Tyranny of Steel

In the skies above Egypt, Berengar sat on the plane next to Adelbrand, who was as stiff as a board and as pale as a ghost. With each rumble of turbulence, the man practically jumped out of his seat in fright. Air travel was a recent innovation of the German Nation, and it was restricted to the military for the time being.

As a result, Adelbrand, who had been stationed in the Sultanate of Al-Andalus for the last few years, had never experienced the sensation of flight before. The veteran Field Marshal was still trying to get over the fact that they were over six thousand meters in the air. Meanwhile, Berengar could tell the man was about the hurl, and merely laughed at him.

"First time flying, huh? Trust me, you get used to it."

Adelbrand could only glare at the Kaiser. The man knew damn well it was his first time in the air, and he still decided to make fun of him. However, he would not break so easily and instead shifted the topic to something more important. 

"Just what the hell are we looking for in this desert shithole, anyway? I told my wife that you were requesting me to accompany you on a diplomatic mission to Egypt, and that she should pack our stuff and return to Kufstein to await my return. If I'm going to lie to the woman I love, then I at least want to know the truth about what we are doing here!"

Berengar chuckled when he heard this. He had already briefed the Jaegers who accompanied him on the classified details of the mission. Though some of them were a bit skeptical about the nature of the mission.

They chose to believe in the Kaiser and protect him on this perilous journey. However, he had not said a word to Adelbrand, knowing the man would never believe him until he saw the truth with his own eyes.

"Would you believe me if I told you we are searching for a divine artifact? 

Adelbrand gazed at Berengar as if the man had suddenly become mentally defective. Did he seriously just say something so absurd? However, Berengar grinned before pulling out his sidearm and handing it to Adelbrand. The man sat there dumbfounded until he heard an order come from the Kaiser's lips that he never thought he would hear in his life.

"Shoot me!" 

Adelbrand's jaw dropped nearly to the floor when he heard this. It took him a few moments to comprehend the Kaiser's words. However, when he did, the man quickly shook his head while rejecting Berengar's orders.

"No fucking way, man, that's suicide. Have you gone completely mental?"

About a year ago, Berengar had replaced the P-25 Service Pistol, which was modelled after the P-07 Luger, with a new sidearm which was based on the Walther P-38. This pistol was the standard issued sidearm to German soldiers during the second world war of his past life.

The reason for this change was ease of manufacture. He could produce far more P-38s or P-28s as they were known as in this world, then he could P-25s. Though the P-25 still saw active service among the officers who favored the sidearm for its sophistication, Berengar tended to carry a run of the mill p-28. 

After Adelbrand rejected his command, Berengar clicked his tongue three tames in disappointment before handing the firearm to the nearest Jaeger. He looked the man sternly in his eyes and gave him the same order he had given the Field Marshal. 

"Shoot me!"

There was only the briefest hint of hesitation before the Jaeger pointed the pistol towards Berengar's chest and fired a shot. After all, the special forces of the Reich were fiercely loyal to the Kaiser. Whatever command he issued, they would not hesitate to follow, even something as insane as what had just been ordered. 

The flash of gunfire erupted in the enclosed space as the bullet propelled three feet before striking Berengar's chest, however it did not pierce the man's flesh, instead a golden barrier covered The Kaiser's body and in doing so turned the projectile into ash. 

Though most of the men were still recovering from the thunderous echo of gunfire, they had all witnessed the scene, causing all of them to drop their jaws in shock. Berengar chuckled as he patted his chest before explaining what had happened. 

"The gods of every religion are real. They hide in far-flung corners of the world, far from human existence. Some of them have even left behind artifacts for their worshippers that have immense power.

For example, hidden away in the Vatican was a powerful artifact which has the power to protect its wielder from any potential threat. I plundered it from the Papacy after marching on Rome.  How else do you think I survived my trial by fire?

You don't actually believe that the Abrahamic God genuinely wasted his strength to save me from my own madness, do you? No, it was an artifact left behind by an ancient roman god. Ironic that the Pope wielded such an item, yet accuse me of heresy."

Those who had thought Berengar was insane prior to the artifact's display were now sudden believers in the mission details. Adelbrand was busy sticking a finger in his ear in an attempt to rid himself of the ringing before complaining to Berengar about his methods.

"Alright, I believe you, but did you seriously have to display your divine power by such a method? I don't know if my hearing will ever return to the way it was before that bullshit!"

Berengar merely scoffed when he heard this and told his old friend to suck it up like a man.

"You'll survive..."

Before he could comment further on his antics, the green light appeared within the plane's interior, and the hatch opened. Upon seeing this, Berengar grinned before yelling his commands to his troops. 

"Alright, you know the deal. The drop point is at the great sphinx of Giza. If any of you fuckers get blown off course, find your way there. Adelbrand, you're with me!"

Adelbrand was stunned into silence when he heard this. When he initially embarked on this journey, he did not know that they would be airdropping into Egypt. He was about to refuse when Berengar latched up his harness to the back of Adelbrand's before jumping off the ramp, sending the two of them down towards the earth below.

Since Adelbrand had never gone through proper paratrooper training, Berengar would never allow him to jump out of the plane himself. Instead, he had forced the man into a tandem sky dive, which meant they were both secured to the same parachute. 

Both Adelbrand and Berengar were screaming as they rapidly descended from the sky, but while Berengar's scream was that of an adrenaline junkie going through the ultimate high, Adelbrand's was filled with terror. 

It was not until they reached a height roughly 300 meters that Berengar decided to pull his chute, where he continued to guide the two of them towards the drop zone. The Egyptian natives gazed up into the sky with fright in their eyes as they saw the company of Jaegers descend with their parachutes. 

In the end, the group landed not far off from the drop point and quickly rendezvoused at the great sphinx of Giza, where Berengar and Adelbrand had landed. By the time the Jaegers arrived, they witnessed Berengar laughing at Adelbrand, who was practically comatose while lying in the fetal position on the dirt. 

"Adelbrand, get up. We're on solid ground now. There's nothing to fear! Stop being such a woman and grow a pair!"

It took several moments of coaxing for Adelbrand to come back to reality, and when he finally realized he was safely on the ground, he felt like slugging Berengar across the face. However, he could only take a deep breath and sigh before cursing out the man.

"You asshole! You should have warned me!"

Berengar merely laughed at this idea before pointing out the flaw in its logic.

"Hey you said you wanted to come on this journey. If I had told you we were jumping out of a plane, would you have followed me here? Now get your shit together. This was the least dangerous part of our quest.

The moment we enter that pyramid, shit is going to get real weird, real quick. So all of you stay on me, and don't waste your shots. If what the archeology department has reported is true, we might be in for some fierce fighting." 

The various Jaegers merely saluted the Kaiser before responding to his assertions with a battle cry.

"For Kaiser and Fatherland!"

After a few moments, Adelbrand finally dusted himself off and cursed Berengar beneath his breath one more time before unslinging his Mp-27. He had been properly equipped for the journey before setting out. While Berengar and Adelbrand used submachine guns, the rest of the company was wielding the more standard loadout of Stg-27s, G-27s, and Mg-27(t)s. 

They were about to step foot into a dangerous territory, in search of a long forgotten divine artifact. Whether the ancient gods of Egypt would welcome them into their lairs, or prove to be hostile, had yet to be seen.