Tyranny of Steel

Anton Von Lackendorf sat at his desk within the governor's mansion in the City of New Vienna, which was the largest German Colony in the world. After his predecessor Arnulf von Thiersee was killed by natives, the Kaiser selected him to fulfill the vacant position.

Imperial Intelligence had compiled a list of potential candidates from those within the German Reichstag who would make ideal governors for the Colony. After careful consideration, Berengar ultimately selected Anton for the position.

Largely because the man was a rare talent in politics, having served through his term limit in the Reichstag with the utmost level of performance, but also because he was a fierce loyalist of the Kaiser and the von Kufstein Dynasty. 

Currently, Anton was sitting across from another German man. However, the appearance of the two could not be more different. Anton was dressed in a luxurious three-piece suit, in a style that would have been popular during the 1920s of Berengar's past life. He also had a fine derby hat, which he placed on his desk. 

As for the man standing across from him, he was the Governor of Berenwalde, and was dressed like a factory worker from the same era. His name was Dietrich Fritzen. This was the first time that either of the two men had sat in the same room since the massacre of Berenwalde two years prior.

Though they had begrudgingly cooperated, after Berengar shifted the blame for the incident on the natives, their two populaces were far from cordial with one another. The only reason they had even bothered to work together was because both the people of Berenwalde and the people of New Vienna knew the colonies existed solely to support the fatherland.

Since Berenwalde did not have access to the sea, they would have to rely upon the colony of New Vienna to ship their goods back to the fatherland. Because of this, they had constructed a railway between the two colonies, allowing for ease of transport.

The reason these two men were meeting was because of the problems Berenwalde was facing with native war bands within the boundaries of their territory. Though Dietrich did not want to admit it, he needed the aid of New Vienna. Thus, he could only put his pride away as he requested support from the rival governor. 

"It pains me to say this, but the natives around Berenwalde have become a problem for my people. We need more soldiers if we are to repel them. It would be best if we were to enact a similar purge of the land as you have done, but we simply don't have the manpower. I need you to put in a request to German High Command for more troops in the area."

Anton scoffed as he heard this while playing with a fountain pen on his desk. Requesting further troops in the Colonies would be a hassle. First, he would need to convince the colonel in charge of the Regiment that was stationed in New Vienna that Berenwalde was worth supporting.

Although the chain of command had changed, many of the men who formed the troops stationed in the colonies were those who had taken part in the brief battle between the two colonies and lost many battle-brothers to the rebels at Berenwalde. They were not exactly keen on the idea of deploying North to protect the interests of those they deemed to be traitors. 

This was the reason New Vienna and the surrounding regions were cleared of natives, but the Colony of Berenwalde were still plagued with them. After several moments of thought, Anton posed a question to his rival from the North.

"Why should I? Your colony has its own forces to protect it, are they not enough?"

Dietrich practically flipped the table in his anger, but restrained the urge to do so as he gritted his teeth and curled his fists before responding in a not so pleasant manner.

"You know damn well we have only have a single company of soldiers stationed up north. They do their jobs of protecting the colony as a garrison, but they are spread too thin to protect our infrastructure. This problem is about more than just Berenwalde. It affects you as well!

Those savages are attacking the railway, and if you don't do something soon, we will have a major derailment on our hands! I doubt it would please the Kaiser to know that this petty rivalry between our two colonies caused such a massive blunder, and you and I both know that he will ultimately hold you responsible for such a catastrophe!"

When Anton heard this, the pen dropped from his hands and clanked on the floor. Its echo could be heard in the brief silence that appeared during this time. He quickly sat upright in his seat and pulled out a nearby radio, where he contacted the nearest operator among the German Army.

"This is Governor Anton Von Lackendorf. I need to speak with Colonel Arendt Trossinger right away!"

the static existed on the other end of the line for several moments before a gruff voiced appeared on the other end. 

"This is Colonel Trossinger. What the hell do you want, Anton? I'm busy!"

Anton sighed as he placed his thumb and index finger on the bridge of his nose, gently massaging the area before responding to the military officer on the other end of the radio. 

"The savages are attacking the railway up north near Berenstadt. I have received an official request from the Governor for military support. You either need to send your men to clear the area and protect the railway, or you need to make a formal request to a high command to send more troops to Lindeheim!

Static prevailed for another few minutes before the Colonel responded.

"Roger that. I'll send a request up the chain of command for an additional regiment to be deployed. You can expect new troops to arrive in the next two weeks. In the meantime, I'll send a company up north to patrol the railway. The last thing we need is a fucking derailment. Trossinger out." 

After hearing this, the two colonial governors sighed in relief. It was true that the colonies had expanded rapidly across Northeastern Lindeheim. While most of the towns were small, they were spread out across the coasts of what was once known as the Northeastern United States in Berengar's past life. 

From the coasts of what was once considered Boston to the shores of DC, Tens of Thousands of Germans had settled within those lands. Making it difficult for a mere five thousand men to patrol. Luckily, Anton had spent considerable resources over the past two years creating a railway to connect the towns. Otherwise, it would be impossible to protect them from vengeful natives. 

Especially since they were lacking in mechanized capabilities. Unlike the troops in Europe, the Colonies were given low priority for armored vehicles and motorized trucks. They still relied heavily on horse-drawn carriages for travel outside of the railway. Now that they were getting more troops, the German Army would be able to better protect its citizens in Lindeheim. Thus, the two governors sighed in relief as they came to this realization. 

"As you can see, the issue has been handled. If that is all you needed, then I believe this meeting is adjourned."

After saying this, the Governor of Berenwalde silently nodded his head before departing from his counterpart's office. His troubles with the natives would soon be solved, and that's all he really cared about. 

With this in mind, the expansion of the colonies in Northeastern Lindeheim was going as planned. As for the other colonies on the continent, as well as those in Adelheim, they were facing their own difficulties, but that is a tale for another time.