Nihonkoku Shoukan: Beyond

Chapter 31: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité

Courveil, Parpaldia Empire, 26th February 1640 CCY

The humanitarian fleet sailing from Maihawk has finally arrived in Courveil. Due to the urgency of the matter, the temporary overall commander of the fleet, Captain Atsushi Beckett of the JCS Samuel B. Roberts has decided within his authority and the blanket approval of high command from Japan Cosmos Navy to break the strict no-flying order. After all, human lives are more important than keeping the secret about their ships being capable of flying. Although, he has made sure that none of the ships in the fleet were spotted by civilian traffic by taking off after going out of the range of detection by human eyes from Maihawk and routing his ship through the developing storm in the region. This marks the second time that any ships of Japan have taken off in this new world. It's also lucky for them that due to the diplomatic message being routed through the Muan Embassy in Esthirant, by the time they have departed, it's already late in the afternoon, safely covering them with the night sky. Just before getting out of the storm, the fleet begins to descend and land on the water, heading to Courveil by sailing the rest of the way.

The sight of six enormous ships entering the sight of people is quite... different... depending on who you are in the society of Courveil. They have just received the brunt of the biggest earthquake ever in the last 30 years of history in Elysia. Cut off from the rest of the empire, they can't do anything by trying to rescue their friends and family. The noble and rich, on the other hand, are quite safe within their sturdy mansions and the personal underground right below it. As such, they are bossing people around to clean the mess, as well as pulling survivors out of the slums and forcing them to clean up the passages to other regions. As expected, the survivors, with more than half being injured, and without any tools worth noting, cannot clear the path by themselves.

As the Japanese ships sailed into their views, the opinions of the nobility and poor couldn't be more different from the others. Most nobles thought that the Japanese were using natural disasters and weakened Parpaldia to invade the Empire. As such, the nobles are hiding in their home while leaving the poor to fend for themselves. The poor and enslaved, however, thought that they'd finally be helped and free of the oppressive hand of those corrupt nobles. Well, they are both wrong, but indeed, the Japanese are here to help.

"Sir... the entire harbor of Courveil has been destroyed and blocked. We cannot safely bring our ships in." – Operation Officer

"I see... it is to be expected. Notify other captains about this. We need to find an anchorage quickly!" – Captain Yukino Hikigaya, Captain of the JCNS Louis Pasteur

As expected during the briefing, the entire port of Courveil was damaged beyond use and was blocked by the wreckage of many Parpaldian Navy and merchant ships. After about 15 minutes of discussion and because of the urgency of the matter, the captains of the two hospital ships and armed transport ships ordered their ships to be temporarily beached on the beach near the harbor, near the upscale district for members of the nobilities and the rich. It's quite fortunate that the topography of the region can accommodate such operation with the depth of the seabed allowing for the ships to come in much closer without grounding them. When human lives are at stake, the JCN will do anything to save them, damn the consequences. Meanwhile, the two Legend-class destroyers remain on standby, but send their complement of Seagulls out to assist the other ships.

After the ships were in place, repair barges were then used as impromptu harbors for the transportation of equipment and personnel, it's kind of like the Mulberry Harbor that the Allied Forces used during the Normandy landing, but instead of liberating France from German occupation, these men and women of the Operation United Humanitarian are here for purely humanitarian disaster relief operation. Now, it's the morning of the 26th. The entire crews of all vessels are busy loading off the cargo and setting up the field hospital.