June 2, Unified Year 1940

Berun, Prussian Republic

They were meeting in one of the conference rooms within the Chancellery. Tanya was seated at the head of the table. With her was the new government. Erich von Rerugen was Chancellor, Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakova was Foreign Minister, Hans von Zettour was Defense Minister as well as Chief of Staff of the Prussian Army, Adam Zetzler was Secretary of the Economy, Matheus Johan Weiss was Secretary of Education, and Johan von Metternich was Secretary of Agriculture. Everyone at the table was wearing a uniform and was a member of the NUP. General Zettour's was forest green, the others field grey.

The fact that Tanya was presiding over the meeting was a bit unusual. That was because under the constitution the president only had two powers, she could bring charges of corruption against a member of Parlament and demand a vote of expulsion. And more importantly, she could appoint and dismiss the chancellor of the republic. The politicians who had rushed to put together their constitution had decided to make the chancellor answerable to the president rather that to Parlament. They did that as a tiny reproach to the Francois Republic, where the Premiere could be appointed or dismissed by a majority vote of the Upper Chamber. This made their governments unstable; some Premieres remained in office for a matter of weeks, sometimes mere days. The idea had been the President would be elected by the nation to act as a sort of distant guardian. He would only intervene when the situation warranted it, and otherwise not be directly involved with the business of running the country. That was what the chancellor's responsibility.

President Schumer had behaved that way. He had appointed a total of three chancellors (all from his own party even when they were the minority) and spent most of his time out of the public eye.

Tanya had no intention of being a figurehead. She was in charge and she was going to run things the way she saw fit. Her authority came not only from her office as president, but also from her position as Leader of the NUP. When she had originally founded her party, she had established the 'leadership principle.' The idea that the designated leader had both the absolute authority and responsibility to make the necessary decisions. There would be advisors of course, but one person would make the decision and all the subordinates were expected to follow orders. There were no votes to decide policy. The National Union Party was run like an army or a corporation. Tanya would listen to the people she trusted, but she would make the final decisions. And woe unto anyone who tried to challenge her.

"Yesterday was wonderful," Tanya told them. "But now it's time to get down to business. Zetzler, why don't you begin?"

The man nodded. Back during the Great War he'd been a colonel in the Logistics Section of the army. He'd helped coordinate production on the home front and helped to keep all the armies supplied on all the different fronts.

"We are on the verge of bankruptcy. The mark is essentially worthless. As of this morning, the exchange rate with the American dollar is six thousand to one. This means that we are effectively barred from buying foreign goods. The only exception being in the other countries that were once part of the Empire."

"Because their money is just as worthless as ours," Tanya grunted.

"That's right. Of course, this also means our products cheaper for others to purchase. Unfortunately, given the worldwide situation, overall sales to foreign markets have still dropped by about sixty-five percent. The shortage of imports, particularly oil, is going to become even more drastic. With so much unemployment and business failures tax revenue has also seen a huge decline. And since the reparation payments remain the same they take a bigger percentage of the budget. Even four years ago, when our economy was expanding, they represented forty percent of the annual budget. This year we estimate the reparations will take up seventy-six percent."

"So, we're supposed to provide some sort of public works program, help launch new businesses, rebuild our military, fund new technologies, fix our crumbling infrastructure, and provide all the expected public services with less than a quarter of the money we should have?"

"That is the situation," Zetzler confirmed.

"Wonderful, maybe I'll turn some water into wine while I'm at it." Tanya looked at Hans von Zettour. "I don't suppose you have any good news for me?"

Zettour shook his head. By nature, he was usually a very serious and solemn individual. At the moment, he looked as though he were about to attend his best friend's funeral.

"I know you are aware of the military restrictions placed on use by the Treaty of Orleans; limit of army personnel to twenty-five thousand individuals, limit of twenty-four panzers or self-propelled artillery pieces, limit of twenty-four single engine planes, bombers are forbidden, limit of seventy-two artillery pieces, none to exceed the caliber of seventy-five mm, limit of one hundred machine guns, limit of one hundred mortars, naval restrictions of one cruiser and five destroyers or destroyer escorts, submarines are forbidden, mines are forbidden, and of course, all mages are forbidden to perform military service, and the manufacture of computations jewels is forbidden."

Tanya gritted her teeth. "It's not even a modern army anymore! If we had to fight Dacia we'd lose! The Rus could overrun us in a day!"

Zettour nodded. "Believe it or not it could have been even worse."

"How?!"

"The Republic wanted to deny us even having a general staff. The other Allies thought that went a bit too far though."

Tanya barked a laugh. "Like it would matter! We could have Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon commanding and it still wouldn't make a difference!"

"We aren't even as strong as the treaty limits allow. When I was Chief of Staff I recommended we make non-specialist enlistments one year long. I also wanted army maneuvers every Spring and Fall. My intention was to build up as large a reserve of trained young men as possible, so if the day came we could expand we would have a larger pool of men to draw on. I also wanted us to continue to invest in new models of panzers and airplanes, so that our equipment could remain modern."

"But the Nationalists thought that would be a waste of money."

"Yes, which is why I resigned. Since then, Schumer and his government have allowed our military to atrophy. I've checked the rolls, we have less that six thousand men under arms now. The enlistments are for ten years. There has been virtually no training, the army hasn't even performed maneuvers in the last three years. Our panzers, fighters, and navy have been allowed to sit and rust because there is no fuel for them. There are shortages in everything from blankets to ammunition. To be honest, our soldiers are so poorly trained and equipped I cannot guarantee we could even put down a communist revolt. The situation is that bad."

"That's absolutely criminal! At least when the Allies crippled us it made sense! They were our enemies, of course they wanted to ruin us and make sure we would never be a threat again. But Schumer and his bunch were supposed to be the protectors of our country! They should have done everything they could to keep us strong! I ought to charge him and all of his cronies with treason!"

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Rerugen inserted. "Levi and he communists are already saying you intend to overthrow the government. They would call that proof you mean to silence all your political opposition."

Tanya rolled her eyes. "Pot meet kettle."

Everyone at the table stared back at her in confusion. That saying had come from a different life and a different world.

"I mean Levi saying anyone else is trying to overthrow the government is pretty damn ironic given what the communists preach."

"Nevertheless," Rerugen continued. "They wouldn't be the only ones to see it that way. A lot of people don't trust you."

A lot of people have common sense. "I have no intention of overthrowing the government… not unless I am absolutely forced to." She allowed herself a little bit of a smile as she said that.

"What about the banker and his bunch?" Weiss asked. "Whatever Schumer and the Nationalists did they were the ones pulling the strings."

She waved that away. "Don't worry about Conrad and his friends. I'll be putting them in their place soon." She turned her focus back to Zettour. "Open up the recruitment centers and bring our numbers up to the treaty limits. Not only will that strengthen the military, but every soldier in uniform is one less unemployed mouth to feed."

"But we will need to feed them," Zetzler objected. "And house, equip, and pay them. We are not in the position to take on such an expenditure."

"We will," Tanya said firmly. "And this is just the start. I intend to launch a re-armament program like nothing this world has ever seen before. We'll have a conscript army again, one trained to the same level as the Imperial Army. All our equipment will be modernized, and I intend to start several new research programs to develop brand new weapon systems. First here in Prussia, but eventually in all the successor states, I intend to create a new, modern Imperial Army that no force on Earth will be able to stand against!"

Everyone nodded, they all shared the same goal. They all wanted to restore the Empire with an army strong enough to keep it safe. Zetzler was the only one who looked a bit concerned.

"That all sounds wonderful, my leader, but also very expensive."

"Those are long term plans, for after we've pulled ourselves out of this depression. But right now, getting the army back up to strength will do."

"Ah, speaking of that," Viktoriya pulled out a piece of paper. "I received this from the British ambassador this morning. It's a letter from the Francois Republic. The Republic refuses to recognize your government and has recalled their ambassador back to Parisee." Viktoriya fidgeted. "They still consider you a war criminal and warn that any violation of the terms of the Treaty of Orleans will be met with sanctions and possible armed intervention. The British ambassador informed me that both his government and the government of the Entente Alliance were associating themselves with the note."

"Well, that's hardly a surprise," Tanya stated. "What about the Americans? Are they ganging up on me too?"

Viktoriya shook her head. "They weren't mentioned, and I haven't met with ambassador Kennedy yet."

"Well that's interesting," Tanya murmured.

Almost as soon as the Great War had ended and the Empire been dissolved the Allies had started to go their separate ways. The United States had been the major creditor to all the other allies. They had agreed not to take any war reparations, allowing the other states who'd suffered far greater material loss to receive all of them. The Americans were satisfied with having their massive loans repaid. Following the war, they had largely withdrawn from European affairs.

The Russy Federation had almost immediately defaulted on their loans and declared them to be the capitalists' attempt to claim the blood and sweat of the workers. Comrade Vorshilov had isolated his country and focused instead on building an ideal workers' paradise. Nine years of purges, gulags, treason trials, re-education camps, and funding revolutions all over the globe had left the Rus a rogue nation feared and distrusted by everyone.

The Entente Alliance had annexed all the territory east of the Oresund Strait and were more or less satisfied with that. These days they were a lot more worried about the common border they shared with the Rus.

The Allied Kingdom was focused on its empire and simply wanted to maintain the balance of power. There had actually been some talk from them that the peace treaty might have gone too far. They thought leaving a rump Empire intact might have been a good idea. It would have acted as a counter balance to the Rus. The Russy Federation was beginning to grow more aggressive and expansionist. The broken, bankrupt, and disarmed pieces of the Empire weren't going to deter the Rus from starting a new Great War. They instead made a tempting target. There were hints the British might have been open to adjusting the treaty terms. But there was just one problem.

The Francois Republic were absolutely determined the Empire would never rise again. During the war their homeland had been occupied and devastated worse than any other country. During the negotiations with the other allies they'd been the ones demanding the harshest terms. The time since had done nothing to soften their feelings. Two years after the peace treaty was signed they'd used a late payment of reparations as a pretext to occupy Rhineland. They were still there; bleeding it for every pfennig they could and treating it like a colony. Their occupation was a clear violation of the peace treaty, but no one cared. It was a warning to the other successor states and deeply resented by all the people of the Empire. The Republic was their main and absolute enemy.

Tanya was going to annihilate them!

Eventually.

"Viktoriya, please go and talk to ambassador Kennedy and tell him I would like to pay a state visit to their president as soon as possible."

Viktoriya's eyes brows leapt up. "You want to visit America?"

Tanya nodded. "That's right, one democratically elected president paying respects to another. At the very least it's a nice gesture, and who knows? Maybe we can have a pleasant chat over tea or something."

"I'm not sure you should do that now." Rerugen objected. "There are strikes and protests going on all over the country. The communists are doing everything they can to destabilize things."

She frowned. "The communists need to be reined in, they have been getting away with this nonsense for much too long. I'll appoint new police chiefs here in Berun and the other cities and explain to them they need to be tougher on the reds."

"You can't do that."

"What? Why not?"

"Because," Rerugen explained. "According to the constitution, city officials have to either be elected to office or appointed by the local Bürgermeister. The national government isn't permitted to interfere."

"Are you kidding me?! I'm president and I can't even decide who runs the police?"

"Well not unless you want to violate the constitution, and if you do not only the communists but the other parties are going to scream about it."

Tanya sighed with frustration. "It's way too soon. I'm not going to do anything illegal yet."

"Yet?" Rerugen echoed.

She thought for a moment. "Tell me something, does the constitution say anything about creating a national police force? One that will have authority all over Prussia?"

"Well, the constitution does allow the government to create new agencies to serve the public and carry out legislation."

Tanya smiled. "Okay, that's what we'll do then. A police force that will be staffed completely with good, loyal National Union men who will know just how to deal with the communists. And I already know exactly who I want in charge. We'll call them the secret state police, Gestapo for short. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Even if you create a new national police force they will still have to follow the law and use the same court system."

"Of course they will," Tanya agreed. "They won't break the law. Though they made need to bend it a little, especially where the communists are concerned. Do you think anyone will care if we're a little rough with them?"

"They're the enemy," Weiss said. "They want to betray the Fatherland and sell it to the Rus. It's our duty to protect the country from them."

"In extreme times, extreme measures are warranted." Zettour said.

"That is true," Rerugen admitted. "So long as they act within the limits of the law, I don't suppose there's a real issue."

"Good, and while we're at it, we may as well tap all their phone lines and bug their offices and homes." Tanya said.

"We would need a court order for each act of surveillance," Rerugen noted.

She thought for a moment. "Do I get to appoint judges?"

Rerugen hesitated. "Not to the district courts, however as chancellor one of my duties is to make appointments to any openings on the upper circuit."

Tanya nodded. "I'll draw up a list of candidates. Next, I want to hear about the problems with the Junker estates…"

That first meeting continued for a few hours as Tanya laid the foundation for what was to come.