Flipping through the sketches that Speer had given her Klaudia tried to decide which project she would try next. Some of the plans were just of specific architectural elements, mostly columns and arches. The kind of things that cropped up frequently in the monuments that the Leader wanted to build across Berlin. Those were the simpler ones to create but Klaudia found that her interests lay in a different part of Speer's notes. He had drawn up various models of housing that he thought she might be able to efficiently create. These ranged from simple single dwelling buildings to multi-story apartment tenements. Those who survived the Allied bombings all too often found themselves without a home to return to so new homes was one of the many things that Germany critically needed.

The aftermath of Klaudia repelling the Allied air raid had not been pleasant. She could not even remember being taken back to the flaktower and had spent most of the next day laying in bed. Everything had hurt from her head down to her toes. Worse for Klaudia's temper was that Scheele had been put in charge of the team of doctors that came to inspect her condition. Sankt's former adjutant had barely been able to hide her satisfaction at seeing Klaudia in such a state. As much as she had wanted to send the other woman through a wall she had been able to swallow her anger. After all she had been able to protect the city in the end. That gave her a measure of satisfaction that no one would ever be able to take from her.

While the extent of her condition was a closely guarded secret as soon as Klaudia no longer outwardly appeared unwell the visits had started. The Leader had come to congratulate her and soon after there had been a positive deluge of high ranking government officials and Party members. Speer was the only one that Klaudia cared to remember. A well spoken and polite man he had heard about her experiments with using the halo for creation and was very interested in how her gifts might be used to help the Reich outside of warfare. Their conversation had even been able to pierce the depression that had fallen over Klaudia. Hearing Speer lay out plans for new communities built entirely through the power of the halo had given her a measure of hope that there might be something worth living for after all. While Klaudia's thirst for revenge was nowhere near sated it was still welcome to hear about other possibilities. She would never have the life that she had wanted but maybe she could build something else.

Pushing aside those thoughts of the future Klaudia set her stack of drawings down and began to walk around one of the test houses she had already created. Her technique still needed much more practice but the walls were largely square and the measurements nearing the tolerances needed if she was to mass produce these at any point. While the floor, walls and roof were all simple enough to make Klaudia had been unable to create anything approaching glass so windows would need to be installed later. Other elements like electrical wiring and plumbing would also have to be added in by regular means as they seemed too complex to create with the halo, at least for now.

"Mrs Hoch?" A well dressed man asked as he approached her. Looking him over Klaudia did not recognize him.

"Yes?" Klaudia replied. Turning away from inspecting the building she walked over to him, seeing the all too familiar fear in his eyes as she stood towering over him. For those not used to it being in the presence of a Battleship would be an awe inspiring moment.

"I," The man took a moment to clear his throat. "I have been sent by the Reichsmarschall to inquire if you would be available to have dinner with him this evening. He has some matters of great urgency that he would like to discuss with you."

It took a moment for Klaudia to realize just who he was speaking of. Goering wanted to meet with her? After her experiences over the last few days that was not particularly shocking, it seemed like everyone who had the slightest scrap of power wanted to speak with her. As the only Battleship not on the front it was to be expected she supposed. What came as a surprise was that this was an invitation. Most of the others had demanded access to her.

"Certainly. Tell the Reichsmarschall that I am at his disposal."

"Excellent. We will have a car sent round to pick you up." The man saluted her then turned and walked away, no doubt to get everything prepared. Also undoubtedly relieved to be away from the presence of a living god.

Watching the man depart Klaudia wondered what she had just agreed to. She had appreciated Speer as he had seemed genuinely interested in her. The others who had been successful in getting some of her time had all been varying degrees of charming but in the end none of them were interested in anything other than what she could do for them. Klaudia had realized that for them she was the lever by which they could elevate themselves or dislodge their foes. That so many in the government could carry on with such politicking while Germany burned sickened her. Yet she held her tongue and saved that displeasure for use on the battlefield. Even if she could not strike out at them she would make certain that someone felt her ire later on. Goering, the fat bumbling fool that he was, would likely provide plenty of fuel for Klaudia's anger.

It was almost certain that he would want a demonstration of her halo so Klaudia did not bother creating anything else today. She would push herself as hard as she could in battle but for now she had no intention of exhausting herself so thoroughly again without a good reason. After all what if another Allied attack came and she was laying there barely able to move? Not that another attack on Berlin was likely. The Allies were not stupid enough to send more men to their certain deaths for no gain.

Returning to inspecting the buildings that she had willed into existence Klaudia continued to note where improvements needed to be made. If she were to begin making large numbers of these houses paint would be the first thing they needed. The substance that she used to make the walls was strong but also depressing to look at in any large amount. So far no matter how she tried Klaudia had been unable to figure out how to make anything else. That made her think of Werner. How when they had compared their ability he had been able to create such detailed little things but had been unable to match the scale that Klaudia was capable of. She wondered how he was doing.

So far all that she had been told was that good progress was being made pushing back the Soviets. Details were scarce. Thinking back to his confession that he had once wanted to become a carpenter Klaudia wondered if one day he might join her in repairing Germany. Too much had been sacrificed to ever call the war won but they might yet be able to prevent it from becoming a loss. At the very least seeing how exhaustion effected her they would know not to push the others too hard on the battlefield. Though part of Klaudia very much wanted to see Markus knocked down a few pegs. The little sadist's smile at the ceremony before they had departed had been unpleasant to look at. He would be in his element now, fighting against those who had no chance to fight back.

Not that she was any better Klaudia knew. At least she had enough decency to be disgusted by the satisfaction that it brought her. Some of the time at least.

Time flew by and before long the car arrived to take Klaudia to her promised dinner. Some observant individual had removed the passenger seat so at the very least she could stretch her legs out rather than having to bunch them up like usual. It was strange how such a little things made her happy these days. Living in a world that was too small and frail for her was taxing on her nerves.

As they travelled into the heart of Berlin Klaudia smiled to see that more and more rubble was being cleared away. Now that the safety of the city had been secured efforts to remove signs of the previous damage had been doubled. They arrived at an opulent residence that was largely untouched. The inside was just as grand as the exterior, a display of wealth that caused Klaudia some discomfort. What was she doing rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful elite of Germany? No matter how much they might disgust her at times these were the people who ran the country. After seeing the names in the papers and hearing them on the radio for years it was disconcerting to be dropped into their midst. Seeing them up close, much like seeing the Leader up close, filled Klaudia with a sense of dread
for the future.

Then she found herself ushered into another room and face to face with Goering, the door shutting behind her and leaving them alone with each other. At first glance she wondered how the man had even managed to fit himself into his uniform. With a skip in his step the corpulent man strode over to meet her, moving with much more energy than she would have thought a man his size would be able to muster.

"Mrs Hoch, it is a delight to meet you at last. Or would you prefer Klaudia?" Goering asked as he took her hand in both of his, pressing a kiss against her ring finger. Looking into his eyes Klaudia could not see even the slightest hint of fear. If anything he looked amused and ever so slightly unfocused.

"You may use whichever you like," Without really thinking Klaudia added a little barb onto the end. "So long as I may call you Mr Meyer."

For a moment Klaudia worried that she had pressed her luck too far until Goering burst out in laughter. Covering his mouth as he recovered the man was still all smiles when he spoke again.

"I admit that was a poorly thought out boast and one which I do deserve to be reminded of. If you wish it then Mr Meyer I shall be tonight! For now, let us start with some wine," Goering led her to the centre of the room where a table and chairs had been laid out. Notably one was large enough for Klaudia to sit in comfortably if so low that she had to extend her legs out in front of her. It almost felt as though she was reclining on a sofa. Picking up the crystal decanter from the table Goering poured them each a glass, with Klaudia getting hers in a large and heavy looking metal goblet. "A toast to Germany and her saviours!"

Meeting Goering's toast Klaudia took a sip of the wine to cover her shock. So far this was like nothing she had dealt with in the last few days. The other men who had come to meet her had been many things. Imperious, desperate and scheming were some of the more common attitudes. None of them had been even a fraction as jovial as Goering seemed to be. For certain none of them would have taken an insulting joke near as well as he had.

"Quite good isn't it? An Italian vintage, one that was particularly difficult to acquire even before most of their country fell into enemy hands," Goering settled himself into the other chair, leaning heavily onto the arm as he swirled the wine in his glass and looked at her. The smile on his face slipped into a more sombre expression as he continued. "That, if you were wondering, was what I wished to speak about tonight. If you were to look at a map of Europe only a few years ago our control stretched from the English Channel almost to Moscow. Now we barely hold the our own country. If it were not for the miraculous discovery of you ubermensch I shudder to think what would have happened."

"Well I can make certain that the skies are safe at least." Klaudia replied. She kept back a remark about how he had not been able to do so. No need to antagonize him any further given that his reasons for this meeting seemed genuine.

"Indeed you can. Which is why I would like to offer you a place in the Luftwaffe. With a suitable rank of course, I was thinking Lieutenant-General." Goering looked absolutely serious as he spoke. Which made no sense given what he was saying.

"What?" Was all that Klaudia could muster. Of everything that she might have expected from this meeting this was so bizarre, so outlandish, that she could hardly believe that it was happening.

"You hold no position in the Wehrmacht currently so there would be no conflict there. Don't be intimidated by the rank either, you'll be provided with a staff that will plan your missions and the like for you. We need you out in the field after all, not cooped up at headquarters. It is more about showing the proper appreciation for your role as one of the most powerful weapons in the Reich," Goering took a sip of wine and continued on. "Besides, your late husband was an upstanding member of the Luftwaffe. I have looked over his service records and they were impeccable. Certainly he would have been proud of you picking up the torch?"

"Do not speak of Leon as if you knew him." It was a simple flat statement that carried an implicit threat. Klaudia was not about to have her dead husband be used as a string to lead her around. The metal goblet deformed as her fingers tightened around it. When some of the wine slopped over the side Klaudia set it on the table rather than risk destroying it utterly.

"I meant no disrespect. After all I have been through the same as you. You know of my first wife?" Still showing no fear Goering waited until Klaudia nodded before he continued. She had heard only a little but she knew that the woman had died over a decade before. "Carin was the light of my life. It is no boast when I say that without her I would not be even a shadow of the man I am today nor would this nation have achieved half so much as it did. Without her support our rise to power would have been far more difficult. But as noble of a woman as she was her health was frail. Watching her slip away over the last days of her life almost undid me. Not a day goes by when I do not think about her."

Far from the lighthearted tone that he had sported earlier Goering now spoke slowly and deliberately, looking directly into Klaudia's eyes as he did. She could see that he meant every word that he said. His story resonated with her too. After all the pain that was apparent in his voice all these years later echoed what she felt now, of watching their spouses waste away before finally losing them.

"I apologize for snapping at you. It is just that Leon's death, well, I have not yet had a chance to come to terms with it."

"It's quite alright, I understand completely. Having him torn away from you so suddenly. When Carin died I cursed nature for the illness that took her. For Leon you have a much more concrete target to direct your rage against. Which is why I made this offer in the first place."

"Truly, it is a flattering offer but I am not sure how it will help me." Klaudia was certain that there was something more that Goering was fishing for, no matter how candid he was with her.

"It will give you something to focus on. The pain of loss eats away at us if we let it. If you turn on it, use it to motivate yourself, then not only can great things be achieved but you will come to terms with your grief much quicker."

"That does make sense," It was in keeping with what Goering had said so far, though Klaudia still wondered what his play was exactly. "I would presume you have a plan?"

"Of course. Though I did also promise you a dinner." Goering clapped his hands and the doors opened, a group of Luftwaffe officers coming in and setting up for a presentation. They were followed shortly by servants bearing plates of food.

Unlike her meetings with the Leader here Klaudia was not given a bowl of glucose paste. What was on her plate was the same that was on Goerings, some kind of pork in a heavy sauce.

"I'm not sure if they told you but we can't eat regular food anymore. It won't do anything to touch our hunger." Klaudia began to explain before Goering cut her off with a wave of his fork.

"You can still taste though, can't you?" He asked before taking his first bite.

Klaudia honestly could not remember the last time that she had eaten a regular meal. She had been given the paste for so long that it had become second nature to think of only it as food. Up until now she had not even really considered that she could still eat normal food just for the enjoyment of it. Feeling embarrassed at the sudden revelation Klaudia followed Goering's lead and had a piece of the pork. Having something savoury, that had actual texture, was rapturous. By the time that the officers were ready to begin speaking Klaudia had already cleared her plate. It was quickly replaced by another.

"With the supervision of the Reichsmarschall we have formulated this plan of action. Over the next few weeks it will allow us to greatly strengthen our position on the Western Front while also keeping you in range of the major cities of Germany should another air raid be launched. After your last performance there is a very low likelihood of the Allies risking so many planes at once. We expect the bombing to be kept to smaller missions that will be more of a nuisance than anything."

The plan was bold and would require an incredible amount of effort over a short period of time. It was to strike past the front to free pockets of captured soldiers from the recent failed counter-offensives. With Klaudia providing cover the Allies would be unable to respond to this with a large organized force, lowering the risk to the soldiers. Once they had gotten as many prisoners back as they could she would be free to damage Allied supply lines and camps. If luck was on their side Klaudia might be able to punch all the way through to the Channel, cutting off the enemy forces in the Netherlands and leaving the potential for taking vast numbers of American and British prisoners. Should that happen between the ubermensch and such a loss the Western Allies would be put into a untenable position.

When all was said and done Goering looked at Klaudia expectantly. For a moment she hesitated. There was Speer and all of his ideas for rehousing Germany. Yet what point was there to rebuild the country when it was still at risk? If Klaudia could shatter the Allies in the West now then it would make things so much simpler later. As well she did yearn for another opportunity at vengeance.

That was the deciding factor. She did not need anymore time to think about her decision.

"Reichsmarschall, I would be honoured to accept your offer."

"When I was a kid my dad saved up enough money that we were able to go out to Atlantic City for a week. On the second day I begged him to buy me this big thing of cotton candy. He did, then I ate it until I got sick and threw it up all over the boardwalk. For some reason this reminds me a lot of that day." Patrick said as he tossed his spoon down into the bowl. The glucose paste in his gut twisted a little as he thought about all the sugar forcing its way back up out of him all those years before. This was even worse than trying to keep things down after a dozen beers.

"Well that put me right off eating. Thanks buddy." The large man across from Patrick was a fellow New Yorker who went by 'Top' Spinelli. Caught up in all this craziness it was nice to have someone from back home to share it with. They both came from the same background so it was also nice to have someone's balls to bust.

The mess had fourteen men in it other than Patrick, each and every one of them seven feet tall. Even though he had been subjected to the same number of treatments as the rest of them Patrick had barely grown two inches. He also was not as fit looking as them and considering that he had been in fine shape before that was saying something. Maybe they had gotten something wrong?

Over the last few days there had been a lot of time to wonder about things. Every morning they would get Patrick up and give him his dose of Catalyst. When he finally came to around six hours later it was off to the mess hall of a bowl of paste followed by some time to relax and recover. Another bowl of paste in the evening and then into bed to start it all over the next day. They had been letting the guys all get to know each other but everyone knew that some kind of training was coming soon enough. As good soldiers they all relished the time to relax as best as they could.

Seeing Stanley come in Patrick stood at attention like every other man. The General had come in to check on them every day and had spoke to all of them in private at one point or another. This felt different though. He had the look of someone about to issue an order.

"At ease," Stanley waited for them all to relax then continued. "Now I know that all of you have had a lot of questions about was has been going on and what we will be doing in the near future. I have not been able to give you much when it comes to answers. That is going to change right now. If you'll all follow me the training of the 1st Enhanced US Army Corps is about to begin."

Everyone fell into line behind the General as he lead them down the hall into a large meeting room. Patrick still was not sure where they were exactly. It might still have been France but there was a decent chance that it was somewhere in Britain. The base was kept locked up tight so there was no chance to take a stroll out and chat with the locals.

Taking a seat Patrick watched as Stanley went up to stand beside another tankman that he had not seen before.

"This here is Lupin Schultz, formerly of the Wehrmacht. He is the reason that you are all sitting here and why we actually have a chance at fighting back against the Germans. Everything that a German tank man knows, Lupin is going to tell you. He risked his ass and a lot more to get here so listen up and listen well." Nodding to the tank man Stanley took a seat to watch the presentation.

This answered some of Patrick's questions about how they had managed to get a hold of whatever the Germans had created. There was a sense of unease around the room as everyone looked at the German turncoat. After all it was his former buddies that were tearing apart Europe. Despite the harsh looks he was receiving from the crowd Lupin looked relaxed as the lights dimmed and a projector began to run.

"Thank you for that introduction General Morton," Lupin bowed his head to the general. "So almost all of you have finished your activation and are feeling very strong, yes?"

There was a murmur of agreement through the crowd. No one had really had a chance to do anything to really test how much they had changed but the little things were already apparent.

"I want to start by telling you a little story. One of the first tankmen that we managed to activate in Germany was a fellow by the name of Wolfgang. Now Wolfgang completed his activation just like you men and a week later he was feeling better than he ever had in his life. They were changing an engine out of a truck that day so he decided to make himself useful, and to show off a bit, by lifting up the engine without a hoist or anything. This is the aftermath," The slide behind Lupin changed to show a man laying on a table. His head was a bloody mess and his arms both appeared to have been badly broken. "The strain of lifting the motor over his head caused the bones in both of his forearms to simultaneously break, which in turn resulted in the motor falling on his head and fracturing his skull. He spent the next few weeks in a coma until it became clear that he would never recover. So you are wondering now, how did that happen? Until a full month after the activation is complete all tankmen are in a state of flux called the maturation period. During this period you may notice sudden fluctuations in your durability, strength and endurance. My advice is to be certain avoid any physical activity beyond what you would have attempted before your activation during the next two weeks and to still remain cautious for the remainder of the maturation period. Do not even think about using your halo outside of training exercises as it can be even more unstable."

Looking at the body in the photo was a sobering experience for Patrick at least. So far all they knew was that the Germans had been able to use their tankmen very effectively. Seeing that they could still die to some stupid thing like that took some of the wind out of everyone's sails.

"My second word of warning is that even when the maturation period is over none of you tankmen will be able to fight a Battleship one on one. We are not certain of the numbers we will need just yet but once you are in the field remain aware of your surroundings and do not engage unless they are utterly outnumbered."

"I'll add something on to that," Stanley stood up and swapped places with Lupin. "We are going to be outnumbered by the Germans for a while even after all of you are ready for combat. So we will be playing this smart. Wherever the Battleships are, you will be somewhere else until we are certain that the odds are in our favour. I would advise all of you who are not used to hiking to get ready for it."

Patrick had heard stories about some of the commando units that they had running around even if he had never met any of them. That sounded a lot like what they were going to be doing. Looking for soft targets, hitting the Germans then falling back before they came under fire. It was a riskier kind of war than Patrick was used to but he could see how it would be an advantage considering their new abilities.

"Indeed General. Though it is not all gloomy. We do have a Battleship with us right here," Lupin gestured towards Patrick, bringing everyone's eyes towards him. "He might not look it but in a month he will be running circles around all of us."

"The way to look at it is that even though we are calling you all tankmen you should still think of yourself as infantry. Very well equipped infantry but the point remains. Now O'Connor here is going to be the artillery. Your job is to keep the enemy off him so that he can kill the enemy before they kill you."

Smiling weakly Patrick waved to the rest of the guys. This was a lot of pressure to have foisted on him all of the sudden. Though the metaphor was welcome. Who did not love artillery, at least when it was not being fired at you? At least now he knew why he was not as large as the other guys. It was just a matter of time.

The presentation carried on in a much less dire fashion. Lupin must have decided to load all of the shocking stuff at the front to get their attention. He and the General took turns speaking, with Lupin telling them mostly about how their abilities worked and Stanley talking about how they would be put to use. Patrick noticed that for as many things that Lupin told them what he knew there were twice as many that he admitted that no one knew. They all really were together in the dark on this. Between all the little details, land speeds and distortion halos, Patrick did recover some of his confidence. American success had come in great part from facing the unknown so far as he understood it. Just like those who had come before him he would face this challenge and overcome it.