User blog comment:USS Enterprise CVN-65/The New (And Improved) Official Roleplay Room/@comment-25722005-20161013154454/@comment-25722005-20161015135709

"Yes, indeed. Lucille Asquith, second Empress of Gallia, New Belka, and East Armadia. At least, I was, before I went in this pod, seemingly without my consent." Silence.

"Why, sir? Is something wrong?" Lucille asks.

"No, no, not at all," ''Gardner says. He turns around and gives Lucille a thorough look. ''"Are you feeling cold? How do you feel?"

"Quite strange," ''Lucille replies. ''"But it could be worse, I think. And the cold, sir, I think I can handle it. It's not too much; don't worry about it."

"Good, Your Majesty."

Lucille gives Gardner a somewhat surprised look.

"'Your Majesty?' Anyway, I'm quite sure you know who's the current Gallian monarch is, don't you?"

"Oh, right," Gardner says.

"I forgot, she wasn't alive to witness the show that followed," ''thought Gardner. '''"Hmm, I do think now is a proper a time as any to tell her about the current state of the world."

''He pauses for a few seconds, unsure of how to tell in detail what happened during the last several years. He thinks for a second, while Lucille continues to stare at him, obviously waiting for a response. And despite what she said about the cold, she feels a little chilly.''

"You know, have this coat," he says, removing a coat and putting it on Lucille's back.

"Thank you. You seem to think of something. At least that's how I see it. And can we vacate of this room?"

"Ah, yes." ''Gardner replies. ''"Well, you see, Your Majesty--"

"Lucy," ''Lucille interrupts, a little vexed, though she hides it anyway. ''"Oh. Pardon me. Please continue."

"Okay, Lucy" ''Gardner corrects himself, and becomes disconcerted for half a second. ''"I'm sorry, there are just a few things that I have to tell you."

"Right. Do you have some tea?" ''Lucy asked, obviously eager for the tea part. ''"Sorry. I'm just a little excited. But what are these things? You also seem to be a little unsettled about doing this."

"Oh, it's nothing, Lucy. But, first things first," ''Gardner replies. He pulls out a pocket watch out of his coat's side pocket, and flips it open. The watch is showing multiple dials; and a small magnifying glass, focused on the seconds. He flicks a switch on the side, and the glass revolves into another dial, showing the date and, in four smaller dials, the year.''

"So it's..." ''Lucille stares at the dial showing the current year. She is a little intrigued.'' "Oh, I get it. It's several years after."

"Yes, Lucy. You know, I do have some tea upstairs. Follow me, and I'll tell you about everything that happened since you 'died' and entered your little cryostasis pod."

"Sure. I see no reason not to," ''Lucille replies. ''

''As Gardner and Lucille steps into the passage, he closes the door to the cryostorage room. It seems the dehumidifier still works all the way into the passage, since the passage wasn't as damp as it was when Gardner entered the room.''

"So, you see, after you died--"

"Do you also have some food?" Lucille asks.

"Oh, yes. Though not as fancy as your Imperial chefs made when you were the Empress, I think. But that should suffice, shouldn't it?"

"Anything, sir. I'm a little hungry, you see? I mean, going into that pod and staying in it for several years, with no knowledge of what was being done with me, well..." ''Lucille drifts off, and realizes what she had done. ''

"I did it again. I'm sorry, for the second time."

"It's alright. Anyway, so your choice of successor..."

Several hour, a few cups of tea, a plate of bread, a plate of steak, and a few desserts later...

"... And those UCG people, they installed their own government while they occupied our former territories. Jolly good thing, I must say, rather than have these other people take what was ours. Even though I see the new republic as nothing more than a UCG branch. Anyway, this new government, the Gallian Republic, is recognized as the official successor to our former Empire, as you might realize," ''Gardner finishes off his story, and tops it off by finishing his last dessert, a cheesecake. ''

"That's the last ration I have left for this day. Anyway, in a nutshell, we have nothing, not our territory, not our ranks, not a country, not a vehicle, and not even your name. We're citizens of a defunct nation, is what I'm saying, Lucy." "Well," Lucille replies, as she finishes her last cup of tea, "So by now, I think we can be fairly certain there's no going back to the Gallian continent now. I mean, it's, so to say, claimed by these Scarlet Republic people. And whatever outer territories we had are now under the Gallian Republic, which I doubt will be welcoming us back anytime soon."

''Without the food and tea, and only the room, the supply crate, several boxes, a few tools and spare parts to keep them company, the somewhat forlorn mood in the room is only somewhat amplified. For Gardner, this island and the bunker within is a permanent part of his identity for the rest of his life. He has long since accepted the fact that there is no ships coming for him, no one waiting for him back home, and not even a home that is left.''

Only the hum of the light and the old machinery is sounding on the room.

"So what do we do now?" Lucille says.

"I will... If you may allow me to be straightforward, there is simply nothing that we can do; at least, that I can think of. But you, Lucy. What do you think?" Gardner asks her back, bleakly.

"Well, I don't know. First thing to do is a change of clothes. I know there's those clothes for me in that supply crate," ''Lucille answers, pointing with her finger at the still-open supply crate. ''"But are there any clothes in this bunker? If it can be called it?"

"If you want some Imperial uniforms, men's sleepwear, or things like that, then maybe I can oblige."

"You know, when I was a little princess back at Wittenham, I often played dress-up as an Army officer," Lucille reminisces back to her early years before the new millennium entered, and there were no things such as aerospace ships, aliens, weapons-grade lasers, and the concerns about someone in some other nation warping into someone else's backyard and messing it up.

"I guess these clothes would do," ''Lucille continues, while lifting up the clothes from the crate and leaving the rifle in the box. ''"I'll be here soon."

Lucille enters the door to the passage, using the same biometric security systems as Gardner's. The intercom opens up again, saying 'Identity confirmed. Welcome, Your Majesty,'  as though she never died and Gallia is still a thing.

''Meanwhile, Gardner takes the opportunity to sort out the table. First on his mind is the box of power tools and spare parts laying beside the crate. He puts it back inside one of the numerous crates littered on the room. Then the numerous plates, teacups, and utensils. Which he placed atop another crate, to be put in the dishwasher later. Then his Mauser, which he puts back in his holster. ''

''Finally, the supply crate. As he lifts up the crater, he notices something inside it, aside the rifle which Lucille left there, and another piece of paper.''

''He drops the crate back into the table, and picks up the document, which seems to be folded differently from the first one. He unfolds the document carefully, and he sees the Imperial seal and a line of text.''

"This Document is addressed to Her Majesty Lucille II, Empress of Gallia," ''Gardner reads. "Perhaps I should let Lucy read this herself," he thinks, partly due to his upbringing. He sets the document down and continues fixing up the room. Eventually, he sits down on his chair and fiddles with his pocket watch, while waiting for Lucille to finish up.''

''A few minutes later, Lucille comes back from the passage, all dressed up with what was in the crate, and another pocket watch, which she snagged from somewhere. She notices the cleared table and the lone document on it. She picks it up and stares at Gardner.''

"You forgot this," she said with a hint of sarcasm.

"I know. It do think it might be addressed to you, so I left it there," ''Gardner replied. ''"And no, it wasn't delivered here. I found it."

"Is that so?" Lucille replied back, unfolding a letter and sitting on a small crate.

"I see," ''she says as she starts reading. She takes note of whatever she is reading on mentally, and as she continues reading the document, her expressions slowly turns positively surprised. She finishes reading it and puts it on her coat's side pocket.''

"You know of any elevators in this bunker?" Lucille inquisitioned.

"No, not at all."

"Okay then. Can you follow me?"

"Of course, Lucy," ''Gardner responds as she enters the door to the entrance. He picks up the rifle and his pipe, and follows her through the door. "What was in the letter?" he asked her.''

"There is something about someone back in Gallia monitoring this bunker, and whoever they were, there would've been some form of transport for us in here," ''Lucille explained as they climbed up the stairs. She continues, ''"But you know what happened with these space things from outer space. There'll be nothing here anymore."

"So it's about some form of transport, right?"

"Indeed, sir. Let me remember this part..." she says, before reaching the top.

''The entrance room itself is far larger than the cryostorage room, which is mostly due to the door itself. The room is divided into two by a glass pane. The other side is occupied by a huge mechanical arm connected to a steel door as wide as the room itself. There are also several pipes, with signs pointing out these are for the hydraulic fluids for the door; a few gas pipes; and a decontamination chamber connecting the two sides together. On their side 'is a spotlight above their door pointing to the bunker door 'along with several sirens mounted on the wall near the ceiling. There is also a bank of computers on one side.''

''Lucille runs to one of the computer banks, and booted it on. After a second-long loading screen, she typed in a few commands written on the document, and initializes the command. ''

"There should be a door opening, if this is right," Lucille remarked.

''Sure enough, there is. A door flush with the wall slides in, and opens, revealing another passage. Lucille runs into the passage, with Gardner following behind. They continue to run, until they are at a decontamination chamber.''

"Get in," ''she motioned at Gardner, who enters first at the chamber. She follows him in, and presses a button inside. Instantly, jets of water sprays at them, and doused both instantly. After that, they were blasted with hot air, and they are dry instantly. An intercom system opens up, saying, 'Decontamination process completed,' and the other side opens up. They continue running, and reached the end.''

In there is a silver-painted Vulture'' quad tilt-rotor transport, with the Imperial seal engraved on the side in gold. The room itself is cylindrical and tall. The whole floor is supported by a vertical crane holding it in place. In the side is a control room with another computer bank inside.''

"Oh my," Gardner looks in awe at the room. "I never knew it had all these."

"So am I," Lucille replied. "Why don't you get that transport started up and do preflight checks? I'll work on the elevator."

Gardner nods, and enters the Vulture'' with a fingerprint scanner. Immediately, he is in what looks like a mobile palace. Unlike the Vultures he rode during his service, this one's interior seems to be coach-made for a special customer. The interior is very grand and luxurious, much like the Imperial Palace's interiors he had seen only in pictures. Everything has a touchscreen in it, from the fridge, and to the chairs, of which there are several.''

''He didn't take too much time taking in the splendor of the interior, and immediately entered the cockpit. To his surprise, it too was given the golden touch, with leather seats, air conditioning, bright lights, and of course, touchscreen controls. He sat in the pilot's seat and activated the transport.''

"Initialising system software... Initialisation complete. Initialising preflight checks... No errors found in software. Readying for takeoff mode... All systems activated."

''He hears Lucille entering the interior, and after that, the transport shudders as the crane starts up for the first time in several years and starts rising up. She comes in and sits at the other pilot seat.''

"So there's that. We have our transport," ''Lucille says, now relieved and relaxing on the chair. She presses a few buttons on the chair's screens, and sighs in relief.'' "Look, this thing has a massage function!"

"It does?" Gardner asks, but was obviously uninterested.

''Finally, they are at the top. They are suspended tens of meters from the bunker, and the blast door starts opening slowly, due to its size and lack of maintenance for years. After a minute, the door is opened, and the floor stays in place.''

''For the first time in years, they can see the ocean and the sky. They're near at the edge of a cliff, and the area is surrounded with a rusting chainlink fence. There is also a nonfunctioning beacon light, and a few vents and doors, presumably to maintenance shafts.''

"What now?" Gardner asks.

"Oh. Umm... according to the document, there are spare clothes, a few bars of gold, parachutes, and a briefcase containing 500,000 cR. And of course, the customary tea and food."

''And silence. They sit on the cockpit's chairs, deciding what to do.''

"Well then, set a course for New Carthage," Lucille finally decides.

"I see," Gardner replied. "Autopilot, set a course for New Carthage Spaceport."

"Well, I say we've earned some well-deserved rest," Lucille says, as the Vulture'' ' s rotors start spinning. After a few seconds, the Vulture starts hovering, and then its rotors tilt forward, towards New Carthage.''

"It's been a long day. If you don't mind, I'll get some rest," ''Gardner says, then enters the interior. A moment later, Lucille hears someone crashing into a sofa.''

"New Carthage. I haven't any idea of what to do after that. Well, I can't go back to that place... can I?" she thinks to herself.

She stares across the horizon, into Gallia.

"Oh well. Maybe someday, I'll return. But for now, I'll start over again."

OOC: Thanks.