Rip sat before a desk in the royal offices within Doctors’ Commons, where the king could invite members of the Royal Venture Society and professors of the Lyceum, if he so desired. Allo rarely made appearances at either institution. But on occasion, such as now, he did call people in to speak with him.

Behind the desk, Rip looked at the man who arguably was the most powerful person alive at the moment. The monarchies of Prussia and France might give Allo a run for the money in military forces, if not with their inferior navies. Spain and Portugal were still rich and powerful. Austria-Hungary controlled what remained of Europe and the rest of the world. But among them all, the sun literally never set on the Umbrian Empire.

Greater Umbria included all of North America above the Rio Grande. Australia, India, China, the Middle East and large parts of Africa also fell under her sovereign rule.

Umbria is the world’s lone global superpower at the moment, he thought. This guy has a lot on his plate.

Prescott took his place beside the king, still standing, of course. He clasped his hands behind his back as the king began to speak.

“Sir Coulter, I wanted to tell you I have signed an order adding your medical petroleum jelly to all sickbay supplies on every ship in the Royal Navy. What is it called? ‘Colfax’s Topical Rub,’ I believe.”

“That’s the one for lung ailments, Your Majesty,” Prescott said quietly.

Rip thought Sir Prescott might be one of a very few people willing to openly contradict Allo. He probably would not have bothered, had the “inventor” of both topical products not been sitting there with them.

“Ah. You are correct. Yes, we’ve stocked our sickbays with that as well as the . . . ordinary petroleum jelly. Who is this Dr. Colfax, anyway?”

Rip said, “A marketing fiction, Your Majesty.”

“Hm. Sounds duplicitous.”

“There is an element of duplicity in marketing, but the idea is to create a brand that consumers trust. If they like Dr. Colfax’s petroleum jelly, maybe they’ll try his toothpaste. Speaking of which, it would be an excellent idea to promote good dental hygiene in the military. Healthy soldiers fight better, and there’s a link between clean gums, teeth and overall health.”

“Make a note of that, Jeffery. All your personal care products will be beneficial, I’m sure, Sir Coulter. The petroleum jelly in particular, my royal physickers assure me, helps with wound dressing. And as bellicose as the Kaiser has been lately, we might be needing more wound dressing on our ships soon, sad to say.”

He gave Rip a meaningful look, as if this statement were given to draw out the otherworlder’s thoughts.

Rip obliged.

“Yes, the Kaiser was troublesome in our world. Great Britain, your equivalent, managed to keep the German kingdoms apart until Wilhelm I united them.”

“So we have discussed. And this eventually led to what your world called the ‘Great War.’”

“Or, more commonly nowadays, World War I.”

“And they, the Germans I mean, were instrumental in the instigation of your World War II, were they not?”

“Some historians say that it was really one war, interspersed with a long peace. Anyway, yes. Germany was in the middle of both, despite the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary kicking off the first one. That war fired up due to a variety of secret alliances across the Continent. Austria wanted to attack Serbia after the assassination, but was wary of Russia coming in to help. They looked to Prussia to join them in a combined effort. Prussia decided to attack France, since they were allied with Russia. Britain tried to play the role of peacekeeper, but when Prussia stormed through Belgium on the way to Paris, it felt obligated to join in on the side of France and Russia. And so it went, escalating from there.”

Allo and Prescott shared a glance.

“Right. And this first world war of yours resulted in a stalemate, correct?”

“That’s right. Trench warfare. Ugly. Brutal. Gas attacks, airships bombing London, submarines sinking ships. Both sides dug in. It was only when the Americans joined that the stalemate was broken.”

The two men glanced at one another again. The king frowned.

“Yes, the United States of America. Your country, in your world. And there is no equivalent to help us out on ours.”

Prescott added, “The American colonies remain rather lightly populated, at least by Umbrians. The natives have a strong presence there, but can hardly be expected to contribute soldiers to a war in Europe.”

“You also have the steam vaults, and the whole issue surrounding Darhaven,” Rip said. “This, too, is very different between our worlds, when comparing your current times to the lead up to World War I on my world.”

“Yes, about that,” Allo said. “I rather fear a global conflict with Prussia and Austria-Hungary would go the other way with Darhaven tipping the scales to their side. You see why I remain so concerned with the history of your parallel world. We may come to another split in the road, and if things go the wrong way for us, the results could be devastating for Umbria.”

“Yes, well . . . it did not go well for the empires at all, on both sides of the Great War. They were all dissolved. Most became republics, although Germany’s quickly failed and the country was taken over by a dictator ten times worse than before. Communists took over Russia. And Britain slowly shed most of her colonies, granting independence to large swaths of the empire. China eventually turned communist, too.”

Both king and steward appeared somber at these statements.

“I suppose we’re doomed, either way, then.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty. Liberty eventually wins out. Which side wins just dictates how long it will take for freedom to spread. Then the cycle starts over again.”

Allo rubbed the side of his nose, lost in thought for a moment.

“That’s an interesting perspective, and I’m not sure I agree with it. Regardless, I’m sure we will discuss your world’s history more. I may want to bring in some other experts to hear what you have to say.”

Rip smiled and held both arms out.

“I remain your loyal subject, Your Majesty.”

“Yes. You’re quite different from all my other subjects. That makes you all the more valuable. Now, on to the other thing I wanted to speak with you about.”

He glanced at Prescott and nodded.

The king’s steward cleared his throat and said, “It appears two RVS leaders are retiring after all the recent excitement. Lord Bixby and Lord Sharp have expressed reservations about continuing due to their age. Both have expressed supreme confidence in having you taking over a combined team.”

Rip’s eyebrows rose.

“That’s . . . thanks for the vote of confidence. However, I’m not a blueblood.”

Allo and Prescott exchanged a bewildered glance.

“I was under the impression that to lead an RVS team one needed to be a lord or lady. A member of the House of Lords, or something. I don’t know that I’ve met a team leader who was not.”

“Ah, I see the confusing aspect. No, Sir Coulter, RVS team leaders are chosen by me. That’s why we call it the Royal Venture Society. It is true that many team leaders have experience serving as an officer in the military, and the officer corps stems from the nobility. That may be why you were led to think that. You are a knight of the realm, though, and that is good enough. That, along with your prior experience as a sergeant on your home world.”

“Lady Fisher and Lady Finley had no military experience,” Prescott added.

“Quite so,” Allo said. “Both have proven themselves quite adequately in martial matters, despite the recent losses on both teams.”

The conversation paused as all three reflected on recent events.

“Well,” Allo said suddenly, breaking the silence. “Be that as it may, I suggest you gather your team members and begin building esprit de corps, Sir Coulter. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Rip stood up. He turned to leave and the king called out one more time when he reached the door.

“Oh, and Sir Coulter. Do think up a good name for your team, will you? We’ll have to record it. There will be a short ceremony where you’ll be expected to say a few words.”

Inwardly, Rip groaned.

Prescott smiled at him.

“There’s no escaping public speaking, Sir Coulter.”