Reincarnated as Napoleon II-Chapter 136: Visiting the Flagship

A week later, the date was October 10th, 1834.

Napoleon II was on his way to Brest in his royal steam locomotive. He brought with him his father, Napoleon Bonaparte, and his Minister of Defense, Berthier.

"I can’t believe they have done it," Napoleon I said, looking at the report. "We finally have a proper navy that would dominate the sea and make the British Navy obsolete."

"Hold your horses down father," Napoleon II said. "We are just going to see if they have really done it."

"But Berthier said they have done it. The flagship of the French Navy," Napoleon I said as he glanced at Berthier, as if seeking confirmation.

"It is indeed completed but it hasn’t started its sea trials yet," Berthier finished. "The hull is sealed. The armaments are installed. Boilers pressure-tested while docked. But until she leaves harbor and endures open water, we cannot declare her operational."

Napoleon I folded the report once and set it on his knee.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the Brest Train Station.

Steam vented from the locomotive in thick bursts as it came to a full stop. Naval officers were already waiting on the platform in dark uniforms trimmed with gold braid. Sailors stood in two straight lines, boots aligned with the edge of the stone.

At their center stood a tall officer with a square jaw and weathered face.

Vice-Admiral Jean Henri Joseph Dupotet.

As the carriage door opened, Dupotet stepped forward and saluted.

"Your Imperial Majesty. Emperor Napoleon," he said in a steady tone. "Welcome back to Brest."

Napoleon II descended first, followed by Napoleon I and Berthier.

"At ease, Admiral," Napoleon II said. "We are here to inspect, not to parade."

Dupotet allowed himself a brief nod.

"The Arsenal is prepared for your arrival. The flagship and her sister hull are docked in the main basin."

"Good," Napoleon I said. "Take us there."

Outside the station, a column of Niépce automobiles waited.

Dupotet gestured toward the lead vehicle.

"This way, Sire."

They entered without ceremony. The engine engaged with a controlled hum, and the convoy moved through the port district toward the Arsenal de Brest.

As they approached, the scale of the dockyard became clear.

Cranes towered above steel skeletons. Sparks fell in controlled showers where welders worked along hull seams. The air carried the smell of coal smoke, hot metal, and salt.

Napoleon I watched through the window and then his eyes widened when he could finally see the battleship.

"That’s the..."

"It’s the flagship of the French Navy, Napoleon I-class battleship," Napoleon II said evenly. "She carries your name."

The vehicle rolled closer.

From this angle, the full mass of the hull became apparent.

She rested in drydock, supported by layered timber blocks and steel cradles. The bow cut forward in a sharp, armored wedge. The hull plating was smooth and dark, interrupted only by the thick armored belt running along the waterline.

Berthier removed his hat unconsciously.

"Mon Dieu..."

The numbers on paper had not prepared him.

Two hundred forty-eight meters in length. Thirty-three meters across the beam.

Even stationary, she felt like a structure rather than a vessel.

Napoleon I stepped out before the automobile had fully settled.

He walked toward the edge of the dock, boots striking steel grating. Berthier followed a half step behind. Napoleon II remained composed, hands behind his back.

From below, the battleship dwarfed everything around her.

The old ships of the line moored in the secondary basin—three-deck wooden giants that once defined naval supremacy—now looked fragile and narrow.

"Let’s see the inside, shall we?" Dupotet said.

A steel gangway had been secured from the dock to the forward boarding point. Sailors in working uniforms stood at intervals along the deck above, rifles slung, posture rigid.

Napoleon I stepped onto the gangway first.

From this close, the armor thickness was more apparent. The main belt ran along the hull in a solid band of hardened steel. Riveted and welded plates overlapped with precision. There was no exposed timber. No decorative carving. No ornament that was often present in the ship of the line.

At the top of the gangway, a captain saluted.

"Your Imperial Majesty. Welcome aboard the Napoleon I."

Napoleon II nodded. "Proceed."

They entered through a reinforced hatch into the forward superstructure. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The interior corridors were narrow but deliberate. Steel bulkheads. Watertight doors spaced at regular intervals. Electric lighting ran along the ceiling in protective housings.

Napoleon I ran a hand along the wall.

"No wood," he noted.

"Minimal," Dupotet replied. "Fire risk reduced. Compartmentalization reinforced. She is divided into multiple watertight sections. Even with severe hull damage, buoyancy can be maintained."

They climbed a short ladder toward the forward main battery control level.

Dupotet stopped before a heavy armored door.

"Main battery, Sire."

The door was opened.

Inside, the forward quadruple turret dominated the chamber below deck. Two massive 380-millimeter naval rifles extended forward in a unified armored housing above.

Napoleon I stared at the scale.

"Four guns in one turret," he said.

"Yes, it can level up an entire city if it were to bombard one," Napoleon II confidently said. "It will destroy a ship of the line in one salvo. That’s how powerful this ship is."

"How many ships like this are we building?" Napoleon I asked.

"Hm, as I recall, there are five battleships that were completed with the same design as this. We also plan on introducing a new class of battleship but instead of two main turrets, it will have four main turrets, two turrets each in fore and aft."

"That’s impressive, but you didn’t answer my question," Napoleon I pointed out.

"Ah, apologies father," Napoleon II rubbed the back of his head. "As I said, there’s five with 10 more planned. As the French Empire expands, so does our naval fleet."

"Well, I want to see how powerful this ship is. Can it fire a blank round?"

"It doesn’t father, it’ll be in next year," Napoleon II said. "But we can discuss the future of the French naval fleet here."