Tyranny of Steel

Berengar sat within the castle of Marienburg with a wide grin on his face. The man across from him was none other than an old friend, one who he had not seen in some time. Eckhard sap from a cup of a tea, as his wife Martha sat beside him.

No longer was there a look of disgust or disdain on her face as she gazed upon her much older husband. Nor was there any malice in her eyes. Instead, there appeared to be a deep sense of trust and loyalty. So much so that even Berengar was surprised. 

In the woman's lap was a small infant boy, the first of Eckhard's children to be born a male. Though the retired Field Marshal had several daughters over the past few years, this was well and truly his first son.  Eckhard gazed upon Berengar's mismatched eyes as he took a sip from his coffee before making a comment about the man's peculiar appearance. 

"So the rumors are true. The Lord has blessed you with the gift of sight. After all these years, I honestly thought you would be one eyed until the grave. It's a pity the scar wasn't healed, though."

Martha immediately disagreed with her husband in a playful manner as she commented on Berengar's unique appearance.

"I don't know about that. I rather like the scar, it gives him character. If anything, it adds to his handsomeness."

Eckhard merely scoffed when he heard this before giving a stern glare towards his kaiser.

"You always did have an amazing ability to bewitch women. So tell me, my Kaiser, what can this old king do for you?"

Berengar merely chuckled when he heard these words. He shook his head lightly as he took a sip from his coffee cup before responding to the man's question.

"I'm just going on a tour across my Empire, to see how much progress has been made in the last few years. To think that even Prussia now has electricity, it is truly a miracle. It is all thanks to the tenacity of the German people that we have accomplished so much over the years."

In response to this, Eckhard raised his brow as he took another sip of his coffee. He was perhaps one of the few men on the planet who dared to question the Kaiser's words, let alone be informal with him.

"Oh, is that so? It's the tenacity of the German people who brought us this far? Are you sure you're not deliberately selling yourself short? You don't have to play the role of a saint with me. I know your character better than most. The fact that you amended your coat of arms to include a pair of halos over the eagle's heads is proof enough that your are not nearly as humble as you present yourself."

Martha gazed at her husband in shock, though she knew the two men were on good terms in the past. It had been years since they had seen each other, and to be so rude to the Kaiser was simply intolerable. She immediately bowed her head and apologized on her husband's behalf.

"My Kaiser, please forgive my foolish husband for his words. He did not mean to offend."

The worried look on the woman's beautiful face caused both Eckhard and Berengar to break out into laughter at the same time. When they did so, she instantly became confused until Berengar commented on the whole situation.

"You old bastard! You already have one foot in the grave, and yet you dare to tease your wife in such a manner. Since when did you become so playful?"

In response to this, Eckhard narrowed his eyes in a feigned attempt at fury before responding to his Kaiser's words. 

"You little prick! Don't you speak to your elders this way. I'll have you know with advancements in medicine I may very well live to be a hundred! How dare you say I have one foot in the grave when I'm not even sixty!" 

It was at this point that Martha simply gave up and sighed heavily. She could tell by the tone in the two men's voices, they were not the least bit angry with one another. She decided to sit quietly and wait for their conversation to end. 

After that last remark, Eckhard quickly asked about Berengar's latest journey throughout the Reich.

"So, how goes your trip? If you've already made it to Prussia, then I assume you have been through Bavaria, and Saxony already? Or did you skip those two kingdoms and come straight to me?"

Berengar shook his head as he heard this before responding to Eckhard's question with a satisfied smile on his face.

"I passed through them. Dietger is doing well, though I don't think he's yet aware of what his youngest daughter is up to..."

Such a response invoked a sense of suspicion in Eckhard's eyes, which narrowed in curiosity as he asked the question that immediately came to mind.

"Oh really? Do tell, just what is little Anne up to? Last I heard, she joined the Aerial Warfare Academy. Why are you so interested in what the Bavarian Princess does in her spare time?"

In response to this, Berengar merely laughed lightly before giving his answer.

"Because she's seducing my son... I must say, from what Linde has been able to collect on the girl, she's certainly a better option for Hans than Ingrid is." 

Eckhard was not aware that Hans was studying in the Aerial Warfare Academy at his young age and quickly interrogated Berengar on what he meant by those words.

"How is that possible? Your boy should only be twelve. How does he have contact with the Bavarian Princess?"

It was now Berengar's turn to raise his brow as he heard this. There was a hint of shock on his face as he began to interrogate Eckhard.

"You don't know? Hans is the greatest Genius in the history of the Reich. At the age of ten, he graduated from high school and is now attending the Aerial Warfare Academy, where he is pursuing a degree in Aerospace Engineering.

That son of mine is already halfway through his education and is a certified pilot. After getting his diploma, he will ship off to the Luftwaffe, where he will be piloting a Ta 152 into combat against the Japanese Empire."

This news shocked not only Eckhard, but Martha as well. The King of Prussia was quickly able to deduce that the Austrian Prince had met the Bavarian Princess in the Aerial Warfare Academy, and in doing so, started a relationship with the girl. After realizing this, he shifted the conversation to something more dreadful.

"About the Japanese Empire. How far do you think they will be able to progress by the time the war starts?"

Berengar thought about this for several moments before declaring his perception of the Japanese Empire's strength.

"Right now, they are still years behind us. Though they have entered the era of industry, they are still utterly lacking in electricity. At least on a societal level. From my understanding they have a basic understanding of batteries, and can even power some electronic devises on their warships. However, their homeland is dreadfully lacking in power plants. It would honestly appear that Empress Itami has opted to put all her efforts on military production. 

If this is the case, then within the next two to three years, we can expect a limited number of warships that are technologically on a par with our current fleets, if not slightly superior.However, this isn't a concern. I have already started the development of new warships that make use of our greatest technological assets to replace our existing escorts. 

As for the battleships, battlecruisers, and destroyers that we have put into production these past few years, I will send those obsolete warships to fight the Japanese Navy with superior numbers. While the dozens of destroyers we have built will protect the merchant fleet. So as far as a naval conflict is concerned, we can easily win by sheer volume of numbers.

However, what worries me is that Itami is likely to very soon begin production of airplanes, if she has not already. Obviously they won't be as capable as our Ta 152s, but I fear the stubborn woman might focus on quantity over quality, especially if she is making them out of wood. If that were the case, she could have superior production capabilities over what we have. 

If she is able to produce several dozen of her warplanes, for every one we can produce, it could cause a serious problem. Though I'm not too worried, I have invested a substantial sum of money and effort into raising an entire generation of scientists and engineers. Their achievements thus far have even astonished me. I'm sure they will produce something to counter this potential overwhelming volume of aircraft very soon."

Eckhard merely narrowed his eyes and nodded his head as he heard this before responding.

"I certainly hope so..."

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