The Eternal Glade, Athel Loren
The World`s Oak dominated the Eternal Glade as it always did, with a size that was not possible to a mundane tree and a presence that eclipsed the mere physical one. This time it was in full sunlight, the pale sunlight of early spring that shone on light green leaves that had just formed. The glade was filled with Asrai of all walks of life as the most important moment of the year was about to commence.
All watched the tree in silence as most of them had done countless times before. They did not look at the mighty stem or the far-reaching branches, did not listen to the many birdsor the rustling of the leaves. They watched the dark opening that led into the World Oak itself. A day before a member of the Wild Hunt had entered the Oak, his name to be remembered as long as there were Asrai.
He would not come back, yet he would provide a body for Orion to modify and use till the next winter.
And while not a single Asrai present talked about it, the fact that Orion`s ashes had been kept in a far-off land made everybody anxious if Kurnous` avatar would return to guide them this spring.
The leaves of the Oak started to rustle despite the lack of wind and every being in the glade held its breath when first one and then two figures emerged from the opening. Both lifted their hands in a benediction of their people and the cheers that rose to the sky were even more heartfelt than usual. Athel Loren`s gods and rulers were back from their sleep and life as the Asrai had known for millennia would continue, wouldn´t it?
A little later Ariel and Orion had one of the few solitary moments this year would grant them when they cleansed themselves in the same pool they had used for as long as they were rulers of Athel Loren. The avatar of Kurnous looked at his image in the waters for a long time.
He had seen himself like this when Nagash turned Khemri into a cemetery and he had done the same when Sigmar took up his hammer. He had been the same after each rebirth with only imperceptible differences that were the last remains of the body he had taken. Simply seeing himself was an important part of his rebirth. This year he was different and his mind, mighty as provided by a God and flexible so early in the year had a hard time comprehending it.
A white scar disgraced the middle of his chest, a white spot in the middle that sent rays all over his mighty chest and parts of his stomach. The tip of his right antler was clipped. His forehead furrowed when he tried to wring the memories from his mind that would help him understand.
"This is the handiwork of the new humans, the Germans, my husband. I have asked them what they had done to you and they told me that they filled your chest with a fire made from copper. Your ashes bore testament to that and needed to be purified. Yet what happened to your antler-did you have a mighty duel shortly before the Germans killed you so it would not heal in time?"
"I do not-oh yes there was a fight. In the town we started the Hunt in, I remember. Yet no duel, I was not challenged and did not see the warrior who did this at first."
"An ambush my Lord?"
"I do not think so, just a confused fight and he did far more than just wound my pride."
"A mighty warrior then to wound you."
"No, just an old man-ah you are right, in his way a mighty warrior. I will remember him."
"Yes. Come now my husband, we have much to discuss as this world has become a different place."
It was two days later that Ariel found the time to read the missive of Athel Loren`s newest, and only, ambassador.
My Lord and Lady, I am now six months in Germany and try my best to defend Athel Loren`s position in this strange Land and the Reiksbund. At the same time I try to learn all I can about the Germans and how the World changes because of them.
I have been given a part of the Grunewald in Berlin as the Asrai embassy and have been able to grow suitable quarters for me and my staff. The Germans are respectful and consider these grounds as actual parts of Athel Loren and do not intrude.
There is so much to tell about this new country, about things horrible, grand and everything in between. The Germans profess that they want to protect and conserve nature and have actually given parts of their country into "natural reserves", yet the grievous wounds they have made into their lands are easy to see. They have fields, forests and lakes that are remarkably free of their poisons and lakes where their mines used to be and yet it is obvious that nature exists only when and where they allow it.
Their forests are like their fields and gardens-creations of man, planted and harvested at their leisure.
The Germans are in love with their machines and it can be said that they use their machines to make good their shortcomings. They have machines to transport them faster and farther than any horse or stag, machines to do the smelting and forging, machines to contact one another and even machines that think after a fashion.
But whether these machines are a crutch or not, they make the Germans powerful in many ways and we cannot afford to provoke them.
There is so much that we have to learn, but two things are most important, to wit:
We must not make war against the Germans. I have now toured the battlefields where the Reiksbund fought their major battles, have spoken with veterans and watched what documentation is freely available.
The result of this study is that making war against the Reiksbund would be far too dangerous to contemplate. I have now sufficient proof to verify the claim that the Germans killed the Horned Rat. On Angertag, 17. Ulrichszeit 2524 the Horned Rats appeared in this words, not a an avatar by a physical manifestation. The Germans killed it. Killed it with high losses and a very special weapon but killed it. I know no other power on this world which could have done so and we should not provoke the Germans because of that. Another Wild Hunt in Germany would have consequences too horrible to contemplate. To underline this point: The Germans know the position of the World Oak precisely and could destroy it with fire at a time of their choosing.
Enclosed to this letter my majesty may find documents that confirm my claims.
The second issue is the new ways the Germans bring to their allies and trading partners. While not everybody sees the changes they wrought in a positive light those nations who accept them partly or totally gain power in many ways, mostly economical and in terms of warfare.
Both the Druchii and the Asur have started to adopt German industry and weapons and the last Druchii campaign in Ulthuan proved that one either adapts or perishes. It may be distasteful to us in the extreme, but we may have to consider which of the new ways and tools we adopt for our own use, lest we find ourselves at a disadvantage against those who did so already.
While Athel Loren is not under direct threat by any power which has started to adopt German ways there is a problem that we have to face.
Bretonia has always been a friendly power and a shield against many threats that plague the Old World. Currently they steadfastly refuse to change their ways and suffer from it. They have always been a Great Power in this world, yet now they slide back. This was proven both by their failed attempt to invade Nanseitoshi, a Nipponese splinter that appeared together with the Germans and their serious defeat by Miragliano last year. If we do not find a way to rectify this we lose our first line of defense.
On a different note: Ottokar Proktor, who is known to your majesty, has offered us the positions of beastmen warherds inside and close to the forest. He would relay such information to me close to the solstice. In his words "The Beastmen make a better target than some poor Breton farmers."
I am not sure how Herr Proktor will obtain such information; a source close to me said something about "aerial recon" and "satellites". Usually Proktor speaks the truth, even if rarely all of it. Yet here this seems to coincide with his interests so we should look at the information when it comes available."
Your most obedient servant.
Silva da´Garrolin
Ministry of the Interior, Berlin, Germany
Prof. Dr. Willy Spannowsky was transferring his notes from paper into his Tablet. While he was no stranger to computers, he still preferred to write his notes and thoughts on paper before deciding if they should be committed into a computer.
Willy was a lawyer teaching at university, a long-time Judge and a busy expert. Before the Weltensprung, he was often called by the Federal Government or the EU for his expertise. As such, he had been one of the first experts on State Law to be called up by Berlin to solve the question of how to proceed with the newly acquired or re-acquired territories. How to integrate them into Germany proper?
Some things were easy in Willy´s opinion. Tondern with it´s surroundings would become the northernmost Kreis (district) in Schleswig, as it had been a Kreisstadt (county town), if not the northernmost back then, already during Imperial times. The inhabitants were either German-descended or would fall under the existing regulations for the Danish minority, so this problem was solved.
The Eupen-Malmedy-St. Vith region likewise would be reintegrated into either Northrhine-Westphalia or Rhineland-Palatinate, depending on the results from the reform proposals about the coming new Federal States. Two counties, one voting district for the state level elections. Here a clear majority was German-descended, since the area had been German until the end of WW1 and a special cultural district of Belgium until the Weltensprung, so the reintegration of the region would not be problematic.
Illkirch and the handful of other French towns which made the Weltensprung with Germany would be integrated into Baden, the Palatinate and the Saarland. French would be second official language for a while to ease the transition.
The Kleinwalsertal had already been more or less jointly administered by Germany and Austria, so the integration consisted mostly of a few administrative actions.
The Czechs in Tetschen/Decin and the area between Roßbach/Hradice and Eger/Cheb had about 100000 inhabitants. Tetschen would be integrated into Saxony, as a new district. The Eger area he was not sure, either Bavaria or Saxony. This would once again depend on the new shape of the Federal States, before that he would leave this open. As in the case of the French, Czech would stay as a second official language until no longer needed.
The Poles in Pomeria were the most populous among the foreign Earthers displaced, around 400,000 on the fly, according to the lists Willy got. And concentrated in the comparatively small part of former Poland on the left bank of the Oder. The easiest way to get that integration done was to enlarge that region by the newly acquired Warhammer land north of the old border and make it a federal State. That land would became the Federal state of Westpommern. The other land gained in the East would become part of Brandenburg.
The most difficult integration process was the one involving Nanseitoshi. While being "just" a displaced splinter of Nippon, the region was as populous as neighboring Baden-Württemberg with its 10 million citizens.
Then inhabitants were Nipponese with a society comparable to Japan 400 years ago. Willy was sure that this called for a rather long transition phase. And while Nippon, Nanseitochi and especially the Empire were making fast steps towards "modernity", this was nothing that would happen overnight and parts of their old culture would prevail.
Nipponese would stay as a second official language beside German. For now, the Daimyo assembly would be kept as the government of Nanseitoshi, it worked. Making voting districts for the National elections would be interestingsince it was a new level of state for Nanseitochi.
Changing the inner workings of Nanseitochi to that of a "standard" Federal state, with democracy, partition of power, upgrading of the Nanseitochi bureaucracy and infrastructure would take at least a generation. The physical changes were not the problem, changing the mindset took time.
Willy Spannowsky hoped that he would live long enough to see the outcome, it would be very interesting to see how and what changes would happen. And how Nanseitochi would influence Germany, because with 10 million citizens and a solid population growth, it would become an influential Federal State with time.
Compared to the long process Nanseitochi would take, the rest of the new territories in the West, Neu-Geldern, Neupreußen and Neuschlesien were "peanuts". They were mostly wilderness at the moment, with a few settlements and military installations. The inhabitants of these settlements were mainly immigrants from the Empire, some Tileans and Norscans. Except Neuschlesien, a majority of people there were Bretonnian refugees. Indeed, Dreiquellen, the currently largest settlement of the new western territories had been founded by refugees from Bretonnia rather early after the Weltensprung.
Since it was as much "frontier land" as most of the new eastern acquisitions, building up state structure was easier there compared to regions with long histories.
Mingol Zharr-Naggrund
The room was built by Chaos Dwarfs, was inside an insanely big ziggurat, lit mostly by oil lamps and it held the half-mechanical bulk of Lord Astragoth who dominated the room. And yet it was clearly a mortuary with stone slabs to hold the deceased and funnel away their bodily fluids. The stink of blood and opened intestines managed to overpower the ever-present pollution that one could never escape when in Zharr-Naggrund.
A Druchii mage and two men stood before the supreme ruler of the Dawi´zharr. As all Chaos Dwarf mages he was slowly turning into stone due to his use of the fell powers and had fended off disability by artificial limbs that turned him into a vengeful giant. The voice that emerged from the ruler`s throat was deep, hoarse and full of pain.
"So you believe you know the source of the disease that kills so many of the Dawi-Zharr when the wisest of mages do not. Mages who have lived here for centuries and who are often afflicted by the same?"
"Yes Lord Astragoth, we believe that we found an answer. I have brought Dr. Wenger and Manfred One-Eye to present our findings."
"You better hope this is worth my time Druchii."
"I live to serve my Lord."
"Get on with it then."
The bald man in the white smock and the blood-splattered apron gestured towards the body that lay on the first slab.
"My Lord, please see this-the gums of this Dawi. There is a blue line here that extends to the teeth here, together with this black line. Also please see this-the brain of the dwarf has swelled to the point where it obviously impeded its function. When you look at the stomach you can see the deceased has obviously lost a lot of weight in the last months of his life, yet the stomach is quite hard as the bowels are constipated. These symptoms are present in nearly all Dawi`zharr I could autopsy during the last month."
"So?"
"Please bear with me my Lord. If you look here we seen several joints with all the symptoms of gout, which indicates a high level of uremic acid in the blood and which led me to check the kidneys. The kidneys are actually about one third smaller than they should be. Taken together these symptoms are indicators for lead and cadmium poisoning. I did my very best together with Manfred to check on the levels of these metals in the blood of the deceased. Our current equipment is not very good, but we are pretty sure that the patients had about 150 μg/dl of lead and 180 μg/L of Cadmium in their blood. Even for the Dawi`zharr who are known for their resistance to poisons this is obviously too much."
"So where so you believe this poison comes from?"
The German chemist with the eye patch stepped forward.
"This is the part that I checked my Lord. We found that the farmland around Mingol Zharr-Naggrund contains high amounts of lead, cadmium and other heavy metals. I found more than 50 milligram of Cadmium per kilogram of soil and more than 3000 milligram of lead. Anything grown on these soils will be poisonous to humans and Dawi`zharr. If you eat the meat of animals that grazed on these lands the situation becomes even worse as they consume roughly ten kilograms of vegetation to achieve one additional kilogram of meat, so the metals inside will be even more concentrated. I was not allowed to travel far to gather additional samples but I have yet to find arable soil which is not heavily contaminated."
"How do you believe these metals got there?"
"Through the various mining and processing activities my Lord, your people perform them for a very long time with no regard to contain their byproducts. Most of your arable land is close to the River Ruin and its tributaries, so these fields will be contaminated."
"Is this what you needed those expensive machines of yours for?"
"Yes my Lord, without the Mass Spectrometer I would not have been able to detect such traces."
"So what one do?"
"Give the Dawi`zharr access to clean food again. Those who have not ingested too much heavy metal should recover, the rest will die."
"And how do you suppose we do this?"
"The greenhouses will only work for a small number of people, they are hard to make and it was a problem acquiring uncontaminated soil anyway.
"If the Dawi`Zharr want to live they need fresh farmland my Lord."
"So you say the lands close to the river are not useful."
"Very likely my Lord."
"And how do you imbeciles propose to transport food that was harvested far from the river. Do you think you can cart all the grain Zharr-Naggrund needs through the Dark Lands. I should know better than listen to you…."
"Railways my Lord."
"What?"
"Railroads. You have seen our demonstration line and it is now fully occupied by hauling the ore of the Hashut-2 mine to the smelters. A single one of these trains can transport more than 10000 horses."
"So, this is just a 20 kilometer long track, what does this prove?"
"My old world has seen such railroads, many thousands of kilometers long and my erstwhile countrymen build them all over the Old World. They can transport so much in such a short time and would make raiding the World`s Edge mountain range so much easier."
"Wouldn`t that show up to these Germans?"
"I do not think they would bother much and actually we have a plan to use the tunnels you told us about."
"Can one of your steam engines run in them-they make so much smoke?"
"Oh, the steam engines do not need to make the trip my Lord, just the train."
"So you think we can build such a railroad to the World`s Edge mountains and farm there in the lands we conquer?"
"Yes, that should be possible in a few years."
"And all the while my people die."
"Well, we can supply a select few with food from the greenhouses."
"And I would decide to whom you supply. Now that sounds advantageous. Yet if we want to conquer in the valleys with a small army we need good weapons. You have promised me more than just the rifles and mortars. Can you show something?"
"We have planned something for the parade at the Fire Day my Lord. Do you want a preview?"
"Three days before good enough for you?"
"Yes it is."
"Then make it so and make it good. We need better weapons to secure the land for Hashut and transport for the bounty. The Dawi`zharr need more lands, lands for farming, lands to mine and to hunt for slaves. Didn`t you have a word for it Manfred One-Eye? Ah wait, I remember, you called it Lebensraum, didn`t you?"
"Yes my Lord, your memory is without peer."
Albion, 55 kilometers from the Citadel of Lead
It was one of the strange new days, filled with pale sunlight and no drizzle. The rarest of days before the last weeks had seen many of these
Ailish was marching in single file with twenty others of her clan. They all kept very even spacing and none spoke. Sadly this was not as they were on the way to battle or a hunt but as they were chained together at their necks and driven forward by the harsh voices and the harsher whips of the Druchii. They had thought that they had understood the way these horrible Elves hunted and raided and had set up their harvests and hunts accordingly, yet these days they hunted with a pace that was frantic as if they were driven by something. They had found the camp clan Na Nialleags had made during the day and their mage had put them under a terrible spell that held them helpless in cramps and pain.
So without any chance to fight nor flee she and her clan siblings were marched into slavery.
To her right a Druchii warrior rode on the flank on some fearsome reptile that looked like it would devour her any second and the grin on the face of its rider made clear how much he was relishing her fear. She tried to put on her brave face and concentrate on not to stumble when she heard the cracks. Strange sounds, like boards that were banged against each other but different and many of them. She tried to find the source of them, yet instead of that she found death. No Druchii that had accompanied the sad column was on his feet anymore and the fearsome beasts screeched in pain.
"Git doon Git doon", she heard the voice of Neil, one of the warriors and it shook her from the reverie. She went down, carefully, with all the others and could do hardly anything but wait. She heard more of the cracks, but very few and after a while she heard boots that came close. When the shadow covered her she looked up to see the strangest warrior that ever crossed her path. Clad in armor the color of leaves and mud, with a helmet adorned with twigs he held something in his arms that probably was a weapon but for the life of her she could not recognize it. The face under the helmet was done in a green warpaint. A friendly smile broke and an unearthly even set of teeth was on display.
"Awrite lassie, How urr ye?" The accent was bad, but for a wonder the strange warrior was barely understandable.
"I am fine I think. Who are you and why did you kill the Darkies?"
"A`m Corporal Bran Walters of the Highlanders, Royal Regiment of Scotland a` a'm 'ere tae hulp"
Albion, 40 kilometers from the Citadel of Lead
The hut was mostly dug into the ground, only a dome-shaped roof made from sod rose above the surface. It was more than a little hard to see and usually used by the hunters of the Na Nialleags when overnighting in the wilderness. Nobody inside was stupid enough to light a fire, but the smokeless heat provided by a hexamine cooker and the smell of a stew from MRE, some local herbs and an unlucky rabbit was most welcome. Three small groups huddled around the underused fire pit.
One was made up of three humans in camouflage who wore a lot of high-tech gear. They had discarded their helmets and Bergen backpacks, yet their rifles were never far from their hands.
The second group of humans were the huntersof Clan Na Nialleags, clad only in bits of leather and roughly made cloth which was an improvement on what the Druchii had allowed them. The third were not human at all, instead resembling the bastard child of a salamander with a velociraptor. The skink scouts were closest to the fire as the cold clammy evening was far removed from the humid jungle they were used to.
While Corporal Bran was stirring the contents of the pot he addressed Ailish who crouched on the other side.
"Weel lassie it`s lik this-some years ago the most powerful mage the frogs have had a bit of a mishanter. Instead o' daein' whit he wanted he pulled Germany, that is a country in my old world, tae this y in 'n' we gaed wi' thaim, whither we wanted or nae. Plonked us doon richt neist tae the Empire a` the Germans hud tae git used tae th' freish world. 'n' noo that thay hae decided tae git something dane 'ere oor General Nanson Tellt thaim we wantae be pairt o' it, gey muckle sae. 'A' fur o' th' leid 'n' a' else th' Germans said aye."
"Sorry-what?"
"A said that because of the language and all else the Germans said yes."
"Ah, so you are not Germans?"
"God forbid, na. We have been citizens of the UK, 'n' th' highlanders ur guid scotsmen tae boot. We ur fae th' pairt o' oor world that is th' closest thing to..this."
"Ah, if you say so. Sorry, I could understand you much better a minute ago-could you try…."
"Ye hurt mah hert bonny lassie, bit aye, ah wull"
„Please?"
„Yes, I will. So I take it that you were caught by the bleeding Darkies a few days ago?"
"Aye, the demons caught us when we should have paid more attention. They raid much more these days."
"They probably wanted to grab whatever they can before they leave."
"Why do you think they will leave? They have moored these swimming mountains in Scapa for years now and they are well defended. Many tried to drive them away, but all died."
"They will leave because the Germans asked them nicely."
"What?"
"Well, first they dropped some leaflets on them, then they bombed the top of a mountain close to them or so I hear. Put the bloody frighteners on them and now they want to grab what they can before they have to go."
"I believe it when I see it."
"Sooner or later you will lassie."
"So what are you here for? Want to fight a demon called up by the Darkies?"
"No, they will be gone soon. Do you know of a place they call the Citadel of Lead"
"I`ve seen it once. These days it is a forbidden place."
"Think so, but somebody has to do something about this and we are to do recon-ah, scout things out. I thought we could use a bit of local help, can you.."
The click in Corporal Waters` headphone was a quiet thing, yet it shut him up better than an explosion. He put on his helmet and grabbed his rifle seemingly without hurry, yet they were besides him one second and in their place the next.
"There is a huge bear coming in lassie, maybe we have to see it off."
The Corporal wormed his way out of the opening that should have a door of some kind and joined the two soldiers and the clansman in the observation post a few meters from the hut.
He did not have to ask for a sitrep as the biggest bear he had ever seen was making a beeline for the hut.
"Yer a magnificent beast bit ye hae tae gang" went through his mind while he pulled the Mauser against his shoulder. He thumbed the selector to burst and hoped that the 3 rounds would take out the bear that had closed a lot of the remaining distance in a disturbingly short time. Breathing in and exhaling halfway he took up the slack in the trigger when the barrel was violently pushed aside.
The arm with the blue tattoos that just filled his sight belonged to Ailish.
"Urr ye dunderheided lassie?"
"Watch."
Where the bear was before a bit of green mist hid the sight. Before Walters could make up his mind a figure stepped into view. It was smaller and more slender than the bear, but not by much. Covered in a green cloak and grey trousers he displayed a surfeit of well-defined muscles, tons of blue tattoos that would grab the eye when one let them and a staff with glowing signs. He closed the remaining distance to the small group with the grace of a far lighter man stopped and rammed his staff into the ground. By that time Ailish and those clansman that had reached the OP bowed deeply.
The voice that came from the bearded face was hoarse and somehow indicated it had not been used for human –style speech for a long time.
"Welcome to Albion warriors, your aid in the battle against Be´lakor will be most welcome."
"Uh-I am Corporal Bran Walters of the Highlanders. Who are you and how do you know our mission?"
"I am aware about what happens in my realm Bran Walters and know that you are in the presence of Myrddin."
Peenemünde Nord
It was the same meeting room that Nathan and his "Red" crew had used several times already. Lacking windows Wlan and many other amenities it was supposedly safe against eavesdropping and the German manned space program had more than a few things that had to be kept secret. Today these issues would be joined by a few new ones.
Olaf Merz headed the meeting for about five minutes before he took a seat at the table with the three astronauts and all watched the animated picture of an old bearded man that was projected on the wall. Nathan the AI was conducting the briefing.
"I have analyzed the data you brought from the Satellite known as Sage 12. There was enough redundant data in the storage modules retrieved to build a complete digital model of the satellite. The Kinetic Energy weapons attached to the satellite have a 68% probability of still working. Their launch mechanism is very simple and robust. Even if their guidance mechanism would no longer work the satellite would be able to deploy them with a CEP of 500 meters and their impact would yield an equivalent of 8 kilotons. These are dangerous weapons systems and should be taken offline as soon as possible. Given the inevitable degradation of their computer systems we cannot be certain what they would or would not see as a threat.
Gold crew has sent a probe past the satellite known as Sage 9. While the probe did not engage any thrusters or use any active sensors, Sage 9 tried to warn it off on several radio frequencies. The infrared scanners clearly showed increased levels of temperature and we also detected emanations suggestingthat the class 2 anti-missile system is still active.
All of that means that the satellite is still active, still dangerous and needs to be taken out. An attack by missiles will likely fail against the defense and trigger a counterattack and like all weapons systems of its type Sage 9 will be hardened against any "hacking" I might try. Yet there seems to be a way. An analysis of the plans provided by Oberleutnant Nathan Alpers has demonstrated a weakness in the satellite. The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the station. Only a precise hit will set off a chain reaction. The shaft is ray-shielded, so you'll have to use proton torpedoes."
It took about 20 seconds until everybody realized that the AI was fully capable of crackingjokes and a couple of minutes for the laughter to die down.
"Well, since you seem to be out of proton torpedoes and X-Wing fighters I would suggest different tactics. First we need to test the weapons system used for the attack, then..
Mingol Zharr-Naggrund
The caverns were immense, formed by volcanic forces long before the Dawi`zharr founded the industrial hell they called home. They had been given over to Jasla and her tame Germans when they had proven that they were useful and several manufactories had been built inside as well as slave living quarters. One cavern was more like a fat tunnel than an underground dome and this was where the Germans had erected their "proof-of-concept" track. The rails and their ties were nothing special, yet the fat tube that ran down the middle which was topped off by a rubber strip was unusual to the Germans whereas Lord Astragoth had no yardstick to compare them so he did not comment. The same went for the small train that was on the track, while the Dawi`zharr ruler did not see anything unusual the Germans saw it differently. It lacked any kind of engine to drive it and the front profile of the train was strange to accommodate the pipe that ran underneath it. The front of the first wagon was connected to the pipe by a solid-looking bar that went through the rubber strip.
Johann Prossy, the engineer who had pulled something that would either prove to be a miracle or a life-threatening mistake out of his sizable ass stepped forward to present his project to Lord Astragoth.
"My Lord, we have been given the remit to build a train system that would run in the tunnels that traverse the Dark Lands. As the trains have to use tunnels we could not build the steam engines that we already presented to you last year. Originally we thought about electric trains which would be more efficient, yet this would take time that the food crisis will no longer grant us. So we had to build something we can have ready now with the tools and techniques we already have and this is the result."
Before the Chaos Dwarf ruler could comment the German blew into a small pipe and the train started to move. Slowly at first it started to accelerate to the speed of a horse`s gallop before it was slowed down at the end of the small test track. Besides a hiss and the creaking of not-so-well-made bearings no sound could be heard and the train was back before the small gaggle of spectators.
"Interesting, human, I`ll grant you that. How did you do this?"
"This is an atmospheric railroad my Lord. The pipe in the middle of the rails has an inner diameter of 1.25 meters and a piston in it is connected to the train by the bar that runs through the rubber seal. When we evacuate the tube before the piston differential pressure pulls the train along. We have to erect a stationary steam engine to drive the air pumps at regular intervals and connect them to ventilation shafts. The trains would have to bring coal and maybe the water for the engines along to leave them running, but this system will allow us to utilize the tunnels to the World`s Edge mountains and it can be built quickly."
"This seems..worthy of my attention Herr Prossy, it really does. Did you use such trains in your old world?"
"My Lord, but only very sparingly. At first there were not so many tunnels and the seals of the tubes were a problem back then as they had not learned how to make good rubber back then. And when there were more tunnels and better seals the electric motor was already improved to the point where it was a better solution. In fact I suggest that we modify the pneumatic tube into a third rail once we have the necessary infrastructure in place to build electric motors, generators and all else."
"It is disappointing that you cannot do this sooner, it would save a lot of effort."
"I apologize my Lord, but this is a difficult undertaking even with our knowledge."
"So noted Herr Prossy. I do believe this will do for the moment, you have my blessings to begin construction of this atmospheric railway. So now, Manfred One-Eye, you said you have something for me as well."
"Yes my Lord, there are two projects that finally came to fruition. The first one is a new solid fuel motor for the rockets used so much by your warriors."
"What of them?"
"You use black powder cores for your rockets and that makes them inaccurate and dangerous."
"They are hallowed by many campaigns."
"Yes, and they are the terror of their enemies and their crews. I have finally been able to make 75-mm tubes of cordite which burn far more evenly and gives a better impulse, so the rockets will fly farther and with less dispersion. And they will not explode in an accident, just burn very fiercely."
"If you can demonstrate that you have proven your worth. And what is that?"
"That is an autocannon my Lord. Let us demonstrate."
A small two-wheeled cart had a comically small-looking barrel and cannon on it topped by a huge drum.
"This does not look very powerful One-Eye-what can it do better than these machine guns or the cannon you presented on Fire Day?"
"Observe my Lord."
Two men pushed the carriage into position, and the German chemist got behind the gun and aimed through a ring sight. A wooden cage was visible through the ghost ring, filled with diseased-looking Orcs which tried to demolish their enclosure with their bare fists. When the cannon fired it sounded like a jackhammer with long flames emerging from the short barrel. Manfred released the trigger when the cage was obscured by flame, explosions and dust and when it settled the remains of the sturdy cage were intermingled with Orc parts.
"Now this is indeed worthy of the Dawi`Zharr One-Eye. What is this called-autocannon?"
"It has an older, shorter name my Lord. This weapon goes by the name MK108 and I have an idea how we might mount them."
