[i]A Collaboration Between Cyclone And Isotope[/i]
[h3][center]The Grand Commonwealth of Moravia[/center][/h3]
[center][b]Qualia Province[/b][/center]
[center]January 1, 1940[/center]

The rhythmic chugging of the iron juggernaut was the only sound that broke the silence of an otherwise sleepy morning. As he sipped his morning’s first coffee, the brew as black as his long beard, Imperator Geddon glanced out the train window. It would seem that they were making good time; they were already passing through the province of Qualia.

The clime was grey and dreary thanks to an overcast sky, but then again, the skies here in the Commonwealth’s industrial heartland were always grey with soot. Even now, through his window the dwarf’s wandering eye made out the outline of a dozen factories and foundries in the near distance. Some might have said that the monolithic structures and their great towers that bellowed out smoke rose from the ground like plague boils, but to a dwarf they were beautiful. 

Even in the hours as early as this, Geddon knew that each one of those factories was abuzz with scurrying workers, the air within hot and sweaty and dominated by the resounding clashes of hammers and heavy machinery: the very manifestation of efficiency, energy, hard work, raw power... It was often said that the Commonwealth could produce more tanks in a day than some nations did in a year, but of course, such expenditures were unnecessary. The Moravian Army was already as glorious as those great foundries.

Hours passed by, the Imperator stopping work on his immeasurable amount of paperwork only to call the servants or glance out the window in contemplation. As the hours went on, they passed a forest of stumps. While much of Moravia was covered in lush forest, such jungles of wood and green were gradually being destroyed in the name of progress and industry, giving way to new jungles of concrete and mortar. That was the way of this new world.

It was not until late in the night that Imperator Geddon moved to one of his other personal train cars and retired for the night. Early in the next morning, after passing through what had seemed like a few hundred depots and stops they at last arrived at the Imperator’s destination. After waiting nearly an hour for his men to sweep the area and ensure than all was secure, Geddon at last clambered out of that wretched train. Luxurious as it was, the thing was still an iron prison and the Imperator had been spending far too much time withering away in that train as of late. Perhaps he would have to see about travelling by air; that seemed to be growing increasingly popular.

Taking in a breath of fresh air, the wind tasting of brine rather than soot, this place certainly felt different from his homeland of Qualia. But then again, as he entered Moravia’s largest military shipyard, he noted that this was not all that different from one of Qualia’s foundries. Massive cranes were everywhere, half a dozen depots were constantly unloading cargo shipped in by train, and everywhere there were bustling workers. Most were dwarves or gnomes, but Geddon’s astute eye noticed a few humans that certainly weren’t from the Commonwealth. These Verendens seemed tolerable at least, but Geddon was still in no way excited about this meeting.

With a few hesitant glances at the remaining soldiers still lingering to protect their Imperator one human in a particularly opulent suit exited from an office not far away and made his way towards Geddon.  While he was notably taller than most of the workers in the shipyard the man was still small by Human standards, and the round glasses on his face only solidified the notion he was there for a far different purpose than the rest of the Humans.  With an outstretched hand the man met with Geddon and introduced himself, “Vernon Hendsen sir, a pleasure to meet with you.  I apologize for the lack of a reception but we weren’t given too long to prepare for your arrival.  I trust you’re here to see it?”

Silently Geddon accepted the man’s hand, the dwarf’s calloused hands shaking with what might have been an uncomfortable grip. There was certainly a stark contrast between the two: Geddon was intimidating to most, wearing an ornate military uniform in place of a posh suit. He also had a few scars to show; in his youth the dwarf had fought in his share of wars. A look of incessant, almost withering disapproval was chiselled into his face. He was grim and humorless even by the standards of most dwarves.

After Vernon had spoken, the Imperator gruffly responded, “Yes, Caesar Thaurissan and I are very much interested in your progress. I take it that there have been no delays?”

With a small rubbing of his hand Vernon replied as warmly as he could given the dwarves demeanor, “None, it’s astonishing really!  Your workers are meticulous in their work, I even went over it myself to be certain.  We’ve been able to not only complete the prototype, but I’ve made refinements to the design in several areas we identified potential issues, if you sign off the production models will be a great deal more capable than what we have today.  Why just yester-”

With a look to Geddon Vernon cut himself off and scratched his head before he finished, “But you want to see it, obviously.  I’ve had it moved to dry dock four if you’d follow me, sir.”

Wordlessly Geddon followed, his silent bodyguards at his heels. As they went he also looked towards the other projects in the works. All manner of ships were present in various stages of construction, with a few already anchored in the harbor between testing runs. The Commonwealth’s navy was at present a pitiful husk of the nation’s potential, consisting of a few tiny fleets of gunboats that had been acquired through conquest or hastily built after the nation’s borders had recently expanded to the coast. Of course, that was going to change, and with the help of these Verendens the transition would go smoothly indeed, the Imperator reasoned.

As the two approached the dock it was clear what Vernon had been obsessing over, for there sat the first of the Commonwealth's new submarines.  When Hendsen Heavy Industries had been brought on Vernon had been shocked by the crude nature of the designs being thrown around, but with the sale of more than a few technologies and a great deal of negotiating he’d finally managed to create a vessel that he felt matched, if not exceeded the standard set by the Engagement Class submarines used by his own nation.  Of course there were rough edges, but the vessel before him was without a doubt the beginning of a great thing.

With a look of pride Vernon pushed his glasses into place and gestured towards the vessel, “Prototype Submarine V-221, a preliminary name of course.  Fully diesel electric, and designed with the intent of evading enemy detection with its lower speed double armature motors, not that such effects the cruising velocity of the vessel. If you’d like we can board it right away.”

Geddon looked warily at the supposedly submersible hunk of metal moored at the dock, doing a poor job at concealing his concern if he was even trying to hide it at all. In a coarse dwarven tongue he called out to one of the nearby engineers, a dwarf that hastily ran over upon seeing who was addressing him. After several assurances from one of his own kind, Geddon seemed slightly more willing. Not one to look a coward, he reluctantly agreed to board the submarine. For once he found himself looking backwards into history instead of forwards to the future. He was wondering what his ancestors in their subterranean halls would think of him going into this...this...abomination of war? Marvel of new technology? The Imperator, and indeed most dwarves, had mixed feelings about the Caesar’s dreams of naval dominance.

While the Imperators reluctance, and clear misgiving about the idea came off as somewhat offensive to Vernon, he certainly didn’t voice it.  Everything said and done the Commonwealth for all its power was utterly lost when it came to naval design and construction, it was no wonder their people had uncertainties when it came to ships themselves.  It was to be expected of a formerly inland nation though, and Vernon had to remind himself constantly that most of the engineers and workers here had never been on a ship in their lives before they were sent to build them.  

With an inward sigh Vernon made his way down the steps towards the submarine’s main deck, smiling all the while.  By the time the Imperator was beside him Vernon had managed to open the vessel’s main hatch on the conning tower.  With a self approving nod after the bout of physical exertion Vernon gestured to the ladder down, “Would you like to have the honour?”

The dwarf looked down into the dark hatch down for a brief moment, then bravely ventured down the shaft. His eyes widened slightly upon entering the vessel, almost as if in wonder, but that expression was quickly lost. It reverted back to his usual disapproving glare, this time muddled with skepticism and suspicion as his eyes glossed over everything in sight, trying to make sense of it all. He recognized some small things as being the gnomes’ convoluted designs and everywhere there were signs of dwarven handiwork; the Commonwealth’s factories had made most of these parts, after all. It was the way in which the thing was assembled and controlled that seemed almost imperceptibly alien, being Verenden technology.

After following Geddon down Vernon took a moment to collect himself before starting down a narrow corridor while speaking, “It is a bit cramped of course, well less so for you of course.  Anyways technology has its limits, as does practicality in this sense.  While it may not be the largest submarine ever constructed we’ve managed to refine a great many elements of it, as well as simplified the controls somewhat.”

As if on cue Vernon entered the control room, and was greeted by wall of gauges and wheels interspersed with the occasional lever.  With a soft chuckle Vernon added, “Though simplify may be a relative term, but I assure you this is fairly conservative compared to most submarines!”

[i]Conservative?[/i] That wording made Geddon raise an eyebrow. “What does it not have?”

With a pause Vernon added, “Oh, I mean the control surfaces are simplified to an extent, the submarine itself has the functionality of any other if not greater, but given it’s a new design and you have few experienced mariners for the moment we tried to make driving the whole thing a tad more straightforward.  That said, we made certain to take no controls away, only make them more integrated and so on.  Apologies for the confusion.”

“I see,” was the dwarf’s response. He had already been given basic briefing on the submarine’s armaments, but regardless he was eager to hear the results of the upcoming tests. “We shall have the tests go as scheduled, then. If the results are favorable, you will be rewarded richly indeed. As usual, you have at your disposal all the resources of the Commonwealth to ensure that development continues in an effective and timely manner.” The Imperator made a curt nod, and then prepared to leave. He had other business to attend to in the region; being the Caesar’s right hand and one of the heads of the military came with a good deal of responsibility.