"Citizens of the Great Ruthenian Empire," A Ruthenian female news anchor on TV smiles. "Today, history is being written as the new modern fleet of the Ruthenia Empire composing of His Imperial Ruthenian Majesty's Ship Petropavlovsk Class Aircraft Carrier, His Imperial Ruthenian Majesty's Ship Imperator Aleksandr IV Class Battleship, two of His Imperial Ruthenian Majesty's Ship Rurik Class Battlecruisers, eight of His Imperial Ruthenian Majesty's Ship Burnyi Class Destroyers, and two of His Imperial Ruthenian Majesty's Ship Morzh Class Submarines will set sail towards Port Arthur to serve the Pacific Fleet. Let us witness this historic maiden voyage…"
As the news anchor on the television continued speaking, Alexander was sipping his wine while comfortably sitting on his seat. He had been watching television since the start of his daily mundane work which involved sifting through paperwork.
Fortunately, the news that is now being broadcasted on television somehow lifted up his mood. The ships that he copied from the future and introduced here in this world made him feel invigorated, inspiring and motivating him to come up with more ideas.
Regrettably, though, most of the ideas that had been running years ago are slowly crawling their way to reality thanks to his family's massive amount of gold reserves collected over the generations by his forefathers.
Instead of letting it rot in the bank and never using it, Alexander invested it in several heavy industries that kept the economy of the Ruthenian Empire going.
However, said reserves are running low and soon Alexander has no choice but to market some of the military technologies developed to the civilian market. But as of now, the things IDS is selling are making significant profits to offset the spending.
Finishing his wine, Alexander poured another glass for himself, before continuing to watch the television. The warships that will leave St. Petersburg for their grand voyage to Port Arthur will be easy compared to the Baltic Fleet that was dispatched four years ago.
Four years ago, the Ruthenian Empire was sanctioned by the Britannia Empire after the Dogger Incident that transpired during the voyage of the Baltic Fleet to confront the Yamato Empire thrashing Ruthenia's the Far East. Forcing them to take a longer route of 33,000 kilometers or 18,000 nautical miles. It took a toll on the minds and morale of the sailors. With no foreign base, they were virtually on their own. But thanks to Alexander's treating the Princess of Britannia Empire, the sailors won't have to go through that suffering again as they can now freely pass in the Suez Canal without restrictions.
At this part, Alexander saw a problem. The Ruthenian Empire doesn't have a foreign naval base, it also doesn't have colonies outside its territory. This will leave the Ruthenian Fleet dependent on her ally's foreign naval bases for fuel and repairs, particularly the Francois Republic until it gets to its port.
If Alexander wants to dominate the seas, having foreign naval bases around strategic areas is crucial.
With that, he gets to work, pulling out a world map from his drawer and unfurling it on the table. He started marking the countries of the region on the map that could serve as potential foreign military bases. The countries that were marked are the Francois-controlled territory of Madagascar in Africa and the Brittania-held territory of Bahrain and Ceylon.
He can take those territories through acquisition as he did in Manchuria. The problem is, are these two countries going to agree and let them have it? Francois is a steadfast ally of the Ruthenian Empire so there is a chance but Britannia? He doesn't think so. There is no way they will let their geographical rival have control over the middle east.
So, Alexander gave up on his ambitions of having foreign colonies in the middle east, instead, he focused on Madagascar. It has a perfect geographical position on Earth. It has access to both the world's oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. It will also serve as a vital strategic port if a major conflict were to arise.
Alexander set his marker down on the table, a grin flashing across his face. This was it, his eyes are now set on Madagascar.
As he was having his fun plotting, a small knock interrupted his thoughts. He quickly fixed his posture, grabbing the remote to turn off the television before hailing someone on the door.
"Who is it?" Alexander called.
Rolan entered the door. "Your Majesty, your guest has arrived."
"So, he finally arrived huh?" Alexander asked. He stood up, putting away the world map, and straightened the creases of his dress shirt. "Let him in."
Rolan nodded in acknowledgment before turning around to open the door. A young man clad in a suit stepped through the door. A man in his thirties stepped inside the room, his blonde hair neatly combed back and he wore a black suit on top of a blue shirt and dark navy blue trousers. He stopped right in front of Alexander and bowed.
"Your Majesty."
Alexander beckoned Rolan to leave the room with a tilt of his head and he left without hesitation.
He turned to face the man who just greeted him. "Sevastian. Please have a seat."
Sevastian sat opposite Alexander. He cleared his throat and placed his both hands together, holding them by his fingertips.
"So, Sevastian. I must say you're the first person to take the chance of applying as my National Security Advisor," Alexander paused and grabbed his file. He flipped through the papers. "It says here that you have a Ph.D. in Philosophy and History? Damn, I didn't know you were this impressive."
"That is because we rarely see each other, Your Majesty," Sevastian smiled.
"That's true, we haven't seen each other for quite a long time, even during the tumultuous times of the Empire you haven't shown up."
"I get it, Your Majesty. You're still disappointed in me showing up only on your coronation and application. But that is because I've been busy managing the Caucasus Region during my tenure as its viceroyalty. While you're stemming revolutionaries and chaos in the capital I'm doing my best to stem mine."
Alexander ran a tongue around his cheek, silent for a moment. "Look, the point here is that how can I trust a person whom I barely met that is applying for the highest position, basically becoming my right hand when it comes to domestic and foreign policies."
"Two things are certain, Your Majesty. That I'm loyal to the Royal Family and the Ruthenian Empire. I work for the best interest of the Ruthenian Empire," Sevastian said resolutely.
Alexander stared at his eyes, looking through them to see what lies within. For some reason, his expression softened when he noticed a flicker of sincerity and loyalty in Sevastian's eyes. He has been careful in selecting who to trust when it comes to such important positions. With just one look, he can tell the difference between genuine loyalty and something else that could deceive the viewer. And it was the former.
Sevastian is an asset. He's good on paper. It would be a waste not to utilize him.
Alexander leaned forward, propping his forearms on the surface of the table. "Alright. You're aware of the position you're applying for, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. It's a position that advises the Emperor on matters pertaining to national security policy."
"That's the basics of it. Every week I get debriefed by my ministers, keeping me updated on the matters of the Ruthenia Empire. You will also get to attend that meeting in my stead and relay everything that has been discussed. Simply think of it as my assistant."
"No problem, Your Majesty. I can do that."
"Well, if you understand that much, you can now start today."
"Wait? Today?" Sevastian raised his brow.
"Yes."
