Tales of the Aztec Sultanate

[TacCovert4]

May 21st, 1920

While the reception had gone on quite late in the evening, the trains had been loaded, and one by one the royal parties and dignitaries, in reverse order of importance, had arrived at the station and boarded the series of trains en route to Veracruz.  The lower nobility and merchant classes and officers that wished to attend in Veracruz had taken special early express trains, leaving well before dawn, while the notables and their parties were able to have a light breakfast at the palace before their own imminent departures.  In the last car of the last train, Ali and Shirin had been in the place of honor for boarding, and the royal coach normally reserved for the Sultan or Queen was theirs and theirs alone for this journey, the Sultan and Queen happily confining themselves to the other portions of their segment of this train.  Queen Fatima in particular had tut-tutted anyone attempting to bother the newlyweds, implying that they were personally insulting her desire for a grandchild before her dotage if anyone attempted to enter that car unbidden, though at that moment the newlyweds were quite happily reclining on the open rear deck, watching the countryside pass.

However, this lack of attention directed at Ali and Shirin meant that Prince Piotr found himself quite the center of attention.  Sultan Ali kept to a book, though he did tell a sea story or two about his time as XO aboard HMS Tenochtitlan before he ascended to the throne.  Queen Fatima, on the other hand, was far more interested in the young man. 

"I hear that you are interested in the Navy?  Anacaona loves the sea as well, she is always asking her father to let her sail out on training cruises, though of course I always worry that he is going to acquiesce to her demands."  she says.  "Though she will be going to the naval academy, so I guess I am to have two of my children forever at sea.  What do you want to do in your navy, Piotr?"

[The Rock Doctor]

May 21st, 1920

However, this lack of attention directed at Ali and Shirin meant that Prince Piotr found himself quite the center of attention.  Sultan Ali kept to a book, though he did tell a sea story or two about his time as XO aboard HMS Tenochtitlan before he ascended to the throne.  Queen Fatima, on the other hand, was far more interested in the young man. 

"I hear that you are interested in the Navy?  Anacaona loves the sea as well, she is always asking her father to let her sail out on training cruises, though of course I always worry that he is going to acquiesce to her demands."  she says.  "Though she will be going to the naval academy, so I guess I am to have two of my children forever at sea.  What do you want to do in your navy, Piotr?"

It was obvious...in retrospect, given the grilling his own family had subjected Anacaona to...that this sort of conversation was going to happen.  Fortunately for himself, Piotr was not unprepared.  "Yes, Your Highness, that is correct.  I'm aware that my parents have...discussed...the matter on a few occasions because tradition has been that the men of my family serve in the army.  The navy has, until recently, been considered a junior service unsuited for potential heirs.  In high society, that is still generally the case."

He shrugged.  "Assuming they decide in my favor, I would be enrolled in the Royal Naval Academy at Klaipeda in the fall of next year and work towards becoming a podchorazy...a student officer.  There would be onshore training, coastal waters training, and one or more cruises before I graduate and am promoted to podporucznik marynarki...er, ensign.  My career goal is to command a battleship, which will take a fair bit of time to accomplish."

[TacCovert4]

"Ahh, wonderful, you share such a common interest.  I find battleships fascinating, I sailed to Rome on one for their Empress's Coronation, it was surprisingly cramped and busy despite its size." Queen Fatima says.  "Ali tells me that Anacaona is going to take you to tour the drydock they're beginning construction of, what was the name of that one dear..."

she trails off, the Sultan looking up from his journal, a collection of treatises by various diplomats... "Royal Sovereign dearest, the first of its kind in the western hemisphere, thirty knots and with four hundred fifty millimeter guns" he injects before going back to his book. 

"And I'm going to command one of them one day" Anacaona adds, to a look of chagrin on the Queen's face.

"Commanding a battleship, Prince Piotr, I'm sure will take some time.  How does your family consider that will co-exist alongside your other duties, such as state functions, royal duties, getting married?"  The queen casually mentions.

"Actually mother, how to balance those things is something we talked about last night.  Of course Piotr has his own choices to make, but one option was discussed." Anacaona interrupts, trying to take things off of track and mollify her mother at the same time.

[The Rock Doctor]

"Ahh, wonderful, you share such a common interest.  I find battleships fascinating, I sailed to Rome on one for their Empress's Coronation, it was surprisingly cramped and busy despite its size." Queen Fatima says.  "Ali tells me that Anacaona is going to take you to tour the drydock they're beginning construction of, what was the name of that one dear..."

she trails off, the Sultan looking up from his journal, a collection of treatises by various diplomats... "Royal Sovereign dearest, the first of its kind in the western hemisphere, thirty knots and with four hundred fifty millimeter guns" he injects before going back to his book. 

"And I'm going to command one of them one day" Anacaona adds, to a look of chagrin on the Queen's face.

"Commanding a battleship, Prince Piotr, I'm sure will take some time.  How does your family consider that will co-exist alongside your other duties, such as state functions, royal duties, getting married?"  The queen casually mentions.

"Actually mother, how to balance those things is something we talked about last night.  Of course Piotr has his own choices to make, but one option was discussed." Anacaona interrupts, trying to take things off of track and mollify her mother at the same time.

Piotr was of course intrigued at the layout of the battleship, but figured both that he'd find out soon enough and that it wasn't proper to quiz a sultan about such things.  "Your Majesty, that's still unclear.  My father served until my grandfather's accident, and my uncle Wiktor still serves...although he's been based at army headquarters since his injury.  So I could be in the navy for a long time.  Even the quarter century or so it would take to achieve a command such as I desire. 

"Whether my father lives that long is impossible to say," he added after a moment.  "And what it means for duties or marriage, I don't know.  I've not considered it very much, although the princess is correct that we did discuss an option.  I suspect it will be something to contemplate on the voyage home." 

[TacCovert4]

"Oh?" Queen Fatima says, eyebrow raised as she turned on her daughter.  "And what might that option be?"

Princess Anacaona looks back at her mother, with a look that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth "I told him that if he wanted my hand, he had to hit a target at thirty kilometers".  The look on the Queen's face was one of shock, mixed with not a little outrage, but before she could turn on her daughter, Sultan Ali guffawed and set down his journal.  "Thirty Kilometers is no mean feat, even the best optics on the best day today would struggle to get close at anything approaching that range.  When I was a young officer getting my own gunnery certification, some of our ships would struggle much beyond three kilometers." 

He turns towards his daughter and Piotr "Indeed, it sounds like a worthy quest, for a worthy prize.  Of course it also just happens to give the both of you what you want, which is a chance to explore your careers without incessant attempts to arrange meetings with potential suitors or wives.  The two of you will go far in royal politics with nimble minds like that".  With that, the Queen merely harumphed and found her own book to read, leaving the two 'conspirators' in peace as the countryside ticked steadily by.

[The Rock Doctor]

Finally, apparently free of awkward conversation inflicted by heads of states, Piotr dug through his travel bag and produced a boxed game set of Copenhagen.  "One side plays the Union forces staging the landings at Copenhagen, and the other side is obviously the Danes," he explained to Anacaona.  "Traditionally the players play twice, and see who does better at both sides of the campaign.  Interested?" 

[TacCovert4]

"Oh wonderful!" she says, directing a servant to clear a table to play.  Sultan Ali chuckles to himself and goes back to reading, and Queen Fatima finds a book for herself as well. 

The train winds its way to Veracruz, Ali and Shirin enjoying the respite as they sit on the back deck of their car, sipping tea as the kilometers quietly rattle by until they arrive at the Port City.  "Shall we dearest?" Ali says, and the two go inside and change for yet another royal entrance on the way to the viewing platform for the fleet review. 

Meanwhile, Anacaona, Piotr, and their chaperone make a quiet exit from the other side of the train, headed to a waiting car.  "I do hope they have the guns there already, well, the barrels at least, I got to see them forging the blanks for them" she says as they get into the car en route to Drydock Number One.

[The Rock Doctor]

"Oh wonderful!" she says, directing a servant to clear a table to play.  Sultan Ali chuckles to himself and goes back to reading, and Queen Fatima finds a book for herself as well. 

The train winds its way to Veracruz, Ali and Shirin enjoying the respite as they sit on the back deck of their car, sipping tea as the kilometers quietly rattle by until they arrive at the Port City.  "Shall we dearest?" Ali says, and the two go inside and change for yet another royal entrance on the way to the viewing platform for the fleet review. 

Meanwhile, Anacaona, Piotr, and their chaperone make a quiet exit from the other side of the train, headed to a waiting car.  "I do hope they have the guns there already, well, the barrels at least, I got to see them forging the blanks for them" she says as they get into the car en route to Drydock Number One.

"You have a lot more access to these matters than I do," Piotr remarked.  "I get to go to some of the keel-laying events and launches and commissionings...and the reviews and occasionally a target shoot...but I don't get to just take a car and go visit whenever I want."

"It's not whenever I want.  I do have to give advanced notice so arrangements can be made," Anacaona replied.

The car collected a solitary escort on its way out of the station, another sedan with four not-exactly-nondescript men  inside.  The security vehicle led the way through the city, garnering little attention from pedestrians and other drivers beyond recognition that there was a convoy of some sort and one of the passengers was a foreign boy. "Do you have problems with the press here?" Piotr inquired.  "They can be very intrusive back home.  There are times I feel like we're just a source of entertainment for people."

"Not really, but my family has more power than yours, so..." Anacaona started, then paused.  "I don't mean that in an offensive way."

"That's fine, you're right," Piotr shrugged.

They were admitted to the shipyard with little fuss, the sentry saluting Anacaona out of recognition and Piotr as a sensible precaution.  They continued along until they reached a larger drydock than Piotr had seen at home and disembarked.

The foreman greeted them enthusiastically...in Aztec...and Anacaona translated.  "He's happy to see me again and welcomes you and we're welcome to follow him over there."

"Please express my appreciation for his time," Piotr nodded.

The princess did so, and the foreman led the two teens and their chaperone to an office at the edge of the dock, where they were issued hard hats and steel-toed boots.  "They're a bit loose," Piotr noted of the boots.

"I had to guess your size," Anacaona said.  "Better too large than too small."

The foreman led the little party down a series of stairs that left the chaperone a little bit winded and then they were crossing the wide deck towards piles of steel and other components.  "The Royal Sovereign hasn't actually been laid down yet.  This is just marshalling of some of the long-lead time components and positioning of keel blocks and so on," Anacaona summarized.  "And the guns are here!"

"Nice!" Piotr grinned.

"They'll be the biggest, most powerful guns afloat when the ship is completed," Anacaona said.  "Although I understand you have one on a monitor?"

"Yes.  I'm not sure if that counts," said Piotr, who had not been briefed on his navy's ongoing 500mm/45 project.

"I'm not sure either.  We'll have more of them, though."

"That's true.  I think we're sticking to 400mm for the time being..."

[TacCovert4]

"Nothing wrong with 400mm.  We only have three ships with those" she says, pointing towards a more distant drydock where HMS Conqueror is getting a number of finishing touches. "Counting Conqueror.  Most of our fleet is either the 360mm or the 280mm.  And I don't think the Implacables are going to be scrapped anytime soon, we lost too much of our fleet at Ironclad Bay to scrap any capital ships for a while yet"

The two of them, with their chaperones at a respectful distance, walk the floor of the drydock, the massive gates closed for now, keeping the waters of the bay out.  Piotr whistles as he notes the scale of the keel from where the keel blocks are being arrayed.  "She will be massive" he says as they walk from the bow block to the stern block.  "Very" Anacaona replies.  "Larger than anything in active service, and her advertised light displacement will out mass the Roman Empress Amelias by the weight of a cruiser."

The two of them enjoy their reverie away from the bustle of all of the repeat introductions and crowds and officialdom before heading back for the fleet review itself.

[TacCovert4]

(To finish up the wedding storyline)

May 22nd, 1930, Veracruz

The assembled royal families tour and review the assembled fleets, commenting about the newest ships, the efforts to modernize and preserve the oldest ships, and how rapidly technology has changed over the past couple of decades.  For instance the idea that an aircraft carrier the size of a somewhat large cruiser could be considered in some circles to be the deadliest capital ship afloat, given the right circumstances, would have been ridiculous even a decade ago.  And ships like the Implacables, which were the height of Aztec technology fourteen years ago, were now downright diminuitive when compared to even their own companions, much less some of the Parthian monsters.  And even with the massive modernization program planned for them, only barely outside of completely obsolete.  This contrasted with the turn of the century, where ships could be almost state of the art for twenty years with only basic refitting of a few surface mounted systems and the occasional relined guns.

The culmination of the day was that evening, where after a final reception meal, Ali and Shirin boarded HMS Sol to much fanfare, her diesels quietly purring as she slipped out of harbor, en route for the island of Dominica on the first stop of the Royal Couple's honeymoon turned world tour.

[TacCovert4]

July 1st, 1930

Ali took his wife's hand and helped her to the gangplank from the motor launch onto HMS Sol.  A month in seclusion in sunny Dominica was something straight from Allah, a month in which aside from a handful of servants from the ship, no one, not even the colonial governor, had disturbed their time on the beach.

"I wish we didn't have to go" Ali said, holding Shirin.  She laughs "We're on a voyage around the world dearest, we will have plenty of time on this holiday."  "Yes", he replies, "but now we bounce from colony to colony, being invited to dinners and attending receptions".  She smiles, "I know you would rather avoid it, but this is who you are too.  But now you have me to help you through those dreadful dinners and receptions."

Ali laughs, then Shirin cuts her eyes at him.  "And in the meantime, the Princess Royal would like to invite you to a private reception in the stateroom".

The two manage to keep their expressions and gait at least mostly neutral as they disappear through the doors into the massive royal suite aboard the cruiser-sized yacht, the door shutting as Sol begins knifing through the waters, headed South towards Terra del Fuego, and the roughest part of the voyage.

[TacCovert4]

July 20th, Terra del Fuego

The last three days had been bitterly cold, the sealskin coats were a definite necessity here, as the cold winter winds and the rough southern sea had battered the shoreline.  HMS Penguin steamed out of the harbor, patrolling for stranded fishermen, and Sol was a strange sight, her finer lines out of place amongst the stout fishing vessels and merchants that plied these waters.  Even with that, the Cape colony was a valuable set of fishing ports, and a strategic position that guaranteed the two ocean mobility of the RAN, if the canal was not available. 

Even with the weather, Ali and Shirin had both enjoyed the less effete denizens of one of the Sultanate's most remote colonies.  The governor was hard-bitten and refreshingly blunt compared to most courtiers and officials, and the scions of the various fishing families were a polyglot of peoples.  Vilnius residents who never left, immigrants from the Northern Kingdom in search of fortune in new fishing grounds, and Aztec immigrants all mixing together.  In a piece of irony, one dinner guest was Comanche, now married to a Vilnius boat captain.  While Shirin had expected bitterness, the young lady seemed quite happy in her diaspora.  Maybe it was a chance to have something more than an eked out existence in the scrub plains?

Their duties to the crown completed, the newlyweds departed for the long open water stretch to Zealand.  Quietly, Sol's captain looked forward to reaching Christchurch, where a number of small maintenance items could be completed and the crew receive true shore leave at the naval base there.

[TacCovert4]

January 1st, 1932

An announcement goes out on the newswires, as well as diplomatic cables.

The Crown Prince and Princess Royal announce a royal pregnancy.  The Princess Royal is in excellent health and following her doctor's instructions, and is currently in seclusion at the Royal Villa in Arizona at her request to convalesce during her pregnancy.  Well wishers should send gifts and letters via the Palace at Tenochtitlan, and the Princess Royal will keep a limited schedule of guests at her discretion.



A letter arrives in Vilnius:

Aspas, I'm so happy.  If you would like to come see me, I'll be here in Arizona until the baby is born.  Ali is doing a sea tour for the next few months so it will be very boring here if you don't want to come. 

Shirin

[TacCovert4]

August 1st, 1932:

The Crown Prince and Princess Royal announce the birth of Ali, Tenth of his name, at the Royal Villa in Arizona.  Mother and baby are doing fine and a formal ball commemorating the occasion is expected near the end of the year. 

In other news:

With the significant urging of the Crown Prince, the Royal Aztec Naval Air Service and Royal Aztec Air Force have completed final approval of a number of new aircraft.  Chief among these procurement decisions was the decision to move away from the Biplane in favor of monoplane aircraft which tend to provide better performance at speed, though with some potential reduction in their low speed performance is noted. 

Some aircraft, such as the PBY Catalina of Consolidated Aircraft Corp, are a mere evolutionary step past a current service model, in this case the P2Y.  Others, such as the associated PB2Y, are expanded models with significantly more capabilities, including large bomb loads.   A number of light and medium bombing types are also in development, while a single fighter aircraft has been chosen for both Air Force and Naval use, that being the Hurricane type, a low wing monoplane equipped with four 12mm Machine Guns, but in some ways still an older design, with stressed fabric over tube construction.  The Crown Prince was said to have personally test-flown one, praising its relatively docile handling characteristics for its speed and capability, though he did indicate that future aircraft developments were likely to generate even higher performance aircraft.

The Blackburn Firm has pushed the Skua, which notably to our reporters has little testing and was purchased off the drawing board as it was the only aircraft to meet the monoplane and second line fighter requirements of the dive bomber program.  Vought's submission for dive bomber was instead ordered by the RAAF as a light bomber and as the new catapult floatplane scout by the RNAS, but was not picked as the carrier dive bomber. 

The multiple aviation firms involved are expected to complete preproduction development and testing within a year, with tooling and production to begin shortly after that.

Trends that have begun to assert themselves are that the RAAF has exclusively gone to the 12mm Machine Gun, citing its better effectiveness at longer ranges against bombers.  The RNAS is sticking with the 8mm MG, citing the ability to mount more guns and carry more ammunition, both of which are useful in dogfighting and extended engagements.  Multi-engine aircraft are also beginning to become common, with the production bottleneck of the 1920s that had necessitated single engine designs almost exclusively being abated by improvements in the manufacture of high performance engines.  The Coronado in flight testing has already caused the RAAF to begin planning for a heavy bomber requirement in future, as the RNAS might shortly have the first bomber capable of real infrastructure bombing of Mayan territory.

[TacCovert4]

February 1st, 1933

Princess Anacaona hugged her father, noting privately how much the Sultan had aged in her absence, his hair completely gray and thinning, lines deeper in his face, the wars and strain of his reign causing him to look older than his fifty eight years would ordinarily imply.  The sultan looked at his daughter in turn, just reaching her majority and finishing her second year of the Naval Academy, and smiled, noting her own thoughtful expression. 

"What is it my daughter?" he asks.  "It is nothing father, well, nothing of importance", she replies.  "It is important to me." 

Anacaona sighs, admitting defeat in her efforts to not bother her father with her petty troubles.  "It's Piotr.  We've both been in our academies, and across the world from one another.  So there's been little chance to communicate outside of letters."  The Sultan raises an eyebrow "And I take it you still write regularly?".  Anacaona nods "We do."  Ali nods, "And you don't want your mother to start interfering, so you came to me instead for advice." 

Anacaona smiles shyly, "Something like that.  I gave him an ultimatum when he was here for the wedding.  At the time I don't know if I meant it, or if I wanted to give us both an excuse to avoid our mothers matchmaking by putting forth a task that would take years to accomplish.  But now I'm worried that he'll find some nobleman's daughter in Wilno, or be pushed into an arrangement, and I've set him a task that means we won't even try to see if there's more than just a passing acquaintance between us."

"You like Prince Piotr?" Ali asks.  "I'm not sure" Anacaona replies honestly.  "With everyone trying to matchmake when they were here for the wedding, and all of the official events, it was difficult to spend time together.  And honestly, Piotr did not make a very good first impression, but in hindsight it may have been how much he's been groomed and pressured with his role as crown prince.  Certainly Ali had some pressures and rebelled against them heavily when he joined the air service, so that might be it, or it could be that he really is arrogant and self-important"

Sultan Ali ponders a moment.  "He did seem to be a young man under tremendous strain, and after the attempted assassination of his uncle Wiktor, I doubt he sees anything that's outside the palace unless it's on military service in a safe area.  What is it that my daughter wants to ask of me" he smiles, knowing there's a request on the back of her explanation.

"My Cadet cruise is coming up.  And I know there are ships going to make port calls in Europa.  I would like to be on one of those." she says.  The Sultan smiles knowingly "You mean one making a port call in Vilnius" he replies.  Anacaona shrugs, then her father continues "You know that I do not put my hand on the scales, even for your brother or your sisters.  So if those ships are not carrying cadets, then that is that, I won't create a special cruise.  But I can quietly ask, for you".

Anacaona hugs her father. "Thank you, thank you"