Lord Palmerston, Foreign Secretary of the British Empire, was present for the commissioning of the battleship. Along with him stood a small group of British officials and naval observers who had traveled to Brest after hearing rumors about France's newest warship.
They watched the vessel settle into the water as harbor tugs began moving slowly toward her sides.
"Monster…" Palmerston muttered, his mouth slightly open. "Two hundred forty-eight meters in length, a beam of thirty-three meters, and a draft of ten meters. It's larger than our steam warships."
Beside him, the British naval attaché lowered his field glass slowly.
"It's not only the size, sir," he said quietly.
Palmerston glanced at him.
"What else?"
"The armament."
The attaché lifted the glass again and focused on the forward section of the ship.
"Those forward turrets… four guns each. That means eight heavy naval guns facing forward alone."
Palmerston frowned slightly.
"And the secondary battery?"
