Ulthuan, same time
Dirk Zimmermann was wearing his normal BDU´s, "Flecktarn" and all. What was conspicuously absent was any kind of ranking tabs as currently he was not a member of the "Bundeswehr". Instead he had taken a sabbatical at the strong suggestion if his superiors and was currently employed by Heckler&Koch. He had an interesting reputation with the Asur from the slaughter he had wrecked on the Druchii during the siege of the Dragon Gate and the time he had spent with the Shadow Elves. It was hoped that this standing allowed the Asur to listen to what he had to say.
He was standing at ease in front of an elegant table covered by a wax cloth on which several rifles waited for his presentation. In a half-circle before him Asur watched him with various degrees of condescension. The degree of this was mostly due to the experiences the respective student`s familiarity with the German sniper or the effects of rifle fire.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honor to present you the rifle picked by the Phoenix Throne as the armament of the new model regiments. This is the H&K G67, the finest combat repeating rifle in this world.
This rifle has the established 7.62 mm caliber which will reliably penetrate all personal armor, a 20-round detachable magazine and best of all, a straight-pull repeating mechanism which allows for a better rate of fire than the established Mauser K98."
"How does this compare to the rifles used by the Druchii?"
"Good question Herleas, and they are better in every way. They have a better rate of fire, with the straight-pull mechanism and the magazine you can shoot at least twice as fast as the Druchii and their single-shot rifles. You have about two hundred meters more effective range, better accuracy and more power."
"That is good to hear. And how does it compare to the rifle you used the year before last?"
"My rifle is as powerful and has the same range but has a better rate of fire. It would also be much harder for you to keep up and it has not been cleared for foreign sales by the German government."
"So you do not trust us?"
"Would you if you were us?"
Some Asur were so polite to laugh.
"A much better question is: is it better than a bow? Now I know that you have some of the best archers anywhere, but you can shoot faster, farther and hit harder with this than with any bow. And best of all-you can shoot from cover."
The Asur who nodded indicated who had taken part of the campaign against the Druchii mercenaries and had experienced the joys of modern armaments already.
"So Ladies and Gentlemen, this is where we start. First off we have to agree on how to call what part of the rifle. This is the buttstock, this is the barrel, this is…"
While he was talking about the rifle his mind went to a different place. The place that thought that this rifle fitted the Asur so well. They would not be seen to use the same rifle that the lesser humans but had adopted the more expensive Heckler&Koch. It would indeed shoot faster but the straight-pull mechanism copied from the old Swiss K31 rifle worked only when kept meticulously clean. If he would have a choice between this and the modernized K98 he would choose the latter every time.
Yet the Asur managed to keep their white robes clean even in the field, so they might be the ones who could make this work.
Karlsruhe, Angertag, 17. Vorgeheim
Ottokar Proktor looked tired, the first time Aeolus had seen him in such a way. And he was not the only one as his German helpers all looked like they were running on coffee and sweets. They had compiled an impressive pile of documents that was in front of them and a PowerPoint that was projected at the wall behind them.
"Based on the evidence from the cave we started to look for groups of three to six Asur that travelled close to Detmold in the last weeks. Unfortunately we did not find any until we widened out search. And indeed we have found two groups.
Two faces were projected on the wall behind them, older Asur who sported dignified wrinkles to indicate they acknowledged the passage of time on their terms.
"These two entered Germany on 9. Sommerzeit as part of a delegation to the magic faculty of Karlsruhe. They booked train tickets to Detmold on Sigmarstag, 29. Sommerzeit and stayed one night at a hotel there. Ever since then nobody has heard of them."
The picture changed to three different Asur, one of them female and all of them obviously younger.
"These three all entered Germany on 15. Sigmarszeit as students of the Erasmus program. They have not been seen since 20. Sommerzeit and we have surveillance pictures of all three when they left the long-range bus depot at Detmold. They stayed at the local youth hostel and one of them asked for directions to the part of the Teutoburg forest that contains the Extern Stones."
"What will you do now Herr Proktor?"
"At the moment we have given an all-points, sorry noted all police and border guards that we looked for them. Apart from that there is little that we can do at present."
"Can you send me the pictures via mail Herr Proktor? One of the older Asur looks familiar and maybe the staff at the embassy can offer some hints."
"How will you get them there?"
"Oh Aurelius is quite handy with a computer these days, he will get the mail for sure."
"You can have them then. I`d say adjourned until the afternoon, then we might have more info."
The next meeting started with everybody looking expectedly at Aurelius who could have done with a bit less attention.
"I have talked with Aurelius, Asurian Ambassador to the Reiksbund, at length during the last hours. He clearly states that the Phoenix Throne has nothing to do with the ritual that was performed in the Extern Stone caves."
The faces of those looking at him displayed slight amusement to naked hatred as was to be expected so it was time to continue.
"Both Aurelius and Tyriael, the commander of the Ambassadorial Guard, recognize this Asur."
The picture on the wall changed from the iPads screen to one of the older Asur together with his name in German script.
This Elf is not Chamas of the House of Eras as he stated when he entered Germany, he is Haratak of the House of Imrik. He is a very accomplished mage and much more powerful than he let you know.
He has been a member of the Brotherhood of the Tower of Hoeth until 57 years ago when he was forced to leave the Tower. While there was a lot of gossip back then nobody knows exactly why he had to leave, yet there were rumors of his forays into areas of magic that are forbidden to all Asur.
He has become a recluse ever since and if somebody wanted to hire a mage of great capabilities but few restraints he would make an excellent candidate. Aurelius asks if we can send the pictures of all suspects to Lothern to check if they or their whereabouts are known."
If Ottokar Proktor was happy to be asked or surprised about it-none of the attendants of the meeting could see from his bland face.
"Please do so. I have not much new to report and the little we have is not good. We have very few hints were the mages went after they have performed the ritual, yet the little we have indicates that the Asur made for the German border to Bretonia. They might have crossed the border unobserved and would be very hard to track if they are in Couronne."
"Did one of these…Asur leave anything personal behind in any of the places they stayed? If so might be able to help locating them, if you are interested that is."
"Quite so Silva, quite so. And how would you accomplish that?"
"Tracking-by spoor or magic is something my people are very good in. Just don`t ask me to follow a "digital" trail."
"I will see what is available Frau Garrolin and we would all appreciate your help."
Breton Sloop "Glaive", 350 kilometers from Mouisilon, Markttag 21. Vorgeheim
Pierre de Gascoyne was not a happy man. This trip had started so well even if it was at short notice. The profit that could be made of the trip was staggering and the crew more than happy to undertake it when they had calculated their share.
And their passengers had not lied; a very favorable wind had driven the ship to speeds that she had not seen for a long time.
Yet the mood had soured a few days after leaving port already. The passengers were not just arrogant pricks that were probably looked for by someone, they were powerful mages that looked down their haughty noses at everybody. And insulting them or even dropping them overboard was out of the question, any of them could probably burn all crew to ashes with a flick of their thin, pale wrists.
Then the bird that did not move its wings and that purred in ways the captain had never heard had everybody on edge. The bird had appeared out of some clouds yesterday and had circled the ship for an hour or so while everybody had gawked and guessed. Neither he nor his passengers could make anything of it, yet they seemed angry when his mate had suggested it could be German.
The bird had departed without doing anything, yet the feeling of strangeness and ill omen had remained with the crew, and his passengers seemed even less at ease then before. One of the had just left the cabin and stood at the railing watching the sea and clouds. How he or the others kept his white robe so clean after several days at sea Pierre could not say. The pale skin of the elf did not seem suitable to withstand the bright sun, yet it had neither reddened nor bronzed during the time he could watch them. It was just another mystery about his passengers that he doubted that he would solve before they disembarked in far-off Ulthuan.
Something caught his eyes, something in the sea a hundred meters to starboard. A strange feathery wake of something he did not see. When he trained his telescope towards the wake he saw something like a black stick that drove through the water as fast as his beloved "Glaive". He had never seen such a thing and he was still musing what it was when a much bigger wave formed a few meters in front of the stick. Cries from all crew on deck accompanied the emergence of a huge monster. Charcoal grey and featureless it was bigger than any whale he had ever seen and it moved through the water propelled by something unseen. And no whale had such a strange humpback structure on its back either.
He rapped the board fastened next to the steering wheel with his scabbard to get his crew to stations when something on the humpback opened and the heads of several humans emerged from it.
The barrels of something that might be rifles were pointed at him and a loud voice called n heavily accented Breton.
"Ahoi Glaive, this is the submarine U40 of the Federal German Navy. Heave to and prepare to accept boarders."
Sloop Glaive, a few minutes later.
So this was no sea monster to slay them all, this was likely the German version of the customs-and-excise or, if Pierre went by the reaction of his passengers the lawmen. His chances to survive this encounter, maybe even with his ship and crew intact, rose from nonexistent to barely perceptible in his mind.
By now the German mechanical monster had released two strange-looking boats, filled them with armed men that crossed the distance propelled by unknown means but very fast.
The Elves that he had brought from Mousillon had by now all assembled at the railing and watched the proceedings. For beings that never seemed perturbed they had a lively discussion going that bordered on the violent when one of them committed the cardinal sin.
They were all on a well-weathered sloop. Produced from sun-dried wood, made water-tight with pitch and propelled by dry cloth and rope she was a bonfire waiting to happen. The seaman`s worst nightmare was a fire on board and the few drills captain de Gascoyne subjected his crew to were all about firefighting.
And now this idiot formed a fireball in his right hand and was about to do something stupid with it like burning his home, his source of sustenance and first love. Pierre started for the Elven fool but knew already that it was too late.
Hartmut Bär commanded boat one, which held six marines besides him and a specialist. Boat two was to starboard and slightly back and a machine gun pointed at the sloop from its bow. They were to provide covering fire in case the boarding Hartmut and crew were about to perform went south. The noncom wasted about three seconds on the question why his missions so often had something to do with Elven mages. And that he was uncomfortably close to the mages this time and that he had no handy source for 155mm laser-guided rounds.
He watched the rather varied people on board of the ship in front of him for any trouble. The humans that were probably the crew of the sailship were still stowing the sails from heaving to and did not seem threatening. The white-robed elves on the railing were gesturing towards them and arguing for something.
And then the hand of one lit up like a torch with a ball of fire forming above it. Hartmut pulled his rifle up to his shoulder and was about to shout something, anything when the fireball suddenly lost luminance and volume fore simply disappearing. He looked backwards to Meister Phillips who held the smoking remains of a Scroll of Warding in his hand which had obviously dispelled the attack before it began.
He nodded once before he trusted his voice again to shout above the outboard engine.
"Grenades on the mages, now now now."
Several rifles were lifted far above the horizon and cylindrical grenades arced lazily towards their target. Those who hit the ship either released a white smoke or several small disks that exploded violently. At nearly 180 db they were just so loud not damage human hearing permanently and were accompanied by exceedingly bright flashes. They robbed the Elves of the concentration needed to work any spells for a score of seconds and by the time they could start to regain their senses the effects of CS-gas made themselves known.
They were still sucking in breath and wiped their burning eyes when the Marines emerged through the chemical fog. Two of the mages started to twitch violently when the Germans applied Tasers, two were so overwhelmed by gas and explosions that they could be handcuffed without resistance. The last had drawn a slender sword and was about to slice Hartmut in two when a rifle`s butt to the head ended the attempt.
Three hours later Pierre de Gascoigne was a happy man. His ship was not heavily damaged, neither he nor his crew under arrest and they were about to set course for Mousilion again. The arrogant passengers were gone as were their possessions. And yet, while he had not brought the Elves to Ulthuan he had been allowed to keep the substantial deposit on the fare. He thought that the huge German had the right of it: Not speaking of the Elves at all during the next weeks would be a very good idea.
Airship LZ 37, 500 meters AGL, 200 Kilometers from U40
Silva ad` Garrolin was in another version of the German`s lifeless hell, yet she barely noticed the absence of living matter around her. This was not due to her far more subdued surroundings, the airship she was in was quiet indeed, but because she was preoccupied.
She had swiveled the small table from the seat in front of her down and used a transparent triangle and a pencil to mark intersecting lines on the paper in front of her and shook her head in disbelief from time to time. She was so far into these thought that she was surprised by the slander pale hand that deposited a mug full of a red fluid in front of her. The smell it gave off indicated the rose hip tea that she found acceptable and her benefactor had taken the pains to sweeten it with honey and not the poison the Germans called sugar.
"So the Germans did it to you also, didn`t they?"
"Did what to me Aeolus?"
"What they always do. Appear arrogant, clueless and so sure they know what they are doing even when they do not. And then they drop a fireball in front of you and you ask yourself why we never thought about it ourselves when it is so bleeding obvious. Like triangulation."
"Yes, they did that to me. I mean I have always been able to give a direction towards my target if I had a spoor. But combining two lines to give a firm position even in a place you had never seen, that never occurred to me or any other Asrai that I know of."
"A bit like us that. Our mathematics knows this but we never thought about applying it in the field. But you need good maps for that so you have a good idea about your baseline and good measurements, so we might be excused."
"I am not sure. The Germans have been here for just such a short time and they have such good maps. How do they do that-with their fliers?"
"In a way. If I understood things right then they have a very special flier very high above this world that travels around it every two hours and makes these photos of every place it passes."
"You are joking, right?"
"Well, let me show you..see this is called "Google Warhammer". Here you can shift the picture left and right, up and down, and when you move two fingers out and in like this you can enlarge or reduce. Yes, like that, try for yourself."
"So this dot is where we are?"
"Yes, at least roughly. Now push there, yes a little more to the bottom. A bit more-and there we have Athel Loren."
"Interesting."
"It gets better, or worse depending on your point of view. Let me shift this a bit-yes. Enlarge it please."
"Why-oh Isha."
"Yes, thought the same. The Oak of Ages, is that right?"
"I am not allowed to say. But this is horrible; no one not of the Asrai is allowed to see it."
"And it is her, visible to all with access."
"Is this why you try to learn and so much about the Germans, and to be like them, because you are afraid of them?"
"I am not afraid of them, but I respect them. And you have not seen half of what they can do if they put their minds to it Silva. It is many small things, like when we chartered some of their ships a while ago so we could supply an army in the field. We received just 20 ships and they were not Germany`s best. They transported more and faster than all of the ships Asur has under sails together.
And then there are the big things. Did you feel the disturbance of the warp about 18 months ago?"
"Yes, what of it?"
"Does Athel Loren know that the Horned Rat is no more?"
"There have been discussions about that."
"Well, no need for discussions and guess who killed it."
"Now I know you are joking."
"Want to watch the video?"
Silva ad Garrolin was caught in a lifeless hell of German making, yet she did hardly notice it. Not because of her doodles on the forgotten paper on front of her but for the thoughts that chased through her minds like rabbits. The rose hip tea in front of her slowly lost temperature as she stared at nothing in her field of view.
Most of these thoughts were on the last sentence the Asur had uttered before retreating to his seat.
"Others start changing their ways to the German style of doing things. Others like the Druchii, the Empire and the Dawi. What will happen to those who do not?"
Close to Hamburg, Bäckertag 22. Vorgeheim
The rooms around Aeolus were the obviously old and in bad repair. Light was provided only by old-style light tubes, color peeled off the wall in some places and the air smelled damp. Ottokar had told them they belonged to a police station no longer in use and about to be demolished. He preferred it to other places for "added privacy" and the young Asur was reasonably sure that some of the methods used by the team to interrogate the captured mages would not be appreciated by Ottokar`s fellow Germans.
Compared to some things even Aeolus had seen he was still pretty tame, but there were few doubts in his mind that the German would do whatever necessary to arrive at the ugly truth.
The room he was in was a microcosm of the old station-harsh light, chipped fake wooden furniture and seats that were too cheap to be comfortable. The table in the middle was a bit more sturdy as it was used to fasten the handcuffs of the prisoner to it.
Currently he was sitting together with Michael Brand in front of Cirdar who seemed to be the senior assistant to Haratak together with Michael Brand. Besides the handcuffs the mage wore a collar of German manufacture and the clothes he had worn when he had been transferred to the airship. Unfortunately the mage was less then cooperative and Aeolus could see and feel him prepare another spell to kill him and the German both. Cirdar managed to thrust his mind into the configuration needed for the beginning of the spell. He started mouthing the words of power and the energies of the empyrean configured themselves to his bidding when the shock chopped the effort off at the knees.
"We developed these collars from shock collars for dogs. If the dog barks he gets a shock through his neck, very painful or so I am told. Actually they are no longer allowed for dogs as they are considered inhumane. Yours works with a short range magical detector and will shock you whenever you try to work magic. I do not think that you will be able to hold the concentration necessary for a spell when you get shocked and your vocal cords will certainly not allow you to speak the formulas.
I explained this to you at least two times and you still persist for the last two hours. My dog learned not to bark after 30 minutes and I could not tell him not to. Seems my dog is smarter than you are Herr Cirdar."
The hate that came from the speechless Elf would have seared worlds if it could have translated into the real world. As it did not he tried to state what he felt about the German, yet his voice was only a harsh whisper.
"You shaved apes believe you are so clever and powerful and yet you understand nothing. I will outlast whatever punishment your weak government thinks is appropriate and then I will take care of …."
He was cut off in mid-sentence by another shock and by the look of it a stronger one.
"Did I tell you about the remote control? Well maybe I am not so clever and forgot about that oh great.."
"Michael, that was uncalled for, really. I understand that your anger, but you have to reign in your emotions. Please leave us for a moment Herr Brand."
"Ah, you Elves are all the same, should not bother."
The door to the room was old but managed to slam impressively into its frame.
"Ah, these uncultured Germans, so close to their barbarian roots. And Michael has some sort of relatives in Monschau, could be that the Wild Hunt killed some of them there. I mean the Germans swear that they do not perform revenge, but these are human utterings, you surely understand.
Here, take some water, that should ease the pain in the throat a bit."
"So you can poison me better?"
"Really now, the Germans have easier ways to do that if they want that. And I have heard they want to try some of their primitive mixtures on you. They told me that they might not work on us Asur and damage the mind. They say as you are obviously only hired help they would not lose anything if that happens.
But I forget myself, here I drink some of that water so you can feel safe."
"Thank you. So why are you here helping these Germans?"
"So they do not go after all and any Asur in their blind rage. I try to channel it to more useful ends and try to keep things reasonable for us. An amusing game, they are so simple and easily goaded. But even the most primitive animal must be baited by a real morsel."
"So you think I will tell you all I know about our mission and who hired us? That I cannot do even if I were without honor, Haratak was the only one of our group who was contacted."
"I would not dare to doubt your honor, what is a true Elf without it. Yet we still need to disabuse the Germans of that notions you know nothing and they might try their "truth serum" on you. Come on, you have to help me if I am to save your mind. Can you maybe tell me why Haratak is no longer a member of the Brotherhood or how you managed to dupe the Asrai?"
There was a hammering on the door.
"You two love birds done with each other?"
"Herr Brand, do not interrupt when your betters have a serious discussion"
"And that Cirdar is where we need to take up a real discussion, otherwise things will get a bit out of hand I am afraid…"
The room was not much different from the one Aeolus had just left, but it contained a computer and Ottokar Proktor was busy with it when Michael and Aeolus entered it.
"So anything you two learned?"
"Actually quite a bit and the first is that out Aeolus is quite an accomplished interrogator and actor. The rest he can tell you himself."
"What do you mean by actor Michael?"
"They are primitive and easily goaded…."
"Well, the best lies have a big core of truth in them."
All three beings stared at each other for about three seconds before they started laughing.
"Ok, jokes aside Cirdar did not know as much as I hoped. He is rather sure that Haratak was expelled from the Brotherhood because he experimented with Warpstone as a source of power."
"Not so clever then our Haratak."
"He is actually very good. Unfortunately he thinks he is so much better than his peers that they would never see what his "genius" wanted to hide."
"Didn`t work?"
"Worked for too long I would say but finally stopped. The second thing is that Cirdar stated that Haratak had an object that was somehow tied to some parts of Athel Loren, but that was consumed in the ritual."
"Not bad at all. If you ever tire of working for Aurelius I have an offer for you."
"Ah, I appreciate that but…."
This time the two Germans laughed a second before he joined.
The phone rang a few minutes later and the group made their way into another room. This one looked like somebody had tried to convert a cell into a room at a hospital and left the job half-done. There was a rack for several infusions and a table that held various medical instruments, a man in a white coat and a strong lamp.
But there was also a substantial bed with many straps that tied the older mage down, the collar around his neck and Silva who watched him with barely concealed hate.
Aeolus right eyebrow rose a bit at the sight and the man in the coat interpreted that right.
"The old coot did not want to talk to us at all. He is also a bit too strong for Silva to look into his head so we decided to throw him a little handicap."
"How so?"
"He gets an infusion of sodium thiopental-that will reduce his higher cognitive functions and make him more suggestible. That should allow Silva to make a trip into his mind and get out with the info we need."
"Is that dangerous?"
"The Druchii we tested this stuff on did not show any worse reactions that humans and physiologically you are still quite similar. As foe Silva-she knows the risks better than the rest of us and volunteered."
"This..burner of trees has used Orion to do his bidding, has endangered the sacred Athel Loren-I will go in there, whatever the risks."
"Be careful in there."
"I thought you do not care for a strivari?"
"Better the strivary you know…"
"You are incorrigible."
"I am Aeolus."
Haratak was in a white room, filled with mementos of a life lived well, with tomes of forgotten lore and food that gave pleasure as well as sustenance. It was a room made by his own mind in his own mind. It was the place he retreated when the Germans became insistent in their questioning. In here he would not feel what they did to his body.
He felt content, warm and mellow, about to have a nap when he realized something was off. It did not take long to see what that was as the room all of a sudden contained a beautiful female. Her graceful face, her ears and slender limbs said that she was an elf, her clothing made her Asrai.
He wanted to banish her, scream at her or simply flee, but the limbs his body had in this special place were moving so slowly as if they were of lead.
"So you old coot, now all you have to do is not to think of your sponsor, the one that thinks he can use Athel Loren to for his goals. Should be as easy as not to think of pink treekin."
Silva nursed another rose hip tea and even tolerated the sugar inside as she needed all the warmth she could get after her visit to this cold place in the old mages mind. She had just given the news to this Ottokar. She had to give him credit, he had not even blinked and was just busy organizing transport while this twit Aeolus contacted his boss. She was curious if she would indeed see Finubar or Arielle or if they would be willing to help the Germans.
Asurian Tradeship "Fenedil", Sea of Claws, Angertag 25 Vorgeheim
Any society has a number of eccentrics or unusual persons. In the case of the High Elves, that number might be lower than in other nations, but even they have some. Such as Refardol, who´s life made other Elves shake their heads after getting to know his history.
He was an Asur of great talent for magic, in fact one of the most talented in four generations. His admission into the Tower of Hoeth was not a question, like in the case of so many hopefuls, but a sure thing. It was even practically an order for him.
To the surprise of his family, his superiors and anybody close to him, Refardol simply said - no. The mages in the Tower might be the most elite ones on the Warhammer world, but the Elves in there were very far removed from normal life. And Refardol liked, was fascinated by normal life and wanted to experience it. He wanted to see the world, which gave his surroundings hope for the future. It seemed to be a simple case of wanderlust. No problem, let him go, 50 years on the road would cure him of his silly notions just fine, and then he would gladly toil in the Tower.
But the surprises from Refardol did not stop there. Instead of taking the place as a leader he could and should on such voyages, Refardol instead became a ship mage in a third-rate trading company. And he had the audacity to have fun doing this, which added insult to injury to his status-obsessed family.
As such, his ties and relations were strained for already more than 90 years. But not all Asur considered him a failure. Refardol was one of the few High Elves with something called life experience from outside Ulthuan. Something interested circles of Asurian society were eager to use and exploit.
"Yes, the Germans have a nice bag of tricks, but they are new to this world. Six or seven years do not make you experts, no matter what forces you command. Take their estimates for the populations on our world. Even the estimates on their close allies are off by quite a margin."
"You are rather well-informed, I have to say. Especially for someone so far outside his true calling."
"Being outside Ulthuan has it´s perks, so to speak. I help you because the Germans change the balance on this world."
"It is good to know that you see the danger these apes represent. It is important that we Asur keep the leadership among the races of Light."
"That might be so, but you underestimate them."
"Not really, Refardol. Going out onto the battlefield against these Germans is idiocy, that has been proven time and time again in the last few years. But the apes can be brought down, you just have to hit them where they are weak and with foresight. At the moment there is already something in motion, but I am not convinced of it. The plotters might be patriots but their plan could be from the brains of the mud-digging stumpies. It lacks the true finesse of us Asur. But then again, the Germans are humans, a rather simple strain of mammals. They might well falling for it. Anyway, what can you tell me?"
"The Germans are still too used to their former world. While they acknowledge that they have errors in the calculations through many sources, they misinterpret many nations and their given information. If we exclude not-sufficiently-damned Chaos, there are 2.5 billion sentient beings on Warhammer or as the Germans would count, 2.5 milliard. A bit more than a third of the population of their homeworld, if their numbers are not inflated. Which I do not believe to be the case.
The Germans estimate is nearly a billion people too low. Over time they will correct this, I am sure, but for now they believe the numbers."
"How does that help our cause? While I can see several nice possibilities, what is your take on it?"
"The Germans are a different version of the Empire. You can see it that the Empire in many ways develops in their direction, when other nations under their influence do only to a certain degree. For humans, the Germans are very organised, efficient, inventive, culturally interested and other things. But it comes with a price tag. The Germans like life going a certain way. Their society is very straightforward and so value honour, the rules and treaties. This 'say what you mean, mean what you say' attitude is good for societal interactions, but it makes them weak in misdirection and outright lying. There you can hit them by misdirection and straight out lying. Make them believe that their ways will not be successful here, which should be easy since too low a number of people on a world hurts their progress. Strike at them from the shadows."
"Quite the way we thought."
"But make sure it works the first time, if needs be, take your time. It is easy to abuse the openness of such a society, but once it becomes known, you will lose all the trust you had. Antagonising a society based on trust, is unwise if you will have to work with them later on."
