Fall of Earth: Prologue

The dense forests west of Srebrenica, Yugoslavia
September 29, 1938

September's gusting breeze tugged at the ancient tree-tops and ruffled the grass. The woods here were old...dark and tangled; stones and knotted roots seemed to hide in the shadows under what could be seen of the drab autumn sky that had managed to pierce the gloom. The half-hearted chirping of birds above did little to alleviate the sense of dread and fear in those gathered here. A jagged swath had been cut through this forest, a place where even the woodcutters did not come, and disturbed the natural order of things. The ship that had crashed here still belched out plumes of foul smoke and cast an eerie green light across the trees and mossy ground. Several men barked in German to each other as they moved in cautiously towards the crash-site. The local government had given them all permission to be here, but it seemed that the forest was not so forgiving to the intruders. Something seemed wrong...unnatural.

SS-Hauptsturmführer Ilsa Hauppman ran her gloved hand over the strange metal of the downed alien vessel unafraid. Even after several hours it was still warm to the touch and seemed to pulse with energy as if it were alive. There was a humming in the air that made her teeth ache and gave her a slight headache but the tall blonde officer barely registered it. Her cobalt blue eyes were wide in wonder and amazement. What secrets could be unlocked from this chariot of the gods? It was obvious that whoever they were their mastery of science and technology went far beyond anything that was in the Reich. She had heard something similar to this from reports that came from the expedition to Antarctica. Could these beings have come from Hyperborea-Thule? Shambhala? Could these beings have been the Vril-ya? Ilsa's mind reeled at all the possibilities. She licked her lips at the prospect of it all. It excited her. The body of a true Vril-ya, one of the superior beings of which she and the Aryan peoples of Germany descended from and had granted them destiny to become the conquerors of the world...the master race...could be in that ship. The power of vril was perhaps there as well, really to be harnessed. She waved over a soldier nearby. The bewildered man was in his early twenties and shaking, perhaps with fear, perhaps with anticipation as she was.

*"Soldier! Send a radio message back to Berlin. Tell them that we have discovered the existence of the Vril-ya!"* her voice was unable to contain it's glee.

"Yes Hauptsturmführer!" the soldier replied, his eyes never leaving the strange vessel. He took a few steps backwards before turning to make his way back to the command post.

"Belay that command." Came a calm voice from the other side of the ship.

The soldier stopped and saluted as the officer who had barked it came into view. Ilsa's eyes narrowed and she could barely hide her disgust. SS-Gruppenführer Hermann von Trotha was smoking on his large meerschaum pipe. The man known throughout Germany as the "Iron Chancellor" for his devotion to creating high-tech machinery of war. His hair was salt and peppered and completely gray at the temples. He was a tall man who fit well in his uniform. A real aristocrat, von Trotha hailed from one of the wealthiest families in Berlin and was considered one of the greatest scientific minds in not only the Reich, but the world. Before this assignment he had been closely working at Peenemünde with von Braun on perfecting rocket technology. Ilsa took a few steps towards him having to remind herself who he was and what his rank was. He made her sick with his arrogance and his complete dismissal of her as a colleague. Von Trotha had crossed swords with her on more than one occasion due to his contempt for the occult and what he considered "nonsense science"- the theories of racial superiority, the legends of Hyperborea-Thule and the Aryan legacy, the power of vril and countless other truths.

"Gruppenführer why are we not reporting this back to Berlin?" she asked with more than an irritated tone.

Von Trotha took in a mouthful of vanilla flavored smoke before answering her, exhaling it out slowly from his flaring nostrils. "Because Ilsa, I have not had ample time to examine this find yet. It could be any number of things but I doubt very seriously that this came from underground in a hidden magical valley under Antarctica. More than likely it is extra-terrestrial in origin."

Ilsa curled her full lips back. "You have always doubted the heritage of the Aryan race. No doubt because you are not a part of it, your family having in-bred with Jewish filth."

The Iron Chancellor chuckled and pointed at her with his pipe, his tone still calm and collected. "Careful Ilsa. I am a Gruppenführer and ranking officer here. You are a Hauptsturmführer...a young Hauptsturmführer whose specialties include chemistry, which I admit you have a real knack for, medicine, which may come in handy here, and most prominently your ridiculous and laughable theories on race and human history. Pseudo-scientific mumbo-jumbo. I don't believe you have any skills that apply to mechanics or technology do you Ilsa? You have no idea how to determine what the metallic composition of this ship's hull is or what powers it's engines. To you it flies with a magical psychokinetic power and is made of a material given to us by the Gods. Exactly why are you here again Hauptsturmführer? No one needs to be shot do they?"

"I am here Hermann because Obergruppenführer Heydrich requested that I be here for this discovery and to report my findings directly back to him in Berlin as you are very well aware." the young female officer spit out, her whole figure stiffening in defiance.

"Ah!" von Trotha exclaimed as he took a few careful steps towards her. "Well I am here on the direct request of Reichsführer Himmler and Field Marshall Goering so once again, you have been outranked. Still, in respect to Herr Heydrich I am willing to tolerate your mad ramblings and insane theories...but I will not broadcast them back to Berlin. Nothing will be sent until I am satisfied with what we have here. Is that understood?"

Ilsa's eyes stayed locked onto his hazel ones, blazing with hatred. "Clearly...Gruppenführer." The words were practically spewed like a venom from her lips.

"Good!" the Iron Chancellor slapped his leg with his left hand, placing his pipe back between his teeth. "Then we can continue without any more arrogant female opposition, jah?" He motioned for the soldier who had been standing awkwardly nearby to return to his post.

Ilsa crossed her arms across her chest and continued to glare at him a moment more before her attention was once again drawn to the wreckage in front of her. Wreckage was a poor choice of words, this vessel was still almost completely intact. There had to be a way inside. There wasn't an obvious entrance to the ship and no writing on the outside that could be deciphered. She glanced back over at von Trotha. The tall officer's face was set like stone now as he scrutinized the ship, pipe clenched tightly between his teeth with his arms behind his back. His fingers twitched and worked showing her that he was just as excited at this find as she was in his own way. Arrogant ass, why wouldn't he open his eyes and accept that science and Ariosophy were both one and the same? His tainted blood no doubt would never accept such ideas.

A shout from one of the soldiers on the opposite side of the ship caused both of them to snap out of their thoughts and quickly make their way over. The lieutenant was pointing to a hatch partially ajar almost on the underside of the vessel. Von Trotha snapped and several other men slung their Mp-40's and began to pull at the hatch door. After a few grunts and strained muscles the metal ramp opened up a bit more, bathing the soldiers in a pale greenish glow. There was a smell...something akin to a sickly-sweet fungus or mold. Something was there, wedged in the opening. One of the men grabbed a hold of it and tugged it out onto the forest floor.

A body.

Eyes widened and several of the soldiers stepped backwards in horror, raising their weapons in fear. Von Trotha looked down on the broken, twisted body of the creature with an almost amused look before raising a hand to quell the fears of his soldiers. He glanced over at Ilsa, who had bent down next to it. The blonde haired woman threw off her officers cap and gazed downwards into it's cracked and broken dome-like helmet. The look on her face was one of pure confusion and disgust.

"Not what the 'Master Race' is supposed to look like eh Hauptsturmführer Hauppman?"

Ilsa didn't respond. She was transfixed by the visage of the creature laid out before her. Could this hideous being really be the descendant of the Aryan race and therefore one of the progenitors of the Germanic peoples?

"I...I do not know..." she squeaked out at last, almost unaware that she had responded to him at all.

"Well let me know if he teaches you the secrets of the Aryan race." he chided as she moved past her and began to examine the opened hatch for a means to gain further entrance into the ship.

Several of the men nearby composed themselves and moved to the side of the General in an attempt to open it further. Ilsa grabbed the creature by it's arms and pulled it up out of broken, jagged earth and onto the damp forest floor nearby. As she was moving it, something slipped out of it's grip and tumbled to the ground. It was a long, cylindrical object with what looked like an emitter on one end. A series of buttons and indentations covered one entire side of the object along with runes and symbols that she did not recognize as Germanic. Before anyone else could see what had happened, the SS woman snatched it up and tucked it quietly away into her tunic. Was it weapon of sorts? A transmitter? Whatever it was it was hers now, it's secrets waiting to be unlocked. Von Trotha would make sure that the vessel and everything aboard would be shipped to his castle in Austria for a complete and through study at his incredible laboratory network there. He would give her time to examine the corpse, but then that too would be taken from her. This incident, even this place, would be covered up and tucked away, with all credit for the unlocked technologies that would come of it going to the Iron Chancellor himself. This never happened. It was only a rumor.

Ilsa ran her fingers across the smooth, strange metal of the rod and smiled, a swelling of joy rising in her throat.

With the secrets contained therein she would ensure the spread of National Socialism, destroy the Jewish race and usher in the glorious age of Aryan man. It was her destiny.

To be continued...

*All dialogue translated from German
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The artwork here was provided by the amazing skills of who produces some of the most atmospheric pieces I've ever seen.

A massive thanks to for organizing this series, commissioning the art and being such an incredible friend, patron and fan of my stories and characters.

Ilsa Hauppman, the Iron Chancellor von Trotha and the story all are my property and creations.

This takes place in the home dimension of Soviet Superwoman and will expose a great deal more about her history.