Preview of the current reworked Chapter 1

Finally here's a preview of Thera Victoria!'s reworked prologue. Tell me what you guys think so far?

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League of Nations of Thera Conference Hall,

Island of Malta, Thera

"Minister General Truman of England, are these reports to be believed?"

Standing before the Conference Hall podium, surrounded by elected representatives of each member state of the League of Nations was a woman with fiery red hair, wearing a British Khaki coloured officer’s uniform. She turned to the minister who questioned her sources, cleared her throat and spoke;

"Yes, Minister Lang of Prussia, they are. Our benefactors from Toonworld confirmed that there is in fact a breach in the fabric of reality from this world in question, along with an operational cell of the New World Order.” 

She paused as she pointed to a screen behind her. The Hall’s lights dimmed as a projector revealed several photographs of black suit agents inside an unknown facility with markings of One eye within a globe. They appeared to be within a supply depot judging from the amount of wooden crates with those markings. Another slide from the projector revealed a hanger with rows of Airships with a different insignia but followed the one-eyed motif. Another slide showed the same agents in a skirmish with soldiers bearing the one-eyed symbols. The last image caused a few murmurs among the hall, some even yelled in outrage.

“As our benefactors mentioned, normally they wouldn't get us involved were it not for the traitors present,” the Minister General added.

“Well what are we waiting for?” a minister from one of the seats labelled France spoke out, “We have clear evidence of their presence in this new world, why aren’t we sending more troops to hunt these traitors?”

A minister from the Empire of Ming spoke out, “Minister Bardin of France, need we remind you that our Volunteers are stretched thin as they are, defending our Extra-Terrestrial and Dimensional holdings, protectorates and allies? And if you hope to spare some of our respective national reserves to this conflict, do we need to remind you that none of us can afford to do so in case of another Xeno incursion? Any of our member nations could be left vulnerable to another raid and would be left devastated before any substantial defence could be done!”

“Hear, Hear!”

“Be that as it may, we cannot ignore these traitors to thrive in other worlds,” one of the ministers of the Kingdom of Kongo addressed, “Each world they bring to their sphere of influence increases their strength and numbers, enough to be able to return and finish what they started; the conquest of Thera.”

“Minister Rusesabagina of Kongo has a point,” an Austro-Hungarian minister stood up as she lit a cigar, “Although, while we cannot afford to ignore these traitors to fester and thrive, Minister Wu of Ming also has a point; we are overextended as it is. Recruitment of Volunteers from our allies, our protectorates, otherworlders and our own ranks have been slow as of late, mostly due to the nature of our current threats within our own galaxy.” She stopped to breathe in a drag from her cigar and continued, “That being said, looking back at these reports of this new world, the planet is inhabited by various sapient races. Perhaps, they could offer the solution to our predicament?”

The hall erupted with murmurs.

“Order! Order!” the adjudicator called for silence, “Minister Kern of Austria-Hungary, care to elaborate?”

“I believe Minister General Truman can elaborate my point better, your honour,” the Austrian minister took another drag from her cigar and looked to the aforementioned Minister General, gesturing the floor to her.

“As Minister Kern is implying, I propose that we establish contact with the locals to supplement our forces in ridding the Traitors from their world.”

The room was now abuzz with every representative talking over each other. Most held private discussions while others called out questions to the floor:

"What sort of species inhabits this world?” 

“How large are their civilizations?"

“Are there resources we could use?”

“What are their systems of Government?”

“How advanced are their technological developments?"

Minister General Truman held out her hand to call for silence before she continued, "From what Lord Toolonie tells us, it is inhabited by intelligent and civilised Equines that mostly resemble several of our animals as well as mythological creatures such as Dragons, Griffins and what have you.”

She paused to let the unusual nature of the world settle in. "Their forms of governments are Monarchical Empires at best and Nomadic Tribes at worst. Only one of them is the world's leading superpower and their nation is on par with ours in terms of society and culture but technology wise, we overshadow them by at least a hundred years."

"What if they are Hostile?” 

“Can they pose a threat?”

“How cooperative can they be?”

“Can they be trusted?"

"The better question would be, can they trust you?"

The Hall suddenly turned silent as the new voice revealed a man of average height, wearing a plain crimson red shirt, brown trousers, a beige Fedora, a pair of sunglasses and a confident smirk that somehow screamed, “What’s up?”

"Lord Toolonie,” the Minister General cleared her throat as she regained composure from the surprise, “I apologise, I wasn't told you would be joining our Conference."

"Oh it's alright Riza,” he tipped his hat in greeting as he replied, “If anything, I’m sorry for coming in on short notice. I just had to give one more piece of advice before you make any hasty decisions for the matter at hand. And please, call me Joe. We're good friends after all!"

"(Ahem) Very well Joe, what was it you wanted to share?"

"Gladly,” he gave a courteous nod before addressing the Hall, “These Equestrians (I’m just going to call them that) are actually far from hostile. If anything, one can say they are probably the friendliest folks you'll ever encounter."

"Please tell me they aren't like the Xeno-loving Kaldivians!” a minister from Russia groaned, “Those Fox-heads already tied an eighth within this room to political marriages!"

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that,” Joe waved a hand in dismissal, “Interspecies relationships are not as common as it is in here. The best description I would use for them is Xeno-tolerant so long as they are familiar with you. They are suspicious of outsiders to a degree of paranoia due to the abundance of bizarre wildlife and repeated attempts of conquests of would-be Tyrants. All you need to do is earn their trust, be in their good graces, and they will go the extra mile to provide their cooperation. Trust me, compared to all your Xeno allies in this galaxy (other than the Kaldivians) you will not find a more trustworthy ally."

More murmurs followed, processing Joe’s information.

"Yes, very good. Thank you for your insight Administrator Jonathan Toolonie."

"It is my pleasure, Minister General Riza Truman. Although, it's not the first time we've had this conversation," he muttered that last part under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing! Ta ta!" and with a snap from his fingers he vanishes from sight.

"(Ahem) A vote is called; each nation representative calls out "agree" or "disagree" to the decision to send a division of Volunteers to World Equis two!" Minister General Riza Truman announced to the ministers of each member nation of the League. Each nation’s representatives stood up as they declared their votes.

"The Allied Kingdoms of Britain agrees!"

"The French Empire agrees!"

"The Prussian Confederation agrees!"

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire agrees!"

"The Swedish Empire agrees!"

"The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth agrees!"

"The Spanish Empire agrees!"

"The Kingdom of Portugal agrees!"

"The Byzantine Empire agrees!"

"The Holy Vatican states agree!"

"The Russian Empire agrees!"

"The Ethiopian-Arabian Empire agrees!"

"The Kingdom of Kongo agrees!"

"The Mali Empire agrees!"

"The Iroquois-Cherokee Confederate states agree!"

"The Empire of Ming agrees!"

"The Nihon Empire agrees!"

The Minister General gave a knowing nod, acknowledging the decision, "All votes are unanimous. The Volunteers will be sent."