Tension was in the air. Clearly the humanoid beings in front of us were suspicious of us. Yet they were open to diplomacy, which is an incredible thing. Was there a chance that most of the beings who lived here were actually reasonable people?
"We are not the empire you are referring to. A few kilometers from here, following the tunnel. A door opened. We came from that door" I said, I had to keep misunderstandings out.
The dwarf looked at me skeptically, I noticed that his heavy ax had strange glowing patterns, his impeccable armor was not spared from offering such features either.
"You look human enough" he breathed, almost calmly. Immediately afterwards I noticed how the formation of small humanoid beings relaxed and many of them started talking to each other.
"Would you care to discuss in a more civilized situation with your leader? without the tension of having two armies facing each other?" I asked, hoping for a positive response. The one in front of me retreated back to his position and argued with other people, speaking loudly but in a language totally alien to us. When everyone seemed to come to an agreement he turned to me.
"We will let you go in to speak directly to the King. But you are forbidden to carry any weapons of any kind."
I didn't like the sound of that, I didn't know their culture, it could very well be a trap to turn me into steaks and eat me. How to trust people I don't know how they work. The only thing worse than an enemy is an enemy you don't know.
"And how can I trust that my safety will be guaranteed. How can I know you won't kill me once I enter the gate?"
The dwarf looked angry, I hope this doesnt turn in a big problem.
"We are not greenskins or skavens, we will not kill any guest as long as they do not attack us".
And what guarantees do I have, I need guarantees dammit. I mentally shouted.
"Guarantees, what guarantees do I have of that? You are the second, or well. First civilization we've encountered, we don't know anything about you. How can we be sure that what you say is true?"
I was too close to crossing red lines it seemed. But if I was going in I wanted 203 with me at least. It doesn't matter how powerful their armour is. The penetration spells should kill them if not the artillery spells, the shockwave would destroy their organs.
The man began to speak in an unknown language again with his people. I waited patiently for them to make up their minds and then he looked at me, a look of displeasure in his eyes.
"We will allow you to enter with your personal escort, nothing else is negotiable".
203 is my escort. A mouth-to-mouth grin filled my face.
"203, come down from your ambush positions here with me, we're going in" I said in a communication spell.
Slowly the 203rd slowly descended catching the men off guard who seemed to look up in astonishment.
"These are my escort. Can I get through with them?"
The dwarf looked around with an annoyed look on his face, turned around and the soldiers stepped out of their formation to generate some sort of corridor to the inside.
"I assume that's an invitation, come on guys. If any of you shoot without them attacking us I will personally cut your balls off with my bare hands."
Discipline had to be maintained. And until they gave me results I had to threaten them.
Taking out my frustration with 203 I was happy for the first time to do a job befitting my position. A diplomatic mission! This was where I could show my worth. They would stop sending me to dangerous areas if I proved my diplomatic skills by making alliances in the new world. Like the Spanish in America. The best way to destroy the natives is to ally yourself with natives who hate those natives. The Spanish built an empire that lasted 300 years this way. Ours will last longer!
We began to move slowly forward, as the corridor grew larger and larger, an incredibly large open space appeared before me. Carved perfectly, chiselled by the hand of the gods if I had to buy it with anything. It was an incredible area.
"This place is incredible," Visha said as she moved me across the perfectly paved floor.
"Yes, it is. I appreciate modern cities but this place is amazing for sure".
Minutes of walking paid off when we arrived at a highly decorated area, with a table and several chairs. It was decorated with gold and precious stones. Showing a wealth worthy of ancient times.
The odd man's officer motioned for us to sit down. Which is a bit insulting considering I'm in a wheelchair. But I don't think he understood that part either, so I just sat there while Visha sat in one of the chairs.
The 203 formed behind us, guarding in case we were betrayed. On the other side a door opened, revealing a man who was even ROUGHER than the rude people we had seen before entering. He had a glorious beard with five braids, a feathered helmet and a moustache that would be the envy of any Imperial officer.
The man moved forward to sit at the other side of the table. He looked at us with tired eyes and seemed melancholy. Was this their leader? He looked... pitiful. Perfect for negotiations.
Next to him was a man with a gigantic grey beard with two braids. An iron helmet with horns, a hammer at his side and finally I noticed that unlike the one who looked like the leader. He was angry. Was he his advisor or his right hand man? In the negotiations I assume he will be the biggest problem.
"What do you humans wish for?" said the leader reluctantly. Raising his hand disdainfully with his palm up.
"We come in search of establishing a friendly relationship with your country and forming an alliance and trade relations" I said starting the conversation, however he shook his head and sighed.
"I speak only for Karak Azul. Not for the Dwarf Empire so you cannot negotiate with me an alliance with the Dwarf Empire" He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Was he unaware of the condition that we had no idea of the logic of this world?
"Then if you don't mind, establish an alliance and trade relations with Karak Azul."
The leader seemed to look me in the eye. "Tell me child, I thought the Empire was already allied with the dwarves. Furthermore, what are you humans doing so low? How did you get through the Greenskins and the Skavens?"
Oh dear, I'll have to explain it all over again.
"My country is the Empire. A nation of over 100 million proud inhabitants, we come from a different land than yours. A gateway created by rat men connected both of our worlds and now we are exploring. This is how we have found you. Despite my age. I am qualified for this work and therefore I am fully capable of representing my nation"
This statement did not seem to surprise him in the least. And he touched his glorious beard slowly.
"How powerful is your nation?"
I got him, a military demonstration to underdeveloped people was the best way to show that they should beware of us. WE WOULD TAKE AWAY THE IDEA OF BETRAYING US with one round from our machine guns. Perfect.
"Our power lies in our glorious magic, our great army and our advanced technology. I can show you a real test fire of our weapons if you go outside. Where a tiny part of my army awaits."
The one who looked like the right hand man interjected into the conversation by slapping a hand on the table.
"Whatever you have invented is probably worse than dwarven weapons, no need to waste time on a demonstration."
The leader seemed convinced enough of that statement. I had to change his mind quickly if I didn't want to lose this opportunity. I drew my pistol and fired into the sky. Putting all the dwarf guards on alert.
"8 shots without reloading, and this is the weakest of our weapons. Can any of your weapons fire 8 shots in a row?"
A risky move, but I had to get their attention no matter what.
The leader didn't order to kill me as a first reaction. Which was a good thing. Instead, he went back to scrunching his glorious beard and started to think.
"I will attend your exhibition, if you show enough reliability, I will give you under what conditions I will agree to negotiate what you ask for".
A stupid grin filled my face. Victory! Victory! Victory! I would dance if it wasn't for the fact that I'm in a wheelchair and in front of people.
—--
The dwarf leader, as I found out their name, waited at the door next to some guys with super heavy armor and hammers bigger than themselves.
In the meantime the stage was set. First I would expose our best infantry weapon. The MG-20, a machine gun that fired 1500 rounds per minute. The best machine gun in our world. It would definitely surprise them. The operator would be Visha herself to avoid problems. Next to her a new recruit named Grantz was holding the bullets of the magazine.
"Fire!"
Visha began firing a few test shots, small bursts; however she had already caught the attention of the dwarf leader who approached with his guard to see the weapon.
"Viktoriya, give it all you've got."
I noticed how Visha activated a magic reinforcement spell and pulled the trigger without releasing it. A chainsaw-like sound rang throughout the tunnel, I felt the vibrations in my own wheelchair. 2000 shots in less than 2 minutes were fired in front of the surprised dwarf leader.
"May I formally ask your title?" I asked, taking advantage of his confusion, and he replied without complaint.
"King Kazador"
I nodded, so monarchy. It was easier to deal with monarchies if you could surprise their ruler enough.
"Well King Kazador. What do you think of this weapon?"
He approached the MG-20, Visha and Grantz stepped back preemptively. He grabbed it with his bare hands and looked at it closely.
"How many of these things do you have?"
"Hundreds of thousands."
I was sure he had swallowed a spittle. He was surprised. Very surprised. I have to exploit his state to convince him even more.
"Do you want to try the gun personally?"
He looked at the gun personally and then put it in place.
"Yes, I would like to try the gun."
I nodded and instructed Visha to reload the machine gun. In a matter of seconds it was reloaded. The dwarf to my surprise took the weapon in his arms and pointed it towards one side of the tunnel, where in the darkness the end was lost. And he began to fire without flinching or moving. His strength was superhuman. Definitely.
"This is an incredible weapon."
Good.
"If you liked this one, I hope you'll love the next two."
We had been given several Panzer IIs for the expedition for scouting missions. It gave incredible results according to the reports as no one was able to penetrate its armour. Which was a great relief to the crews who found themselves surrounded by rats more often than they would have liked.
"This vehicle, it moves by itself." I had to explain these things to technologically inferior civilisations, I didn't want to cause trouble.
"It has armour that can withstand almost any kind of punishment that can be offered, and it has a cannon and several machine guns on top of it".
Visha approached the tank and tapped the turret. The tank began to move in circles, forwards, backwards to show its ability to move, then returned to firing into the darkness with the cannon and machine guns.
Finally two artillery pieces were deployed, 20 rounds were fired in front of the Dwarf King.
"Well, what do you think about King Kazador? Do you like what you see? Do you think we are worthy?"
"You are worthy. That is why here I promise by my ancestors that if you fulfill this mission we will initiate friendly relations, and alliance. And you will receive a quarter of my treasure if your men fulfill this mission."
Mission?
I looked at the 203 behind me. You bastards are going to have fun, I'm going to send you without hesitation.
203 felt the real terror.
"Tell me what mission needs to be done."
The dwarf became almost euphoric for seconds, showing great anticipation. Like a father going to see his son.
"My family and my people were captured by greenskins long ago. They've been lying slaves under those damned greenskins ever since."
Greenskins. I don't know what they are, but I can't turn back now. The Dwarfs look like a society that takes honor and word seriously. I can't back down even if it means pissing off another civilisation. Though my gut feeling tells me they'll be like the rat men.
"Bring me my people and family alive, if not at least bring me their corpses for a decent burial. Lastly, bring me the head of the orc leader. Gorfang Rotgut."
He seemed euphoric and angry, yet he was a leader who respected his human resources and would want them back. I think I understand their society a bit. They would definitely be great allies.
"It will be done, Great King Kazador of Karak Azul."
—--
Pov Viktoriya Serebryakov.
Some dwarves accompanied us to the base of our new enemy. According to them Karak Drazh (Black Rock) once belonged to them but during the collapse of their empire it fell to the orcs. They seemed very excited talking about how they would one day cross such infamy out of a book or something. I honestly stopped paying attention when I saw a three-foot spider pass by us.
"Degurechaff is scary" Weiss said wearily beside me, they had been without sleep or rest for 72 hours after Tanya used military police officers to torture them for 72 hours as punishment for using artillery so close to a VIP.
"Believe me, it could have been worse, she wanted to cut your balls off personally."
All the men in 203 put their hands on their balls and made a pained face. I honestly didn't know if the rumors were true that a kick in the balls hurt so much. I had never had the opportunity to kick a man in the balls before. I doubt it hurts any more than being hit by a shovel.
"Well, the dwarves promised beer after the mission, so I'm happy with that, really. I want to eat something good and drink well. I'm tired of military rations and potatoes" Neumann said next to me with his hands on his head. He was striking a rather funny pose for his corpulent body.
"By the way" Koenig said behind me, standing next to me between Weiss and me.
"How is Degurechaff? I heard her injuries were serious."
I shook my head, "They were, not anymore. She'll heal in a week and then she'll be well enough to walk again. What's the matter Koenig? Do you want her to step on your with her feet at the next punishment? We all know what you ask of prostitutes. To think you'd be a masochistic degenerate."
Koenig shook his head, "I'm a masochist but I don't like childs, I like big tits and big asses, not a child body" He said making the gesture of a bust on his chest. Everyone laughed as we walked along. All 203 of us walked around carefree, joking with each other. It went on for hours until the dwarves stopped us.
"We leave you here, up ahead is the greenskin base" One of the dwarves before leaving touched my arm.
"Good luck"
With that he withdrew.
"Alright guys, prepare weapons, ammunition, magic orbs. We're going on an infiltration mission. We kill their leader, retrieve the lost dwarves and return to drink beer"
They all nodded.
"Right, let's move on."
No one spoke. You couldn't even hear the sound of our advance as we flew just inches above the ground to avoid making noise. We reached an opening, I took out my binoculars and looked. Large boulders were rising up and seemed to have disastrous houses built inside them. Like some kind of building but built by brute children.
"Right, let's move forward in stealth. Concealment magic."
We advanced with spells of illusion that hid us in plain sight. We passed fields and fields full of hideous green giant humanoid creatures until we entered the dwarven fortress. Inside the fortress we continued walking without encountering any problems. However at one point we encountered a different being. It was much smaller. Like a malnourished child... It was like Degurechaff but green and ugly.
If she knew I compared her to that I would be sent to the dungeon.
Anyway... This being looked at our position with astonishment. It had several things on a rope around its neck. A strange staff in his hand and a funny hat.
I pulled out my shovel which I magically enchanted. My beloved shovel called Diplomacy was to be used for the first time in this world.
In one small leap I leapt into position and smashed half his face in with one blow from the blade of the shovel. Killing him before he could warn anyone.
"Let's move on."
It wasn't long before we came across some mines where what looked like dwarves were working. Weiss's group approached and put magic on their bayonets. Hitting the garrison squarely in the head. Killing them instantly.
The dwarves were frightened but I stepped out of my camouflage to calm them down.
"We come to rescue you in the name of King Kazador."
Many of them seemed to calm down when they heard the name of their King. However, I did not know if they were all here. It would be a problem if they were not all here.
"Are you all here? Did someone die?"
A woman with long hair approached me.
"No, we are all of us and nobody died. How do we get away?" she asked with great character. This woman was definitely tough as steel.
"You will learn to fly. Everyone, take one dwarf each and fly out of here as fast as you can. I'll take care of the enemy leader and run off with his head."
They all nodded and began to grab the dwarves by the shoulders. Most of them protested but when their feet did not touch the ground they seemed to pacify themselves somehow.
I readied my machine gun and loaded it with the 50 rounds of enchanted bullets I had prepared for this mission.
"Every bullet counts. Victory or Valhalla"
I took flight and began to fly so fast along the routes that even if they detected me they could do nothing against me. I heard shrill cries all around me from the orcs. They seemed to have just discovered that we had infiltrated their territory.
Within minutes I entered a large room with a giant orc, he was wearing large armor and carrying a sword. He was sitting on a throne and drinking something like beer. He didn't seem concerned about me and was taking me for a joke.
A small laugh came out of my mouth.
I pointed my MG-20 with 50 rounds of armor-piercing ammunition at his chest and fired small bursts of three shots into his chest. Within the first six shots the orc seemed to realize his big mistake for underestimating me and then he seemed to die after I shot 6 more.
Easy. Too easy.
I put away my machine gun and drew my shovel and approached him. I invoked a mage blade spell on my shovel and with one clean cut I severed his head. It fell to the ground dramatically.
I quickly opened my backpack and put the head inside, closing the backpack as best I could but I was caught by surprise by some different orcs, they were wearing large black armor and carrying a gigantic axe in their hands. Without thinking I put the rucksack on my back and with my MG I fired bullets at the enemy guards. Killing them quickly.
"So much armour and you don't last long".
—--
Pov Tanya von Degurechaff
Seeing the whole 203rd fly towards our positions with dwarves was definitely a source of personal pride. My investment had paid off in spades after a bit of a flogging. I think I'll give them a week's holiday for their services. After all, after the stick you had to give the carrot.
Amongst all the 203rd I saw Visha approaching me directly. Her MG-20 on her back and the backpack that looked like it was going to explode. She landed directly in front of me, pulling her backpack off the target and throwing it to the ground, the head rolled to my feet. I looked closely at the face to see how ugly it was. However his ugly head was worth its weight in gold considering this would be the piece for the alliance with the dwarves.
I looked back up and saw King Kazador approach a woman of the rescued dwarves hugging her as tightly as he seemed able.
"Well done Visha."
She bowed her head. "Visha?"
Damn. It came out unintentionally.
"Forget it, take the head and take me to King Kazador."
She with a stupid grin on her face picked up the head and took me to the King, when she got close enough she stopped without me having to tell her to stop. She threw the head which rolled on the ground until the King stopped her with his leg.
"Gather your human Emperor. We have an alliance to sign." he said with a smile of pride and happiness in his face.
—--
Pov Erich von Lehrgen
It had been two days since I sent Tanya von Degurechaff to write a report. Only the constant messages that all was well from the forward base let me sleep peacefully these days. However, when I saw Tanya von Degurechaff come in with 10 truckloads of gold and various treasures to her name and she said it was a gift from some civilization I almost fell down one of the mile-long holes in the tunnels of the surprise.
Clearly I was very interested to know what had happened. So I asked for a full report from Tanya von Degurechaff. I received it on my desk. And what I read made my blood run cold. So I had no choice but to call her in my office.
—--
She was sitting in front of me, looking happy, which made me even angrier.
"Well, after reading the report I only have one question to ask you".
She stopped smiling and became serious, waiting for my question.
"By what authority did you do all this?"
For a second I saw confusion and terror in her eyes but I didn't care. She was now under my control. He had acted outside her jurisdiction and made treaties without my own permission. She has acted against my authority. I could court-martial her if I wanted to.
"I applied my authority as Brigadier General and used the policy of freedom of the officer..."
I cut her off at once with a blow on the table. I could not allow her to form solid arguments. She had questioned my authority as Reichkomissar and that could not be tolerated.
"At what point did I give you the right to organize a diplomatic meeting and declare war against another country?
She seemed no longer to understand the situation. She looked around. She seemed to be trying to see if I had used magic spells to conceal officers as she had done in recruitment of the 203.
Another tap on the table caught her attention. "Look me in the eye, what authority did you have to do all this?"
Her fists were white and I saw sweat forming on her head. "I could send you to the military court right now, do you want that to happen? Tanya von Degurechaff"
She shook her head, closing her mouth and avoiding moving as much as possible.
"Fine, go, don't let this happen again. I will contact the Kaiser in a few hours, you will receive a report when your services are required again."
She got up and left without a word. As the door closed I sat back in my chair and lit a cigarette.
I had to control the demon. And the best way to control her was to use my power as a superior to restrict her movements. I sent her to investigate a door and she came to me with an alliance to sign and with an attack on some beings called green skins. That's all I need. I start a war under my jurisdiction.
I smoked the cigarette as fast as I could and lit another one. Repeating the process again until the third one calmed me down enough, slowly relaxing in my chair.
The General Staff never controlled the demon. They just feed it over and over again. I will put up an impassable wall to her madness.
—--
An hour had passed, in another hour I would have a meeting with the Kaiser and I had to put things in order. Actually Degurechaff's actions were probably the best outcome. However, I have to punish her to keep her under control. If the only thing she respects is authority I will use mine to control her.
I started walking from my dormitory. In a short time we had built buildings. This one where I lived was the officers' building. Where the important ranks lived. The maximum security 24 hours a day. The best of the best.
I walked to the exit when I noticed the room, room number 6. I heard crying on the other side of the door. Soundproofing was not a priority for the builders when they constructed these buildings. So you tended to hear everything. I looked in the door to see who it belonged to.
Tanya von Degurechaff.
Did that demon even know how to cry?
I put my ear to the other side of the door to hear what was going on. However, all I found were sounds of crying, probably trying to be drowned out by a pillow.
I was about to leave when I heard a cry of frustration.
"Why, I don't understand what I did wrong. I did everything right, I achieved all the goals. Why have I been treated like this? Lehrgen is someone competent! Why did all my efforts end up like this! WHY EVERYTHING I DO GOES WRONG!
A smile filled my mouth and I left the door. Continuing on my way.
"The demon looks like it can be tamed".
—--
The Kaiser was reading the document I had given him. He seemed quite pleased with the result.
"I will have to go and negotiate with this Kazador King. They look like an interesting civilization. I'm interested in the report on their iron. Just the thought of getting those resources makes my day," he said as he sipped his tea.
The Kaiser seemed pleased with the outcome. Which made things easier. The main laws for controlling troublesome subjects are the carrot and the stick. That the Kaiser personally liked the results gave me a reason to slightly retract my accusations and threats. Thus marking my authority with her and giving her enough carrot so she doesnt let the intrusive thoughts take control of her.
"I am glad you like the results Kaiser. However the discovery of this new race may imply that there are more civilisations than we have only known about. I request more troops and funding."
Silence filled the room. He looked at the reports and then laid them on the table.
"First the trade treaty with Karak Azul. Then I will see how I can convince the Reichstag to increase funding. They don't particularly like this expedition. They damned shoddy politicians," he said, spitting on it.
—--
POV Tanya von Degurechaff
I don't understand what went wrong. I did everything right, I got allies, I got an incredible amount of resources. I was going to give the treasure personally to the Kaiser to increase my status in the Empire and against all my expectations. Erich von Lehrgen. The person who cared most about me in my career threatened to send me to a court martial.
I tried to think of what I did wrong but I couldn't think of anything. Everything was within the rules. Yet Lehrgen as commanding officer was not so incompetent as to see success and call it failure.
Where did I fail? What did I do wrong? What had happened?
Tears slowly filled my cheeks again.
Why does everything I do go wrong? Or does it backfire? I just earned the enmity of one of the few genuine allies I had and I don't understand what I did wrong. Am I wrong or is he wrong?
And why my body couldn't handle the damn frustration. Why did I had to cry? I'm a man over 40 years old. How the hell do I allow myself to cry?
But no matter how much I kept repeating it in my head I wouldn't stop crying.
"Why does everything I do go wrong?" I said in a sobbing sound of despair.