Deep underground, in a series of interlinking tunnels, far beneath the surface of the South China Sea, buried beneath millions of tons of superstructure, armoured concrete and heavy steel, was the command deck of the Imperial City.
Sombre in its appearance, with only dim emergency lighting to illuminate the various consoles and stations, it was grim and functional; two miles of open plan space, and, when fully manned, a busy and buzzing hive of activity. Today, however, only a quarter of the command deck's equipment was manned.
The command deck resembled a giant underground cavern, its domed ceiling so far away that it was barely visible in the darkness. But, along its ridge, a bright and glossy layer of conformal diamond, forming, with the surrounding rock, a transparent layer of super-clear Plexiglas that kept the numerous men and women gathered there bathed in the dim light.
They were discussing the progress being made with the repairs to the support girders in support of the structure of the citadel. Sub-Admiral Prakesh was concerned about the short time available to effect a repair of the damage caused by the bombing raid by the Japanese. The citadel, being the centre of the combined British and American carrier forces, was considered vital by both sides. A little over a year previously, the American and Japanese alliance had been defeated by the British. Yet, the rebuilding of the citadel to totally secure the vast region it controlled from attack, was a remarkably brief matter. The first connections of tungsten cable were in place only three weeks ago. Even then, the process of burying cable within the superstructure of the citadel and then establishing all the signals and communications between the screens that surrounded the remainder of the citadel and the screens that surrounded the air docks had already begun. In fact, had the sensor arrays at the air docks been able to detect the approach of the Japanese bombers, the air raid on the docks would have been successful.
The new support girders would allow the citadel to repair some of the great damage done to its superstructure by the blasts of bomb missiles, and, hopefully, allow some of the armour to be replaced by fantastic new diamond steel. That would be a considerable step forwards. But there were no more repairs to be made.
The citadel was, at the moment, two-thirds complete. Certainly, once the reinforced armour had been replaced, it would be formidable; a modern marvel of Diamond strength.
But, what was critical was, that the repairs be started before the attacking Japanese force returned.
With that, Admiral William St. Clair's attention was drawn to one passenger emerging from the doorway that led down into the level below.
When that doorway opened, on came Mr. Townsend J. Cogworth. His face stared out from a picture frame held close to his chest by an attendant pretending to be an attendant, as the Admiralty maintained a staff that would make the venerable Earl of Chesterfield's address to the Countess of Greville stand a chance in the competition.
The photographs showed the man looking a bit more familiar, albeit an older Townsend. But, it was still the same man; the man who had been High Commissioner and Administrator of the South Portland alone, sitting in the topmost seat of power in the whole of the Confederation. Well, one of two.
Although the position was not as great as he had exercised for the last two years, something forced the logical conclusion that one position was as good as another.
"Ah, Townsend," Admiral St. Clair greeted.
"Well, this is almost the last of it," Mr. Cogworth responded, waving his hand at the structural and reinforcement work that was not being made operational.
"I hope you are not disappointed, Sir," Admiral St. Clair answered.
"Disappointed!" the old Sir responded, "I am delighted! This is the best news I have had in years. It will mean life for many of the men currently living under the ground. It will give the men of the fish and chip shop that I used to frequent so often a chance to achieve their ambition of selling fish and chips to the King."
"And, it will allow the King to get married," Admiral St. Clair added, "although I would be surprised if that did not occur before the citadel was completed."
"Do you really think the King will marry a girl from Nelson's navy?"
"It is other people that think that. They are amazed. The King is an old-fashioned man and does not approve of loose living.
"But, his intentions are as good as any. There is no reason why, at long last, if the Admiral gets over his severe grief, that he should not marry. It will help improve his management."
"I am not so sure about that," Cogworth responded, "to tell the truth, he drinks too much. He does not have the energy for the kind of leadership your Admiral expects."
"I think he will cope with the change," St. Clair said, "after all, it will be either us or the Japanese. My guess is, he will be required to sacrifice his moral scruples if he wishes to retain the position. I see Admiral Nelson taking him by the hand and giving him the advice that a good King should give; 'You do as you're told'."