Humpdays 35

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Book II: Seeing Reds, SSW vs. Walkiria

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Jotunheimr, Neuschwabenland (Antarctica)
Present Day


Ilsa Hauppman made her way down from the hanger, the expression on her face fierce enough to melt the glacial snow all around them. She was naked, save for a black leather trench-coat buttoned and tied across her lithe frame. Her blonde hair was a mess, tangled and covered in dirt. There was blood on her neck and feet, possibly her own or perhaps one of her enemies. Gottfried and Fisher had managed to extract her from the United Kingdom just before the military or one of those costumed heroes had managed to locate and imprison her again. Obersturmbannfuhrer Anna Holt waited for her at the end of the hallway as she made her way past the guards flanking both sides. She held in her hands a tablet as she waited for her Reichsführer. Given the situation from a few hours ago, Holt was understandably nervous. Ilsa had been on the threshold of defeating not one, but two of her most hated enemies when something had blasted her from orbit. Something with enough power that the initial blast had almost killed her even in her enhanced "Genocide" state. The only thing that had saved her life was her incredible regenerative properties and her highly impervious flesh. She shuddered to think about what the emotional state of her leader was right about now. Anna glanced at the black-clad SS bodyguard that stood behind her, wondering for a moment if they would be dragging her corpse out by the boots like one of Darth Vader's admirals. A shudder reverberated down her spine as Ilsa stopped directly in front of her, her nostrils flaring.



"I want to know what that was and I want to know now." she said in a quiet voice that was laced with menace.



"I have this initial report my Reichsführer," Holt replied handing her the tablet. As Ilsa scanned the information Anna continued, wetting her dry lips.



"The weapon was a Russian satellite, capable of unleashing kinetic energy at tremendous forces. Early estimates put it's upward range around say, 400 megatons. The beam that was fired at you Reichsführer was only a fraction of the weapon's potential. We located the weapon here..."



Anna Holt leaned over and tapped the screen a few times, bringing up more data for Ilsa's eyes, which drank it all in greedily.



"Unfortunately, it would appear that Walkiria and the Soviet Superwoman destroyed it only minutes after it was discharged at your location. We still don't have any details, such as who was controlling the weapon and why the heroes stopped it if it had just saved their lives. Since that time the Russian government has denied charges that it had any idea such a weapon existed and a conspiracy of sorts seems to be unfolding in Russia involving high-level members of the military. The two heroines are supposed to make a statement concerning the weapon and their own involvement, including why they were beating the shit out of each other in Great Britain."



Ilsa continuing tapping and reading the information presented to her on the touch screen. "Do you have any images of the satellite?"



Anna nodded and again reached over to pull them up. "Only one and that was a few seconds before it was destroyed. Initial reports of the debris show high concentrations of aluminum, titanium and a few strange metals I have not yet been able to fully analyze yet..."



Holt looked back over at Ilsa who was staring at the tablet, her sapphire blue eyes wide. On her face was such an expression of fear that the young Obersturmbannfuhrer stopped talking and began to worry herself. In all the years she had been close to Ilsa Hauppman she had never seen such a naked display of troubled emotion. It was almost akin to panic. Even captured by the Iron Chancellor she had managed to keep her composure and look for any opportunity to exploit and turn to her advantage. For the briefest moment just now, the strong Aryan woman gave the impression of a wild animal trapped in a cage. The fact that Ilsa's hands were trembling only added to Holt's growing concern over the situation.



"Reichsführer?" Holt dared.



Ilsa's eyes shot back over to her officer, the pupils returning to a more relaxed state. Ilsa handed her back the tablet and ran a still trembling hand through her disheveled hair in an attempt to regain her composure.



"That's enough for now Obersturmbannfuhrer. Continue your analysis. Attempt to discover how the Russians obtained such advanced technology. I need to clean myself up and plan our next move in light of this...set-back. Oh and there will be a dinner tonight for the officer corp here that I expect you to attend."



"O-of course Reichsführer." Anna responded as Ilsa moved swiftly past her.


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Siberia, Russian Federation
Two Years Earlier


Lt. General Tupolev stepped off the helicopter and immediately bundled up his woolen coat around his heavy frame. It was brisk here and he suddenly wished for a glass of vodka, both to ward off the chill and calm his nerves. He fumbled for his key-card and upon finding it, used it to unlock the heavy security door in front of him. The resulting hallway that greeted him was well lit and flanked at several points by armed guards who saluted the General as he made his way deeper into the facility. After passing a series of check-points, Tupelov was finally shown into the main chamber, an enormous cavern deep under the glacial ice. General Kostytin was a few yards away, overseeing the operation. Tupelov made his way towards the younger, thinner man looking past him to marvel at the massive, metallic object. Its hull was solid black and shone like obsidian under the hundreds of lights illuminating it. It was sharp and angular looking with hundreds of jutting, scythe-like arms. Dozen of scientists and workmen were moving all around, carrying equipment and tools in a flurry of activity, scrambling around like ants. The ship was dismantled in several places, gaping holes showing through the super-structure. Kostytin turned and smiled as his friend approached, slapping him heartily on the back.



"How are things in Moscow Arkady?" Kostytin asked in jovial tone.



"They could be better, there are a lot of questions being asked. It is a den of political vipers." Tupelov replied, still looking out at the alien ship.



"Of course there are, of course. You leave the questions to me and others better suited to answering them."



Tupelov nodded, taking a few steps forward, his gloved fingers wrapping around the guard-rail. "So this is the infamous spacecraft...where did we find this Dmitry?"



"We didn't, the Nazi's uncovered it in 1944, under the ice, and we simply took it from them. It wouldn't have helped them anyway at that point, Hitler's war was lost. Stalin had some of his best minds work on this and when they failed to bring him any tangible results he had most of them killed, which also worked in our favor today. Upon his death very few people even knew this facility even existed."



"How did you find out about it?"



Kostytin turned to look at his old comrade and smiled an odd smile. His hands were fingering a small piece of jewelry he wore around his neck as he spoke. "I have my sources Arkady. The less you know about that the better."



Tupelov nodded and continued to gaze out over the metallic monolith. "So what is the next step?"



"Well at the moment we have dismantled it's shield and weapon systems and are close to reverse engineering them to our purposes. The hull composition is sadly well beyond our ability to replicate here on Earth...some of these elements aren't even on our periodic table...and as for understanding the language that is also something of a stumbling block for us."



"Fascinating...do we have any idea who crashed it here, where they are from?"



"Nyet, nothing I'm afraid. It appears to the best of our knowledge to be a long-range scouting vessel. Most of the databanks were wiped out or destroyed in the crash and that's apart from our struggle with their language. Stalin's scientists manged to ruin a great deal of the salvage as well due to either incompetence or the fact that he wanted immediate results. The engine was completely unsalvageable, most definitely from the crash so sadly we have no idea what it used for interplanetary travel. That said we have still managed to glean a great deal from it including the weapons, shields and several other technologies."



"So when will the satellite be ready?"



"Another six months, more or less, provided we don't suffer any other set-backs." Kostytin said confidently. Tupelov nodded in agreement.



"Then we can finally put things right for Russia again." he said slowly, taking a deep breath and smiling.



"The world Arkady," General Kostytin corrected him, "we will put things right for the world."




To be continued...

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Generals Tupelov & Kostytin, and Genocide are my creations and property.


Anna Holt was created by my dear friend


This story takes place in the universe.