Chapter 1
"... Well I was born in 1944, in Karlivka... I don't remember my mother very well… she was a scientist I think, but she disappeared. My dad also disappeared. Then I was taken to the work camp and I've been working there ever since."
Why am I here?
One second I was sowing wheat, the next I'm put inside a car, a Mercedes no less, and I get knocked out with a needle…
At first I thought I was going to get shot but then Doc here asked my name and asked me about my life's story…
What the fuck?
Honestly, I think I'm gonna be experimented on like some fucking frog a kid is sticking a cigarette in to see what happens.
Spoiler alert: the frog dies.
And I'm pretty sure that's my fate as well. Seriously though, fuck that kid. That frog had no need to die, not to mention that was a perfectly good cigarette I could have been smoking. The fucking piece of shit. Kids like him belong in Germany or the Jugend or something, for fucks sake.
Good thing he's Ukrainian like me, so he's either dead or working to death.
But I'm going off track in this self-conversation of mine.
Why am I here again? Guess I'll wait and see.
"Your German is very good! So Adalbert, I assume you are wondering why you are here?"
"Y-yes sir, I am. And thank you sir"
My voice trembled. I guess I'm still afraid. Who wouldn't be?
"Well you have been chosen for a test" Oh God. I knew it, they're testing a new bullet on me. All I can hope for is that it's small and that they only need to test it once...
"Now, I also assume you know you don't have a choice."
"Yes sir, I d-do"
"We will be conducting a surgery on your neck, to install a Cortex Interface. Then you will be taken to a small chamber. There, the device will be connected, and it will be filling up with a breedable liquid named "LCL", understood?"
Uhhh…
"Yes sir. However may I ask what the Cortex Interface is?"
"Do you know what a computer is?"
"No sir"
"Well have you ever gone to the desk of a high ranking officer?"
Uh oh. Well might as well answer honestly.
"Yes sir"
"Then I assume you saw one of these things" He points towards what looks like one of those "television" machines.
"Well a computer is one of these things, put simply… It computes things, calculates things, among other things. A very useful machine. It can also control things."
Ok… I nod to him.
"To be exact, this screen is an interface, the computer itself isn't here, as it is very large in size. The interface allows me to interact with it.
"So the Cortex device allows a computer to interact with my brain directly?"
"Yes and no, the Cortex Interface allows the brain to interact with a computer.
You see, the brain is essentially a ridiculously powerful computer. And it controls your body. Remember how I mentioned the computer also controls things connected to it?"
"Yes sir" For some reason, I can understand what he is saying. He must be a great teacher.
"The objective is to get your brain to control a machine, instead of your body. Like a fighter jet"
"Now I understand sir, t-thank you for your explanation sir"
"It's fine, and could you stop with the "sir" thing? I'm not that much older than you."
"Sorry sir, won't happen again!"
Aaaannnd I said it again...FUCK.
Oh. He's laughing. Huh. I expected to be slapped or beaten.
Hang on.
They're going to stick a piece of metal on my neck, and they're going to put me in control of a machine?
I mean...uhhh. Man, this is way too complicated for me.
So I'm going to die. And be reborn in a machine?
Maybe it isn't permanent…
"So uhh s… uhh"
"Oh where are my manners! My name is Doctor Albrecht Tabhert. You can call me Doc."
He shakes my hand. Huh. I think that's illegal. For me at least…
Oh my god, is this Rassenschande? Well, I have no clue what that is, but it seems serious so I'm fucked thoroughly if it is.
And why on Earth is he being nice to me… Again, it's probably also illegal.
Doc, you're only burying me in a hole with such actions. And yourself too.
"S-so... Doc... is it permanent?"
"What is?"
"Me being in the chamber thing"
"Oh god no…hah"
"And what about the breathable liquid?"
"Well…I know it sounds weird but… once you're in there… look, it just works ok… Don't worry about it. It tastes like bl… metal and it's good for uhh… your skin. So yeah don't worry."
With all due respect… Doc... but I'm pretty sure I SHOULD BE WORRIED.
"Anyway, I know you're worried about dying but trust me, this isn't a suicide experiment. Nor is it hopeless. Not to mention that while you're here, you aren't a slave anymore. Of course most people are going to see you as one. But you can't leave the installations for that. Outside and you probably will get shot."
"Ok" Huh. Inside the installations, I'm not a slave… why?
His face turns slightly more serious.
"You know… You're a lot more valuable than you think…"
A slave being valuable? What am I? Made of gold? Well, I sure as hell wasn't made of lead, so they're not going to turn me valuable that easily.
"There's a war coming. No. There are two. One is to be expected. The other… will be far different from anything Humanity has seen before."
Ok… So doc is a conspiracy theorist… *Great*...
"And, as much as it pains me to say it, you'll be the first soldier of that war."
Oh well that's just nice, isn't it? And I can't help but wonder...
"Doctor...Will I die in it?"
"You want the honest answer?"
"Y-yes.."
"Very likely. However… you will probably die in a far more honorable than an elite soldier could ever hope for. And as a free man. If that serves of any consolation."
I have lived in fear of getting shot, tortured or worse, just because of where I was born and some vague "Nuremberg law" whatever that is. I'd say "dying honorably and free" is the best fate possible for me. So yes, that is QUITE the consolation.
Although, trying to escape the work camp would do the same. Problem is it wouldn't be certain death.
"Well let's get going shall we?"
"T-to where Doctor?"
"I'm going to show you something. Before I send you to the actual doctor."
I nod. Well, not like I have a choice. Might as well be obedient and submissive as you always have been. Isn't that right? Bert?...
We started walking across a hallway. There were guards with unfamiliar green uniforms. Without SS insignias.
They seemed a lot more… laid back... Either way they didn't care much about an untermensch as they called us, passing by.
They also had wide red eyes… and they are laughing a lot. The most I've seen anybody laugh in my life.
We finally reach the outside, and apparently we're in a forest.
A couple of guards,in the same unfamiliar uniform, stand up clumsily, as if they had awaken from sleep, and salute the Doc.
The gate they're "guarding" opens and outside, the same car that took me here.
It's a short trip 'till our next stop An airport…
"D-doctor?"
"Yes?"
"M-may I ask… where we are?"
"Pëenemunde. Pomerania, Northern Germany. Right next to the Baltic Sea. And we are about to go to an island named Bjornholm."
Great. Names I cannot pronounce…
Y'know, when someone goes to a place whose name they cannot pronounce, something bad happens…
Hang on… I was sedated. And knocked out the entire trip. And now, Doc here just told me where I am. So. They sedated me for fun. Fucking Totenkopfs, I swear, if they're not allowed to kill slaves, they just torture them.
But on the good side, I'm gonna be flying in a plane!
Instead of walking towards one of those storage houses with the planes we keep going. To my disappointment.
Wait… That's not a plane...
Is that a helicopter?
I've only seen those things when they're spraying pesticides in the fields… while I'm forced to look for diseases in the grain. Did I mention there's these assholes who spray it directly on top of us? Fucking pricks. I'm willing to bet the guards encourage it.
I guess I can't complain. It's pretty much the same thing. Just worse.
My curiosity once again prevented me from noticing a tall, young, "Aryan" looking, guy. With a white uniform. Never seen it before.
As we get closer I notice the double-S runes. Well… I guess I'm gonna still get beat after all.
The white uniform intrigues me, though.
Reminds me of a doctor's coat.
He turns to the Doc and says:
"Herr Doctor! Nice to see you!"
"You too Heinz! Nice coat, is that one of those new uniforms they're going to give us?"
"Indeed. And I see you've brought the First Child with you."
Uh oh. Hang on what did he call me?
"Well hello there, kid. What's your name?"
"A-Adalbert, sir."
"Hmmm. A German name, huh. When were you born?"
"1948, sir."
"And where?"
Now I'm gonna be beaten.
"U... Ukraine sir…"
"Huh. Looks like Albrecht here outdid himself trying to find a pilot. Now, we must go."
Pilot? What?
I hope they mean the helicopter pilot.
We enter the helicopter, and soon we are over the sea.
It's truly beautiful… I've never seen it before… so blue…
But God, is it windy… and it's cold too.
Soon we land on an island, just a few hours from when we took off.
And I assume it is this "Bjornholm", Doc talked about.
"We're here!"
I get off the chopper and follow Doc and "Hotshot" to a camouflaged Volkswagen.
The ride is quiet, just like the helicopter one.
We finally reach a checkpoint, we're allowed in,and we leave the car. We enter a bunker, and pass another checkpoint. The entire time, the guards were eyeballing me, but remained quiet. Instead of a distrustful or demeaning look, they seemed *curious*… they're all pretty young as well.
We arrive at an elevator.
Again, quiet ride…
This seems like it's their morning routine… well it probably is.
The elevator finally stops, and we walk out to a dark corridor…
Each step makes a huge echo. As if we're in a giant warehou… we are in one aren't we.
Doc, who was ahead of us, suddenly turns around, looks up at somewhere to his right, and waves, while I hear Hotshot sigh.
I look up as well and notice a lightly lit windowed platform.
And all of the sudden, I'm blinded.
My eyes finally adjust, and I realize that this is no warehouse. We're in a platform several tens of meters up from this orange lake.
"Hey boy, you're looking at the wrong place", calls out Doc. I look at him.
Then I notice what he meant.
Well shit. That's one big ass statue. Holy shit it's huge. Enormous. Jesus fucking Christ, that's huge.
"So? What do you think it is?"
"A statue to German soldiers?"
All I hear as a response is laughter.
Did I mention this is the third time I hear someone laugh?
Chapter 2
"Interesting take, but no. It's what you will be inside of. Hell, if you're lucky, you might actually pilot it."
"Pilot it?"
"Yes. This is a Walküre. A Valkyrie, the ultimate machine of war. Nothing known to man can destroy it. There are only three that we know of, that exist, and have functional capabilities. You see, these things weren't built by us. We found them. Some 20 years ago. Which allowed us to knock the USA out of the war. We found their engines in the hundreds, and quickly found that they could serve as small, low yield "nuclear bombs", if mishandled."
I'm willing to bet they accidentally dropped one.
Hang on a fucking second.
How would I pilot this?
How does it even function?
Why was I even picked?
Why me?
This towering, armor-clad, grey "statue", seems like something straight out of a sci-fi magazine.
Honestly I'm in awe at the size of this lad.
They attached an oversized helmet to it, along with these smaller twin towers on top of each shoulder.
It's body is V-shaped, with what seems like hard muscles. The hip is strangely thin, it almost seems cartoon. Again. Straight out of some strange sci-fi mag.
And the head is just… terrifying…
A very long chin, hexagonal "eyes", each with three red stripes, two going from the border of the "eye" perpendicularly down, and one going up. Serrated "teeth" (at least I hope they aren't), and two "horns", one bigger than the other, just above the forehead. It looks like a carnivorous rhino.
Well it sure has the armor. The chest plates seem extra thick, and so do the ones on top of the shoulders.
The neck's back is protected by several diagonally positioned plates, parallel to the Stahlhelm's neck guard. The pattern continues down the spine, reducing ever more.
The entire thing was painted grey, at least from what I could see, with it being sideways. The same color used in the armored cars, just outside the farm/camp…
Is this some sort of panzer?
"How would I pilot this?"
"Well if you were selected, you would be piloting it from the back of it's head."
"I se… How would I see?"
"Good question. You see the eyes?"
"Y-yes"
"Once the machine is turned on, your own eyes are "turned off" and your brain starts receiving the images from the machine's eyes. Once the machine is turned off, you would go blind for a while, while the eyes are "turned on" again"
"And how do I communicate in it?"
"We're going to configure it so that, when the brain wants to speak, instead of sending the signals to the muscles of the mouth, it sends them to a computer. Then the computer translates the signals into text. Which we then receive."
I notice Hotshot looking at his watch.
"Doctor, it's time." He was staring at the lower levels below us, the entire time.
"Well Adalbert, it seems we must go."
"Y-yes sir."
For some reason, the reality that I'm going to get a metal plate installed on my neck hasn't hit me. It should any second now.
We go back to the elevator, and move up a bunch of floors. I then notice that there are 100 floors. All going down.
100 floors.
100.
How on green fucking Earth did they manage this without the entire thing collapsing?
I smell bullshit, must be some sort of propaganda, like how they tell the Volksdeutsche we are "well treated" in the "farms".
The damn Valkyrie was at least 100 meters tall. Had to be. The ceiling could barely be seen, yet the lights were still blindingly bright.
Hang on, did they turn off the lights, in what is essentially a construction site. With people still working on it. Something tells me they're slav… yep they have to be slaves. I swear, the Germans must be the laziest people on the fucking planet.
But, that would mean, that I am important enough to grant a surprise.
A surprise.
What the actual fuck.
These guys must be psychopaths.
We finally arrive on the hospital floor, and we go along this never ending corridor. Nurses chat with doctors and soldiers. The soldiers flirt with said nurses, to which, one got slapped.
I nearly felt the urge to laugh, but I knew if I laughed at a German soldier I would get my ass kicked in. The source being years of experience, from looking at the newbies, each time a Totenkopf slipped on a turd, human or not.
They lead me to a room, and then leave, not before telling me to get ready for the anesthesia. I take off my clothes and put on the ones for the surgery.
It's funny how little control I have over my life.
These men have full control over my life and death.
Even despite the, supposed, fact that I'm "free", I still get ordered around.
The nurse arrives with the needle, along with a wheelchair.
No words.
I sit on the chair. And my world disappears.
I'm awake again.
My neck hurts.
It hurts.
My God it hurts.
Stinging, as if my neck was stabbed. I'm still on the wheelchair.
I feel the cold metal. It's unnatural. Surreal. One of the nurses around me, turn the wheelchair. Another brings a smaller mirror.
I can see it. A circular plug. It looks like a wheel.Is it just me or does it have gold on it? It's in a silver color, with several little sticks.
I pass out. The pain is so intense. Immediately I'm on a bed. It's night. The pain alleviated quite a bit.
I'm on some sort of cell, but it sure as hell is more luxurious.
Bed sheets. An actual bed. A bunk bed, and I'm on the bottom. There's a small window in front of me.
It's weird.
There's no Moon. Which means I'm still underground. Only weird lines crisscrossing the horizon. With lights moving along them.
Trains?
If so, then this place is a lot bigger than I thought. That is a lot of open space. But what for?
My neck still hurts like hell, though, despite the alleviation. But my head is heavy, and, again, I somehow manage to fall asleep.
The next day, I wake up to someone knocking on the door.
"Hey kid time to wake up, the Doctor wants to see you."
Another unfamiliar voice. Young, but loud. Surely a soldier.
I wake up. I'm still in those clothes. I quickly pick up the clothes I was supposed to have dressed.
Hang on shouldn't I be resting? I just got a surgery.
And I can't move my head properly. The damn thing forces the joint of my neck with my head to be completely straight.
I finally get dressed and notice there is a mirror. I'm in a uniform. A black uniform.
It has barely any insignias on it, only a strange patch on my shoulder and the obligatory eagle.
A white shield, with three red stripes, straight through the middle, along with five stars directly below, positioned along the outline of the bottom of the shield.
Am I apart of the military now?
More knocking.
"C'mon you lazy piece of shit, get going!"
"Yes sir!" I open the door and salute out of fear.
I see a young man, probably not a lot older than me, with a beard, blue eyes and black hair, and large bags under his eyes. He looks a lot older than he is. I know this, since I remember some colleagues of mine, that were in their 20s and looked like they were 50.
"Why the fuck are you saluting me? Even if you were in the Wehrmacht, you would be higher rank than me! Get your ass into gear!"
"Yes sir!"
"Hold your damn horses, do you even know where you're going?"
"uhhhhh"
"Great, just great. Follow me."
"Y-yes sir"
I step outside and realise I'm in an apartment.
An apartment.
An underground apartment.
Someone knocked on my door, instead of kicking it.
What the fuck is going on.
If this is a dream, I'm going to kick my brain in.
We finally reach uhhh… Ground level, and we get into a UNIMOG.
I used to drive one of these things. They're rugged as hell, basically tractors that could go a little faster. Still, "rugged as hell" means nothing in the fields of the Donbass. They sunk in the mud a lot too, not to mention they hated the dust. Needless to say they broke down because of this, quite often. Whose blame, was put squarely on us.
"You must've thought that the uniform meant that you were military or something didn't it?"
"Y-yes sir, it did"
"Well, how much did the Doc tell you?"
"That I'm a test subject of some sort"
"Well then he is probably going to explain the rest to you when you get there. By the way, I'm Johannes."
"N-nice to meet you, I'm…"
"I already know who you are…"
"Yes sir..."
He goes quiet for a while.
"Tell me… how harsh are they over there in Ukraine?"
"Ummmm"
"Don't worry this isn't bugged"
"Oh, ok… Well… Some seem to enjoy punishing us. And they can do whatever they want."
"I see. Well, you'll be living over in that apartment. Imagine me as your landlord. I'm also your legal guardian. Don't worry, I won't be over your shoulder too much."
"Legal guardian?"
"Yes, in order to make you a member of this organisation, we had to make up a brand new life for you. We were lucky that you already spoke German and had a German first name. And no parents. In essence, we're declaring you Aryan by ancestry, and German. We made up some bullshit about some Volksdeutsche great grandparents you have."
"I understand...M-may I ask why I was picked?"
"... Well… I'll be honest with you kid… this is dangerous. And we couldn't just get a normal German kid. People would ask questions, his parents might speak out or something. There aren't many orphans in Germany to start with you know. But, again, to be honest with you. I think they're not telling me something, nor you, that led to you being picked."
"I see."
"This place is plagued by secrets and "confidential information", a lot of things, we little men, have no idea about. The WALKs are very complicated machines, a lot about them is unknown. Hell, there are rumours that they're not even machines at all, but aliens of some sort, or a monster. Hell, some even call it a demigod. Crazy shit."
Well isn't that great. Just fucking great.
WELL AIN'T THAT JUST FUCKING DANDY, AIN'T IT? I'M A FUCKING GUINEA PIG. GREAT. JUST…
Just…
Just great…
Oh God, is the damn thing going to eat me alive?
Am I a fucking tribute or sacrifice to some random Norse god?
"By the way, you're probably going to get a colleague."
"Huh?"
"There are three WALK units. One is still early in development, which is WALK 02, yours, which is ready, is WALK 00, then there's the WALK 01. And the pilot is being picked for 01. They want to mass produce these things, somehow, and the 01 unit is the "Absolute Pinnacle of Human Engineering", the final production model, as the engineers from Krupp, Farben and Rheinmetall keep blabbering on about. So, it's going to need a pilot, which is going to be assigned to the same uhhh, apartment? Yeah sure… So yeah."
"May I ask if you know who he is yet?"
"No idea who he is honestly. He or she. I heard you kids are rare, so they probably allow girls as well. And the other thing that bothers me is how young you are. I was expecting some sort of veteran or random pilot, but no. Just a Ukrainian kid. A former slave no less."
Oh yeah… Why from all things would they pick a child? Isn't it a horrible idea to put a kid, a Ukrainian slave no less, inside a several billion mark war machine?
Who the fuck even came up with this BS?
And former? I went from a farm slave to a guinea pig. Not sure if that's an improvement.
We finally reach our destination, the General Headquarters. The building has huge concrete pillars, with few windows. The entire thing looks like a prison. Just like the apartment.
Despite its looks, it's bustling with activity, people in uniforms rushing about through the metal corridors, with metal suitcases and paperwork.
The entire place looks like a bunker, and the layout probably looks like a maze.
The walk to the, what I assume would be, Doctor's office, is long and quiet. Not one word is said.
Johann suddenly stops, and turns to this door.
"We're here. Herr Doctor?"
He knocks.
A faint voice from the inside says: "Yes come in."
He opens the door and enters, with me following suit, right behind.
The office is about as plain as you can get, except of course for his desk.
There's one of those "computer terminal" things on the right, an actual pile of paperwork on the left, a mug with a BMW logo on it, and a book named "Experimental Biology and Gene Editing" by a certain Joseph Mengele.
"So we meet again, Adalbert."
"Y-yes sir."
"Well, in a few hours we will conduct the first tests. We call them Activation Tests. You're going to need to put on a "plugsuit". It will probably be strange at first. You'll get used to it. You will enter a special cockpit, which we call an "Entry Plug". A technician will accompany you and connect you to the machine. Understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Then we will fill the Entry Plug with a breathable liquid, called LCL. Again, it will be a strange experience, but as long as you don't think about it, you will be fine."
A breathable what now?
"Then you await further orders."
"Yes sir."
"Now for some legal explanations. You are now part of an organization named GEHIRN. We are officially a public-private partnership between the German Government, Krupp, Rheinmetall, the Quandt Family, IG Farben and Siemens. We have the objective of developing the Valkyries into viable machines of war…"
I understood nothing of what he just said. As expected. But suddenly he stands up and walks to my side starts messing with the back of the Computer, and detaches something.
"Now for the unofficial part."
Oh.
"There are beings that want to kill everyone."
Jews? That's what they always told me, at least. Then again, coming from them, it's probably bullshit.
"These beings, which we call Lindwurm, seek to destroy us and repopulate the Earth with their own offspring."
Is this guy drunk on his own political ideology?
"And we are going to need to fight them. And when I say that they want to destroy us, I mean all of us. All."
Hang on. You're going to have a 17 year old slave save the fucking planet? Hmmm… Yes, this does sound like bullshit.
"Uhhh…"
"I know how it sounds. I had to explain this to the OKW, so imagine what they thought."
"Am I fit for this?"
"It's not a matter of being good enough, it's a matter of having no other choice."
"I see…"
"Now…" He stands up.
"Oh right…" Johan, so it seems, was sleeping the entire time.
"You will be taken to the test chamber, and do what I have briefed you to do, understand?"
"Y-yes sir."
We leave the room. The Doctor wishes me good luck before splitting ways with us and entering an elevator.We reach what looks like a locker room.
"Get changed. Dress the plug suit, and watch the time."
He points to this clock in the end of the locker room.
"I need you to be changed by 8 o'clock, got it? It's 7:54 right now, so get going."
"Y-yes sir!"
"I'll be waiting outside."
I'm used to tight schedules. We had 5 minutes to get from our "beds" to the field we were currently working on. And it could be across the street, or a mile away. Needless to say, they used our late arrivals as an excuse to beat us.
We are so weak.
The plug suit is finally put on. It's painted a darkish grey, and apparently doesn't suit my size.
2 minutes.
"By the way you have to click somewhere in order for it to fit, don't know where."
Oh.
"Thank you!"
Where?
I noticed there's a band around my right wrist.
I click on one of the buttons. Nothing happens.
"1 minute!"
The other one doesn't do nothing either.
Less than a minute.
Last one. Suddenly the whole suit tightens and envelops me.
"I'm ready."
"Just in time. Let's go."
I step out.
"Heh."
Uh oh.
"It looks just as ridiculous as I thought."
I had to wear pajamas, all day, everyday, in my "work place", I've been in worse situations.
"Let's go, we have to be there by 8:30."
We walk at a steady pace. This "plug suit" doesn't protect me from anything does it. I can feel a breeze on my skin, almost as if I'm naked.
We reach an elevator, and he clicks on the -98th floor.
-98th
We are going from the -54th to the -98th.
Wow.
The ride is… surprisingly quick. We reach it in less than a few minutes. I swear, I felt something funny in my stomach.
Stepping outside the elevator, I see the same… uh… Valkyrie? But… we're not in the same place as before… Uh-huh.
Magic, I guess.
"Let's get going, you see that ramp to the right?"
"Y-yes"
"Go"
"Yes sir."
I go up the ramp, where there's a technician waiting for me.
"Climb up." he says, and I follow.
I climb up what I assume is the Entry Plug, and I encounter a really dark place.
It has no windows. Only a few gauges, measuring things unknown to me, and a seat.
Behind it, hangs a ridiculous amount of wires, of all sorts of colours. I can barely see anything in it. All the light comes from the outside, through the open hatch.
The technician tells me to lay down on the seat, with my head down.
I do so, and he connects something to my neck implant. He lays my head down carefully and tells me not to move.
He then stands up, and leaves. He shuts the hatch shut.
Quiet.
Nothing.
For some long minutes, nothing.
Until I get knocked out by, what I assume is, another drug, and fall asleep.
At least I think I did because the next few seconds, I am in the top of the fucking world.
My field of view is so fucking large, and so fucking high up, it's ridiculous. I can't move anything, not even my eyes, and I hear distant voices… And ringing.
"Pilot's view has been synchronized. Commencing muscle movement sync process." a female voice reports.
"Keep it slow. Go one by one." and Doctor retorts.
"First stage done, moving, eyes should be operational."
"Hello there Adalbert!"
Oh shit.
H-hello.
Hang on, where are the quotation mar… I mean, why did it stay in my head?
"I know you can't answer, it's going to take a while longer for that. But I know you're there."
Ah.
"Keep trying to move your eyes. Eventually they should work."
I guess I'll keep trying.
Hey, I think I can.
"Very good. Now we're going to transfer you to the surface."
What.
"Initiating launch sequence."
Nooooo, that is never good.
"10"
Nope.
"9"
C'mon
"8"
Don't do whatever the hell you're about to do
"7"
Please
"6"
C'MON MAN
"5"
STOP, YOU'RE FREAKING ME OUT
"4"
WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN
"3"
HALT.
"2"
No please, c'mon man
"1"
And I slip into unconsciousness, not before hearing a large whistle and bang.
Chapter 3
"Obergefreiter Schwarz, reporting for duty Sir!"
God, I can't be late to something like this.
Why is that bitch Helga giggling?
Oberst Heinz Mayer who is sitting in a seat in the back with that smug white uniform says: "We're not in the Wehrmacht Schwarz, at least not yet. And this is the third time I see you, why are you reporting again? Was the pißwasser really that strong?".
And now everyone's laughing.
Oh fuck me. I did the same mistake as the kid. Ugh. I blame the fucking ranks and uniforms. I miss the desert ones.
Oh Johannes, you fucking idiotic airhead, right in front of the fucking Oberst.
"And if you care about it, you're a Major now."
Oh. Do I get a better paycheck? I hope I do.
"I see you've finally arrived?"
sigh
"Yes I have Doctor, may we go on with the test?"
"As you wish. And as you can see, WALK 00 has arrived at the surface."
He turns to Monika, the "plug monitor".
"Now for the pilot's status. Is he still unconscious?"
"Yes sir, we can give him an adrenaline injection."
"Do so."
"Horst" He turns to the "Screen Technician".
"Yes sir?"
"Turn the Reflexvisier on."
"Yes sir."
The HUD display pops up on the massive plexiglass panel in front of us.
"Is the speech conversion ready?"
"Yes sir"
"Horst?"
"The receiver is also ready."
He sits down and turns his head to me.
"Schwarz."
"Yes Doctor." I sit down and position a mic for me. "Hello Adalbert, are you there?"
I look to the screen in front of me.
A "YES SIR." shows up on the left side of the screen.
"Is the movement ready?" The Doc asks.
"Yes sir."
I take my cue to give the order: "Adalbert, try walking 5 steps. Don't think about how to walk. Just walk."
"YES SIR"
It takes a while, but that thing I never thought would happen, happens.
The WALK walks. One step, that's it.
Another. The hands move to give him balance. It almost looks like he's walking through deep mud.
I hear something to my right, a sensor technician gets up from his desk and moves towards the Oberst.
He murmurs something to Mayer, with a dire look on his face. Mayer gets the same look.
Could it be?
If so we're fucked. We are not ready.
Not ready whatsoever.
But nobody seems to care. Can't blame them.
It's not everyday you see a (only) 120 ton, 80 something meter tall monster walk.
Nervousness fills the air. It's suffocating.
I sneak another glance at Mayer.
His face is now one of worry, and thoughtfulness.
I think too.
Whatever it is. That dragon or whatever they call it… They say it probably won't look like one.
They don't know where it comes from, what it wants, what it actually is… No. They know damn well what it is.
They just won't tell us.
The Oberst speaks.
"We've spotted a Lindwurm off the coast of Gotland. It is underwater. We cannot tell its shape."
The nervousness is replaced with wide eyes, and fear.
The Oberst looks at me.
"Inform him of the situation. Rush the training. Cancel the test."
"Very well sir…"
We are so fucked.
"Pilot." I call out.
"We have a situation here. The Lindwurm we briefed you of..."
I take another gasp.
"Has been spotted."
Dead silent.
Everyone looks at the screen.
We have countermeasures installed in that monster.
Massive pressurization increases to knock or kill the pilot. And a nuke next to the engine.
Just in case the pilot rebels.
A few seconds pass. They felt like decades.
"YES SIR. REQUEST ORDERS."
That's one issue over with. He obeys.
One.
I lean closer to the microphone. An unnecessary but instinctual move.
"Can you run? If so, then try to jump as well. Then try to throw a punch."
I aggressively ask the sensor tech. "What's the ETA?"
"Uhhhh…minus 7 minutes, sir!"
I stand up and turn to the Oberst.
"Sir."
"Major you are now in tactical control of the field operations of the WALK."
"Understood sir."
A formality. It's great for getting you into gear.
I look to the screen again.
The WALK is jumping.
And comes to a halt.
Then throws a punch. And falls on its side.
That was one big shockwave. An entire cloud of dust rushed into the air as a result.
Another test.
Can it get up.
Anxiousness is added to the atmosphere.
The monster rolls head down, and uses its arms to get itself up.
Just like a normal person.
A 120 ton one.
Good thing the island was emptied completely of all natives.
It tries to throw a punch again. It nearly loses balance but it recovers.
Progress.
But then I start thinking.
Why use this thing against those things.
Wouldn't a missile do the same thing.?
Even if it can't, how is this thing any better.
So many things don't make any sense.
"What the fuck even is a Lindwurm?"
The Doc tells me: "It's a mythological serpent, or a dragon if you wish, that could fly. It's just a codename. We have no idea about the shape."
Great.
Is it just me or was this kid in a fight before.
It's throwing punches like a street brawler at the air.
"Throw a kick." I tell him.
It...no...he does so. It's a strong one. Not very well executed but you could see the power. It would break the enemy's body… as well as his leg.
How the fuck is a 120 ton monster throwing kicks?
I just can't understand any of this. Shouldn't that thing sink in the ground? There's no way in Hell the group can support that weight, in such a small area. Well… that thing's feet are huge.
Still…
I check my watch.
Minus 3 minutes.
"REQUEST ORDERS."
Whatever the hell that thing is, it's fast as hell.
Too fast.
"Face to the Northeast."
"YES SIR."
Whatever. If we die today then so be it.
2 minutes till Armageddon or whatever.
"Does the WALK have weapons?" I ask loudly.
"Yes, a Dane Axe in the Right Pilon. And a knife in the left."
An Axe?
I communicated this crucial information, that he should've already been told.
He opens the left pilon, and takes out a knife.
A vastly oversized Nahkampfmesser. Quite familiar with them. A bit too much.
Good old cut and thrust. Simple to use.
I've been in bad situations before. The few excursions I did into Kazakhstan prove so.
But this…
If they're not bullshiting me then THIS is a true bad situation.
Having an inexperienced kid piloting such a machine…
Are we that desperate?
Said kid is playing with the knife. Checking the shape, and staring at the edge, with those fake windows.
He then proceeds to cut his finger on purpose.
What the fuck?
"That was an expensive pair of rubber gloves. Bastard." a technician complains.
Why did he cut the finger? Was he… checking the edge of the knife?
I've seen people doing it before. Experts.
How the fuck does that kid know that?
Maybe we're not that fucked.
Maybe.
Minus 1 minute.
The WALK looks into the horizon…
Is he ready?
Are we?
All of a sudden he stores the knife in a small holster that deployed from the leg.
And takes the axe out.
Not too much longer now.
He does the same test. It's a lot sharper.
The monster picked it's weapon of choice, and stores it again.
And I can't help but wonder.
Who's actually controlling it?
A silhouette rises from the sea.
It looks just like the WALK.
A beast, the same height as the WALK, with a strange black rounded and vitreous armor, covering most of the body. The head is essentially a helmet, not to different from the stahlhelm. While the face is covered by a featureless mask.
And it steps up from the cliff.
I haven't noticed the awe in the air.
And pure quiet terror.
The WALK doesn't strike just yet.
It's afraid. No. He's afraid.
Can't blame him, not to mention it's to be expected.
"Let it strike first." That way we can measure its strength.
The standoff continues for a long time. A few minutes.
In the meantime I ask Heinz the thing's codename.
"Fafner. By the way, WALK 00's callsign is Siegfried"
Huh. So we're going with the Nibelungenlied or whatever, huh…
A loud bang.
Fafner punches Siegfried. The hit was so violent, a shockwave could be seen.
His head doesn't react as expected. It resists the strike, putting his left foot back so he didn't fall from the blow.
Fafner quickly retreats. It was also measuring strength.
But how did it resist such a blow? He should have collapsed on the spot.
"Go for the engine, it should be somewhere near the center." I tell him.
"UNDERSTOOD SIR"
The beast pulls out a red crystalline sword from its back and charges.
Sieg instinctively puts his arms in a cross shape for protection. Not that it will help him.
Fafner strikes. The sword cuts through the arm like nothing until it reaches bone. And stops. It couldn't go through. Fafner takes the sword out and retreats a few steps.
Sieg slowly moves his arms, in obvious pain.
I call out to Monika, who's visibly shaken by the violence of the blow. "Display the sync ratio on the screen!"
"Y-y-yes sir!"
It's at 127%.
127%
It's too damn high. Way too damn high. It's starting to quickly lower though.
"When did it get so high?" I call out to her again,while moving to her desk.
"Um, right when the strike occurred. It reached a peak of 213% right before the strike!"
The arm is bleeding. Red.
So it isn't a robot of some sort. Called it. But.
At such a high sync, he might have suffered it too
Damn. Those were some strong bones though.
The thing charges at the WALK.
"Is the AT field operational yet?"
"It should be sir, but I don't think the pilot knows how to use it."
"Damn it. ADALBERT USE THE AT FIELD!"
I don't think he will figure it out on time.
Fafner lifts his sword upwards, with it releasing some sort of red steam. And strikes. The WALK doesn't have anything to defend itself with effectively, and put its arms in a cross shape again.
The same trick, whatever it was, doesn't work twice on it though.
And the sword goes straight through the bone.
And his left wrist falls on the ground.
Fafner raises his red saber once more. and cuts the front of his chest diagonally, from the shoulder to the hip.
The armour detaches and cracks like glass, and the skin and meat beneath is dragged, wrinkled and eventually tore apart.
And the thing has skin and meat, isn't that great.
Hang on. What's the syn…
Oh.
215% and lowering.
"What happened to the pilot?"
"He was knocked unconscious sir!"
Good God…
The Valkyrie falls on the ground, with a massive cloud of dust rising from the ground, due to the shockwave and impact.
"Activate the self destruct preparation codes, now!" the Oberst shouts.
And Fafner stands tall above it's fallen foe. Sword facing downwards, he stabs the blade on the engine spot.
Or at least…
Tries?
Holding the blade with the left hand in mid air, the struggle starts between the two monsters.
The WALK doesn't seem like it's ready to back down, even with a knocked out pilot…
It shouldn't be able to move on its own should it?
"It's going Berserk?"
Oh great, they knew it could happen so they gave it a name. Great.
"Status of the pilot?"
"Still unconscious..." I hear Monika murmur a "how" and "why" shortly after.
There's no time for such questions.
Siegfried breaks the mouth restraints, and let's out a deafening roar.
The entire bridge crew is, as a whole, shocked at the unexpected gore of the fight.
Siegfried jolts the sword up and pushes it away from Fafner, making the monster fall on Sieg, not before Sieg knees the monster's chin.
That must've hurt. I haven't felt this much adrenaline and excitement in a while. Even though the fight is so far away. I guess this is why generals do their job so badly, huh. They just want some fun.
Siegfried frees itself from the monster and painfully stands up, and grabs the saber.
The beast gets up, painfully.
It's the Valkyrie's turn to charge.
Saber in hand, it brutally slashes through the left arm, and left side of the chest, until it hits the bone. The saber was apparently on its last legs, and shattered in the impact.
However the handle still had some blade left.
And Siegfried intended only using it.
Sieg aims for the neck. Fafner tries to grab the attacking arm, with its last hand, but it's out of strength.
The blunt edge of the broken blade brutally smashes and crushes the side of the neck.
The beast screams, through the mask.
The blade pushes forward, finally puncturing the skin. Sieg rushes to the beast's back and brings it down. Then takes a sort of dominance position and grabs the handle again. Once, the edge wrinkles the skin, as it rips through the neck, but it breaks completely before reaching the windpipe.
"Blood" sprays and gushes out in the hundreds of liters onto the battlefield, a road with a Cliff nearby.
Is it just me, but…
Is this... thing...sadistic? A beheading, seriously? Is it nuts? Because I swear I see a grin... Maybe it's a monster out for blood and revenge, for some reason… or a Demon.
I'm used to these levels of gore. My father was a butcher and a hunter, so I'm used to seeing animals, cute ones at that, dying in horrible ways, and my combat experience in the Eastern Front only made me insensitive to gore.
The Oberst doesn't seem disturbed at all though, if not entertained, but…
I worry for the others… these levels of brutality might be too much for them. Luckily, it seems they mastered the art of looking away.
Monika is crying a lot though. A lot… Good God, I hope she's not traumatized. Oh, who am I kidding, we're witnessing the worst type of beheading: slow-throat type.
It'd be no surprise if she was.
In the meantime, Sieg grabbed it's knife, and stabbed next to the broken blade lodged in the things neck, still screeching and crying in pain.
It stabs deep, probably reaching the spine. Then, as if it was sawing a tree, it cuts through the windpipe, and the rest of the neck. The beast stops screaming.
He then cuts the spine, again by sawing it off.
He then rips the head off, and throws it to the nearby sea.
Sieg kicks the beast to turn it on its side. He locates the position of the engine and stabs it. Repeatedly.
The stabbing goes on for longer than poor sweet girl Monika could handle, and finally stops.
The WALK powers down, knife still in the monster's heart.
"It deactivated on its own."
"I guess we get to live another day." says the Oberst nonchalantly, and seemingly undisturbed.
Sadistic bastard.
No one is celebrating. None of those that were so enthralled and morbidly curious about what an actual beheading looks like, is looking away.
I still feel bad for these guys. They should've never been exposed to this.
I know those things aren't human but… God…
It was a long time, the last time I saw one of those beheadings.
I don't think I'm going to sleep.
Poor Monika. Poor poor girl. The same goes for the ones that were looking away and covering their ears.
That thing… What will it do if...no…
That thing will probably take down everything that comes its way.
What will it do when our use for it is gone. Will it kill us all?
The damn thing has to be sentient.
"Today's deployment was a success. You're all dismissed."
"Yes sir" I answer for all of us.
I leave the room. Everyone is quiet.
The shock is too much.
That was capable of adding a few mental scars to anyone.
I drive home. Adalbert's status barely crosses my mind. The blood does.
I take a detour and go for the surface.
I make up some BS about being on a late night errand, and drive around the island.
I reach the battlefield and show the responders my badge.
I stare at the monster. This death machine.
I put on the required anti-contamination suits and walk around it.
The First Lindwurm Defeat of this godforsaken war happened in the very small village of Saltune.
Or so the coagulating-blood covered plaque calls it.
"And this was only the first one…" I mutter.
I have a feeling, that we're fucked either way, independently of winning or losing this battle "for survival".
Wasn't that the same excuse for the Zweite Weltkrieg? Something about "threatening our race"?
I have trust issues with anything government related. And there are good reasons for it.
The scientists go around picking up chunks of flesh and bone.
I wonder how much they know about this whole situation.
I leave the place and go back home. I saw enough carnage for a lifetime.
Home… heh.
This place might be a gateway to hell for all I know, and I'm calling it home.
Chapter 4
"How's the kid?" I completely forgot about him.
I must be the world's greatest guardian.
"Whatever it was, it healed him. All he has is scar tissue in the supposed injury locations. He's still unconscious, but he should wake up soon."
"I see, and uh… how are you? You didn't seem fine, back in the bridge."
"I'm fine Johannes, thank you for asking. Nothing a Pervitin can't fix, in the least."
"You know, I heard it does some bad stuff to your brain. I wouldn't take it very often, if I were you."
"I'll be fine, really. Well, goodbye, see you in the meeting. Please attend it Johannes, it's important."
"Fine… I will… Well, goodbye Monika." She hangs up.
Keep taking those pills and see what happens to you, dammit. That shit will destroy your brain.
They used to hand those out to us. Only tried it once. I thought I was in heaven. And trust me, if you feel like you're in heaven, in the middle of a frontline, then there's something seriously wrong with you.
It helps in combat nonetheless. But you shouldn't rely on it. You'll get addicted, and if experience is anything to go by, you'll feel invincible to a point where you walk through a minefield without thinking twice.
I leave the apartment. Yesterday was a bad day. Good God… I haven't seen that much blood since my dad scored two dears.
I get in my car, and drive to the HQ. I hate meetings.
One question remains on me, though.
In the midst of the chaos and confusion that was watching that butchery, I noticed the AT field was never activated. At least the Fafner's one didn't.
And another thing… That saber couldn't go through Sieg's bone, but it could go through Fafner's?
And why did it go "Berserk" on it? Does it do that, if the pilot gets knocked out?
That would be both reassuring and terrifying.
And the creepiest thing is… if the blood was coagulating… which it was, it turned that distinct ruby-colored cloudy red, then…
Those things are alive.
And those fuckers kept going on and on about how the WALKs themselves would be invulnerable with that field.
I need answers, dammit.
I finally arrive. Oh what secrets do you hide, almighty and magnanimous and yet unprotecting, glorified office building-bunker.
I say the usual hellos to everyone it is required to do so, and only to them. 2 years, and I still feel like an outsider.
This entire organisation just has… something fishy to it…
I could tell that, the moment I came here, after retiring from the 1st Motorcycle Battalion in the 7th Panzer Division.
I still remember the day I joined the Heer.
1st of April, 1952. Ten years ago. Good times.
But God, was von Manteuffel a gigantic cunt. NO, I DON'T WANT TO FUCKING RUN AROUND IN A SHOT UP BMW THROUGH A FUCKING FROZEN FOREST IN THE MIDDLE OF RUSSIA.
Fucking reconnaissance. Remember kids, never apply for the motorbike battalion because it has bikes in it. It's a fucking trap.
I finally arrive at the room.
Doctor, Oberst, a bunch of lab coats, and a certain, beautiful plug monitor. She must be able to perform some sort of miracle on my eyes, because they feel so at ease looking at her. She is the definition of an eye rest.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), it's hard to stare at someone when you're sitting right next to them. So I'll have to hold off on it. The Doctor welcomes me.
"Hello Major, I see you've arrived just in time!"
"I deeply apologize for the delay, Sir."
"No worries. Now. We're all here because of the WALKs actions and the AT field issue. Anyone has any ideas on what went wrong?"
Nobody answers.
"Good thing I do have an idea on the AT field. Monika?"
"Yes?"
"The pilot's sync ratio increased immensely just before the wrist strike correct?"
"Yes Doctor. It increased to 213%, just before, and during the impact."
The Doc continues, "I watched several recordings of the impact of the blade on the bone. One of them was from the WALKs point of view. And in it I saw some sort of barrier form between the blade and the bone. I believe the AT field only activated to protect its internals. That blade was perfectly capable of cutting through bone. But it didn't because of the AT field. I've already requested for a projector to be brought here."
"That would be an explanation for the bone incident, however that doesn't explain Fafner's lack of AT field reaction. It should be capable of it as well."
"I have no answer to that one."
This gonna be a boring one.
"Major! What's your take?"
And they're determined on not letting me sleep.
"Doctor, I believe that is outside my field of expertise."
"Very well. I assume no one else has a clue on the AT field? I guess not, so we'll move onto the next subject: the WALK going Berserk. Any ideas?"
Everyone is quiet. Needless to say barely anything is actually known about these things.
In my opinion, all we did was domesticate them. And I'm not sure we succeeded.
The Doctor lets out a sigh in exasperation.
Mayer speaks up.
"Oh God, you're all useless. What the hell am I going to report to Speidel?"
Everyone remains quiet.
"That we can't control this insanely powerful weapon, and that it might go Berserk on us again, for no reason? May I remind you all, that the only reason you weren't sent to your deaths, was because of this project. If it weren't for us. You would have no reason to exist, and you would die."
Mayer continues.
"To reiterate. This place is the only reason you pieces of shit are breathing, eating and pissing. So make sure this fucking hell hole doesn't become a fucking tomb for all of us. Get your shit together and your brain working. That is the only reason you're alive. Or need I do yet another refresh on how this glorious Nation of ours doesn't like intellectuals."
Long ago, have I learned not to mess with a Colonel. Especially a young Waffen SS one.The younger the officer, the more ruthless, smart and unpredictable they are.
The Doctor intervenes, with a calmer tone.
"Think outside the box, this is far beyond the realm of normal or mainstream science. I expect much from you."
The Doctor sighs again.
"You're all dismissed, except for you Johannes."
My heart stops. I can feel Monika looking at me.
The Oberst talks.
"Johannes, how much do you know about your father?"
"N-not that much sir. Only that he was called Kleiner Schwarze, was apart of an SS department of sorts and was often in North Africa. He loved hunting, and prepared the meat of the animals he hunted, and often sold it to colleagues. Then he died from unknown causes, when I was 8."
The Doctor answers.
"Your father was apart of the Ahnenerbe institution of Military Scientific Development, a precursor to GEHIRN. In 1942, the Ahnenerbe sent him, and a team, to Tanganyika. There he would find the first Gleipnir."
"Gleipnir?"
It's a type of archaeological site, which is essentially a giant sphere buried underground.
It contains forests, flora and water, identical to the one that is present in the location of the Gleipnir. This place is a Gleipnir. We called it as such, as there were runes found within that called mentioned Gleipnir consistently."
I remember studying a little bit of Norse Mythology, and I know that Gleipnir was the rope or cord that held Fenrir down. That's a very ominous name. And probably accurate, considering the absurdity of our situation.
"Anyways, your father died while exploring them. He was also the inventor of the cortex interface. In essence, he was an expert on the connection between pilot and "machine"."
I could feel those quotation marks on "Machine".
"And he left a lot of notes behind, in an apartment he had in Danzig. I want to send you on, what is honestly, an errand, over to your father's house, and retrieve all of the notes you can find."
What?
"With all due respect Doctor, why me?"
"I'm a firm believer that people can unconsciously hold memories from very early on in their lives. I know that you lived in that apartment, as there are photos of a young you in it. You were 4. So you might just remember were he kept the notes."
This is such a bullshit reason. They just want me away for a while, to conduct a really fucking shady activity, when I'm not looking, just so I don't suspect a thing. Bastards.
I think… Maybe they're telling the truth.
Maybe.
Well, a week away from here will only do good. Danzig is a nice city, so I could just see the sights, while I'm there.
"Also."
Uh oh.
"The Second Child, along with WALK 01, is getting ready for transfer. She will be here by June 30th. Today is the 13th. You need to be here before then. Understand?"
"Yes Doctor."
Mayer speaks.
"There'll be an Do 26 waiting over in the docks, in Nexø. Be sure to be there by 10 o'clock in the morning, tomorrow."
"Yes Sir."
"Dismissed."
I leave the room.
The Second Child… The daughter of an SS official accused of homosexuality and depravity and a bunch of other things, and a whore for a stepmother. Her actual mother, a Norwegian, hanged herself, after a psychotic breakdown. Or so they say.
Erika Jensen. A 16 year old, ash blonde, blue eyed girl, that lived alone in Ost Paris.
Ost Paris huh. Fucked up place to live alone in. Rumors say the streets and houses are empty. And the stores are barely ever open.
I wonder what her personality is like. There's nothing mentioning it.
It's getting late, so I better head home.
To be continued.