Free Cities League
Establishing Nation
Airspace Over Forbyss, Fikteveld, Boganhem
“We’re going to start our descent now Your Majesty”
“Thank you Robert…”
As the small jet plane appeared from the dark clouds covering the Sun, a beautiful yet shadowy scenery was visible – a great forest of oaks and pine trees bordered a big lake, which was almost black. It was the Svart See – Black Lake. The dark colour of the Northeastern part of Boganhem, namely the provinces of Koldland, Goddhaus and a portion of Fikteveld, had a geological explanation – the large amount of basalt in the ground, that gave the area a shadowy and dark feel. In the background, the high snow-covered peaks of Goddhaus were barely visible, but made anyone understand why the Bogans thought the Gods lived there.
The jet plane approached an island lost in the fog and darkness of the Svart See, that island being Byss. Byss meant nothing in Bogan, although it is known that it came from the Urgic word for rock. And so it was, Byss was a dark rock, somewhat medium-sized, in the middle of the lake. It also was the chosen vacation palace of Bogan Kings since times immemorial, with the Palace suffering its last renewal five years ago, equipping it with materials that blocked radioactivity. In one of the island’s peninsula, there was an industrial complex, an unsuspecting one, and an abandoned shipyard.
The plane landed in the small airstrip in Byss and Rikhard V prepared to get out. The Bogan King was an imposing figure – tall, thin, elegant, dressed in a green military suit he had penetrating eyes, eyes one can found in cunning people. His blond and thin hair gave him even more the look of a gentleman. Certainly many people outside Boganhem thought he was some kind of barbaric and bearded King, which was not the case.
As he entered the Palace, his maids and butlers greeted him, and ordering to take his things to his room, he entered directly in his office – Rikhard took very seriously his job as a King and was known to be a workaholic. He was also very weary of attempts to curtail his power, but he did so because he took it really seriously. His office was full of riches – with his coat of arms in the wall, the coat of arms of the Krayt family, the black eagle on a green background, full of golden artifacts, military uniforms and memorabilia, and his desk made of pure Bogan oak, with a brand-new computer – a mix of old-fashioned decoration with modernity.
He picked up the telephone – “Your Majesty” his secretary said “The technicians are outside wanting to urgently speak to you.”
“Send them in Yohanna”
As three men in white robes entered, they bowed before the King and kissed his ring. People were very afraid of Rikhard – not because he was particularly prone to anger outbreaks but because he was so cold-blooded and calm. One could not see if he was furious or not. And with the bad news the scientists had to give him, their hands were sweaty and their knees were weak with fear.
“What is it Doctor Robertsun?”
“Your Majesty, we have really bad news for you…”
The King’s expression kept still, while Robertsun’s fear was more evident.
“Yesterday, Dr. Gerhard Kofman went earlier to sleep. We were surprised, but he wasn’t feeling too good that day. However, he didn’t show up for today’s morning meeting and neither did he all morning. Usually he would say he was sick or something, but that was not the case. And we went to his room and he wasn’t there, and had taken his belongings. We believe he managed to escape the plant, since he knows it very well.”
Another scientist, Dr. Wëtt, interrupted:
“But Your Majesty, we were contacted by the security forces and a vessel sank down a small boat in the lake today and the boat was heading towards Bantyr. So, we must assume he is dead…”
After quietly listening to them, Rikhard calmly spoke:
“I’ll say this only once, and you will do as I say. If you don’t, you know your fate will be to feed the fishes in the bottom of the lake. You will order searches to the facility, from tip to toe. I will order the search of the island and the villages around the lake. Understood? If I know you were not diligent – you know what happens…”
“Of course Your Majesty, right away…” said the scientists fearfully and trembling. They clumsily got out and the King was left alone. He picked up his phone.
“Hello, General fon Ziost? It’s me.”
“Greetings Your Majesty, how can I serve you?”
“We have an escapee from the Byss facility, you understand the urgency of this case, right?”
“Of course, what’s his name, description, etc.?”
“His name is Dr. Gerhard Kofman, I’ll e-mail you his file. You must send your agents rapidly to the villages around the lake and, most importantly, reinforce presence in the border posts, especially next to the Free Cities. If he gets the information he has out of the Kingdom, the consequences will be dire – the whole world will discover we were lying, and Voden knows that sick intervention they’ll try.”
“I understand the importance. My best agents will be dispatched Your Majesty…”
“Good. Catch him before it’s too late. You can send your men to the Free Cities too, maybe it’s better. I’ll convince Larenz.”
“All right Your Majesty, you can always count on the KSP”
“Thank you so much General. I’ll hope for the results…”
After the phone call, Rikhard sat back and sent a little memo to Karl Larenz, the Bürgermesternratpräsident of the Free Cities:
“Mr. Larenz – I warn you beforehand that the Kongshuts Politsei will be heavily present in the Free Cities for the next days. Reason: a dangerous man, Gerhard Kofman, is trying to betray secrets of State Defence and Diplomacy that will harm us both – and as you know, the Free Cities is not autonomous in Defence and Diplomacy. So, I ask you to comply. Regards. HM Rikhard V”
Lübeck, Free Cities League
“Ich möchte eine Erdinger bitte”
“Gute Wahl.”
In the Free Cities’ League, everything seemed better to Gerhard Kofman. The dark fields and forests of Boganhem seemed so far away, as did its cloudy weather. In Lübeck, everything seemed lighter, clearer and happier. It was cold, but the sky was blue and clear, and Kofman sat in the Café Schwarz, a famous coffee and beerhouse in Lübeck. It was the place his Bantyric contact told him to be. As the waiter brought him his Erdinger, a fine wheat beer made in Erding, a city 20 km north of Lübeck, his heartbeat began to accelerate. He looked everywhere and saw people looking at him, discretely, from corners, from cars, from windows. He was paranoid, he was paranoid because he knew, he knew what everyone wanted to know – that the Bogan Government was secretly developing nuclear weapons. And with that knowledge, he was sure the infamous Kongsshuts Politsei was looking for him, and he knew they had access to the Free Cities. He hoped they wouldn’t find him, as he put on a fake beard and dyed his hair in that morning, black. He would appear as a southern European tourist or something, not a Bogan.
As he gave a painful sip in his beer, he watched someone pull off the chair besides him.
“We’re going to start our descent now Your Majesty”
“Thank you Robert…”
As the small jet plane appeared from the dark clouds covering the Sun, a beautiful yet shadowy scenery was visible – a great forest of oaks and pine trees bordered a big lake, which was almost black. It was the Svart See – Black Lake. The dark colour of the Northeastern part of Boganhem, namely the provinces of Koldland, Goddhaus and a portion of Fikteveld, had a geological explanation – the large amount of basalt in the ground, that gave the area a shadowy and dark feel. In the background, the high snow-covered peaks of Goddhaus were barely visible, but made anyone understand why the Bogans thought the Gods lived there.
The jet plane approached an island lost in the fog and darkness of the Svart See, that island being Byss. Byss meant nothing in Bogan, although it is known that it came from the Urgic word for rock. And so it was, Byss was a dark rock, somewhat medium-sized, in the middle of the lake. It also was the chosen vacation palace of Bogan Kings since times immemorial, with the Palace suffering its last renewal five years ago, equipping it with materials that blocked radioactivity. In one of the island’s peninsula, there was an industrial complex, an unsuspecting one, and an abandoned shipyard.
The plane landed in the small airstrip in Byss and Rikhard V prepared to get out. The Bogan King was an imposing figure – tall, thin, elegant, dressed in a green military suit he had penetrating eyes, eyes one can found in cunning people. His blond and thin hair gave him even more the look of a gentleman. Certainly many people outside Boganhem thought he was some kind of barbaric and bearded King, which was not the case.
As he entered the Palace, his maids and butlers greeted him, and ordering to take his things to his room, he entered directly in his office – Rikhard took very seriously his job as a King and was known to be a workaholic. He was also very weary of attempts to curtail his power, but he did so because he took it really seriously. His office was full of riches – with his coat of arms in the wall, the coat of arms of the Krayt family, the black eagle on a green background, full of golden artifacts, military uniforms and memorabilia, and his desk made of pure Bogan oak, with a brand-new computer – a mix of old-fashioned decoration with modernity.
He picked up the telephone – “Your Majesty” his secretary said “The technicians are outside wanting to urgently speak to you.”
“Send them in Yohanna”
As three men in white robes entered, they bowed before the King and kissed his ring. People were very afraid of Rikhard – not because he was particularly prone to anger outbreaks but because he was so cold-blooded and calm. One could not see if he was furious or not. And with the bad news the scientists had to give him, their hands were sweaty and their knees were weak with fear.
“What is it Doctor Robertsun?”
“Your Majesty, we have really bad news for you…”
The King’s expression kept still, while Robertsun’s fear was more evident.
“Yesterday, Dr. Gerhard Kofman went earlier to sleep. We were surprised, but he wasn’t feeling too good that day. However, he didn’t show up for today’s morning meeting and neither did he all morning. Usually he would say he was sick or something, but that was not the case. And we went to his room and he wasn’t there, and had taken his belongings. We believe he managed to escape the plant, since he knows it very well.”
Another scientist, Dr. Wëtt, interrupted:
“But Your Majesty, we were contacted by the security forces and a vessel sank down a small boat in the lake today and the boat was heading towards Bantyr. So, we must assume he is dead…”
After quietly listening to them, Rikhard calmly spoke:
“I’ll say this only once, and you will do as I say. If you don’t, you know your fate will be to feed the fishes in the bottom of the lake. You will order searches to the facility, from tip to toe. I will order the search of the island and the villages around the lake. Understood? If I know you were not diligent – you know what happens…”
“Of course Your Majesty, right away…” said the scientists fearfully and trembling. They clumsily got out and the King was left alone. He picked up his phone.
“Hello, General fon Ziost? It’s me.”
“Greetings Your Majesty, how can I serve you?”
“We have an escapee from the Byss facility, you understand the urgency of this case, right?”
“Of course, what’s his name, description, etc.?”
“His name is Dr. Gerhard Kofman, I’ll e-mail you his file. You must send your agents rapidly to the villages around the lake and, most importantly, reinforce presence in the border posts, especially next to the Free Cities. If he gets the information he has out of the Kingdom, the consequences will be dire – the whole world will discover we were lying, and Voden knows that sick intervention they’ll try.”
“I understand the importance. My best agents will be dispatched Your Majesty…”
“Good. Catch him before it’s too late. You can send your men to the Free Cities too, maybe it’s better. I’ll convince Larenz.”
“All right Your Majesty, you can always count on the KSP”
“Thank you so much General. I’ll hope for the results…”
After the phone call, Rikhard sat back and sent a little memo to Karl Larenz, the Bürgermesternratpräsident of the Free Cities:
“Mr. Larenz – I warn you beforehand that the Kongshuts Politsei will be heavily present in the Free Cities for the next days. Reason: a dangerous man, Gerhard Kofman, is trying to betray secrets of State Defence and Diplomacy that will harm us both – and as you know, the Free Cities is not autonomous in Defence and Diplomacy. So, I ask you to comply. Regards. HM Rikhard V”
Lübeck, Free Cities League
“Ich möchte eine Erdinger bitte”
“Gute Wahl.”
In the Free Cities’ League, everything seemed better to Gerhard Kofman. The dark fields and forests of Boganhem seemed so far away, as did its cloudy weather. In Lübeck, everything seemed lighter, clearer and happier. It was cold, but the sky was blue and clear, and Kofman sat in the Café Schwarz, a famous coffee and beerhouse in Lübeck. It was the place his Bantyric contact told him to be. As the waiter brought him his Erdinger, a fine wheat beer made in Erding, a city 20 km north of Lübeck, his heartbeat began to accelerate. He looked everywhere and saw people looking at him, discretely, from corners, from cars, from windows. He was paranoid, he was paranoid because he knew, he knew what everyone wanted to know – that the Bogan Government was secretly developing nuclear weapons. And with that knowledge, he was sure the infamous Kongsshuts Politsei was looking for him, and he knew they had access to the Free Cities. He hoped they wouldn’t find him, as he put on a fake beard and dyed his hair in that morning, black. He would appear as a southern European tourist or something, not a Bogan.
As he gave a painful sip in his beer, he watched someone pull off the chair besides him.