So I have a very wild imagination that often pulls me into crazy tangents, and one day whilst watching a documentary on ancient technology I was caught up in the idea of what I'd do if I were sent back into the days of the Empire of Rome (say perhaps 300AD) as a result I created a little story to go with it. Hope you enjoy it as it goes with a few Aircraft I have been making and ones I hope soon to post. Enjoy...

Part 1-Records of the Birth of New Sundaland (A draft of a historical transcript describing one likely place the first NS colonists came from): In the Early 4th century A nameless man took a small tribe from the outskirts of the roman empire on a journey through Rome and down into Africa, making deals and gathering more followers on the way with his inventions which he sold to procure food and transport for his patchwork of devotees. Eventually this group, now 500 strong, made it to the Kingdom of Himyar (Yemen) where they purchased a small fleet of ships. records indicate that these ships made many stops along the coast of India, gathering supplies in exchange for odd machinations and exotic weapons, before the trail of accounts stops on the shores of the Funan empire (Thailand). Accounts of locals indicate that the group were said to be traveling to an uncharted land to the South-East, where they were to start a new colony built with the many wonders of technology their leader had designed, but none of them knew his name or the name of the land he was taking them to.
Part 2-New Sundaland (Passage from "New Sundaland: A History of the Kingdom of Steel"): New Sundaland was founded in 308AD by King Orion Van Helldun, and grew quickly from a small town to a powerful empire over an incredibly short time. Most Scholars attribute this to a mixture of unexplained technological advancement, and the fact that every one of the few trips outside of the kingdom seemed to bring back a huge supply of both resources and people. the Empire started on Three small Islands bordering the South-West of the Pacific Ocean, and mapped out most of Australasia as allies and trade partners.
one key to their quick exploration was the invention of flight, in particular "Vanguard Industries", a company funded and guided by the King, developed the "Rain-Maker", a Prototype which entered production in 322AD as a Royal transport, then as a military platform the next year. The "Rain-maker" was modified both in-production and as field-mods and was even exported to allied Kingdoms under the name "Storm". in the end 20 Variants of the Mk2 platform were put into full-scale production giving the NSAF, NSN, and NSA almost guaranteed air-superiority anywhere in the world.
Part 3-Military (Words written on a plaque in Ne Sundaland's oldest military base): As far as military force goes, New Sundaland never had a large military presence, but every weapon they produced and used represented a quantum leap in technology. The NS Navy only had 200 ships before the war whilst most Kingdoms of equal size had over 1000, however NSN ships (especially their enormous flagship the MEGALODON) were all equipped with cannons, secondary guns, and steel-plating, not to mention steam-turbine engines and a retractable rudder. The Army included only 500 active soldiers, almost any decent Roman city could produce better numbers on it's own, but every soldier is equipped with an automatic rifle, grenades, and a vest made of protective-resistant fibers.
Part 4-The Great War (Overview form the book: The First Great War): In 359 New Sundaland's Government started Proxy wars with Rome and the Mayan Empire. Whilst the motive behind attacking The Mayan Kingdom was almost certainly motivated by Mayan raids on nearby kingdoms allied with New Sundaland, The conflict with Rome is harder to understand, as attitudes with Rome turned from Neutral to aggressive within a few short weeks. Soon defensive lines were set up in the Arab Sands, and in The Americas soldiers and vehicles tangled with Mayan warriors. Soon Both Rome and The Mayans had both captured and partially reverse-engineered several New Sundaland Technologies and the war went into overdrive. Somehow even in the most heated times of the long-lasting conflict the war didn't actually cause as much damage as was likely to be expected, in fact considering the strategies and technology involved, the death-toll should have been more than double what was recorded for both sides. The War ended in A cease-fire in Europe, when United Tribes from the north began to drive deep into Roman territory, causing the Emperor to divert troops from the Southern Front to defend the Northern territories. In The Americas the Local tribes banded together to almost totally decimate the Mayan Military, Hostilities continued even as Moja (The Unified tribes surrounding the Mojave desert) Troops surrounded the Mayan Capital. The Mayan war finally ended when the Emperor was captured and forced to sign a treaty ending hostilities, at which point the Mayan kingdom was given back only 60% of it's original land, and had to pay a reparation in grain shipments to the victors. Current Mayan opinion on the loss however is that it was the best thing that happened to them from an advancement standpoint, as it opened up new opportunities for trade, producing resources otherwise out of reach.

Part 5-Post war (Passage from "New Sundaland: A History of the Kingdom of Steel"): By the end of the war in 392, the Founder of New Sundaland was dead, and his son was on the throne as a symbolic leader with the Government making all the real decisions. technology world wide was centuries ahead of what it had been, and New Sundaland was the center of the technological world. new production lines were opened up for peace-time products of trade, transport, and communication, whilst the countries most valuable export became people; Skilled builders and scholars left New Sundaland looking for opportunities to create new factories, schools, and ideas worldwide.

Inventions credited to The Kingdom of New Sundaland:
Aircraft: almost every aircraft made up until the end of the war was at least designed in NS, and Vanguard industries was a primary supplier of Mail planes and Passenger aircraft for years after the end of the great war
Vacuum-Based refrigerators: the refrigerator allowed for easy transport of meat and other perishables, especially NS's prime food export: Moa steak.
Guns: NS produced the first rotary guns, which would later be perfected in Asia by the Chinese, these weapons were commonly used in aircraft and joined to the prop-shaft to both power and synchronize the weapons.
The Engine: steam, Naphtha, and Algae-oil fueled the first engines produced in New Sundaland. The first engine produced only 5 Horsepower, but by the time the Great War started engines in aircraft could be up to 1000 Horsepower when coupled with a turbocharger, and Ships had steam engines even stronger. NS designs later inspired more powerful engines in Rome and the China, and in the Sassanid Kingdom the first train was invented in 408AD using an NS designed Steam engine.
Farm-Towers: there's a reason NS's Capital is known as Tower City; because half of the first structures made within it's walls were there solely for growing fruit , coffee, and grain. these Farm towers are considered the main reason why the City is still surrounded by lush forests, while most Cities of equal size are surrounded in miles of farms.
Computers: whilst technology wasn't advanced enough for digital computers, NS was famous for it's huge mechanical computers that in some cases could be as big as a whole city block. computers such as these helped crunch extreme calculations and were later modified to provide strategic interpretations and record/predict weather. however the first digital computers were invented in Europe, and soon made the mechanical marvels obsolete. they now sit as relics in some cities, and in Rome, which has the only museum big enough to house one.