Occupied Manehattan, Around Nine AM
Aboard the Eqaharian Royal Flagship "Subjugator"
====

As the waves rolled against the hulls of the Eqaharian vessels that lay in waiting, the feeling of the crew aboard was permeated with a deep fear, so much that the officers of each ship were sweating.

For aboard the Subjugator, Prince Hector and King Diomedas stood at the prow deck, watching the seas in front of them with a mixture of solemnity, anger, and pride. The King in particular was incensed to the point where the power of his magic was radiating off of him in a physical gray aura.

Prince Hector dared not speak, for he knew why his father was so incensed. During a strategy meeting with his council of generals and governors, a messenger from Manehattan had burst in, bearing with him a sealed gray tube marked with a seal of an eagle bearing arrows and an olive branch.

The message inside was a diplomatic ultimatum from a realm known as the "United States of America", and their President. It laid out the terms for a formal meeting in the waters off Manehattan, to occur in three hours. Diomedas had wanted to incinerate the message, for he saw it as pathetic that any realm's leader would demand this of him in such a way…

...but his generals made him see reason, and now, the two stallions stood side by side, as it was about to turn to the arranged time.

And on the hour exactly, a fleet of seven massive vessels appeared out of the sea mist, bearing a flag of white stars on blue, and stripes of red and white. King Diomedas, normally stalwart and passive, raised an eyebrow at the size of the lead ship, a flat-topped vessel named, according to the text on its side, "USS Ticonderoga".

Some of the others were named "King's Mountain", "Baltimore", "New Orleans", and "Phoenix", but alongside the Ticonderoga were two smaller vessels bristling with what the King presumed was cannon artillery.

These two vessels were slim, but still vast and powerful, and a central control tower was surrounded by smaller rifle nests. On the main bow's front, three quad-barreled gun mounts lay at the ready, and on the rear, an additional set of two three-barreled mounts.

The King did not know that these two ships, the first of their kind to enter service, were Morgan-Class neo-Battleships, or more specifically, the USS Chicago II and USS Arizona II, freshly christened and ready for action.

The neo-Battleship was a recent concept, partially drawn up by a US Navy commission researching how a WWII era battleship such as the USS Missouri could compete in the modern age of naval warfare.

The results had been more optimistic than expected, as the commission found that with advances in modern armaments, power generation, and armor, a battleship could be used to great effect as a carrier escort, weapons platform, or naval base of operations when in situations a regular aircraft carrier could not operate.

Each battleship had nearly three times the firepower of the base reference, the USS Missouri, and featured a pair of helipads, multiple missile pods in addition to the main guns, an aircraft carrier-grade power plant, and carried a crew of 150 to 175.

These two ships were designed, built, tested, and approved for action within about sixteen months, and were now leading the US Naval task force's security element. The whole task force was given the callsign "Hurricane".

And now, this Task Force slowly and surely entered into view, flags waving in the breeze. Prince Hector, at seeing the scale of the vessels before him, gave a rare mutter of shock and surprise.

"Those are certainly impressive," he said to his father. "We must tread carefully. Our opposition has...shown their strength quite quickly."

"I am inclined to agree." Diomedas admitted. "For now...let us bargain with this...United States of America. We shall see what they are made of."

====
Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire…
====

"Talk about perfect timing." 30K smiled as he and the other Ghosts looked over the load of supplies they had just been sent through the portal. The device's location had been changed from the USS Ticonderoga to a small base on the Massachusetts coastline, as the carrier would be the neutral ground for negotiations with King Diomedas. Security issues had prompted the change, as the risk of the Eqaharians discovering the device was too great.

However, a positive of the change was that the Ghosts now had access to a much needed amount of supplies from Earth. The delivery also included a set of upgrades to some of the Ghosts' weapons. As Aegis Lead, Cyclone, Lead, and Hunter Lead set their old weapons down, Aegis picked up a freshly made Remington ACR from a crate and started setting up attachments such as a Hybrid sight.

"Well, this certainly feels better." Cyclone smiled, exchanging his M4A1 for a TAR-21. "It's about time we got new equipment."

"You can say that again." Kozak nodded, as he worked on recharging the four Cypher UAVs they were using, as their batteries were in need of replacement. "Uncle Sam went all out for this one."

"There's a reason for that being the case here." Hunter Lead replied, looking over his HK417 for any sign of damage. "The President is meeting the King of Eqaharia and Prince Hector aboard the Ticonderoga as we speak. Hopefully we can negotiate a peaceful settlement to end this."

"And if we don't? Or can't?" Fury asked, in between bites from a granola bar.

"Then we go to war." Nomad replied simply. "The President's ultimatum made that perfectly clear. And if the Eqaharians make any bad moves...they've got an entire aircraft carrier to fight through before they escape."

"We still have Prince Ajax." Holt said. "Can't we use him?"

"That's not how we do things, Holt." Cyclone said. "Not anymore. That being said, we did bring a full naval Task Force into hostile waters, and then demanded a meeting. Not exactly a way to start a diplomatic process. Plus, if things do go down south..."

"If that happens, it's nothing the Navy can't handle." Vasily replied.

"Plus, don't they have those modern neo-battleships with the Task Force?" Fixit added. "I'd read a few reports about them. I've heard those two ships carry more combined firepower than all of the old Iowa-class battleships back in the day. If the Eqaharians go up against that, they're gonna get blown sky-high, and they're not going to come down."

"Hopefully, we won't have to resort to that option." Nomad nodded. "Because if we do go full-scale...things here are going to heat up fast here in the Crystal Empire. You have to remember, this was the last place on King Diomedas's checklist. If negotiations go south, we'd best be ready."

"Agreed." Sparrow nodded, as he cleaned his Cross-Com-equipped sunglasses. "I have a feeling we'll need all the firepower we can get real soon."

And despite the fact that it was sunny, with no wind, the Ghosts shivered in anticipation. Their next move depended on the outcome of the negotiations happening right in that moment in Manehattan...because a single false move could bring full-scale war.

I know it's shorter than usual, but I needed to get this out, mostly to satisfy myself of my progress. I hope to have longer chapters as the norm in the near future.

Anyway, in the next chapter, we take a different perspective. Alongside the negotiations between King Diomedas and US President Thomas Andrews, we will also see how Bianca and Twilight are doing in the meantime...

So, stay tuned. More will come soon.