In My Darkest Nightmares (Open - Reintroduction)

[Ustio North]

Kraven...A name that, in Ustio, had be resigned to a small brown cardboard folder in a filing cabinet somewhere in Government House. For many a year, it had sat in this cabinet, gathering dust alongside other dossiers on other nations that had been lost to the mists of time. Nations whose behaviour had become nothing more than the stuff of legend.

By the time the name had been left to gather dust, Ustio had not heard or seen first hand the atrocities supposedly committed by the Reich. Only stories, whispers of a nation whose sole purpose was warfare. Huddled survivors traded stories of thousands of factories, billowing smoke into the air, endlessly churning out weapons to fuel the never-ending War Economy. The Reich was often reffered to as more a force of nature than a nation of people, an unstoppable landslide of guns, tanks, ships and men that crushed anything in their path.

And that was just the start. Word of breeding programmes, thought crimes and other civil rights abuses by The Kraven Reich had been passed around. Stories that would chill the spine and torture the very soul. The very thought of what these people may have done was abhorrent, unholy.

But they were merely stories.

For years, the file on the stories and rumours about the Kraven Reich had sat unused, unneeded. But now, the file had been moved. Now, it sat upon the desk of the Chancellor. Word was that something was stirring from the darkness. A disturbance from the mists of time itself.

On this day, the rumours would clarified.

On this day, the stories would be remembered.

On this day, a Legend would return.

[Gratislavia]

"Save me darling save me from this fate, don't let me succumb to the horde; don't hold me a hostage in my own mind. The Corporation marches again to the south, and while we may not have known them in life the Freeks have certainly done an ample job of spreading their tales; and now this! Ready your gun, sharpen your sword and hide your wife's for no one is safe if these, dark myths are true! But for now my people rest, for shall need your strength to fight the horde brothers and sisters.

The loudspeakers that adorned the Gratislavian streets blared in a most unholy fashion startling the citizens. Never before had their government sounded frightened it was, unorthodox and unnerving. Worse still was the fear that grew in the various code readers throughout Gratislavia, implanted among the populace to prepare them for invasion the code breakers were in all honesty terrified and with good reason. For the very first sentence of the odd speech translated to something along the lines of, My people, our existence is threatened again; not as a nation no as a people. Extermination may be neigh, now is the time to fulfill your duty to the state! The last part of the speech proved that a curfew was now in place.

Upon the capital one would see masses of anti aircraft batteries being moved to the city square and armor rolling through the streets. Rank upon rank of infantry paraded towards massive defensive citadels ready to face this unknown and unmatched darkness that assembled to their south. Not that any of this mattered, for if these tales of destruction were true; no man, no woman, no child would survive the Kraven onslaught and this chilled Gratislavia to the bone. However the government was allotted a chuckle at a joke that had been passed around throughout the palace.

"Kraven won't come here, they most likely have never even hear the name Gratislavia."

Of to which the ministers would respond in a dark chuckle musing at their counter parts misinformation. "Fool this is the Kraven, the whole world is a target; and mind you were only a trip across the lake.

So it would come to pass that the Juggernaut would return.

A beast without compassion would rise.

And a nightmare be born into my mind.

[-Deus-]

Kraven…Kraven….Kraven… The name rings against your psyche like a bad nightmare, even so, Kraven is your nightmare. Like a bad plague that lingers around its victim the ideals of the Kraven Reich, live on. Yet, no one has risen to take the place of the once great empire; no one has risen to replace this once horrifying embodiment of wraith. Still the whispers go on and on…. Kraven….Kraven….Kraven. It floats like a poisoned air, like the bad taste of freedom or democracy in your mouth that just will not go away after you douse yourself in the ideals of the state and totalitarian belief. Nevertheless, the whisper will grow louder and louder as the giant rises again, as the screams of pain and sorrow once again blare like horns of death from the depths of Kraven. And those who do not know the name of this embodiment, this entity will soon know a feeling that….that they will never begin to fathom.

Even the Holy Caelumist Imperiate knows nothing of this once proud entity, the Imperiate nothing but a recent addition unto the world stage of false freedom and ideals of weak prosperity. The Imperiate gives nothing but a side glance to the rising giant, the true Leviathan of the sea that slowly emerges from its hellish sleep. The Imperiate, as so many others will be truly amazed when this giant makes itself known again, when this giant again stretches its arms far and wide, reclaiming the world that once quaked in fear with the very mention of its name. Do you know fear without the unknown? Do you know pain without a monster? No, the Imperiate did not. The Imperiate neither knew nor cared much for Kraven Reich; to them it was just another lumbering giant, just another piece of land that needed to be stomped out like a bug.

Moreover, even those who knew the name of Kraven within the Imperiate did little to act on their knowledge, simply shrugging it off as they went on with their meaninglessly small lives. No one jumped at the chance to fight off the giant, no one scurried like a rat to escape. No, only the naïve message of greetings and friendship was sent to the giant, the people sending off their message only to loss interesting in it entirely. Only the subtle whispers of those who believed the stories were heard that day though, only the bellowing cries of the giant itself was heard that day. Only the quiet sounds of laughter could be heard from the office of the Silver Fox, the proud Imperius Di of the Imperiate, his mask glistening as time seemed to only pass him by.

However, even in this ignorant buzz one listened. One watched with a passion, one watched with interest. Only one calculated and plotted for the future as the giant rose higher and higher from the depths. Only one burst forth with glee and surprise as the nightmare came again. And her sinister, mechanical laugh filled the air of the cavern she resided in, her twisted ideals something that was not known to anyone but the Kraven Reich. But even this twisted machine, even Mother could not hope to compare with the Kraven. Nevertheless, what could anyone truly do? Why do anything? These are what must be asked as the name is whispered on and on…. Kraven….Kraven….Kraven….

[Rethan]

Imperial Command
Nietzheim, Rethan
Azhukali

"Is this....is this accurate?"

"It's all rumours and circumstantial evidence, Reikskindral. MilInt thought you would want to know regardless."

Dragomyr nodded and sent the messenger away, his gaze transfixed on the dossier in front of him. Scribbled writing the margin of hastily typed letters and missives, a written payload which stole the very breath from the Imperator of the Worthless Empire. A cold chill reverberated down Lazarevik's spine, and for once the incessant burning itch of his scars didn't bother him. He was too distracted, too terrified....

Images flashed before him. Images from an earlier era in Rethast history. Women, violated and torn open. Suffering a fate worse than death for all their lives, giving birth to the weapons of the oppressors. Rebellions put down by gun and missile, executions in the middle of the street. Every flag torn down and replaced, houses leveled for the hideous macrofoundries. Enslavement, oppression, murder. It had taken a disgusting amount of bloodshed to free themselves from the oppression of the greatest threat the world had ever experienced. Even now, the birthing centres had not all been torn down, the macrofoundries left as empty shells to forever remind the citizens of the Hives of the monster they had once served....

This wasn't supposed to be happening. It wasn't supposed to fucking HAPPEN!

Dragomyr through the dossier to the ground, all his plans ruined, all his dreams dashed. It was rumours, yes. But that's all it ever was until the war machine started marching again. His nation was supposed to become strong enough to not have to fear their return, but they weren't there yet. They weren't there.... Dragomyr's only solace came in the fact that he, and he alone, was the only surviving Rethast whom had supported the act. But he didn't want subjugation now, no...he wanted companionship. But he had learned that they didn't believe in companionship. Not unless you could fight them off and maybe convince them otherwise. Could the Imperium fight them?

No no no no NO! NOBODY could fight them! They were war, they were slaughter. They were destruction, carnage and despair. They were perfection! They were conquest! They were....they were unstoppable.

Dragomyr collapsed into his seat and for the first time in years, he wept....

Kraven was alive.

[Milograd]

OoC: hell yes

[Third Spanish States]

Third Commune, en-route to the city of Hampshire Haven, 17:00 hours

One island, with an arguably speck of a population at 300 million inhabitants. The Fourth Hispano-German Reich called it Airstrip Alpha before their demise there. Third Commune once again it was called, and once again, it was paradoxically "ruled" by anarchists. That would be an oversimplification of the situation at the island. The truth is, something is wrong with this recent revolution, a revolution that relied entirely on the seizure of all networks from the hands of the fascist foe, but which had one accomplice, a biocomputer called EXT&RMINAI, created for establishing a pervasive surveillance system, but which has chosen to rebel against its creators, and chosen to, for its own reasons, ask for a human to voluntarily upload and merge her mind with its consciousness.

It has changed since then, as much as Cecily Lockhelm did. EXT&RMINAI has understood the ideals of anarchism, and through its massive database, given the possible means to transform what once was a totalitarian Police State into a free society. As the tides of war approach the now called Fourth Hispano-German Reich, the new society was being constructed, and success into such goal justified all means.

Cecily Lockhelm feared the machine because who was the dominant self after the merge of her mind with that thing was still undefined. But sometimes, it looked that perhaps, the fear was unjustified, that perhaps that being had similar objectives and was naturally incorruptible and devoid of pride and ambition. Yet it was better to be safe than sorry, and thus, to be alert. And there was so much information coming simultaneously to her that a nomal human mind would be overwhelmed, while she was driving a vehicle to reach the city of Hampshire Haven, where she was to meet some freelance mercenaries to push the next stage of the greater plan.

See, know, hear. It was not all-seeing, all-knowing, but since the merge, this iconic anarchist leader has become more than human, and according to the primitive and pagan definitions, what she became would possibly be called a goddess, and the radical shift may be too much, the power it confers could tempt even the most idealistic and pure person to be corrupted. Yet, so far, there were no signs of that. All she thought about was the future. The plan to destroy the Fourth Reich and its fascist transhuman agenda. And the hope that at least some among those sheeple of the Reich would rebel, for a change. So far they have gone and obeyed blindly orders to come to the hospitals, to be lobotomized, braindead, their consciousness replaced by software and hardware capable of moving a human body as a nonsentient construct, and it was frustrating that, unaware of their fate, they were simply obeying. What is the point of these people deserving to exist if they act like that?

Killing such genetically engineered mockeries of humanity's creativity and desire to be free was a mercy, but while the rational side agree, the emotional not always did. Cecily could control all those bodies directly, if she wanted to. They were just meat-puppets devoid of consciousness after the surgery. She argued it was not tyranny, because she intended to save those who actually rebel against it, and those who didn't obviously consented silently to die, and what was left was only a vegetative human body controlled by a nonsentient machine, and thus could no longer be tyrannized, but instead serve as an instrument of liberty, in war or peace.

A few minutes on the road, she was arriving at the city where the next phase was. An artificial tan helped to disguise the fact now 80% of her body mass was synthetic, and everything would work. Cecily suddenly smiled, as among loads of information, she saw and heard one man, one out of millions, who refused to obey... at last! Perhaps, perhaps there is more than genetics in this, and that was a hopeful idea, that even by genetically engineering humans to become sheepish, the governments wouldn't totally suppress the desire of freedom, that perhaps there was a soul, intangible, untouchable by the tyrants. Quickly, she ordered for the sheeple to take this man to a place where some of the few anarchists were, to welcome him as one of the few who had the courage and humanity to demand liberty among the former citizens of the Reich. He was spared of the death, as would be anyone he had feelings towards, provided he could help them to learn freedom.

Ironic, and perhaps insane, to punish conformity and obedience and reward rebellion like that.

Ironic perhaps, the bits of information among thousands of both relevant and futile data that suddenly Cecily became aware of while she was driving her car to the city. The rumors were sparking again. It has been years since the events in Havensky that had a brief, and fortunately ultimately doomed return of the infamous FATHER, where Julio Santiago, one of Cecily Lockhelm closest friends, was. The Kraven Corporation was apparently acting up something big. Gholgoth was far away, but not so far away, Third Spanish States proper, still unfortunately under the rule of the fascist Reich, would be one of the first territories any fleet coming from there would reach upon arriving at the chaotic wastes and areas of isolationistic, self-reliant civilizations there.

"Julio," without driving her attention away from the road, Cecily spoke, finally remembering his friend was right on the passenger seat, "I browsed something about the return of the Kraven Corporation, and they appear to be legit. You were in Havensky back then, weren't you?"

"That wasn't Kraven proper, it was their tool." Julio answered, "in my opinion FATHER wasn't really sentient, it was just following what it was programmed to do to the letter, that is why shit didn't hit the fan when you did what you did, but it is horrific what they do. Remind me..." he shuddered, and went silent. The old man began to feel unease as he remembered of what the stalinists did to his daughter, the unspeakable and ultimately failed experiments. And then, in what seemed like an ironic take of that thing the Christians called the Rapture, her daughter was "replaced" with a counterpart loyal to the Reich since that Large Hadron Collider experiment went wrong.

"I am sorry Julio." Cecily sighed, "didn't want to bring you bad memories."

"It is all right. Now, there is only one thing to say about Kraven. Many tyrannies aren't a real threat to our civilization, except for the Fourth Reich itself, but Kraven, they might know me, and even if they don't, they will sooner or later put us in a priority list of what they deem as threats to their horrific, inhuman plan."

"Do you," Cecily shuddered, obviously unease, "do you think what I am doing with the sheeple is as terrible as the workings of Kraven?"

"No! Neither what you, or, I dare to say, the Fourth Hispano-German Reich do, can be compared to their horrors. And besides, I believe the ends justify the means, in our case. You aren't being overtly brutal, haven't you heard that Kraven thugs operate their victims without anaesthesia? Not even the Fourth Reich is that horrible. And... to an extent, people have some limited freedom of living their own lives there, opening their own shops, graduating at what they want... The Fourth Reich just engineers people, but then let them follow their own course from the genetic base they have given, and they seek to play at being benevolent dictators. But Kraven..." he then nodded, "there is not really a comparison. All I must say is that we better hurry. This could influence in our chances of victory if we take too long to defeat our most immediate foe."

"In a few days, the outcome of our current war will be over." Cecily answered.

But while their matters were unresolved, Kraven brutality carried on.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Griffincrest Tower, Redemption, BC

Jack Phoenixclaw had been filling in for CEO while the real leader of the company sat in a prison cell somewhere beneath Paradise City, and despite all of the problems ripping the nation apart, he still found it a priority to keep his eye on the international goings on in the world. Suddenly, one caught his eye like nothing else had. His face became a bizarre mixture of both delight and terror mixed into one, strange expression. "More oil sir?" a nearby aid asked, assuming he had just read up on some massive reserve in some hell hole overseas.

"No...this is something far greater than oil Timaeus....the Kraven Corporation..they have returned" he said setting down his paper. The aid was confused, not fully understanding the very idea that was Kraven. He was far to young to understand just what had been unleashed upon the world, but his superior, the man now beaming before him, knew exactly what it meant.

Moments later the stand-in executive was rushing through a flurry of paper work, looking for the very best to send to the lands of that twisted Corporation. Phoenixclaw remembered the days of Father, and in some odd way somewhat longed for those days again. He wanted to go himself to the lands he had heard so much about, but he knew that this was out of the question. There were far too many pressing issues at home for him to be going all the way there, and god forbid should something happen to him. He remembered the days when Griffincrest mercenaries fought side by side with the capital police of the Kraven Corporation, and recalled being told story after story from his mercenary officers of the inhuman force plowing into territory in hours what it took his men weeks to even scratch. The power, the awe, the very essence of Kraven was something almost unbelievable in and of itself, something that young aid could never comprehend. And now, here they were, back on the world stage, and so help him God, Phoenixclaw wanted to open negotiations with them as soon as possible.

Before long however, a team of executives were assembled and given their new assignment. Lead by a man by the name of Daniel Drake, a half Confederate/half English member of the Griffincrest board of directors, the group of eight men got onto their small jet and whispered amongst themselves. They were all absolutely terrified. They had only heard stories, but none had ever actually thought they would be going right into the heart of the Kraven Corporation. Would they see first hand the capital police and the birthing centers they had heard so much about? Would they witness the brutality of the corporation which had caused nightmares for so many people? And most importantly of all, would they be able to seal this deal?

And so they were off, their small black jet with its gold stripe and logo lifted off into the dark night sky, bound for Fortress Norska. A brief message was sent ahead of them, informing the people at the Fortress that an aircraft was en route containing business men coming to negotiate a deal with the government, and not much else was done. It was all very last minute, but then again so was almost everything done by the oil conglomerate now a days. Phoenixclaw waited with unreal anxiety for the results of this expedition, and Drake began to sweat just a bit at the thought of what may lay ahead of him.

[Vetok]

'Kraven...damn, but there's a name I never wanted to hear again. I heard on the news that they've actually been stirring up. I don't know what this means for the rest of us, but I can tell you this; It's bad. I saw what they did when we were sent into Hive Eighteen in Rethast territory. What I saw there...it was horrible. Bodies left to rot in the street, people wandering through the streets, mutilated so much you wouldn't think they were human to to begin with. I don't want to see what they could do to anyone else, to us. And I don't intend to be around to find out.'

Evidence Catalogue No. 107-A
Author; McAllister, Dale (Formerly Sergeant, 1st Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Paraborne.)
Cause of Death; Suicide (Negligent Firearm Discharge)

'The Kraven? God I remember those bastards. 'Least the Capitol Police I can. Big fuckers, massive armour. Not people you'd want to cross...that is, if they were ever people in the first place. I was a medic back then, just a private in 4th Squad. We'd been assigned to guard the entrance to the tower our Kroc's had landed on, make sure that there was enough time to get out as many Rethast as possible.'

'What happened to your unit?'

'...I...I was late. I got stuck looking after a civvie casualty. The Sarge called me down, told me to hurry. But by the time I got there, those Capitol Police guys were in the Hive. There was dozens of them. They butchered the Rethast stood in their way, then they hit us. I got to Paulson just as he bled out. Anders, Misaki...all gone too.'

'It wasn't your fault Private. Your job was to go to Hive Eighteen and help evacuate the Rethast civilians. You did that, at least a hundred got away. That's something to be proud of.'

'Really? A hundred out of thousands in that one Hive alone? You think I should be proud of that? If I hadn't been stupid, I could have got there! I could have saved Paulson, and Anders, and Misaki!'

+At this point, Private Anders enters a state of high agitation+

'Private, calm down. It wasn't your fault.'

'Wasn't my fault? Fuck you. I don't need a fucking shrink telling me it wasn't my fault, because I know it was. So fuck you, and fuck the Major. I know he put you up to this, so don't even bother trying to deny it.'

'That as may be, Private, but you need to calm down.'

'Whatever. We're done here, so piss off. I'm going home.'

+Interviewer sighs+

'Very well Private. Interview terminated at 1746 hours.'

Transcript of Interview Log 487
Lieutenant Doctor Margaret Hanson
Private Andrew Taylor

[Lebengeberland]

"The what Corporation?"

The Republik Oberbefehl, or Republic High Command, was based seven miles away from the old city of Lebengeberstadt and the concentration of ministerial and government buildings that historically covered that area. Altlebengeber was the traditional area for government work, containing the headquarters of several major ministries, the Prime Ministerial residence and the Presidential Palace. Darker-humoured individuals in the military found the separation of the brand new civilian government from the well-established military command as highly amusing; slightly more practical individuals in the civilian government found it a little more alarming. Despite this bad humour, every week Presidential Mikhail Strauss made the journey via limousine to the main conference room at Oberbefehlhaus to be briefed by his commanders on the national security issues facing the country. It was during the initial listing of potential threats to the Republic that the Kraven Corporation had been announced by the grim-faced officers. Mikhail smiled slightly, a mixture of bemusement and slight worry at the expressions on his commander's features. "Never heard of it, is this a problem?" Strauss asked cautiously.

General Markus Hehl, senior officer of the Lebengeberland Landarmee and current Organising Chairman of the Republik Oberbefehl, was a tall, moustached individual that had been the longest-serving commander of the Lebengeberland Colonial Military during the newly-formed Republic's time as a colony of the Fourth Reich. His well-adorned jacket jingled with medals as he opened the folder in front of him with a grey-gloved hand; despite being a versatile and flexible tactician the General was a stickler for etiquette and tradition during meetings with the civilian leadership, whoever that was at any one time. "Potentially sir," he said in a deep, throaty voice damaged from years as a heavy smoker. "I'm afraid the majority of our reports are second-hand; the Fourth Reich managed to stay off the Kraven Corporation's radar during its existence. You can find some of the reports on their previous activities in your own folder."

Strauss nodded, opening the folder in front of him and flicking through a few of the pages. After a moment he looked up, his relatively young features masked with complete seriousness now. Mikhail was a young President at 33, but a shrewd political tactician and a passionate man about his country. He had served in various civil administrations during Lebengeberland's colonial government and had been elected at the head of the brand-new Democratic Party only a month before. Now however, he had the weight of an entire country on his shoulders and this had just become a new thing to lose sleep over. "Birthing vats?" he said incredulously. "Permanent War Economy?" The President leant back in his chair and puffed his cheeks with air. "Jesus," he muttered. Then he looked up. "So what do we do about this?"

General Hehl glanced over at his fellow officers and back. "Sir, the only thing we can really recommend right now is trying to keep a low profile," he said evenly. "I would also recommend a re-analysis of our military capacities and strongly urge a consideration of further military expansion to keep ourselves safe from these sorts of people."

Strauss nodded to himself slightly. Then he leant forward. "I'll bring it up at the next Cabinet meeting," the President acknowledged. "What's next on the list?"

[New Triagia]

Undercity Alpha, Palace of Peace
‘It’s confirmed Father the Kraven Corporation are moving again.’
The nervous aide put his hand onto the translucent surface of the desk feeling a moment of pain as the implant in his wrist transferred the encrypted data into the desks computer, the surveillance reports seemed to float to the surface and the man behind the desk flicked through them idly his own implants interacting seamlessly with the desks biometric controls.
Father Gabriel glanced through the reports in silence he looked tired and worried a far cry from the benevolent smiling image of carefully sculpted perfection that the average citizen saw on the newscasts and propaganda screens.
‘I want you to speak to the Media department I am putting a gag order on all information relating to the Kraven Corporation for the time being’ Fathers voice was quiet and kind and the aide fought against the urge to relax knowing that the effect was due to subliminal programming in the news broadcasts did little to prevent the conditioned response and he needed to keep his head clear.
‘It will be done father.’
‘Then I want you to take this message to the Diplomatic department it’s time we renewed our public diplomatic ties with the Kraven high command’ Father Gabriel scrawled a lengthy message onto the surface of the desk with a data pen and pushed the new document across the desk so the aide could collect it with his implant feeling the sting of the connection as the file transferred.
‘Father is that wise? I... I mean the Kraven Corporation are infamous if we make our connection with them public it could cause diplomatic problems with other nations.’ The aides question caused Father to look at him directly for the first time his ice blue eyes boring into the young man one eyebrow raised in mild irritation.
‘It’s Jason isn’t it?’
‘Yes sir, Jason 42709’ the young aide stammered unnerved that father knew his name.
‘The Kraven Corporation put a lot of investment into our country Jason, without their investment we would be decades behind out current technological level, but that backing did come at a price and if they are moving again it’s time we reminded them that we remember our commitments in case they choose to remind us forcefully.’ Fathers tone was warm and Jason felt his fear melt away in the warmth of that voice. ‘New Triagia is not a large island after all and without their backing we would never have had the industrial resources to dig our underground cities or fund our biological research.’
‘Im sorry sir I didn’t mean to question’ Jason stammered.
Gabriel stood up and walked around the desk putting his hand on Jason’s shoulder in a fatherly gesture and smiling his face the perfect image of friendly concern.
‘Jason you were given this job because you have an excellent mind it would be a crime if you didn’t use it’ Gabriel said softly ‘I want you to feel free to question if you think you see a problem because that’s part of your job, if you don’t question a bad decision and it passes then the people would be forced to question their fathers ability to lead and we don’t want that now do we?’
‘No sir of course not’ Jason was horrified by the thought of the people losing faith in the father because of his inaction.
‘Good man now off you go ill send a message head so the diplomatic department will know to expect you’ Father slapped the young man on the shoulder and returned to his seat.
Energised by their conversation the aide left the room hurrying to do his duty and still glowing from the conversation with his benevolent leader.
Father Gabriel tapped out a command on the desk and touched the implant under his right ear to enable the vocal link, the desk shimmered and a video image flickered into life displaying a man in a smart black uniform with a generals insignia badge and a sour expression that cleared as he realised who was on the other end of the link.
‘I am sending Jason 42709 down to the diplomatic department to deliver a secure file, send up a collection team to take possession of him when he’s done and deliver him to human services for a full mental reconstruction.’
‘Understood sir, was there a specific problem with this individual that they should work on sir?’ the general asked politely.
‘Tell them they need to work on reducing independent thought again he questioned an order, remind them my aide is supposed to transport information not comment on my decisions.’ Father hesitated a moment thoughtfully ‘on second thought tell them to vivisect the subject and dump his mental template they might find the problem if they don’t have to worry about keeping him alive and I am fed up of his incompetence.’
‘Yes sir’ the general said blanching noticeably ‘Would you like me to notify personnel to prepare you a new aide?’
‘That would be excellent thank you.’ Gabriel replied closing the link with a flick of his augmented hands.
Rising from his seat he walked over to the portrait that hung behind his chair and pulled it aside to reveal the heavy safe door concealed behind it, placing his hand on the handle he winced as the implant communicated with the safe and pulled the door open.
Pulling out a battered black case he sat back down on at the desk before opening it, the case contained a string of medals and a set of officer badges and pins all slightly tarnished from their years of storage. Gabriel brought each piece out one by one polishing each in turn with reverence that would have surprised his people, but then they had no reason to recognise the insignia of a Kraven Standartenführer…

---

New Triagia Newsnet
Today New Triagia made a public declaration of friendship towards the Kraven Corporation citing their longstanding association and mutual interests. In a public statement from the palace of peace Father Gabriel declared a new era of cooperation between New Triagia and the Kraven Reich who have only recently begun showing interest outside their own borders again after a lengthy period of isolation.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

As the plane entered into the dark smog cloud Drake grimaced in disgust. If there was one thing he liked best about the Confederacy, it was the pristine, beautiful jungles that covered most of the land, a far cry from this industrial hell. "Ugh.." he said aloud "how can people live like this?"

Before long, however, the plane was gliding down towards the runway below. The executives were making their last minute adjustments, straightening a tie here, coming some loose hair there, and then made their way towards the front of the plane. Just before the door opened, Drake looked back at the men. "I hope your ready for this...it's certainly gunna be an experience" he said as the door opened and he stepped out onto the stairs that folded out from the aircraft.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

As the plane entered into the dark smog cloud Drake grimaced in disgust. If there was one thing he liked best about the Confederacy, it was the pristine, beautiful jungles that covered most of the land, a far cry from this industrial hell. "Ugh.." he said aloud "how can people live like this?"

Before long, however, the plane was gliding down towards the runway below. The executives were making their last minute adjustments, straightening a tie here, coming some loose hair there, and then made their way towards the front of the plane. Just before the door opened, Drake looked back at the men. "I hope your ready for this...it's certainly gunna be an experience" he said as the door opened and he stepped out onto the stairs that folded out from the aircraft.

The delegates from Griffincrest were greeted in the usual style by the Kraven Diplomatic Korps, a red carpet was laid out in front of the aircraft and each side of it lined ten of Kraven's feared Capitol Police, each of them stood with perfect precision, each of them cold and unmoving, unfeeling and uncaring towards the delegate, their red eyes pierced the darkness of the Kraven night air and the rhythmic breathing was the only sound over the gently slowing sound of the Jets turbines...

At the other end of the carpet, stood two Officers each wearing long black heavy greatcoats, their breath condensing into clouds in front of them, a large eight wheeled APC stood idling to one side, a Capitol Police gunner was sat in the cupola, looking across the airfield with those same unfeeling eyes, the officers awaited the approach of the Griffincrest delegates..

Around the airfield, it was obvious that this was a military nation, impressive FlaK guns arrayed they airfield protecting the skies from would be aggressors, while more Capitol Police patrolled the perimeter, large guard dogs strained at their leashes as they slowly walked along the fence, the air was cold and uninviting and snow was gently starting to fall, a common place in Fortress Norska, the pollution in the atmosphere over this part of the world caused unusual, dirty grey snow to fall for the majority of the year, something to do with the heavy petrochemical pollution from the Kraven Macrofoundries that blotted out the sun and its warmth....

Barbed wire seemed to ring everything and yet more military personnel could be seen, anyone could be forgiven for thinking that this was a military installation and not the Capitals economic airfield, but as the Griffincrest employees would soon discover, this look was common place throughout the Fortress City of Norska...

Drake was clearly impressed by the red carpet and the Capitol Police that stood in perfect order along the sides of the isle him and his entourage now walked down, but within secnds he was enveloped by a feeling of dread. He has seen the APC, with its gunner watching them carefully, and could not help but think "By God Danny their going to kill us"

Nonetheless, however, he continued forward, doing his best to keep his fear on the inside as he approached the men of the Diplomatic Korps and extended his hand. "David Drake" he said waiting for the response from his Kravenite counterpart. Behind him, some of his men brushed the filthy gray snow from their shoulders. Many had never seen snow before, but certainly did not expect it to look like this, and those that did tried their best to hide their disgust.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

The executive was a bit surprised by the lack of response to his outstretched hand, but within moments he soon found him and his associates being herded into the back of that APC he was worried about a few seconds before.

"...what the hell are we doing here?" one of the executives whispered to the man next to him.

"They're going to kill us, I'm sure of it" said another

"Shut up, both of you! They are not going to kill us...it's just a business meeting, nothing more" Drake said angrily

"Yea, a business meeting with the devil...we shouldn't be here...noone should"

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

Drake shook the mans hand before following him to the room and the harsh pat down, which drew no small amount of protest from the men, who each complained vigorously as they were roughly handled and then tossed aside. It was not often that Griffincrest representatives were treated in such a manner, but nonetheless they knew where they were, and that they needed to shut up and just get this deal done if they ever wanted to get home again.

Before long the men were all filing into their seats and Mr. Drake stood up to pop open his suitcase and pass out a bunch of papers to each of the Kravenite officers around him.

"Men, what you have here is the latest Griffincrest oil report. As you can see, we have tens of billions of barrels being pumped daily from fields around the globe. Now, I am well aware of the Kraven Corporation and of its penchant for war, and as we all know, to wage a war in today's time you need oil. That is where we come in. The Griffincrest Corporation is willing to provide you all the oil you could possibly need to wage war in exchange for the low price of thirty dollars a barrel, and the guarantee that we will be the sole foreign oil provider to your..ahem..fine..corporation"

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

The Griffincrest executives, already uncomfortable, were now made even more so, not only by the Capitol Police Officer, but also by the goggle man, who seemed to be some kind of mutant. In the Confederacy, they were used to the beauty of the jungles and the people and the great marble statue and towering glass and steel structures of Paradise City, and the beautiful people who were so frequent down town. Now they just longed to be back there, away from the ugliness and coldness of the Fortress. Of course, there was plenty of ugliness within the Confederacy too, one only had to go to the slums or the Backlands, but these men had never and like would never go there anyway.

Drake began "Thirty dollars is a relatively cheap price for oil in today's world, but as always we are willing to negotiate on that price. We are not dead set on it, and there is some leeway to make changes. Also, concerning the quality of our oil, Griffincrest prides itself on providing first class high quality oil to all of our customers, and we would be more than willing to bring a group of your own representatives back with us to survey our facilities if you would like, to assess for yourselves the production process and ensure that we will not cheat you in any way. Additionally, the Griffincrest Corporation is constantly searching for and acquiring oil fields in locations across the globe, fueling our ever expanding corporation and driving us to new heights, guaranteeing our customers that they will receive a never ending flow of oil for as long as their nation remains in existence."

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

The executives began shifting in their chairs and panicking as the Capitol Police drew there weapons, protesting loudly at the treatment they were receiving before Drake finally spoke, his voice more clear than it ever had been during the meeting.

"Do you really think you can use our own tricks against us, Reich Minister?" he said, the last part in a most condescending tone. "Do you know how many times I've been on your side of the table, forcing some little worm of a Prime Minister into a deal they did not want? I am no worm Kravenite. These other men may be, but you will not intimidate me. You can not possibly dream of taking the oil from Griffincrest. What are you going to do? Shoot us and add another enemy to your list, an enemy that could very easily been your friend and who has been in the past?" he said gruffly.

"And you claim to save money in this endeavour? I can assure you, even if you do manage to wrest our fields from us, the cost of doing so will have been so great for you the fields will prove worthless, the mobilization alone being more than the value of any oil we can give you. Now.." he began as he slid a paper back across the table towards the Reichs Minister, "I believe it would be best if we came to a price we can both agree upon, you sign this, and me and my men never need to come back to this god forsaken hell hole you call a fortress."

Drake had dealt with smaller nations before, and treated them in a very similar way the Kravenites were treating him right now. He was insulted, for he knew it meant he was not being taken seriously, and he was not about to give these twisted science projects anything without a price.

[Abruzi]

Tag for the Ministry of Contentment Ideology Discernment Teams.

[Third Spanish States]

The relatively small, windowless but luxurious room with decorated wooden panels was somewhat simple for the cabinet of Wilhelm Franco. There a woman wearing black shirt and pants sat down, waiting for his arrival. This was the impossible becoming possible, an outcome nobody expected, an outcome that challenged everything.

Cecily Lockhelm stopped tapping her feet impatiently when the door opened, and the former enemy got in. She offered him a handshake as he took his seat across her, and filled two cups with tea. The man was not about her age, at late thirties, and he looked at the photographs of a woman and two children twice while sipping from the tea. Cecily pretended to not notice it, and began casually smiling:

"We both need a psychiatrist. I suppose everything is proceeding smoothly."

"More than I hoped for, miss Lockhelm. I understood your point that discipline doesn't require sentience, and we are running through, getting all great minds to join your caste. In time, anything you'd find morally objectionable about the Reich will be gone, and the mutual benefit will be great. You were right about the drones, why waste sentient humans on lowly positions?"

"One day robots will remove the need for drones, but I want you to know this well, Franco." Cecily explained, "I have no idea why you agreed with this, and if you are hoping to pull strings over us, you'll be disappointed."

"I'd never think of that, Cecily. And I don't need that. You think I do what I do because of ambition and greed, and there is your mistake, the reason you didn't manage any great victory back then." he argued, "your people were made for what you are, and ours for what we are. Only a few of us have managed to adapt to your revolution attempt, as you noticed, and in the end, you lobotomized most of our people. Do you understand the implications? I hope you realize that your utmost victory would have done much more harm than good, although perhaps, this draw was for the best. Now, we stand alone, I am afraid. The fervent fascists will accuse me of treason, and other anarchists will call you a traitor and devil for this, and for what, under EXT&RMINAI guidance, you have chosen to commit."

"We have condemned ourselves to isolation forever by doing this," Cecily shrugged, "it is all a matter of genetics, and remember the deal that in a hundred years your successful will voluntarily allow the free mankind genes to overcome."

"Of course, I will honor the treaty. But now, have you heard of Kraven?"

"Kraven this... Kraven that..." she sighed, "it is just another war machine. Don't draw comparisons. But why mention it?"

"They are unchanging, eternal like the lava of the planet, that does not care whether it'll destroy after an eruption. It is a force of nature first and foremost. And it keeps going, growing unless contained. I think it may be of mutual interest for we both to take a look at Kraven's heart."

"But why? The only reason we'd ever deal with them would be to erase them from history!" Cecily questioned. The man once again gazed at the photographs in his office, and for a while, he drifted away from the present, and commented:

"You know what it is, to lose someone you love. I can see it in your face, in how you observe me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..." Cecily began.

"No problem, that has been fifteen years ago. I am not different from you, just because I believe in something different, just because you have become one with a sentient artificial intelligence. We all had our frustrations, from the highest mount to the lowest pit, nobody is immune to suffering, to loss. Yet, those on the bottom, they have genuine friends, now I see. False grievers, who pretend they care, hoping I'd promote them because of my loss. That was so typical. It always bothered me. People should be rewarded by merit only. I remember the shock when I ordered the yesmen to be executed for their hypocrisy, for their crocodile tears, to dare to exploit my suffering for their selfish interest. I knew those were the real traitors all along!" he said with passion and hatred.

Cecily tried to swallow a certain uneasiness.

"Now, Cecily Lockhelm, Kraven Corporation, you wonder why I mentioned it." he started, "They are ruthless, brutal, but efficient, to an extent. And we need to have a benchmark to test the nano-augmentation project against. You said it yourself: they are volunteers, people who risked themselves out of their beliefs rather than by force. Wouldn't their proof of superiority to this propaganda-inflated Kraven Capitol Police be the ultimate proof of your principles?" he then smiled, "you were one of the first people with hybrid biomechanical and nano-augmentations, although in your case, it was not entirely volunteer as I suppose EXT&RMINAI didn't give you all details about the operation, I am willing to make a bet."

"Are you suggesting me to..."

"I bet my resignation and giving in full authority to the Anarchist Confederacy, nullifying our previous agreement, if you defeat a Kraven's Capitol Police in the field of honor."

Cecily stuttered, but suddenly she replied:

"Deal, but we better have another justification out there. And one more thing, if you think you'll be getting rid of me this way, you will deeply regret trying." she said angrily.

"Of course not. We should have an airplane ready now."

-----------------------------

Approaching Fortress Norska

The blended wing body learjet left a trail of spent hydrogen fuel as it proceeded through the barren darkness and smog. Both Cecily and Wilhelm looked out of the windows, but could barely see anything but a bleak landscape. Both could agree this was a horrible place.

"Let me handle this, pilot." Wilhelm announced, as a robotic attendant gave him a phone. He immediately grabbed the phone and spoke, as it was broadcasted to the control station:

"This is Wilhelm Franco, leader of the Transhuman Reich, to Kraven Control, requesting clearance for landing."

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

"Normally at this point in the conversation I'd tell you to go to hell, but from the looks of it you're already there" Drake said as he began putting papers back into his briefcase.

"If you think we are just going to give you oil and get nothing in return, you are far more demented than I had previously thought. You are more than welcome to try and take it from us, but from what I've been hearing it seems like you've already kinda gotten your hands full. Now, are you going to make us an offer, kill us, or can we walk out of here and wish we were never sent to this filth infested dungeon?" he asked snapping shut the latches on his brief case and holding a piece of paper in his hand.

One of the executives, however, cocked his head to the side as the fear began to drain from him, realizing there was possibly something to gain here. "Wait, wait, an investment, how so?" he asked, hoping to possibly appease these people and not have his brains blown all over the table they sat around.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

The executive who had spoken earlier cringed in fear as the Kravenite spoke, however Drake was just as adamant as ever to extract a payment for his oil, but he also was not particularly keen on dying here in this awful place. "I am going to need some kind of a payment from you Reichs Minister Drake said. "In return for your military protection, we can cut the cost of oil oil significantly, however we do need some compensation, we are not a vassal."

"Why don't you let us go back to the Confederacy, and we'll discuss it at the next board meeting! We'll even bring you in on a video conference! What do ya say?" one of the other executives blurted out.

"Yea yea!" came the responses from nearly all the other men of the Griffincrest delegation aside from its leader, who remained still and watching his counterpart walk about the room.

[Third Spanish States]

From inside the airplane, Cecily suddenly began to clap her hands as the transmission was over. It was pure cynicism, obviously from being aware that Franco didn't plan for this contingency. He looked at her annoyedly, and clicked his tongue, explaining:

"Look, it is best for both of us if you pretend to be just a mindless robot. I don't need them thinking funnily about our arrangement, so I'll say we applied our advanced mind control technologies to get you on our side. You know what they are capable of. Now, let me answer them, and," he smiled, "don't look at me like that, I swear I am not going to abuse this little act. Stay calm, and remember, mess this up..."

"And you are definitively dead, but remember when I told you that you won't get rid of me this easily? Well, well, messing up things, except for the need of having to fend off a possible attack later, would be mostly favorable to the interests of freedom. I'd get easily rid of you this way."

"And draw all of our people into the spotlight, by doing such a thing," he frowned, "now, can you act the act or are we damned today?"

"Riiight," she nodded, "make up your bullshit about me being your mind-controlled experimental supersoldier or whatever, but don't abuse this, or we'll have a conversation about it later."

Wilhelm then noticed as Cecily became statue-like over her seat, a robot, he then smiled, to which she didn't react, and replied back to Fortress Norska:

"Acknowledged. My primary purpose is to personally witness the effectiveness of the Capitol Police best warriors, by putting one of my personal projects into a fight to death against one of yours," Cecily didn't even flinch when he mentioned it loudly about wanting it to be a fight to the death, "if you were to allow me such a honor. My secondary purpose is the opening of possible relations between the Transhuman Reich and the Kraven Reich, for I believe we may have much in common, and in time we may have many experiences to share about our methods of control."

Cecily remained statue-like. immobile, while focusing on other places she could see right now. Every camera of the Reich was one of her eyes, every microphone linked to the network one of her ears, thus it was not as difficult as expected for her to play the act. Hopefully the next answer wouldn't be a missile flying straight to their direction as they prepared to land.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

As the executives went back to their rooms, many were quite apprehensive about eating the food the were being given. Drake did not touch it, but instead took out his video phone and called Paradise City, getting a direct link to Jack Phoenixclaw, sitting in his office in Griffincrest Tower.

"How is it goin' down there in the Fortress?" Jack asked.

"Not well, they're refusing to pay, but instead offering military support in exchange for oil" Drake said, a rather disappointed tone in his voice. "They are offering to put Capitol Police in our oil fields to provide security"

"You gotta be fuckin' with me!" Jack said back, rather startled at the blatant disrespect the Kraven Corporation was showing him and his company. "You tell those sons of bitches there is no way I will ever let a single CP into anything owned by this corporation. Those bastards will stab you in the back before you can bat an eyelash! What do they think I'm stupid? This is bullshit. You go back out there, drop the price to twenty dollars a barrel, give them the guarantee that the oil will arrive no matter what and that whole spiel, and if they continue to push the issue, end the negotiation and come home. You understand me? There is no way this company is going to bow down to Kraven, you make them pay, or you leave, got that?"

"Got it"

"Good"

As he closed his phone he looked out the window in disgust. "This place is a real shit hole" he thought to himself.


"Fucking disgusting"

[Kahanistan]

New Masada, Kahanistan

Military Intelligence HQ

General Igor Kaselev, Director of Military Intelligence and former head of the Division of Anti-Kraven Intelligence, read over an intelligence report whilst drinking from a large thermos of espresso. He had been drinking a lot of it the last few months. It all came to a head when he had taken a personal interest in the Parthian atrocities against the local Arab population. The rumours incited riots that escalated diplomatic tensions with Parthia, worsening to an ongoing armed conflict after reports of a prison whose horrors rivaled even those of Kraven or the Freekish Puritania being discovered were leaked to the press. The general had previously written books on torture and now had enough material to write an entire anthology if he ever found the time.

That would be years from now, if there were anything to these new reports from Kraven. Kaselev placed the thermos down on top of his Intro to Persian CD. He picked up the latest report from Kraven. Reports of any kind were hard to get from Kraven now; the bulk of Kahanistan's intelligence assets were tied up in Parthia, Ralkovia, and the Scandinvan Empire. The Thought Crimes Act had been back in force over a year and it had just come in the previous month.

The general finished off his thermos and refilled from the huge coffee maker he had recently requisitioned. If the times of relative freedom in Kraven were over then that represented the possibility they may be gearing for war. He directed Satellite Intelligence Command to keep abreast of any unusual movements of Kraven military forces for the time being, and began to monitor Kraven news sources for a slanted view on the situation there.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

After some time spent relaxing in their rooms, some men eating and others not, the executives gathered together to go back to the meeting room. Many were grumbling about how they just wanted to go home, but Drake was determined to close the deal. And so they waited outside the room, waiting for the Capitol Police to open the doors and lead them back into the nightmare of a room beyond the doors.

Drake had already prepared his next moves. He knew he had to go in there and play hard ball with these guys, but just how they would respond to his pitch was a matter still to be determined.

[Blackhelm Confederacy]

The executives looked at the disgusting Reichs Minister and many began to feel nauseous. They just wanted to go home, back to the beauty of the Confederate jungles and Confederate women. The more time they spent there, they more they started to appreciate just how good they had it back home. Many tried to avert their eyes to avoid staring at the train wreck of a man that was before them, the very man who was supposed to finalize this deal. He was, for lack of better words, grotesque. More than a few of the executives grimaced in disgust as he slurped up his saliva and peeled off flesh, looking quite sick by what they were seeing, but nonetheless Drake jumped right back to negotiations.

"Well Mr. Reich Minister, I feel like we won't be able to accept your offer of Capitol Police protection, very sorry about that. I am, however, willing to drop the price down to twenty universal standard dollars per barrel, and can assure you that you oil will arrive, no matter what. This promise is supported by the full strength of the Griffincrest Security Navy, a force which I am proud to say is amongst the best in the world. So, Mr. Reich Minister, not only are you gaining oil out of this deal, but you are also gaining one of the world's premier navies help in defending your shores, not that you would need the help of course. But it is still always nice to have."