Ein langer Weg .. ( a long way)

[Schattenkralle92]

Bielefeld Depot, Sigma-15
November 27, 835 A.S.

After docking, the unloading process began and it got pretty crowded on the small cargo ship.
With a smirking and the words:
“Go on, find some new friends,”
Karl had practically thrown Lutz off board, since he was just getting in the way anyway.

So he made his way to the cantina to have a drink.
As he walked across the loading deck, he let his eyes wander.

Bielefeld Depot was an old Kruger mining base that the Bundschuh had converted into a small space station. Instead of large plant components and smelters, smaller stands with various items had been set up in the large central hall.
The hustle and bustle almost reminded Lutz of the freeport.

In one corner of the hall, some Bundschuh seemed to be busy getting an ore sorting station back up and running, but their attempts seemed clumsy and unsuccessful.
The machine appeared to be running externally, but the input interface for ore extraction was flashing wildly back and forth, which probably signaled an incomplete or incorrect input.
Without the correct settings, the machine would hardly be able to separate the ore-bearing chunks from the otherwise useless rubble.

Lutz watched the various people's attempts for a while before resuming his way to the cantina.
It seemed less inviting than the one in the freeport. About seven round metal tables were set up in front of the large space window.
At the front wall stood a rather archaic-looking counter.
Once there, Lutz struck up a conversation with the bartender.

“Not much going on here, huh?”
“No. It's always like this. Bundschuh don't drink much and come here more to debate or eat.”

The bartender pointed to a small group that had taken a seat at the farthest table and was engaged in lively conversation.
A man in a brown three-piece suit immediately caught Lutz's eye.
He ordered a beer and paid as usual via NeuroNet, then immediately made his way over to the group.

“Hallo, allerseits.”
The conversation seemed to fall silent as the four men turned to him.
Emil greeted him with a welcoming gesture and Lutz took a seat at the table.

“Did you have a good flight here?”
“No problems so far. Karl and some of your people are unloading the boxes right now.”
“Very good. We urgently need the supplies. We'll distribute them from here. And how are you? Have you recovered from the effects of your unwanted space walk?”
“I think I'm back on my feet, Ja.”

“We have a problem here,” one of the other men suddenly interjected.
He appeared to be in his mid-to-late 50s, as his hair was already distinctly gray. He was rather tall and strongly built, like Karl, but didn't seem to be quite as fit.

“What do we want to do about the situation on New Berlin? We can't just send a ship without getting into even more trouble with the Empire, and none of us knows our way around New Berlin.”

“That's right, maybe Lutz has a brilliant idea?” Emil interjected.
All eyes were now on Lutz, and he seemed very uncomfortable.
“What exactly is your problem?” Lutz replied hesitantly.

"Some young whippersnappers, students and the like, have founded a new association. The Alliance of Independent Democrats and as if that weren't bad enough, they have also publicly distanced themselves from the Kaiser and the empire. Since these are quite wealthy families, the Imperial Police would intervene and give them a slap on the wrist and some house arrest. Unfortunately, the Empire has noticed that the group is in contact with the Bundschuh, and now the Marinenachrichtendienst is on the case. This could be dangerous for these guys and possibly also for our contacts, but there's little we can do from here."

“How much time has passed since this announcement?”
“About one to two hours. Why?” Emil asked.

“You should hire an independent ship to fly the group out of New Berlin and take them to a safe place. The MND will still be mobilizing. I would estimate that you have about three hours until the orders to intervene are issued.”
“Hmm, that's a good idea. There's a jump hole to Frankfurt from here. A quasi-legal ship could get to New Berlin pretty quickly via the trade lanes.”
“Exactly. Do you have any idea where the group is currently located? Depending on how quickly you can reach them, you could disappear again without being detected.”
“Yes, we have a transponder code to find them on New Berlin. How well do you know your way around there?”
“I was stationed there at the military headquarters for a while,” Lutz replied rather routinely to Emil's question.

“That's good, when can you leave?”
“Wait a minute!” Lutz almost spilled the rest of his beer in shock.
But Emil seemed to have already set everything in motion, and the men around him rose from the table.

---

With the start of the wildfire . . . its the end of an empire
In the death of a desire . . . its the end of an empire
again . . . again . . . again . . .
At the edge of the hellfire . . . its the end of an empire
In the line of the gunfire . . . its the end of an empire
again . . . again . . . again . . .
Through space and time . . . you can't escape this paradigm
At the close of a lifetime . . . its the end of an empire
this time
Another ending that's beginning to unfold . . . its the end of the Rheinland empire

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BUND|Schattenkralle -|- BUND|BTs-Steinbrecher -|- BUND|BFr-Schiller -|- John.Lugan