Glory to Our Avalon: Part I



Glory to Our Avalon is a chapter in When the Cold Breeze Blows Away. In this chapter, Edward John Smith tells Su Ji-Hoon about how Avalon was founded by the 2,200 passengers and crew of the RMS Titanic whose lives were saved by Trixie Lulamoon and the Coalition of the Red Phoenix soldiers as part of Operation Nautical Salvation for the Infinity Project led by Nathan Bradford, Michael Dugan, Oscar Hidalgo, Trixie Lulamoon, António Guterres and Zhan Zhao in an effort to save humanity from extinction due to the Last Day.

He also tells the story of how New York City became Titanic City, and how Vietnam was the first country to officially recognize Avalon's independence, starting from the very first major event that was involved in New York City, the USRAC Invasion of New York City by the Beleninsk Pact during the USRAC War, all the way down to the foundation of the Republic of Avalon (which is also the same day when he met the Vault-Tec Rep in Goodneighbor with the Sole Survivor, Cogsworth and Dogmeat on his side).

Debuting Characters

 * Biel Ductavis
 * Frederick Fleet
 * Harold Bride
 * Jack Philips
 * John Jacob Astor IV
 * Molly Brown

Recurring Characters

 * Su Ji-Hoon

Returning Characters

 * Bao Zheng
 * BJ Blazkowicz
 * Cogsworth
 * Dogmeat
 * Dorothy Ann "D.A." Hudson
 * Dr. Kahl
 * Edward John Smith
 * Fergus Reid
 * Fiona Frizzle
 * Ford Pines
 * Grace Walker
 * Ieyasu Tokugawa
 * Jess Blazkowicz
 * Jimmy Neutron
 * Jyoti Kaur
 * Preston Garvey
 * Probst Wyatt III
 * Professor E. Gadd
 * Professor Utonium
 * Qiao Jian
 * Rusty Rivets
 * Sandy Cheeks
 * Set Roth
 * Sole Survivor
 * Soph Blazkowicz
 * Spike the Dragon
 * Trixie Lulamoon
 * Twilight Sparkle
 * Vault-Tec Rep
 * William Murdoch
 * Zhan Zhao

Mentioned Characters

 * Ayman al-Zawahiri
 * Barack Obama
 * BJ Blazkowicz
 * Donald Trump
 * Fidel Castro
 * George W. Bush
 * Hani Hanjour
 * Joe Biden
 * John F. Kennedy
 * Kim Il-sung
 * Kim Jong-il
 * Kim Jong-un
 * Marwan al-Shehhi
 * Michael Dugan
 * Nikita Khrushchev
 * Osama bin Laden
 * SpongeBob SquarePants
 * Tomislav Vlahović
 * Victor Nevarez
 * Vladimir Putin
 * Walovlir Motovov
 * Xi Jinping
 * Ziad Jarrah

Transcript
JUNE 25th, 2042 -- ASTOR HOUSE, TITANIC CITY, AVALON (FORMERLY NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA)

IT WAS A SUNNY TUESDAY MORNING in Titanic City when I woke up from bed. I was in a military uniform (minus my jacket) when I was asleep inside a guest bedroom in Astor House. The national anthem of the Republic of Avalon, "Glory to Our Avalon," was playing instrumentally, and it sounded like the anthem of the now-defunct Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, composed by Gustav Ernesaks.

"Good morning, Avalon!" said a radio host à la Good Morning, Vietnam. "Happy Tuesday! Now, it's time for some morning news."

We walked to a futuristic control room where Harold Bride and Jack Phillips are the heads of that place. They now have full control over MIM-104 Patriot systems in and around Titanic City and its metropolitan area.

High Captain Smith and I looked at a plain navy blue banner with the coat of arms of the Republic of Avalon in it, similar to the emblem of the former Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, except the star is white with a red line drawn in it, reflecting that it was a reference to the former White Star Line. The hammer and sickle is replaced by a crown to reflect that this country traced its origins from a old-timey British cruise ship, the RMS Titanic, of which the two banners replace the USSR state motto in both Estonian and Russian into "Glory to Our Avalon!" in English, French, Irish, Filipino, Tamil and Chinese, the six official languages. The middle-bottom banner bears the words "Republic of Avalon" too. The coniferous branch is even replaced by a coral branch to reflect the RMS Titanic and her maiden voyage to New York which was thankfully turned into something special to save humanity from extinction due to a large-scaled biological/chemical/nuclear war.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Ji-Hoon!" exclaimed the unsinkable Molly Brown, socialist, philanthropist... and now a delegate for the Republic of Avalon. Even the ghoulified Fil-Am US Army soldier named Zeke Hernandez, the Ambassador of Vietnam to Avalon, Nguyễn Huy Khiêm, and some of my newly-reunited friends joined 'em.

We had a ten-course first-class dinner as same as what exactly had been when the RMS Titanic was about to sink after being hit by an iceberg soon, even though I ain't first class at all.

We had oysters à la russe, consommé olga, salmon with mousseline sauce and cucumber, sautéed chicken Lyonnaise, beef sirloin with chateau potatoes and fresh peas, roasted squab with cress, asparagus vinaigrette, pâté de foie gras, peaches in chartreuse jelly, chocolate and vanilla éclairs, and French vanilla ice cream. The same final meal as it was on the RMS Titanic before she struck an iceberg... or actually, before she was transported into a post-apocalyptic time I'm in now.

The only difference is that the pâté de foie gras is instead a combination of mushroom paste and a Pinoy-style liver spread of beef/pork/chicken liver and milk, and yeah, I know force-fed ducks and force-fed geese are too darn cruel to make that disgusting spread out of fatty liver.

On the other hand, alcoholic wine is replaced by cans of beer, soft drink and fruit juice, hence what High Captain Smith told me that fine dining has no meaning due to the Last Day. And I'm not a fan of alcoholic drinks either.

"Hey, you guys have done the impossible; fine dining still lives on even in the post-apocalyptic world I've already been now," I said.

"No, J.H.," said High Captain E.J. Smith, "Even though it seems to be like that, fine dining has left with no meaning due to a nuclear war. You know, there used to be seven billion of us all humans, until it was then reduced to over 2,200 passengers and crew, all three classes, especially the crew -- like me, unlike you. Didn't know you came from outside Titanic City or Avalon, but that's okay. I thought it was, then I was wrong. That's proof that humanity -- and even all other sapient species -- are all still alive beyond my homeland. Even my own planet. Oh, and colonizing the barren New York City with our ship and all the modern resources, even the resources that we all had, help us build Avalon, protecting ourselves from radiation, raiders, feral ghouls, mutants, and most of all -- if that's necessary -- y'know either Coalies, ducangers, or terrorists. Either way, these guys are a bunch of scum. Oh, and anti-Avalonists too. That evil ideology faded out yesterday."

"Damn. You guys know how to recreate all the menu items onboard the RMS Titanic, and you even distributed a lot of first class and second class food to the third class while sharing the first class menu to the second class and back. You even grew mushrooms since the first days after the Last Day took its toll."

"Yeah, just like the time when I was searching the abandoned subway downstairs."

"J.H.," spoke Prime Minister Andrews. "You know, this could've been such a sad reminder that the glory days of fancy dining had completely long gone, thanks to the apocalyptic war that changed everything forever. But hey, at least we can recreate it with some Red Phoenix knowledge and stuff."

"You're damn right babe," agreed the High Captain. "Guess we can try to do our best to show how awesome we Avalonians are."

APRIL 14th, 1912 -- NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN (PRE-WORLD WAR III TIMELINE)

"Shit!" exclaimed Captain Smith after hearing an iceberg hitting his final ship. "What the hell's going on, boys? I'm sleeping."

APRIL 15th, 1912 -- NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN (PRE-WORLD WAR III TIMELINE)

"Hey, boys," spoke Captain Smith. "Guess what? You've done your duty. You need to abandon your cabin right now, because it's every man for himself. You have to look out for yourselves, because I can release you two for that."

Just then, E.J. Smith heard someone speaking through the megaphone. It was Chief Officer Henry T. Wilde, speaking on behalf of the future High Captain himself (who was then... well, just a normal captain).

"People! You all have done your duty tonight. On behalf of Captain Edward John Smith of the RMS Titanic, and his boss, the chairman of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay," spoke Chief Officer Wilde through a megaphone. "I declare this vessel lost! From now on, we will begin to abandon ship, for it's every man for himself at this moment!" the crowd screamed in fear while running away like bees into a hive. He handed the captain the megaphone awkwardly.

"Be British, lads. Be British," spoke E.J. Smith through his megaphone with tears rolling into his eyes due to his negligence on his ship. The remaining officers gather to him as he was about to go down with the ship.

"Well boys," said Captain Smith through his megaphone, again, and this time, only to his fellow officers. "Do your best for the women and children, and look out for yourselves."

After, he cried while he's holding the megaphone in sadness and he climbed down to the bridge.

JUNE 25th, 2042 -- ROOSEVELT ISLAND, TITANIC CITY, AVALON

"Then what did you do other than doing nothing on the bridge?" I said.

"I was just looking at the picture of my wife, Sarah Eleanor Pennington. If only she's here, it would've been kickass by now," said E.J. "Oh, and I did change my mind to rescue some third-class kid whose parents were already on a lifeboat as my final act of redemption... long before I'm saved by somebody else that is. Think of it!"

APRIL 15th, 1912 -- NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN (PRE-WORLD WAR II TIMELINE)

E.J. continued telling me the story of how the RMS Titanic sank before World War III would change the timeline forever. First, he told me about John Stewart, a ship steward, speaking through a megaphone, saying, "Aren't you going to have a try for it, Mr. Andrews?"

"Forgive me, Eleanor," Captain Smith tearfully said as he's looking at a photo of his wife, then he clenched his fists in anger, just as he changed his mind.

"Well, here I go again," he said. "Even though it's every man for himself, it's my last chance for redemption."

Then he ran to the third class staircase, locked by some officers. There, he saw a screaming 10-year-old girl and her 4-year-old brother.

"Mum! Dad! Where are you!?" screamed the girl.

"Damn it," snapped E.J. "Here. Lemme help you." With that, he broke the glass that's sealed inside a container. At that point, the lights are getting a wee bit orange.

"Jeez, I'm sorry to hear it, kids, but they're both on the lifeboats now. Yet be patient. I'm here to help the two of you. Hang on!"

JUNE 25th, 2042 -- ROOSEVELT ISLAND, TITANIC CITY, AVALON

"That was a sad story, E.J.," I said.

"Not really. I'm alive here. Because some supranatural force saved me and thrown me into the future, 130 years later. I know 130 is just bad luck, but I did contradict this evil number," the High Captain said. "Plus, I heard that months ago, some folks from the UN would do their part to save me, just because of something unique from the future. The Infinity Project was founded by a group of Da'at Yichud specialists."

SEPTEMBER 21st, 2041 -- CASTLE OF THE TWO SISTERS, EQUESTRIA

"Holy sweet Celestia," Twilight said as she's holding a torch that has a drawing of a strange-looking (or should I say modern-looking) steamer ship in it. "This is some scary prophecy I never heard of!"

UNKNOWN TIME -- MIHTARLAM, AFGHANISTAN

Captain Smith told me another story of how Lamech's will was written as an origin story for the Infinity Project.

APRIL 15th, 1912 -- NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN (POST-WORLD WAR III TIMELINE)

"Phew," said Murdoch with a deep sigh of relief. "Man, that was close."

"Yeah. Hopefully we can head to New York in a day. Or maybe few," spoke Quartermaster Hitchens. "This will be another great crossing yet, and soon, our captain will retire happily."

"We did it, Trixie," spoke Set Roth. "Mission accomplished. Now that the RMS Titanic is safe, we'll bring it to the future to save humanity. That way, we'll prevent the prophecy."

APRIL 17th, 2032 -- NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

"Well, folks," spoke a male news announcer in a nervous tone. "I advise all of you to... run to the nearest fallout shelter immediately. That's because... we have confirmed... yes, I'm serious. Confirmed reports of nuclear detonations over Philadelphia, Savannah and... Newark. The next may fall here in New York City. My gosh. Our soldiers were right. It's war. War never changes."

The screen changes into a "PLEASE STAND BY" card.

JUNE 24th, 2042 -- ROOSEVELT ISLAND, TITANIC CITY, AVALON

"I thought you would retire, my High Captain," I said.

"Well, at least as a maritime sailor of course. Now I'm a politician. A leader. A High Captain. Not a monarch or a president. Just different from these two head of state types. Oh, actually, that's three," said High Captain Smith. "Well, I'm not a dictator either, so I'm just different. And I hate dictators."

"Me too. Did you know that Kim Il-sung was born on that day?"

"I don't know what you're talking about until then, but hey, you gave me some more info I've never heard of, J.H."

"Did you know that he's also the first ruler of North Korea, and the father of the late Kim Jong-il and the grandfather of the exiled Kim Jong-un?"

"I... never heard of them, but okay. Just didn't know that because I wasn't here yet."

APRIL 15th, 2042 -- NEW YORK BAY

Future High Captain Edward J. Smith told me another story -- and this time, it's about how the Republic of Avalon was created. The first thing he told me is that he was up and getting dressed when the knock came at his door.

"Enter," he called out. In his place walked Chief Officer Henry Wilde.

"Sir, lookouts have just reported that they've sighted land."

"Land?! But we are still two days from New York. Are they sure, Officer Wilde?"

"As far as I can tell sir, they have reported spotting the coast about 15 minutes ago, along with seeing two pulsing lights off in the distance."

“This makes no sense. We should be no where near land. Even if we somehow altered course.”

“What about that strange light that Officer Murdoch reported last night?”

“The one he said that happened when we were about to strike a berg? We don’t know what that was or what happened to the berg or anything.”

“Well, it is possible that all of this is somehow related.”

“I suppose it could be. Follow me to the bridge, Officer Wilde.”

The two walked out of the captain’s cabin and onto the bridge. The first and second officers were already there.

“Gentlemen, I’m told that the lookouts... have spotted land?”

Lightoller spoke up, “Yes, sir. Land ahead, as if we were headed into a natural harbor.”

“Any idea where we are, gentlemen?” the captain asked, with a look of grave seriousness on his face.

“Unfortunately not, sir. We’ve been trying to determine our location with the star charts last night but were unable to do so. We have..." Before he finishes that sentence, Murdoch was then interrupted by Wilde.

“Look!” Wilde pointed out the window. They all looked out. They were clearly passing into some sort of natural harbor. “I could swear that this looks like we are passing into the Lower Bay.”

“The entrance into New York harbor? That’s impossible, Mr. Wilde! We’d be able to see the city from here, and there’s nothing out there but wilderness,” exclaimed Murdoch. And on that, he was right. Nothing but untamed wilderness and destroyed skyscrapers covered with moss (except for the One World Trade Center due to some sensitive nature that the September 11 attacks content would've been so controversial that it might piss off New Yorkers and Muslims alike, which was thankfully spared from a nuclear blast by some futuristic shield technology) seemed to stretch out before them on the coast. Smith stepped outside and took a better look, studying the coastline. After some time he spoke.

“You know, I think Wilde might be right. It looks like we are coming up on the Verrazano Narrows, about to enter the Upper Bay.”

“But that can’t be! Where’s the city?” This time, it was Lightoller who called out. What was going on made no sense to them. Just then, Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall entered the bridge.

“Captain, the passengers are beginning to ask what’s going on. They know we aren’t supposed to be near land yet. The crew is asking what to tell them.”

“Honestly, Officer Boxhall, I wish I knew what to tell them myself,” and then, remembering what else he’d been told by Wilde earlier, the captain turned and asked his men, “Did you not say that the lookouts saw some sort of flashing lights in the distance?”

“Yes, sir. Two of them. One is red, and one is white. They're both flashing in the distance.”

“Well, then there must be something out there, even if the city is obviously missing," and then he turned to Officer Boxhall, saying, “I think, for now, we can tell the crew to tell the passengers that we are in an emergency situation and that we are trying to assess just where we are and what’s going on, and as soon as we know something concrete, we will pass it along to them.”

The Titanic anchored before the ship went through the Narrows. Officer Murdoch had pointed out that, even if this was New York Harbor, it was obviously not the one they knew, and so there was not telling what lay underneath the water, and it would be dangerous to go any further. At 1 PM, Harold Lowe and James Moody took two dozen men and lowered one of the lifeboats to go and investigate the mysterious lights they’d seen flashing on Manhattan Island. It was hard work, rowing across the Upper Bay. They passed Governors Island at just after 3 PM. They could clearly see the flashing light coming from the East River, so they continued to head to that side of Manhattan Island. As it neared 4 PM, one of the men called out, “Look, Officer Lowe, there’s a dock!”

Sure enough, there was a long dock flush with the river. There seemed to be a few buildings along the water front as well, and a tall metal tower that had a flashing light at the top. They’d obviously arrived at the source of one of the flashing lights. Lowe and Moody ordered the men to row up to the dock, where they found a ladder, tied up the boat, and climbed up on to the dock. Several strange-looking warehouses lined the paved surface of the dock. Lowe ordered the men to spread out and investigate. They found the doors to the buildings unlocked, and inside the buildings were empty, but obviously designed to be some sort of warehouses.

As he came out of one of the warehouses, one of the crewmen came running up to Lowe.

“Officer Lowe? Officer Lowe!!”

“What is it, seaman?”

“Sir, there’s a road heading inland from the dock!” the man said, pointing to where this road was at.

“Let's see it,” Lowe said, and then looked about and spotted Moody. “Officer Moody, follow me!” Moody walked towards Lowe, who was being led by the crewman over to this road. And sure enough, the pavement surface of the dock continued away from the dock as a road headed inland into the forest that almost ruled the island.

“Should we investigate, Officer Lowe?” Moody asked, staring down the road as it headed into the woods.

“Well, the lookouts said they saw two separate flashing lights coming from the island. One of them is obviously here at this dock. I’d be wiling to bet that the other light is down this road. We should set up a camp here and then take a party of men inland to investigate further.”

JUNE 25th, 2042 -- NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY (FUTURE SITE OF TITANIC CITY METRO)

"Damn," I said. "That's just crazy."

"Of course not. It's just for humanity's sake, I think," said High Captain Smith. "Funny you should ask, but think again. We came here to help humanity rebuild itself and all other sapient species."

JUNE 25th, 2042 -- DA'AT YICHUD ROOM, ASTOR HOUSE, TITANIC CITY

Thomas Andrews and his second wife Molly Brown look at a pair of 18-year-old twin sisters Soph and Jess (daughters of a Polish commoner who worked as a mental institution worker named Anya Oliwa who is still alive today), including a 34-year-old half-brother of theirs, BJ Blazkowicz Jr. (son of the late Marie Patterson, a world-famous Hollywood acctress), including their daddy, BJ Blazkowicz Sr., and his second wife Anya, whose original headless body was cremated into ashes and were stored inside the urn while his head is attached into a body of a bioengineered super soldier. He looks older now, yet he's still strong.

"Well, you're turning 19 soon ladies," said Andrews. "Oh, and how the hell's that time machine going? Is that all part of the Tibet Project?"

"Hell yes," said Soph. "I even powered myself some Krabby Patty-fed Fairy World fairies whose farts were mixed together with ghost energy from the Ghost Zone as Danny Fenton collected for me with some Da'at Yichud tech as part of some experiment since we captured it from an evil toy factory in Pyongyang."

"Well, crap. Where are we going?"

"364 years into the future."

"Well, I doubt I would be there since almost all humans can live up to a hundred years."

"Just wait and see."

The time machine opened as they saw what's gonna look like in the future. Hell, it's now May 21st, 2406. No more wars. That's what's gonna look like long after I'm gone. They would step into the machine and see what's going on there.

MAY 21st, 2406 -- ASTOR HOUSE, TITANIC CITY, AVALON

"Damn," said BJ. Can you look at it?

"That reminds you of Welthauptstadt Germania where what's left of the Kreisau Circle was hiding underneath the Monuments of Truth before moving to Eva's Hammer, isn't it?" said Molly Brown.

"Yeah," said Jess.

Just then, they saw the descendant of Thomas Andrews. Congressman Andrews. He looked up from his work at the clock on the wall. It was half past 4 in the afternoon. Nearly time to head home to his house on Lowe Street. The report on new settlement plans from the Colonial Office had kept his attention for most of the afternoon, but he was ready to call it a day. Just then, his telephone rang. It was his secretary.

JUNE 25th, 2042 -- AHCH-TO, UNKNOWN REGIONS

Alexander Pepper meanwhile was meditating in the tropical, largely-oceanic planet of Ahch-To, like what Aang was mediating on a lion turtle's gigantic shell. He needed some spiritual advise.

"Alex," Biel Ductavis' voice rang his ears loud and clear (and not in a near-deafening way).

APRIL 15th, 2042 -- NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

After about a half an hour, Lowe and his men reached the source of the inland road. Near a caved-in subway station which was used as a fallout shelter, it ended at a strange concrete structure jutting out of the ground, its walls slanting upward. It seemed to be about one story tall, and went back into the forest some distance. There were two large warehouse doors on the wall that faced the road, along with a smaller, human sized door. As Lowe and his men approached, a beam of light came out from above the door and scanned the officer up and down. Then a feminine voice spoke from seemingly out of nowhere.

JUNE 25th, 2042 -- EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, TITANIC CITY, AVALON

Well, that was weird. There, I also met Grace Walker and Norman Caldwell, or Super Spesh that everyone calls (now alive again by some Da'at Yichud tech).

"My High Captain, please let me present to you Mrs. Grace Walker and Mr. Norman Caldwell, AKA Super freakin' Spesh," I said. "Would you say hi to 'em?"

"Hi," High Captain Smith said nervously.

"Well, you should've made this so damn far right up the ass, gentlemen," said Walker, "And if some folks know what to expect, then let me tell you one thing."

TO BE CONTINUED...