6200 - Book 2 - Dark Pasts - 3 - Interlude 1

Quisling Quarantine Zone - Planet QQZ-239 - Former Planet Of Bluebird

Privately Registered Vessel - Annabella Lasiodora

November 3rd 03:00 CST

As Ariel Monroe spoke Angela Covado didn’t even notice as she leaned back against the former Singer and sank into her nanno-sheath which slowly enveloped her. 

“Where does it start,” Angela asked quietly.

“It started long ago with two races long dead being manipulated by a group of horrible evil people bent on destroying any race capable of advanced technology,” Ariel told her quietly as if telling a daughter a bed time story.

“But our portion of the story starts with not an evil man but a man so Mad that his madness caused a mental festering that his deeds became evil to the point of atrocities,” Ariel told her.

Neo-Prussian Empire - Gaudre System - Gaudre IV

Neo-Prussian Military Research Site 549-A3-Z98 - Site Of Progenitor Ruins

August 23rd 6155 C.E. 17:25 CST

There was a rumbling crashing sound as the front end of the backhoe busted through the wall of a hidden wall beneath the Progenitor Ruins, there was a single shout of excitement and then a shout of panic that cut off instantly.

“What’s going on,” Oberst Klaus Straussfeld asked as he came out of the habitation dome that had been set up for him.

“It seems they have broken through into some sort of hidden chamber Oberst,“ One of the Soldat’s guarding his door answered.

Straussfeld’s lip curled up at the response, mainly not at the response itself but at the person who had answered it. The man wasn’t in the dark green and gold of Imperial Kriegsmarine but in the tan and dark gray uniform of the Gendarme and had the fist and rod of the Imperial Intelligence service on his collar tabs.

The thought of the gendarme soldat made the scar tissue covering half of Straussfeld’s face burn and he gritted his teeth at the pain and he absently ran a hand down the ridges of scar tissue.

Unaligned Territory - Mandrake System - Near Mandrake XII

Neo-Prussian Flagship INS Kaiser/Masters Armaments Flagship TNS Thermopylae

December 25th 6145 C.E. 12:01 CST

“Klaus it’s Christmas, take your ship and go home the people of Mandrake voted for annexation by the Theban Cluster,” Lt. Colonel Ethan Masters said tiredly sitting back in the command chair of the Super Dreadnought.

“The Neo-Prussian Empire has staked its claim on this system and its resources, some special forces dog is not going to come along and try and take what is rightfully the Emperor’s,” Admiral Klaus Straussfeld growled at the holo-image looking at him on his own command bridge.

“Admiral you just can’t come in here and take over a system and claim it as if you it were in the name of Spain,” the SOCOM commander told the Kraut with growing irritation.

“The Emperor can do whatever he wishes,” Straussfeld told the Theban Cluster Officer.

“Admiral I am going to give you exactly five earth standard hours to fall back to the Yushima Limit and then leave the system,” Ethan coldly gave the ultimatum.

“You a pathetic commoner dare talk to me in such a manner. The Straussfeld family has been members of the nobility since before your disgusting family ever crawled out of their European muck,” Straussfeld insulted.

“You’re seriously going to use my family is better than your family tactic,” Ethan said with bored incredulity.

“Lt. Colonel I would suggest leaving the system before I attack your vessel and destroy it,” the Prussian told the special forces commander.

“Oh now the my dick is bigger than your dick tactic,” Ethan said getting even more annoyed.

Straussfeld’s eyes slitted and Ethan just knew he was going to do something stupid. “You’ve just made a very big mistake Colonel Masters,” Straussfeld told the Theban officer.

“Be that as it may I really wouldn’t suggest doing anything…,” Ethan wasn’t able to finish his sentence.

“Sir, we have missile seperation, multiple missile separations,” the officer standing at the holo-tank suddenly shouted.

“Klaus now that was just dumb,” Ethan told the german noble.

“I out mass your vessel by almost two and a half times,” the german gloated.

“My vessel yes,” Ethan replied with a wolfish grin as the Thermopylae shook with the impact of missiles that managed to get past the counter missiles and point defense turrets. “But not all of my ships put together,” Ethan told him.

“What?!” Straussfeld shouted as the dozen battleships, battle cruisers, and dreadnoughts dropped out of stealth and opened up on the Neo-Prussian Monitor.

It was a massacre even as heavily armed and armored as the Kaiser was she didn’t last long under the pounding that the she took when all dozen ships opened up with massed missile pod fire; it was so horrible that the Thermopylae didn’t even have to join in.

Ethan’s stomach roiled as the huge monitor tried to turn to bring one of it’s broadsides into play against the vessels clawing it apart but it was too massive to turn any more quickly.

First her shields and motive field went down causing her to wallow and then huge gouges started to appear in her armor and then bulges started to appear in her sides as some of the missiles made it to critical locations.

“Chief get us out of here now,” Ethan ordered and the Super Dreadnought strained as the drive field went into full reverse and all the ship’s reaction thrusters blared burning off massive amounts of reaction mass.

Ethan’s small arm mounted holographic screens showed the small red marks that were escape pods before a bright actinic flare that caused the bridges holo-graphic screens to shut down as the external cameras were overloaded.

Ethan didn’t need to see the external view to know exactly what was going on; the ship would be bulging along the nanno-welded seams and plates and frames would be buckling, most likely the ship’s back would be broken and then what was left would be destroyed as the Kaiser’s reflex induction furnaces and secondary fusion reactors chained like a string of Chinese firecrackers.

Looking back at the main holo-graphic tank as it re-stabilized he saw that the marker that had been the Monitor and a crew of three quarters of a million.

Neo-Prussian Empire - Bavaria System - New Bavaria

Secret Imperial Medical Facility

June 9th 6145 C.E. 08:25 CST

Klaus Straussfeld slowly swam to conscioussness only to wish that he hadn’t; his left hip and right arm screamed in pain at him and he let out a bellow of pain.

“Ah, I see that you are awake now,” a heavily accented Prussian voice said out of his field of view.

“Where am I?” Straussfeld managed to grit out between clenched teeth.

“You are in the Emperor private medical facility under the Imperial Palace,” the voice told him.

“And who are you?”

“Doctor Sergayovich Ivanovich Heitler at your service,” the figure finally came into his view showing a rather tall and somewhat emaciated figure in a white mono-film duty suit and lab coat with the Imperial Medical Academy sigil on the breast. He had light brown hair going gray at the temples and sideburns that was clipped short and nicotine stained fingers ran down the holographic display showing Straussfeld’s current condition.

“You are Russian?”

“Nein, my mother was Russian my father Prussian,” the doctor replied not looking at him as he looked at the display.

“Why does my shoulder and hip hurt so much?”

“Ah well you lost them when the Kaiser was destroyed and we had to replace them with cybernetic components,” Heitler answered.

“Cybernetic, I don’t suffer from NRS why were they not regenerated,” Klauss asked in surprise.

“The Emperor was not happy about your performance in the Mandrake system,” Heitler paused for a second and lit a cigarette and blew smoke at Straussfeld. “Not only did you allow the Emperor’s flagship to be destroyed but his youngest cousin was also aboard the ship as part of the Kriegsmarine contingent,” Heitler explained to him.

“I’ll just have them regenerated at a standard medical facility once I leave here then,” Straussfeld told him.

“Nein, the Emperor had us introduce special nannites into your body that mimic the NRS defect,” the doctor explained to him.

“What!” Klaus shouted sitting up in bed and then groaning in pain.

“Calmly, calmly,” Heitler told him pushing back down onto the medical bed.

“I am the highest ranked naval officer outside the secretary of Navy he can’t do this to me,” Straussfeld railed.

“That is not the only thing that the Emperor allowed,” Heitler told him.

Straussfeld had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “What?”

The Prussian doctor didn’t say anything and just handed him a small mirror.

Taking the mirror and looking into it he let out a shout of anguish as he saw the ridges of scar tossing running down the left side of his face to the collar of his hospital gown.

He also saw now that his left eye had also been replaced by cybernetics.

Straussfeld’s one handsome Aryan features had now been permanently marred and disfigured and he felt the shame of failing his emperor.

Sitting there staring at his image he vowed to make it up to the Emperor.

Neo-Prussian Empire - Bavaria System - New Bavaria

Imperial Palace - Private Meeting Chamber

June 16th 6145 C.E. 13:08 CST

“…In short you’re performance has been found unbecoming of a noble man and an officer in his Imperial Highnesses Navy,” Admiral of the Navy Heinrich Von Staubmann finished the reading of charges against former Admiral Klaus Straussfeld.

The only people in the room with Straussfeld were two members of the Gendarme, the AON, a court reporter, and his Imperial Majesty Franz IV.

“As a punishment you shall be stripped of your title of Duke Of Krakow as well as any properties and monies save for 50,000 standard galactic credits and you will be demoted to 2nd Lieutenant in the Navy,” Von Staubmann continued before finally finishing off by ripping all rank insignia and awards from Straussfeld’s uniform tunic.

“Do you have anything to say before being taken back to your quarters?” the AON asked.

“Yes Sir,” Straussfeld said and turned towards the Emperor and straightened to full attention.

“Your majesty I apologize for any failures on my part that have made you look bad, I shall strive in the future to make those up to you,” Straussfeld told the Emperor who said nothing.

A few seconds later Von Staubmann waited to see if he was going to say anything else and then nodded to the Gendarmes to take him back to his quarters.

Neo-Prussian Empire - Gaudre System - Gaudre IV

Neo-Prussian Military Research Site 549-A3-Z98 - Site Of Progenitor Ruins

August 23rd 6155 C.E. 17:25 CST

Straussfeld pulled his hand away from the scar tissue and turned to the Soldat. “Show me and get Hauptman Oustfeld to meet me there,” Straussman ordered.

“Yes Oberst,” the Gendarme enlisted replied saluting and click his heels together before walking off.

“Go,” Straussfeld ordered the other Soldat.

“This way Oberst,” the man said leading Straussfeld on a winding path of ceramo-plast panels that were being used for a semi-permanent walkway through the small town that had sprung up around the ruins.

As they got closer to the dig site the two of them heard a commotion and the babble of voices and when they reached the dig site there was still a pall of dust in the air and the supervisors for the Genetic Slaves were milling about the side of the dig area.

“Move aside,” the Soldat pushed the through the crowd shoving the supervisors out of the way.

“Hauptman Oustfeld, what is going on here?” Straussfeld demanded.

“Oberst,” the Gendarme Captain greeted politely, as ever his shiny black boots were immaculate and free of dust or dirt, and the crease of his Jodhpurs were razor sharp and it was as if they had just been pressed.

“It appears that the nanno-toxin detector picked up something when the ruins were breached,” Heinrich Oustfeld told him the Gendarme’s twin forked lightning bolts flashing in the light of Guadre’s sun.

“Was there anyone down there?” Straussfeld asked putting his hands behind his back and examining the still lingering dust cloud.

“Five overseers and about fifty slaves,” Captain Oustfeld answered.

“We’ll wait till the dust settles then,” Straussfeld ordered.

Oustfeld was somewhat surprised by his nominal superiors coldness but not by much and he schooled his features not to show it.

Unfortunately the overseers didn’t quite see it that way. “Hey we can’t just leave them down there, you need to send someone down there and get them out, who knows what toxins or other dangerous things might be down there,” the man yelled at Straussfeld.

“And you are,” he asked.

“Oveerseer Norman Borkmanian,” the somewhat overweight man.

The Colonel turned away from the Overseer and to the two Soldats that had accompanied him.

“Take Overseer Bormanian to the processing dome and bring me back a new secretary,” Klaus ordered the two men.

“Yes Oberst,” they both replied and grabbed Borkmanian by the arms and started dragging him off.

“What are you doing, you can’t do this, I’m a senior supervisor,” he started to protest until one of the guards rammed the butt of his shotgun into his stomach and then drug him off even more roughly.

“I’m surprised you didn’t just shoot him,” Oustfeld commented to Straussfeld.

“Why would I waste precious materials, I have a feeling we’ll need all of them we need once that dust clears,” Straussfeld told him.

“Ah,” was all Oustfeld had to say to that.

“You disagree with my methods,” Straussfeld asked.

“Nein Oberst,” Ousfeld replied.

When the dust cleared they were confronted with a bizarre sight.