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excerpt from ‘he who merits it’
(continued from lieutenant’s manual)

Leviathan Leviathan! The British were ridiculously literal. They had

no ear for beauty.
Havret placed the hand-held microphone to his lips and pressed the
send button. “This is Capitaine de Volée Jean-David Havret of the Jean
Bart,” he said in heavily accented English. “Over.”
“Jean Bart, you are violating the territory of British Egypt and are hereby
ordered to depart. Please change to new course two seven zero. Over.”
Havret allowed himself a grim smile. “Perhaps, I shall instead
proceed to the French canal, oui?”
Now the Englishman sounded irritated. “You know very well, Captain,
that the Suez Canal is the property of His Majesty’s government.”
“I know no such thing,” said Havret.
“We are quite prepared to settle this matter.” There was ice in the
British officer’s voice.
“You think you are,” said Havret softly. “But you may find you are
mistaken. Jean Bart out.” He replaced the microphone on the radio set
with a sharp click.
Havret turned to look at his bridge crew. They were wide-eyed with
fear, pale, one boy shaking. Shaking before the mighty British.
They were already defeated.
Havret raised his voice. “Did you hear the Englishman?” he asked
his men. “He ordered us to retreat. Ordered us,” he snarled. “Because
Frenchmen are no good but to take English orders.” He shook his head.
“In 1805 the English admiral Horatio Nelson defeated a French and
Spanish armada. Two centuries, two centuries ago. And the British speak
of it as if it were yesterday and we were no more than dogs, lucky to take
a few scraps from their master’s hand.”
 Angry silence filled up the bridge.
“Are we dogs?” Havret shouted.
“NON,” his crew shouted back.
“M. Absalon, left standard rudder, come to new course
two eight six. All gun ratings, stand by your guns.”
Suddenly the bridge was filled with the crisp repeat-
backs of a ship that was readying herself to fight. A precise
little smile flashed across Havret’s face. The Englishman
Forsyth had miscalculated. The sight of his great vessel
alone was enough to inspire fear. But there was one emotion
that ruled over fear.
Anger.
• • • blue sky. Abdullah followed its gaze.
The man who introduced himself as Abdullah al-
Besharin to English and Cairenes leaned forward against
the camel’s hump, relishing the cool of the great pyramid’s
shade. He would be out in the brutal sun soon enough.
The name literally meant Abdullah the Besharin and
since he was a member of the Besharin tribe it was true
enough in a way. Bedouins rarely shared their family names
with outsiders, but the English demanded to know the full
names of their subjects. The small subterfuge of calling
himself “al-Besharin” allowed him to hold true to his culture
and satisfy the whims of foreigners.
He smiled to himself. Besides, the English never seemed
to catch on.
He reached forward and patted the camel’s hump. The
beast grunted, no doubt enjoying the cool as much as he
was. He called the camel Fatima in honor of his great aunt.
Like his great aunt, the camel was a thick-headed, willful and
smelly creature.
Abdullah appreciated the pyramids for their shade and
little else. He knew they were supposed to be wonders, but he
had lived for forty-three years in their shadow and saw nothing
particularly wonderful about them. The kind assistance of the
pole star, Al-Jadi, that guided his family’s flocks in the night,
the shrubs that told him where he could find water in the
desert, the back of a strong camel; these were wonders, but a
pile of ancient stones … bah!
Fatima suddenly bellowed, long and deep. Abdullah heard
in it the beginning of alarm.
The camel was looking up, her head stretched toward the
A great mechanism hovered in the sky. When Abdullah had
been a boy, his father had had some business with fisherman on
the coast. During the trip, Abdullah had seen a gray warship in
the blue waters of the Mediterranean. It had been a long time
ago, and to be honest most of the memory had been scrubbed
away by time’s wicked hand, but when he looked up the shock
of recognition brought forth a scrap of recollection.
It was … It was—He shook his head. It was a flying
battleship.
• • •
Tortured silence reigned on the bridge of Leviathan, all eyes
focused on the French warship that was slowly growing to
fill the sky. Chandler felt time laboring to give birth to each
second, every terrible minute. His mouth tasted like copper,
like burnt copper.
 Waiting to see if the Frogs would bend to reason—or if
they would need to taste hard English steel.
The Frog was moving, slowly, almost drifting, but
definitely making way. The shadow of the French battleship
passed over the pyramids, the silhouette of the vessel
momentarily broken and twisted by the timeless monuments.
Chandler licked his lips.
“So, Danny,” said Captain Forsyth, clapping a massive
hand on Chandler’s shoulder, “we’ll know soon enough,
won’t we?”
“Yes sir,” said Chandler, wondering if his captain knew
what the French would do before even they did. John Forsyth
was a great bear of a man, with curly black hair going to gray,
merry brown eyes and the kind of laugh that would fill any
dance hall to the walls. Find him at a pub and he’d slap a quid
down on the bar and buy you and your mates a round before
anyone could utter a single polite objection.
When it came to matters of the sky, there was no man who
had a better sense of life and death.
Like every man on that bridge, Chandler was grateful to be
serving under Forsyth. The lieutenant wondered if the French
realized what kind of box his captain had placed them in.
Jean Bart looked to be steering a northwesterly course,
while Leviathan was steering zero nine zero—due east. Forsyth
had ordered the French vessel to turn to two seven zero and
withdraw. If the overmatched Jean Bart retreated north and east
with the thought of damaging the vital canal that connected
British India to the mother country, Leviathan would run her
down and destroy her.
If, on the other hand, she withdrew west as Forsyth had
instructed, every moment would take her farther and farther away
from the canal. And she’d have to withdraw under Leviathan’s
guns—should she decide to do something imprudent.
Which happened depended on a simple choice by the
Frenchman standing on Jean Bart’s bridge. Would he turn
left?
Or right?
Chandler studied the French battleship in his binoculars,
watching the brilliant sun illuminate the vessel’s gray bow.
Jean Bart was showing port aspect. He saw shadows moving.
The battleship’s bow was swinging—
“Coming left,” he whispered.
“So she is, my boy, so she is,” said Forsyth softly. He
raised his voice. “What do you think, Chief? Maybe we’ll
make a proper airman out of our gunnery officer after
all.”
The quartermaster chief at the chart table chuckled
and there were grins on the faces of the lads all around the
bridge. No one was going to have to die to prove English
superiority—not today anyway. The French were crying
uncle.
Chandler glanced at the wireless set. But they weren’t
really, were they? The gunnery officer felt something hard
and sharp in his gut.
We are quite prepared to settle this matter, Forsyth had said.
You think you are, the Frenchmen had answered. But you
may find you are mistaken.
“Sir? If they intend to accept your terms of withdrawal,
why haven’t they signaled us?”
Forsyth shrugged. “It is bad enough to know your
opponent is the better man. How could you possibly stand
to admit it?”
In Chandler’s binoculars, Jean Bart was now clearly
turning. She had nearly reached two seven zero, which
would put her on a reciprocal course with Leviathan.
Still …
 Chandler sensed Forsyth turn away. Heard him say
something to the boatswain mate of the watch.
Chandler did not lower his binoculars. He had fought
in many battles and he trusted the lump that had formed in
his gut. Something was wrong. Every second drew the two
warships closer together. They were separated by perhaps
20,000 yards. Ten nautical miles. Well within maximum
range for the twelve-inch monsters carried by Leviathan or
Jean Bart’s 240 millimeter/50 Modèles.
Chandler could see Jean Bart’s bow, pointed straight at
Leviathan like a dagger.
He dropped the binoculars and spun around, his heart
suddenly racing. “Captain.”
Forsyth turned, brow furrowed, the question written on
his face.
The words tumbled out of Chandler. “She’s still turning.
Past two seven zero, Captain. She’s still turning.”
Forsyth’s eyes widened as he understood.
And heard the distant boom of Jean Bart’s forward guns.
• • • find his feet. The British gunners wouldn’t be able to find their
Havret’s warship shuddered with the recoil of her great
guns, shaking with the terrible energy required to fling
nearly a ton of ordnance at the British Leviathan. In addition
to the explosive warhead, the shells each carried a chemical
that released a small feather of smoke in flight. As Havret
watched, twin arcs of gray passed over the British warship.
Already his gunners were lowing their elevation,
adjusting for speed and wind and angle. But they would
have to eject the spent powder and then haul up another
shell, load it in the breach, and ram home three new bags
of powder.
All that took time.
Leviathan’s guns spoke.
Havret watched whisper-thin lines of smoke rise from
the Tommi’s forward turret and curl toward his vessel before
plunging through the sky to the earth below. Incredibly, Leviathan
had found the correct range—but had missed wide left.
Now it would be the British that would have to wait—as
Jean Bart made the next move in this deadly game of chess.
The French guns roared into the blue sky, shaking the
great ship. Havret watched their trails arc through the sky and
suddenly he knew, he knew.
A streak of smoke intersected Leviathan’s hull, starboard
side forward. The British ship jerked and trembled with the
power of the blow, her bow suddenly lost in molten flame.
Havret watched the flame rip away railings and hull plating
and even a small gun turret, like scraps of paper carried before
a great storm.
A cheer arose on his bridge.
He watched the British ship careen drunkenly left. She
moved like a man who’d been shot and suddenly couldn’t
range now, not after such a grievous blow. Jean Bart would get
in another blow … and perhaps another.
Havret smiled to himself, already seeing the possible end of it.
He hadn’t taken out any of the battleship’s big guns, but
perhaps with a little luck—
And then his blood froze.
Because he realized that Leviathan wasn’t lurching across
the sky. She was turning.
To be continued
(other fiction available at monstersinthesky.com)
 TM

an alternate history game of air fleet battles

LEVIATHANS PRIMER

1
 technology
As we all know, the electrical fluid—electroid—was
discovered first by the obscure Polish genius Rychnowski
just over twenty-five years ago, in 1878. Unfortunately,
the paucity of electrical current available to Rychnowski
meant that he was able to produce only small quantities
of the fluid; as a result, Rychnowski concentrated instead
on finding a way to reverse the process of production. He
sought the mythical “electrical explosive,” or “eteroid bomb”
(eteroid being the original nomenclature used to describe
this miraculous substance) that perennially is the subject of
so much ill-informed speculation and rumour-mongering.
The obscurity of its discoverer did not prevent details
of the process by which electroid can be isolated from
circulating throughout Europe over the next decade.
Without access to significant amounts of raw electrical
current, only the smallest quantities of electroid could be
generated by any one person. Nonetheless, scientists (and
crackpots) of the continent dabbled in the isolation of
electroid, and their limited successes helped identify some
of its basic properties.
In its pure form, electroid resembles a partially opaque
liquid less dense than water and cool to the touch regardless
of external temperatures. Electroid does not partake of any
chemical reactions—it does not combust, dissolve, form
solutes, oxidise, reduce or erode. Left to its own devices,
electroid appears to ‘evaporate’—although ‘sublimate’ might
be more accurate; electroid does not move from a liquid to a
vapor state, instead reverting from fluid to current through
a gradual process of atmospheric discharge. Only containers
made from electrically conductive materials—flasks made
wholly of metal, or surrounded by a wire mesh cage of the type

’t have time
developed by Sir Michael Faraday—can contain electroid
Harold, we don over long periods, and (under normal circumstances) will do
a new review
to commission
so indefinitely. If exposed to high voltage currents, however,

Trelawney’s
there is a distinct likelihood that it will spontaneously revert
piece. Give old
the 06–07
to electrical current rapidly in a self-catalysing reaction, such

en d- p ie c e f ro m an event known to electrical flyers as a “flashover.”

e- over and see

Electroid would have remained an academic curiosity, of
ed it io n a o n c
the way of
interest only to a few, had it not been for the inexorable

w h at it n ee ds in drive of Captain Fisher, the work of the Royal Academy,

improvement.
and the secretive “E Committee” chaired by Lord Kelvin.

—JFT
Once the government became aware that European powers

4
5

greater britain exhibition
The Battle of Tsushima—where the Russian leviathan
Berkuts defeated the massive guns of the Japanese
wet navy—heralded the acceptance by the world’s
empires of these “aether flyers” as a technology
worth investigating. However, the Greater Britain
Exhibition will forever mark the beginning of the
public’s understanding of the might these ships
represent.
In 1890 the French became aware of British work in
the field of leviathan technology and changed their
own course. After a series of false starts (and fatal
accidents), the Ganymede was smuggled to Britain
in pieces—labeled as railway locomotive parts—and
reconstructed inside the French pavilion at the
Crystal Palace for the Greater Britain Exhibition
in London. At the height of the exhibition, to the
amazement of the crowd, the Ganymede lifted itself
skywards, draped in bunting, belching smoke and
carrying beneath it a platform on which two mounted
and armored cuirassiers brandished the Tricolore.
The French ambassador challenged Prime Minister
Gladstone with, “Eh sir, and what do you say to that?”
but the prime minister simply checked his watch,
brushed a smut from his sleeve and asked, “Why is yours
so infernally dirty?”
Moments later, Her Majesty’s Sky Ship Leviathan—the
first sky vessel of that name—chugged its way across
the sky, conspicuously missing colored bunting and
horsemen but displaying a pair of 6” cannons mounted
on its bow, and a number of Maxim automatic machine-
guns.
The Great Sky Race had begun.
were sponsoring investigations into the properties
and various potential uses of electroid, Captain
Fisher (now Aide de Camp to Her Majesty Queen
Victoria), along with Lord Kelvin, established
the E Committee to determine whether this new
discovery posed a threat to the Empire or provided
opportunities. The combination of the cream of
the nation’s crop of savants under the leadership
of Lord Kelvin, and superior British engineering,
bit rough on
enabled the full realisation of electroid’s potential.
von Siemens
and Shukhov,
Principles of
let alone the
Electrical Flight
French?
It is now well known that when appropriately
modulated high voltages are applied to electroid
under controlled conditions, a lifting force
is generated. This lifting force depends on a
number of highly secret variables, into which this
discussion will not venture. However, under the
correct circumstances, a quantity of electroid can
be induced to generate a lifting force equivalent
to many times its own mass—far exceeding the
lifting potential of lighter-than-air gases such as
hydrogen. While modern science may not be able
to fully explain exactly how electroid achieves this
ability, modern engineering has proven fully capable
of mastering the art of electrical flight, achieving as
its pinnacle the modern aerial battleships, known
after their first ancestor as leviathans.
Stripped of all inessentials, an electrical
vessel consists of a quantity of electroid held in
containment in a conductive tank or tanks. Each
tank is equipped with one or more cunningly
6
designed high-tension transformers—initially labelled
“aether vortices,” but now vulgarly known as Tesla coils,
thanks to the self-promotional talent of the Serbian inventor
now resident in the American states. When electrical current
from the vessel’s generators is supplied to the transformers,
the electroid contained therein is raised to an energised, or
agitated state, at which point lifting force is generated.
Currently, there is no known maximum quantity of
lift which electroid can theoretically generate. There are,
however, limits to the feats that can be achieved—two
practical, and one of convention.
Firstly, lift generated is proportional to the voltage
differential which can be applied to the electroid. Practical
problems govern the voltages which can be reliably generated,
sustained and contained by the most modern materials in
use. Each nation jealously guards details of its potential in
this area, but it is apparent that at this stage all parties are
capable of much the same achievements.
Secondly, electroid in the agitated state is much more
highly sensitive to spontaneous reconversion into electrical
current—the aforementioned “flashover”—than in its
“ground,” or unagitated state. The presence of the current
being supplied to the aether vortices is theorised to present
a maximum limit to the degree to which electroid can be
agitated—sooner or later, the very source of agitation will
be sufficient to induce flashover. Containment tanks are
usually provided with multiple series of conductive and
non-conductive insulating outer layers to protect against
ordinary misadventures; while these may well be increased,
the additional weight involved will inevitably decrease the
net lift produced—and in any event, it is still necessary for
the aether vortex and its associated transformer coils and
current supply to be proximate to the conductive shell most
immediately containing the electroid.
Finally, while the exact heights achievable by leviathans
are closely guarded secrets, it is known that some air sailors
succumb to deleterious conditions due to the scarcity of
breathable air at the vessels’ maximum operating height,
or “ceiling.” This altitude sickness is well understood; it
is experienced by mountain climbers, usually at heights

1878
Rychnowski isolates the electrical
fluid he calls eteroid (later
called electroid); he does not yet
recognize its lifting abilities.
1880
 Transvaal, and re-establish an
Russian spies obtain copies of
Rychnowski’s notes and samples of
both eteroid and the mechanisms
by which it could be separated.
The tzar commissions Vladimiry
Shukov, scientist and polymath, to
investigate the material.
Timeline
1880–1881
The First Boer War, also known as
the Transvaal War, is a relatively
brief conflict in which Boer
settlers successfully resist
a British attempt to annex the
independent republic. This conflict
is remarkable for its British to
Boer casualty ratio of 10:1.
1882
 fruitless) to develop an electroid-
7 by high alternating
Shukov discovers that eteroid,
when agitated
currents, has lifting properties.
The technology of the time,
which lacks very high voltages
and suitable diamagnetic
materials, means initial tests are
disappointing and little practical
value is seen.
1883

Russian scientist Fedor Oblimovsky
begins a crash program (ultimately
based explosive shell.
 sail high for
king and country
the GolDen JubileE
Fleet Review
British scientists had been aware of the incredible
properties of electroid since the work of Fedor Oblimovsky
was first brought to the attention of the Royal Academy
of Sciences in 1885. But not until Her Royal Majesty
Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee celebrations did they start
investigating it in earnest. Indeed, had not the Foreign
Ministry learnt of the French plans for their “aether flyers”
22
and the threat that it represented to British sovereignty, the
Admiralty’s program may never have come about.
When informed of the French advances whilst—looking
over the Royal Navy’s Fleet Review in Spithead—Her
Royal Highness asked her aide de camp and Director of
Naval Ordnance, the charming Captain John “Jackie” Fisher
GCB, to examine the likelihood of a British response to the
French threat. In Her Majesty’s eyes, the idea was no more
than a pipe dream, but Captain Fisher attacked the project
with his usual zeal.
23
French leviathan ranks
Officer Ranks (Translation/Equivalency)
Admiral aérien
(Vice Admiral of the Air/Sky Admiral)
Commandant aérien
(Squadron Commander/Sky Rear-Admiral)
Capitaine aérien
(Captain of the Air/Sky Captain)
Lieutenant aérien
(Lieutenant of the Air/Sky Commander)
Sous-Lieutenant aérien
(Second Lieutenant of the Air/Lieutenant Commander)
Enseigne aérien
(Ensign of the Air/Lieutenant)
Enseigne aérien de 2ème classe
(Second Ensign of the Air/Ensign)

Enlisted Ranks (Translation/Equivalency)

Maître-principal
(Principal Master/Chief Petty Officer)
Premier-maître
(First Master/ Petty Officer)
Maître
(Master/Leading Airman)
Second-maître
(Second Master/--)
Quartier-maître de 1ère classe
(Quarter Master First Class/Able Airman)
Quartier-maître de 2ème classe
(Quarter Master Second Class/-—)
Aviateur breveté
(Brevet Airman/-—)
Aviateur
(Airman/Airman) 36
the use of their lev fleet was to be a hallmark of French
dealings during the period of the Great Sky Race. Then
and now, they use their levs as a means of pushing through
diplomatic change.
The Pride of the Nation
France felt that it had been grievously insulted by the
Germans during the Franco-Prussian War and dominated by
the United Kingdom’s wet navy for years. The development
of lev technology presented the French with a way to
dramatically shift the balance of power. Their Fleet de Volée
became a matter of incredible national pride.
In order to ensure that the resources emerging with the
air fleet were effective, they established the prestigious École
d’Avion, the Aviation School, at Le Bourget field. Their
officers are trained a full year longer than our own, which is
something that deserves further investigation.
The wreck of the Rousseau was towed back to Genève and
repaired, so that it was converted into a training ship. Every
student at the École d’Avion does two summers of service
aboard the Rousseau, culminating in a final flight along the
Channel coast. Based on this extensive training, our own
foreign service agents inform us that the French navy may
yet indeed be a potent threat to our own navy, and their
capabilities cannot be discounted or overlooked.
Liberté, Egalité,
Fraternité: The
Colonial Land Grab
Africa represented a luscious fruit ripe for the picking by
both France and the United Kingdom, and as such, clashes
were destined to occur. Beginning in 1892, France set her
sights on northern and central Africa. The French used
their levs in two primary roles during the period known as
the Colonial Landgrab: as support for ground troops in a
bombardment capacity, and for transport of troops, supplies
and heavy artillery that otherwise might have taken months to
move cross-country. Troops were crammed into any available
space, making such transports distasteful, to say the least.
This bold and open use of their leviathans was
demonstrated in the African coastal enclave now known
as French Somaliland. The local warlords were well armed
and prepared to resist French attempts to secure the region.
France’s response was to deploy the battleship Henri IV,
which was used to shell the defense trenches dug by the
locals. The Henri IV landed inside their lines, disgorging a
Foreign Legion force along with supporting artillery. The
locals did not stand a chance.
In Algeria, when local tribesmen rebelled in the southern
regions, the destroyer Bisson was dispatched. Several
encampments were blasted by the Bisson’s guns and it used
smaller lev platforms to land a contingent of cuirassiers
to mop up any survivors. The smaller “landing craft” used
to bring in the cuirassiers demonstrates a troublesome
development, since it could be a prelude to ships that could
land troops on our own home islands. The French presence
in Tunisia and Algiers placed them precariously close to the
British Suez region in Egypt. The creation of a permanent
refueling station on the North African coast was seen as a
clear indication that any future conflicts in the region were
going to involve the use of levs.
The control of central Africa proved to be the boiling
point between the British and the French. Control of this
region would help determine the future control of Africa
as a whole.
37
sms westfalen
Based at Bougainville in
the Pacific colony of Deutsch-
SMS Friedrich der GroSSe
The first of the new breed of
neuguinea (German New Guinea),
German leviathans, the Friedrich
the Westfalen is a Deutschland-
is the Kaiserliche Luftmarine’s
class leviathan built at the Kiel
flag vessel, normally commanded
Canalwerks in 1903. Operating alone for the most
by the Admiral zur Luft, and
part, the Westfalen has long been the image of German
captained by one of the up-and-comers amongst the
might in the south West Pacific region. While capable of
groups of promotable officers. Her exact armament,
engaging most other leviathans in stand-up combat, the
armor rating and speed are all unknown, and it is thought
Westfalen has yet to take part in any actual combat.
she goes in for regular overhauls to update her systems
The Westfalen is known for the fact that it was the first
to the most recent the Germans have produced.
non-British leviathan to visit Australia after its 1902
Despite her exalted status amongst the vessels of the
secession from the British Empire. The simple act of
Kaiserliche Luftmarine, the Freidrich is no stranger
the Westfalen entering Port Moresby on the Australian-
to combat. Her first battle came above the Skagerrak
owned land of Papua caused a commotion, with the
during the Royal Sky Fleet’s 1909 attempt to bottle in
British Admiralty and Foreign Office threatening an
the German navy’s High Seas Fleet as a show of British
expanded conflict if the Germans officially recognized
force. The Friedrich holds the record for quickest
the Australians’ independence. Despite these threats,
leviathan kill, using a single salvo of its massive
shortly thereafter the French formally recognized
broadside to destroy the British flotilla’s HMS Suffolk.
Australian independence, and the Germans soon
Rumors have also circulated regarding the current
followed suit.
whereabouts of the Friedrich. Along with a sizable
Under a hastily arranged deal, the Westfalen
portion of the Kaiserliche Luftmarine, she has not been
continued to provide security for the Australian colony
seen for many months, and speculation grows as to
until the Republic of Australia Navy (formerly the Royal
whether she is undergoing yet another refit or whether
Australian Navy) took over the role in 1906.
the Germans have something more insidious in mind.

56
skobelev’s legacy
By now, new officers should have a firm understanding of
the role the Russians have played in the history of leviathans,
from the deviousness of the Okhrana to the pivotal battle at
Tsushima. But at the beginning, the Russians floundered
from one failure to another. It took the insight of a brilliant
general and tactician to realize the potential the wondrous
fliers offered, and forever change the face of warfare.

The white General

The Russians’ fortunes changed when one Lieutenant
General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was informed
of the progress made by Shukov and Oblimovsky in the
development of the flying machines. Skobelev had proved
an able commanding officer during the Russo-Turkish War,
distinguishing himself during the Siege of Pleven. Famous
for charging into the thickest frays in his white uniform
atop a white horse, Skobelev was given the moniker of the
“White General.” Indeed, the gentleman was perhaps one
of Russia’s finest officers, going on to reconquer much of
Central Asia for the tsar.
But Skobelev did not handle politics as well as he did
martial matters. After being recalled to St. Petersburg from
Paris in 1882 (after making some rather inflammatory To say
remarks regarding the Germans), Skobelev suffered a the least!
malady that resulted in a severe and lengthy illness. It is
believed that during his convalescence he began giving
thought to the way in which the tsar’s forces waged war,

57
 minor air powers
Towards the end of the nineteenth
century and prior to the Great Exhibition
of 1890, nations staked their claims to
be major powers on the possession of their
own fleets of battleships. The first
flight of the Ganymede only raised the
stakes for those wanting to play the new
game of aerial supremacy—not only was the
engineering mettle of a nation on show,
their scientific prowess had to extend to
sustain production of acceptable volumes
of electroid, lest their investments in
bravado sit there inert lumps.
A brief survey of the lesser players—the
minor air powers—reveals two paths taken
by these lesser participants. Firstly, the
more self-sufficient limit their ambitions
and lower their aims, producing smaller
numbers of smaller vessels. Those with
presences more operatic than influential,
on the other hand, take the parvenue
approach, and attempt to buy their way into
the game.
—JKL
scandinavian union
Largest of the European minor
air powers, the Scandinavian
Union of Sweden and Norway
draws on its extensive deposits
of iron and coal, together with
abundant electricity, to maintain
a small but handy fleet. Three
squadrons of slow cruisers form
the backbone of its defenses,
supported by two heavy cruisers,
and a few disparate destroyer
squadrons. What is interesting about the Union fleet is that
each nation officially maintains and operates its own fleet
separately. Historically, the combined fleet has been so small
compared to the threat of the Russians and Germans that
the separate fleets have had no choice but to operate as a
single entity. Given the recent setback to the Norwegian
independence movement however, it is not outrageous to
suggest the combined fleet has spent more time the last
few years looking inwards than it has worrying about the
sovereignty of each nation’s territory.
As a part of operating each fleet separately, each nation
purchases or builds its own vessels. With their top speeds
on the order of 15 knots, the Swedish-built Vasa-class slow
cruisers are rarely seen far from shore, and avoid the turbulent
mountain terrain along Sweden’s border with Norway. The
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 HMS Fylgia, the first of the Gustav Adolphus-class heavy
cruisers currently being constructed at the Finnboda graving
yards, in association with two flotillas of modern German-
built destroyers, maintains efficient and aggressive sweeps of
the Baltic, maintaining a close eye on the Swedish shipping
lanes to Europe.
In contrast, the Norwegian fleet is largely based on surplus
British hulls, refitted with locally produced weapons and
fire-control systems. The exception to this is the recently
deployed PS Norge, a Fasting-class cruiser, built locally,
but based on plans and equipment provided by the British
shipwrights at Armstrong-Whitworth. A second Fasting-
class, the PS Eidsvold is currently under construction, adding
further to the tension within the combined Union fleet.
Sweden’s principle aerial base is located at the capital,
Stockholm, along with the Finnboda graving yards. A
secondary arsenal at Gothenbourg provides support for
sorties into the North Sea. There is also evidence that
the Karlskrona naval yards are being converted for aerial
operations, possibly to support the building of new large aerial
vessels. Only the arsenal at Horten in Norway can be used
to build or service aerial vessels. There are limited facilities
at the capital, Christiania, but these appear to be restricted
to resupplying vessels with stores and ammunition.
The Swedes are mainly concerned with
making sure their iron ore gets to the
furnaces of the Ruhr and the new
foundries in Estonia. It’d take Mr. Nobel’s
finest to budge these determined neutrals
onto our side—or anyone else’s.
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Denmark
The Danes appear to have
decided that their heritage
remains on the sea, not in the
sky. While the Danish Air
Service maintains a squadron of
light cruisers based at the capital,
Copenhagen, the Danes, contrary
to conventional wisdom, appear
to be concentrating on the development of vessels sailing
not through the air, but under the water! Two squadrons
of Holland-type submersibles have been completed to date
since construction began in 1904. While such toys may
prove a hindrance to merchant shipping in some form, it is
hard to see how these will pose any real threat in the event
of hostilities with its mighty German neighbor.
Holland
Holland appears to have
gained the advantage of German
engineers turned loose by the
previous kaiser when he put
the kibosh on development of
leviathans in that nation. As
a result of his choice, the Dutch have a neat and modern
reinforced squadron of cruisers, notable for their clean
lines and efficient machinery. The Dutch relationship with
Germany is displayed in these vessels’ armament—all (with
the exception of the lightest guns) bought from Krupps.
Graving yards at Helder, Rotterdam and Amsterdam
provide the capacity to enlarge the air fleet should this prove
an attractive option. A single flotilla of destroyers provides
support for the main cruiser force.
 flashpoints
To whomever gets this next. Give
your life to ride the Devil’s Breath?
You poor fool, but not exactly an
orphan there. Here’s what the bloody
admiralty forgets to tell you, hopefully
you won’t need it. Forget the Channel,
the real fighting is away from the
public’s eye—remember that and you
should be right. Godspeed and Sail
High for King and Country!
—Miles Brandis
Captain
HML Typhoon
88
EUROPE
the channel
What they pound into your head at Whale Island from
day one—the Channel is key. And they’re right, of sorts.
The French got a little upset at the Salisbury Doctrine
and you can always be sure of a chance of a bit of a ruckus
here. During my first stint onboard the Gallant, we came
up against the French twice in four weeks. First time was
a cakewalk, the solitary French lev limping home. Second
time not so easy; damned Cigognes showed us their mettle.
Watch out for them; I heard a rumor that they’re the best in
the French fleet, and after that battle, I wouldn’t disagree.
The biggest problem for a skyrider over the Channel?
The bloody Royal Navy. The rowboats seem to have a hard
time differing between good levs and bad levs, so make sure
your ensign is streaming clear. Even then, the Navy loves
filling the sky with fire whenever they see a lev, so just pray
they’re not aiming at yours.
Ah yes, the bread and butter of
the sky fleet officer, right? Don’t
be bloody stupid. But chances are
you’ll end up fighting either the
French or Germans, and Europe is
just as good as Cameroon in my eyes.
ALSACE-LORRAINE
You’re probably not likely to end up having a stoush
EUROPE
here, but you can bet your last bob any Frogs or Huns you
come across probably have. Most contested piece of real
estate in the sky, but everyone seems willing to keep the
2
conflict small-scale. I haven’t heard of a major battle here
for a while, but by the time you read this, that will have 1 3
probably changed. 4 6 5
The Germans reportedly blood their crews here, so if you
meet a Hun lev out in the colonies, you can rest assured that
he’s served his time against the French already. Makes him 7 10
dangerous. Forget all the propaganda the Admiralty throws
at you regarding the dominance of the Sky Fleet. Out in 8 9 12
the open skies, lev for lev the Germans are probably the
scariest thing you’ll come across. Good thing there’s never
11
very many of them in the same place.

EAST Prussia and the SKAgerrak 1 Britain 2 Scandinavian Union

This is where the Russians and Germans have clashed
in the past, and it represents a spectacular defeat for the
3 Denmark 4 Holland
Royal Navy—funny how they never talk about it. What 5 Russia 6 German Empire
I said before about the Germans being good? Well, the
Russian boats are a bit naff, but their crews are amongst
7 France 8 Spain
the best in the sky. Probably because all the lesser crews 9 Italy 10 Austro-Hungary
bit it in that little mutiny they had. If the Admiralty tries
another blockade, you might come up against either side. 11 Greece 12 Ottoman Empire
Russians hunt in packs, and despite the “cordial” relations
we share with the tsar, the fleet shoots first and asks
questions later.
The Skagerrak is fun bit of sky to try and maneuver in.
As in you can’t. Show up there, and soon enough, you’ll
have Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Dutch, Germans and
sometimes even the French arriving to accompany you

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