Palace grounds, Castellum tower
Time: (undesignated) Date: (undesignated)
11 kilometers above sea level
A map shimmered across the marble war table, constantly shifting, updating itself with the latest scout transmissions. Its contours displayed an altered version of the world below, primarily the Baltic and North Seas. Denmark, western Norway, western and central Sweden, northern Poland, northern Germany, and western Finland were all partially outlined.
But the geography had changed. The Baltic Sea stretched wider, swallowing more land. Only a narrow strait, barely two or three kilometers wide, separated Sweden from Denmark. Norway now extended unnaturally far west, its mountainous spine reaching nearly to the coast of Scotland. At the map's center, eight glowing dots formed a massive circle, pulsing faintly.
Aelithys stood silent before it, arms brace on the table, as one of the tower's maids stepped forward with her report.
"Your Majesty," she said with a bow, "the West, Southwest, and Southeast Gates are currently surrounded by unidentified vessels. The South Gate is currently encircled by ground-based military emplacements. The East and Northeast Gates remain undisturbed... for now."
Without turning his gaze from the map, Aelithys spoke.
"Seal them. All six, West through Northeast. Only the North and Northwest Gates are to remain open." He paused for a moment, studying the jagged terrain that surrounded those two remaining entry points, his eyes darted between the two remaining gates on the map before partially looking at the maid without turning his head "Order full fortification of the surrounding regions. They may construct permanent strongholds at the Gates themselves."
The maid bowed again. "At once, Your Majesty."
As she turned to leave, Aelithys gave a final command, his tone calm.
"Tell the CRAF to prepare a satellite ship for launch. I want real-time reconnaissance, no more delays. The Castellum will no longer walk blind."
Allied Maritime Perimeter – Western Gate, North Sea.
Time: 2:12 PM Date: 23/9/1931.
5 Day after the Gate appeared.
14 Nautical Miles Off the Coast of Sheten Island.
The gate humming began to intensify with a low deep hum as electronics on HMS Iron Resolve and surrounding ship slowly bugging and malfunctioning while the crew scrambled to figure out what is happening, before suddenly.... A violent spike appeared on the monitors.
"BANG."
Sparks flew everywhere as all of the electronics fried and metallic object goes flying toward the gate before falling back onto the ground.
"Well that's a surprised." The male consultants chuckled.
Crew of the ship stood back up after ducking when the metal pieces flew.
"Ugh.... reports!" Lonsdale grunted while rubbing her temple.
"No casualties, multiple injured." the medical officer shouted.
"a massive electric surge destroyed all our electronics and whatever that second 'thing' was damage a lot of equipment, total damage is not yet accounted." a technician reported.
"From what I'm guessing the ships engines are damaged aren't they?" Lonsdale asked her XO.
"Ummmm... yes." the XO answered.
"Captain! the Gate is no longer active!" a lookout officer shouted from outside as Lonsdale looked out the broken window toward the massive gate which no longer hummed and no light are emitting from it.
"Captain, bad news, were stranded, the engines is shot and fuel tank is damaged." said a engineer who walked all the way from the engine bay to reported.
"Biscuits" Lonsdale cursed under her breath." you two got any idea on what happen?" she asked the 2 'consultants'.
"A Electromagnetic Pulse, EMP for short, although one that powerful could only be caused by modern nuclear ordinance or solar flare so i do not know how that happen, and i also do not know what the other one is, as we had never experience such things despite living with that 'thing' for years." the Female consultant answered as she hops off her seat and with a flick of her wrist the ship slowly started to move again.
"Shame our engineer didn't get brought into this world."
"Someone tell London about this." Lonsdale requested while walking out of the bridge and toward the medical bay.
Washington DC, USA.
9:12 AM 23/9/1931.
Five days after the Gates arrived.
Inside TASP HQ 6 reports from the Transatlantic Communication Cable arrived and quickly given the Secretary General.
"Secretary! Six urgent reports!" an officer called out, jogging after the Secretary, who was heading briskly toward his office.
"From where?" the Secretary questioned.
"They are from London, Rome, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki and Moscow" the officer answered.
"Christ." the Secretary replied before taking the papers off of the officer's hands. "These sounds serious."
the paper reads.
TOP SECRET // BY HAND OF OFFICER ONLY.
Her Majesty's Government, Directorate of Military Intelligence.
Ref: DMI 23 September 1931.
To: Secretary General, TASP Office of Intelligence (Washington D.C.)
Via: Encrypted Transatlantic Cable [Western Union Priority Routing.]
Copies: Chief, SIS (London); War Office (Berlin Station, Eyes Only.)
Subject: Anomalous Energy Discharges at Western & Southwestern Gates.
1. Incident Summary.
At 1512 GMT on 23 September, Her Majesty's coastal monitoring stations in Norfolk and Aberdeen detected unprecedented electromagnetic disturbances coinciding with the shutdown sequences of the Western (Grid Ref: 59°13'(REDACTED)N 2°02'(REDACTED)E) and Southwestern Gates (59°13'(REDACTED)N 2°02'(REDACTED)E).
2. Observed Phenomena.
Electrical Disruption: All systems within 80 km of both Gates failed for 6.2 minutes or destroyed. Equipment exhibited symptoms consistent with a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP), though no explosive detonation was recorded.
Visual Anomalies: None.
Biological Effects: local wild life fled the area.
3. Assessment.
Intentional Act? No known or unknown faction has claimed responsibility.
Accidental Malfunction? Gates previously deemed structurally inert during shutdowns.
Hypothesis: energy feedback loop from unstable technology.
Strategic Implications: If weaponizable, such pulses could disable Allied command infrastructure preemptively.
4. Immediate Actions.
Scientific Taskforce en route to Sheten Islands for residual energy analysis.
Radio silence protocols enacted for all TASP units near active Gates.
Request: Intelligence to share any similar observations near the Baltic or North Sea.
5. Secure Reply Required.
Acknowledge receipt via Cypher No. 5 by 1800 GMT 24 September. Burn after reading.
Signed,
J.F.C. Carter, Lt. Col.
Directorate of Military Intelligence, Gate Research Division.
Stamp: TOP SECRET – UMBRA.
The Secretary flipped through the first sheet, brow furrowed. "Gate EMPs... eighty kilometers wide? No detonation, but full blackouts? Jesus."
The Secretary flipped to the next sheet, this one clearly typed in haste. The formatting was uneven. The words urgent.
Then move into the Oslo message.
"Let's see what the Norwegians are seeing..."
He froze. His eyes scanned the uneven lettering.
TO: UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE – WASHINGTON D.C.
FROM: NIS – NORWAY INTELLIGENCE SERVICE, OSLO.
DATE: 23 SEPTEMBER 1931.
TIME: 16:11 LOCAL.
URGENT – EYES ONLY – GATE REPORT.
(He skimmed it, lips tightening with each line.)
To American command,
We send this very fast, please read with care. Two Gates near Norway have make big problem.
WEST GATE and NORTHEAST GATE : big electric pulse. All power gone. No lights. Radios dead. Military post blind. Compass broken. EMP we think. Towns around black.
NORTH GATE and NORTHWEST GATE : no pulse. Still normal. No blackout. No shake. No sound. But Gate still there. Still light. Still hum. Maybe active.
We do not know what this mean. Maybe the enemy is keep only two Gates working. Maybe they make base. We are not sure. We watch but scared to go close.
Please share with allies. We need instruction.
—Agent T. HALVORSEN
NIS Central Station, OSLO
'We watch but scared to go close'
The Secretary snapped upright. "Get me Joint Command. Now. Norway's still got active Gates, something's holding them open."
North Gate, Deep in the Norwegian Fjords
Time: 4:01 PM Date: 23/9/1931
Multiple Panturans soldiers are on high alert, scanning for dangers, anti air trucks scans the skies and on the mountain side, spider-like mech watch intensely ready to warn the others for incoming attacks.
The Gate is slowly sinking into the ground making it harder to see. Around the Gate, a fortress rivaling the surrounding peaks is under construction. Modified spider mechs are working on the construction of the fortress. Above the construction site, a vast camouflage netting system hides the construction site from prying eyes above. The construction is going smoothly as intruders haven't been found in the area.
North Gate, deep in Norwegian mountains
Time: 3:57 PM Date: 23/9/9131
A small 200 meter airstrip has been completed while the Gate continue to sink into the ground.
From the Gate, a zeppelin slowly is being towed out into view, it's aluminum hull gleaming in the sunlight. The zeppelin is 202 Meters long , 30 meters wide and 101 meters tall.
Under the airship is a giant ball structure with a diameter of 22 meters and made up of hundreds of tiny hexagonal structures, its mounted a few meters away from the main hull by a rigid support structure. Two smaller half ball that's 3 meters wide, with camera like lens poking out of it and at the back right before the tail, a satellite dish-like structure, although its facing down.
Above the hull appears to be a satellite tower, holding a second 19 meter diameter ball structure, also made up of tiny hexagonal panels and the zeppelin is powered by 6 massive Propellers engines, 3 on each sides.
As the airship is being drawn out, a truck tows a small platform under the lower sphere structure preventing it from scraping the ground, around the airship several other trucks refuels the vessel and allowing the crew to board the zeppelin.
Luna observe closely making sure that no mistakes happen during the launching process.
It's 6 propeller engine turned upward while warming up. The pilot are checking their checklist to make sure the airship is functioning properly. Eventually, the checklist is complete.
One of the puppet signals to Luna that the airship is ready to launch as the surrounding truck is driving away. She gives the signal to launch and the airship rises toward the sky.
Turku, Varsinais-Suomi, Finland.
Time: 4:11 AM | Date: 23 September, 1931.
20 seconds before the Gate closed.
A small chime rang as the café door opened. One of the baristas stepped in, carrying a large wooden box, a quiet smile on his face.
"I've got the item you ordered," he whispered, but in the hush of the café, everyone heard him.
He moved behind the counter, vanishing into the 'Staff Only' room with practiced quiet.
Jean Roux, seated at the window with a notebook and half-finished espresso, glanced up. He jotted a quick line. Staff unusually quiet.
Then came the hum.
The sound vibrated through the bones of the city, low, heavy, unnatural. The baristas emerged silently and began to place cups, plates, anything fragile, gently onto the floor.
A moment later, the lights exploded.
Sparks flew like fireflies as every loose object, spoons, menus, ashtrays, trembled and then surged westward... before collapsing to the ground.
The staff began picking everything back up as if nothing had happened, though a few wore mildly annoyed expressions. One of them grabbed a ladder and climbed up to check the lights, but the switch did nothing, the bulbs stayed dead. The coffee machine sat dark and silent, along with every other piece of equipment that relied on electricity.
Mårdudden, Norrbotten County, Sweden.
Time:3:00 AM Date: 2/10/1931.
6 days after the Gate closed.
The Swedish night bounced faintly off the black waters of the coast, moonlight catching in ripples like scattered silver. From the horizon, the dull silhouettes of landing ships crept slowly toward the shore, their engines muffled, their lights doused. Only the rhythmic churn of water against metal betrayed their movement.
Mist hung low over the inlet, shrouding the trees in a pale veil. The forest above Mårdudden stood still — no wind, no birdsong. Just the slow crawl of invasion.
Aboard the lead vessel, French marines in heavy overcoats waited in silence, their breath ghosting in the cold morning air. Some clutched rifles wrapped in oilcloth, others hunched over crates marked with crimson chevrons — field radio units, collapsible mortars, and supply packs.
As the shoreline loomed closer, a signal light blinked once from a hidden hill inland — green, then dark again. The operation was still undetected.
With a low groan, the first landing ramp dropped into the surf.
Troops and vehicles moved ashore under cover of darkness, their boots sinking softly into the wet sand. Engines were cut, orders whispered, and equipment was passed hand-to-hand in silence. The long column began its slow push inland, careful not to break the stillness of the night.
Mårdudden was a fortress now after the Gate appeared, razor wire, bunkers, patrols. But somehow, through discipline and sheer precision, the French column slipped past the outer defenses. Not a flare rose, not a single shot was fired.