Conquistadors!, page 1
Conquistadors!
(Conquistadors I)
Christopher G. Nuttall
Cover By Tan Ho Sim
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All Comments Welcome!
Contents
Cover Blurb
Introduction, by Dale Cozort
Prologue, Timeline A (Protectorate Homeworld)
Chapter One: Castle Treathwick, Spanish Wildlands, Timeline A
Chapter Two: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Three: Castle Treathwick, Spanish Wildlands, Timeline A
Chapter Four: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Five: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Six: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Seven: Wolfe Airfield, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Eight: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Nine: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Ten: Wolfe Airfield, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Eleven: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twelve: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirteen: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Fourteen: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Fifteen: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Sixteen: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Seventeen: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Eighteen: Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Nineteen: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twenty: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twenty-One: Near Flint, Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twenty-Two: Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twenty-Three: Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twenty-Four: Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twenty-Five: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twenty-Six: Texas, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Austin, Texas, USA, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Austin, Texas, USA, Timeline F (OTL)
Interlude: Timeline A (Protectorate Homeworld)
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty: Moscow, Russia, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty-One: Texas, USA, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty-Two: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty-Three: New York, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty-Four: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty-Five: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty-Six: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Washington DC, North America, Timeline F (OTL)
Chapter Forty: Washington DC, North America/Texas, Timeline F (OTL)
Afterword
Appendix: The Protectorate
Appendix: A Brief History of the Protectorate
Appendix: The Protectorate Expeditionary Force
Appendix: Explored Timelines
How To Follow..............................................................
Cover Blurb
The Protectorate – an interdimensional empire that has conquered five timelines so far – has set its sights on ours. Led by a man willing to risk everything for power and conquest, armed with technology a hundred years ahead of ours – technology promising salvation to its allies and doom to its enemies – and drawing on a far deeper military history, the Protectorate Expeditionary Force has arrived to invade and incorporate our world into the greatest empire the multiverse has ever known, or die trying.
And as the war for the future of our timeline begins, and spreads right across the world, we are forced into a fight we cannot win ...
.... And yet dare not lose.
Introduction, by Dale Cozort
Over the last several years, Christopher Nuttall has become one of my favourite authors. He has a wild imagination which leads to unique world-building and characters. He also produces a mind-boggling array of novels, rivalling old pulp writers like Lester Dent in output for what seems to be an endless array of novels, all with a social consciousness that is never preachy or intrusive. He writes to entertain, not to deliver sermons, and his stories reflect that. He has one other rather unique trait: when he writes in a series, the books often get stronger as the series progresses.
Conquistadors is the beginning of a new series. I’m a little biased toward that series, partly because of its origins. Chris and I both belong to an alternate history writer’s group/zine-based forum called Point of Divergence. Several months ago, Chris issued a challenge: Find an alternate history idea that would go mainstream the way Harry Potter did for YA Fantasy. We have been brainstorming that concept for months without coming up with anything quite in that league, but still tossing around dozens of very good story ideas. One of those ideas: Have the modern world invaded from an alternate timeline with superior technology, putting us in the situation the Aztecs and Incas were in when the Spanish conquistadores arrived.
That idea resonated with Chris because he had previously written something sort of similar very early in his writing career, one involving an invasion by super-technology Nazis. He took this novel in a very different direction. The invaders are not stereotypical villains, nor are they the heroes of this novel. They are a conquering people, at times very ruthless, but with an internal logic to their actions. They arrive with a formidable army in a remote area of Texas, with no idea what they will be facing and immediately begin a knowledge race. What kind of society are they facing? What are its weaknesses? Can they conquer it? They need to understand our society before we understand the threat that they pose. When they think they understand us, conquest begins.
A near-future invasion from another timeline is surprisingly challenging. Among the challenges: The potential for the book quickly becoming obsolete. An author could approach this by looking at what US forces are available, where they are based and so on. And if any of that changes, the book looks dated. Chris rarely mentions specific weapons systems and capabilities or bases while still managing credible battle scenes.
Any realistic discussion of an invasion of the US runs into another problem: The US military almost certainly has cards up their sleeve that will remain hidden in any emergency less than an invasion of the continental US. That’s part of the reason we have black budgets in the Pentagon, programs that may remain secret for decades before finally being revealed, or in some cases failing and being quietly abandoned, By definition, we can’t know for certain what those programs are, or what they can do. That leaves an author with both an opportunity and a danger. Black programs can emerge in the series if necessary, tailored within reason to the author’s needs. On the other hand, guessing too close to reality can cause issues.
Finally, the biggest, nastiest imponderable: How would the people of the US react to invasion? Would they forget any differences and unite against the invaders? Would they let the invaders pick them apart like the conquistadores did the people of the Aztec and Inca empires? That’s a political minefield because the real-life people being described are potential readers and offending them is a real possibility.
This wasn’t an easy book to write, though Chris did it at his usual blistering pace. I thoroughly enjoyed the results and I think you will too.
Prologue, Timeline A (Protectorate Homeworld)
“And so, the final preparations have been completed,” Captain-General James Montrose said. The holographic projection couldn’t hide the anticipation – and impatience – in his voice, his determination to get on with the operation before politics shifted and he was, perhaps, removed from his post. “The 6th Protectorate Expeditionary Division awaits your command.”
Protector Julianne Rigby, one of the Triumvirs of the Protectorate, studied him thoughtfully. Montrose was a man on the move, a man of burning ambition, a man who felt he had something to prove ... a man whose hopes and dreams might someday carry him to the Inner Circle itself, where she sat – or send him crashing and burning into nothingness. He was tall and handsome, wearing a uniform tailored to make him look dashing and imposing ... he’d had it put around, more than once, that his looks owed nothing to cosmetic surgery or gene-splice techniques. His dark hair was cut in a manner that recalled Alexander the Great, barely within regulations, something Julianne couldn’t help finding both amusing and worrying. Alexander had conquered most of the known world, true, but he hadn’t known how to keep it. His empire had barely lasted longer than he had.
Her lips twitched. A man like Montrose would be a threat, under other circumstances. He was charismatic, capable, and experienced, having cut his teeth fighting primals and teaching degenerates the error of their ways. The Protectorate prided itself on being a meritocracy, and an ambitious man could rise far even if he started with nothing, but there were limits. No one man could be allowed to put himself above the rest, even in name. They were lucky, she supposed, that they could send him to fight in other timelines. He would have a chance to earn his spurs and develop the skills he needed to rise even higher, and the Protectorate itself would benefit. And if he lost ...
“We will be in touch,” Protector Horace Jarvis said. “Your orders will arrive shortly.”
He tapped a command. Montrose’s image vanished, leaving the three triumvirs alone.
“I don’t trust him,” Jarvis said, curtly. “He’s too ambitious.”
“There’s no such thing,” Protector John Hotham said, calmly. “We need a man like him on the other side.”
Julianne couldn’t disagree, even as Jarvis swung his head towards her. The Crosstime Transpositioner was the Protectorate’s greatest invention – with the Interdimensional Gates a close second – but it had its limits. The 6th Protectorate Expeditionary Division would be transported to another world, through one of the ‘soft places’ the scientists had charted over the last year, then ... the division would be on its own until a second division could be rotated through the dimensions, or a pair of gates set up to allow instant travel between the two. Montrose would be on his own, without any supervision. There were agents on his staff, of course, with instructions to ensure he didn’t exceed his orders too broadly, but it was impossible to prepare for every contingency. A man like Montrose would have no trouble arranging matters so he didn’t violate the letter of the law, no matter what he did to the spirit.
Her eyes hardened. The Protectorate had discovered and colonised four timelines so far: one apparently devoid of human life, one shattered by a disease that had seemingly come out of nowhere, and two dominated by empires that had reached a certain point and stagnated. They had never developed anything more advanced than wind and sail technology, with gunpowder remaining little more than a curiosity rather than a weapon of war, and they hadn’t posed any challenge when the first expeditionary forces had arrived. The occupants of the disease-ridden timeline had been glad to see the invaders, something that still amused the occupation authority. They were very loyal, far more than any degenerates or primals from the home timeline. They might even qualify for full citizenship in a century or two.
“We are the only timeline that has developed technology,” Hotham said, echoing her thoughts. The researchers believed the Protectorate was unique. Their explorations of other timelines tended to back the theory up. “There are limits to how far Montrose can go.”
“If he builds an empire, it will be difficult to dislodge him,” Jarvis countered. “Legally ...”
He let the word hang in the air. Julianne saw his point. The Protectorate offered vast rewards to the men who conquered new worlds, from lands and titles to real power that could be passed down to their descendants. Montrose would be in a very strong position if he claimed the entire world for himself and his senior officers; trying to dispose of him would be disastrous unless there was very clear proof of mismanagement or treason. Montrose had his supporters amongst the Outer Council, and they would unite against the Triumvirs if they thought their hero was being treated unfairly. And others, who had little love or concern for Montrose personally, would back him for fear of setting a ghastly precedent that could – would – come back to bite them.
“If he occupies yet another low-tech world, if he claims it all for himself, it is not a major problem,” Hotham said. “By the time his conquest is thoroughly developed, he will be dead.”
“Unless he encounters a high-tech world,” Jarvis said. “It could happen.”
Julianne wasn’t inclined to believe it. The chain of events that had led to the industrial revolution of the 1600s – the overthrow of King Charles, the rise of the Protectorate, the development of steam-powered technology – were so unlikely she might as well have rolled a die a hundred times and gotten the same number every time. It might be possible, but it was vanishingly unlikely. The mindset one needed to develop practical technology was rare, apparently. Timelines held in the thrall of empires, or superstition, were unlikely to make any real progress. Even in their original timeline, it had been hard for the Franco-Spanish and later the Russians to realise they had to innovate or die.
“Or he could run into something that could kill him,” Hotham said. His mockery was hidden, but not carefully enough. It was no accident. “He has his orders in that case.”
“And we know he’s loyal,” Julianne added.
She studied the display thoughtfully. The researchers had done their best, but there was no way to determine anything about the new timeline until someone jumped in and took a look. The basic theory suggested that they couldn’t access a timeline too close to their own, certainly not one identical in every detail save one, yet no one had been able to figure out how to find the point of divergence from outside. It was possible there was a timeline in which the Roman Empire had developed technology nearly a thousand years before the Protectorate, or even one in which the dinosaurs had grown into intelligent beings rather than being wiped out by an asteroid strike. Or something completely inexplicable ...
“He has his orders,” Hotham repeated. It was true. If Montrose ran into something he couldn’t handle, he had strict instructions to blow up his base and everything else. The destruction of a Crosstime Transpositioner would - in theory - be detectable, warning the Protectorate that there was a threat on the far side of the interdimensional walls. “Now ... do we clear him to proceed or not?”
Julianne kept her face blank as Jarvis glowered at Hotham. The two men were polar opposites - one willing to take risks, the other too conservative to gamble everything on one throw of the die – and the Outer Council had elected her, in part, to ensure that the two men could never be deadlocked and throw the entire government into paralysis. It was her job to propose a compromise, and yet nothing she could reasonably offer one man would satisfy the other.
“We assigned units to his command, did we not?”
“Of course,” Jarvis said cautiously. He knew she was playing dumb. He just didn’t know why. “He is the force’s commander, is he not?”
Julianne keyed her console, bringing up the 6th Protectorate Expeditionary Division’s Table of Organisation. “We originally intended to assign additional logistic support,” she said, tapping the listing. “If Montrose found another primal world, the only thing limiting his reach would be local logistics. By the time we re-established contact, he could have the entire world.”
She met his eyes. “If we withhold two of the planned logistics formations, it would limit his reach, would it not?”
“A fitting compromise,” Jarvis said. “Sir John?”
Hotham nodded, curtly. Julianne suspected he wasn’t entirely pleased with the agreement, but he was too old a hand to think there was any point in arguing now. Crippling Montrose would be dangerous, if he ran into a peer power, yet all the researchers agreed that was unlikely. He should have no difficulty securing a lodgement and waiting for reinforcements, if the natives proved troublesome. The PEF was loaded for bear – or dinosaur, her mind whispered – and had enough firepower, as well as supplies, to hold its ground against all anticipated threats. And if he did run into a peer power, he could at least talk to them ...
“We can also expedite the second expeditionary force,” Jarvis added. “Once we have a solid lock on the other timeline, we can make sure Montrose is no longer alone.”
“Good thinking,” Julianne agreed. The sooner they added Timeline F to their conquests, the better. Their term as triumvirs would be over soon and they wanted – needed – something that would ensure their names went down in history. “Shall we proceed?”
She felt a twinge of doubt as the two men tapped their consoles. There really was no way to be sure what was waiting, on the other side of the interdimensional wall. The odds of meeting a real threat were unlikely – no one had tried to invade the Protectorate yet – but they couldn’t be dismissed entirely. There’d been no way to avoid giving Montrose considerable freedom to act as he saw fit, and yet ... it might not be enough. If only there was a way to covertly recon other timelines ...
