10 Kilometers from Citadel of Lead, Albion, same time

This was one of the more stable parts of the fen, having filled the many lakes and pools with dead vegetation and silt till small mounds of peat lay under a lot of small trees and bushes. The lack of rain during the last months had dried things to the point where a tank might negotiate its way around here and Ulrich Stoiber had taken his Wolfpack to the back slope of a gentle-sloping hill. The Landscape under the blue sky above had small copses of birch, small ponds, lots of bushes and stretches of breast-high grass. It was practically ideal for infiltrating infantry and he had been sent as part of a small force to watch for those. This should have been quite difficult but for the tank commander but for the infrared pictures provided by the drones controlled by him and his dedicated drone operator.
Those pics reduced the verdant green and fertile browns to greys and depicted the approaching warriors as red and orange spots despite their camouflage.

"Barbara one, this is Wolfpack actual, we have enemy infantry in the open at coordinates. Request fire mission."
"Wolfpack actual, this is Barbara one, acknowledged. Correct as necessary"
"Wolfpack actual, this is Barbara one, shoot"
It took nearly a minute before the bright flashes cropped up in the video, they were mostly to the right of the approaching warriors.
"Barbara one, this is Wolfpack actual, left 100 and fire for effect."
"Barbara one acknowledges."
"Barbara one, this is Wolfpack actual, Splash."

More flashes appeared in in the video and when they went out the red and orange blobs changed shape and temperature rapidly. The blobs not hit started to run, yet to their credit not away but towards Wolfpack and their charges.
"Driver, take us to the ridge, hull down position. Gunner, targets of opportunity. Wolfpack two, this is one, hull down to my left and engage."
The tank lurched forward while he was still talking and positioned itself barely below the crest of the small hill, exposing only as much of the turret as necessary. Besides them the anti-air tank Wolfpack two did the same.
It did not take long for small groups of naked warriors to appear from the brushwork and to charge Ulrich´s position.
"Gunner, engage with Coax, I take the remote."
The turret rotated behind the tanks crew and a heavy machine gun scythed through the warriors. Ulrich used a joystick to center crosshairs on another group and when he pulled the trigger a stream of 40 mm grenades arced out to explode between the screaming enemy. A much larger group came suddenly from the trench left by a drying stream and charged at not much of a distance. What they planned to do to the tanks with their swords and spears was a question never answered when Wolfpack two opened up with its 35 mm gun. Firing more than 50 grenades in a three second burst it left few survivors and caused a wordless growl from Ulrich`s throat.
The Wolfpack had to repeat the performance again later that day, by that time the demolition and the hastily erected cofferdam had diverted the stream from the Citadel into other parts of the Fen.

Citadel of Lead

The ancient Helium-3 reactor inside the citadel was running on fuel stockpiled for use in many other projects, all of which had died when the Chaos Gates had opened. Even so its fuel would only last for a few hundred years at present rate of consumption. Its largest moving parts were the fuel pellets it digested and it was lovingly maintained by generations of robots and nanites. Despite its age it was still able to provide Gigawatts of power when the Citadel`s defense systems asked for it.
While the reactor and its quantum thermal-to-electric converter was very efficient it produced Gigawatts of heat when in full use which had to go somewhere. So far it had used the stream that ran close by the Citadel for getting rid of that excess heat.
This stream had run dry during the last 24-hour cycle and the computer had sent a report to its no-longer-existent superiors that this should be rectified. It had displayed the same message on its command console, yet whether it had been read and understood through the layers of blood and gore on it was hard to discern.
Now that the defense system detected another stream of shells approaching the Citadel. The walls of the fortress needed reinforcement, the shield had to be erected and the lasers needed copious power. The computer used the backup cooling system which consisted of a deep well from which it pumped hundreds of cubic meters of water per minute. In order to enhance the cooling the water was evaporated into steam, raising the temperature inside the Citadel to uncomfortable levels.
The pump was able to draw nearly 200 cubic meters of water before it ran dry. While the pumps and pipes had been well maintained given the circumstances the water table below the Citadel had shifted considerably in the last 22500 years. Using what water was available and empty parts of the Citadel as a heat sink the computer was still able to generate energy, but a lot less than before.
The defense system had to prioritize, choose to switch off the gluon shield, shoot only those projectiles that would hit the soft room of the Citadel and used its remaining energy to reinforce the molecular bindings in the walls to the point where they shrugged off the impacts with ease.
The changed defense mode was well observed and analyzed and the Plans were hatched to capitalize on it within days.

Article in the women`s magazine "Brigitte"

"Good times are back" by Nina Klein

Yes it is trite to say so and will just reinforce stereotypes and still it need to be said: The good times are closer at hand than ever during the last years. We have been promised a return to normalcy in every election, but most of us fail to see it. Whether it is the lack of foreign travel, decent affordable chocolate or simply the feeling of security there is a lot still lacking in our lives, even if such things are improving. Yet just a few days ago I was at Görtz Shoes and they had this wonderful line of new adorable shoes designed by Aedil of Aurelius and they were all below 200 Marks. Good shoes for below 400 Marks have not been seen since the Weltensprung. Life is getting better and the biggest problem I face is which ones to choose.

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The new "Landwirtschaftssimulator 2524" (Farming simulator 2524), the successor of the most successful Farming Simulator of all times with 1.25 million sold is just released. Now with Jade Mages, Warpstone poisoning, Halfling farmworkers and more…..

Davos, Switzerland 2018

Davos, normally known for winter tourism and being a summit place, was now hosting such a summit again, if with a different topic than normally. The leaders of several Great Powers and important Regional Powers were in attendance.
Earth´s political and economic landscape had been changed a lot by the event the Germans called the Weltensprung. While the old players, like e.g. the US, Russia, France, Japan or China, were still the top tier, the disappearance of Germany, some other bits of Earth and the massive geographical changes wrought by "the Event" weakened even them.
Great Britain for instance had the fewest losses of life among the Great Powers during the Weltensprung, but was economically and logistically crippled for years by the landscape changes.
The USA, Russia and China were very tight-lipped about what had happened to them, but the way they conducted foreign policy after the Event indicated extensive damage there as well.
Japan had been the only significant old Power, together with a handful weaker nations, to be profiting from the geological changes. Most fault lines around Japan had been sealed, leading to a sharp drop in Earthquakes and Tsunamis there.
In the case of France, the geographical changes had been very annoying, but not as damaging as in some other nations. The French were hit very badly by Germany´s disappearance. The Germans had been France´ biggest trade partner. Such a loss you can´t compensate overnight.

Returning to the table of the bigger Powers was Sweden. Once, during the 17th and 18th century, Sweden had been a Great Power. Now, while not becoming a true Great Power, Stockholm found itself becoming more influential due to the Weltensprung. The Scandinavian country survived the Weltensprung changes practically intact, the landscape changes confined to "empty" regions. Few nations on the northern Hemisphere could state that too.
The European economy was still recovering. The sudden disappearance of Germany with her large economy and manufacturing base had been extremely hurtful, but topping it off were the widespread geographical and geological changes brought by the event.
But the topic of the day was not that, but an absent nation - Germany.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, some of you know about it, but most won´t be knowledgeable about the reason we called in this meeting. What had been curtained by strictest security, is that two years ago, for a short time, 'lost' Germans were back on Earth-"
The reaction to this announcement was instant and the murmurs rose.
"Yes, I understand this reaction, but let me explain the situation. Unknown to nearly anybody, two years ago Earth was about to experience a disaster of epic proportions. It turned out that in a star system somewhere far away, some experts speculate that it is even a parallel universe, an enormous accident happened in 2012. The unleashed energies are responsible for what happened to Earth. These energies teleported, for a lack of a better word, Germany and all other pieces of Earth we could find nowhere again, to that star system. The strange lands, especially the so called Wasteland in Europe, are parts of the habitable world there.
This Warhammer world, since the star system there has a striking resemblance to that fictitious world, has many comparable and some quite different dangers. Unfortunately, 'Magic' like in fantasy novels exists there and with it monsters from our collective nightmares.

Worse, that world and our world are connected due to having exchanged parts of themselves. Fortunately, this connection is quite weak, but it can be used to a certain extend. The 'Glimpses from Beyond' TV show uses this connection to reach a star system otherwise unreachable for us. Two years ago, three entities we´d best call Demons, tried to open the floodgates, so to speak. - Yes, the outbreak of Ebola, the Norfolk massacre and a top secret event in the French occupation zone in the Wasteland was their doing. There a Demon tried to open a connection to their home by flooding Earth with chaotic magic.
With the help of an 'acquaintance', the Germans sent a task force, which enabled the French unit at hand and their magical help from Marienburg to win. Without them, we would have had hell on Earth!
That the Germans could send a task force is the topic today. If they sent a small group, maybe one day they can reverse what took them and the other pieces of Earth away. It is that day we have to talk about. We know from our analysts, some data the Germans gave us and the TV show that Germany is executing a massive armament program, combined with their sudden reluctance to talk-"

The clearly heard slap led to all heads turning to the origin of the sound. The Swedish PM was sitting in his chair, one hand over his eyes and forehead.
"The Germans are not even here, they helped fend off Armageddon, a disaster you decided arbitrarily not to tell us about earlier, but now you want us to swallow fairy tales about a German attack plan on Earth? They could have simply let Earth go to Hell literally, if they wanted us harm. But no, they helped us all, by killing the Demon trying to open the portal!

Yes, don´t look so surprised, unlike you glory hounds, the French, according to the papers we were given, were at least so truthful to admit that without the Germans, we would all have bitten the dust that day.
I truly did not want to bring this up today, I wanted a specific meeting for it, but considering what I heard all day, it is relevant!
What was actually in our first combined data package we smaller nations did not get informed about? The first data package from the Germans was full of historic stuff, what had happened and all that, but beside this there was a bunch of highly interesting things in it. The second data package from them could not be surpassed in genericness. On several eagerly awaited questions we did not get an answer.
When the Marienburger sorcerers tried to contact Germany on our request in the name of Sweden, the Germans sent greetings, said sorry and told us to ask 'their special friends' in EU and NATO about the why.
Now I want to really, really know what went on with that first data package and don´t come to me with a 'Ze evil Germans'!"

It took some minutes of discussion, but then the British Prime Minister looked at two other heads of government and spoke.
"When we put together the plans, information and other data for Earth´s package, our Secret Services reminded us that we could not know if that was really Germany we would send the sensitive data to."
The eyebrows of the French President rose in surprise and his face hardened. France knew and had shown enough to the other big Powers that the guys who came to help had really been Germans.

The British head of Government continued on.
"So since we could not be sure who would get our 'post', the normal things, like TV series seasons, were sent unaltered, but technical plans and further sensitive data from our three nations was reformatted to be sent over a period of time in several packages-"
At that point the meeting erupted in Chaos.

"You obnoxious Klants (fucktards)! You sent them incomplete data in 'exchange' for a complete first package from Germany and you wonder why they are pissed? 'Thank you very much', you idiots! It is still not clear, how often we will get a stable connection for data transfer in the future, if at all."
"You have to understand. We send sensitive data to someone far away, through a 'middleman' too. We need to be careful!"
"Careful yes, but you not only failed to discuss this 'carefulness' with us beforehand, but more seriously you obviously 'failed' to explain it to the Germans. In their situation, with dangers all around them, I would certainly see it as a betrayal."
"We will send a new part with the coming transmission, so they will see that they get their data. I am sure, they will recognize our need for caution."
"You do not get it, do you? We do not know when the next reliable window for data transmission becomes available. While the Marienburger are sure it will come relatively soon, it could be years too! 'Scrying' between worlds is one thing, a connection stable enough for data transfer is something different.

What will they think? The Germans are alone out there. While they found allies, their life on that world is still far from easy and dangerous when we look at the reports we got. After years a contact was made, with difficulty due to the distances involved. They helped us keeping Earth free of a Demon invasion and gave us valuable information. In the first data exchange ever, the Germans kept their promise and sent the agreed to, fully detailed files.
We, 'thanks' to you, sent them just bits and pieces of the promised materials. I am sure, the first thought they will have about this stunt, is 'they are cautious, we have to understand that.' What did you think, if you thought at all, how they will see it? I tell you how I and anybody else with common sense will see it. You sent them a FYTP in your security obsession!
I used the lunch pause to talk to some other nations and I can tell you that Sweden, Japan, the Netherlands and several others will now try to talk with Germany by ourselves. If they still want to talk trade, that is."

Eagle Nest Barracks, Nuln Bezahltag, 19. Brauzeit

„Structurally, the empennage consists of the entire tail assembly, including the tailfin, the tailplane and the part of the fuselage to which these are attached. The front (usually fixed) section of the tailplane is called the tailplane or horizontal stabilizer and is used to provide pitch stability. The rear section is called the elevator, and is usually hinged to the horizontal stabilizer. The elevator is a movabl l..
"Can`t you read quietly Cadet von Roon?"
"Of course not Cadet Klement, who can?"
"Most educated people Cadet.."
"Do you think they are looking for Knights or scribes here Cadet Klement?"
"They are looking for people who can fluently read, write and calculate."
"They are also looking for people who can run a mere five kilometers without puking Cadet Klement."
The "Thank you very much" he got in reply sounded slightly funny as if beginning with an "F". He let it slide as even in the first week the Cadet group had shrunken by a third and fighting another Cadet was a quick way to join them. More than a sixth had already been rejected when they could not run the five kilometers which had been clearly stated as a requirement for entry. He had been training for melee combat wearing up to 30 kilograms if armor, it was child`s play for him. Heinrich Klement on the other hand had barely managed to finish and puked his guts out when he finally reached the end of the run.
Actually today he had puked during the last kilometer of the run but ran on afterwards. That was something even Eberhard could respect.

An hour later he got to the part of the text with dealt with calculations of lifting force. He saw the numbers and recognized all signs used to connect them, but the way they were written made no sense at all. It took him some time to make up his mind, in the end he found no better way than to ask his roommate.
"Cadet Klement-what in Sigmar`s name is this?"
"An equation of course."
"What the hell is an equation?"
"Oh my…"

Close to citadel of Lead Festtag, 22. Brauzeit

Each bite the excavator shoved a cubic meter of soil to the side, so the hole it dug was growing quickly. The digging was accompanied by metal plates that were rammed into the sides to prevent the loose soil to drop inward and even more water to flood the construction. The sound and smell of Diesel engines struggled to be heard above the din made by the rams and the ground shook every time several rams struck in unison. The construction site was surrounded by two rings of barbed wire and lots of guns which had been tested several times already by the Citadel`s denizens.
Bran Walters had gotten the job to show Myrrdin around whom his muckety-mucks deemed to be important for good relations with the Albionese. Walters found to his astonishment that he agreed with them and had certainly pulled more exhausting duties than showing the hulking mage around.
"So this is where we make a shaft to below the nearest layer of loam at 35 meters, which will reduce the amount of water we have to pump from the shaft and tunnel. When we are down there we will start a horizontal shaft, that will be around 550 meters before we reach the Citadel."
"So when will you take the battle to the fiends in the Citadel."
"I hear five to six months if everything works as planned."
"And you do not believe that it will."
"Something always happens"
"So why do you allow yourself to led around by the nose then young Bran?"
"What-err, please explain."

Altdorf, Paladin Barracks, Brunntag 32 Brauzeit

As so often in the Empire Valten`s office was a mixture of the old and the new. A beautifully carved desk and chair held a decent computer and printer, the wooden shelves kept plastic folders containing 600-dpi printouts and light was provided by a stained-glass window and LED lighting.
The changes in Valten were in many ways similar. He was no longer insecure in social situations, did no longer look barely an adult but had acquired an impressive set of skills at the School of the Reik. He wore the simple field-grey uniform adopted by the Paladins yet Ghal Maraz, THE warhammer was never far from his side

Currently he was looking through a sheaf of paper presented by his XO, Joakim Vos.
"Ok, I approve of the first two plans completely-going through a sudden breach and the tunnel. I think you are right about the estimated losses-the warriors in the fortress are capable and know the place better than us, so this is going to be nasty but doable.
But this "Plan E"-really Joakim, was possessed you? This is really touch-and go.."
"It is the only way to get in on the quick and no breach presents itself if the need arises as any other way is presently barred. I am also not sure about the losses. Yes the approach will be bad, but I do not believe that the defenders will erect barriers in that way, so the actual fighting may be easier."
"Anytime I hear a plan will work because it is so crazy nobody will expect it usually means that it is too crazy to work. So why do you think that it could be different?"
"It worked under similar circumstances, once."
"Pray tell."
"My old country has a long history of fighting from fortifications and in one case a fortress needed to be taken very quickly. Well…..

30 Kilometers from the Portal, Albion, same time

The NH 90 helicopter dropped like a stone, leveling off only a few meters of the marshy ground. Like the other two helicopters that accompanied it its rotor pounded the long grasses flat, raised small waves in the nearby ponds and generally caused a hell of a ruckus. From NH90s rappelling ropes dropped and a score of soldiers rapidly went to ground. They secured the small clearing while the third machine landed briefly and a mix of clanspeople and more soldiers emerged.
The helicopters left with seconds of each other, simulating a few more drop-offs all along the way so any potential observer would have a hard time discerning whether and where a drop-off had happened.
Bran Walters stepped forward till he reached Lt. Campbell.
"All present and accounted for Lt. And Myrrdin is ready to guide us. It is just that he said we would have visitors soon."
"We detected nobody on our way in Corporal and it is very hard to hide from infrared. Did he say whom he is expecting?"
"He did not say, just that we would receive help and soon."
"Doesn`t seem very likely Corporal."
"He once said he often gives good advice and it is rarely heeded."
"There may be reasons for..."
The Lieutenant was interrupted by the hand signals of the sergeant looking after the southern perimeter and a slight rustling the preceded the newcomers to the clearing. Smaller than a human, covered in green scales that blended well with the fens and armed with spears and what looked like blowpipes the Skinks bowed their heads in greeting to the humans before they skittered over to the mage.
No words were exchanged, at least none that the Scots would understand, yet the two parted after a few seconds and the huge mage walked towards Bran and the officer leading the detachment.
"It seems that I am not the only one who perceives the threat to us all. Lord Mazdamundi sends his regards; he has provided scouts to guide us to the portal."
Campbell was about to speak and Bran was pretty sure that it was a sharp rebuke as Campbell was not known to react fondly to changes in plan when the bushes at the clearing`s edge gave birth to monsters.
Much bigger than any of the humans present including the hulking mage the newcomers were condensed nightmare material. Clad in iron-hard scales and bronze armor, having a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth and claws rivaling any knife a double dozen Saurus warriors entered the clearing.
Bran realized that the cold-blooded Skinks and warriors would not show up on the German-made infrared sensors when Myrddin added:
"He also sent some protection for us. I think it would be impolite to refuse."
It took the Lieutenant a few seconds before he could agree.
The party made for the portal after a bit of discussion and made their way towards their target.

Arriving the next day Bran needed nearly an hour to worm his way over muddy ground and between thorns bushes towards the ridge that shielded the target from view. When he finally made it to the point occupied by a Skink and Myrrdin who had made the trip somehow much faster than him and with less noise.
Before him an earthen wall was topped by a wooden palisade that sported numerous spikes and sharp edges to discourage climbing. It was guarded by lots of warriors and supervised by some Chaos Knights. Behind that perimeter a great heap of stone blocks indicated where an ancient building had toppled. All around the heap and from a tunnel inside lots of earth and stones was moved by humans and beings that the Scotsman had no real name for. They all carried stones or pushed carts full of loam and other unidentifiable parts about to dump them into several impressive mounds.
Whatever interesting was happening in this place was happening underground, yet orders were orders and so a combined force of clanspeople, Lustrians and Scotsmen began to observe the portal.

The Portal, Albion Markttag 33. Brauzeit

Gerard the Enchanted stepped into the hall with the reverence given to a sacred temple of one`s core religion. Nothing could be farther from the truth, yet this room contained the key to rising among the followers of Be`lakor, to all the lore his mind could grasp and a gateway into places few had ever seen. Several arcs held surfaces which looked like mirrors until one saw the ripples that ran over them. There was a plinth in the middle that looked remarkably similar to the one in the Citadel of Lead and 20 Pillars. 19 of them held the mummified remains of ancient, huge beings, the last one the desiccated remains of a human. This human would be the key to the power of the portals around him. He had been a truthsayer who had volunteered for this post when this temple had been occupied by Chaos forces a score of years before. He had taken the place of a Slann who`s remains had been forcibly removed to stabilize the portals. He had been a truthsayer and corrupting truthsayers was something Be`lakor was very good in.
Gerard took his time to establish the ritual circle around the pillar, to gather his wits and familiars before he started a journey into the mind before him, a terribly weakened and lonely mind. This would not take long.

Armed Forces Center Geltow same time

Hans-Werner Fritz had gotten more used to talking to Nathan the AI, but that still left him ill at ease. Given that the AI had given the Germans an important hint he was more willing to endure this unease. Given that no less than two powers had contacted the Germans about the same topic the ancient computer wanted to discuss made it unavoidable.

"Yes, General Hans-Werner Fritz, I have information about the place they call "The Portal". I have visited it several times together with my owner who tried to shut it down for several reasons. If this place is still in some sort of working order it should be a high priority to secure the place. The results of failure could be catastrophic."
"What do you know about it?"
"I can offer you a floorplan that is out of date by 22500 years, but parts would still be valid if the portal is still an ongoing business. I can tell you what not to do around certain places and installations. And I can tell you that possession could have a bearing of the contiued existence of Germany as a technical civilization."

New Siemens smartphone with cover by Ferber&Lauritz, Altdorf

Dinner after the Recording of the "Menschen (Humans) Show, Germany,

With the show fully recorded for broadcasting on the last day of the year, the more relaxed part of the evening began for the viewers in the studio and the poeple who stood out this year.
A Christmas evening dinner was prepared and the people seated at the tables in groups of six. Günther Koch, who was one of the 4 soldiers chosen to speak for the Bundeswehr this year, saw that the organisators thought it fitting to seat him with other soldiers.
Being led to his assigned table, the sorcerer saw two other uniformed people and a civilian already sitting there. After greeting the persons with a slight bow and seating himself, Günther took a few moments to observe them.
The two soldiers were friends, the relaxed way they talked with each other made that clear. They were quite young for their high ranks, both just in their late twenties, early thirties at most. While he could have used magic to learn their exact age, this would have been a petty use. So Günther unobtrusively searched for campaign markers on their dress uniforms. Hmm... Middenheim and Skavenblight, yes, that explained quite a bit. Still, those two had to be really talented to share his rank of Oberst (Colonel).
Günther had no qualms to admit to himself that he had risen through the ranks so fast, as a mainly Reserve officer no less, just because the Magic branch of the Armed Forces needed a structure in place and everybody who could cast offensive magic halfway decently. He had fought valiantly in Skavenblight and other places and had a really great magical potential, but even these things would normally heaved him just into the officers ranks, maybe a Captain, with a ton of medals.

The blond woman in the tasteful dress was the wife of the blond officer, this was obviously from the conversation he heard.

"Hello, nice to meet you! I am Günther Koch from the Kriegshexer (War sorcerer/witch, depending on gender) regiment and who are you, if I may ask?"
The black-haired Oberst with the unusual hetero-chromatic eyes, one blue, one brown, answered first.
"Angenehm, my name is Oskar von Reuenthal, from the 7th Panzerdivision."
"Hi! I am Wolfgang Mittermeyer, from the 7th Panzerdivision as well."
"Good evening! I am Eva Mittermeyer, Wolf is my husband.", then she continued in a purposely over-the-top whine. "My, three Colonels at the table, we are in the war stories room today."
The absolutely hilarious complaint led to all four starting to laugh.
"Don´t worry, Frau Mittermeyer. It won´t be all shop talk tonight."

Kopernikus Station, 300 Kilometers above the Warhammer World, Bezahltag 2. Kaldezeit

The endless stars around Nathan Alpers would never loose fascination for the German astronaut, yet while all the stars he could wish for were just a few millimeters of glass away he was far too busy to look at them.
Working outside of the station was always a difficult endeavor that took meticulous preparation and utmost concentration to survive and complete. In this particular case Nathan had a special interest in the project he was working on at it had a direct impact on his and his crew's well-being.
He was currently fixing another segment of an inflatable structure to the central hub. The rounded shape of the structure had precluded launching it into orbit in once piece despite being comparatively lightweight for its size.

He far preferred to assemble items inside Koperikus` pressurized dock, yet even this was too small to hold the structure. So he had to fight his bulky spacesuit yet work had improved considerably. The new powered spacesuits made movements much easier and he was fixed to the end of a crane arms with many joints that provided secure positioning and allowed the application of torque.
Still he was more than happy when the last bolt was fixed and Manfred Bettin pronounced that all seals were good.

Two weeks later, in the middle of their current mission the 30-meter wheel they had assembled began to turn clockwise while a heavy gyroscope busily turned the other way. The wheel consisted of a tube of three meters and three spokes that contained the new living quarters and some of the labs. The next night Nathan used a real cot at at 0.2 G and slept better than ever in orbit.

10 Kilometers from the portal, Albion, at night, Königstag 3. Kaldezeit

None of the two moons were present that night, allowing an impressive number of stars to be seen by Bran Walter`s team. While they were undoubtedly beautiful the Corporal had no eyes for them, instead using his NVGs to scan the treeline around the clearing for anything threatening them.
Neither he nor the Skins that accompanied them sensed anything.

It was almost past the time when the microphone in Bran`s ear went off.
"Mukker one, this is Stane actual. We are inbound from the west, ETA five minutes. What is the LZ status?"
"Stane actual, this is Mukker one. LZ is clear, wind is below five knots."
"Mukker one, good to hear. Request illumination."
"All Mukker elements, this is Mukker one. Turn on the lights."
For anybody with unaugmented eyes nothing changed, Bran`s NVG`s depicted the clearing before him in several bright spots of infrared lights.
"Mukker one, this Stane, well done, we see you in five."

Even while the Skinks had been warned by the Highlanders they became quite excited when a huge shadow eclipsed more and more stars and a very low, deep thrumming could be heard. The cigar-shaped part of the sky that had no more stars in it hovered above the clearing while a basket was lowered from it. Two men emerged from it and were guided to the next pool by a couple of Skinks who also helped with the hose that was put into it.
The basket went up again and was replaced by a much larger platform that settled on the ground. Bran saw many figures stepping off it while others busied themselves in offloading equipment of sorts.

One of the figures was directing the newcomers here and there. He did not wear any NVG yet seemed to see enough even in the black night. Bran left his position and approached the group.
A couple of rifles went into his direction before being pointed elsewhere.
"Friend or Foe."
"Friend"
Making sure his rifle was across his chest the Corporal stepped forward for the next exchange.
"William."
"Wallace."
It did not pay to scream today`s parole all over creation.
He did not salute, this was the field after all, but went before the very short but broad leader.
"Corporal Bran Walter`s, The Highlanders, at you service."
"Oberleutnant Thorgim Steiner, the Cave Raiders, well met Corporal. We will need ten more minutes to assemble our kit, then we will be ready to follow you."
The Cave Raiders were very good at moving quietly in the dark, so were the Skins and Bran Walter`s team were no slouches either. During the three-hour hike to the assembly point none of them made a sound that could be perceived from more than a few meter away nor were any lights used.
None of this made any difference as all and any in the column had souls. And they were watched by someone who could see souls very well.