josiah.
"Admiral, His Majesty is waiting at the port. Please." He gestured for Kirk to follow him.
After following Josiah out of the room, they passed through a few hallways and got out of the structure. It was the 1st Manufacturing Bunker, built during the first days after Isaac was transported to this world. After the conquest of both Ker and Swor, the bunker was expanded by a large margin, at least doubling in size. It now had full self-sufficient farms, and was able to manufacture almost everything needed for the military capabilities of Judea. It even had missile-manufacturing capabilities.
After getting out of the bunker, the duo went to a large pier made out of steel. It was a rather abnormal pier. Because of the shallow waters in the region, the pier needed to be extremely long, so that waters with deep enough could be reached.
The duo started approaching a small section of the anchorage where a man was sitting in a table. Surrounding him, an aircraft carrier and a 4 heavy cruisers were anchored.
"So, you must be Admiral Kirk Jeffer. Your reputation precedes you." Isaac said, with a satisfied smile on his face.
"And you must be his Majesty, Isaac the First." He said, expressionless, while sitting. After the Admiral sat down, Josiah served two chalices of wine.
After downing the scarlet red contents of the chalices, Isaac asked "Do you know why I asked to meet you today?"
Kirk started to stare at the eyes of Isaac, and didn't answer."Well" Isaac continued " I will be direct. I want you to be the staff commander of my Navy. You will be able to command all the Navy, and only I will have a higher standing. You will receive the technical knowledge an will be able to command the strongest Naval force this world has ever seen. These ships" he gestured to the cruisers and the carrier " will form the first fleet. It will work directly under your orders." Of course, the cruisers and the aircraft carrier were older models, not even close to the ones employed by the America Military Group, but much better than the wooden ships in this world.
"So, do you accept my offer?" Isaac said, with his hand extended, ready for a handshake. "HAHAHAHAHAAH…" Kirk Started laughing. "I guess you really are a direct man." Kirk answered. "No, I refuse your offer. I would never join forces with the man that humiliated my nation. You were the monster that destroyed my armada, and killed the armada's men, MY MEN! DO YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD JUST FORGET THAT?"
Isaac now had a really happy smile. " Why are you smiling?"
"I never thought you would accept my offer. I just wanted to know how much of threat you were. Yes, you are the best naval commander I could get, but I already started working with my plan C. It will need to do for now. As of you, go back home. I don't want your services. Nor do I need them." Isaac said with a dark smile.
After Kirk was escorted back to the helicopter, Isaac's smile broke.
"Josiah, I want an sniper prepared to kill him in a moment's notice. If he ever does something suspicious, pull the trigger."
"Yes, sir." After answering, Josiah left Isaac alone.
"I really wish that he would work under me." Isaac said, while drinking the last remnants of his wine.
——
The Holy Nation of Varla was an enormous country. Located at the northern tip of the continent, it covered about a fifth of the region. Although, technically, it was a theocratic state, most of its administrative positions were composed of non-affiliated individuals, thanks to the government being smart enough to value talent more than religious affiliation. The Church of the Beginning was the official religion of the country, however, priests and other members of the church represented less than 1% of the population of the country. The Church was ranked as follows: Patriarch, Cardinals, Archbishops, high bishops, bishops, abbots, priests, deacons, and trainees.
it was the country with the biggest number of women in the work market, and the biggest in number of women in governmental positions, ranging through all types of positions, from clerks to governors. This was the result of a religious dogma that stated that men and women were equal before God, and this single piece of religion allowed to the rise of women in all sectors, ranging from religion, with even some patriarchs being women, to government and the private sector.
it didn't had any noble families, and it was a good country to live in: crime was relatively low, the soil was fertile, there weren't many travel restrictions, and jobs were abundant. Although it once had an inquisitorial branch, it was extinguished after some public outcry, from both inside and outside of the church. It was a very stable country.
Of course, that stability was also a curse. They had amassed an enormous amount of wealth, so much os that almost all countries on the continent, if possible, would try to conquer at least a tiny bit of it. Because of that, the holy Nation was almost always completely isolated. The only thing they had some influence on was the Church, that had grown too strong before the formation and enrichment of the holy nation to be expunged of after.
Patriarch Obadiah III was a man in his 90s born in a family of clerks. Thanks to that, he learned how to write and read. He was a very practical man, someone that wouldn't care for religion if it was being a hassle. That was the reason why he was chosen as patriarch: it wasn't a religious position as much as it was a political position.
While he was drinking a glass of water in his office, his door was suddenly blasted open, and Archbishop Hughes, a man in his late 80s and personal assistant of Obadiah, entered, with his breath short.
"Why are you like this? Someone declared war on the Nation?" Obadiah asked, in a little annoyed tone.
"I am sorry, your holiness, for interrupting. But I have received a letter that could mean a shift in our policies."