The dreadnought's roar still echoed in the minds of those who had witnessed it.
The Gulf of Valencia, once tranquil and overlooked, now bore the smoking crater of an island that no longer existed. The uninhabited islet—Cala Negra—had been reduced to flaming debris in under three salvos. Aragon's naval flagship, Santo Dominio, had done in ten minutes what it once took fleets hours to achieve.
Foreign observers had stood aboard escort vessels and smaller cruisers during the demonstration. Now, just two days later, their dispatches had reached the capitals of Europe—and the world had begun to panic.
Inside the War Office in Madrid, Alicia laid out a stack of telegrams on the strategy table.
"Londale, Glanzburg, New Vienna, and even Orosk have all sent follow-up queries," she reported. "They want to confirm what they saw. Or, more likely, they hope it wasn't real."
