Chapter 1: Violating the Treaty at Versailles

"Excuse me, sir, but isn't what we're doing here illegal?" The young soldier asked, yelling to be heard over to noise produced in the factory below.

"Of course not. We are in Greenland, not Germany; we are not obliged to follow the Treaty of Versailles here." The General said, matching the soldier's volume. He turned to the soldier as he adjusted his mark-less leather coat. He smiled to himself as he lit a cigar he'd pulled from an inner pocket.

"Even so, what good does it do us to build all this here? I mean to say, how will we transport everything back to Germany without the Darwinists discovering us? We may not be violating the treaty here, but the moment we return we will be." The soldier asked, wearing similar, mark-less, clothing. To this the General laughed,

"We aren't delivering any of this to Germany." He turned to the young soldier, a sly smile spread across his face, "We're delivering them to the Darwinists." He said, laughing at the confused expression of the soldier's face. "Everything and anything needed to defend Germany is being produced in former Prussia and Denmark." He explained.

"I still don't understand what good it will do us to produce these here. It will take days to reach the nearest Darwinists, and all of their ports are protected. We cannot get a single ship past Iceland without being searched by the British. We'll get found out if we even attempt to ship anything to Europe."

"Well we aren't shipping these to Europe as-is. We are hiding them onto supply ships from Canada to Britain."

"Wouldn't it be suspicious for there to be so many pieces of Clanker tech on a Canadian ship bound for Darwinist territory?"

"No, not at all. Much of the supplies on the ship are from the United States, not Canada. Britain is interested in certain technologies the United States has access to. Many of which are indistinguishable from that of our own."

"Won't it be suspicious that there's more of it than is on the manifest? I think I'd find it strange if there was a lot of cargo that wasn't originally intended to be there."

"You're very sharp, young man, but you do not think things through as you should. We are not attacking from within Britain, that would be far too risky. Instead, we're attacking from Ireland. They aren't Clankers, granted, but they are on bad terms with the British, and we've promised them all of Northern Ireland and the means for them t form a proper military. Ah, so you've arrived." The General said, looking to the newly arrived man. He was dressed in gray wool, with markings identifying him as a ship's captain.

"I see you've been keeping this young man informed as to our plans." The man pointed out, speaking in Icelandic, unlike the others who'd been speaking in German. He pulled down a scarf that had been covering his mouth and pulled up a pair of tinted goggles to reveal his blue-gray eyes. "Lets get out of this noisy place so we can discuss the details of this next shipment." He gestured towards a stairwell that lead to an external door.

"Let's." The General agreed, speaking in Icelandic as well. He cut off the lit end of his cigar and returned the rest to the inner pocket he' taken it from. "I hope you don't me slipping out to talk with my friend." He said, switching back to German for the soldier's sake.

"No, sir, I do not." The soldier said, snapping into a salute.

"Stand easy soldier, we aren't military, remember?" The General joked, already walking towards the stairwell. "Let's discuss this in the war room."The General said to the captain, switching back into Icelandic. He walked up the stairs and stopped at the top to prepare for the outside. The two exited quickly, making sure the steel door was firmly shut before continuing. The took hold of a guide line and followed it to another steel door. Behind this was another steel door with a combination lock keeping it shut.

"Why all the security? Even after Adolf announces the re-armament of Germany, we'll still be in the clear." The Captain asked, as his friend worked at the lock.

"Well we may not be violating the treaty in our being here, but," There was an audible click and he threw open the heavy steel door, "We are doing more than produce weapons for the coming war." He said, showing the Captain into the room. It was filled with every chart of half the world imaginable. On the far wall was the largest chart, it nearly covered the wall from floor to ceiling, and it had every detail of the North Atlantic; from shipping lanes to sites where ships had sunk. "We are the command hub for the entire North Atlantic Fleet. These maps detail our attack plans and strategies for the coming war." He gestured to a smaller map to the right of the larger; smaller but still massive. "This details our plan to conquer Europe."

"What about this map? I thought the United States was neutral." The Captain said, pointing to a map of North America.

"For now, but we know already that by the end of this war, they will be at war with us. That map is a contingency plan, of course, and will be updated as the war continues."

"What are these symbols? They're everywhere, even here." He said pointing to the position of their base on the map.

"They mark our factories." He had to stifle a laugh at his friend's expression, "You thought we were only producing materials for a war in Europe? No, we have been building since the collapse of the stock market in 1929."

"How do you fund this? The Deutschmark is worthless, and any amount of money that could fund these factories would be extremely suspicious."

"True, but we are not funded by our government. All factories are funded locally with the currency of the local government. They don't know it, but half the world is financing our war. An English spy would love to show these maps and charts off to the Prime Minister of Britain, eh?"

"I'd imagine so." The Captain said, examining the map of the North Atlantic closely. There was an audible click behind him, and he turned slowly, only to see the General pointing a black pistol at him.

"Your Icelandic is very good, friend, but I am no idiot." He said in English.

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag, so-to-speak. What gave me away, Wilhelm?" He asked raising his arms. Wilhelm smiled, and fired three shots. The noise echoed in the sound-proof room for a minute. It was then that the spy realized eh wasn't dead. There was blood oozing out of a hole in his coat, but not his blood, it was the blood of a messenger lizard he'd been carrying.

"You're very good at what you do, Mr. Sharp, but I am afraid you have forgotten one very important detail."

"And what would that be?"

"Darwinists use beasts to spy, lizards at that. The coat you use to keep it warm wouldn't have done it, but your lizard is a restless creature. I saw it moving when we entered this room." He turned the gun to the man's face, "You wanted to see the secrets we have on the ice? Don't worry, you will, but the secrets you see are of no use to your government. Unfortunately, for you at least, what will be learned will only do us good." He said, backing up to press the alarm. He turned to press the button, and Dylan took his chance. He threw a knife he'd concealed in his sleeve. It made it's mark, the Wilhelm's left leg. He called out and dropped to the floor, clutching the wound. He dropped the pistol in as he fell, and Dylan rushed forward and retrieved the pistol.

He turned the pistol on the man, "Don't move!" He called, gripping the pistol tightly. The heavy metal pistol felt wrong to the Darwinist, but he held it steady, that is, until the door burst open. Dylan found himself facing down two German soldiers, both pointing MP-32 sub-machine guns. He glanced at Wilhelm, he'd pressed the alarm button without him knowing it and now he was trapped.

"Throw down sie gun und put your hands up!" On of the soldiers yelled in appalling English. He pointed the gun at their general.

"I'll shoot!" He yelled, hoping it would deter the men. They simply laughed at this. "I said I'd shoot him!" He yelled, thinking they didn't hear properly.

"Was then? All that will mean ist we will have ein new General." Said the same soldier in his horrible English. He was right, however, if he killed him he'd be dead. He stared at the gun for a moment and dropped it.

"Do your worst." He said, holding his hands in the air. He turned to the two, and was immediately hit with the butt of their a rifle.

"Take this British scum to Doctor Klein. She'll be happy to have a new..." Was all he heard before passing out.

Dylan woke some time later in a brightly lit room, strapped into an uncomfortable chair. He tried to look around, only to find his head stuck facing forward.

"Don't move. You don't want me to damage your pretty little brain, now would you?" Said a feminine voice behind him, speaking in near perfect English.

"Where am I? What are you doing to me?" He asked, looking around as much as he could without moving.

"Would you ever betray your country?" Asked the voice.

"Never. I would sooner die." He said defiantly.

"Good!"

"What? What's good?"

"If you would, what I'm doing would be entirely redundant."

"What are you doing to me?"

"I am installing this," She held a small mechanical device in front of him for a moment, "It will ensure that you do betray your country."

"How will it do that?" He asked, only to be answered by laughter. He was about to ask again when he felt a prick in his neck and passed out once more.

"Were you successful in implanting the device." Asked a stern male voice.

"Completely! He should follow orders like a well trained dog now." Said the same female voice from earlier.

"It looks like he's waking." Said the man.

"Good! Get up my little pet!" Called the women, and Dylan immediately opened his eyes. He was faced by a tall women with short blonde hair and green eyes, wearing a mask over her mouth, and a man, a good inch taller than the women, wearing a jet-black leather coat with military markings he didn't recognize.

"W-what did you do to me? Where am I?" He asked groggily. He could see the room he was in. It was a small cell, white-washed walls, tiled floor, smelling of chemicals. "Wait? What's going on? Why am I speaking Clanker?" He asked, suddenly wide awake.

"Why is that Doctor?" Asked the man. The women shrugged,

"Must be a side-effect. Maybe the information being fed in German has caused his brain to start processing information in German." The woman guessed. To which the man smiled,

"Speak English dog!" He ordered.

"What makes you think I... What? I'm speaking English?" He said, astonished by what had happened. The man turned to the woman and held out his hand,

"Seems to be a success. I look forward to seeing what else you can get him to do, Doctor Klein." The women shook his hand and nodded,

"He'll be killing Darwinists in no time." Dr. Klein said, glancing at Dylan.