It was a cold day in Amsterdam, Giralomo was busy loading up the trerime, he had worked since the morning and had loaded up at least fifty trerimes, he was tired. The day was exciting, despite the weather and laborious work, King D'Medici had ordered the launching of a grand fleet to a fabled land in the west. Obvoiusly there was great fear and anticipation, for the first time in his life he would see the King, he was very excited.

"You know Giro" said his friend Mattias "The negroes are already there, I know it, my uncle told me at the pub last night" he grunted lifting a box of wheat into the ship.
"Jose? C'mon Mattias he is a drunkard, he doens't know what he is talking about, the negroes?" replied Giralomo pushing the box to the back of the boat. "Why do you think they are sending so much soldiers? Look at them" Jose pointed to a group of Legionaries "They don't like like they are going to say 'hi'" he laughed, handing a huge bag of potatoes to Giralomo.
"It has nothing to do with the negroes, why would he fight them on a far off land when he can fight them in Africa?" he said, tossing the potatoes to the back of the ship.
"Hey Giro, look at this! Its a Republican letter!" he stopped working and started reading it, "Man I can't believe it."
"Put that away Jose! What if the soldiers see it?" he said in a hushed voice. "Wouldn't it be great to join up though? You'd free Europe once and for all" he exclaimed, mocking a swordfight.
"C'mon put it down, they might see you" said Giralomo snatching the paper from Jose.
"Hey, you know I'm going on this ship...." he said, handing some blankets to Giralomo.
"What do you mean?" slowly taking them from his friends hand....
"I am going with them, to the new world." he replied with a look of pride on his face.
"Are you mad? Only criminals, pirates and beggars are going! We don't even know if a new continent actually exists, you could die out there!" said Giralomo, dropping the blankets into the ship.
"I spoke with Dieter Van Der Koss, he'll let me on. Its going to be great, a brand new world full of adventure, who knows what we will find!" he looked accross the ocean.

Meanwhile the King was entering the city in his carriage, his royal advisor Marco Panini and his military advisor Giuseppe Garibaldi in tow. "Its a perfect day to set sail" said the king gazing out of the window. "Ay sire, we shall do well, our men are fully prepared to engage any prospective enemies, our fleet will be unmatched I can assure you." said the general, with a stern look of pride.
"Sire, according to the reports we've recieved from sailors, a Mali fleet was spotted in the bay of Biscay. Some fishermen off the coast of Britain have relayed their possible path, shall we follow?" said Marco, handing the king a map.
"I am no Admiral, that is for the captain to decide, no?" asked the King.
"You are a wise man Lorenzo" said Garibaldi "A great leader is one who can delegate authority."
"What is on my schedule Marco? I believe I have a meeting with Regent Orange?" he asked.
"Yes sire, you meet with William within the hour, after which you will give a speech to our fleet." he said reading from a sheet of paper.
"Giuseppe, I am assured that this army we are sending is capable of crushing anyone who would attempt to thwart us?" asked the King.
"Quite sire, we shall make a good showing to the Mali, that is if they survived, it is quite cold, not at all like the weather in Timbuktu!" the men slightly chuckled.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they perished in the northern seas." said Marco, reviewing his notes.
"Who will be heading up the expedition Giuseppe?" asked the King.
"Van Der Koss, he is a good admiral, he was the first captain of our Greek fleet, he is now heading this one, good man." he said.
"Is he royalty?" the king replied.
"No sir, however, I don't believe that should be an issue, I know the aristocracy would like to be the first to the new world, but sire, we must get there at all costs." explained Garibaldi.
"It is fine Giuseppe, quite alright..." the king stared out of his window.
"Sire, what shall we do about the Europa Movement?" asked Marco.
"They will perish they are a non issue..." said the king as he stared out of his window....