Klaudia was seated in a small wooded clearing, her mind focused on a single image: that of a simple wooden chair. One with a solid square base rather than legs and similarly solid arms. She could see every little detail in her mind's eye all the way down to the grain of the wood. Opening her eyes and engaging her halo she tried to make that image reality.
There was no difference in the light of the distortion whether it was used for destruction or creation. What Klaudia had found was that when used for creating things it had a different feeling, almost as if she could reach out and shape everything within the sphere. It was as if even the tiniest parts of existence had been laid out before her just waiting to be put back together however she wished. Not that it was that simple of course. Letting go of the halo Klaudia inspected her handiwork.
The first thing she could see was that while the chair she had created was covered in a pattern of wood grain it was most certainly not made of wood. It was of the same material that she had been able to produce so far, somewhere between metal and stone. Other than that it was mostly correct in shape save for a few small flaws. Compared to the others that graced the clearing it was her best work thus far.
Getting up from her previous attempt at a seat Klaudia went over to her newest work. Not that she had only been making chairs. She had tried basic shapes at first, spheres, cubes and pyramids. It had taken a little while to reliably produce those instead of a twisted mass. The trick seemed to be concentration. Even the slightest distraction crossing her mind could cause the final product to be warped far from what Klaudia had intended. At least it seemed to get easier the more that she practised. If there was something that she was going to have plenty of in the coming days it would be time to practice.
Over the treetops Klaudia could make out the hulking form of one of the three massive flak towers that provided air defence for Berlin. For the time being one of the cramped concrete rooms inside of its interior was to be her home. One Battleship per tower, each taking a shift to make sure that the city could not be attacked. Soon enough it would solely be Klaudia's responsibility. A better use had been found for Werner and Markus than waiting for the enemy to come here.
She had seen very little of the other Battleships since their meeting with the Leader. Most of their time not spent watching the skies was taken up by the planning of the counterattack on the advancing Soviets. The military men were similarly absent from most of Klaudia's time. If only the same could have been said for Goebbels. Even though she was every bit as powerful as the others, if not more so for now, it had been decided that Klaudia's role was to be 'the epitome of German womanhood.' While the others went out and warred against Germany's enemies she would stay behind and make sure that the capital was safe and the people reassured. As much as she relished a chance to strike down Allied bombers once more the whole arrangement did sting her pride more than a little. Her father had never been one to forget a slight and much as she hated to admit it Klaudia took after him.
That was why Klaudia spent most of her free time hiding out here in the remains of the Berlin Zoo. Close enough to be of use if they really needed her but far enough away that everyone knew to let her have her space. These little experiments with her halo were one of the ways that Klaudia filled her days. Some thoughtful souls had found some gutted tanks that she could use when she wanted a physical engagement and there were other little things that she did to try and challenge herself. Anything to keep her mind from wandering off to the dark corners that it was fond of. Too fed up to seek company and yet frightened of being alone. It was no wonder everyone tried to avoid her anyways as she could hardly stand to be around herself these days.
"Impressive work," Werner's voice snapped Klaudia out of her musings. Turning she could see him walk into the clearing. If there was one person she did not mind seeing it was him. "I actually considered becoming a carpenter when I was young. Maybe I can take it up once all this is settled."
"They finally gave you some time for yourself?" Klaudia asked as Werner took a seat on one of the chairs facing her. She tried to picture him sitting at a workbench covered in tools but it seemed wrong. Werner was a soldier through and through.
"I insisted on taking some time to come see you, seeing as we haven't been able to properly talk. How are you feeling?"
That made Klaudia smile briefly, that there was at least one person around who cared how she felt.
"No worse than before," Klaudia said as her smile slipped away. "No better either but no worse. I'll have to make sure to keep a smile on my face though. Goebbels wants me to become the embodiment of 'every wife, daughter, sister and mother that the men are fighting for.' The uberfrau, I guess."
"Come now, you'll also be making sure that everyone in this city can sleep safely at night in their own beds without having to fear if they will have to run for shelter. If they can set up a system then they might be able to have you cover the skies of other cities too. Think of all those lives, men, women and children, that you will be saving." Werner's reply was as passionate as always.
"That's the thing Werner, I have thought about them. I think about all those people I could be protecting and I still just want to run off and kill someone."
"I know the feeling," Werner grew quiet for a moment as memories returned to him. "The same thing overtook me the first time that some of my friends died on the battlefield. I can't even imagine what it would be like considering what you've lost. You just have to keep it in check. Men who let it consume them end up dead as those they tried to avenge. There will be blood enough in the coming days without us going out and searching for it."
"Why would you have ever wanted to work with wood Werner, when you have such a way with words?"
To that Werner just smiled, then cupped his hands in front of him. "You would be surprised the things I've learned."
His halo flashed just for a few moments and something appeared in his hands. He gently tossed it her way. Catching it Klaudia found that she was holding a disk made of wood, smooth and perfect as anything.
"I've been practising myself whenever I can find the time," Werner pointed to what Klaudia had made in the clearing. "But I just can't seem to make anything larger than about a foot or so. Even something like one of these chairs I doubt I could get it to come out quite right."
"Perhaps the activation is not so consistent as they told us." Klaudia replied as she rotated the disk between her hands.
Both of them were quiet as they considered what this could mean. The panzermensch were all alike in size, whether they had been fat or thin, tall or short prior to activation. Similarly Klaudia was the same height and weight now as either of the male Battleships despite having started much smaller than both. At the camp it had been assumed that the halo was as evenly distributed as the physical enhancement. Of course all that had been drawn on was checking the destructive effects that the panzermensch were capable of. A sample of two was hardly enough to draw conclusions from but perhaps there was far more to the Battleships than just being a better version of the panzermensch.
"I wonder if Markus has noticed anything similar." Klaudia asked aloud, causing Werner to snort with laughter.
"The only time that he has used his halo was to blast apart a building as part of a demonstration. He prefers actually hitting things. Provided that they can't hit back."
"He'll have plenty of those soon," A thought occurred to Klaudia, spurred by their discussion of the halo. "I have a question for you Werner, one that is going to sound silly."
"Ask away." Werner replied as he leaned forwards.
"I noticed the other day that the piercings for my earrings had grown over. Could you try opening them up again with a distortion?"
"Ah, vanity," Werner joked as he got up from his seat and came towards her. Seeing her face darken a bit he added. "Its a welcome development. People who've given up on life tend to stop caring about how they look."
"Just get on with it. And be careful!" Klaudia admonished him as she pulled back her hair.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see the light of Werner's halo, followed by a strange feeling on her earlobe. It wasn't as if he was burning through it like she expected but like the skin was being moved around.
"That looks like it about does it," Werner said after a minute or so, closely inspecting the work."Not even a mark to tell that the halo had touched it otherwise. I wonder..."
Werner trailed off as he moved on to her other ear. Today had been a day for discoveries at least. The new possibilities were nowhere near enough to replace what Klaudia had lost but it was enough to keep her going for a little while. Her future lay with destruction but the possibility of creating a few things that might outlast her was most tempting.
There are few things as invigorating as a fresh start, Stephanie thought to herself as she reviewed the progress that had been made in setting up the Allied Catalyst production. Events had been moving at breakneck speed for the last few days and so far things had gone much better than she ever could have anticipated. It certainly helped that rather than skulking around behind the back of the government like Sankt had here she had their full support.
All the necessary supplies had been gathered. Chemicals were undergoing their last tests to ensure purity. The equipment had all been calibrated to the exacting standards that would be required. Most importantly the staff, who collectively had a far better pedigree than those Stephanie had worked alongside in Germany, were already being trained on their parts of the process. It had been decided that in order to prevent any possible leaks of information the lab was to be kept as compartmentalized as possible. Only Stephanie and a select few others would know how the process went from beginning to end. In some ways it would actually improve their ability to produce the Catalyst. With the additional manpower each section could concentrate on perfecting their own segment of production. Given how little margin for error there was forcing people to focus was for the best.
To the outside world this looked like another manor house in the countryside, utterly indistinguishable from the hundreds of others that dotted England. Nearby there was a small military base that would serve as the training ground for the first British tankmen, as they were calling the panzermensch in English. It was all very mundane and secluded looking. Hopefully it would remain that way long enough to make a difference. By the time they needed room to expand they should be able to hold their own against the Germans.
Upon moving in to her fashionably appointed office Stephanie had discovered a special gesture of appreciation that had been arranged for her. A well stocked liquor cabinet rested in the corner of the room, courtesy of the Prime Minister himself. Sitting at her desk Stephanie hoisted her glass in a toast to the picture of him hanging on the wall. It was wonderful to have someone understand proper working conditions.
Of course not everything was exactly as she would have liked it. Understandably the government did not want to put too much power into the hands of someone who had been, until recently, working in the midst of the enemy. The titular head of the project was not herself but be a Captain Nathaniel Weathersby, who chose this very moment to enter the room. Well into his middle years the Captain was the very picture of a cultured and urbane officer. Stephanie had quickly deduced that underneath that perfect exterior was a man every bit as willing as herself to do whatever was needed for victory. He had done military intelligence work before and proved to have some clever ideas on protecting the project from infiltration. Other than the fact that he had banned smoking inside the manor Stephanie found herself getting along with him well enough.
"A little early for that, isn't it?" Weathersby pointed to Stephanie's glass as he sat down.
"We might all be dead soon depending on how this goes. I intend to enjoy what time I have left." Stephanie replied, punctuating the statement by taking in a mouthful of the brandy. Not that she intended to get drunk before the sun went down. Throughout the day she preferred to imbibe a small but steady intake of alcohol, enough to keep her mind limber. Getting drunk was kept to preparing for bed. To keep her dreams from going places she did not want them to go. Weathersby just shrugged before getting on with whatever he had come in her for.
"I've a few questions for you about this secondary line that you want to set up. Production of the Catalyst is only going to start in the next few days, is this really the best time to be experimenting on the side?"
"Given the nature of the experiment, there is no better time," Stephanie took one of her journals out from the locked drawer of her desk, opened it to the correct page and passed it to him. "This is a section of the Codex that Lupin was able to get me a copy of early on. It was one that Sankt had little interest in so it was not very well secured."
"If it was of little interest to him then what makes it of any interest to us?" Weathersby asked as he looked over the page. As sharp as he was usually the arcane nature of what was before him caused him to not see it for what it was.
"First of all it means that should we get this into production first then there is a good chance that the Germans will be forced to play catch up as they won't have been working on it. Secondly is that Sankt had an obsession with the halo effect. He tended to discard anything that did not relate to it somehow."
If there was any sort of fairness in the world that would help lead to the Germans undoing. Sankt had been driven but he had also been careless. Anything that had not precisely fit in with his vision for the ubermensch had been ignored. Word had reached Stephanie that Sankt was no longer in control of the project but his shadow over it should prove long enough to give them this window of opportunity. After all even with the advantages that Germany had concerning the standard Catalyst they would need as much time as the British to start branching out into new forms.
"No halo effect? So not a tank man then?" Weathersby's eyes narrowed as he asked the question. He was starting to understand.
"Not quite. The tank men are a truly a balance of two separate enhancements rather than a single discrete one. One part provides their halo and the other their increased physical attributes. A normal dose of Catalyst gives one half of each, making a tank man a 1:1 ratio after two doses and a Battleship 12:12 after twenty-four doses. So far as I can tell this section of the Codex describes how to make Catalyst that is purely physical."
"So twice as strong. Twice as fast, twice as durable," Nodding as he spoke Weathersby weighed the possibilities. "But no ranged abilities."
"It might turn out even more than twice. The effect doesn't seem to scale linearly." That was Stephanie's hope at least. They needed anything that they could get to reduce the German advantage. Having a stronger and hardier front line soldier might just be the edge they needed to survive. There were other ideas that she was entertaining as well. Seeing as the chances of them finding multiple Battleships were low depending on how well the physical only enhancement worked it might prove to be the key to gaining the upper hand in that arena as well. Purely conjecture at this point but Stephanie preferred to be prepared.
"Alright, that all sounds well and good. Still the question remains why now?"
"To make this preparation we will have to take the standard Catalyst at a point where it is almost complete and subject it to an additional period of treatment. It will take longer to make but the results should be sufficiently rewarding." With all that was riding on it Stephanie certainly hoped that it would pay off.
"That is a big risk to take. We are going to be short on Catalyst as it is," Leaning back Weathersby brought his hands together as he thought it over. Stephanie took another sip as she waited for a response. Finally he spoke again. "You have tentative authorization for the time being. I will have to get the Prime Minister to approve before you can proceed fully."
"Of course. There is no great rush as it will be at least two weeks before we could even branch the production anyways. In that time if you could have someone take a second look at the translation it would make things go smoother. Enough of the section crossed over with the original Catalyst process to make sense of the recipe but there are a few spots where I had to make an informed guess. Seeing as you won't let me meet your little den of geniuses, wherever they are."
That was something that did bother Stephanie immensely. While she was focused on the production side of things she still would have preferred to be able to watch over the effort to translate the parts of the Codex as well. Weathersby had hinted at the existence of some sort of group of codebreakers but would not say anything else.
"Too many cooks in the kitchen ruins the soup. You just concentrate on things here. Unless there was anything else you needed I would think that I should go make some calls." Weathersby waited long enough for Stephanie to shake her head before leaving.
On her own once more Stephanie went to freshen her drink. One victory looked secured for now. If only things were not so uncertain.
It was painfully quiet in the offices where Hagen and his team had set up shop. Everyone was on edge as events seemed to keep on spiralling out of control. First Himmler had been able to convince the Leader to give him at least temporary control over the brunt of the ubermensch forces. All that was directly under control of the Heer at the moment was a handful of panzermensch here in Berlin and those holding Strasbourg in the west. Klaudia for the time being was solely at the Leader's disposal here in Berlin. There was no guarantee that the numbers were going to drastically improve any time soon either.
Word of the new weapons had spread fast and given the nature of the ubermensch the struggle for control over them had begun immediately. Every single branch of the military and the government was making up lists of reasons as to why their members should be the first ones to undergo testing. Goering had stuck his head up and was fighting for the Luftwaffe to get their own units and Doenitz was doing the same for the Kriegsmarine. Himmler was trying to get permanent control over the two Battleships under his command while placing the SS, Waffen or otherwise, at the front of the line. Then there was the Gestapo and numerous other ministries of the government, some of which had no plausible reason to want the ubermensch other than to confirm their status. So far the only time at which the Leader had entered the fray was to decree that the dedicated old fighters of the party should all be tested for their potential first and foremost. Other than that he seemed content to let everyone else squabble over how large their share would be.
In a month or so it would be less of a problem than it was now. The stores of Catalyst and testing doses exceeded the possible demand and once new production started in earnest even more would be possible. It was still concerning that the ubermensch might end up too spread out and diluted to be brought to their full effect. Those who did not get a seat at the table right now might find themselves cut out further down the line. When one man had destructive potential equal to that of a whole army it begged the question of whether a proper army was still needed at all. Here and in other offices around the country the Heer was hard at working justifying their future existence.
General Guderian had personally come down that day to look through the latest paperwork that had been produced about the ubermensch. There were tactical assessments and possible strategies in abundance. His presence had made the tension all the more keen. The General was ever one to speak his mind and right now he was furious over having been effectively sidestepped.
The door to the hallway opened and Hagen looked up briefly to see who it was. His head then jerked up as he dropped his pen. In through the door strolled General Guderian, followed by General Guderian and General Guderian. Three identical copies of the General now stood in front of the gathered staff.
"Good afternoon gentlemen, might we be able to have a word with General Guderian? I understand that he is here today." The lead Guderian asked sounding exactly as he should, though Hagen did not think that he had ever seen the General smile in such a manner. For a moment no one spoke. Hagen was certain that they, like he himself, were currently wondering whether the stress of the war had finally broken their minds. Finally someone bolted up out of their chair and charged into the next room to fetch the actual Guderian.
"What the hell are you talking about-" The man himself was asking, obviously annoyed as he came back through the door. As soon as he laid eyes on his three doppelgangers his jaw fell open.
Just like that the trio changed. The leader became a sharp featured middle aged man, the second a younger and portlier fellow and the last a young woman of all things. It had to be something to do with the Catalyst, Hagen realized. There had been something in Sankt's notes that spoke about a possibility of someone who could control light and sound but it had been purely theoretical. That these three stood in front of them right now meant that there must have been projects that Sankt kept strictly off the books. A chill went down Hagen's spine with that realization. Just what other surprises were waiting for them out there?
"I do hope you will forgive the intrusion but I have always believed that dramatic entrances are the best way to make a first impression. We have much to discuss." The lead man spoke strolling forward with his hand extended to the General.
Like a spell had been broken everyone in the office was on their feet now, some drawing weapons just in case. One way or another they were going to get to the bottom of this.
"Fucking actors and their need to make a fucking spectacle. Now what, eleven people know about the existence of these geltmensch who had no need to know." Guderian grumble as he downed the rest of his drink. He was referring to Luther, the apparent leader of the shapeshifters who had interrupted their day.
It was many hours later in the day and Guderian and Hagen were now sitting alone trying to digest what they had learned with the help of copious amounts of alcohol. There had been a side-project kept secret from everyone but Sankt himself. Run out of a chateau thirty miles from the camp itself the geltmensch had been trained without anyone besides Sankt and a handful of researchers knowing.
"Let's hope that he shows better judgment as a spy then." Hagen replied. At some point his coat had ended up entirely unbuttoned and now sagged against the seat of his chair.
"What about that woman, Anita? You think she is telling the truth?"
"Maybe. She seemed as surprised as us that Sankt had been running an additional site. Most of all she wondered where he found the money," Hagen could not help but add what had been bothering him since the revelation, alcohol loosening his tongue. "It is rather convenient, isn't it sir, that these shapeshifters show up a few days after Sankt takes a cyanide capsule? Then the man who gave it to him shoots his wife and himself that night, what if..."
Guderian made a hard slashing motion with his hand. "Enough. We speak no more of this. Bringing these geltmensch to Hitler's attention got us some of the leverage we need to keep in control of things. Unless we find hard evidence of anything we do nothing. Maybe even then, we bury it."
"Understood." Hagen nodded along, drooping down towards the table.
Unspoken between them was what they both already knew. There had been something unsavoury going on within Sankt's project. Speaking to the panzermensch had given them reports that Sankt, Anita Scheele and Werner Frei were particularly close. The expert they needed for the time being and one of the greatest weapons in the country's arsenal both tied closely to a traitor. For now the boat needed to be kept steady. Leverage, that was what all of these disparate coincidences could become later if needed. Provided it did not blow up in their faces before then.