Prologue

June 28th, 2002 - Kalininberg Naval Base - Niemec Reich

It was the middle of summer. Summer was a season of sports, beaches, and relaxation. Summer was supposed to be warm. You weren't supposed to be doing work during the summer, either. Yet, somehow, it was cold. Extremely cold.

The wind coming off the ocean had the bite of the snow that it would be bringing a few months later. The sky was filled with clouds, all of them full with rain. There were few open patches in this wet ceiling, so many people were sitting under shelters, trying to wait out the rain. However, the shelters were small, and were useless when the wind blew the rain in at an angle.

On the end of the West Wall, a century-old man-made wall that encircled part of the harbour, there was one such shelter. It was the only one on the entire length of the 800-meter outcropping. Next to the shelter was an artillery piece. It was just as old as the bricks that it stood on, and had never been used. 

Under the shelter, sitting on a bench, was a young woman, her arms pulled around her in a failed attempt to ward off the cold. She was wearing a thick wool coat, but anyone who looked at her for more than a moment would see the black officer's cap, with its silver decorations, that sat on top of her long, blonde hair. Not that there was anyone to see her. She was the only person on the entire wall. 

She stared inland, at the small hill that marked the centre of the island. From where she was sitting, she could just make out the observation post and radar station at its summit. Beneath it lay the town, where most of the island's inhabitants lived. It was quite a large island, especially compared to most others in the Reich. 

"Stupid rock," she muttered to herself angrily under her breath. As she spoke, her breath formed clouds of fog that slowly floated away through the cold air. 

The dockyards were busy. It was barely noon, yet half of the berths were full, and all of them were covered in workers, running around and doing their various tasks. There were a handful of civilian vessels; a cargo ship here, a passenger steamer there, but, for the most part, the harbour was filled with ships flying the navy's flag. Most of the occupied berths were home to destroyers and torpedo boats, their identical profiles and camouflages making it hard to tell them apart. 

Three of the berths were occupied by light cruisers, which were quite longer than their destroyer comrades. Two of them had the same profiles; both were of the Königsberg-class, but each of the three had her own camouflage. One of the two Königsbergs had two red lines along the length of her hull on each side, and she flew a long pennant from her mast, signifying her position as the harbour master of Kaliningrad, and the flagship of the Niemec fleet at Kalininberg, called the Ostflotte. 

The largest ship in the harbour was a battleship, the Schleswig-Holstein. She was far older than any of the other ships in the harbour, and the largest by far. She had a long, wide hull, with two twin turrets, one fore, one aft. Smaller artillery pieces were spread throughout here superstructure, a fragile construction in the centre of her deck. The cannon on the Wall had been one of her guns, before her armament was switched out for something a little bit newer. She was one of the oldest ships in the Reich, and was older than the country itself. 

"And what do I get for it?" the woman muttered to herself again. She had served this country for over a hundred years, yet here she was, sitting in the cold and rain, while her hull was being painted in the latest camouflage scheme, preparing her for the next battle. She sighed. She knew that it was inevitable. It had been, ever since her creation. As one of the few shipgirls of the Niemec Reich, it was her duty to serve her country with both her hull and her physical body until she sank. 

Every ship moored in the harbour was the same. They all had a physical, human body that was off doing something or other. Most of them were probably inside the Naval Office, a large red brick building next to the docks. Schleswig, on the other hand, had come to visit her old gun. They had been apart for almost a hundred years, but it was still a part of her, and had fought many battles by her side. She had not, however, anticipated the rain, and was now trapped under this sad excuse for a shelter, slowly getting soaked. 

"Schleswig!" 

A young woman's voice called out through the rain, coming from a figure running along the Wall. She was wearing a black trench coat with a red sash, and an officer's cap the same as Schleswig's. She looked a few years younger than Schleswig, but in reality, there was almost a twenty year age gap between them. She didn't seem to mind the rain, and her long blond hair was flowing behind her as she ran. 

"You should have told me you were coming in early!" shouted Königsberg in mock anger as she came to a stop. She wasn't wrong, as due to her position as harbour master, every shipgirl had to check in with her after they arrived and before they left. When Schleswig had arrived, she had told a random workman to begin refuelling her, and then had come here to be with her gun. She and Königsberg were good friends, so she figured that she could get some leeway.

"Yeah, sorry about that," she said, moving herself so that Königsberg blocked some of the rain from hitting her. Königsberg hit her playfully on the shoulder.

"I thought you weren't getting in until the afternoon!" she exclaimed, sitting down next to Schleswig, "Imagine my surprise when I look out my window and see your hull sitting there. I practically died of shock!"

Schleswig smiled. It had been ten years since they had last seen each other, but Königsberg hadn't changed one bit. She was still just as carefree and spirited as she had been before. 

"I see your little sister is here," said Schleswig, motioning at the second Königsberg-class light cruiser in the harbour, "It's been a while since I've seen her."

"Yeah, that's for sure," agreed Königsberg, looking fondly at her sister's hull, "Köln was in the Westflotte for almost thirty years."

"Who else is supposed to be here?" asked Schleswig, "I already saw Nürnberg, as well as Z15 and U-22, and I know that Z14's squadron operates out of here."

"We also have U-14 and her squadron, and Leipzig is going to be arriving sometime today. Also," she smiled conspiratorially and continued in a whisper, "this is just a rumour, but we might be getting a heavy cruiser. Nothing's official, yet."

"A heavy cruiser?" Schleswig was shocked. The navy only had a handful of them, and never deployed them to frontline bases like Kalininberg if they could help it. She was abut to respond, but was distracted by a dark spot on the horizon.

"Hey, Königsberg, can I have your binoculars?" she asked, holding out her hand.

"Sure," Königsberg nodded, slightly confused, and gave them to her. 

Schleswig brought them up to her face, looking out at the horizon. She sat stood up, slowly walking to the edge of the wall, never looking away from the spot. 

"What is it Schleswig?" asked Königsberg, breaking the silence. 

"A fleet. Friendly. At least a dozen ships, but..." Schleswig broke off. She could hardly believe what she was seeing.

"What?" the light tone was completely gone from Königsberg's now-serious voice.

"Two heavy cruisers... look like Admiral Hipper-class. By the camouflage, I'd say one of them is Blücher."

"Two heavy cruisers?" Königsberg looked like she was going to fall over. Why would the navy need to send two heavy cruisers to a border outpost? There were very few of them, so High Command never put more than one in any given place. 

"Um...Harbour Master?" a small voice squeaked from behind them. They both turned to see a small girl wrapped in at least half a dozen winter coats. 

Königsberg quickly regained her composure. "What is it, Bietzen?"

Z4 Richard Bietzen shuffled nervously before handing Königsberg a letter. "It's just came in from... High Command. It's... for your eyes only."

As soon as she had delivered the letter, Z4 turned and hurried away, heading back towards the dockyard. Schleswig put down the binoculars, turning to walk away. 

"If it's classified, then I should leave. This is above my pay grade for sure."

Königsberg grabbed her sleeve, steadying herself against the shelter. 

"Wait, Schleswig," she said, quietly. Her face was pale, and had an ashen quality to it. 

"Could you stay with me while I read this?" she asked. Her voice was low and shaky. 

Schleswig turned to face her, and Königsberg began to read the letter out loud.

"To all frontline commanders of the Reichsmarine, I, battleship Bismarck, have taken control of the government and am enacting martial law. A series of events has forced me to do this, and I do this for the sake of the Reich. Two days ago, Admiral Graf Spee, our ambassador to the Neutral League, discovered that the Singularity has been destroyed by an unknown force, and, by July 1st, the Neutral League will prohibit any foreign ships from entering their territories.

"The destruction of the Singularity, which has existed for a hundred years, marks the start of a new era, and a drastic change in the way of the world. Our civilian government, which managed to run the country in times of peace, is not capable of leading the Reich in wartime. For this reason, I have taken control of the capital and temporarily detained the government.

"Due to the risk of Communist invasion now being a real possibility, I have sent Admiral Hipper to Kalininberg to negotiate an alliance with them. It is most likely that the Communists will want to take part of the Vistula Republic, our close neighbour, to make up for Kalininberg. If that is the price that we must pay to secure peace on our Eastern border, then the Ostflotte will join the invasion of the Republic.

"As for how the Singularity was destroyed, I do not have an answer to that. It is possible that it was the work of Mediterrenea or Yamato, as they both want to expand their empires. We have already gained word from U-682 that Yamato has invaded Eastasia. Another possibility is that it was the work of Tirpitz's fleet, which went rogue a few months ago.

"With the destruction of the Singularity, our navy will no longer be able to grow, and, as such, every commander is to take appropriate cautionary measures to prevent any casualties. Detailed orders specific to each commander will be sent out as soon as possible.

" - Bismarck."

"..."

"..."

They both stood silently for a minute, contemplating the implications of Bismarck's letter. The Vistula Republic had friendly relations with the Gual Republic, one of the major powers in Europa, and they had helped to install the previous government. It was looking quite likely that a larger conflict might break out. 

"Schleswig"

Königsberg's voice was lifeless, and as cold as steel.

"Yes, Harbour Master?"

"Get to the Naval Office. I want all ships recalled to harbour immediately. Also, notify the airfield and tell them to get patrol aircraft in the air ASAP. I want to know everything within 80 kilometres of the port."

"Of course, Harbour Master."

Schleswig turned and ran off along the Wall towards the Naval Office. She ignored the harsh rain, as her thoughts were entirely preoccupied by Königsberg's behaviour. Getting that letter must have really done something to her. The old, happy Königsberg was gone, and had been replaced by this serious, new version. As she ran, Schleswig wondered. Would the world ever go back to the way things were before?