Dr Moritz or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Laser

Chapter 1: From Earth with Love
Story set in the Drakaverse

Everything was ready, and Hannah knew it. Finally she would be able to take her revenge. She remembered all too well what had happened, even if she was only a child at the time. She had seen it happen, and narrowly escaped with her life. Her father, a peaceful scientist working on laser technology, and her mother, who specialized in solar energy. They were close to a true breakthrough, they had told her that themselves. It would make them wealthy. Not that they weren't already, but they would have been even richer. There were security guards on their island of course, to keep everyone safe. And they failed. She remembered it all too well, that accursed secret agent arriving, guards being found dead, and finally, the explosion.

Of course, she had escaped, carried away in a helicopter, along with the files with all the technical data, but she had known that she would never see her parents again. And she had vowed revenge. Revenge that would finally be there. No one was left to oppose her. They had tried, and she had killed them, tested much weaker versions of the massive weapons that she would now use on them. Weapons that would make her the terror of nations.

She observed from the central control room as the covers of the first of the rockets was lifted. There were twelve in total, each carrying two satellites. This was the moment it all came down to, the reason why she had kidnapped dr. Vorshov, why she had robbed a dozen banks. What she had worked on ever since she was a child. Hannah looked at the screens, watching the countdown. Everything had to be perfect.

She was at a safe distance, together with her minions. They were loyal, bribed and threatened to do so. For a moment she missed the presence of Caesar, the bodyguard who had been like a father to her. He had died, fighting to save her life. She honoured him by naming one of the satellites after him, one that would be used to hit the headquarters of MI6. Suitable revenge for a first shot, and a perfect way to put a bit of strength behind her threats.

The launch sequence however was the most important part, taking place over twenty-four hours. It was expensive, almost idiotically so according to almost anyone. But she would show them, she would show everyone!

"Dr. Moritz?", one of the minions responsible for the launch asked, "everything is ready for your command."

Hannah looked out of the window, into the crater of the Longonot Volcano. Of course, she had chosen the location because it was close to the equator, provided a way to hide her activities in the caldera, and of course, for dramatic effect. It had taken a few bribed, and considerable funds to set herself up, but she liked it. And in a way, she supported the local economy. All that was visible from outside was the mansion that she had built into the edge, and of course, part of the scientific institute it all pretended to be.

The time was almost there, and she didn't think anymore. She was about to speak, when she saw a blue ripple across the sky, a bit like lightning. She had never seen anything like it, but immediately she thought that she knew who was responsible. One of her rivals, only they would dare to do such a thing. Probably Hedgwood, he always tried to one-up her. But not anymore. Soon she would have her satellites launched, and the world would be hers to extort for enormous sums. And to dominate of course. She would be indisputed.

Her thoughts however changed when one of her staff approached: "Dr. Moritz? We have lost contact with Longonot."

An attack! That was the only explanation why they wouldn't report. Her minions had taken over months ago. She was afraid, perhaps they would even shoot down her missiles. That couldn't happen, she had worked too hard to prepare the satellites. She couldn't tip her hand without certainty. "Delay the launch, and secure the rockets. Call all security, I want to know exactly what is happening!"

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At the same time Alexander de Witt looked over the landscape again. He would soon leave it all again, he has been called to return to duty. He longed for war, he missed fighting on his plantation. He would have loved to kick those decadent Italians into their proper place, but he wasn't needed yet for the Race. But now the call had come again. He would however miss the view, the beauty of the African lands. He looked at the mountain, he wouldn't be climbing it for a while anymore, he would have something better to do.

Suddenly there as a blue haze around it, crackling. Moments later it lifted, and the mountain changed. The geography remained the same, it couldn't change much, but he could see a house built into the side. There never was one, no one would live there. And the building looked large. Very large even.

For a moment Alexander wondered what he should do. He had to leave for his post, but this was too strange to not investigate. He had to know what happened, even if it meant travelling throughout the night. He headed back inside, taking what he will need. The foremost of course as his rifle, which he normally used to just keep his instincts sharp, although there was that one time when one of the serfs ran… He remembered that time with more than a little fondness.

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Hannah didn't understand what's happened, and that says something. She knew that she was brilliant, but this didn't make any sense. There were no attackers, nothing strange going on. Longonot just wasn't there anymore. Mot a lack of contact, no, it actually was a lack of being there. Instead, there just was a field there, where the station used to be. It's crazy. The landscape was a little different too, more structured in a way, the buildings are different, a completely different style. And then there were the broadcasts. She couldn't receive any of the usual stations, but traffic has been detected. It however was weak, and strange, sounding like senseless rubbish

For a moment she thought that she might have been displaced somehow, she has read suggestions for it. But that seemed too exotic, too far-fetched, which is why she simply focused on orbital superlasers. But what if she had been wrong, and her rivals had built a device just to hit her? So they could take her out at their leasure. That would mean an imminent attack. Luckily, she had mobilized already, even if she had no clue what they would be capable of.

She returned to her rooms, to change. Or rather, to ensure that she wouldn't seem like such a target as she would dressed in her best clothes to hold the UN hostage. She put on what basically was the uniform of her security, green. It made her look martial, and she finished the look by those most distasteful things. Weapons. A pistol and a knife. She hardly ever used violence, despite her position. She had people for that, she preferred to do the thinking. And if she had to kill, she would do it cleanly, with poison. But one couldn't be careful enough, not with those annoying agents running around.

When she had finished, she returned to her command post: "Have you detected anything?"

"No madam. Nothing at all."

"Not even satellites?", she asked, starting to be curious. This might be an opportunity.

"We failed to make contact with anything, and receive nothing at all."

"Then keep an eye on the sky. Give me an update of your process in an hour. I want to know where we are. Also monitor all radio traffic you can catch, and alert me as soon as there is anything interesting."

She looked over everything. Why did her plans have to be ruined like this? Just a few more hours, and the world would have been hers. But no, she was too unlucky for that. Even the satellites didn't respond, which meant that she wouldn't be able to listen to them. Or protect her own, a few minor things had been smuggled onto others, to ensure that no one would blast her operation from the sky.

Hannah needed to know more before she could continue. She anxiously touched the pistol at her leg when someone approached: "Dr. Moritz! There is an intruder. He is approaching directly, over the southern slope."

"Good. Disarm him, and break his legs. I want him brought to me for questioning, but incapable of violence.", she knew all about secret agents allowing themselves to be captured, and then escaping. She wouldn't fall for that again.

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Alexander liked the walk up, it was hard. Yes. It always was a challenge, and he enjoyed it. Sometimes he would go hunting there, but not now. He had a hunter's eye. And he saw something. People. But not of the Race. There were niggers in the woods. Bushmen. He dropped to the ground, raising his rifle. But he wasn't fast enough. Shots rang out before he was ready.

He fell indeed, but there was pain. He had been hit, several times at least. He heard the shooting, how many shots were those? Dozens? It must have been a revolt. He tried to aim, but the strength was leaving him with his blood. He looked down, seeing ragged holes in his clothes, red liquid gushing through them before everything went black.

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Hannah looked at the man who was barely alive. Her doctors ensured her that he would live, but warned that waking him might be dangerous. She didn't care. There was nothing dangerous to her about him dying. But she had to know as fast as possible. She watched. He was of European descent, that was rare around these parts. And he was alone. That was even stranger. He had some sort of hunting weapon with him, but she didn't care for those. She however knew that he had tried to shoot at her guards. That had gone too far.

She had his effects with her, there were some peculiarities, especially in what seemed to be his identification. It said that he was some sort of Citizen of a Dominion of Draka. She had no clue what that was, but she was certain that he would tell her. She didn't let herself be limited by little things like morals or the like when interrogating someone.

Hannah glanced at her captive, looking up from the papers. "Good afternoon, Mr. de Witt. I was hoping that you could clarify a few things for me."

He looked at her with what was almost tangible disgust. Of course, the good doctor had no idea why that would be, she might be known to some people as a bit of a madwoman, and a bit murderous, but that was no reason to be impolite.

Alexander said nothing. He was still in pain, and he could feel that he was bound. He had opened his eyes, only to see a filthy chink sitting right next to him. She even was dressed in some sort of uniform. It looked a bit like a Soviet one, but what were they doing in the heart of the Dominion? He felt terrible, not because of his wounds, he could live with wounds, but because he had been taken alive by bushmen.

"Sir, I am well aware that you have reached consciousness. Would you please answer a few of my questions?", she sounded arrogant. If he was unbound, he would have strangled the little bitch for the way she spoke. He would love nothing more than that.

"Fuck you chink.", he muttered. He would not give in to the wishes of such a degenerate.

Hannah was shocked. He must be an Afrikaner, judging from the way he spoke. But what would they be doing in Kenya? "Now that is truly impolite, Mr. de Witt. I simple wish to have a conversation, but if you insist on trying to insult me by using such unpleasant words to point out my mother's ancestry, I hope that you won't mind me demonstrating a little of my expertise. You see, I am an expert in lasers, and I think that you might find a direct demonstration useful. Just so you know that I am being serious."

He had no idea what the bitch was talking about, but Alexander watched her take up some strange black box, with a little handle on it. She moved it around, and he heard a soft whizzing sound. Something moved from the ceiling, towards him. "Let us start with something simple. I hope that you will understand that any question you refuse to answer, or any further impoliteness, will be met with more severe applications."

She pushed a button, and his hand was on fire. He looked at it, and he saw his wrist burn, right through. Not just the edge, but somehow, even though he saw nothing, it was burning. Smoke rose, and he saw a beam of light through it. It hurt so much, and he screamed.

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Hannah sighed. He prisoner had been stubborn. But in the end he had talked, and now she knew. She knew that there was some sort of South-African empire that was about to conquer and enslave the world. She knew that they were slavers, and she knew that they were in 1942. And they had no spacefaring capacities. She was in their lands, deep inside them. But she knew that there was a way. "Initiate the launch sequence."

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EXPLANATION

So, this is one of my attempts to end my writer's block. The idea came when I was reading Mad Missouri's excellent The Three Eagles story, set in the Drakaverse (On ). Along with some other recent discussions this gave me a rather stupid idea. A Bond-villain like character sent into the Drakaverse. And I had just the right one around from a roleplay that unfortunately ended, Dr. Hannah Moritz. The first part of this post actually came from there, when Hannah had finally gathered everything she needed and was about to launch her totally scientifically possible killsats to hold the world hostage for enormous amounts of money. Funnily enough, her base was in Kenya, putting it right in the middle of the Dominion.

I haven't really seriously planned anything, but somehow I didn't feel bad about writing about one of those Draka people getting mutilated using lasers. I know that some of the things she does might seem a bit far-fetched, but I still think that it is more logical an possible than the Drakaverse.

Anyways, I hope that you enjoy it, and don't consider me too insane for writing this.