In some areas mine and Wolf's vision of what would become of Germany on the Warhammer World differ. This is part of my vision, as two later parts are very much part of Wolf´s vision. We are both aware that this part should have been prepared through the years, with dissatisfaction of Germans with current party politics, the bubble our current government lives in (you have to look really far back to find an equally inept government like the current Scholz traffic light coalition) and a new constitution. I was unable to write these parts as I had other obligations, and it was not a part of the story Wolf wanted to write.
Stadtschloss (City Palace) Berlin, Germany 2584 IC
The City Palace had been used by the Prussian monarchs and the German Emperors until 1918 when Wilhelm II had to abdicate. It had been bombed, burned, and destroyed during WW2 and the East German government had erected a rather ugly "Palace of the Republic" which had promptly been called "Erich's Lampenladen" (Erich Honecker's lamp shop)
The latter had been demolished for asbestos contamination after the reunification and a new City Palace had been built in its place. There were few places that could symbolize German history better than this one.
What better location for the ceremony taking place here? The first coronation in more than two centuries on German soil. It had taken time, more than half a century, for the Kaiserlichen to gain a majority for this, but it had finally happened. The changed situation on Warhammer and too many politically appointed Federal President actors rather than persons filling the position grace- and successfully in a short time helped them.
The Kaiserlichen even got the Freisinnigen on their course with hammering home that unless you made excessive and expensive representation, like often in Britain for example, then a monarchy was saving money as the Netherlands, Japan or Sweden showed. Besides it was clear that a halfway capable monarch kept the people better together than a President, who was more put into place by politicians than anything else.
So now the Federal President was replaced by a Kaiser/Kaiserin again, making Germany a parliamentary and constitutional monarchy. It did not change all that much, which had helped the Kaiserlichen party to finally push it through like this. The new Emperor/Empress had several veto powers which exceeded those of the Federal President a bit, like formal Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but it was clearly intended to be a system where the monarch's influence was higher the less he/she used these powers.
And the coming monarch was quite aware of this, having been partly raised for this since it was determined that Germany would return to being a monarchy. Luise Stefania was the firstborn of the current House leader of the Hohenzollern family and as such would become the new Empress. She knew what that meant. Not only the standing and all that came with that post, but also the pressure and expectations of so many people. More than once she had joked that she would soon be Germany´s highest-ranking notary with the expectations of the German national football coach on her.
The Castle´s main hall was filled to capacity and then some with guests. Among the spectators in the crowd were Kaiserlichen politicians Markus Ruhdorfer and Sonja Krieger with their families. Both were not the biggest advocates of a parliamentary monarchy, but content with it. It was certainly a better solution than the string of party politics appointed Federal Presidents, where only a handful had the gravitas to do justice to the position.
And the two would not miss the coronation for another reason.
Among the invited guests were some politicians from the Greens, like Robert Habeck, who had spoken against the first proposal to return to a monarchy. Observing him and his dogmatic cronies squirming was nearly more fun than the ceremony itself for them.
The coronation was a mixture of old and modern parts, painstakingly put together to show that tradition could fit well with modern ideas. While the first part of the event was full of tradition, the feast following it was much more modern set.
Even in the first part modern times played a role. Beside the throne, on red velvet pillows, two crowns were resting. One was the Nuremberg replica of the Imperial Octogon Crown, made for the Coronation of Otto the Great in) 962 CE, representing the German Empire of Old. The other was the modernised Kaiserkrone (Emperor´s Crown) of the 1871 German Empire. Said 1871 Crown was already made with the Changing of the Times in mind, while it, also octagonal in form as its predecessor, had featured heavily on seals, standards, money and architecture, it existed in model form only. Never had there been a will to make a real example during the existence of the Second Empire and the sole model was lost during the last days of World War 2.
Since the Kaiserkrone had been intended more as an inspiration for what it stood for even by their designers in the 19th century, this theme had been picked up during the decade long preparations for the coronation of Luise I. The Kaiserkrone was a hologram! And while national symbols like the Brown Eagle, Black-Red-Gold or the Iron Cross featured heavily in the artwork, the 8 sides of the crown showed representations of Germany. Her people, landscape, Industry, Science, Laws, Armed Forces, Arts and Civics.
Apartment, Berlin, Germany 2595 IC
The diet coke was chilled to perfection, with a small layer of hoarfrost to the glass's rim, a single mint leaf floating on the fizzing surface. It was precisely in the middle of a glass dish. It was put on the table besides Donald Trevayne's armchair without causing a single ripple or droplet besides condensation.
The hand that placed it there so adroitly was porcelain-white with gold trim, belonging to a slender humanoid robot. Its voice was a melodious, genderless tenor.
"Will there be anything else Sir?"
"No, thank you Jeeves-01, that will be all for now."
"Very well Sir."
Donald Trevayne forced himself to drink at least half the glass in several deep gulps. He had to remind himself to keep himself hydrated these days, his thirst no longer a useful measuring stick.
Pulling his duvet back across his legs he went back to his tablet, time to check what the AI had made of his suggestions and the new data. He had sold his think tank a decade ago, but his blog still had many interested readers.
And it seemed like the AI had come through this time.
"The Gates to the Temple of Janus are closed…for now
The old Romans knew Janus, the double-headed god of boundaries and beginnings. The gates of the temple were called the Gates of War. They were open when Rome was at war and closed when it was at peace. The latter was hard to come by, as Rome was engaged in some manner of warfare during most of its existence.
Were the plaza before the Reichstag to have such a temple its gates would be closed for now, for the first time in the Reiksbund's existence. And not just closed as the Reiksbund is not fighting somewhere on this world, but major warfare on this world has ceased.
Be it as conflicted minorities have an opportunity to leave the Warhammer World to found a realm of their own devising, be it that raw materials and energy are no longer commodities to fight for or be it as the Reiksbund really frowns on it: There is no large, organized bloodshed on this world, a first since time immemorial.
What brought us to this laudable state?
The Army of Light reached its goals in Kislev five years ago, stopping at the Pi 3.156 line and fortified it ever since. The Warpstone contamination in the liberated areas has been cleared to a remarkable degree. The latter considerably reduced the ability of the more ethereal Chaos demons to act in the mundane world.
The Army of Light's fortifications have been tested several times, most recently in 2592, and have repulsed the attacks with ease. We have not seen an attack since then. Given that we have not seen a single sign of the Chaos Forces gaining better technology it is extremely unlikely that they will pose a threat in the foreseeable future.
The fighting between the forces of the Greater Mughal, the Nipponese Empire, and Cathay in the tri-border area of Kuresh have come to an end after a year of skirmishes and occasional artillery strikes.
The Reiksbund has brokered a definitive border between the areas of the Hinterland of Kuresh between the three powers. They had cooperated well enough during their campaign in the 2580s to occupy the area, but inaccuracies about a glacier in the tri-border area led to occasional outbursts of fighting.
The Reiksbund used its aid in the negotiations to assure the autonomous zones for the Beastmen and the Naga. Manfred von Carstein tried to promote a treaty similar to the one that binds the Children of the Night to the Naga, but to no avail. Currently the Naga live in hermit kingdoms while the surviving Beastmen have learned better than to attack humans by now.
The Slann's control of Lustria is undisputed, the enclaves of the Reiksbund and Asur not withstanding. They still face challenges to matter economically in the post-scarcity world and the Skinks still fight for greater influence, but none of that has caused external or internal armed strife.
Naggaroth and Ulthuan cautiously watch each other, but neither sees any advantage in opening hostilities. That Haitabu, Free Harbor and Reiksbund naval base in the place formerly known as Karond Kar is directly between the potential warring parties certainly helps matters.
The Old World is at peace for nearly a decade now. There are several reasons for that, but the most important are that the Reiksbund is absolutely essential to the region's economy. Threatening sanctions usually cools tempers considerably.
Then there is the simple fact that warfare no longer makes economic sense. Tobaro, Miragliano, and all of Tilea learned about that in 2582-89 when they fought over the Siren Islands. Both city states roped in lesser allies into their war and fought on and off for seven years. In the end Miragliano gave up on their claim, but paid no reparations. Both parties had to spend every single Mark they owned, could borrow or sell something for to buy the weapons they could not make themselves. Tobaro was and to a lesser extent is so deep in debt from that war that it never recovered its elevated position. The islands generated very little income at first. Now that they contain a large natural habitat for Sirens at Reiksbund insistence it does not do so at all. The war and its results have been quite instructive to Tilea.
As the Dawi have now regained the last of their Karaks their pressure on the Greenskin Autonomous Zones has decreased. The Reiksbund could recall the last Peacekeepers in 2590. Both face economic pressures as their manufacturing capabilities on the low and high end of the quality spectrum are less needed with every day.
Any Dawi desire for large-scale balancing of the Book of Grudges with the Goblins is further curbed by internal strife between the older and younger generation of Dawi. The abolition of the Gold Standard is a hotly contested subject, as is the question if Dawi should be spacefaring at all. Only that this is a problem inside every clan has kept these debates from reaching the point of open warfare.
The Goblins know how outclassed they are and also know that annoying the Reiksbund would probably remove their protection.
The Orc clans have taken to tournaments now that their numbers have dropped so low. This is not the result of conscious decisions, but one of the most brutal examples of evolution in action. It is not the strongest who survive, but the best adapted after all…
The two Bretonnias are at peace for now. The Cult of Mary has curbed the excesses of the considerably and promoted the serfs being content with their station, which reduced the internal pressures considerably. Given the bloodletting the knightly classes suffered during the three Wars of Succession a massive societal rearrangement seems inevitable during the next decade though.
So are we entering a new era of peace for all? I doubt it. The Great Maharishi has publicly stated that the Greater Mughal will fight for its place in the sun. The Kingdoms of Ind feel they lost out when Cathay and even more Nippon modernized with Reiksbund help while they remained a backwater. It is also possible that the Maharashi will try to use external strife to fight the centrifugal forces straining his newly unified Empire.
The Dawi have extremely long memories and hold even longer grudges, it remains to be seen if that leads to war.
We really do not know what lurks in the depths of the Northern Chaos Gate and the Southern Chaos Desert is mostly unknown.
But for now the Gates to the Temple of Janus are closed, there is hardly a greater accomplishment to be gained."
Yes, that would do.
Porsche HQ/main factory, Stuttgart, 2596 IC
It was considered a running gag by the Porsche employees that to reach the Porsche Space technology center one had to go underground! Porsche´s main factory had been in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen for one and a half centuries and several circumstances had left the corporation just the solution to expand downwards in this case.
It was immediately obvious to the casual observer how and why the premium car producer had expanded into Space tech, but they did have reason, if you looked for it.
Near the end of the 26th century Porsche was not only a producer of cars and a design bureau, it was also one of Germany´s major armament, racing vehicle, engine, and tool maker. Space and the warpgate net was the obvious next frontier.
And here is a special soundtrack for Jotun, see what your comments about Altdorf's adventures before Kaman Sala bring...
Naval Academy, Salzenmund, the Empire 2610 IC
The seagull was prone to shit in flight like all of its kind. The acidic white mass flew for a dozen meters before it hit the sword's edge. The latter was not particularly hard to do as it was made of concrete, had an "edge" measured in centimeters across and several meters long.
It had no time to settle in the pores though, a small drone approached the offending piece of shit, sprayed, brushed, and polished until it was gone.
The drone flew off to restock its cleaning tank, leaving the 25-meter statue alone for now. It was at the end of the naval basin's northern breakwater, greeting all ships with the sight of a huge man holding his sword high above his shoulder for the Meisterhau.
The navy that had commissioned the statue and the artist who had designed it had been clever enough to wait for the passing of the statue's subject. Anybody who had known Henrik Gerber at all swore that he would have personally demolished the edifice if he had seen it.
If Gerber would have seen anything as his legacy, as something to be proud of, it was the foundations of the modern Imperial Navy he had helped lay down. Not only the structures and doctrines of a new navy, but also a set of ethics suited for the new world that his adopted nation helped to build.
And while the Germans were want to finance the Allstreitkräfte, protecting humanity among the stars, the Imperial Navy had taken up the role of defending the freedom of the seas on the Warhammer World. It was the undisputed king of the high seas, making sure that the trade that kept this world ticking was unmolested and kept petty tyrants at bay.
And woe betide anybody at sea who had anything to do with human trafficking or breathed the word slavery. That was a legacy that Henrik Gerber had been justly proud of. And the introduction of Lichtenauer as the fencing style of the Imperial Navy, of course.
Exploratory Cruiser Emden, Close to Kopernikus Station, Christmas 2614 IC
"Clunk"
The sound ran through the cruiser's structure, and was heard by all beings on board, none better than Captain von Mücke. Those that breathed did so a lot easier now that the ship had docked to an automatic tug that would pull them into their berthing dock on the huge space station.
The ship had been out for too long by anybody's standards. Many systems were in dire need of overhaul, others damaged beyond repair or simply missing. Emden's cryo chambers held too many crewmembers frozen to close to absolute zero, so they might have a chance at revival.
Their mission to Bernard had been planned to be a long one anyways, but they had been smack in the way of an Abomination swarm that entered the system from the local Oort Cloud. They had aided the defence of the system as well as a less-than-well armed exploratory cruiser could. Together with a couple of drones and stations they had held the line until a suitable task force had come through the Star Gate. That had ended the threat, but not before Emden had been tasked with evacuating a scientific outpost. They had held station too long, downloading two AIs, and an Abomination swarm had made them pay for it. The Abominations were now finely distributed gas, but Emden lacked one fusion thruster, a ton of sensors, two coilguns, and worst of all too many crew members.
Time for a long, well-earned rest and what better day to arrive home than Christmas.
Ice Freighter Jacub C. General, on course to O`Neil Station New Verda 2624
When Jacub's propellant/payload tanks were full of water, as they were now, she would accelerate like a lethargic sloth. Given that every cubic meter of ice spent on propulsion was one less to sell her course included no less than two planetary fly-bys and would end in an aero-braking manoeuvre at Verda. It also meant that the mission would be a long one. The ice freighter's crew spent the time doing preventive maintenance, repairing systems that should have been replaced a long time ago and screwing their virtual partners in their VR rigs.
Johann Halter took another sip of something that pretended to be coffee and grimaced. When he was done with that he checked if Jacub, the ship's AI, had compiled the reports in such a way that would not upset the captain, Verda's authorities, and his company any more than necessary.
He was still debating if he really needed to mix the water from two tanks to achieve an acceptable mineral content in both when an icon blinked on his monitor. The ship's AI was asking for his attention.
"Yes, Jacub, what is it?"
"We have a message from the freighter Scopuli. Mrs. Mao asks if your date on Verda station is still on?"
"Please repeat "Oh yes, it is" Jacub and search for what flowers would be appropriate and which I could order in advance."
And with that the light in Johann's room seemed to be that much brighter.
