Absolutely—here is Chapter 5, carrying Shawn's empire into new theaters of war and ambition.
(Approx. 3,000 words)
Steel and Ashes: Empire of the Southern Continent
Chapter 5 – The Thunder from the North
January 1904 – The First Test of Strength
The Pacific had quieted under the Commonwealth flag, but tensions brewed across the Coral Sea.
Reports from Australian merchant captains spoke of Japanese naval patrols shadowing convoys off Papua and the Solomons. Officially, Tokyo insisted these were routine maneuvers. Privately, Shawn's intelligence network intercepted orders to probe Australia's defenses.
On January 9th, a fleet of Japanese cruisers intercepted an Australian freighter, the Mistral, boarding her at gunpoint. The crew were interrogated.
Shawn summoned his advisors that night to Newcastle's command bunker. A great illuminated map covered the table, marked with naval dispositions and known Japanese bases.
He placed a gloved finger on Truk Atoll.
"We knew this day would come," he said. "The question is whether we respond with caution—or with finality."
His generals shifted uneasily. The empire was still consolidating, still scaling production.
But in the end, no one dared argue.
By dawn, orders were transmitted across the Commonwealth: all clone battalions to active deployment, carriers to sea, Meteor squadrons to forward bases.
System Status Update:
Clone Legions: 420 operational
Meteor Squadrons: 5 active (60 aircraft)
Vertibirds: 190 operational
ASC Southern Cross and Invictus: Ready
M1 Light Tanks: 120
M26 Pershings: 20
New Heavy Tank Blueprint: M47 Thunderstrike (production pending)
January 1904 – Preparations for the Storm
Production lines worked day and night under arc lamps.
The Newcastle Tank Arsenal began welding the hulls of the M47s:
Designation: M47 Thunderstrike
Weight: 57 tons
Armor: 150mm composite plate
Main Armament: 105mm rifled cannon
Engine: Hybrid diesel-electric
Crew: 5
Shawn inspected the first chassis personally. The sheer bulk of the machine dwarfed anything fielded by European armies.
"Get me twenty ready by June," he ordered. "I want them spearheading the next campaign."
February 1904 – The Strike on Rabaul
To demonstrate that Australia would not be intimidated, Shawn ordered a show of force.
At dawn on February 3rd, a full Meteor squadron launched from Invictus, racing across the waves toward Japanese observation posts along New Britain.
For the first time, the jets were armed.
Each aircraft carried:
4× 20mm autocannons
2× 500-pound bombs
The attack came like lightning. Within three minutes, radio towers, fuel depots, and docked patrol boats were ablaze.
As smoke curled skyward, Shawn transmitted a single message to Tokyo:
"Australia will remain sovereign. Any further provocations will be answered tenfold."
Japan's response was calculated silence.
March 1904 – The New Frontline
Recognizing the threat, Britain sent a delegation to Sydney. Among them was Winston Churchill himself, now First Lord of the Admiralty.
They met in the war room, beneath the great brass Commonwealth seal.
"Shawn," Churchill began, lighting a cigar, "you've built something remarkable here. But if Japan presses the matter, you'll find yourself in a two-front war with the Germans as well."
Shawn steepled his fingers. "I'm aware."
"And you're prepared to weather that?"
"Yes."
Churchill studied him a long moment, then smiled thinly. "In that case, I suspect your star is still on the rise."
March 1904 – Operation Meridian
For weeks, Japanese reconnaissance flights tested Australian patrol routes.
On March 22nd, they finally overreached. A pair of Japanese Nakajima seaplanes strayed too close to Bougainville, snapping photographs.
Meteor Squadron 3 was scrambled.
Captain Morgan, call sign Thunder One, led the intercept.
At 600 kph, the jets closed on the prop-driven seaplanes like wolves on prey.
"Targets in sight," Morgan radioed.
His 20mm cannons spat fire. The Nakajimas disintegrated in the air.
The Commonwealth's air supremacy was no longer theory. It was fact.
April 1904 – The Invasion Plan
Intelligence indicated that Japan's main Pacific supply depot lay in Truk Lagoon—well-defended, but vulnerable to a decisive strike.
On April 8th, Shawn convened his generals aboard the Invictus.
Projected Order of Battle:
Naval Assets:
ASC Southern Cross
ASC Invictus
4 escort destroyers
2 heavy cruisers
Air Assets:
3 Meteor squadrons
40 Vertibirds (troop insertion)
Ground Assets:
3 Clone Legions
40 M1 tanks
10 M26 Pershings
2 prototype M47 Thunderstrikes
Objective: Neutralize Truk and cripple Japan's Pacific fleet.
Launch Date: June 1st.
May 1904 – The Final Preparations
Every port in the Commonwealth boiled with activity.
The clones drilled until dawn, perfecting urban assault tactics.
The carriers took on aviation fuel and ammunition.
Vertibird pilots rehearsed night insertions under blackout conditions.
And in the fortified hangar, the first M47 rolled forward under its own power.
When the turret traversed smoothly, Shawn placed a hand on the glacis plate, feeling the vibrations thrumming through steel.
It was beautiful.
System Notification: M47 Thunderstrike Production Operational
Units Available: 2
Production Rate: 1 per month
Strategic Impact: Very High
June 1904 – Operation Meridian Commences
In the darkness before dawn, the Commonwealth Fleet steamed toward Truk.
Waves slapped against steel hulls. Pilots sat in their cockpits, engine turbines humming low and hungry.
Aboard Southern Cross, Shawn studied reconnaissance photographs, tracing lines of approach with a gloved finger.
At precisely 0530 hours, Meteor squadrons roared from the flight decks.
Phase I – The Airstrike
Meteor jets descended in staggered waves.
Their 20mm cannons shredded anti-air batteries.
Fuel depots erupted into sheets of fire.
Japanese destroyers at anchor vanished beneath towering columns of water and smoke.
Radio intercepts captured the chaos:
"Many aircraft! They are too fast—too high—"
"Enemy landing craft incoming—"
Phase II – The Invasion
Vertibirds swept low over the surf, carrying clone squads in power armor.
They landed within the first perimeter, plasma-cutting through barbed wire and pillboxes.
M1 tanks and M26 Pershings followed, rumbling off landing craft in tight formations.
Then came the M47s.
The first Thunderstrike fired its 105mm cannon—obliterating a Japanese coastal battery with a single shot.
By nightfall, Truk's main defenses were in ruins.
Combat Report:
Commonwealth casualties: 15 killed, 42 wounded
Japanese casualties: ~800
Prisoners taken: 2,100
Ships destroyed: 5 destroyers, 3 cruisers
June 1904 – The Declaration of Victory
From the command center ashore, Shawn transmitted to Tokyo:
"Your Pacific bastion is fallen. Withdraw your forces, or I will not restrain further action."
Japan did not reply. But by mid-July, their naval presence east of New Guinea had evaporated.
July 1904 – Expansion of Industry
The victory electrified the Commonwealth.
Within weeks:
Clone incubation chambers doubled capacity.
Jet engine plants expanded to 80 engines per month.
M47 tank production scaled to 4 per month.
Two new carrier hulls were laid down in Newcastle.
System Notification: Industrial Expansion Milestone Achieved
Production Efficiency: +25%
Clone Output: +50%
Heavy Industry Upgrades Unlocked
August 1904 – The European Response
Germany, already humiliated in the Pacific, declared a partial naval mobilization.
Britain and France, alarmed by the balance of power, convened emergency councils.
Churchill wrote privately:
"You are a comet across the night sky—blazing and terrifying. I suspect you will either forge a new century or burn out in conflict."
September 1904 – The Emperor's Speech
On the first anniversary of the Commonwealth's declaration, Shawn addressed a vast crowd in Sydney.
He wore his black dress uniform and the Imperial Crown.
"Once, we were a colony," he began. "A distant shore under foreign flags. But in adversity, we found purpose. In purpose, destiny."
He gestured to the clone honor guard, the power-armored marines, the Meteor jets streaking overhead.
"Today, the Commonwealth Empire stands unchallenged in the Pacific. But let none think this the limit of our ambition. We will trade, we will build—and when necessary, we will fight. Our destiny is not survival, but greatness."
The crowd roared.
October 1904 – Seeds of Further Conflict
In the months that followed, the empire's influence spread:
New Guinea, under full military administration.
Solomons, occupied and pacified.
French New Caledonia offering a permanent naval base.
Yet, across the sea, Japan began to rebuild. Germany funneled funds into clandestine rearmament.
And Britain—though still a friend—watched ever more warily.
November 1904 – The First Carrier Air Group
The Meteor squadrons reorganized into the first dedicated Carrier Air Group:
Carrier Air Group One – "Avengers"
Strength: 48 Meteors
Roles: Intercept, strike, naval attack
Command: Wing Commander William Drake
December 1904 – Dawn of a New Year
On New Year's Eve, Shawn stood on the bridge of the Invictus, surveying the Commonwealth's fleet.
His empire had begun as a spark—an idea born in one man's mind, armed with the knowledge of two lifetimes.
Now it spanned half an ocean.
But as fireworks erupted over Sydney Harbor, he felt no complacency.
Rivals sharpened their knives in Berlin, Tokyo, London.
Yet he would meet them all.
With steel.
With fire.
With the will to shape the century itself.
End of Chapter 5
Shall I continue with Chapter 6?
If you'd like, the next chapter can cover:
The first confrontation with British forces.
The deployment of full-scale carrier task forces.
Dramatic expansion of the clone legions.
New experimental power armor.
Just say "Continue", and we'll forge ahead.