Mongolian Space Initiative. Chapter 2 is now up!

[TheKosmonaut]

Introduction

The year is 1943, a time of rapid economic and geopolitical change is upon all of Asia and Europe, the world war has more or less ended and The Great Empire reigns supreme over nearly all of Asia.

With a territory spanning East to West from the Korean peninsula to Iran, North to South from Kazakhstan down to the border of India/Bangladesh, and with some more expansion into South East Asia and colonial territories in Indonesia, The Great Empire is at the forefront of economic and technological growth in the world.

After the end of The World War, the Mongolian Khanate had opened its doors to various scientists and engineers from the now collapsed People’s movements from Europe as well as a large gathering of great minds from Japan.

The A-Bomb was never dropped on Japan mostly due to its early surrender in the War from a complete blockade enforced by the Pacific Nations and The GE (Great Empire), this blockade had cut off all supplies and energy to the resource-deprived Japanese Navy. After this surrender, much of Japan was seized by GE and occupied from 1935 to 1940 until the Pacific Nations (The West-American Federation, Portuguese Republic, and Franco-British Union) had begun pressuring the Empire to release this territory, for fear that GE could use it as a springboard to the Pacific. A brief conflict came about in what was known as The War of Empires in the Pacific Ocean and its isles until GE and the Pacific Nations came to an agreement whereby Japan became a neutral territory largely controlled by a newly formed government within Japan. No military activity of any kind would be allowed over Japanese airspace or territories, including Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, which had been under control of the Franco-British Union until the start of the Great War in previous years.

While the War in the Pacific is quite a bit different than what we know to be true, the war in the Atlantic Theatre was even more foreign; the biggest difference being GE aiding the Russian Monarchy (RM) in its efforts to defeat the People’s Nations. This change in manpower and military strength had cause the United Germanic People to collapse at a faster rate than ever, ending in 1942 with GE/RM forces taking the Reichstag and its leaders prisoner for trial. With supply being cut off to the People’s Movement Nations, the PMN’s military collapsed with Franco-British forces pushing them back. The Euro-Asiatic treaty was signed and, eventually, peace was declared over Europe.

The last bastions of the People's power would have skirmishes in the Mediterranean as well as South East Asia. While much more scaled-down, the fighting was still difficult and fierce due to guerrilla tactics and insurgencies forming against the threat of the Royal North. Mongolia had largely returned their militaries to control borders and maintain order with a high increase in immigration control and regulation, though still hoping to enforce peace among the colonies in SEA, Mongolia has a sizable naval force patrolling the South China Sea as well as the waters around Indonesia and Australia.

A New Age

With the end of the war came a time of great growth for GE's economy, a great number of industry workers and cheap laborers flooded into Mongolia. Mining for various metals and coal had increased and export was filling the pockets of the Imperial Courts. The Great Khan had decreed that it was time for their brilliant scientists to focus not on weapons of war but on increasing their territory, not over lands, but into the heavens. The Holy Campaign was started and with it, the Mongolian Space Initiative.

Chapter 1: Sunspear

Project Sunspear: Copernicus-1

And so with this decree, the age of rockets has dawned. The greatest minds from the Empire have come together to form the Mongol Space Initiative, or MSI. Their mission, to develop a craft that can bring Mongols, Persians, and all peoples into the Great Blue Sky.

Our launch site is on the far western end of the Empire's dominion, Persia, the year is 1943. The first rocket made by our scientists is Copernicus-1, named after the great astronomer from the European nations.

The initial kick-stage is a cluster of four solid fueled rockets made by a team of Chinese rocketeers. No longer making their machines for art and amusement, they have created the powerful Archer booster. This booster will be the foundation for the Copernicus series of Sounding Rockets.

After fifteen seconds, the Archer booster is depleted of its fuel and is discarded. This is where the Aurochs primary booster is ignited for the remainder of the powered portion of the flight.

The Aurochs was designed by the Persian artillerymen under the rule of The Khan of the West, Pedram bin Khosrow. This design will also be used and modified for future iterations of the Copernicus.

Just a mere thirty seconds later, the Aurochs is also out of fuel. Already moving faster than the speed of sound, this rocket's work is not nearly done.

A shell set atop the rocket is released to reveal a control module as well as a battery of scientific machinery to test the environment at high altitudes. The rocket will only reach a maximum height of fifteen (15) kilometers before the earth grabs hold.

The rocket is now falling back down to the sands, in order to ensure a safe landing and a recoverable vehicle, a parachute is used.

Safely back on the grounds of Semnan Rocket Facility, Copernicus is ready for recovery and study by the great minds at MSI.

- - - Updated - - -

Hello and welcome to my Mongolian Space Program! This introduction as well as the first mission is but a taste of what will come later on. I am hoping to flesh out this strange world even more. I wont say all that is going to happen, but there will be competitors and there will be failures as well as glorious successes.

I am heavily inspired by the likes of NathanKell, his RFTS posts and his introducing me to Alternate History has set off this little story I have going.

I am still working on a lot more of the history to this history. With such a world having such a drastic change early in time, the Butterfly Effect has caused massive change to the landscape of Europe. The Crusades did not happen in the way that we know it did. As such, there was significantly less power given to the Papal powers. Spain never converted to Catholicism, the Caliphates didn’t fragment or collapse but instead united, reaching from Spain to Arabia, going through N. Africa on the way. The Ottoman Empire also came out very differently. Its power to facilitate trade between Asia and Europe was challenged by the Khanate earlier in its history and was weakened by opposing factions. By the time this world’s equivalent of WWI came about, there was even less of the Ottoman Empire than our timeline had seen.

As you may have also noticed in my edit, I removed the USSR. This is largely because (and thanks to NK for this) I doubt the USSR would have existed. Instead, we have a reformed Monarchy thanks to Alex II who was not assassinated before he could have reform. It’s complicated but it’s best not to pull at these strings (lest my house of cards collapses).

Edited February 16, 2015 by SpaceAnt
Changed names, and various events. Overhauling the history.

[BadRocketsCo.]

Very nice! It's off to a good start

[grockstar124]

Nice! I'm guessing this is modded, could you add a list? Thanks, and keep going!

[TheKosmonaut]

Nice! I'm guessing this is modded, could you add a list? Thanks, and keep going!

This save uses Realism Overhaul and its dependencies, and RP-0 which is a sort of lightweight career mode.

[TheKosmonaut]

Supplementary

BREAKING: GREAT KHAN SETS SIGHTS ON OUTER SPACE!

It was an especially quiet, early morning in the western territories of the Mongol Nation when, suddenly on the horizon, one could see a pillar of fire and smoke breaking the plainness of the blue sky. Some residents of a nearby settlement were in a great panic, thinking that the War had reached their doorsteps!

"

We thought that perhaps there was more artillery coming into our lands, it was very frightening, yes. We expected more loud booms and maybe explosions, but none came!

" said one resident of the nearby town of AlÄÂ, just a few kilometers south of Semnan.

But what was an alarming sign of war was, in fact, a scientific endeavor from the team at the Mongol Space Initiative. We had gone to Semnan University to ask some of the members of a very ethnically diverse team of brilliant minds to ask them about their work.

"

...well, there are things that we cannot tell you, but, what we can tell you is that our Great Khan has decreed we create a vehicle capable of orbiting our planet...

" was all that we could get out of the mysterious team. Our sources do tell us that the rocket ship seen was only the beginning and many more are coming in the near future. Will the Mongol Horde be successful in their adventure to the stars, is such a thing even possible for man, has the Khan gone mad? We may just have to see it to believe!

* * * * *

Wroxall, Warwickshire, UK

It was a warm morning on base when Lieutenant Clarke checked the newspaper on his desk. His eyes were glassy and his feet were heavy as he finished the night-shift at the Radar Station. Dropping himself down to the creaking wooden chair, he glanced past various headlines, mostly claiming the progress on many different war-crime trials. Skimming through the pages, something catches his eye and felt his heart skip a beat. The Mongols are starting a rocketry program! he thought to himself as he read the blurb.

Not a night goes by when Clarke wouldn't dream of seeing beyond his radar monitors and the cloudy skies of Britain. Every time he had leave for more than a day he would go to Coventry and study at the libraries, reading from end to end any texts on the stars and the heavens above. Now that the war was for the most part over, he will at last be free from the RAF and go to pursue his studies. Clarke gazed out of his window as the sun was rising over the hills on the horizon. He took a sip of his coffee and sighed.

Someday we will watch this over the earth, someday.

* * * * *

Edited January 6, 2015 by SpaceAnt

[TheKosmonaut]

Chapter 1, Part 2: Broken Bonds

Project Sunspear: Copernicus-3

It's been a couple of months with MSI working hard at improving and pushing higher and higher. Every step of this assignment has been a great challenge to the men and women as MSI. The world's attention was caught by reports of a rocket ship being sent higher and higher into the skies, some said that it was a hoax, brought about by Mongol Propaganda in order to maintain an air of superiority to any nations wishing to question their might in the technological industry. Many others were afraid that these were new, secret, and frightening weapons of warfare being developed to advance the Empire's strength over Europe, South East Asia, or even Japan. Out of all of these opinions and views, one question was brought up, Why aren't we doing this too?. Nations around the world were challenged by the idea of going into space, and while the war had seen rocketry before, it was never thought of as a means for greater exploration, only a means of delivering death and fear. Many stood up and wished to invest into exploration of the heavens above, many also called such things blasphemy and an offense to our assigned place in this universe.

No matter what words of doubt, anger, fear, joy, or intrigue were, the Great Khan and his cutting edge team of scientists, engineers, astronomers, and rocketeers were never wavering in their resolve to push beyond the boundaries of the Sky. Songs were written, the people of The Great Empire were filled with joy and wished to see more of these wonderful shows of fire and metal. Across the whole nation, families would gather around their radios and televisions to watch these talks from the people behind Copernicus and, most importantly, witness the rockets ascend into the heavens.

And so on one hot summer's day, the MBC began to broadcast the news of Copernicus-3 being launched.

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Ten minutes, ten minutes of the world watching as this mighty bullet shot from the barrel of humanity soar into the sky. For ten minutes, the world forgot about the still fresh wounds of war, famine, struggle, and pain, all to watch a simple looking object thrust itself into the heavens.

* * * * *

BREAKING: Mongols break barriers by leaps and bounds!

Just an hour ago, MSI had launched their third Copernicus rocket into space. What was just a ten minute long flight has shaken the world as many doubters were put in their place by the evidence of a rocket being launched. For the first time, the Mongol Space Initiative broadcast their mission around the world. An estimated 1 billion people watched as this craft behind me lifted into the heavens above. There appear to be several large burn marks on the vehicle, though we have been told to keep a distance of at least one-hundred yards as their teams gather around the craft and investigate. We are being told that the Great Khan has offered press that are present here today to go to their launch facilities and watch as they reveal the first... the first photograph of our planet Earth from beyond the boundary of our atmosphere. We will be sure to have a copy and check to see how real these photos are before putting them into print. Either way, we will be back with more as it comes. This is Erik Blanche, BBC news, in the Persian region of the Empire of Mongol.

"You hear that? It's crazy what is going on these days. Looks like those stories are going to come true before we know it! Hey-- are you listening to me?

Nikolai let out a sigh and ignored Vlad at the desk next to him. It's been months since the war ended and he still had to spend his time rotting away at this desk.

"Three more years..." Nikolai muttered as he sketched what he imagined this Mongol rocket would have looked like. So much wasted time in a cell with these assignments handed to him.

* * * * *

EXTRA! Images from space released!

Edited January 6, 2015 by SpaceAnt

[grockstar124]

I'm assuming the UK will develop there own program soon-ish. Thanks for the mod list! Also, nice job with the black and white pictures!

[TheKosmonaut]

Background: Chinese Rocketeers (Part-1)

Greetings, dear reader,

It has come to our attention that you wish to learn more about our Glorious Empire's technological growth and advancements in history. While there are limits to what the average person is allowed to see of our military hardware, the documents you have requested specifically are clearly out of date and no longer under such classification. We hope that you enjoy the recreated artillery pieces and photos of them in action. If you and your party are interested in learning more about Mongol military weapons through history, please visit the Güyük Museum of Science and Industry in the great city of Khanbaliq.

May the Empire Endure for 10,000 Years!

Amzi bin Ibrahim,

Ministry of Education, GE

The following documents are translated for your reading pleasure.

My dear Xiao Na,

I write you from the city of Karakorum, it has been around three months since I was taken into the Khan’s service. I have been assigned to the military as a Rocketeer since I was with big brother when they sacked Kaifeng.

I fear that they will discover my lack of expertise in rocketry but so far my brother has kept me in the light with his techniques, I have learned much about his trade in such a short time. This is mostly due to the fact that my life depends on this.

We are currently developing a weapon for the Khan which he will use for his armies. A rocket-propelled spear with more explosive powder in the tip which will explode upon impact with the ground. It is a very frightening weapon for the unsuspecting soldier or horse. He demands that we have an effective range of one-hundred-fifty paces or more. Brother says this will be possible but we must bide our time and make it seem as though we are improving.

I write you mainly to show that we are still alive. We will return someday. Tell our mother of us. Continue to let her believe that father is also well. Do not tell anyone where you get this letter from or who delivers it. I put myself at great risk to share with you this information. Enclosed is a sample of textiles and some coins for you to use. Feed the family. Stay strong.

Chun Jia.

Early Rocket technology for the Mongols was cutting edge for its time. The spread of Chinese rocketry eventually would show up in Korea with such weapons as the Hwacha. In this timeline however, the Mongols accelerated their rocket-weapon’s program. Making somewhat primitive forms of artillery.

The first weapon produced by Chun Jia was this:

These Chinese Rocketeers continued to advance in rocketry throughout the GE's expansion in Asia.

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[TheKosmonaut]

Chapter 1, Part 3: Grace

Project Shangdi: Shangdi-1

YúBó breathed in with chattering teeth, these winter mornings in Persia were colder than he anticipated. Rolling over, he saw the time on the wall.

Only 2AM he thought to himself as he let out a long breath, vapor visibly pouring out of his nose and mouth. It'd been over three years since being hired at MSI, in those three years, not a single craft has made it successfully into orbit.

Giving up on the possibility of sleep, YúBó rolled out of his bed and shuffled his way over to the desk. Strewn around the top were pages and pages of sketches, math problems and various formulas, prints of previous rockets going back to Copernicus, photos of the Franco-Brit's first sub-orbital rockets - which were genuine as far as he and the team could tell, and then his journal he's kept since arriving at SLC. During the War, he had designed a number of short-range rockets and even some planes, he despised every minute of it. When his projects were a success he had a mixed bag of bittersweet emotions. Pride for his designs being a success, but also realizing that his designs were weapons of war. He could only take pride in their efficiency, even that was, at times, detestable.

Tomorrow would be the launch of the Project's first rocket. Getting parts of his previous designs like the Guanyi and reworking it to put objects into space was a unique challenge, but forcing it to work with the Persian-made Xerxes was something that he was never comfortable with. The Xerxes was unreliable and its record reflected that. With the overhaul on the designs and basically strapping four of them together under one hull, he hoped it'd be workable enough for space, or at least part of the way there.

* * * * *

Coffee. The only liquid fuel used more than Kerosene at SLC; it was the only thing that kept Wu-Jie alive in these past few weeks leading to launch. No amount of lukewarm coffee and old dates could keep him satisfied until this rocket took off. Just two doors over, the Great Khan himself was waiting in the VIP observation room (made just for him and his staff) awaiting the make-it-or-break-it moment that was coming up.

"Stand by for Terminal Countdown. I will call your positions, you are to answer 'Go' when nominal conditions are met, or 'No Go' when your conclusions are unsatisfactory." Launch Control Director Papak Farrokhzad took in a deep breath as he fingered through the checklist and called through the entire Launch Centres operators. All Go. The timer continued to run as he glanced over and saw the Great Khan through the opaque window, he gave a thumbs up to the Launch Team.

Papak took one last look at the clock, T-30 seconds.

"Here we go."

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* * * * *

MSI at it again! Manmade object in orbit!

At approximately 6AM, , residents of the FBU could hear, on their radios, a loud beeping sound followed by a short transmission from Mongolia through the means of an object they had launched into space. Millions are stunned and in awe of the surprising success out of what was a struggling campaign. Later this week, the Khan of the Empire will speak on the future of their space-programme and its goals.

With news of the Eastern People doing such fantastic things in the heavens, it makes us wonder, when will we join them?. When we reached out to The Planetary Sciences board, they refused to comment. There have been rumors of tests over the ocean and in the Western Colonies, but what will come of it? We will have to wait and see! Erik Blanche, BBC, London.

Edited January 14, 2015 by SpaceAnt
Taming the typos.

[TheKosmonaut]

Chapter 1, Part 4: Anxiety

Jamestown, Greater Commonwealth

David sat at the edge of the old pier, the cold mist floating like a ghost over the still morning waters. With the news of Mongols parading their victory literally over his head, his constant state of hopeless depression had hit an all-time low. It's been two months since MSI made orbit and they were still having trouble with their own rocket probe, Oceanic. Even worse, the rocket was barely working, having to use an all-solid first stage was difficult at best, disaster at its worst.

Holding some small stones that he'd gathered on his walk over, David began skipping stones along the surface of the once very calm waters. It'd been twenty minutes before he even realized that his partner, Jacque, was waiting at the bench, newspaper and coffees in hand.

"You know, it's polite to let someone know when you sidle up behind them." David had said in his monotone voice, all the while still skipping stones across the water, ten skips was his record.

"Would you have even bothered to look back and say good morning if I had?" Jacque replied as he lit his cigarette, he even offered David one. As always, he declined the smoke.

David shrugged at Jacque's question, they'd been working together long enough to know what the next move was. In a pavlovian series of motions, David walked over and sat at the bench next to Jacque, taking the other coffee and newspaper, black with four sugars.

"I cut something out, I don't think you'll want to read it." Jacque said as he threw a crumpled up trimming of David's newspaper into the water.

"What, the Mongols wrangle the Moon and bring it closer to Earth?" David answered wryly, watching the ball of paper float away with the current. A minute or two passed before Jacque gathered his words.

"Not quite..." Jacque stood up, "They're still ahead of us, we need to accelerate the launch, I think if--"

"I told you last time, and I will tell you again, it's not ready. You know what happened when you didn't listen to me. You can trust in your engineers, but trust me when I say that your Inquisitors will not hold together..." David gulped his coffee down, whincing as he pretended the scalding liquid didn't burn his tongue. Jacque walked away slowly, crossing his hands behind his back in a way that added a good five years to his otherwise youthful self. David knew what Jacque would say next. As Jacque drew his breath in, David mimicked him in perfect unison:

"C'est la vie."

* * * * *

Three weeks later.

Gunter sat up straight at his panel, beads of sweat gathered at his brow as he watched fuel pressures carefully. It was about to be his turn to make the call on whether or not they would proceed.

"How're the tanks doing, Gunter?" Jacque whispered as he leaned over from his desk. Gunter could only shrug as he dabbed his forhead with a towel. Another awkward moment of silence passed before he turned to Jacque and said, "Yes, it should fly.".

Jacque gave a hard smack on the back of Gunter's shoulder, leaving a painful stinging sensation as Jacque yelled GO over the console.

David sat back at the main control desk and nodded to the mission controller, this was their last shot for success. This launch just had to work.

* * * * *

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* * * * *

Twelve hours later, Khanbaliq, GE.

Fei walked hurriedly down the hall with the confirmation, the Europeans had done it. There's been a buzz all through the night as the Air Defense team noticed a missile launch coming from the Commonwealth. Now she just had to tell the Khan and his court that the FBU is in this conquest for space.

What was normally a twenty minute walk felt like just three minutes, she stood and composed herself as she knocked on the two meter tall, red door. On the other side was an even taller Royal Guard, had it not been one that knew her she'd have been frightened to death of the Guard. The guard, dressed in the traditional hide and iron armour, held his hand out, telling her to wait. He looked back at the Khan as he invisibly nodded and then let Fei pass. Giving another bow, she let the news out.

"It was apparently a close-call for their Air Force. From what we have heard, the rocket is largely being controlled by their military forces. There have been no signs of another launch or that they really even expected this to work. They're surprised as much as we are..." Fei handed binders out to the members of the court. "All of the rocket's stages were dropped into the Atlantic Ocean. The news agency being broadcast in the British region is declaring a 'victory for all men' and are encouraging the public in expecting another, more ambitious mission to follow soon."

The Khan stared intently at the binder given to him, rubbing his temples as he motioned with his other hand for a telephone connection to the FBU Leadership. He held the phone in his hand for a moment before telling the court, "The good news is that we did it first. From what we have learned here, our probe is more advanced and our rocket is more capable. This is still our race, we will continue to lead it..." The Khan looked down and gestured for everyone to leave.

As Fei left the room, she was relieved. She didn't know what to expect, and this was the first time the Khan had allowed her into the Court, let alone make eye contact with her. She realized her hands were shaking. Asia's most powerful leaders, spanning from Manchu to Persia, even a representitive from Bharat was in council, which was...odd.

Edited January 16, 2015 by SpaceAnt

[TheKosmonaut]

Chapter 1, Part 5: Loss of Signal

Semnan Launch Centre barracks, Persian Region, GE

"No, no, NO, NOO! You cannot just strap on those gods-forsaken missiles to the side and hope that it will launch again! We don't have the money anymore!" YúBó screamed as he kicked the table over. "We aren't developing an intercontinental missile that needs to launch in a storm, we are making a rocket for an orbital satellite!"

Afiq sat back in his chair as his tea and dinner flew away with the table. He stared at YúBó as he paced in the room, his hair was pulled in every direction possible, locking eyes back at Afiq, he continued.

"I know you Persians have a affinity for these Solid Fuel motors, but they are dangerous. I have no idea how the Francs did it over with their rocket, but we can't possibly try and emulate that. Stick with the vernier thrusters and call it a day. This will be the fourth launch... if it fails..." YúBó trailed off as he stared back at the whiteboard on the wall.

Afiq stood up, repositioning the table and chairs, he walked over to YúBó and calmly put his hand on his shoulder, YúBó turned and faced him. Afiq was a man of few words, but somehow was still able to infuriate his Chinese and Mongol counterparts with just the raising of one eyebrow. YúBó sighed and started to pick up the broken plates on the floor.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I don't know how long it's been since I have slept. We can continue the discussion another time. For now, the XG-1b will be on the pad by this weekend. If it doesn't work, well... Let's just say we won't be seeing each other for a long time--they'll disband the MSI." YúBó left the room.

Afiq went back and took his coffee, he opened the schedule for this week and saw that it had been over six months since the Shangdi launched. It's felt like an eternity. They had no idea what the FBU was up to or if they were having similar issues. That the Shangdi even launched was a miracle, that is in orbit is nothing short of a gift from God.

* * * * *

YúBó walked back to his quarters, his eyes felt as though they were weighed down by lead weights and that he had ants crawling on the back of his eyelids. As tired as he was, when he'd lie in bed, all he could see were numbers and the various threats thrust upon him with every failed launch. If they want to continue with this project, they'd need to prove their worth with the next launch, the Khan was already losing his faith in him. The world is already suspecting that the launches are just a front for a new weapons program, they weren't wrong. YúBó despised that the Dark Works team has been taking every piece of information from his team for whatever evil they were concocting in the East. It's partially why he hopes to dispel the continued development of the Solid Rocket project. Though he suspects that the Persians have other plans in mind. He didn't like being kept in the dark about this or why the others insisted on increasing production.

YúBó slowly faded into unconsciousness as he thought of the coming launch.

* * * * *

Launch Day, SLC Pad-1.

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[NathanKell]

Hurrah!

...1.03? Wow, didn't catch that the first go. Wouldn't it make more sense to just load less propellant to get up to 1.15+ sea level TWR?

[TheKosmonaut]

Hurrah!

...1.03? Wow, didn't catch that the first go. Wouldn't it make more sense to just load less propellant to get up to 1.15+ sea level TWR?

Well, Semnan (Iran) LC is already pretty high up.. So I don't think my TWR is really at 1.03. I'd have guessed it to been a decent 1.1 at that point.

[NathanKell]

Ah, that makes much more sense.

[TheKosmonaut]

Chapter 2, Part 1: Forerunner

Eastern Germanian Wilds, 1939

Gürragchaa's eyes could barely open, the smoke filling his cabin was thick and burned his eyes. Most of the sunlight was drowned out and what little light that did push through the smoke barely helped. Gürragchaa's first instinct was to jump out of his seat, as he tried, he felt a strange pain in his leg. Looking down, he saw a large piece of wood that went up through his chair and into his leg, pinning him down. A loud creaking noise filled the plane before he realized that he was still not on solid ground, he was suspended in a tree. He reached for his pistol and tried to shoot the windshield open, as soon as it cracked, the explosive force of the flames behind him pushed out through the new opening. Before he knew it, he was completely engulfed in flame. Gürragchaa pulled a lever and his entire seat slid out of the plane and fell to the ground some three meters below. As he hit the ground, the pain in his leg shot through his entire body. His mouth filled with the taste of copper as he reached for the tree limb in his leg. With one swift pull, Gürragchaa managed to take the wood out of the seat and free his leg. The pain, still very potent, slowly began to fade into the back of his mind as he looked around him. The untouched white snow was stained by shrapnel of metal and wood, fuel from his plane leaked steadily from up in the tree, and in the distance, he could hear the booms of Anti-Aircraft guns firing off at his comrades still in the sky, though by now, they were at a great distance. Adrenaline now coursing through his veins, Gürragchaa stood up from his seat and limped around for his pistol that he dropped as he fell. This was not what he had in mind when he was given this escort mission...

Imperial Palace, Khanbaliq, 1948

YúBó was glad to be back in Khanbaliq, even for a short time, the snows in the country had begun to melt with the springtime. For the first time in months, you could even see the sun in all of its warming glory. What was worrying, however, was that Afiq was with him. It's very rare for a Persian to be summoned by the council, let alone have an audience with the Inner Court. If The Great Khan is present, YúBó just might have a heart-attack.

"Do you know what they're going to ask us?" Afiq broke their nearly three-day silence.

"You know as much as I, Afiq. Why would they share anything with me?" YúBó decided the loaded question would be an entertaining way to take the conversation. He reached down for his cigarettes, one left. Afiq quizzically looked at the walls to the palace, looked down to his hands, then finally gestured around him.

"Well, I am Persian, you are at least from this part of the land. Have you seen the way they stare at me?"

"Everyone is equal in this Empire, Afiq. There is no information bias here. All I do know is that this summons was made only a few days after Udan-7's launch--- Boy!" YúBó waved over a teenage boy that was selling packs of cigarettes and started speaking in a dialect of Chinese that Afiq did not recognize. They continued walking to the palace entrance in silence.

"Damn... out of matches"

* * * * *

"You are what?" Afiq was noticeably agitated and started to lose composure.

The Science Councilman stood from his desk with the new assignment.

"We are separating the development of liquid and solid fuel rocketry. Chu YúBó, you are to remain in Semnan and develop liquid-fueled launch platforms as well as accelerate the manned launch programs. Afiq al-Madini, you will take charge of weapon's development and solid-fueled launch platforms, as well as booster systems for first-stage launch vehicles. Both of you will have the rest of the day to pick the members of your teams. Remember, do not see this as downsizing, The Great Khan is seeking to further enhance our superiority over the Franco-British rocket-technology. Funding will not be decreased for MSI, and the Solid Division will have its own budget and goals." Councilman Yasavi turned away from them and gestured to the door. There would be no arguing for reconsideration. Afiq hadn't broken his gaze off the Khan's seal on the parchment, many would consider it an honor to have a wax seal from The Great Khan, but this was only a dagger to his heart.

A few hours had passed, Afiq and YúBó were never the best of "friends" during their time together at MSI, but this change brought nothing but pain to their hearts. They had realized that in these past five years that they were indeed friends. They enjoyed one last week together, YúBó was given the chance to visit the new plot of land to be converted for the new Defence Rocketry Division. They were both surprised to see that the candidates Afiq had chosen were already there and waiting for him in their barracks.

It was time for YúBó to return to Semnan, they exchanged their goodbyes as he boarded his train for home. YúBó had already begun assembling his manned flight pilots in a list as the train slowly built up speed. He took one last look out the window to see Afiq and his new team.

YúBó never saw Afiq again.

* * * * *

Eight months later, Semnan Launch Centre

"Hello and welcome to the first live broadcast from the Semnan Launch Centre's observation platform! My name is Sander Andrejev from the Russian Royal News, sitting here with hundreds of other commentators broadcasting in many different languages for all to hear around the world. We first received word of a rocket launch with a man on board about three months prior, today's launch is what is termed as 'Sub-Orbital' which means the Imperial Test Pilot will only be away for approximately ten minutes. We are just minutes away from launch! We will bring you minute by minute news, after a word from our sponsors!"

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