Mirror-Verse , Iron Cross Rising: Splinters in the Universe: Mirror-verse , Iron cross rising: Splinters in the Universe, #1

By James T.Knight

Alternate earth :

     A lone Country decides to break away from a unified earth, after 150 years of peace established by the church and the Popes that have governed the planet, to secure there own freedoms and way of thinking and sparks a new Holy war.

         Jamie Trathen a young southern girl just becoming a young woman gets caught up in a world of adult problems and escapes the possibility of going to jail by joining the military in a very inopportune time.

                After acing her classes at the military academy and early graduation, her armored cavalry division gets shipped out and assigned to fight in South Africa of all places to join forces with the Popes holy military under a sudden and tense peace treaty, to fight against a new unknown foe from an alternate earth of all places. Jamie , dodging one problem and facing new unknowns finds herself fresh out of school thrown from the frying pan into the fire to be forged in steel or turned to slag.....

• Language: English
• Publisher: James T.Knight
• Release date: Dec 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798218063122

Book preview

Chapter 1

It Begins

Summer, 1939

Alternate Earth:

D

r. Fieldman, a blond-haired, and blue-eyed German scientist of Nordic decent, a ladies’ man and politician, was in his posh hotel room in Germany enjoying his free stay on the government. Being a top echelon German scientist, one of the privileged few, he knew that an all-out war was coming, and the statisticians had figured out roughly to the last bullet how long they could wage an all-out war. Factoring in some protracted all out conflicts; and roughly how long their reserves would last as the report was perused. He also recognized this and acknowledged that they could only sustain an all-out conventional war for so long. Using their stockpiles of reserves and obtaining required decisive victories was one of the main reasons that drove him to his work. The problem was that with war, there was always innovation. Their enemies would adapt, and why he was the one in charge of an alternative program, utilizing replenish-able energy to wage war and possibly replenish their side for an all-out final victory, was because he was a realist. He was an idea man, an innovator who thought outside the box. It was a matter of numbers and time and the utilization of the blitzkrieg effect by the General’s to its maximum efficiency, to not allow their enemy a chance to respond or breath. He had seen the battle plans and the vile treaty with the Soviets, but it was his job to come up with alternate options and solutions for the General’s, or rather the final solution. Currently, the only thing he had to do was to stabilize the power output to his current project to run his equipment at optimum efficiency. He sat staring out the large glass window, at the cold rain outside, in his black leather clad chair, brows furrowed, as his mind wondered on the war in between the numbers. His mind was a blur of equations and ideas as he forced his tired brain to concentrate. It continuously wondered as he sat in the rich four room hotel, as he looked down and scribbled some random equations on his pad. They were like pieces to the puzzle on the old antique desk that should fix his current power problem, no? He thought as he ran his other hand over the cold, highly polished desk. The equation he scribbled down would work but still seemed wrong somehow and would require some tweaking. He blindly reached out and grabbed his still slightly smoldering pipe to his mouth and smoked it a little, as if on auto pilot, casually puffing into the air while concentrating on the blur of numbers flowing through his head as the smoke rose up swirling in the air and then placing it back in its cradle. He stopped writing as he digested the new equation with his brain that he had just written and grabbed his cup of coffee for the caffeine boost. Then took a sip as the taste of the tobacco co mingled with the hot coffee, pushing the tiredness away a little while longer; he was enjoying the moment briefly as the fog was lifting outside. He perked up in the plush study room of the hotel that doubled as the entry way to the room. As the numbers started to flow again, taking a life of their own, he suddenly started scribbling down some more numbers and notations for the new power equations. The new power formula on his pad was taking shape, to the current problem, that until this time, had him stumped for a while and he would soon be required to return to the laboratory to implement them. A smile splayed across his lips at the thought of returning to the laboratory. As the numbers flowed in his mind, he was writing them as fast as possible when a rapid knock came at the door, interrupting the flow of thought, like a fly, his mind faltered at the distraction, coming to a screeching halt. Everything disappeared, his mind blank, his fore head scrunched up, his hand balled into a fist as the pencil snapped in two leaving a line across the pad Gaaaa came out of his mouth as he threw the broken pencil at the direction of the garbage can. Annoyed at being interrupted at the peak of his epiphany, Damn maid he thought as Dr. Fieldman called out in an annoyed absent mindedly fashion in German Gah, Enter the door is open, make it quick and don’t forget the fresh linen this time. He snapped, as he grabbed a fresh pencil and wrote the last piece of his incomplete thoughts on his pad, or at least what he thought it was in a vain attempt to regain composure. He turned in his chair and grabbed his heavy black leather clad book, snapping it open to the last page. He started to transfer items from his note pad to his book. His frenzied writing of notations and scribbled numbers for a stable power output equation, with question marks in the columns. Ideas were still reeling through his mind in hopes to recapture the moment of his mental flow, but it was lost because of the Damn maid again. It was locked up tight in the tired grey matter in his head once more, as a tidal pool of thought to be re-captured at another time. As the door opened, he continued his frantic scribbles from the pad to his book with his palm too his head concentrating, to keep calm, blindly reaching past his pipe and coffee without looking and grabbing for his glass of cognac poured neat, the brown liquid perfection. As he brought it to his lips to settle his mind, the aroma was enticing his nose filling his brain. He sipped again at the brown liquid, taking in just enough to cover his tongue from front to back and all of his taste buds, allowing it to sit there for 10 seconds before swallowing the fruity, nutty flavor. It was as perfect as it should be. As the smooth liquid started down his throat, that blend of young and old cognac blended to perfection. Three gentlemen entered the room as they looked at the desk, and the scientist looked crazed in his leather chair, clutching his forehead, writing frantically. The lead man clad in his black rain coat looked at the scientist made a throat clearing sound, Errumm, as Dr. Fieldman finished swallowing the cognac mid scribble and looked up. They now had his full attention. He raised his head up from the desk; eyes opened wide and stared at them in discontent for breaking his thought pattern. His mind started running away blank in many directions as he completely lost his flow. He was irritated. His anger rose, but his brain shifted gears quickly as he made note it was definitely not the fat smelly maid but three men before him. Obviously not room service he sarcastically said as he studied their faces intently. His brain clicked, snapping him back completely from the numbers and grounding him at the moment as he recognized one of the three that had entered his suite. The lead man splayed a huge smile on his face as he spoke No, not room service old friend. He took another quick sip of his cognac and pushed back slightly in his chair and stood as he placed the glass on the desk. He went poker face blank as his mind raced to place the face. He suddenly fully recognized and flashed a quick smile as the name came to mind. It was his old friend and colleague from college, they had sometimes worked as associates, but He hadn’t seen him in a while. He then flashed a quick smile, and the snapped his eyes to the left, an old signal from school, while walking across the room and spread his arms out and speaking in thick heavy German. Karl so good to see you, my friend! as Dr. Karl Fieldman stepped towards his friend, he was cautious as he had caught the signal and embraced his friend. After a quick greeting, Victor stepped back and said, I see you still like to drink your cognac and coffee separate, my good friend, excellent. Yes Victor, two great flavors should be enjoyed separately to be appreciated. They both smiled politely. So Victor, I hate to be rude but what brings you here in the middle of my work and who are the gentlemen with you? as his mind started to churn to try to ascertain the situation of his unexpected guests, he put his friend Victor on the spot on purposeAhh no worries Karl, they are from the compound and are here to protect us in these troubling times. He smiled as he waved his hand at his friend Karl, and he stepped away towards the black board in the room. Ahhh, I see you have almost completed the new power equations for the troop portal, ya? looks promising. As Karl turned and faced the portable black board, eyeing his own equations and slightly annoyed, he was interrupted before he could update his board and properly work on his power equations, Yes Victor, it looks like it will require all the power from the hydro-electric Damn and all the bunker generator rooms from inside the mountain complex to maintain the troop portal for approximately 15 min duration, max, but that was all in my last report to the General as he paused a moment. But again, Victor, all calculations are hypothetical since we haven’t tried it yet at full power as Karl Fieldman carefully eyed his new protectors. He knew something was up, but what he didn’t know, as his work was a little above his friend Victor. Victor, still looking at the equations on the board, squinted for a moment, then turned to his friend and said, Karl, have you factored in the new element U-777 brought back from her last mission? Berlin is reporting a very high conductance and capacitance capability over conventional materials and predicting many other possible applications. Karl turning and looking at the equations on the board so that’s it he thought No Victor, I only recently received the report on the potential of the new element due to its Top Secret classification and not wanting to add any new unknowns into the equations. As he reached for his pipe and sat on the corner of his desk, he looked at Victor as he relit it and proceeded to where he left off. Although the material looks very promising Victor, it seems to operate best in cold temperatures which is a minor issue, however no, I haven’t taken steps to include it into project Hintertur as of yet since it is all so very new. Victor, in deep thought, stared at the floor a moment. I see, turning his head back to the black board and then strolling to the huge open window in the opulent suite as he pulled out his silver cigarette case, grabbed a smoke, snapped it shut and proceeded to light it up. He turned and faced his friend. Karl was studying his friend through a veil of smoke at a passive glance towards his new companions that were in his study room. Victor was feeling uncomfortable with the two men standing guard in the room, not being able to speak freely with his friend, thought for a moment as he smoked the cigarette before he spoke. He turned slightly, looked at his 2 escorts, then abruptly faced his friend with a more serious face. Showing there would be some repercussions for not attempting to incorporate the new material into the project. You know Karl, the General will want all possibilities explored on this new element in regard to its application and possibly accelerating the project forward. As he gestured with the cigarette in his right hand and exhaled the smoke from his cigarette. Karl, having returned to his oversized leather chair, placed his pipe back in its holder and then, reaching for his cognac, swirled it in his glass, more in annoyance than anything else. Sniffed it, then finished his glass, as that was all the time there was to enjoy it. He had processed what was just said, placed the glass on the desk and reclined back in his chair, studying his friend and the guards in his periphery, as these were dangerous times. Karl switching to politician mode, rested his elbows on the arm rests of the chair, and then stippled his fingers together as he felt the warmth of the cognac in his throat, he eyed his friends companions briefly calculating his words and composed a suitable response to pacify any inquires and then replied to Victor, I’ll take three scientists & two juniors and assign them to finding uses for the new element in our project at the mountain. However, remember Victor, above all, we must take baby steps. We are dealing with huge quantities of power & unknowns that could have deadly consequences if we are not careful. As he rocked forward, fingers still stippled and satisfied with his own answer, should get the General off his back, he thought, as he looked down at his desk, eager to get back to his work from earlier. He had copied some of today’s equations into his notebook, as he felt annoyed and slightly betrayed by his friend for allowing the General to drag him from wherever he was and manipulate him in such a way to come here. He showed up at such an inconvenient time as well. His fingers still steepled, he looked at Victor, who still hadn’t answered him yet, or acknowledged his answer, but he needed to put this to bed and now. Victor, my friend, let me remind you of the potential for a complete catastrophic event, even with my safety protocols in place. If we go un-stable with all that power, we could lose everything and have to start from scratch if we survive! As he lifted his head confidently and solely focused on his friend for emphasis. Victor, finishing smoking his cigarette, nodding his head slightly and put the cigarette in the ash tray in the room, turning from the blackboard and looked at his friend’s dead-pan face as if on cue, responded. The General ordered the first test yesterday. They created a swirling ball of light, a brief but unstable doorway for 13.4 seconds according to one of the scientists there before the magnetic collider failed and blew out all the generators in a cascade effect. As Dr. Fieldman’s mouth opened in silence, Victor found out he was totally unaware of the orders and recent events as his friend Karl sat there dumbfounded by the news he just received. As it processed in his brain, all thought was suddenly consumed by anger, as Victor continued. I am sorry Karl, but you must come back to the mountain ASAP. The General wants it repaired, stabilized and to send a couple of volunteers through as soon as possible to test it out. Astonished, in sheer anger, Karl jumped up out of the leather chair and grabbed his empty cognac glass in a scowl and heaved against the far wall, missing Victor yelling, IDIOTS!! They have destroyed my project! What were they thinking, destroying my work by testing things they know nothing about!!! Dunkoffs!!! Ragging and angrily threw the pencil cup off of his desk, spraying the pencils everywhere. So that was the cause of the power failure yesterday? My project, up in smoke! My God that FOOL! He could have killed us ALL for his personnel glory! We are in no rush at the moment as the war is about to start and all is going well and we are well with in safety margins of current resource usage! As he stepped out from behind his desk, left hand to his head and his right hand balled in a fist and in a frenzy as Victor in a moment of panic stepped towards his friend with his right hand up as the guards stopped and then moved back in an agitated fashion. I left standing orders under no circumstances are there to be any power up’s without me or my approval. Doesn’t anyone listen!!! Karl…. My friend, it was a direct order from the General a thirty second power up demonstration was approved by him. What’s done is done. Now is not the time to lose focus. We must leave on the six o’clock train tonight. The General is waiting for us, and he wants results. Shaking his head still enraged. Idiot!! He blows up my project and expects results at the snap of a finger! Like a child wanting a new toy! Karl, my friend, it’s the General you are speaking of, please you must stop this, it does none of us any good! Karl obviously still fuming mad just stopped and listened to the silence around him and glared at the guards with his hands on his hips and noted there defensive posturing and then focused on Victor with piercing eyes, as he reeled in his anger and regained his composer. He now knew why the General had sent his friend Victor, Karl, the data recorded from the test is pending your review. We must leave for the mountain right away. His analytical mind somewhat returning. Karl was still pissed and frustrated. Uaghhhh! Stunned at the sheer stupidity, threw his hands in the air and turned facing the bookcase with a slight shake of his head, stopped short of walking into it, stood for a moment and turned walking back to the desk as he picked up the pipe from his desk lit it again puffing out a giant cloud in anger. He faced the bookcase again and walked to the shelf again, stopping, puffing on his pipe as a cloud of the sweet-smelling pipe enveloped him. An eerie calm settled upon him as he regained his composure. With his back to Victor for a good minute, the worried look remained on his face as he hoped to keep the guards at bay. Please Karl, I understand the anger , but there is no time for this. The General expects us back right away on the next train and I am to assist you with anything you need, Karl. Suddenly, amidst the brief silence, he spoke firmly and evenly. Victor how badly Damaged is my lab and my associates, be honest about it and not like the General. Karl, it’s not pretty, it’s pretty bad from what I’ve been told, I haven’t been there to personally see the Damage. The General just called me out of no where and gave me orders. From what I understand from a few personnel phone calls, some personnel were killed. Exactly how many I don’t know. The General has it all hushed, but on the bright side there should be plenty of new equipment when we get there. Huh? new equipment? Karl said, still angry but under control. He made an odd smile as he replied. I see. They destroyed my work killed my associates with stupidity and want me to rush back and fix it like a good little puppy dog waiving a treat, sheer insolence! Now I understand completely……. someone will answer for this. Now let me get my things and let’s be on the way." Dr. Fieldman turned, still smoking his pipe, and started packing his papers into his brief case and moving about the hotel room, grabbing his things and throwing them on the bed. Victor stood for a second wide eyed at the sudden calm and motivation that befell his friend. Looking at his back, Victor knew he was pissed and saw the blood vessels throbbing and, in the past, would have been near impossible to get him calm. Victor was now angry, he saw how much it hurt him and how unaware of what had happened the other day to his lab, the General had given him the crap job to tell his friend about his project and he was going to have to make it up to him somehow.

Chapter 2

Church world

Alternate Earth:

Approximately present timeline

A

s the Archangels’ carrier group plowed through the Atlantic Ocean, heaving to and fro in the rough waves, Bishop Armstrong swore to himself as the rough waves and bad weather hammered at his carrier group. It was bad enough that they had to rely on information from the Technocrats and allied with them to fight a terrible foe called the Nazis, termed by the Technocrats, but he liked the name. It made him hate them even more, but it annoyed him more that it was from the Technocrats. Whoever in their right mind would have ever thought that dimensional travel was possible, he half muttered to himself. As he grabbed his coffee, he turned his head Report first clergyman Lawson, Anything on the radar? Negative Bishop, radar is all clear; however computer room is detecting sporadic E. M. fluxes but nothing definitive.

I see, Bishop Armstrong saidand what about our missile cruisers? Are the electronic suites detecting anything? Negative sir, the same as Armstrong sat down in his chair. He was puzzled, Could the Intel be wrong? He thought to himself. If so, this could be bad, and have major ramifications for the war. If they intercept this convoy of ships with supplies, then they can end the war in as little as a month, but it all depends on ambushing and destroying this convoy. So many Damn ifs and lots of guessing it was really starting to get on his nerves. Even with the best sensors that the church had to offer, there was no way to pinpoint the exact entry point of the convoy of ships. With the new sensors, it was still at least 200km of ocean to search and find an elusive enemy per the Popes orders, especially since losing the Cherubim satellite network to the evil NAZI scum. Clergyman? Yes, Bishop Armstrong? Send a message below. I Want six birds in the air at all times and six on standby, ready to launch the second there is a problem. Yes, sir. Also, I want to go from condition blue to condition yellow. Yes, Sir Bishop Armstrong. That gives a little more advantage for the time being, and it was better than nothing, he thought. But, before he could relax, Con to Bishop. Yes go. We have a possible sonar echo: a ghost but nothing definitive in quadrant three Hmmm, that’s the section the Gideon is in, send a burst ELF message, have them investigate echo but not to stray too far from the Carrier group. Aye, aye Bishop. Could we be close Armstrong? He thought to himself as he drank from his coffee cup and pondered.

Captain Arnold Hersher, U-boat 3355, advanced nuclear attack sub, after 10 years commanding this design of boat and three campaigns as a sub captain crushing the swine hoonts under the boot heel of the German military machine was a common thing as they were usually unopposed. However, here they were being pushed off on a world for all intents and purposes, a walk in the park. Instead, these holy fanaticals came and attacked like demons attempting to push them off the continent more often known as Africa on most worlds. On the five worlds already controlled by the Third Reich, Africa is always the best place to occupy and start a base of operations with minimal detection and it’s close to the new mineral deposits they wanted. However, in this miserable world, it was just not the case. The Africa core established multiple bases of operations that strategically placed military equipment everywhere and where ready to quickly take over half of Africa like they usually did on other worlds, as they placed a satellite in space, an SS-12 recon unit that was launched from a sub. The result was the elimination of enemy satellites, and the political subterfuge to set the stage. They started creating and breeding hatred and all was well and going to plan like it always did, with the two superpowers poised on mutual nuclear destruction. Then it all happened overnight. The veil of deception fell, and the primitives realized someone was playing with them from behind the curtain. How they found out no one is sure but shortly thereafter, wave after wave of tanks with white flags with Red Crosses poured into Africa, hitting the hidden Panzer III divisions like a tsunami and crazed battalions of soldiers pushing them back to the southern tip of Africa before they had everything in place to nuke them with clean nukes. The Holy Barbarians had wasted lots of men and machines to accomplish this goal. Captain Hersher thought, but, in the end, superior German technology prevailed at holding them back on the ground. The Luftwaffe at first was swatting the enemy out of the sky like flies, but wasn’t that effective with the use of Ariel nukes being employed by the enemy. They had a significant effect on their air superiority, catching them off guard, combined with a large numerical number of aircraft launched at them on a constant basis. Even sending suicidal squadrons up armed with nukes to kill there planes. The amount of manpower and machines just being thrown at them was staggering and unwavering as their leader, the Pope, was either one of the greatest tacticians they had ever faced or just insane. Probably the latter, he thought, as he looked over a couple of paper documents and then back to his data pad in thought. The German air superiority of the Luftwaffe with advanced technologies was caught off guard and could not stop their onslaught fast enough, but they held them in check. By the time the reinforcements came through, the planet had become a slugfest of high tech versus low tech weapons, and the victor the planet. As they had recovered and regained a strong foothold with the fresh reinforcements taking back and holding large tracks of land. However, Madagascar and the portal were heavily defended and fortified, as well as the seas being in total control, especially around the magnetic S.W.I.R where the highly prized material was being mined, making it impossible for the Popes’ forces to get close. Captain Hersher smiled slightly to himself. He was fortunate to have connections and to be updated on current situations as he was. Unfortunately, as captain Hershers’ brain was tactically processing all the current data, he stared off into the metal bulkhead from his captain’s chair as the new orders he was given at present put him and his fairly new crew in a defensive position in an offensive game. The situation was a precarious one at that, with the extra intel he had as a fleet of cargo planes going out with material and a couple of fleets of nuclear ballistics subs inbound to implement operation fire scorpion. All in all, this was a totally miserable campaign with massive losses but was still a win in the government’s column. As vast quantity of the mineral was being mined and sent back to the father land. The only thing this miserable planet had in abundance was the top-secret mineral they were mining far below the ocean, which was the one reason for the sustained campaign and tragic losses endured. He boggled at the madness, but it is what it is, and now captain Hersher was placed in a position he didn’t like as the debacle was starting to unfold and would most likely get good men killed, like those on his first boat. Those were the thoughts he had to put behind him and concentrate on the job at hand and it wasn’t pretty, as the crap got deeper. This simple mission, as they stated it in his recent orders, that he was just assigned , just got a lot more complicated as his sonar officer’s voice pulled him back to the sub from his world of strategy. Captain, sorry to bother you, but there’s an entire carrier group of the Holy order, heading our way. By the tone of their screws, they are making good headway and will be here soon. The captain turned his head. Thank you, sonar man, about how long till they get here? About 15 minutes, sir. Thank you, that is all and the sonar man turned and left. His 2nd in command turned and looked at him but he brushed it off with a finger wave and he returned to his duties. Just great, he thought to himself. A carrier group headed our way of the holy crazies was coming right at their coordinates and only one sub; his standing in the way. The portal themselves were primarily used for sending materials back to the home world and as a beacon for the home world to lock onto, to send reinforcements and supplies. However, the portals could sync up for inbound and outbound pathways, like two-way radio communications. While the home world portal is sending reinforcements to this planet, there is a slight amount of time for the transportation of the equipment to reach here before the switch to receive. Then the portal on this world switches polarity of sorts in rough layman’s terms and is sending back the raw material of this world to the home world. Or to wherever it was coming from, with a serious sacrifice to portal time open and generating vast amounts of heat bleed. There would be a slight color variation in the portal between sending and receiving but the flow change could only be initiated by the one sending the original portal and of course the time reduction in the portal opening from thirty minutes to just a mere fifteen before critical failure in doing a send and receive versus just doing a send which is safer and allows for a longer more stable portal time. However, He was stationed at the receiving point, and as usual on the receiving end of things and he hoped that the idiots in high command had sent more U-boats to assist in this project, as he finished off the last of his coffee and plotted his next move. Snapped from thought, Captain, sonar reports one of the enemy subs is breaking formation and heading our way. Have they detected us? No captain, not that I can tell, not yet anyway replied the veteran sonar officer. Excellent, thank you. Hersher thought for a moment. They weren’t in the right current yet to quietly slip away. Even with advanced silent sub technology, silently slipping away from the enemy and staying hidden was the only option until their friends arrived, as he was a little outnumbered. Not to mention the brief failure they just experienced in the new electronics suite. They had just rush installed in the ship yard without really testing it, which put them in the current situation of letting the holy barbarians fleet get this close to them in the first place. They were going to have to do this part old school. The captain looked up from his wrist computer. Con, bring the electric motors online slowly and make for 50 RPM, and hold course for five minutes. Number two, pass the word along to maintain silent running. Aye, captain. As he sat back in his chair, cool and collected with steepled fingers. His current crew was fairly new, and he knew that they were watching him and his actions closely. He thought to himself, now it is hide and seek time as he envisioned himself in a giant cesspool surrounded by giant turds and one was heading his way.….

Unbeknownst to anyone, a world of hurt was coming, a shit storm of magnificent proportions. Man, since his existence on any number of earth worlds had created mines, a dumb sentry if you will, to stand guard and defend the rear, ever vigilant and wait for the unwitting enemy to approach, step on, or drive over and blow him to Kingdom come. Sometimes a mine has even killed those on its own side with indiscriminate pleasure. The soldiers flee in a hasty retreat, forgetting the placement of their deadly sentries, because while running and being shot at doesn’t help one to remember very well either. A mine doesn’t discriminate, it has one job to sit and wait for good or bad, for the enemy or you! In naval warfare, mines were first laid using anchors and steel wire, but now in the age of microprocessors, nuclear battery packs, & GPS, the birth of smart mines had arrived. Days prior to Captain Hersher getting his orders and arriving in the area he was totally unaware that a second set of orders where cut as a precaution. Operation blowfish, a fail safe incase captain Hersher and his ship was destroyed prior to his arrival in the receiving area and was implemented in secrecy. Operation Blow fish, was executed and 300 smart mines were deployed into the area via the portal into the ocean at the location where the convoy of subs would arrive to begin the implementation of operation Fire scorpion. The Nuclear eradication of the planet’s inhabitants. All 300 mines came through the portal and automatically spread out in an even web of death using their propellers and triangulating positions from the new satellites above and deployed retractable grappler anchors to maintain their positions. Once in place and establishing a secure grid, the mines switched to passive detection mode, listening for the enemy. Sound, IFF signatures, and nuclear signatures because civilian ships on most worlds don’t use nuclear power as the lied there dormant waiting to be awakened. The Gideon, an older class of nuclear attack sub, had a hairline crack in its containment shield and had been giving off a positive nuclear telltale signature. Being the furthest mine out, it was the first one to detect the nuclear signature and immediately started processing the incoming data. The A.I. was slowly coming awake as its mind and all its circuits were powering up, and like a hungry evil child, it set to work collecting data to process and compare. The first thing it checked for was an IFF signature and it did receive one, but not from this particular acquisition. And the mine proceeded to reel in its retractable grappler anchor from the sandy ocean floor. It was about to fire its ultra-quiet propellers when its on-board magnetic sensor detected a large and quiet target nearby. Hmmm, what is this? thought the smart mine. M-454 quickly spun 180 degrees and swam over to investigate further the larger and bigger detection and upon further inspection it was a friend. Its IFF was friend U-3355. This made M-454 very happy. Friend U-3355 was being very, very quiet, though. Either friend U-3355 was hunting, searching for enemy subs, or friend U-3355 was being hunted. After a quick analysis, the mine heard the Drone of multiple surface vessels and the unknown submarine with the radiation leak. The mine was alarmed, M-454 realized that friend U-3355 was in trouble. No, this is not good thought M-454 and quickly assessed a course of action. It quickly calculated an estimated range and distance to the possible enemy target, which needed confirmation. M-454 pivoted on its thrusters and plotted a course to intercept the un-identified contact as it searched its sound records for a match to friendly subs, nope, not that one.…. hmmm similar, no.., no, not a match as it compared and processed the incoming sounds to its records as it traveled towards the possible enemy sub. It adjusted its depth to make use of an under-water current and increase its speed to target. Then, as it finished comparing friendly sub sound signatures, it then opened up its enemy sub sound signatures and because it was a small folder, the A.I. processor ran through them all in a matter of no time. Firing its propellers, making adjustments in the current and course corrections on the way to the target at incredible speed. Assessing with an 88% probability that the sub ahead was an enemy sub, the smart mine M-454 could not initiate attack procedures without complete conformation. As quickly and as stealthily as possible, it made its determination as it neared its destination, firing its propellers, leaving the underwater current, and acquired its quarry. There was a happiness inside the A.I. core, as it executed its programming and prepared for final confirmation of the enemy sub. As M-454 was preparing its final checks, a piece of the A.I. brain secreted more artificial happiness endorphins as it quickly scanned the acoustic signature of the Gideon on last time, Nope, defiantly not a match it thought then it fired its diamond blue laser and scanned the entire hull from fore to aft and it didn’t match any friendly U-boat designs stored in its data center Oh yes it’s the enemy! it thought as it got a giddy sensation of anticipation from the artificial endorphins swimming in its A.I. brain and performed a final I.F.F. scan. But alas, no, this was not a damaged friend U-boat with damaged I.F.F. it was the enemy! It made M-454 very happy. This was an enemy sub trying to hurt friend U-3355 and it would be destroyed. If M-454 had a face there would be an evil smile as the smart mine detecting the radiation leak from the nuclear core of the sub from the hair line crack as M-454 pivoted on its axis thrusters and swooped in under belly of the enemy sub. Positioning itself under the reactor core leak and deploying its magnetic pads and latching on to the enemy sub. Got you enemy it thought with a happy feeling! Bye, bye enemy sub, you will not hurt friend U-3355, and it was a pleasure to find you! It initiated its Nova bomb detonation circuitry preparing its core to explode and in seconds it reached critical mass and detonated with a smile, like a small sun under the ocean it engulfed the sub liquefying the metal hull of the sub and ripping her asunder in a violent explosion of death. Moments before sonar to Bishop Marini, I had two contacts, one amid ship and the other 20 degrees off port, both gone now Sieerr…. But that sentence was never completed as well as many others, as Clergyman first class Jacob Keen witnessed firsthand while he was in the head about to relieve himself when he sensed the heat from the steel floor beneath his feet as it suddenly turned orange then white like a bulb blinding him as his eyebrows scrunched together to figure out what was happening, he fell into the liquefied metal and was vaporized before he could scream as the sub it self was vaporized into molting liquid metal followed by a violent explosion. The resulting catastrophic failure caused the subs on board reactor to detonate from uncontrolled fission and resulted in a secondary explosion and the destruction of other smart mines on the prowl. For you see, the first smart mine M-454 had sent out a packet burst of all its collected data to its brothers and told them, friend U-3355 is in danger from hostile enemy ships, and you must protect friend U-3355. Just a short distance away in his command chair, Captain Hersher clutched his arm rests and cursed shizer as his sub was rocked by the underwater explosion and nearly shook him out of his captain’s chair. He cursed at the sonar crew for a report sonar, Sonar report, what the hell is going on!" in thick German, the feeding frenzy had begun!!!

Chapter 3

Hopes and dreams

Past time line: 2 years ago

M

y Dearest love, I can’t believe my good fortune. Out of all the scientists in the Fatherland, I have been chosen to be a part of the ministry of science. I received a cable from the Chancellor himself today requesting me to travel to Berlin by the first of the month to begin a project of great importance. I am sorry that I can’t tell you this in person. I now have a special security detail with me for my protection, and they say I can have no visitors until the completion of whatever the project is. I miss you already and hope to see you soon. I love you.

A year and a half later…

Times are getting stranger by the day, talk of war is becoming more and more frequent since I arrived here in the new lab 6 months ago. The tension has risen and fallen so often that I can’t keep track of it anymore. Our little group of scientists has gone from 10 to 20, to 80 people, my love, all working on my sustainable power project with me as the lead scientist. The military has also increased in presence here. Everywhere I turn, every door I go through has a soldier demanding to see work orders and papers before I can pass, but fortunately, I am the head scientist, and they don’t bother me as much. However, I fear we are all prisoners here, as well as guests. I wish I was home with a good cigar and an even better bottle of cognac to share with you, my love. Even though you hate my cigars, I would like to think you would make an exception if I was home now. Till next time My Dear!

One year ago…

Dear Alina, our keepers here (especially the new General) in the underground facility have changed our research and experiments direction for the war effort and have applied them to a new end goal especially after one of my power tests, three and a half months ago, yielded fruits far greater than my original goal. A soldier guarding us in the facility during the testing was transported across the room from one location and reappeared on the other side in the concrete with frost on him but still alive, briefly before he died. In a scientific way, it was incredible. It was most intriguing, but all of our theories will bear the fruit of victory for the fatherland. Practical testing with our newly modified device Bilrost which I have named from the Norse Gods, will begin as soon as we have reconfigured the equipment. The military refers to my project as Operation Hintertür. Whichever name they go with is fine by me, but I prefer mine, but for now I go by theirs. I cannot go into much more detail about my work, sufficed to say, but I am quite happy at the news I received today. News of a new element discovered in the ocean and will arrive here in sufficient quantities, which the General wants applied to the project. But for now, I believe they are too new, unknown variables to be added into my equation at this time, but we will have our first delivery in about a month, according to the General. I will be taking a brief trip from the mountain facility for about a week. I can study it for further applications when I get back. Finally, the other good news is we have finally been given time to go to our own homes and see our family and friends for a couple of weeks. I am part of the first group to go, and I look forward to seeing you soon, my love!

Karl

Three and half months ago…

My dearest Alina, it has finally started, the war between my beloved Germany and our allies; we are at war with the rest of Europe under our leader’s firm and steady hand. I miss you so very much and I apologize for not being able to take the time off and come and see you or write to you because a major emergency came up at the facility and I had to immediately rush back from my trip. The un-thinkable had happened, klaxons at the facility sounded and my lab had exploded, locking everything down, but luckily, I was not there when it happened my love, as most of my lab was destroyed. Half the facility is ruined and still smoldering. It took the fire team three days to get the fires under control and put them out. The new Diterracite material went unstable during testing and exploded, landing on certain metals, causing them to burn out of control and not allowing the fire to go out. I had warned the General and the Major it was too early for a full-scale test, but it was insisted upon in the name of progress. The Major, per the General’s orders, talked the other scientists into a thirty-second power test demonstration. Thank God Alina, it was only a thirty-second power test. Who knows what the devastation would have been? Now, my dear, out of the 80 scientist we had, we are down to about 25 of us to pick up the pieces and continue on with the work. But the disgusting part, Alina, was the Major who said not to worry we would be getting some replacements soon. Like we are expendable but the only bright side is that I seem to have full autonomy since the explosion. I hope to see you soon!

Love Karl

Two months ago…

My God Alina, it’s been 2 months since you have arrived on base, but I haven’t been able to see you since the push to get the new equipment installed and repair work completed. We did a quarter power test last week and the power of the Diterracite mineral is truly beyond our expectations and fears. The new lab is a vast improvement over the old one and the testing went smoother than anticipated, as all the new equipment performed exactly as it should. A small amount of the Diterracite was used in our newly constructed reactor and it really disgusted me to see the pure elation on this man’s face from the power output produced by the new material. All things aside, I was very pleased by the performance of my project and my calculations were spot on every step of the way, my dear. Lastly, things are getting worse here as the Gestapo are tightening their grip around us scientists in the name of security and I can’t get a pass across the compound to see you, my love. I will have to speak to the General about that. Now most of the soldiers stop talking as we pass and stare at us like monsters in fear of what we are creating, and it makes me think we are not trusted anymore, but I digress. I have to go now, my lovely Alina, and I hope this reaches you from our usual contact.

Love Karl

As Dr. Fieldman placed the pen in the holder and kicked back in his chair, sealing his latest letter to his lovely Alina, the only person he shared his feelings with to an extent, as he embellished a little in the way of the scared part; she liked to see his softer side he thought. As he looked around his study room, then outside the glass window, and then finally to the fireplace where a roaring fire was burning, like his love for Alina, and his passion for his work. But truth be told, he was a realist and more passionate about his work and assumed the General sooner or later would try to use her against him as a weakness. He was already mentally prepared for the worst scenario to sacrifice the queen for a victory by whatever the cost. He buried that thought and hoped it never came to that. He then looked at the wall of books and reference materials he had at his fingertips and then at the letter for his lovely Alina as he quickly stashed his letter for her in a book with a secret compartment, turned in his chair and placed the book on the nearby shelf neatly and turned back to his hand carved desk. He reached out for his pipe and refreshed it for a smoke with tobacco from his draw. As he bit down on the stem, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his solid gold lighter and took a pull as he lit his pipe. As he pulled on his pipe, the cherry-flavored tobacco filled the room. He wondered if she had received the originals he had sent since his last visit to see her. The Gestapo as of late had been monitoring everything, ever since the explosion, and the last couple of brazen attacks at the hands of the Allies. Also, passes, as usual, were being restricted to the other side of the compound where the families stayed. Any passes to the other side of the compound where being doled out very sparingly lately most likely to keep people working, and probably the Generals doing. So in case letters were being held up, he made copies to read to her later and the personal ones he sent by special courier; he smiled. The copies he kept on him to read to her in person in case they hadn’t gotten delivered, but that was not the case as they had been. His mind returned to more important things at hand, since it had been four months of brutally long shifts since the explosion because of the idiot General as everything was destroyed and in disrepair. So much equipment had been destroyed due to stupidity and arrogance. It was a major hold up in further testing. Almost all his work was lost, but luckily, he had his notes and his schematic designs in his study and not the lab office. Many long shifts over seeing work and rebuilding all that was lost in the test into the new facility in Building 19. Colonel Gerhardt and Major Kristoff have become his toadies for the most part after the failure. The only reason they were allowed to stay and didn’t get reassigned was due to their familiarity with the project and loyalty to the General. The mess they left behind though due to their stupidity was immense, with men clinging to railings, bodies burned in two, charred in place and others blasted into the carbon Ferro walls a creation he had designed to custom order for the outer walls of the lab. The 2-meter-thick blast door that dropped down to protect the control room had just barely held as it was super-heated to red hot as the people inside escaped with their lives. The four floors below the lab were burned to a crisp. The Diterracite blast that escaped from the energy containment unit had blown straight down through the floor. Causing a residual blast to cascade across the floor, as it hit the bottom floor, vaporizing men and machines with raw energy and heat and hammering the blast doors three floors up. Some people to the left and right of the experimental reactor had survived briefly as the Diterracite metal started to land on different materials and started burning out of control. The small reactor with extra thick walls he created was only designed for refined uranium and one of the idiot scientists trying to impress the General, per Colonel Gerhardt and Major Kristoff, tried to power it with the new material Diterracite instead. Luckily, they only used a very small amount; otherwise they would have lost everything. Some Diterracite instantly combined with different metals during the explosion as