Ostermark, 30 kilometers from Nagenhof Markttag 29. Vorhexen
The valley`s floor would normally be covered with orderly fields and meadows, yet this was hard to see at present. Most of the ground was covered by snow which hid the fields borders and the distinctions between fields and meadows. The majestic background of the World`s Edge mountains might distract as well but the greatest impact was a horde of green that spilled from the forests that bordered the fields on the far side. The vanguard of the green horde rode on giant wolves who ambled forward with a lazy seeming gain which ate ground in a great hurry. Noses tried to gather smells from the winds on animal and goblin both and the small groups moved forward in sprints from one terrain feature to the next.
Behind them were the Goblin warriors. They were small, no higher than a Dawi but much more slender with a head that looked one size too big, big hands and strong claws. The hands carried rusty swords and small shield, spears and bows. None of them made the impression to be an imposing warrior who would best the enemies with skill and might yet there were a lot of them and they were fully capable of swarming their foes and stabbing them from behind. And if that would not work they could always count on their stench to overwhelm all and ay as personal hygiene was unknown to them.
The stream that emerged for the forest was unending and as their predecessors they were about to swamp the Ostmark with their bodies, plunder anything not nailed down, laying siege to the few castles that would withstand them and have a good time. At least that was what Grabbit Headnsatcha, the great Waaghboss had promised them and so far things looked like he was right.
The first sign that this might not be so were a number of thuds that none of those who heard them could place before far more impressive things happened. At the left side of the horde a number of explosions ripped through the multitude, throwing up dirt and bodies in equal measure. Yelps and screams rose, masking the sound of more thuds but nobody could miss the new explosions that ripped through the middle of the Goblins. This time there were more explosions, there were bigger ones and many exploded above the heads of the green horde. They were less impressive than the ground detonations but claimed far more lives.
Whatever leadership the horde might have had ten minutes ago, it had disintegrated when the Goblins came under an attack they could not understand, could not defend against and which had already killed a lot of their bosses.
A lot tried to get back where they came from, yet the thick forest behind them and the trailing elements of the horde made for a slow progress, mostly over trampled bodies. Others went for the open space before them that was bereft of any visible enemy. Their escaped the horrible explosions and the dying and gained distance as fast as their bent legs would carry them.
They had cleared about half the fields and were a few hundred meters from the next forest when disaster struck again. Many baleful blinking lights it up the darkness under the trees and a crescendo of cracks could be heard. Beads of light closed the distance and greenskins dropped wherever they settled. More confusion, more panic ensued and only very few of the milling mass managed to turn back whence they came.
The one-sided battle had lasted for less than half an hour, still the carnage was breathtaking. The formerly white snow was a discolored mess of reds, browns and green, the empty fields full of unmoving bodies and the air full of the stench of death and the cries of carrion-eaters.
Heinrich Hemmler had seen such sights before. He had been at the siege of Castle Wolfenfels, he had been among the first to take the fight to the Skaven at Altdorf and several other battle honors graced Wolf`s Dragoons standard. Now that the Greenskins had stepped up their raiding into the Empire the Dragoons had been sent there as their combination of mobility and firepower was ideal to deal with the Goblins.
While he led his command troop through the battlefield he could see the results of his planning, the carnage wrought by weapons employed to his ideas by men trained to his standards. He should be pleased as it had been a remarkably one-sided battle with only a few losses on the Dragoons` side. A shaman had gotten a spell through, some arrows had hit something besides dirt and wood and that was it.
Yet he was not in the mood for an extended back-slapping display of victory as he simply did not understand what had just happened. And things he did not understand had a tendency to turn and bite him on the battlefield. The Greenskins had raided the Ostmark ever since there was an Ostmark, this was a given. But they never did this in winter, as they lived of the land and the cold season did not offer sustenance. They also never went raiding in such large groups but tended towards smaller units that could overwhelm local resistance and fade when things got too rough.
This was different-a much larger group but it did not have the massive impact of a "Waahg" and the latter had never ever happened in winter.
Heinrich Hemmler thought about these things while his horse carried him past those Gobins that had been killed by assault rifles and machine guns. His color party shot at the few Greenskins that still moved while he saw a few colorfully clad bodies that probably had been Shamans.
Warden Merkel`s snipers still used Barett rifles and the .5" ammunition did terrible things with bodies as frail as these so it was hard to be sure. Beyond these were the victims of the mortars. Wolf`s Dragoons had acquired a lot of these and they had carved circles of destruction scores of meters across. The ground bursts had thrown the dead into disorderly heaps and so the Colonel had problems to understand what he saw at first.
When understanding finally dawned it left him with more questions and less answers. The broken remains were not chariots but carts to transport the Goblin`s meagre belongings and the bodies around them were too frail to be even Goblin warriors. There were too many of the small bodies and too few weapons. What the bleeding fuck had happened here?
Lübeck Blankensee, Festtag 16. Nachhexen 2526
Knut Harder could not believe the birthday present his "significant other" had given him. He could hardly believe it when he got the voucher and even now when he was getting ready he still had a feeling of being in a dream. This part of the small airport was given to the private airplanes, the helicopters and the Antonov used by the parachutists. One hangar was currently used by something totally else.
Bigger by far than the small planes around them, clad in scales of the darkest green and moving with sinuous grace Falrauch was no mere construct of mortals, he was a Great Dragon as old as the Empire itself. Eyes the size of a car´s wheel and the apparent depth of black holes looked at Knut.
The voice was so deep that he half felt and half heard it. It was formed by an inhuman mind using an inhuman vocal apparatus. "You ride?"
"Yes, yes I want to ride."
"Good. Go Rall."
Günther Rall was an elderly man who fussed about Knut while putting him into the leathers that were needed to survive the winter sky.
"Yes, good ole Falrauch lived near Karak Azgal. Dawi don`t like Dragons too much, they don`t. And now they have gotten real weapons they became a real threat to Falrauch, so he moved. Moved by quite a bit and was nearly killed by Helikopterbrigade Nord. Didn`t shoot him down at first as he flew directly over Lübeck the crafty old bugger. Landed here before they could kill him. Frightened everybody out of their boots he did. Then he asks for food-friendlylike. Good Reiksspiel, ate too many knights probably. Now he works here."
"Still seems strange, a Dragon as old as time itself working?"
"Big fella needs to eat a lot. A cow a day keeps the hunger away and all that. And that is why he charges 300 Marks for a flight. Ups sorry, I was not supposed to say that, right?"
"I won`t tell if you don`t. So what do I need to know?"
"Don`t tell him to make it lively if you had breakfast. The straps will hold you no matter what, so don`t worry too much. You want that T-shirt or what?"
"Yes, I`d like to."
"Then look suitably heroic when you clear the hangar doors. Makes for a good pic."
Knut did look suitably heroic on the pic that went on his "Drachenreiter" (Dragon Rider) T-Shirt and his girlfriend was in awe when the huge Drain soared for the pale winter sky above the old Hanse town. He did not look it so heroic when he was back as he had said "Make it lively" but he would always regard his first Dragon flight as one of the best times of his life.
Windjammer Köln, 400 kilometers south of Ind, Sigmarstag 1. Jahrdrang
The net had been emptied into a huge metal container, disgorging glittering fish of all colors, mostly moving, all dying. Lots of hands sorted through these, quickly killing those that were edible and dropping those too small or too poisonous back. Most of these hands were heavily callused and big, yet a few were smaller and more nimble. One set belonged to Andrea Hermanns who had the time of her life. Together with five other students and their professor they had been taken aboard the Norscan Windjammer on its first trip around the world. The University was not exactly awash in funds these days, yet the Norscans had asked for a ridiculously low fare. Instead the scientists were working with the Norscan sailors, teaching, healing and cooking their way around the Warhammer World. It could be quite boring at times, yet on the other hand each of the students had at least a score of new species under his or her belt. There was a world to discover and they did their share.
"Thar is another one I did not see yet Fru Herrmannsdottir."
"Thanks Lars, that is…nope I do not think we had that one before. Off into the ice box with you little bugger."
"Fru Hermannsdottir, can I ask a question?"
"Of course Lars."
"Did the seafarers in your old world not fish during their journeys?"
"No, they did not. They preferred hardtack and salted meat and sometimes starved when they became becalmed."
"That is very stupid Fru, why did they do so?"
"I do not know, maybe they were superstitious."
"We could never make such voyages as we do without fishing and eating the algae."
"No, I do not think so. Actually your people and some others made amazing voyages considering the ships you had."
"Thanks Fru Hermannsdottir"
Andrea spend the rest of the sorting chatting with the sailor. Like most Norscans he topped her by a good head and seemed to be made from sheer muscles, which did not mean he was stupid. Like the others he made some low-level come-ons but things remained very civilized. Andrea had been scared once on this trip when one of the sailors would not take no for an answer. He had cornered her in one of "Köln`s" holds when she wanted to retrieve some food. He was about to rip her shirt off when the part that really frightened her happened. The voice behind the sailor had been calm and not overly threatening yet it had stopped him like a punch to the head.
"The captain gave his word that none of the Germans would be harmed in any way. You want to make a Oathbreaker out of him all by your lonesome?" That had been when she was truly frightened. She had not seen the sailor again for quite some time and when he seemed to be in great pain.
She felt quite safe on the ship by now even when 18 more months could be quite lonely.
Bundeskanzleramt Berlin Bezahltag 21. Jahrdrang
The security council had assembled again for a briefing. While there was nothing so life-threatening as a Portal system that threatened to sink Ulthuan there were developments that bothered people with the necessary clearance. The briefer did not present his views often in this forum, but experience showed that he had something to say when he took the lectern, so those who decided on Germany`s security sat back and took notice.
The erect bearing did not give away that the man was on the wrong side of 50 and neither did his piercing blue eyes. The only hint were the steel-grey hair he wore short cropped. Professor Trevayne punched the remote to bring up the first slide of his presentation which depicted map of the World`s Edge mountains which had gathered something like a rash of red spots along several valleys and passes.
Ladies and Gentlemen, ever since last Ulrichszeit there has been a number of raids and attacks by Orcs and Goblins into Ostland. They are unusual for several reasons:
First off is timing, the greenskins nearly never fight in winter. Secondly we have several reports that the Goblins and Orcs do not simply raid but stay in the areas they have taken if not evicted by the Reiksbund. Lastly and most worryingly they bring their females and children with them. We can only conclude that they try to resettle to the Ostmark despite the fact that their incursions has been repulsed with great regularity during the last years and their losses have been high. This leads to the question what might cause the Orcoids to pursuit such a dangerous and likely ineffective strategy.
During the last month the intelligence agencies have tried to learn about this, combining recon flights with Special Forces teams that were inserted into the World`s Edge mountains. Last not least we have interviewed the surviving Goblins as they are more willing and able to communicate with us. All lead to the same conclusion: They are being attacked by Black Orcs, the stronger and even more aggressive relatives of the Greenskins that enter the Empire. But even they are baffled by what makes the Black orcs attack them at such an unusual time and in such ferocity. And more than a few survivors have voiced the pinion that the Black Orcs themselves are driven by an unknown party.
It is very likely that a powerful actor is putting pressure on the indigenes in the World`s Edge mountains and the Dark Lands. This leads to a migration of those who cannot withstand the pressure. This billiard-like continent-wide movement of tribes and peoples is not unknown to Earth`s history and in Germany is known as "Völkerwanderung". Such events have been rather destructive and it is important that we find the cause of it and end this before all the Greenskins in the world flood the Empire.
Dr. Alexander Vogt, NJW 2526, 15 ff.
About the legal equality of non-human sentinels
The legal capacity, § 1 BGB, had been a section which had no changes since 1900. For over a century it was clear, only human beings had the capacity to act in a legal way. It was pointless to argue, if other subspecies of humans, like Homo neanderthalis or Homo floresiensis, were included, most likely they were, or not, as none of these subspecies lived in 1896 any more.
The Weltensprung changed a lot. Before the question to add other sentinel life forms was only academic, and even then not really made. If Aliens had visited Earth officially, German law was unprepared. That was obvious when the Weltensprung had happened.
For the time being the Civil and the Public Laws could work with an analogy. If a Dwarf wanted a driver's license or an elf buying a car, this was possible by the way of analogy. One could make an analogy and include these sentinents without big problems. For the penal law this was not possible though.
In penal law analogies are forbidden, if they are not acting for the delinquent. Thus anyone could kill an Elf or a Dawi without the danger to be charged for murder. OTOH this was true for the other sentinent life forms as well. An Ork could kill a human without danger to be charged as well, as the penal law only accepted humans as victims and offenders.
To change this there had been an amendment to the constitution to include other sentinent life forms as well. This was done in Art. 1 sec. 1a GG.
However, this does not include the species, which are considered to be sentinent. Because of this a list had to be made to make sure, which species is included. The first entry were the Dawi, the most recent are the Dragons, as one became a resident of Lübeck a short time ago. That had been a serious blow for some hunters, as organizing hunts to kill dragons is forbidden. And even hunting them abroad is not allowed, as it may be considered murder!
This also led to several other advantages for these species, as they could now officially act legally. There are no more doubts in it to make a valid contract. However, there are other problems. They have to pay taxes as well. You can't have everything.
Sigmar`s Temple, Altdorf
Sigmar`s Temple was a huge edifice, easily able to rival Earth`s biggest houses of worship. Like many of these it had been modified and enlarged through the centuries and the its core had been erected by Dwarf stonemasons.
It was to hold impressive ceremonies, unite the believers and allow them to worship the former emperor and god. It also held the offices of the Great Theogonist and the two Arc Lectors, had room for the inevitable bureaucracy and more.
One of the side chapels was even more lavishly done than the impressive rest as it was used by the Conclave of Sigmar, the most important gathering the Cult had. It choose the Grand Theogonists and the Lectors, it established the policy and it was here that any new revelations were examined for their import on the Cult and the Empire.
The chapel was high and the pale winter light filtered through colored glass windows. The many tiers of benches were filled to capacity with the brown robes of the monks, the more colorful ones of their superiors and the armor of the knightly orders.
The lectern was currently taken by a hulking figure. Bald as an egg and encased in an armor that had seen obvious use the timbre of his voice and the fire in his eyes made it rather clear that Luthor Hus had had it.
He had been an outspoken critic of the secularization of the order before the Storm of Chaos, had called for more vigilance, for taking the fight to the enemy and for the eradication of the Empire`s foes.
That the Weltensprung was changing the Warhammer World and especially the Empire did not make him happy at all and he was certainly not pulling his punches to get that message across to his peers.
"So here you sit happy with yourselves and clap on each others back. Chaos has been sent back into the Desert weeping you say. The Skaven have been revealed and beaten, their God has been killed you say. The Beastmen have been decimated and sent into their reservation you say and the Norscans come for trade now and not to raid you gloat.
The economy is much better these days you say and so the tithe has increased accordingly so you can have nicer homes and more comely housekeepers. The Empire is safe you say and we can sit back, watch it grow and become happy, lazy and fat.
You ignore that the Beastmen that were sent to their reservation have killed dozens of farmers last year. You accept that witches get a trial these days that no longer has the question in it and that allows the Magical Orders to witness. You say nothing when the Germans bring their filth into our cities and poison our youth with their ideas.
You think the most important issue the Cult of Sigmar pursues now is looking after the veterans while the safety of the Empire rests on German arms, German railways, German ships and German advise. The same Germans that do not care for Sigmar, the same Germans that worship a god that is simply not there, who regard all sentient equals, the same Germans that would not rise when Orion massacred their own citizens. And you think you can rely on them in out hour of need always?
Yes, out armies have grown in mighty with German help, even if Sigmar help us if their get it into their heads to withdraw that support. And yet what do we do with the army that is second only to the German one? Do we unite the humans on the world under one banner as Sigmar has done it to the tribes? Do we go after the Beastmen and do what needs to be done with them? Do we go into Sylvania to wipe that stain from the face of our beloved Empire? We do not even take the fight to the pirates of Araby who always promise to leave our ships alone just when they take them.
And if we are to cowardly to take the fight to our enemies, to what ends do we use our new found riches? Do we send missionaries by the dozen into Germany to make them see the light? Do we send more preachers to convert those who still worship Ulric?
No, we use it to pamper the veterans and to become happy, lazy and fat. Sigmar would spit on us if he could see us as we are now and I despair of it."
"Have you had your rede Luthor Hus?"
"Yes Great Theogonist I had. Are you in a hurry to play male nurse again?"
"Luthor Hus, if you do not acknowledge the plight of the Empire`s warriors and deny those who suffered in its service you are unworthy of them, simple as that. In the past we sometimes had to use our meager resources to fight the desperate fight and did not have the wherewithal to treat the veterans as they deserved. This is no longer the case and if I am certain of anything it is that Sigmar smiles upon those who look after those who suffered fighting in his name.
You may not be happy with what the order does, but much of what you state is simply not true or it would be the height of folly. You state yourself that we currently depend on the Germans for our safety and want to antagonize them by going after the Beastmen living in the same reservations the Germans negotiated for us, politely ignoring the punitive expeditions done every time when some young Beastman bucks go on a rampage, expeditions which usually kill dozens of Beastmen for every Imperial citizen. And of course the same Germans will be overjoyed when you make the source of the oil they need so much a battlefield. And do you really want the old Witch Trials back-you know very well that we burned so many to kill so few deservedly. When we had no other choice we could but do that to keep the Empire alive. To do so when there is an alternative is a crime of epic proportions."
"Oh the Germans won`t be happy so we cannot do what Sigmar asks us to do. What are we, the Cult of Sigmar or the Cult of Germany. Shall we replace the hammer with the German mark maybe and…
Bang
Something made a huge impact on the granite floor, an impact that was felt by everybody still seated on a bench. It managed to shake the windows to the point where the many small glass panes rattled alarmingly in their lead frames and was loud enough to be taken for a shot. Whatever else it did, it stopped the two Sigmarites in front of the congregation cold.
All heads turned to the source of the hit and all were silent. Valten was seen by many as a rebirth of their god, by others as his avatar and by a few as an impostor. For Luthor Hus he was the disappointment of his life. The young lad he had discovered when the two-tailed meteor had appeared above Lachenbad who used his father`s hammers to smite the Beastmen. The young man whom he had trained, who had fought for humanity and who was to reform the Cult of Sigmar in Hus` likeness. The young man who had taken the Emperor`s coin, who had filled his head by the nonsense sprouted by the Germans, the man who had allowed the Emperor to adopt him.
The man who now, disregarding any protocol, stepped forward to the lectern. The man holding the Warhammer and who looked very much like the portrait that hung above the conclave. Valten did not had to ask Luthor to yield the lectern, he had stepped backwards without thinking.
And he listened as intently as any other Sigmarite present.
"Yes, the Cult has come into new riches and there will be more of them as we all know. And no, we should not use these means to improve our personal living. Yes, we depend a lot on the Germans and if we want to be able to stand on out own legs it means we have to take even more of their ways.
And yes, caring for the veterans is very dear to me as it was for Sigmar, so we shall do it.
And no that does not mean we sit on our backsides and watch them grow, our new found riches mean we can take the fight to those who threaten us all. Yet we will not fight those who mean us no harm or who have no means to threaten us. We will fight those who want to kill us all, convert our beloved Empire into a wasteland and make its citizens mindless slaves of the four fell gods.
We will fight, we will take up a fight so long and so bloody that none here will see the end of it and neither will our children. We do this because our children would pay the price if we do not, because the Germans that have helped us so much so not see the need till it is too late and because we are the only ones who can do it.
For millenia the Chaos Desert grew whenever the forces of Chaos assailed us and it did not recede much when we threw them back. Every year it takes a bit of the world that we love and convert it into a home for those who hate us. For millenia we had no means to combat the desert itself, no way to remove the taint of Chaos and warpstone.
Now such means have been found, now we have the weapons, the transportation and the allies to take the fight to the enemies home. Do we have the will to do it?"
The cheers were loud enough to threaten the windows again and a weeping Luthor Hus asked his former protegee for exculpation.
He was made the head of the cult`s newest order, the Army of Light the same day.
Swan and Donkey, Nuln
Flieger gruess mir die Sonne!
Vom Nordpol zum Suedpol ist nur ein Katzensprung.
Wir fliegen die Strecke bei jeder Witterung.
Wir warten nicht, wir starten!
Was immer auch geschieht,
durch Wind und Wetter klingt das Fliegerlied:
Flieger, gruess mir die Sonne,
gruess mir die Sterne und gruess mir den Mond.
Dein Leben, das ist ein Schweben
durch die Ferne, die keiner bewohnt!
Schneller und immer schneller
rast der Propeller, wie dir's grad gefaellt!
Piloten ist nichts verboten,
Wenn es sein muss drum gib Vollgas
und flieg um die Welt!
Such' dir die schoenste Sternenschnuppe aus
und bring sie deinem Maedel mit nach Haus!
Flieger, gruess mir die Sonne,
gruess mir die Sterne und gruess mir den Mond!
Hoch oben im Aether, da sind wir meist zu Haus!
Bei fuenftausend Meter sieht alles anders aus.
Da gibt's keine Grenzen!
Da gibt's keinen Pass!
Der Flieger fliegt und fragt nicht: Wie und was?
Flieger, gruess mir die Sonne...
Es war einmal ein Flieger, der jeden Flug gewann,
er flog um die Wette mit einem Hurrikan.
Er flog mit fast vierhundert zur Milchstrasse empor,
der arme, alte Hurrikan verlor:
Flieger, gruess mir die Sonne...
"Airmen, say hello to the sun..."
watch?v=bjjE15ClLgw
Original 1932 version sung by Hans Albers
watch?v=bjjE15ClLgw
The battered ghetto blaster blared the song from overworked speakers for the umpteen time and the young men around matched it as often. They were happy, they were drunk and they were all pilots. No longer pilot candidates, to be washed out at the slightest mistake and put through hell by any warrant. Pilots who were allowed to fly on their own, pilots qualified on the "Spatz" (Sparrow), the Empire`s first homegrown plane that some would uncharitably call "poor man`s Stork". Pilots who would start qualifying on the "Falke" (Hawk), the Empire`s combat plane after a glorious weekend spend celebrating their new status.
"So here we have courageous Erich, set on a clean approach, correct height, correct attitude and speed, all is nice and then the bleeding engine quits. Yet engines are for those of lesser birth, our Erich lands the plane without one and does not bend prop or landing gear. Here is one to you glider pilot."
Heinrich Laurenz raised his stein and all of the eagles did the same, drinking the good "Kochbock" in them to the bottom.
"Ha and here we have our favorite bean counter, the human calculator. Claw wing is on a navigator exercise, nice little trip to Münzhausen and back. All is fine, beautiful weather, lots of landmarks to navigate by and we are on course and on time.
Just that on the way back we have so much fog and low clouds that you can see nothing at all. Even the instructor is about to use radio nav and is about to ask for pointers from the next friendly radar, but Heinrich here wants nothing of it. Dead reckoning my ass, this guy calculates every wind and every fart we had since Nuln and when we finally see something of the ground again we are smack on course for the airport. So Heinrich, when we need to calculate our way out of a mess we will turn to you. Raise your glasses with me Eagles to Heinrich, the man who brought us back."
And so they did.
"Heinrich, the other song is no good, get us the Fliegerlied back, will ya?"
Heinrich`s finger did not seem to work exactly the way he wanted them to, but he managed to punch the right button when something heavy and fast connected with the back of his head, smashing him face-first into the sturdy table.
He dropped bonelessly to the ground. Not totally out he saw the boots and legs belonging to some Reiksguard uniform, heard the slurs and insults, yet could not move a finger.
A brawl was in the making and he would likely get underfoot.
"Eagles, on me. Line to the right, fuck you very much. Don`t get stuck people, we just want outa here before the man comes. Gerhard, you take Heinrich."
Heinrich Klement could hardly move, yet he heard Eberhard`s voice very well, a voice used to command willful youths on the battlefield. A voice that projected calm and competence and that was immediately obeyed.
He saw only a little of it as he was dragged across the taverns floor, yet even in his state it was clear that pilots were having their way. Organized into a line they could not be easily swarmed and used their combined momentum to punch their way to the exit. They made it, with their beloved Ghetto Blaster and about three minutes before the City watch could nab them all.
He was better by then and could accept Eberhard`s hand that pulled him upright again. Despite the cold night`s air and the concussion he managed to keep upright.
"We protect those who cannot do so themselves and provide inspiration-told you so, Heinrich."
"Yes."
Nagenhof, Ostmark
Heinrich Hemmler went down the camps main path. The cold humid air of winter made his mustache accumulate ice from the clouds that escaped his mouth and nose with every breath he took. Still, German-designed winter gear made sure that he did not feel as cold as he should. German provided power saws and German-run factories in Nuln had provided for enough boards and nails to give Wolf`s Dragoons very decent winter quarters. While the barracks that had been hastily erected were drafty at times they were infinitely preferable to tents or the stables that would otherwise housed the Empire`s soldiers when deployed in winter. The Dragoons knew this very well and mostly happy when they huddled around the ovens and did their best to keep warm.
Currently Hemmler was on his way to another amenity the Germans had provided and that raised morale. He went into one of the low-slung wooden houses and went by the burly Sergeant that kept the entrance.
"I think Frau Kramer awaits me already."
"Yes Sir, she does. Please go right in."
Ines Kramer was downright beautiful. Red-haired, of a fine figure that was visible even under the smock she wore and with a nice face under her glasses smiled at the Imperial Colonel.
"Hello Colonel Hemmler, thanks for keeping our date. Be seated, I`ll be with you shortly."
Heinrich Hemmler saluted before discarding his long coat and settling himself into a chair with a high footrest. Ines bent over him and treated him to a rather close-up view of very nice breasts that were swaddled in too much cloth at present.
"Open wide Colonel"
Dr. Ines Kramer was a dentist who had her studies paid by the German army, which meant she was in for least a 17-year stint. After a rather nasty failure of a marriage she had been looking for a radical change of view and the exchange program with the Empire offered one. As any Bundeswehr-trained dentist since the Weltensprung she was also trained in emergency medicine and while with the Dragoons she also doubled in as a GP. Heinrich Hemmler could not remember a single month as an adult that he had been free of dental pain, there was always one or more teeth which hurt like mad. The mere thought of getting a tooth extracted without local anesthetics still brought cold sweat to the brow of the Colonel.
And all his soldiers were the same. The news that a German dentist would treat them for free had resulted in cheers normally heard after important victories. Ines Kramer had made good on the expectations and by now most soldiers were feeling much better. Her constant reminders to brush teeth were taken in stride and her willingness to endure the much lower standard of living with the Dragoons endeared her to every soldier. That she still struggled with that at times made them feel like having a little sister that needed protection. That latter notion had taken a hit when she broke the arm of an unfortunate pocket thief that had tried to nab her when the Dragoons were still in Altdorf, yet the doc had roughly 4000 protectors at present.
"Ok, take a deep breath, this will sting a bit."
The stings were nasty for a few seconds, but nothing compared to what Heinrich had endured before.
"Ok, we wait now for a few minutes so it can take hold. I will fill in two holes in that back teeth. Really now, I told you to quit using that bloody pipe. The nicotine will kill your teeth faster than I can repair them, not to speak of what it will do to your lungs."
"Harder to say than do doctor. While we are at it-didn´t you have an appointment with the shooting range one of these days? We are in a combat zone after all."
"Uh, yes I did, until something came up."
"Something always does, doesn`t it. Try to make the time Ines, it might save your life."
"Harder to say then do Heinrich."
Both shared a chuckle before the drill went at it.
