Tyranny of Steel

Berengar lie naked on a bed of furs in his cabin. He was in a half asleep state, most likely hungover from the night of celebration after a brilliant victory. The young king instinctively reached over to his side, only to realize that nobody was lying next to him. The fact that there wasn't at least one pair of soft mounds to greet him in the morning caused him to sober up greater than any coffee could. 

After the glorious victory the day before, Berengar and his soldiers had over indulged in drinking what little alcohol supply they had brought with them for this journey. Now they were almost completely tapped out, leaving them in a state of sobriety for the next few weeks, until Honoria could arrive with a new shipment. 

To Berengar, there was nothing more painful than being permanently sober. In fact, he figured that if hell truly existed, it would just be him sober for all eternity. With all the things he had witnessed in his past life, and this current one. He needed a bit of intoxication to calm his nerves after a stressful day. Unfortunately, all he had now been hemp cigarettes, and though they helped bring him a sense of calm, their lack of THC did not fix his issue with sobriety. 

He gazed over at the vacant spot next to him with a hint of remorse. Just why exactly did he send Honoria to lead the fleet back to the fatherland? There were dozens of naval officers who could easily fulfill such a task. Unlike a usual deployment, he could bring one of his wives with him this time, and yet at the first opportunity he told her to leave his side. There was a word for such a decision, idiotic, and Berengar felt it right now.

If Honoria were here, he would have probably slept with her after the battle; after all, from his perspective, there was nothing better than making love after a good fight. However, she had been dispatched to ferry supplies and men from the Fatherland to this new military outpost. 

Thus, not only was he now sober for the next week or two, but he also had blue balls. He was thinking that coming to the other side of the world, in the dead of winter, was not the brightest idea he had ever devised in his creative mind. While he was lamenting every life choice that brought him to this point, a knock resounded on his door. 

Because of this, he quickly got out from under his fur covers and put on a pair of trousers. After doing so, he shuffled towards the crude wooden door, and opened it, revealing the mohawk chieftain's young daughter, who had an excited expression on her face. 

Since the battle the night before, she had been overenthusiastic about serving his needs, to the point where Berengar was fairly certain that she had offered to sleep with him in her own language. Despite such a tempting offer, he refused. After all, he could not tell whether she had syphilis. The last thing Berengar wanted to do was make the same mistake as the explorers from his past life, and bring that horrible disease back to the fatherland. 

Because of this, he had strictly forbidden his soldiers from having relations with the native women, not that there were any in the camp besides Kahwihta. The punishment for such a thing was a long-term quarantine. Berengar was serious when it came to the spread of diseases to his people.

Besides, if Berengar had actually taken advantage of the poor girl, he could only imagine the screeching that would resound across America's universities in his past life should they become aware of his actions in this one.

All the pink-haired land whales would scream about the Austrian Monarch's so-called "crimes against humanity" and any other form of nonsense that their instructors fed to their vacant minds. He internally swore that he would never allow his own universities to become such an absent minded cesspool of humanity's worst aspects. 

After thinking about such pointless things for a few seconds, Berengar allowed the young woman to enter his cabin. After she did so, she sat down at his table as if it were the most natural thing to do. Berengar ignored her actions and instead brewed himself some coffee. If he was going to be sober for the next few weeks, then he was at least going to have some caffeine in his blood. 

As Berengar brewed the coffee, Kahwihta gazed at him with reverence. Since the battle the day before, her brother had made her vow to do everything in her power to seduce him so that they could establish an alliance with these gods from across the great sea. 

Despite agreeing to her brother's request, Kahwihta was completely inexperienced when it came to dealing with the opposite sex. Even though she was renowned across the region as a great beauty, her father's fearsome reputation had scared away any potential suitors. 

Thus, until now, she had not even kissed a man, let alone seduced once into her bed. On top of all of this there was simply not enough time that had passed for the two of them to communicate, and though Berengar had learned some of the Iroquois languages, and Kahwihta had learned some German, there was still an enormous gap between them before they could actually understand each other. 

As he thought about this, Berengar had finished brewing the coffee, and brought it over to the table, where he handed a cup to the chieftain's daughter. Unfortunately, he was not able to bring fresh milk on his journey, and thus he was forced to drink it black. Which, though, was tolerable. Was not his preferred way to consume coffee.

As for Kahwihta, she could not help herself from spitting out the bitter substance the moment it hit her tongue. When Berengar saw this, he laughed before taking a sip of his own. The chieftain's daughter could not understand how this man had consumed such a disgusting drink. 

Eventually, Berengar pulled open a map and pointed towards a blank space. This action shocked Kahwihta, as she understood his intent. After establishing friendly ties with her people, Berengar desired to meet with her father. Thus, she calmed her heart before she nodded her head in response. 

Berengar saw the serious expression on her face and spoke in german as he attempted to communicate further with the women despite her limited knowledge of his language. 

"I look forward to establishing trading ties to your village!"

However, most of what he said was gibberish to Kahwihta, and thus the young woman looked at him with a forced smile as she nodded her head, pretending as if she knew what he was saying. With this plan established, Berengar brought Kahwihta and her people to the square of the outpost, where he gathered a small squad of men. The Austrian King did not waste time and immediately gave the soldiers their orders. 

"We are departing for the village that Kahwihta hails from. We have a simple goal: to establish trade with them and see if we can further enhance our communication. I won't lie to you. We are severely lacking in intelligence, and at the moment, her tribe is the only friendly force we have encountered.

For all, we know we are surrounded by hostiles on all sides, and while we may have superior equipment and training, we are relying entirely on imports from the fatherland to maintain our presence here in Vinland. Some local support would go a long way towards our long-term goals. 

Thus, it is your duty to accompany me to the village and provide the protection to ensure that trade can be established between our two people. Remember, we are a long way from home, with only ourselves to rely on. So treat this mission as seriously as you would any other. Do not let our victory yesterday cloud your judgment. We are still in a precarious position for the time being."

The soldiers threw up their roman salutes in unison before responding to their King in the affirmative.

"Hail victory!"

With this said, Berengar threw up his own salute in response. 

"Hail victory!"

Kahwihta gazed upon this strange gesture with curiosity in her deep brown eyes. She did not know what a salute was, or what this gesture represented. Innocently enough, she followed suit and threw up a Roman salute, while poorly pronouncing the words that the golden-haired gods had stated. 

The Marines gazed upon the woman with a stern expression, while Berengar looked at her with affection. He did not know why, but seeing an indigenous woman innocently throw up this symbol which was associated with German Racial Supremacy from his past life, brought a smile to his face. Her naivety was endearing in many ways.

After saying this, Berengar whistled, and in doing so, a member of the Battalion brought forth a wagon pulled by two draft horses. The mounts were brought with them from across the Atlantic. As for the wagon, it had been entirely constructed here in the new world by the engineers. 

It closely resembled that used by the US Army during the 19th century, complete with its canvas covering. Kahwihta gazed upon this magnificent device with awe in her eyes. Not only was she astounded by the existence of Horses, but the wheels attached to the large land canoe were also something she had never seen before. 

To Berengar, this wagon was a simple tool, which his Army used for logistics. It was an utterly primitive design, and he desired to replace it with trucks powered by diesel engines. Unfortunately, he was still lacking in the technology and manufacturing capacity to produce such vehicles. 

However, to this indigenous woman, this wagon was the most magnificent feat of engineering she had ever laid eyes on. With the ability to conjure thunder and command the beasts of a foreign land, the young woman was more than ever convinced of the divine nature of the golden-haired invaders. Berengar noticed the awestruck expression in her deep brown eyes and chuckled to himself; it was entertaining to see such reverence for him and his people. 

Berengar entered the back of the wagon and dragged the indigenous beauty up into it to sit alongside him. Afterward, the rest of the delegation followed them inside before the Austrian marines piled into the wagon. Only two marines sat up front to pilot the device and protect it with a their rifles. 

After they were ready to head out, the gates to the fortress opened, and the wagon departed, heading towards the Mohawk village. Berengar gazed at the girl next to him with a complicated expression. Though it had not become apparent yet, he and his men brought diseases from the old world that the native populace lacked immunity to. 

This would undoubtedly one day devastate the local population, which would aid towards his colonization efforts. However, he would feel regretful if this beautiful young woman who revered him as a god ended up passing away as a result.

Hopefully, such a scenario would not come to pass. Though his Kingdom may be relatively advanced in terms of medicine, it was still far from the ability to prevent such a natural disaster from befalling the native Americans. 

Thus, he observed this girl closely; he hoped that she would be able to endure what was now a certainty.. Without knowing it, Kahwihta was about to bring a plague to her people that would one day spread from coast to coast, killing millions in the process.