In the Shadow of the Old Pueblo-Tucson ISOTed to the Bronze Age

[EBR]

I do wander what she's going to do with Paris.

 

[ExNihilo]

Also was it on purpose that someone named Paris was highly responsible for the fall of Troy, like in Lost History?

 

[Libandlearn]

There is something deeply disturbing and offensive to me about this and the last update that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe the focus on personal luxury? Maybe the self-reassuring myths that they are "protecting Minoan culture"? Or maybe it is the fact that she declares herself Queen, not even dictator. I do not know which the most, or what mix makes it so bad. I do not like people who should be better establishing authoritarian regimes blatantly for personal gain. And more importantly, authoritarian regimes for life. The whole thing feels just so incredibly skeevy and self-centered in a way that even the killings of Troy did not.

I guess I am too democratic/republican to be honest. It doesn't help that it reminds me of "charity" organizations which made the donors and volunteers feel great emotionally while obviously being only more of a burden on the people they say they are helping.

 

[Teen Spirit]

Tthere is something deeply disturbing and offensive to me about this and the last update that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe the focus on personal luxury? Maybe the self-reassuring myths that they are "protecting Minoan culture"? Or maybe it is the fact that she declares herself Queen, not even dictator. I do not know which the most, or what mix makes it so bad. I do not like people who should be better establishing authoritarian regimes blatantly for personal gain. And more importantly, authoritarian regimes for life. The whole thing feels just so incredibly skeevy and self-centered in a way that even the killings of Troy did not.

I guess I am too democratic/republican to be honest. It doesn't help that it reminds me of "charity" organizations which made the donors and volunteers feel great emotionally while obviously being only more of a burden on the people they say they are helping.

Click to shrink...

Rachel Wilson is not a good person. She has redeeming qualities and before the Event she was a decent person. And honestly there's a lot worse people out there in this situations, people who founded states with a lot worse motivation. In another situation, one with more central authority she would probably be a pretty good person. But that doesn't make her good person in this TL. While she isn't flat out an expy of William Walker I did have him in mind when creating her. Whatever she creates, her motivations are first and foremost built out of a desire for glory and to ensure her people live comfortably. It's selfish,self-centered and an intentional misuse of her education for personal benefit.

I mean honestly I think in general an uptimer declaring themselves some sort of royalty does require some hefty ego and skeevy behavior.

 

[liberty90]

"Good" or "evil" are relative cultural constructs, and there was a pretty significant shock to the estabilished ways of life.

 

[Libandlearn]

"Good" or "evil" are relative cultural constructs, and there was a pretty significant shock to the estabilished ways of life.

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The idea that her actions can be waved away with Relative Culturual Constructs IMO kind of waves away just how bad what and why she is doing, as well as the ways in which her actions are personally self-centered and caustic in ways even other atrocities are not. There is a premeditation to her actions as well as a lack of vision, care, or even ideology for those outside her very small circle that is just so toxic. *Combined with the desire to subjugate the people necessary to make themselves live in luxury.*

Edit: added *

 

[Teen Spirit]

The idea that her actions can be waved away with Relative Culturual Constructs IMO kind of waves away just how bad what and why she is doing, as well as the ways in which her actions are personally self-centered and caustic in ways even other atrocities are not. There is a premeditation to her actions as well as a lack of vision, care, or even ideology for those outside her very small circle that is just so toxic. *Combined with the desire to subjugate the people necessary to make themselves live in luxury.*

Edit: added *

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To be fair, not to spoil future updates but the fact that The Minoan Kingdom is still around and rather large twenty years after the event is indication that if nothing else she does have long term vision for things outside of her circle, even if that vision is "How do I create something and not die horribly in the process". It's still incredibly selfish though.

 

[liberty90]

Historically people were concerned mainly with their family, clan, and tribe. Then national identity, ideology and philosophy partially replaced that (I simplify). Nation, in the sense of a extremely small and incomplete slice of the United States, died in Tuscon.

Rachel easily may be nicer to Minoans than the elected US administration was historically to many outsiders, people without the US citizenship.

 

[Libandlearn]

To be fair, not to spoil future updates but the fact that The Minoan Kingdom is still around and rather large twenty years after the event is indication that if nothing else she does have long term vision for things outside of her circle, even if that vision is "How do I create something and not die horribly in the process". It's still incredibly selfish though.

Click to shrink...

Not to take away from her future actions, but I guess part of it is that I saw none of that vision in the actual pitch, and really only thinking about perpetuation in her scheming during the first expedition. Neither of which really gave me the impression of actual consideration for the people who she is seeking to subjugate or exclude I guess.

I dunno. Good updates. Made me feel things. Made me remember things.

 

[Teen Spirit]

Not to take away from her future actions, but I guess part of it is that I saw none of that vision in the actual pitch, and really only consideration of perpetuation in her scheming during the first expedition. Neither of which really give me the impression of actual consideration for the people who she is seeking to subjugate or exclude I guess.

I dunno. Good updates. Made me feel things. Made me remember things.

Click to shrink...

Fair point. Though admittedly that's what not she's pitching. The pitch and the reality are two very different things. Thanks, glad I was able to make something that had an impact.

 

[brian boru]

Well, I guess a brother neatly ties up any succession crisis so long as he has kids himself.

 

[Teen Spirit]

"Girl can call herself King all she wants, doesn't change the fact that she's a daft fool who got lucky. That's what everyone seems to forget, She Got Lucky. We all did I suppose, but her more than anyone."
-Colonel Jack Randall, New Sparta.

"I view Rachel and her little gang of friends as the greatest villains of our time for what they inspired. The Fall of Crete convinced every fool with a gun and two bullets that they could be the next Alexander the Great."
- Nathan Wilson, United States of America (New Washington)

"King, Anax, Queen; All titles that suit my current role. The others think me mad for using such titles, treating me like some sort of delusional fool with aspirations of grandeur. And that may honestly be true, but tell me, is it any more delusional than Store Manager declaring himself President? Or an accountant naming himself General? We're all fools, some of us just know how to use our foolishness better than others."
- Queen Rachel Wilson, The Minoan Kingdom

The Early Days

The story of the conquest of Crete and the rise of the Minoan Kingdom begins with the story of Rachel Wilson and her six friends.

Rachel Wilson was a twenty four year old college student studying at the University of Arizona with a major in Anthropology/Archaeology when the event occurred. Those who knew her generally regarded her as a nerd with strong opinions about science fiction and a fierce and unyielding loyalty to her friends.Loyalty forged after her friends had taken her off the streets when her parents kicked her out and later helped her get into college.

When the event occurred, Rachel did not see it as an act of God or Satan for she had seen such a thing before; in novels about the island of Nantucket and fictional towns in West Virginia. This wasn't the work of some god gone mad in her eyes, but an act of being far inferior and far crueler. She began to panic, realizing how desperate the situation in Tucson would become, and quickly rallied her friends, their families and anyone else she knew would listen to her and began making plans to leave the city.

That night she and her friends would rob from gun shows, supermarkets and several other locations across their part of the city. It was an act that horrified the group of college students but to Rachel it was a bitter necessity. Within 48 hours, she would lead a group of dozens out of Tucson, the group largely made up the families of her friends and girlfriend Jessica. A notable exception would be her own estranged parents, who insisted the danger would pass. They later found themselves part of the convoy that would become the United States of America (New Washington).

Weeks later, Rachel merged her small group with the Grey Convoy and served as that convoy's third in command on the road to Troy. As weeks passed they encountered the remains of several villages that had been burned out by other survivors, full of tools and weapons ranging from stone to bronze. Based on what they found she slowly pieced together where and when they were, and her mind began to wander back to a question that had come up often in a number of History and Archaeology classes; "what would you do with a time machine?" Rachel had had several responses over the years, her favorite being to punch the Classical Athenian politician, Apollodorus of Acharnae, repeatedly in the face. But as the convoy dragged on, her mind turned towards far more ambitious answers to that question.

Once in Troy she soon found herself unsatisfied with her new lot in life, even after a very profitable trip to Knossos the former archeology student felt like both Grey and Paris didn't give her the power and influence she deserved. Worse still was the Labor Tax that Grey was proposing, which mandated everyone had to perform farm labor for at least part of the year. Grey found it an insult to her friends whose skills she thought could be put to much better use. Wilson argued that they should just depend on the remaining locals and hired Minoans to work the farms, with Uptime overseers keeping an eye on them. But Grey was too distrustful of the downtime population to even consider such a course of action.

And so Wilson began to plan, convincing her friends that Troy was not worth their efforts and skills, that they could create a better life for themselves elsewhere. Of course that better life required tools and resources that Grey and Paris would not willingly part with.

Luckily for her things in Troy were quickly becoming heated.

The Trojan Coup and The Voyage of the Alma

As Grey's convoy settled in Troy, it quickly became apparent that the ruling Triumvirate had issues. Quite simply, both Paris and Wilson had come to dislike Grey. Paris had come to outright hate him, seeing him as a turtle who's only ambition was to use Troy as his shell. Grey for his part didn't like the two women either, viewing Paris as a thug and Wilson as a kid with her head in the clouds. Grey's concern was first and foremost protecting his people; for him that meant keeping Troy peaceful and isolated, the world outside of Troy didn't matter much to him as long as his people were safe.

Relations between Paris and Wilson weren't particularly great either. Wilson saw Paris as a jackboot with only slightly more ambition than Grey while Paris saw Wilson as an arrogant kid who thought her education made her better than everyone else. Still Paris was more than willing to work with her, seeing her as a far more agreeable alternative, something Wilson took full advantage of.

Over the course of a few weeks Wilson began to subtly and then blatantly push Paris towards removing Grey from power. Paris would finally agree when Grey proposed expanding the ruling council from three to seven, which Paris saw as an attempt to sideline her, and potentially pack the council with reliable votes for Grey. The problem was all three of them had friends and family along with a growing number of supporters in the city, it would take more than just imprisoning Grey to successfully remove him from power and a full on coup had to be staged.

Wilson promised support provided Paris agreed to fulfill certain demands. The former archaeology student did her best to seem like she was supporting Paris, but not so loyal as to be suspicious. In the days leading up to the coup guards and workers around certain parts of the city were reassigned, replaced by those loyal to Paris and Wilson. Then, hours before the coup was about to begin, Grey received an a note from Rachel warning him of a possible coup. Paris marched into the Royal Palace only to find a number of armed guards waiting for her, Grey having barricaded himself in his apartment. What should have been a bloodless coup quickly became a brawl that consumed the former royal quarter. Just as Rachel had hoped.

As the city was distracted, Rachel and her fellow conspirators moved quickly. Most of the supplies they needed were already on the ships and stashed near one of the smaller gates out of the city, with a few last necessities being taken under cover of darkness and gunfire. Rachel's conspiracy made off with numerous guns and all the ammo she could get her hands on along with food, all sorts of metal objects, trade goods, maps, and a number of auto parts including several valuable alternators.

The main gate to the royal quarter and the port were set ablaze as Rachel escaped with every boat she could.

From there Rachel's group split in three, her brother leading an expedition to the Island of Ios, her friend Carmen taking the last working diesel truck in Troy towards Tucson, and Rachel Wilson herself traveling down the coast looking for people to join their cause. Rachel's plans were ambitious, nothing less than the Conquest of Crete and the entire Minoan Civilization, and she knew that even with her tech advantage she still needed more people. The goal was to recruit both those willing to fight, and those with skills they could use such. But she also knew she had to be cautious, lest someone hijack her plans or set off on their own for Crete.

She took the Alma and The Eagle to visit the various villages and towns along that Anatolian coast that was now home to a collection of emerging survivor-states. She would present herself and her friends as a group of merchants and, as her friends haggled with whoever over prices, particularly in regards to black powder, Rachel and Jessie would get a feel for the place, doing their best to sort out who might be interested without revealing their intentions. In town after town Wilson found people in situations similar to herself, people who resented the primitive nature of their new lives and felt that the skills they had developed in their old life meant they deserved something better in their new one. Carmen discovered herself in a similar situation as the gang she hired to provide protection for her scavenging expedition quickly demanded to be part of the conquest. For people who had been reduced to such a hardscrabble life, the promise of relative luxury as one of the elites of ancient society proved to be an incredibly strong temptation. By the time she sailed for Ios, Rachel had army of nearly eighty people at her back, not counting the friends and family she had already put on the island.

The next month would spent preparing and planning. The conquest of Crete would have to be a surgical strike, far more planned and organized than the Massacre of Troy had been. As Rachel poured over maps, Jessica trained and drilled their army and her brother went to work forging new weapons to supplement their dwindling stocks of pre-event guns. Most of his weapons were crude, ad-hoc black powder muskets and mortars forged from scrap, but they would have to be enough. After Rachel was convinced they had enough supplies and everyone understood what their role would be in both the conquest and its aftermath, she set sail with her small armada.

The Conquest of Crete would begin roughly one year and two months after The Event.

The Conquest of Knossos

At the time of the Event, the Minoan Civilization was entering the final phase of it's Neopalatial period. The Island was politically divided with Knossos (A city of roughly 20,000 people) being little more than a first among equals, and the palace-states of Zakros, Malia, and Phaistos having almost as much influence over trade and the various Cycladic islands they controlled. The Minoan people spoke a Semetic language though their written language, Linear A, had become so divergent that pre-event archaeologists found it impossible to translate. Each palace-state was lead by a King though in reality most of them were dominated by the all-female priesthood as the priestesses controlled much of the trade that was the island's life blood, while the Kings were generally regulated to matters of inter-palace diplomacy and war, which had grown increasingly rare. The Minoans were at the height of their thalassocracy, having complete domination over the Aegean Sea and major influence over trade in the Mediterranean at a time when trade was vital to the region. Their Kings grew fat with wealth and even the common merchants greatly prospered. In Pre-event history the Neopalatial period would end violently in 1450 BCE when either an earthquake or volcanic eruption saw every a palace save for Knossos leveled. The Minoans would struggle along for a few hundred years before being conquered and somewhat absorbed by the Myceaneans.

Here, Rachel Wilson brought an end to the Neopalatial period in a far different manner.

Knossos first became aware they were being invaded when a stone mortar round screamed overhead before smashing into one of the roads leading to the palace. This was quickly followed by a merchant ship that had left port the day before returning, completely on fire as it drifted past the harbor.

Rachel had originally hoped for the attack to begin at night but fears of being unable to properly organize her hodgepodge army (who only had about a month of training) forced her wait until dawn. The woman-who-would-be-king intended to take the city as quickly as she could with as little damage as possible, she needed Knossos as a base for the rest of the conquest. Emphasis was placed on fear tactics including mortar fire (which was frequent but highly inaccurate) as the troops disembarked from their boats and pushed forward off the docks. Rachel Wilson herself stayed onboard the Alma, Jessica she trusted to lead the ground forces. Unlike the Massacre of Troy the American invaders were far more interested in herding the natives towards the palace than killing them. Once they were nearly at the reception courtyard Jessica halted the advance and through the use of an interpreter, the very same merchant who had first helped Rachel broker trade with Knossos, she demanded the King's unconditional surrender.

At first the demand was refused, but the King surrendered a few hours later after Jessica unveiled their secret weapon. Forging it had been a taken a considerable amount of bronze and multiple attempts, the boat that transported it nearly sunk on the way to Crete, and they had been forced to beach and later break the ship simply to get it out of the cargo hold, but in the end the gamble had paid off as Jessica now had a bronze cannon pointed at the palace walls. The thing was roughly the size of a 19th century twelve-pounder with enough black powder for nearly a dozen shots. The King though it was a bluff at first, but after a demonstration shot tore through some of the Palace's textile storage he quickly changed his mind and surrendered lest Jessica make good on her threat to "tear down his palace stone by stone". The head priestess considered overruling him, but remembered tales of what had happened to so many towns on the Anatolian coast and so kept her silence. There would be fighting throughout the day as others resisted bowing to the invaders but by the time the sun had set, Knossos belonged to Rachel Wilson and her allies. The next day Rachel marched through Knossos as if it were her triumph. At the palace she had the former king bow before her and give her his crown, she quickly tossed it aside and ordered a new one made. After announcing in in rough Minoan to all gathered that a new, glorious era had begun under her rule she took the title of Anax, borrowing a Mycenaean term for King to distance herself from the weak Minoan Kings. In a lavish ceremony in the heart of the palace she crowned herself "King Rachel Wilson, Lord of the Aegean Sea". She then quickly demanded fealty from all the other Palace-states. As expected, all but a few minor settlements refused.

The War for Crete was not yet over.
/
Author's Note: So I've generally referred to Rachel Wilson as Queen because that's what the overwhelming majority of Survivor States call her and she doesn't view it as an insult. But King and Queen are kind of interchangable terms with her.

 

[Anchises]

Wasting uptimers precious skills on farm labor is dumb but not wanting to resort to chattel slavery, serfdom or forced labor is understandble. Grey's motivation of not trusting the downtimers isn't great but Wilson's actions make it really unlikely that "hiring" is the right word for the farm labor that she wants to acquire. The use of the word "overseer" gives me bad vibes.

Wilson wants an aristocratic live for herself and her friends and a place in history. Understandble motives but I still resent her. I agree with Randall and Wilson on this tbh. Even if the New Spartans are probably horrible fascists.

Grey and Paris were both weak. With more competent leadership Wilson's stunt might have ended with a bullet in the back of her head. Fostering that kind of strife among the uptimers also is unforgivable because it is a grave risk given the dwindling number of uptimers.

The morality of would-be-kings/queens has been discussed quite often. In the Tucsonans situation I am more forgiving than usual but in Wilson's case her egotism still bugs me. She dunks on the store manager that declares himself President but fails to see that her taking the title of Anax is much, much worse. Sure, its quite comfortable to be Anax now but someone so obsessed with a place in the history books should see the problems.

Even tinpot dictatorships led by Presidents or Generals are at least carrying the legacy of Repulicanism and the Enlightenment. Regressing to a monarchy is comfortable now but will bite the Wilsonian successors in the ass rather quick.

I can understand Wilson though. I would probably act similarly for me and my friends in a situation like this even if I would do some things differently. Wilson is a well written and engaging character. I kind of root for her but I kind of want to see her put on trial in New Washington.

 

[liberty90]

Very nice, but you cannot manufacture black powder from nothing during two months. More like one to two years. You need nice pile of old manure for the potassium nitrate, for example. Beyond that, nice.

In regards to car alternators, if you have any electric motors, from washing machines for example, you can modify these to be generators instead:

 

[Teen Spirit]

Very nice, but you cannot manufacture black powder from nothing during two months. More like one to two years. You need nice pile of old manure for the potassium nitrate, for example. Beyond that, nice.

In regards to car alternators, if you have any electric motors, from washing machines for example, you can modify these to be generators instead:

Click to shrink...

Good point. I don't think it would take years considering the situation but I'll just say that most of the black powder they have was traded for during their recruitment drive.

 

[htgriffin]

Then, hours before the coup was about to begin, Grey received an a note from Rachel warning him of a possible coup. Paris marched into the Royal Palace only to find a number of armed guards waiting for her, Grey having barricaded himself in his apartment. What should have been a bloodless coup quickly became a brawl that consumed the former royal quarter. Just as Rachel had hoped.

Click to shrink...

You see, this was the needless part. Had Wilson made a quid quo pro deal with Paris to help turf Grey in return for running off with her own supporters on a mission that would at worst get the crazies with Aristocrat Dreams out of Troy... then the bloodless coup goes forth with a lot less in terms of casualties/damage/expenditures and likely at least one less actual enemy.

 

[Anchises]

You see, this was the needless part. Had Wilson made a quid quo pro deal with Paris to help turf Grey in return for running off with her own supporters on a mission that would at worst get the crazies with Aristocrat Dreams out of Troy... then the bloodless coup goes forth with a lot less in terms of casualties/damage/expenditures and likely at least one less actual enemy.

Click to shrink...

Paris doesn't strike me as the type to allow the loss of valuable resources and manpower. Wilson probably deprived Troy of invaluable manpower and materials. On the other hand Paris might be self-obsessed enough to think that her leadership is more valuable than the loss of manpower and materials.

 

[Teen Spirit]

You see, this was the needless part. Had Wilson made a quid quo pro deal with Paris to help turf Grey in return for running off with her own supporters on a mission that would at worst get the crazies with Aristocrat Dreams out of Troy... then the bloodless coup goes forth with a lot less in terms of casualties/damage/expenditures and likely at least one less actual enemy.

Click to shrink...

Wilson took a lot. Even beyond taking every form of transport besides the couple of horses and chariots that are still left over from the old Kingdom, she took a lot of stuff. Valuable stuff. So much stuff she probably crippled Troy's ability to expand for years. Troy's not going to starve because of her but it was still a painful blow.

 

[Libandlearn]

Another great update. Personally, it is uhh, easier to read outside of our current main character's head to be honest. Rachel pushing to install overseers gives me incredibly bad vibes and kind of just confirms my priors

Regardless, I am so glad you keep working on it. It is interesting to have a timeline where we are focused on less sympathetic characters. Good luck for more!

 

[brian boru]

Something people need to remember is that in history good men don't always win and wicked men (or women) can prosper their entire lives only meeting their just rewards are their time in earth ends. So long as you dont WALLOW I it like Stirling does in his Draka series I have no issue with Rachel Wilson.

 

[Libandlearn]

Something people need to remember is that in history good men don't always win and wicked men (or women) can prosper their entire lives only meeting their just rewards are their time in earth ends. So long as you dont WALLOW I it like Stirling does in his Draka series I have no issue with Rachel Wilson.

Click to shrink...

Just going to stick out the claim that anyone, but especially an American, looking to create a system of freaking overseers is Hot Trash no matter how much of a great woman or man they are or how much they affected history or what horrible circumstances they were in and what horrible fate they saved their friends and family from.

 

[liberty90]

I'm not sure that slavery or serfdom are truly needed for Rachel even purely egoistically.

You can simply seize ownership over palaces (that were not only palaces, but also biggest commercial enterprises) and land. Then free peasants would have a free choice about working on one farm or another, or even whether to move to a city, but almost all would work for Rachel or other uptimers anyway.

 

[Teen Spirit]

Just going to stick out the claim that anyone, but especially an American, looking to create a system of freaking overseers is Hot Trash no matter how much of a great woman or man they are or how much they affected history or what horrible circumstances they were in and what horrible fate they saved their friends and family from.

Click to shrink...

I should clarify I meant overseers in the sense of having people watching over them so they don't murder them, would that rapidly lead to some abuse and de-facto enslavement, almost certainly but Wilson was worried about downtimers meddling with the food and making sure none of her people have to break their backs doing farming with bronze age tech And also by that time Wilson was already mulling over her Minoan plan. Wilson's big on ensuring she survives and survives in comfort, slavery complicates that since slaves tend to HATE their overseers with a passion. See RL Sparta and it's constant paranoia about Helot revolts. Troy was doing some shady stuff with natives but that was a general trend with most survivor states as they had no idea what to do with them at first.

Something people need to remember is that in history good men don't always win and wicked men (or women) can prosper their entire lives only meeting their just rewards are their time in earth ends. So long as you dont WALLOW I it like Stirling does in his Draka series I have no issue with Rachel Wilson.

Click to shrink...

Trust me there will be relatively good factions out there. Rachel Wilson is getting a fair amount of attention because she's a major player in early events and being a major player early on after this event means someone who's probably pretty morally grey at best since most of the good people aren't going around conquering anything.

And nothing is going to get as bad as the Draka, not even Sparta.

 

[Teen Spirit]

The Fall of Malias And Zakros

After her coronation, Wilson's hold on power was not nearly as secure as she would have liked. While she had Knossos, the largest and wealthiest of the Minoan palace-states, she only had less than a third of Crete's total land. She had the most advanced army on the island, but an ever dwindling supply of pre-event ammo that could not be replaced and a supply of black powder that would take some time to replenish. Finally not all of her fellow conquerors were particularly thrilled about her self-promotion to Anax. While Rachel had made it clear she would be in charge of whatever state they created and some mention had been made of a monarch, there were still a few who found the whole thing absurd. The Anax needed a show of strength to secure her power.

After consulting with everyone from her friends to the local merchants, Wilson declared war on Malias while inviting the other Palaces to send observers to travel with her army. It was risky, letting enemies that close to her forces, but she didn't want to risk having to conquer every palace one-by-one. Malias would be the example, the one that suffered so the others would see reason. She had picked the palace-state because it was closest to Knossos and was near to the shore, meaning they could bombard the palace directly with their mortars instead of just using them on the harbor like they had at Knossos. It was also the most expendable of the palace-states from what Rachel could tell, while crushing it might not send as strong a message as crushing, say, Phaistos would have, it also didn't risk any vital administrative centers like Hagia Triada. With luck, it would be the last major battle she would have to fight.

Malias' docks proved easy enough to take, mortar fire sending the light garrison scattering after a few shots. After that most of Wilson's forces docked and formed a defensive line around the harbor as workers struggled to unload their sole cannon and prepare it to fire. Meanwhile one ship remained off shore, carrying several minor priestess and merchants who were kept under guard, there to observe Malias' fate. Rachel herself was on the docks, directing the battle as she stood near the cannon. Her appearance had changed considerably- while most of the Americans in her army were wearing ragged jeans and other modern pants, Rachel was dressed in a modified version of the dress worn by so many Minoan women and priests. The skirt had been shortened, and the normally exposed middle covered with rich purple fabric. The only thing missing was her crown, which was still being made back in Knossos. Wilson was determined to make it clear what she was now, that she wasn't just some thug with a gun or a refugee;

She was Anax, King of this island.

With some black powder purchased from a traveling uptime merchant they had enough ammunition for fifteen shots for the cannon plus an emergency reserve for their homemade firearms. Rachel would end up firing thirteen shots, all but one of which tore through the Palace of Malias, each shot ripping open a new hole. The King of Malias ordered a counterattack but the attack faltered in minutes after Minoans were hit with Molotov cocktails filled with grain alcohol. By the end of the day the Palace of Malias was standing but it was heavily damaged and parts of it were on fire. The King of Malias was executed by the Anax's forces and his family exiled to Akrotiri on the island of Thera (surely a safe place for them to live out their lives long-term). Rachel then had the priestesses and merchants brought ashore and told them simply "Surrender and prosper or refuse and share the fate of Malias".

The reaction was considerably more mixed than she had expected. Gourina knelt quickly. The King of Phaistos fled along with much of the local nobility, hoping to avoid the fate inflicted by American warlords on so many villages in Anatolia. The High Priestess of Phaistos quickly took control, preventing the palace from falling into chaos. Her messengers informed the Anax that she would agree to bow to Knossos, provided Wilson allowed Phaistos a fair amount of autonomy under the reign of one of her fellow priestess' brothers. Only Zakros, on the far eastern side of the island, remained defiant.

Taking Zakros in battle would push them to the brink in terms of logistics and a rapidly dwindling stockpile of ammunition. But taking all but one of the palaces had done a lot to at least quiet the voices of dissent for the time being, leaving Wilson comfortable enough to pursue a different tactic; instead of taking Zakros by force she wouldstarve them out. Not physically- Minoans made good use of polyculture agriculture and Zakros had plenty of fishing nearby- but economically. All roads to Zakros were blocked, all ships heading to or from there were diverted to other ports. Some slipped through but not enough. Zakros was the gateway to the Eastern world for Crete, its people wouldn't starve, but they'd soon run out of saffron, copper, tin, and textiles, to name a few of its trade goods. The very economic livelyhood of Zakros was threatened, and while it never reached the point of a complete blockade, it didn't need to. Financial anxiety combined with general fears of the American invaders triggered a series of riots. In the end the King of Zakros surrendered to Wilson after three months of economic warfare. For his resistance he was banished from the Aegan entirely, and his family forced into exile on the island of Ios.

The conquest had been far less smooth than she would have liked, but never the less it was complete. Gone were the palace-states of old, replaced by a single Minoan Kingdom lead by one Anax, one King, Rachel Wilson.

Consolidation and Appeasement

Even before the surrender of Zakros, there was much talk among the Uptimers of what was to come next, as even those who had joined late had a sense that the Minoans were only the first stop on a larger plan. Most assumed they would prepare for some time before seeking conquests in Anatolia- maybe even Troy itself. Then they could conquer their way back to Tucson and use its resources to fuel a mighty empire. When someone brought this up at a feast celebrating the surrender of Zakros, Wilson's answer was a surprisingly blunt no. She had plans for conquest of course, once things were secure here. But she had no interest in returning to Tucson.

This baffled many of her supporters, even her friends found her attitude a bit weird. Despite everything Tucson was still undeniably the best source of modern technology and rare resources, and absorbing the survivor states could strengthen their numbers. Wilson still refused. She feared ruining everything they had trying to take a collection of cut up automobiles and rough cut log cabins. New America was still going strong at that point and it seemed possible that many states like it would soon arise out of the collection of villages surrounding Tucson. Wilson didn't want to gamble everything they'd accomplished and any legacy that they (any legacy that she) might create on whatever struggle would ensue between rivals claiming to be America's true successor. Better to trade with whoever won than to risk it all on a war they might lose.

To most gathered it was clear that it wasn't just about the risks, her evasive words and references to legacy, along with her general behavior before during and after the conquest made it clear that this was a matter of ego. As much it was about giving her friends a good life it was also about making a name for herself. Rachel Wilson didn't want to be remembered as just another warlord among the dozens dominating the American survivor states. She wanted to remembered by this history the way history remembered the likes of Cyrus the Great and Ramses the Second. She wanted history to record her as a great leader and the founder of a kingdom that would last for generations.

On a more practical level she also worried how long she'd be able to keep calling herself king if she held American territory. If there were any in Anatolia at that time who had been brave enough (or mad enough) to declare themselves kings she wasn't aware of them. Even a number of her supporters had all but sneered at her when she declared herself King, while the Minoans whispered that her arrival and conquest must have been divine in some manner. She believed that if her kingdom were to become American dominated either by population or culture, then the legacy of the enlightenment would cost her a considerable amount of power and influence. Whereas with the Minoans, she at least thought, she had more authority over them both as a society and a culture.

Beyond all of that though, Wilson personally just didn't want to go back to Tucson or Troy. What she did in the opening days of the event and in the Fall of Troy haunted her. She hated what she did, she hated forcing her friends to take part in her actions, she hated that she hadn't been smart enough to avoid murder and complicity in the Massacre of Troy. At least here she saw her actions as having meaning, not just killing to survive another day.

The refusal to return to Tucson was controversial, and some of her supporters protested strongly. Though many did privately share the King's unease about returning to Tucson, everyone had ghosts there to some extent. Eventually her girlfriend Jessica proposed a comprise. Trying to conquer any of the survivor states would be a messy and bloody affair, and Tucson was far from the shore. But surely there must be survivor states out there with access to Tucson who would be interested in alliance. Having a partner on the mainland would help fuel their plans for expansion and give them steady access to advanced materials without putting everything at risk if war where to break out. Wilson relented and began making plans to find an ally in Anatolia.

But finding such an ally would take time and she had far more pressing concerns at the moment. Before anything could begin obligations had to be fulfilled, rewards distributed. Everyone had been promised a life of luxury free from back breaking labor, but that didn't mean everyone was going to be rewarded equally. Some had contributed far more than others and some were simply far more capable, and those two didn't always match up. Rachel wanted her supporters to form the backbone of a new nobility for the Kingdom. One powerful and skilled enough to help her rule the island, but not so powerful they would be a threat to her or future generations. That was the idea anyway. She was working with former college students, high school teachers, ex-army, even a couple ex-cartel, and most of them had shown promise when Rachel recruited them but whether that promise would amount to anything was a question that weighed heavily on her mind.

First she had to decide what to do with Zakros and Malias. Whoever controlled those cities would be among the most powerful lords in ner new kingdom. Zakros and its command of eastern trade went to Carmen, who had lead the return trip to Tucson and gathered caches of supplies, materials, and important books. Rachel first offered Malias to her brother for his work on the cannon but he refused, only wanting some property near Knossos to begin setting up his forge. Malias would instead go to Fritz Pope, a former high school teacher who had been able to provide Rachel with a large number of guns and several boats both uptime and downtime. For the rest, those who showed an affinity for more mercantile affairs were given a large house and control over several merchants as part of a 'royal corporation' (taxes on these corporations were light but Wilson expected those in charge to expand Minoan trade networks when possible). Most would end up with either governorship of one of the islands or even just large manors with servants and a fair amount of land. Her girlfriend, Jessica Kilpatrick, was only given ownership of the the docks of Knossos along with servants and fine jewels, but as she was now de-facto consort and the King's most trusted adviser, she was probably the second most powerful person in the kingdom.

While her initial efforts were focused on appeasing her Uptime supporters, Wilson did not neglect the locals. It was true that her conquest had been fueled in large part by a desire to use their labor for her own benefit, she wanted very much to avoid being hated. Hated Kings didn't tend have long dynasties after all. For the common people she instituted a grain dole similar to those used by the ancient pre-event Romans. She also sponsored numerous celebrations and festivals across the kingdom, and nearly injured herself when she tried to take part in the bull-leaping. For the merchants she unveiled plans for new boats with copper sheathed hulls that could travel further and hold more than any ship currently sailing the Aegan. She also directed them to begin trading with various survivor states along the Anatolian coast, which proved richly profitable for all involved and helped to establish diplomatic contact with many of the survivor states

She hit a stumbling block when it came to appeasing the priestesses. The priestesses were powerful, being a borderline nobility in their own right, and many of Wilson's reforms had lessened their power in ways she made it clear she had no intention of undoing. The King attempted to bribe them with gifts and a promised ban on any uptime proselytism, this proved of only middling success as it failed to address the underlying issues the priestesses had with their new king. To put it simply, women could not be Kings. While Minoans of both sexes interacted freely in normal life, when it came to one's profession certain positions and careers could only be held be one gender. Men could not be priestesses or homemakers, and women could not be merchants or Kings. And yet here Rachel Wilson was, a square peg who had somehow forced her way into a round hole. The priestesses found themselves at an impasse. Rejecting her would mean risking a war with a woman who had already brought low the four great palaces of the island. Accepting her would mean declaring that Asasarame, the main goddess of the Minoan religion, was wrong.

A growing number of priestesses were starting to wonder if Wilson and the other new arrivals had some other god or goddess supporting them. While few of the Minoans knew about Tucson in detail yet, they were largely aware that the Americans had suddenly appeared in Anatolia, and even they lacked a real explanation as to why that happened. Surely it was proof divine influence. This talk would enrage the more conservative members of the priesthood, none more so than Rusa, the high priestess of Asasarame at Knossos.

Her rage would play a large role in first major domestic crisis the Kingdom would face, the mysterious death of the former King of Knossos.
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So yeah, I have a lot to say when it comes to the Minoans and Rachel Wilson. I'm probably going to get wordy with a number of other nations as well but probably not to this extent.

 

[EBR]

Hated Kings didn't tend have long dynasties after all.

Click to shrink...

Real curious as to what her plans are to accomplish this.