//------------------------------// // Chapter II // Story: Kaiserreich // by ObiWan //------------------------------// DIE KAISER February 29, 2028, Berlin, German Empire An old 1980s car is going through the streets of Berlin, the moon is shining bright in the sky as some stars are visible. The man driving it has already passed through the principal highways, even though he was stranded in one for at least 1 hour thanks to the traffic of Berlin that wasn't in its best condition at that hour. He arrives at one of the old sectors of the city. Identical houses on the left side of the street, as for the right side a big park is located, being divided by metal bars. The man parks the car, turning it off, he exits it and puts some coins in the parking meter, after that he finally locks it and goes to walk towards a specific house, analyzing the numbers on the front of each one. ”Peter! how are you, ” a blonde woman announces happily at the sight of the tall bulky man. ”Erika, how you've been, ” Peter says after a kiss on the cheek. ”Oh the casual just the casual you know, but in general I will say that everything is just great” ”I’m.... happy to hear that, ” Peter responds with a half-smile. ”But hey come in, ” she offers with a smile, prompting Peter to enter her house gladly. In the interior of the house, a party is being hosted for the Ares V mars landing mission, being planned and executed by the United States NASA. As he passes through one of the corridors of the house, he arrives at the principal living room of the house where most of the people are currently located, an old 1940s German architecture characterizes the old structure. ”Peter, my friend, so you survived the traffic of Berlin, ” Leon Schulz says while hugging his friend. ”I wasn't going to miss this, a historic day indeed, ” Peter responds with a smile this time. ”A historic day for those Americans, ” an old grumpy voice said from behind, changing the attention of both Peter and Leon, ”they didn't do nothing, I fought dirty socialists in Nigeria, the Germans fought those socialists in the whole world!” he finishes with a frown. ”Grandpa we are talking about space, not war, remember, ” Leon responds to the old man. ”Huh?” the old man turns back to see his 30-year-old niece, ”oh Peter, nice to see you, ” Hans Schulz, the name of the man said with a changed grin, his current age is 80 years old, he fought in the Nigeria War, caused when Mittelafrika finally ended in 1953, prompting various new nations in the continent, as in the case of Nigeria it started with a divided nation, a part wanting to create a socialist nation with the model of the defeated French Commune, and the other part wanting to make a republic with the model of the Republic of Colombia, and another part wanting to reinstall the German rule over not only Nigeria but the whole middle Africa. ”Nice to see you too Mr. Schulz, ” Peter responds before Leon presents the rest of the people in the room. There are several people, 14 located in the living room, various German military officers are also present at the scene of the place, everyone waiting for the supposed historic moment of the first humans to walk on another planet, this being Mars. ”and here Peter let me present you Anon Hofmann, one of the astronauts of the Gerechtigkeit 12, ” Leon states presenting him in the kitchen. The retired astronaut is drinking beer in the kitchen, with the refrigerator door wide open, and a German song in the background coming from an obvious old radio on the kitchen wooden table. “Wow.... it is an honour to meet you... you are a national hero, ” Peter says while shaking his hand with the astronaut, he was in his late 40s I might add. The Gerechtigkeit program, also known as the project Gerechtigkeit was the fifth human spaceflight carried out by the Reichsraumkommission (RRK), which succeeded in the first crewed flight to Venus, making a complete orbit. The missions that carried out this dangerous task were the Gerechtigkeit 12 in 2021, the 13 in 2022, and the 14 in 2024, after that the program was cancelled, even though, it originally had the vision of landing humans on Venus, but after various scientific complications, it was cancelled and changed to only doing orbits around our neighbour planet. ”Nein the honour is all mine, you know, Leon told me you are planning to join the tests for the Brüderlichkeit program, ” he responds to Peter with a grin. ”Yeah... yeah, even though, I think that program is more focused on military advancements that in space exploration, you know, maybe I'll be like... the guinea pig for the Luftwaffe, ” Peter declares jokingly. ”We are all guinea pigs, my friend, ” the retired astronaut begins saying, ”guinea pigs with the mission of making the things that were considered impossible into possible, ” he releases a dry laugh with a small frown on his features being present, ”this corrupt government.... they aren't even trying anymore” Peter raised an eyebrow at the statement. ”Trying what, ” Peter asks, with a trace of curiosity in his voice. ”Trying to make history, trying to do the things that we did 53 years ago, we don't have any focus, no mission, just see those nationalist Americans, even with all their errors they have something right, they just can't stop dreaming, ” the retired astronaut concludes, leaning a little bit on the chair’s back with crossed arms, sniffing and shaking his head lightly, in way of disapproval in his thoughts. ”Landing on the moon is no longer the gem of the space race, ” Leon states while closing the door of the refrigerator, with irritation on his face for the fact that the refrigerator’s door was wide open and no one had the initiative to close it, this house is his house after all, making him the one that pays most of the bills of the old, rusty house. ”No, but landing on Mars will probably be that next one, ” Peter remarks with a proud voice, causing an amused look on both persons present in the place ”What, now you are proud of the Americans, ” the retired astronaut proclaims somewhat flippantly. ”Nope, I’m proud of humanity, ” Peter replies while taking one cigarette from the box in his pocket and putting it on his mouth while looking for his lighter in his caramel top coat. The retired astronaut sniffs again, ”which by the way is so divided don't you think so” ”Yeah...” Peter begins, ”sometimes I think that we are in the darkest timeline of the world” ”Darkest timeline?” Leon speaks intrigued. ”Yeah, I mean, what if there was like an alternate Earth where we reached the moon first, or where the French would have won World War Two, or if we had loosed the First World War, ” he concludes, lighting up his cigarette after that. ”You know, you have described the worst possible scenarios for this planet on those cases, well the only one that would have been good is about reaching the moon first, ” Leon reasons, causing him a short laugh on the thought of that. ”Do you know what is my opinion, ” the retired astronaut talks again, ”I think that we are in the worst world possible, this planet is decaying, the people are decaying, the only reason this county survived is for the money, without it... this ohhh so great Kaiserreich would have fallen years ago.” ”Could I ask you a question, ” Peter begins while looking at the retired astronaut, with his cigarette on his fingers while blowing the inhaled smoke, ”in what country were you born?” He first responds with a curious face and then with a frown, ”what kind of question is that” Peter sniffs, ”because for me you talk like a retired French Communard.” ”Huh, maybe, but you talk like a Liberal” ”Is that good or bad, ” Peter asks rhetorically. The retired astronaut takes a drink from his beer again, it looks like if he forgot of his beverage for the conversation they were having, ”both, it's both good and bad, ” he releases another dry laugh, ”it is better than this authoritarian supposedly democratic government, the Prime Minister will always do as much garbage as they want.” ”Dad!” a 10-year-old child enters the kitchen, running while calling the attention of his father, ”they are preparing to walk on Mars!!! come on!” ”Okay okay, going going, ” Leon says while being dragged by his son, ”well gentlemen if you want to come you are gladly invited so.” ”Dad!! why are you so slow!” the kid shouts from outside the kitchen still dragging his dad by the arm, who is trying to stop the excitement of the child. “Well, I want to see this, ” the retired astronaut replies while standing up from his chair, stretching his back a little bit before proceeding to walk out of the kitchen. ”Damn, I wouldn't mind being up there, ” Peter mumbles before smoking again with a frown and a disappointed face. He sighs tiredly, taking the cigarette and putting it on water, turning it off, letting a smoke trail in the place, he stretches a little bit his arms and exited the kitchen towards the living room for contemplating the historic scene. The room, full of people, a flat tv is placed upon the wall, various photos of German lunar and space missions are all around the place, as in the tv, the logo of the NASA appears on the screen with a small picture of a radio wave. Transmission for the preparations for the mission could is heard, first in English, and then in a German translated one. The NASA logo changes for various videos of large crowds around the world, London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Bogotá, and Madrid are showcased in their principal areas. Peter Michael Bismarck, born in an Imperial Germany, his father was German, his mother was French. 24 years old is his current age, deep marine blue eyes, brown hair, 6’1 is his height. The TV image suddenly changes to showcase the ladder of the lander. A reddish background is seen, as well other features that can be compared with the Mojave desert, reddish rocks, with traces of grey, the quality of the camera is pretty good, 720p you could classify it with. Chants of silent excitement at the sight of the red planet surface, when suddenly... ”There it is!” a voice exclaims at the sight of the astronaut descending from the ladder, everyone holds their breaths, as she slowly descends to the foot of the lander, the camera following her by a sensor. The feminine voice concludes, she looks at the floor intently for a couple of seconds, like if she is scanning something when suddenly she gives a small jump on the lander’s foot. A beep sound concluded the sentence, and quietness suddenly ruled the place once again, and not only that, the car engine sounds over the whole Berlin metropolitan area were suddenly in standby, waiting for something. The German translator translates the words, with a shaky voice, excitement present on it. The astronaut raises her left leg, and planted it on the Martian floor, letting it there for some seconds before speaking again to the radio. ”Inherit this one!!” the retired astronaut yelled with disgust and amusement while pointing at a part of his body. Groans are heard after his statement, he is not sober. The astronaut begins to walk on the surface, making everyone hold their breaths solemnly, as a German commentary voice is heard. ”The first humans to walk on Mars are American, this is both a great day for humanity, but a shocking day for the whole Reich, ” the voice ended, with sadness on its voice, ”the Kaiser will make a statement shortly” Groans are once again heard at the statement of the Kaiser, we could say that the parliamentary monarchist is not the most popular ideology in Germany, it is a..... ”Death idea, ” Peter says quietly to himself, the significance of hearing the Kaiser again is not good or bad, maybe more bad than good. The American voices are silenced, and the German Imperial anthem begins to sound, on the left corner of the live transmission of the Mars mission the Imperial flag appears. ”Oh my goodness gracious, ” someone in the crows of people says disappointedly, as the prospect is not as bright as depicted. The anthem stopped, a voice is again heard. ”The great Kaiser Ferdinand II of the German Empire, Sudwestafrika, Karolinen, Bismark-Archipel, and Malta will now give his imperial statement” ”Huh? oh long live the Kaiser!!” Leon’s grandparent exclaims as he is one of the only persons that still supports the government's rule of Germany thanks to the times he lived most of his life. The Kaiser gives his first words, ”Our glorious Germany has lost many battles in the last years since the end of the Second Weltkrieg and the fall of the French Commune and the Union of Britain as the syndicalist tyranny was eradicated from the Earth’s face, as well as our national pride in the dark times, my father fought the battle of reestablishing our great Empire once again across this world, something he hoped and wished for our great Empire, as our Christian men fight the battles to accomplish this, something that let us achieved great goals in our times, like landing on the moon and orbiting Venus, now a great task awaits our county, they may have beaten us two times in a row, but we are not going to give up, a millennial discovery will be made, thus making the German Empire once again great on its full might, may God bless this nation, and may God bless our next missions into the last frontier of our curiosity, space, as the Kaiserreich will seek new discoveries on it, a legendary mark in the history of the world and of the German people, thank you for your attention, and may God be with you, ” the German Emperor finishes, making the room immediately a place full of discussion and critics to the German Emperor. “YOU ARE RUINING THE COUNTRY!!!” a voice coming from the back exclaims with rage. “What are you saying about our Kaiser!!! you stupid liberal scumbag!!!” Another voice defends. “Liberal!!! conservative of satan!!!” “Defend your own country, right!!!” Peter groans tiredly, looking at the television, he contemplates how the other astronauts are descending from the Martian Lander, going at the same velocity of his crew companion. ”Someday.....” Peter mumbles to himself, as the constant childish fight and shouts are still going on the room. He looks at his clock, seeing that it is already 10:15, he decides that it a good time to go now. The fight that is going on in the room is becoming unacceptable to him. Leaving peacefully the living room, he closes the house principal door, trying to be as cautious as he could be. The night is cold, Berlin is going through a temperature low record from the last three years, the winds enter through Peter’s coat, giving him a terrible feeling of a chilling cold on his body, the water droplets on the roofs of the houses are literally crystallized. He takes another cigarette from the box in his pocket, putting it on his mouth and lighting it out, smoking deeply, with a downcasted face. ”Peter!!!” a voice exclaims from behind. ”Leon? aren't you supposed to be with your kids and friends, plus you are losing the Martian landing, ” Peter replies to his old friend. ”Ummm yes, well actually no, ” Leon states shakily. Peter raised an eyebrow at his voice tone. ”Do you want to go for some drinks?” Leon and Peter decided to go to the local bar of that zone, that is miraculously opened judging by the circumstances that are happening at the moment, even though, the place is full of people watching the tv with the same transmission of the Martian landing Peter is smoking while drinking whiskey, and Leon only ordered a beer. ”Tell me what's happening Peter, ” Leon begins, looking at the bitter expression that Peter has remained with since he arrived at his house. ”What-what are you talking about, ” Peter asks shakily. ”Man, you can't lie to me, you look if like you were dumped from your house in a literal way, ” Leon starts. Peter releases a sigh, ”I tried Leon....” ”Try what?” Peter raised his head slightly before answering, ”I tried for the RRK....” A silence elapsed for some seconds before Leon could respond again, ”you weren't accepted” Peter answers that with a short laugh before talking, ”yeah, and guess what, it wasn't only me, there were other 10 persons from 13 that were also crossed out, ” Peter finished with a frown. ”Only 3 people entered the astronauts’ program?” Leon asks with confusion in both his face and his voice. He sniffs while shaking his head. “Yep.... and guess who these people were, sons of politics, one of them is the baby of the mayor of Nuremberg, ” Peter said in disappointment, ”what I am saying is..... it is that isn't even them, it is this corrupt German government..... even though I still incredibly respect Kaiser” Leon raises an eyebrow at his statement, almost like if someone has just said to him the craziest thing on Earth. ”Someone could kill you if you say that out loud in the street, ” Leon remarks jokingly. Peter smiles half-hearted, with regret being conveyed by his body language. “Someday......” 2 years later The place is shaking heavily, darkness fills it, various sounds of metal flashing into each other can be heard. Peter says into his helmet microphone. He is currently in a silver suit, the Iron Cross on his left shoulder, and the German flag on his right one, a helmet with a golden visor covering up completely his face, making it impossible to see it. His blue eyes are intensely focused on the controls of the panel. a controller of the mission said to Peter. He begins to lift the supersonic aircraft, the jet is shaking violently, his adrenaline is flowing throughout his body, his heart rate is incrementing dangerously, below the jet the clouds cover the surface, the supersonic speed is so high that even with special protection in his ears, the sound is ringing on them like if you are close to the speakers on a concert. Every single second the jet levitates more, and just in a blink of eyes the atmosphere is visible, the jet shakes violently to the right, as a red light activates accompanied with a loud beeping sound. The G-X3 is a new military craft with the function of travelling at supersonic speeds using plasma engines, instead of normal fuel, it was designed by various groups of engineers and scientists at both the RRK and the Luftwaffe, the latter if some people don't know what it is then you would probably know it by the name of the German Air Force. The craft also has several defence systems, designed to bombard in mid supersonic speed, as well as getting to defend itself using automatic weapons on the jet’s nose. The test of the aircraft is under the name of ’Brüderlichkeit’ in which the plasma engines will be also tested at high altitudes, and that is exactly what Peter is currently struggling to do, as the engines are new, even though he is an experienced pilot. When he was 24 he was sent to Syria in various bombing missions coordinated by the German and the Colombian Air Force. The design looks like an old USAC, or the United States Air Corps, F-15, only a little bit larger and bulkier, from behind the craft you can see 4 engines located vertically, with a blue glow from them produced by the plasma engines. Peter remarks with a trace of fear to the microphone. After a short moment of silence, the control once again replies. the control responds to Peter’s emergency. Peter strands himself on the decision for a second, and with more confidence, he answers to the microphone. He looks to the advanced screen, and after configuring with difficulty some assets on it and deactivating the alarm, he raises his arm while sighing, and flips a switch, immediately initiating the craft to travel with more velocity, rising sharply towards the heavens, a glowing cherry red appears on the nose of the craft from the heat in just a couple of seconds, the colour blue disappeared to be changed with a total jet-black at 150,000 feet. Peter repeats, watching at every single control carefully. At almost 6,500 kph, he passes the 170,000 feet and Peter cuts the engine, thrusting him against his harness... and into microgravity as for a moment, everything around him just becomes quiet. <190,000 feet, no radio reception, setting instruments to a high altitude flight response> Peter says, trying to communicate with the control down in Germany. Peter begins to press various buttons on the console, as a logbook passes near him floating, for the reason that he is currently in the suborbital of the planet, as high as the first Mercury flights for the United States and as high also as for the Wilhelm flight for the German Empire as well, so yeah, things float, and the view is pretty good too though. Peter looks out through the window of the cockpit, the Earth is barely seen. The craft slowly begins to rotate, changing its view again to the darkness that overflows the universe, and the only light that illuminates that dark space is the Moon. Peter stares at it while the craft slowly rotates, changing its view again to Earth for bare seconds. <207,000 feet, top view, looking out, you can surely see a beautiful landscape from here> Peter announces again cheerfully. Everything is quiet again, he turns his attention to the fuel limiter gauge as the G-X3 slowly falls back to earth, the altitude gauge starting spinning rapidly while the plane shakes with intensity, causing the previous alarm to sound again, alerting about the same problem in the tank, even though Peter tries to stay focused on the fuel limiter, creeping towards 2.5 in fuel, he looks right into the cockpit window and sees a liquid pouring from one of the wings, this immediately causes Peter to alert himself, steeling himself mentally for the worst-case scenario. It seems out of place, Peter tries to ignore the gravity that takes hold of him, pressing forward against his seat straps. After a moment of waiting he realizes that the radio may not be connected to the mission control, he takes a deep breath, talking again into the radio. Again, at Peter's understatement... the plane bounces violently, leaning on the left side as if it is trying to gain some sort of stability. Peter holds with extra force the control lever, trying to turn right with energy, the altitude gauge spins down past 120,000, the black sky is fading away to the blue, as he falls furiously back into the atmosphere. the radio voice finally breaks in, prompting Peter to do exactly what he was told to do, with a lot of concentration, sweating, and with partial nerves. After doing that he begins to push the control lever with difficulty, eyes fixed intensely on the fuel limiter, failing to notice that the plane isn’t turning... the altitude gauge is holding at 115,000 feet, and gradually, it begins to climb again towards the skies..... 116, 117, 118... the sky turns again from the blue to a chilling black, and the shaking stops again. Peter reviews several times the controls, pressing again one of with agility, switching and trying to stop the altitude effect, the gauge is rising. the control says nervously. Peter looks again to the gauge, it shows that his current altitude is already 200,000 feet, setting various alarms on the craft, he begins to sweat more intensely, his breathing is loud and noisy, as he can feel the supersonic speed pushing him forward, and with all of his forces trying to control it. The radio begins to sound like a static, signifying that he is alone in this one, the gauge suddenly shows 310,000 feet, toggling various new alarms, watching another gauge, the pressure in the cockpit begins to increase, toggling Peter to quickly press various buttons for controlling the rotors manually, and in a blink of eyes again, the supersonic speed ceased, making Peter release a sigh, as slowly controls aircraft again. Earth is seen on its full might, the European north coast is visible, from Wales to northern Poland, with traces of clouds covering the parts of the Old World. Peter begins to ignite the engines again, as the altitude gauge begins to descend. A green light activates on the fuel tank, making him ignite the supersonic speed again, causing the craft to again shake violently. Peter begins to become very anxious as he sees scratches from the velocity trails, meaning that the descent to Earth has just begun. Fire surrounds the craft, causing the interior to be dangerously heating up, an alarm of temperature sets off, indicating that the current temperature inside the cockpit is 41 centigrades, causing him to sweat furiously, trying to support the heat inside it. The radio enters right again, with a worried voice asking. Peter without waiting more time he responds with an affirmative, making that the controller to release a sigh. The sky turns again into the blue colour, the fire disappears, and the altitude gauge is now going at descending levels. He turns again his attention to the pressure gauge, seeing how instead of normalizing it's decreasing, causing him to swear in middle air. Wind can be heard below the craft, passing furiously by it. In a moment, Peter loses partially the control of the craft, making it flip on the air. Below the cockpit window, mountains can be seen, causing Peter to pass a gulp in fear, the craft begins to fly at incredibly fast speeds, making the craft to pass the sound barrier, creating a furious explosion behind it as the jet travels faster. Every single control tickling, Peter sweating and praying to God in the middle of his heavy breath, waiting for the lever to release itself a bit. He flips again the craft with force, slowly making his commitment with difficulty, the plane dove into the mountains, being closer and closer to the surface at every second. He passes down with full velocity under mountains and forests. Peter finally stabilizes the craft to go into a landing position, the Lieberoser desert being the chosen one to land the aircraft, the velocity increases with power as he descends the aircraft while swearing at every moment of inclination to either side of the plane, Peter changes his view to the right, seeing that a cloud of smoke is blowing from the right wind, causing agitation in his body. Peters steels himself, and turns down the engines, trying to glide the engine-less plane farther than ever, and yes, the G-X3 was built to land without power... but frequently, a pilot has a lot more altitude to work, plus one of the engines was blowing smoke, leaning to the chance of an explosion, the plane moves back and forth, wind howling at 300 knots. Peter comments into the radio with a trembling voice. His eyes dart from the distant desert landing strip to the altitude gauge, dropping 20,000 feet per minute, and in a moment, smoke suddenly enters the cockpit through the instrument panel, blinding partially his view, making it harder to land the craft. ”Fuck!” Peter says under his breath, disappointed of the whole dilemma. the radio voice breaks in. The cockpit is filled with smoke... <....Pretty hard to tell from here...> Peter hits a button, WHOOSH!, the plane dumps peroxide and the smoke clears the cabin, but the view is hardly a relief. Peter pulls the lever to hold altitude, but he keeps dropping 9,000... 8500... 8000 feet... ”Fuck, it's getting close, ” Peter repeats to himself under his breath. the radio voice states. Peter reacts, annoyed by himself, he presses the ventral button, causing the ventral fin to blow off and the plane pitches forward, Peter struggles with the stick... 4,000, 3,500, 3,000 feet... Peter punches the flaps making the plane to buck up, reaching towards the runway, gravity pushes Peter again, intensity burning as the gauge begins to slow down, 2,000, 1,000, 500 feet... the plane passes past the edge of a pine, clearing the top of the ones that were close to it. the radio voice snaps in with exasperation. Peter pulls up hard, flaring the plane, nose up, skids down... the jet slams down with a bang, it skids roughly across the desert, shaking violently and leaving a smoke trace in the right flank, and just as he thought that it might break into a million pieces, Peter hits the back fin brakes, the jet goes into a controlled side, kicking up a huge cloud of dust, and tossing Peter across the cockpit....... until at last, the plane eases to a halt. For a moment, all is still, silent, Peter sighs relentlessly, as he leans forward and takes his helmet off. Peter simply states into the comms. the controller said in clear relief. another voice breaks in from the radio. As the dust clears, Peter speaks a small prayer with a cross in his fist, and after that, he looks out towards the fire trucks and other military vehicles in the distance rolling towards him, with various sirens activated on many of the vehicles. The long fuselage, the thick dorsal wedge fin, the RRK signage, and also the Iron Cross characterized the plane from outside. Various technicians surround the Peter’s G-X3, as jeeps with the Luftwaffe and Heer insignia are parked all around the large supersonic aircraft. RRK engineers open the cockpit, beginning to take readings off the instrument panel while Peter makes notes in his logbook, and after finishing, Peters climbs out of the cockpit. ”Think you set a couple of records, ” a familiar voice, Frederick Einstein, 30s, flight gear, walks up with Peter’s boss, Joe Walker, 40, thoughtful, Frederick grins, as Peter nods stiffly as a tech with a map calls out a list of information that must be retrieved from the craft, also with the firefighters present to eliminate any threat of explosion in part of the G-X3. ”Fred, you mind walking me through the release data?” Peter asks him. Fred nods and heads off to get the requested information, as Joe turns to Peter. ”You okay?” Joe asks, concerned, seeing Peter completely red and still sweating, he looks like he has been in a furnace for several hours. ”Uh-huh..... I don’t think anyone’s experienced that kind of atmospheric velocity, maybe we should replicate it in the sim--“ ”Peter, ” Joe simply says while looking at his pilot, interrupting him in the process. “Yeah?” ”You just did what Neil Armstrong made with the X-15, you experienced an atmospheric bounce, ” Joe responds with a trace of amazement. Peter simply sniffs, being present about what just happened could have killed him, but replicated one of the things that the most famous astronaut of all time experienced. Joe looks at him concerned, but Peter’s not going there, a flight surgeon who’s been waiting by the plane intercedes in their conversation. “Hey Joe, I gotta do his workup,” the flight surgeon announces, standing in the middle of the two. Joe nods, as Peter follows the surgeon off. Berlin Palace, Berlin, German Empire Highly decorative and theatrical style domes and colonnades made it higher, grander, more decorated, and more dramatic, the interior effect was often achieved with the use of painting combined with sculpture, the eye is drawn upwards, giving the illusion that one is looking into the heavens, clusters of sculpted angels and painted figures crowd the ceiling, the light was also used for dramatic effect, it streamed down from cupolas, and was reflected from an abundance of gilding as twisted columns are also often used, to give an illusion of upward motion, and other decorative elements occupied every available space. The Imperial Palace is majestic in every way of seeing it, its presence is remarkable in the whole European continent, the giant palace is also the political house of the Reichspakt, the political power in Europe. Through one of the majestic halls, a woman is charging a medical kit, walking past various paintings depicting German victories and German heroes. She turns right into a huge hall, it looks like the hall of mirrors in Versailles, only that more prominent and flows a more powerful vibe. At the end of the hall, known as the Bismarck Hall, there are two large wooden doors washed in gold, both were centred to form an Iron Cross, she opened the large doors, revealing a large office, decorated with gold and silver, at the end a wooden desk, with an Iron cross on its centre, there it was the man, the Kaiser Ferdinand II of the German Empire, son of the Kaiser Louis Ferdinand, and also the niece of the Kaiser Wilhelm II. He is smoking cigarettes with a whisky bottle on the left side of the table, from behind him there is the German Imperial Flag, and windows with their curtains closed, the old man has already white hair, the 86 year old man is considered the second most powerful person in the world, being the supreme commander of the Heer, of the German Imperial Army in English. He is just looking down, with a sad face planted on the German Emperor’s face. After hearing that the woman was entering, a small smile appeared on his face, being her the leading nurse of the German Emperor, assigned from the Munich Hospital, considered one of the best in the whole world, of course, we are talking about the Kaiser after all. The Kaiser stands up and sits on a sofa with a small desk in the centre of the office, setting up a go board. ”It's late, I had champagne, no no no, ” Marzia, the Kaiser’s nurse says after seeing the old man setting up the game, it is 11:13 PM. ”It's my birthday, we are - you had one glass-we're not breaking tradition on my birthday, ” the Kaiser responds irritated trying to fight the young nurse. Maria puts two vials full of a transparent liquid and a pill from the medic kit on the desk. ”Take your goddamn medicine and go to bed, ” Marzia speaks to the Kaiser, trying to cooperate with him. ”If you're going to put that vile shit in me you will have to earn it, on my birthday, ” the Emperor declares while setting the pieces, even though talking in a constant calmed tone in his voice. ”Alright old man, 8x8 game, you ready?” Marzia responds to him, with irritation but still in a calm soft tone. The Kaiser had just come from a major party, the party for the birthday of the Emperor of Germany, from gifts and food, were given in that long night, many European representatives went, including the president of the French Federal Republic, and various German governors and politics from the Reichstag and other important politics from different positions within the German Empire. She sits and they start clacking white and black stones on the board. ”Why can't I beat you at this, ” the Emperor says a little bit irritated but with playfulness on his voice. ”Game?” Marzia asks with curiosity on her voice. ”Oh uh-huh, ” the Emperor says after being snapped out of his thoughts. They play fast, and Marzia is obviously winning, being her an expert on the ancient Chinese game, as for the Kaiser, he has always been an admirer of the Chinese ancient culture, for that reason he tries to maintain positive relations with the Qing Empire by talking with each new elected prime minister. ”Elder abuse, I'm calling the Imperial Guard, ” the Kaiser says while laughing a bit. ” It's over, med and bed, ” Marzia replies while looking with caution at the medicaments on the table. ”Fair, ” the Kaiser answers with a half-smile. He rolls up his sleeve from the white formal shirt, revealing a pre-inserted catheter in his arm, causing her to hook the syringe up to the catheter and slowly injects him bit by bit while he talks. ”How was tonight?” Marzia asks, getting ready to inject the medicine into the Emperor of Germany. ”Tonight was... good, ” the Kaiser says with a changed disappointed tone. ”Because I know you were not forward to it, ” she responds with a compressive tone. ”No, but I did it, for trying to get in better relations with those bloody politicians of the Reichstag, think, everything I've given my family, I've done for this country, maybe without knowing it, to keep them beneath me, I should have what... maybe, I don't know, encouraged a law reform for the economy and the judicial system, you said I should be a father, not just a provider, and like you also said once, a king that cares for his people, just like my father did and my grandfather did, I am that bad of a politician?” She looks at him with compassion, “you are one of the greatest kings this nation has ever had, you have changed the lives of millions in your beginning, now you are.... simply old” He sniffs, “sometimes I think that being old is a curse” She stares at him for some seconds before responding, “or maybe..... it is actually a gift” ”I don't fear death but God I'd like to fix some of this before I go..... close the book with a flourish, I guess we'll see, ” the Kaiser finishes. ”I guess we will, ” Marzia says with a smile, ”Hey old man, you've had a long day wanna do drugs?” She loads the second syringe from the second vial. ”You mean the good stuff?” the Kaiser questions happily. ”Yeah but just a tiny bit, ” Marzia responds with a smile. ”Send me to Lala land, why did I wait till my mid-eighties to become a morphine user, what a schmuck, what a nud-nig, this stuff's the best, ” the Kaiser says happily as Marzia injected the morphine on his catheter. Pulling out the needle, a sudden sound startles both the Kaiser and Marzia, being the one of a door opening, revealing the oldest heir to the German monarchy, the Prince Erwin Victor of Prussia, the son of the Kaiser Louis Ferdinand II. ”Father, I wish to talk with you for a moment, ” he begins, all dressed in his Imperial uniform, looking at his father with concern. ”I’m going to go to sleep Erwin, what you need to say-” the Emperor couldn't finish, as he is interrupted again by his son. ”It is urgent and private, ” he glances at Marzia, who is looking at the situation with a very fearful expression. The Emperor is thoughtful for a second, before standing up, and going towards the place were Marzia is located. ”You are.... dismissed, ” he says while looking at her, which quickly grabbed the medical equipment, and before she could exit the door, the Kaiser takes her hand and leaves a small chip on it, Marzia without thinking anything else, exits the room in a hurry for the seriousness that the prince brought to the room. She closes the two large doors, leaving the Kaiser and the prince alone. ”Did you know that half the congress has been accused of corruption scandals....” the young price begins, giving circles around his father. ”Erwin, if it is about political criticism I don't want to hear it right now, ” the Kaiser responds with seriousness. ”Hmph, you were having a party while the country is on chaos, did you know that there are already movements about doing a coup d’ etat, and all being lead by the liberal parties, ” the price finishes, playing with some stuff that is scrambled around the imperial desk. ”Who sent you son, your party, or one of those disgraces of the Reichstag, ” the Emperor says, beginning to sound exasperated. ”It was my decision father, of no one else..... and you know I'm really beginning to think that you are sometimes, ” the prince says while scratching his back, ”insane” ”Insane? son” ”Yes insane, you and the party members have thrown the German economy into the garbage, for some reason those Colombians and Americans are destroying our power, for your lack of diplomacy, because you couldn't control the members of... yes the Reichstag, by your party also, father, ” he finishes in a secular way, trying to explain with a bit of sarcasm on his voice, as the conversation is causing that a furious frown to deepen on the Emperor’s face. ”I know that I'm sane for the first time in my life, Erwin, I know what are you going to ask me really for, to divide the Imperial Bank, but for what, making your party beneficiary, I sometimes think that you being my heir isn't the right decision, ” the Kaiser responds furiously, hitting the table with his fist. ”I’m going to stop this father, I’m going too-” ”I’m warning you!” the Kaiser answers with rage while raising his voice. The prince sighs deeply before laughing momentarily, ”I’m sorry father, but if we want to eliminate the corruption of this country, there must be a new leadership.....” In a blink of eyes, the Prince takes a silenced gun out from his elegant coat, shooting the Kaiser on his left rib, making him stumble. The Prince swiftly catches him on his arms, putting a hand on his mouth for trying to stop any attempt of shouting for help. ”I love you so much, father, being sincere, you have done great things for this nation, but the bad things outweigh the good ones, plus, you are too old, ” the prince states while looking at his father, who has already bloodstain on his white shirt, bleeding at increasing rates, at that moment the door suddenly opens, but the prince wasn't startled, but instead, the Kaiser is, because the tall man that entered his office is the Prime Minister of the German Empire, looking at him with a remorseful face, not saying a word. ”The old Emperors dead, long live the new emperor, ” the prince silently whispers to his father’s ears, as the words he just said became true, the Emperor stops breathing, falling onto his son’s arms. The prince slowly puts him on the floor, leaving him looking at the roof. He then proceeds to clean the weapon with a handkerchief, and after that, he places the finger of his dad all around the weapon, leaving the gun right next to the deceases emperor. ”Wow, I never thought-” the Prime Minister begins but is interrupted by the prince. ”It was necessary, I loved.... my father, but I love my country even more, ” he says while standing up, stretching a little bit before talking again, ”that is why it was correct, a change for a death” Both the Prime Minister and the Prince stared at the dead body before the Prince looked behind him and begins to shout, ”HELP!!! MY FATHER!!!” After waiting some seconds, various guards enter through the hall running, each one wearing a Pickelhaube on their heads, with assault rifles. The Imperial Guard entering the office, saw.... that the Kaiser is death. 2 years later TV footage of the Deutschland News Channel and Adolf Himmler, the DNC science editor appears behind a launchpad in the distance, his current location is the Otto Von Bismarck Space Center, in the Halmahera Island, part of the German Empire. ”Good morning, I’m the DNC science analyzer Adolph Himmler at Halmahera Island with a late status report on the Freiheit 7, as for one of the many questions that we are going to respond today is,“ how did scientists create a propulsion system that can travel to another star system in 5 months, well, the first thing that can be noted is that this new form of propulsion travels at 75% of the light speed, using plasma and thermonuclear chargers to get the Herkules rockets on their the long journey to Janus b, the star system at 2,5 light-years from Earth as....” The television is turned off, being located in a private room at the Halmahera Island observation gantry, where various men and women in grey military uniforms are discussing several things, and outside the window, the launching pad can be seen, with the mighty Herkules rocket, which is going to carry the Freiheit 7 crew to the Naples planet. According to the latest scientific reports, it is the 9th planet of the Janus b Solar System. The previous mission, Freiheit 6 carried astronauts to the orbit one of the moons of their planet called Chia, the other is called Nova, the latter has a very similar composition and appearance of our own sun, many scientists have concluded that the reason this planet has a warm temperature (15c-54c) is for this moon. The Freiheit 7 has the aim of orbiting Naples, which has a very similar size to Mars, even though it is a little bit smaller than it. Naples is a curious planet, at night several ’lights’ can be seen from space, satellites have taken photos of this rare occurrence, which was partially concluded that the reason for this lights to appear at night is for some saline formations on its surface, just like what happens with Mercury, even though it is hard to tell for the gas formations in the atmosphere of this planet. It has a close resemblance to Earth, even though, the blue that can be seen is water but with a different composition to both the freshwater and the saltwater, being composed principally by iron components and the rest is H20 and liquid hydrogen, but that data could be incorrect. The thing that all scientists have security is about the composition of the planet's atmosphere, or its air, 40% Carbon Dioxide, 10% hydrogen, 13% nitrogen, 15% helium, 20% neon, and 2% of oxygen making the atmosphere highly toxic to humans. In the same room, three men are also located there, Peter Bismarck, Agustine Becker, and Wilhelm Weber, the three wearing formal suits, all waiting for the launch to happen, just being announced by the RRK, they were currently on the last checks for beginning the ignition. "Nuts, just nuts, huh?" Agustine says while watching the rocket on the horizon, even at those distances where they are currently located, the rocket looks huge, its powerful engines are reflected even from the outside, one of the greatest interstellar rockets in human history. The television is turned on again, the flight crew sounds off, the people in the room tense up, Peter looks down the line at Wilhelm’s jaw tensing, and Agustine scratching his neck. He is completely still, not moving or saying something. Since the death Kaiser Louis Ferdinand II, which by official reports it is claimed that it was a suicide, the German Empire has been different, his son, the new Kaiser Erwin Victor I, has reformed several things in the German Reichstag and the Reichspakt parliament. He has adopted a more, 'violent' position towards corruption in general because the German Empire in 2030 was one of the most corrupt nations in the whole world. Highways and other infrastructure buildings that the Kaiser Louis Ferdinand II stopped for the massive corruption opened new contracts with other German companies. a radio voice says out loud, belonging to one of the astronauts from the Freiheit 7 current mission. the controller responds, the room quiets as the call continues. the controller begins, everyone is waiting for the rocket to initiate its propulsors. The engines fire up before they can even hear them, the lights and the ceiling begin to shake the television in the corner of the wall doing the same. The engines roar, a tsunami of sound slams into the windows, everyone flinches at the power of the propulsors, including Peter, as the might is being reflected with the power of it, the power of the world's most powerful rocket and engines ever created by humankind, breaths are held as the Freiheit 7 lifts off the pad. Something is terrifying about the power of the big rocket, the speed at which it hurtles into the sky, it's almost supersonic, the RRK invented that in the middle of several missions with thermonuclear drivers that are activated to make a jumps 6x faster than the speed of sound. As it continues to rise, there’s scattered clapping... the launch is successful, and after a moment of silence in the room, everyone starts to cheer happily, the rocket successfully left Earth's atmosphere, yes, and that is not even the half of the power of the Herkules rocket, in just 14 seconds it can completely leave the atmosphere, even though Peter was not cheering at all, he heads to the door and exits the room, the loud cheering of the rest of the people is heard, it is an actual historic day for not only Germany but the whole world. Entering the giant space control building, he goes to the private area of it, where several loud sounds are heard. He heads to the restroom and enters it, directly going to wash his hands and face with the cold water that pours out, he looks at his reflection on the mirror, his blue eyes and facial expressions seem to be tired. "Helluva launch, " Harry Quill, one of the leading commanders at the RRK says entering the restroom. Peter looks up and shrugs, turning back to the sink, Harry stares Peter for a moment, analyzing him, like if he is seeing something in Peter's expression that just seems to be wrong. "I talked..... with Director Ernst and Horst about the schedule and........ we’d like you to command 8, " at that statement, Peter simply froze, "obviously, if 7 is successful, 8 or 9 will probably be our first attempt on a landing, " the man finishes with both of his hands in his pockets. Peter nods with a pleased expression on his face, acknowledging the potentially momentous nature of the mission he was assigned to, being the first human being to walk on an exoplanet. "Who are you thinking for the crew?" Peter asks Harry, changing his whole attention towards him. "Schneider can be one, he’s the best Befehlsmodul Pilot we have, well, you could take Weber, but he is currently in line for his own command, we are planning to send him as commander of the 9 or the 10" "Who’s the other option?" Peter asks plainly. "Well, Becker is the guy with the most experience," Harry answers him with a frown, "but in the end, it is your decision, so what do you think" Peter sighs and considers for some seconds, since the accident he had with the G-X3, several things have changed, like his assignment directly into the RRK astronauts program for various reasons, going from his engineering skills to his control ones. When the Kaiser died new reforms happened also in the RRK, and example was the imprisonment of the last RRK director for scandals of corruption, ordered directly by the prime minister. He already participated in the short Athena missions which tested the thermonuclear and plasma engines by going to mars and orbiting it in for one week. "Let me have 24 hours, " Peter responds to him in a pensive tone, already considering who will be his crew. One year later The men are led on stage to a table on it, the RRK logo is on its front, and three chairs for the astronauts can seat, these are Peter, Schneider, and Becker. A man walks behind them and begins to talk, each one in elegant suits, as the press conference for the Freiheit 8 mission is happening in that instance, "we're here today to talk a bit about the forthcoming flight, as the astronauts can talk about it because of previous flights, every flight takes new objectives, and in half of the whole German government and the Kaiser Erwin Victor, we are grateful to those people who made it possible for us to let these astronauts sit in this place this day" "We’ll take questions now, Jim?" the man says after finishing his discourse, picking one of the reporters in the crowd. "Peter, when you learned you were going to command this flight, were you surprised? overjoyed?" the reporter asks Peter while standing up. "...I was ummm surely pleased by the opportunity to command this crew into the unknown," Peter responds, no trace of emotion in his voice. Another reporter suddenly jumps up. "Peter, what do you think about the discovery of water on this planet, do you think it could have... life?" "I think that this universe is large and strange, what lies beneath the atmosphere of this planet is yet to be discovered, either by us or by the upcoming mission, " Peter answers him. "But, what if the 'lights' that have been mentioned as a discovery on what we could call the night of this planet, could be a kind of civilization, " the reporter retorts, not liking the last answer that Peter gave him. "As I said previously, we don't know what lies beneath the atmosphere, even though there is this very small chance that there is life on this planet for the conditions it is placed, " Peter responds him, trying to say as little as possible for the timer. "Do you think that the mission is going to be successful, " another reporter questions while standing up. "I’m planning on it being successful, " Peter answers harshly for the question she just gave him, "why do you say ‘think that mission will be successful?’ "...uh, I just meant, how you look at yourself as being part of history?" the lady replies, trying to remake her question. Peter hesitates... and at that moment Becker jumps into the conversation. "I think I can shed some light here, it’s a responsibility, for the Kaiserreich and what we are representing for democracy and liberty, but it’s exciting to be the first, my wife tried several times to slip her jewellery in my bags" The room is filled with laughter, Peter turns to look at Agustine slightly irritated for the interruption and the way he is saying the things. "You’re planning to take some of her jewellery to the planet, Becker?!" another reporter exclaims from behind. "Well, sure, what fella wouldn’t want to give his wife the rights to brag about having something in another solar system?" Chuckles are heard again, making Agustine smile.