NationStates Jolt Archive

Helga frowned, "My father and Hans Stahlecker, they're the two most important members of the Mississippian Illuminati, publicly they appear to be devout Christians, but they really worship Molech... They tried to get their families involved, my father bothered me for years, but I never went along with any of it, my mother eventually got him to drop the issue... Although some of the Stahleckers and a few of my fathers distant relatives are involved in it all... Father probably wants you to join..."

"He does..." Norin said grimly. "But I can assure I won't join. I'm deeply opposed to cults as well you know..." He informed her. Norin wasn't about to be branded as a cultist. In Avadria the standard religions were given mercy and merely reeducated, but the few cultists were most likely executed.

She smiled, "Good, I don't want you to get involved, the occult is..." She shuddered, "Evil..."


Helga sighed a bit, "You know, from 1978 to about 1996, Curtis Fabus was a member of the occult and much of his reign from 1984 to 2004 was directed by the Mississippian Illuminati... I remember as a girl, often seeing him talking with my father and my father telling him what laws to make, what to do, and what foreign nations to attack and when..."

"Wow..." Norin said, surprised although equally impressed with the posistion that Dieter had in Mississippi in that time. "Why did Curtis take orders from your father in the first place?" He asked, not sure as to what the answer may be.

Helga smiled, a bit proud that her father was so powerful, "Because father engineered the collapse of the USA, the rise of the Communist regime, and then the Civil War that put Curtis into power. The Soviet Union was just a tool my father's father had engineered to lead to this eventual NWO ideal which Curtis has so stood for and supported, he does so because they bankrolled him from day one."

Norin whisteled, impressed with all that Dieter had done. With that fact it gave him even greater reason to meet him as well as fear the man. Afterall, Dieter probably knew everything that was going on in the plane at this very moment. If Roger could tell what was happening in Gunther's house it certainly was plausible that Dieter knew what was going on in the plane.

"He's quite the man then..." Norin said, his eyes wandering around, just to see if he could possibly spot any sort of listening device. "Do you think he's listening to this conversation?" He asked in a rather off-the-cuff manner.

Helga giggled, "Oh Norin, don't be so paranoid, father has better things to do than spy on us..."


Suddenly the phone rang, it was Dieter, he asked for Norin, she handed him the phone. He immediately said, "You know, she is usually right, but today is a slow day and I'm quite bored... But I'll let you two kids get back to talking in private... We'll talk more at Bloemfontein, don't turn down my offer until you've heard it in its entirety."


Dieter then hung up.


Helga chuckled a bit, red with embarrassment at being wrong, "I guess father was listening in..."

Norin held the phone to his ear, his jaw slightly dropping in a sort of expected shock. He set the phone back down and couldn't help but laugh. "Well speak of the devil..." Norin said upon hanging up. "That was quite a surprise..." He said in a half sarcastic tone.

Helga laughed, nervously, "Hehehehe... Yes... Father is a riot, eh?"

"Oh yes quite" Norin said with a feigned laugh. He could tell that Helga was rather concerned now that he was listening and was going to try his best to put up a show for the time being. "Perhaps it would be best though if we take some time to rest" Norin suggested. "So that we'll have plenty of energy when we arrive" He added, the suggestion also serving as an obvious means of letting Dieter find a hobby other than spying.

Dieter had stopped listening after the phone conversation, and so that was no longer an issue.


Helga lightly sighed, mostly out of pleasure and her current feelings of content, as she gently put her arm around Norin, "Well Mr. Fallsburg, if you say we should rest, you're the boss."

She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Norin wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer too him. In a short amount of time he too found himself fast asleep as the plane made its way to the African continent.

Ooc- It's a large plane :) A privately owned 777.



Ic-

As they were approaching the coast of Namibia, en route to South Africa, two MiG-41s were scrambled when the pilot failed to reply in Afrikaans as to where he was going. Norin was awoken when the plane started to shake from the planes being almost on top of the 777, trying to intimdiate it.

He wasn't sure what to do when one of the pilots shouted, "We need somebody to tell them, in Afrikaans, that we're not going to be doing anything illega!"

He knew that Helga was from South Africa, and so she probably could tell them.

Norin was awoken by a loud rumbling coming from atop the plane. The sound of other aircraft could be heard and it was obvious that something wasn't going as planned. Then the pilot shouted that they needed someone who spoke Afrikaans to tell them that they weren't doing anything illegal. Norin immediately looked towards the source of weight on his shoulder and gently shook Helga.

"Honey, wake up..." He said, shaking slightly harder the next time. "We need you in the cockpit, you need to tell someone in Afrikaans that we aren't doing anything illegal." He informed her as soon as she awoke.

Helga woke up, rubbing her eyes, "What? What is wrong Norin? Is everything okay?"

When she heard what he said, she made her way to the cockpit and proceeded to tell the Namibian Air Defense Command in Afrikaans, who they were, where they were going, and what they intended to do and not do, the not do being anything illegal.


It was good enough for the Namibian Air Defense Command and so they let the plane continue on towards South Africa.


Norin felt the plane shake tremendously back and forth, he nearly fell over, Helga almost fell to, flying forward near him, as the MiG-41s jumped to Mach 4.2 to return to their base.

Norin rose from his seat at the sight of Helga, worried yet eager to find out if they would be okay. The fact that they hadn't been blown out of the sky seemed like a good sign still. As he approached, the plane suddenly shook violently, sending both Norin and Helga to the ground. He reached out in an effort to catch her and thankfully managed to prevent her from falling on her stomach.

"You alright?" Norin asked once the commotion had ceased.

Helga was glad that Norin had been able to catch her, she smiled at him and said, "I am now" when he asked her if she was okay.


The pilot then came over the intercom and said, "Well, they're gone, they just left radar, damn they're fast, eh?"

"Good" He said with a smile, still worried about her. Norin then heard the pilots remark about the planes over the intercom. It served as an adequet explanation for what had just happened to them and also gave Norin the same impression that the pilots had. He couldn't believe that the planes were that fast.

Norin then helped Helga to her feet and led her to an open seat. Given the fact that they were being harrassed by security already, he figured that they were pretty close to South Africa by know.

About forty minutes later, the pilot spoke again, "We'll be landing in Pretoria in ten minutes, please take your seats and buckle up."


Helga buckled up and smiled at Norin before kissing him and helping him buckle up, saying, "We're almost there... What do you want to do first? The old estate, the one I grew up on, is still around, it's still in pretty good shape, want to go there?"

"Sounds wonderful" Norin said with a smile, glad to hear that they would be landing soon. "How far is it from Pretoria?" He questioned, hoping it wasn't too far off. Afterall, he needed some time to stretch out after the long flight.

Helga quickly answered, "Oh, not far at all... Less than ten miles away."

"Excellent" Norin said cheerfully. He checked his watch to see how much longer they had since the pilot mentioned the time. "I really need to stretch out and don't want to spend a whole lot longer strapped into some other vehicle." Norin said with a chuckle.

The plane thudded against the runway and then slowly ground to a halt. The pilot smiled and said into the intercom, "We are now in Pretoria, the local time is probably something different than the time we left Mississippi in... The local temperature is probably something different as well. Thank you."


Helga frowned, "That wasn't much help..." But then turned to Norin, kissed him on the cheek and said, "Welcome to South Africa, Norin. Shall we go then?"

Norin shook his head, chuckling to himself when he heard the pilot's announcement. He wasn't sure who's idea it was to hire these two but they certainly better get their money back. Then again though, it was the pilot's job to fly them there, not keep track of the time.


Helga then welcomed Norin's arrival into South Africa with a kiss on the cheek, although he assumed the official 'welcome' would come later. She then proposed that they disembark and head off towards the estate.

"We shall" Norin replied with a smile as he unfastened his seatbelt. He undid Helga's and helped her out of her seat and then off of the plane. "Can we just grab our bags when they come out? I really don't want to go through all of the fuss in the terminal" Norin asked, looking towards the rear of the plane which was now being unloaded.

((Just correct me if I'm wrong here. I went ahead and assumed that they were disembarking onto the tarmac instead of onto one of those gantry things. You can correct me on that if I'm wrong and I'll go ahead and alter the post))

The pilot heard him and walked over and looked at one of the black luggage unloaders, saying, "Hey you, boy, unload their bags, just hand the bags to them, if that isn't too hard for you..."

He then turned and walked off with the co-pilot to go to the pilots bar.



Helga waited with Norin until they were handed their bags, then she lifted the two lighter ones and beckoned for Norin to follow her towards the approaching limousine that her father had arranged to meet them at the airport.

Norin grabbed the two heavier bags and lugged them towards the limo. As he walked his eyes were mostly focused on the sights around the airport, trying to gain his first impression (all though not much could be judged from it) of South Africa.

The driver of the limousine, and one guard, stepped out and each took some of the bags from Helga and Norin. After they put them in the trunk, the guard looked to Norin and said, "You're Mr. Fallsburg right? Dieter Thaller sent us here, told us we're to take you anywhere you'd like."

Norin nodded in response to guard. Keeping with their current plan Norin told the guard of their destination. "I suppose were heading off to the Thaller's old estate here. Helga tells me it isn't far from here" He said with a nod, looking over at Helga with a smile just to make sure that was still the plan.

She nodded her head as she kissed him on the cheek. After which she took his hand and led him into the limousine.

Some of the other guards from the unit assigned to accompany them for travel outsid of urban areas were readying in their vehicles.


Helga again kissed Norin on the cheek as she smiled and whispered, "Don't worry dear, we'll be there soon."

Norin smiled and turned, looking through the window at their escorts. The fact that they were being accompanied by armed guards brought both a sense of security as well as worry. "Is it really necessary that we have them with us?" He asked Helga. "I mean how many people could possibly be out to get you?"

Helga sighed, not upset with Norin in the least, but more so just a bit annoyed by the situations her family put her in, "Well because of who my father is, my brother Herman is, and my brother Gunther is, it isn't too far-fetched to imagine that a lot of people might have a problem with me solely for the fact I'm related to them... I mean my brother Herman is the pope of the Mississippian Roman Catholic Church, and he did just call for a worldwide crusade to the Holy Land."

"Ah..." Norin said with a long drawn back nod. It was a shame really that Helga had been put in that situation, but of course she couldn't help it. He was rather surprised at the developments that Helga had spoken of, especially that of a crusade. Norin was certain that that could draw some enemies. "Why did the Pope call for a crusade?" He asked, curious about the subject.

Helga was quick to answer, she rolled her eyes, "He said that God wanted him to..."

Norin couldn't help but laugh when he saw Helga roll her eyes. "I see..." He said, a grin still on his face. "Well I hope God will help him out with that..." Norin said, figuring that a crusade would be no easy task.

Helga nodded her head, frowning a bit, "Yes, well I believe that he is a holy man and is doing the work of God, but I think he is a bit mistaken as to his whole crusade business. It's quite likely to just get a lot of folks on both sides killed for no real changes."

Norin nodded. "I can understand that..." He said about Helga's remarks. Norin knew that she was a religious woman and obviously must have a great deal of respect for the Pope (especially including the fact that he is family). "And I can't imagine it accomplishing much as well..." He added, agreeing with her other statement.

Helga smiled, and kissed him softly on the lips before saying, "Thanks for understanding and not holding my family's zealousness against them, or me for that matter. I think they're mostly nice people overall, the only thing that bothers me is my father's occult crap..."

"Ah, It's no problem" Norin said with a laugh. "As long as they don't push it on me, I'm fine" He said, wearing a grin. "As for your father, well I suppose I'll find out about that soon"

She sighed, "You know I'd much prefer you didn't even go, but father will insist, so it's probably unavoidable..."

She smiled at him and jokingly said, "Just try not to join their cult, I'm sure the urge to join may overwhelm you."

Norin again found himself laughing at the idea of joining. "Don't worry Helga, I can make decisions for myself and besides, there's nothing I can get out of the cult. I have everything I ever want right here." He said before kissing Helga.

Helga blushed and kissed him back. A few minutes later they arrived at the estate they'd be staying on.

The guards stepped out of the vehicles and formed a perimeter around the area while the driver helped Helga and Norin with their bags.

Norin exited the vehicle, helping Helga out as well. He stood on the pavement and surveyed what would be their new home for the time being. "It's wonderful..." Norin with a smile.

As Helga was about to reply, she was suddenly drowned out by the collective noise of an armada of helicopters, Mi-24s to be exact. There were so many that all one could see was helicopters. There must have been two or three hundred, perhaps more. They seemed to be heading east, towards Durban.

Finally Norin and Helga managed to finish walking down the path and got into the house. After she closed the door, the sounds of the helicopters less present, she chuckled and said, "Wow, wonder where they're all going..."

Norin was amazed by the mass of helicopters that flew overhead. It truely was an astounding sight, however much to Norin's dismay, his camera was lodged somewhere in one of his bags. Either way, his eyes rarely left the sight as they approached the house. A shiver crept down his spine as he realized the fact that they were all going off to some warzone that couldn't be too far from here. He was certain however that it was something he could read about in the papers.

Upon entering the house and hearing Helga's remark, Norin saw it as an excellent time to propose his theory based on what he knew. "Well you said there was some sort of war going on here..." He said, the conclusion being rather obvious. "So they must be going off to fight whatever enemy it was that you said you fighting..." Norin finished, feeling rather stupid now that he said it. "It sounded right in my head..." He told himself, somewhat regretting that he said his prediction without fully understanding the situation.

Suddenly the ground started to shake, the house started to shake. Overhead were 50 MiG-41s in several groups, flying over at Mach 3.5, and outside Norin could hear the rumbling of armored vehicles. There were indeed armored vehicles, at least two thousand BMP-3s and a thousand T-98 and T-99 tanks, accompanied by a few hundred Sa-19 nd ZSU-23-4 Shilkas.


Helga looked to the door, and said, "Sounds like troops are moving by, eh?"

The rumbling unsettled Norin. To him it was a sign that the battle had to be close by or at least had the potential of being pulled towards the general area. "Do you think we're safe? I mean the battle could be pretty close don't you think?" Norin asked Helga, obviously unsettled by the whole thing. He didn't exactly want to spend his honeymoon in a warzone.

Helga smiled, "I'm sure we'll be fine..."

She then turned and walked outside and called to a passing BMP, the soldiers riding on top of it, she shouted, "Where are you heading? Where is your commander?"


The man radioed for his commander, a field marshal, to report to the mansion, which the field marshal promptly did when he realized it was the Thaller mansion that his presence was requested at.


The field marshal walked through the front door and snapped to attention, saluting Helga, saying, "Greetings Ms. Thaller, how are you?"

She smiled, "Mrs. Fallsburg now actually... And I'm fine, say, can you tell me what is going on?"

He nodded his head and immediately replied, "Yes, we're heading on our way to the coastal regions near Durban, we're going to have to march all night probably, but there won't be any fighting around here. But you'll probably be hearing the soldiers moving down that highway all night, possibly into the morning..."

Norin was relieved to hear that there would be no fighting in the area but the fact that there would be marching all night didn't exactly sit well with him. "So basically you mean we won't be getting a good nights sleep then." He said to the field marshal with a laugh.

The field marshal nodded his head, frowning a bit and sighing, "Yes, I'm afraid so... But the important thing to remember is that we are making history here, moving over a million soldiers from both South Africa and Namibia, over a thousand miles, via the highways, in a matter of twenty-four hours. See, we are going to move until we get there, not stopping for anything... We have to move rapidly and get where we are needed in time to affect the course of this campaign, so you see, we have to move very fast..."

Norin nodded with a much more serious manner now. It was evident that something big was going down. However that something was unknown to him and of course he had to find out. "I'm not well kept up on the local news, so would you mind filling me in on why your moving this many men?" He asked.

The man grinned, "The Xhosa, there are a few million of them rising up, attacking Zulu, trying to attack whites, and basically destabilizing the entire nation, we can't allow that. So those tribal savages are going to get it, we're helping the Zulu and other paramilitaries crush the Xhosa once and for all. Then we'll send the Xhosa packing, probably push them into Zimbabwe or Mozambique."

Norin nodded, glad to hear that the dissenters were going to be crushed within due time. "Give 'em hell" He said to the field marshal with a grin. "And make sure they don't come back..." Norin added.

The field marshal smiled and patted Norin on the back, "Don't worry, we'll get them... I have to be going though."


The man headed on out after he said that, stepping back into his staff car and telling the driver, "Forward..." before the car assumed a spot back in the long column of advancing vehicles.



Overhead, F-16s and C-130s were now moving by, as were a few Su-25s and MiG-31s.


Helga looked to Norin, "Want to go to the bunker underground, it is quite comfortable there and might be much more quiet?"

"That would be an excellent idea" Norin said, turning away from the door, but pausing as he wasn't sure where to go. "If you wouldn't mind..." He said, motioning for her to lead.

Helga smiled and led Norin through the hallway that would lead to the door to the basement. The hallway was lined with paintings of all the Thallers, going back to the 1100s.

Down in the basement, there was a large statue of an owl, supposedly just because Dieter liked owls, but in actuality, it was an idol, a representation of Molech.

Once they got into the bunker, Norin first noticed there was an abundance of paintings of a demonic nature, hellish depictions of ghouls and occultic symbols adourned the walls.

Helga frowned, "Just don't pay any attention to those..." she said as she led him to her room in the bunker, "Father only ever comes here anymore a few times a year, my room was not decorated by him though, so don't worry about having to be bothered by looking at his, well, shall we say, odd taste in art."

"Yes... quite..." Norin said, trying to take his eyes away from the pictures, yet he was drawn to them. The presence of the pictures unsetteled Norin even more then the troop movements upstairs. He could never imagine raising a child in a house of this sort. The poor kid would be frightened out of his mind if he saw those pictures. "I'm glad to hear that he didn't decorate your room. I can't imagine I would want to sleep in their with those looking at me." He said motioning to one of the paintings.

Helga smiled, "Yeah, it is fortunate, isn't it, eh?"

She sighed a bit, "You know, my father's obsession with the occult is such that he even timed it with my mother, when they conceived me, so that I was born on April 30th, the day my father regards as most important to the occult... I'm just glad my mother insisted we be raised Catholic and didn't let him get us into the occult."

Norin quirked an eyebrow, Dieter really was dedicated to the occult then. "I must say that I'm glad you were raised a catholic, rather than some cultist." He shook his head in disgust at the thought of what Dieter must have planned for her. "Nothing worse than the occultist..." Norin muttered.

Helga smiled, "I'm glad too... Anyway, shall we go to my room or would you like to get a glass of wine first?"

"Wine would be excellent" Norin said as he looked around the bunker some more. His eyes couldn't help but wander back to the paintings, each of them seeming to act as a bad omen of what might come several days from now.

Helga walked with Norin to a nearby room where over ten thousand wine bottles were stored. She selected one and then poured two glasses, sitting down a couch and slyly grinning at Norin as he patted the couch seat next to her, "Care to join me?" she said as she sipped from her glass.


He noticed on the wall of the room there was a large painting of Hitler with two iron swastikas, one to either side of the painting.


Helga sighed when she saw he noticed them, "Yes, my father was in the Nazi Party, he joined in the mid 1930s... He ultimately became a general in the Waffen SS."

Norin grinned and took a seat next to her. He took a sip of his wine before noticing the large painting. Although it surprised him, Norin wasn't at all offended by it. Sure he didn't respect the man's Final Solution plan, but he did respect him as the tactician and orator that he was. Norin was though, very impressed to hear that her father was a general in the SS during the war. That fact probably helped explain his obession with the occult.

"That's a very impressive title to hold" Norin remarked before taking another sip. "And it probably explains a few things..." He added, motioning over towards the room with the other pictures.

Helga smiled, she was a bit proud of her father, even though she always considered herself a Fabusist rather than a Nazi, and a Mississippian rather than a German, she had to admit, his being an SS general was something she was proud of.


She took a sip from her glass and then said, "Do you want to see his uniform, he has a room here where he keeps most of his war stuff, a pistol, dagger, sword, cap, uniform, and various medals..."

Norin nodded, eager to learn more about the Thaller's history, especially about the man he would meet in due time. "I'd love to see all of that..." He said rising from the couch, his interest in history taking over.

Helga was a bit annoyed at his seemingly stronger desire to see things about her father, things he could have seen in a while anyway, rather than sit and drink with her. However, she didn't show it, she just smiled and led him to the room all the items were in.


Inside a glass display case was a Luger P-08, a holster lay next to it, two magazines as well, and then a Walther P-38 with a holster and two magazines. In other case there was an Iron Class 1st Class, Iron Cross Second Class, a half dozen Assault Badges, and finally a rare Knight Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. In another case was a large sabre with a ivory handle and golden engraving.

There was also a signed copy of Mein Kampf and a picture of Dieter shaking hands with Hitler, another picture of Hitler presenting Dieter with the Knights Cross he received.

Norin eagerly took in every item that was in the room. The history that could be behind each of the medals fascinated him. It would be something he would want to ask Dieter about if they met in a much warmer setting. The pictures were also a very personal but interesting addition to the collection. The photos and the large painting in the other room did prompt Norin to wonder if Dieter was a 'Hitlerian' as it was phrased in Avadria. He turned to Helga to ask his question.

"Helga... Is Dieter... Is he one of those people who worships him..?" Norin asked in a rather uncomfortable fashion, pointing to one of the photographs with Hitler in it.

Helga honestly didn't know, she smiled and gave the best answer she could, "You'll have to ask him about that, I just don't know for sure."


He moved to the next cabinet and looked inside, dozens of pictures of Dieter and Hitler together, it was obvious that they were something of friends, the fact that Hitler had considered Dieter a friend was something that counted for a lot, for all the generals and marshals who fought for him, few ever got to know him on a personal level, or so the historians claimed.


Dieter also seemed to have a number of pictures of hunting trips, mostly with Goering, the two got along fairly well, their mutual love of hunting and art seemed to make them natural friends. Although Dieter didn't care much for Goering's excess, he admired his world war one fighter record and Goering loved the praise that Dieter lavished on him, Dieter was always one for giving praise when he thought it was due.



There was also, in one of the cases, the first copy of his memoirs, "Tanks Rolling in Russia". In the pages of the book, were detailed accounts of the many battles he had been in as a young tank commander, rising through the ranks through his major successes, ultimately culminating in being promoted to general. The promotion came after a battle in which his tank, and three others under his command knocked out over one hundred and ninety Russian tanks by setting up an ambush.


In a nearby case was one of his uniforms, from the "Das Reich" Division, it was one of his first ones, when he was just a lieutenant.


Helga smiled as saw Norin looking over the various items, she then said, "So Norin, have you seen enough for now? Shall we move on and I'll show you my room..."

Norin continued onto the other case, surprised at the more intimate pictures of Dieter with some of the most well known figures in the war. After surveying the items for several more moments, Norin took to Helga's suggestion to see her room. "I'd love to..." He said with a bit of a grin.

Helga led Norin out of the room, shutting the light off on her way out, and closing the door after he'd exited. She led him down the hall, by yet more occultic paintings, one depicting a sacrificial ritual to Molech, yet another depicted a demonic beast of some sort with a sword in his hand, the last painting before her room door wasn't as disturbing as the rest, but perhaps more intriguing, it was the "All-seeing" eye of the Illuminati.

Norin's eyes took in the various imagery, no matter how horrific or intriguing as they may be. However at the end of the hall he was met with more familiar, undistirbing image. "Ah, the Eye of Providence..." Norin said, feeling proud that it was something he recognized.

Helga smiled, "Yes, you recognize it? Did you know that my father is the head of the Illuminati?"

Norin nodded. "I took a short class on world currency before I became a diplomat" He said to Helga. "The symbol was on the old US currency" Norin added. When Helga brought up the fact that Dieter was the head of the Illumnati, Norin raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really..? Wow..." He said as he thought about it for a moment. It did help explain more about Dieter and how he exactly became so powerful.

((OOC: Correct me if I am wrong, but with Mississippi, the Union was dissolved and all, so I assumed the USD isn't exactly in circulation, which is why I said 'old' US currency. I am assuming the Mississippi dollar is probably different.))

Helga nodded her head, "Yes, father has been the head of the Illuminati for many years. And yes, I do believe that the eye was on the old US single dollar bill."

She then pushed open her room door and then walked through, grinning as she beckoned him to follow with her finger.




Ooc- Yes, MS currency is a great deal different, we have bills going up to 1,000 in regular print, and we often print 10,000 and 100,000 dollar bills for large transactions. All currency has the "Imperial Eagle" and the "Imperial Seal" on it, as well as Latin religious writing, then each different bill has a different face on it. One has Jefferson Davis, another has Robert E. Lee, another has Nathan Bedford Forrest, and yet some others have Curtis Fabus, Roger Fabus, and Alice Fabus.

Norin nodded surprised again at the fact of what power Dieter held. However he didn't think about for long as he turned to see Helga enter her room, motioning for him to follow in a very inviting fashion. Norin grinned and eagerly complied.

Helga pulled Norin closer to her and then pushed him down onto the bed...



A while later, Helga kissed Norin on the forehead and said, "Well Norin, perhaps you'd like me to go see about getting you a sandwich or something, eh?"

Norin looked up at Helga with a smile. He was rather surprised by her offer, but was indeed rather hungry. And since she was offering, he would of course take her up on it. "If you wouldn't mind Helga..." Norin said before returning the kiss she gave him moments before.

Helga smiled back and kissed him on the lips before asking, "Corned beef okay with you? You want me to get you a beer too or something to drink?"

Norin nodded. "That would be perfect and a beer is fine too" He said.

Helga kissed him on the cheek, said, "I'll be right back" and then promptly went to the kitchen to get him his sandwich and beer, getting a sandwich and glass of water for herself as well.


A few minutes after she left, she was back, and she handed him the plate the sandwich was on, and the beer, it was a "William Fabus Imperial Beer" the bottle had a warning label, "Consumption of alcohol may make objects appear closer than they are and women more attractive than they are, if you get somebody pregnant because you were too drunk to realize they were ugly as sin, don't blame me, and you can't sue me."

The label was just a joke, the contest was "Find the joke label and win", the regular label was a real warning about "Pregnant women shouldn't drink this, don't drive, etc" the joke warning though, if you got it, you won a weekend at the Governor's mansion in Pretoria, where you would get to follow the Governor around in his daily business.

Norin nodded in thanks and greedily took a bite of his sandwich. He was alot hungrier than he had realized. Upon finishing his intial bite, Norin swallowed and opened up the beer, but not before looking at the label. He chuckled as he read it and then took a drink. Norin then looked back at the label and couldn't resist repeating it.

"Consumption of alcohol may make objects appear closer than they are and women more attractive than they are, if you get somebody pregnant because you were too drunk to realize they were ugly as sin, don't blame me, and you can't sue me." He said reading from the bottle. "They certainly are honest" Norin said with a laugh "I think I'm going to have to hang onto this..."

Helga chuckled, "What? Are you sure that's what it said? Oh my, Norin, you won! You won!"

Norin looked up at her rather confused. He figured it was just something they regularly put on the bottles, maybe a satire of warnings that may appear on other things. But according to Helga 'He Won.' "Well then... What exactly did I win?" He asked with a confused grin, happy that he won, but clueless to what it actually was.

Helga smiled and turned the bottle so he could read the rest of the label, the part he must have passed over, it said, "William Fabus contest, get the crazy label and win. No purchase necessary unless you hope to win."

Norin read the rest of the bottle but it still didn't answer any questions. "So what exactly did I win though?" He asked Helga, unfamiliar with what the contest was.

Helga smiled as she explained, "You and one guest get to spend a weekend at the mansion of the governor-general, William Fabus, in Pretoria, and accompany him on his daily routines."

To Norin it didn't seem like that great of a prize. "So... what exactly would I do there?" He asked, rather skeptical of why it was so great. Norin would've much rather of won a car than meeting a governor. Sure the man was a Fabus, but still. He just didn't see what exactly was so great about it.

Helga smiled, trying to sell him on the idea of going, "Oh, it'll be great, the governor has already said in other ads that the winner and guest will get to go hunting with him and will get their own Hummer to keep, along with a double barrel rifle, so they can enjoy the fine sport of hunting whenever they want."

Now the offer was sounding more appealing. Norin would be able to hunt, something he hadn't done before, as well he would get a car, well it was more of a massive vehicle than a mere car. "Sounds more interesting now..." He said. "And hell, it's free." Norin added with a shrug. He looked down at the label once more. "I suppose I don't have a choice, after all... I won" Norin said with a laugh.

Helga smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "That's the attitude dear, besides, you'll get to meet King William Fabus and Queen Sylvia Katrina Fabus, of The Burnsian Desert, currently their government is in exile, but it's likely just temporary, very temporary..."

"Ah, more royalty" He said with a laugh. It really was surprising to Norin. He wasn't even a full diplomat (if he even was one still) yet he was meeting the rulers of so many countries in such a short period of time. "So do you get to come along? Or is it just me?" He asked Helga.

Helga sighed, "It said one guest... I guess you can pick anybody you want to go."

She grinned a bit as she started to slide under the covers, "Although, perhaps I can convince you of the benefits of having me as your guest, eh?"

A sly grin spread across Norin's face. "Well, I was thinking of taking Gunther... But I suppose if you could convince me..." He said still grinning. "I might just choose you instead..."

Helga proceeded to do her best to persuade him to come around to her point of view and decide to take her as the guest.


After she finished, she came back up from under the covers and said, "Well, who would you rather have as your guest now? Hmmm..."

"Hmm..." Norin said in a mock state of thought. After a brief pause of doing no more than relaxing, he leaned towards Helga and kissed her. "Does that serve as a good enough answer?"

Helga smiled, she nodded her head a bit, saying, "Ummm huh..."


Suddenly the phone rang, Norin was closest to it, so Helga said, "Norin, dear, would you please get that? It's probably father..."


Indeed it was Dieter, he sounded rather cheerful, "Hello Norin, how are you? So, what do you want to know about my history in the SS? I couldn't help but noticing the computer registered the door to that room opened, I was wagering that you'd have some questions for me..."

Norin grabbed the phone, surprised to hear Dieter, despite the fact that Helga predicted it to be him. The fact that he chose that moment to call, especially about Norin's interest set him at a state of unease. His eyes wandered across the cieling as the thought entered his mind that Dieter could've been watching at any point.

"I-I'm well..." He said, glancing back over to Helga with a grin, despite his unease. "But I am fascinated with your acheiviments Dieter... however it's something I would much rather discuss in person... Over coffee or wine or something of the sort." Norin said to his father-in-law.

He smiled, "Ah yes of course, what say we have lunch tomorrow, eh? And I know what you're thinking, yes I was watching you earlier when you were in my room looking at my war things, no I wasn't watching you when you and Helga went in her room, I'm not a pervert... I pretty much figured out what would be going on in there so I just turned on some satellites and saw what random peasants were doing in Ukraine for a while... Oh well, what can I say, I got bored, at my age I have a bit more free time than I used to... Well then, tomorrow for lunch?"

Norin went red in the face when Dieter practically repeated exactly what Norin was thinking. The fact disturbed him as it left him with the impression that somehow Dieter knew what was going through his head. He tried to shake it off and got back to reality. "Yes, lunch tomorrow would be excellent." Norin said.

Dieter smiled, "Great, see you then... Tell Helga I said hello."


That said, Dieter hung up, he wanted to get to sleep as it was late.




Helga smiled at Norin, "That was father then, right? What did he say?"

Norin nodded and hung up the phone, returning it to it's station as well. "We're having lunch tomorrow..." He said with a nod. "He knew I was interested in his World War Two things, so it was his proposal..." Norin added, explaining why. "And he told me that he says hello" He said to Helga with a smile.

Helga smiled and kissed Norin on the cheek, "That's nice dear, perhaps we'd better turn in then so you can get up early to get ready for lunch with Dieter, eh?"

Norin nodded, feeling that sleep would be the best thing for now. "Let's..." He said before wrapping an arm around Helga's waist and returning the kiss. Norin then gently pulled her down beside him and within due time fell asleep.

Helga promptly fell asleep as well, she lay there in peaceful slumber, her arms around Norin.




In the morning, she woke up first and slid out of bed quietly so as not to wake him, and she went to cook breakfast.


He was stirred from his sleep when he detected what he believed to be the smell of steaks cooking. Indeed Helga was cooking steak, and eggs, and bacon.

When Helga left his arms, Norin rolled over to the otherside, still asleep. A short time later a tantilizing smell entered the room. Norin yawned, soon awoken by the scent. Of course he had to investigate the source and after taking several moments to fully awake, he advanced towards the kitchen.

"Smells delicious" He said with a half asleep smile.

Helga smiled back him and said, "I figured it would get your attention... Hope you're hungry."

Norin laughed and then yawned, stretching his arms out above his head. "Well your cooking certainly did get my attention..." He said. "And I defiantely am hungry" Norin added, his stomach rumbling almost as if on cue.

She handed him a plate of food and then turned back to finish the rest of the cooking, "The rest will be ready in a few minutes, oh by the way, Dieter called while you were sleeping, he said twelve for lunch and he'll come by here in his helicopter to pick you up."

Norin had already dug into his breakfast when Helga began to talk. He looked up at her a nodded, his mouth still stuffed with food. After a brief pause to chew and swallow, Norin replied. "Alright then, after breakfast I'll shower and then take some time to digest before lunch." He took another helping of food from his plate. Upon finishing Norin continued. "Did Dieter specify where we we're going for lunch? I mean would be something upscale, or just sort of a casual kind of place?"

Helga nodded her head, "Yes, he wants to eat at what they call "The Club" it's basically an Illuminati private restaurant that overlooks the Indian Ocean, it's located in Durban... You'll probably get to see some serious fighting around the outskirts of the city."

"I see..." Norin said, deciding that it would be best to dress up a bit for the occassion then. "As for the fighting, I can assume that the restaurant would be fairly safe, given the importance of it's patrons... right?" He asked Helga, hoping his assumptions would be correct.

Helga smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "Of course, dear, don't worry, father usually has a brigade sized force of ex-RG accompany him when he goes to dangerous areas. They're part of the Thaller Security Industries, his private army."

"Well that's good to hear" Norin said before taking another forkfull of food into his mouth. He then swallowed before he began to speak again. "I suppose that's one of the advantages of having so much power" Norin said with a laugh.

Helga nodded her head, "Yes, I suppose it is, but I'm not sure if for all his power, he is happy. I mean he has a loving family and he loves his family and all, but he seems empty, he's afraid the Illuminati will fall into chaos after his death, he has no real heir apparent."

"Ah, I see" Norin said with an understanding nod. "I'm certain he would be able to find someone, I mean his organization has to be fairly large, so there is sure to be some capable people able to take over." He said with a shrug. Norin wasn't exactly certain how far the Illumnati spread, but he would imagine that it encompassed many regions of the world and that its members consisted of many prominent people.

Helga turned towards him, "I think he may want to induct you into the Illuminati and into the upper echelons, perhaps even second or third in leadership..."

"What!?" Norin asked, obviously surprised. "Why me?" He asked, uncertain as to why he would be chosen to hold such a high posistion. "I mean out of all people..." Norin said, still surprised that Dieter would want to put him in a posistion so high in the organization.

Helga smiled, "I think it is his way of trying to find somebody who is connected with the Thaller family, you are after all, his son-in-law..."

"True... Still I wouldn't know what to do..." Norin said, throwing his hands up in a helpless gesture. "I mean I'm hardly a diplomat, I wasn't even a Junior Field Officer when I was in the army... I could hardly lead something like that" He said.

((Junior Field Officer (Also known as, Unterfeldoffizier or Antenfeldovizer) is the lowest NCO posistion in the Avadrian infantry structure. They command the base unit of ten soldiers))

Helga nodded her head, "Hmmm, good point, I see what you mean, but I'm sure father and his cronies would help you along and get used to things."

"Yeah..." Norin said, now feeling rather uncomfortable. Maybe he was just overreacting, but still. It was alot of responsibility be entrusted into him if he was indeed accepted into the Illumnati at such a posistion. As well he didn't know the internal politics of the organization, which could cause alot of trouble for him if some young newcomer was bumped up to the upper echelons of the Illumnati his first day.

"I suppose you're right. After all it's not like they're going to just throw me behind the controls of a machine I can't understand." He said.

Suddenly the phone rang, Helga was busy cleaning dishes and asked Norin, "Would you mind getting that?"




It was Dieter, he was calling to tell Norin that fighting was too fierce near Durban and he'd be by in an hour to see how everybody was doing. They'd be eating lunch in Bloemfontein.

"Of Course" Norin said, grabbing the phone off of the receiver. He pressed the on button. "Hello?" He asked, expecting it to be their usual caller.

Dieter smiled as he started talking to his son-in-law, "Ah, Norin, how are you? How was breakfast? Steak good? A bit of a change of plans, I'll be by in about an hour, we can hang around and chat until lunch, which we'll have in Bloemfontein."

"Yes, it was excellent. Your daughter is an amazing cook" He said, looking over at Helga and giving her a wink. "Sounds good, but might I ask, why the change in plans?"

Helga smiled at Norin and then finished cleaning the dishes, as she said, "Oh, tell father I said hello.."


Dieter chuckled a bit, "Durban, well if we ate there, the shelling might bother us, eh? Yes, shelling, there are reports of occasional stray shells landing in and around the city, but as soon as the Xhosa open fire, our helicopters and counter-battery artillery fire get them... But it's better we be safe then sorry, yes?"

"I agree one-hundred percent Dieter. I myself was rather worried about the possibility of something like happening." He said after nodding in response to Helga's request. "On an unrelated note, Helga says hello" Norin said, managing to squeeze it into the conversation.

Helga smiled, pleased that Norin had managed to get in her hello to Dieter.



Dieter yawned a bit, "Ahh, well I'm going to take a nap, at my age you need to sleep a lot, you know?"

Norin chuckled. "I'm sure I will know when I get their" He said before wrapping up the conversation. "I'll see you soon Dieter, take care" Norin said, waiting until Dieter said his goodbye before hanging up.

About three hours later, Dieter walked into the mansion and called out to Helga and Norin, "Anybody here?" he asked.


Helga and Norin had since moved back upstairs, leaving the bunker since there was no real need to be there anymore.



Dieter walked over to Norin, he saw him sitting in a chair, he extended his hand to shake and with the other hand patted him on the back, "Ah, Norin ole boy, how are you? Where is Helga?"


Helga was in another room looking at some of her childhood photo albums.

"Ah Dieter" He said, rising from the chair to accept the handshake. "Helga's in the other room, but how are you? Was your ride over here okay?" Norin asked.

Dieter shrugged, "Meh, helicopters suck, that's all I'll say on the matter, bumpy, noisy, and often prone to getting shot at by tribals with RPGs... I'm glad to be back on the ground... So, would you like to go look over my war items and get the chance to ask me questions about them as we look?"

Norin nodded. "Just one moment" He said before heading over to the threshold between the room he was in and the one which Helga was in. "Helga, your father just arrived, we're going to down to look at his things right now, okay" Norin said, informing her of what was currently going on.

Helga nodded her head, "Okay, I'll be down in a bit to see how you boys are doing and bring you a snack and a drink, you and dad have fun looking at his stuff."

Norin nodded. He couldn't help but think that it was almost a flashback to when he was eleven or in one of his younger years. The way everything was worded made it seem almost like he was talking to his mom about what he and a friend were going to do. Norin shook the thought out of his head and turned around to face Dieter just across the room.

"Lead the way" He said, signaling that he would follow Dieter to the room.

Dieter led Norin down to the bunker and then smiled as he said, "Ah, I have a special treat for you... Here, in a secret room... You can fly in it later if you'd like."


He activated a switch which brought out a keypad, he entered in the proper code and a door opened, an underground hangar, with planes on elevators, to be raised up to a runway when desired.


It was an Me-262. Dieter smiled as he saw Norin look in awe at it.

Norin was curious as to what Dieter's surprise may be and was even more intrigued when he said that he could 'fly in it later.' Then when the door open and the Me-262 came into view, Norin felt his jaw drop. It was an amazing sight to behold, the first combat jet the world had ever seen was sitting right before him. Other than the markings, it wasn't much different than a small, metal, toy Norin had when he was a child.

"It's beautiful..." He said, rather stunned by the sight of it. Norin had always had a fascination with planes, but for some reason had found himself in the army rather than the airforce, a choice he regretted for some time.

"How did you get this?" He asked, turning to face Dieter.

Dieter chuckled, "Ah, Norin, money can buy anything, anything... Here, this way, follow..."


He led him to another part where covered vehicles sat on elevators, waiting to be raised.

He uncovered one, a King Tiger tank, the next, a Tiger tank, finally a Panther tank and a Maus tank.

The collection got even more impressive, especially with unveiling of the largest tank that was ever built. The whole room was a literal heaven on earth for any historian.

"Is it original?" Norin asked, pointing to the imposing tank on the far end. He thought that it surely couldn't be the only remaining one, but their was always the possibility of it being a finished version of one of other nine Maus' that never saw completion.

He chuckled, "Is it original... It is the original, the first one... Someday, it will likely be yours, if you'd like it. Herman and Gunther are more into planes, so somebody has to take care of my tanks when I'm gone."

Norin turned to Dieter in surprise "Really..!?" He said, feeling quite honored that such a collection would be granted to him. At the same time, he also felt a sort of bond form between him and Dieter, created by their common interest in history. Of course all Norin had were several models he had constructed that used to lay around his workplace, while the entire time this man had the real things.

"I-I cannot even begin to thank you." Norin said, still amazed that Dieter had this collection.

Dieter smiled, "Ah, don't mention it... But come, there is more."


He walked over to some darkened display cases and turned the lights on. Norin could see an MG-42, MG-34, StG-44, MP-40, MP-44, a dozen or more Lugers ranging from WW1 Artillery lugers, to WW2 lugers, to even a few Pre-ww2 lugers. Then there Walter P-38s, and then in the next cases, rows of K-98 Masuers, and finally three FG-42s.


In one last display case sat a lone Luger in a wooden presentation case besides a lone Broomhandle Mauser pistol in a similar case, Dieter smiled proudly as he said, "Each one, the first of its kind made..."

Norin pressed his hand against the case and leaned in, his eyes hungrily taking in all that they could as he examined the weapons. He couldn't believe that they were all originals. Norin assumed that Dieter's relationship with Hitler must have gone much further than casual aquantiances. "This, This is absolutely amazing..." He said, looking at one of the FG-42s. "The closest thing I've used to FG-42 was the M-60. It's amazing to be looking at one of-no the original."

Dieter chuckled, "Ahh, M-60s, they're a nice gun... I've a few myself. Come, I'll show you my modern guns room."


He led Norin into a room that had no less than 100,000 weapons, it was almost too large to see the other end.


There were all sorts of rifles, AK-47s, AKS, AKM, AK-74, AKS-74U, M-16, Ar-15, HK-91, CETME, G-36, G-3, Fn-Fal, M-14, Type 56, SKS, then there were many submachine guns, MP-5s, Uzi, Skorpions. Next there were machine guns, PK, RPK. There were also dozens of boxes of grenades, stinger rockets, Milan rockets. Finally there RPG launchers, TOW launchers, LAWs, Stinger launchers, and numerous other weapons systems.


In the center of the room was something covered by a tarp, he pulled the tarp off, revealing the T-98W tank. Norin had heard of it before, the famed 120 ton tank from Mississippi, the "Super heavy" class of battle tanks.

The other room was just as amazing as the last. Wall to wall firearms from almost every country in the world, as well as grenades, and anti-vehicular systems. Norin didn't know where to begin looking, but followed Dieter along up until they reached the center, where a tarp lay draped over what could only be a tank of some sort. It was unveiled leaving the T-98W exposed to the entire room. It really was a sight to behold, the tank being something Norin had read about in a military magazine some time ago.

"It's like a modern day Maus..." He remarked, his eyes wandering along the length of the massive tank.

Dieter smiled, "Ah, so you thought so too? Anyway, if you like things that go boom, well you're going to love this."


There was a large crate, something heavy was in it, Dieter pushed a button and the side of the crate slowly lowered, it was a neutron bomb.


Dieter chuckled a bit, "Ah, never seen one so close I bet, eh?"

Norin's eyes went wide at the sight of the bomb. It seemed like an awfully foolish thing to have laying around, especially in room full of firearms and what not.

"I-Is it active?" He asked, not making any moves to step closer.

Dieter nodded his head, chuckling a bit, "Yes, of course, what good is in inactive bomb? Anyway, no need to stop, if it went off, but it won't because it's safe, but if it went off, we'd never know it... Anyway, go on, touch it, how many folks can say they've touched an neutron bomb."

"Ah, but what good is a bomb doing sitting in a box?" He countered, with a laugh. "But seriously though, I'm not worried about how painful it may or may not be, but actually dying itself... Besides, it'd completely destroy you're entire collection." Norin said, hoping he brought up a valid point. "Not to mention what it might do to the surrounding area" He added.

Then again though Dieter had a good point, one that Norin certainly couldn't refuse. He approached the bomb and cautiously placed a hand against it. It was wierd being next to something so powerful, but seemed so docile at the time. In a way it was like a trained Lion, plotting to one day break it's chains.

Dieter chuckled, "Oh, it's just sitting here until the buyers pick it up, I don't like keeping these things sitting around on my property for obvious reasons, you know what I mean?"

"Well that's good to hear" Norin said, not sure if he should ask about the 'buyers.' Then again Dieter seemed like a fairly open man (Afterall he was showing him the Neutron Bomb he kept on his property) and if he weren't to mention them then he probably wouldn't have said it.

"So who are you selling this thing to?" He asked, giving it a light pat on the outer shell.

Dieter shrugged a bit, "Meh, just your run of the mill right-wing insurgent force in a Central American country."

"Ah" Norin said with a nod. "Well I'm certain I'll hear about that one in the news" He remarked with a laugh, despite the underlying seriousness of the matter.

Dieter smiled, "Yes, oh if I were you, I'd avoid travel to Nicaragua for a while..."

"I'll make a note of that" He said with a chuckle. "So, could I see your personal items from the war?" Norin asked Dieter. "There are a few questions I've been eager to ask"

Dieter nodded his head, "Yes, yes of course, let's go look shall we."


He led Norin into the room where all his personal war items were kept and then said, "Ask away..."

Norin looked for the first thing to ask about. Of course the most obvious would be the photographs, but he was also very interested in Dieter's medals. "Dieter... What were you awared the Knight's Cross for?" He asked, pointing to the particular medal.

Dieter smiled, "Ah, well that, I was in command of a company of Tiger tanks in Russia, we destroyed over three hundred Russian tanks, my tank alone took out ninety-two. You see, I had already made general after my tank and three other tanks under my command knocked out nearly two hundred Russian tanks, so after such a grand feat such as knocking out over three hundred tanks, and neutralizing an entire enemy infantry brigade, I guess they figured I just really deserved it... Anyway, Adolf said I had it coming after all my years of selfless service."

Norin nodded, fascinated by the record Dieter had. However his answer ran right into Norin's next question. "On the topic of Hitler... How well did you know him? Were the two of you acquaintances, friends, or nothing more than a leader and his soldier?" He asked Dieter.

Dieter smiled, happy at the mention of his fuhrer, "Ah, yes, we were friends, good friends, first name basis. My father's company and a friends company bankrolled him and helped him get going from day one. Have you heard of the Stahlecker Munitions Company?"

"Ah yes, I have several times actually. Mostly it was Helga mentioning it though. I'm afraid I don't know them enough on an international basis" Norin said, trying to get that part by rather quickly. "Please continue though" He said, obviously fascinated by where the story could possibly go.

Dieter grinned, "Okay, continue I shall... For instance, during the crisis surrounding the Sudetenland, Adolf came by and visited with me, we had lunch together, he said to me, "Dieter, tell me, what does the Illuminati know of the intentions of the English, what can you do about this problem with the Czechs?" I told him that we could guarantee nobody would stop him if he seriously pressed the issue and demanded total annexation of the Sudetenland, I even told him he could probably get away with taking the whole of Czechoslovakia, without the world doing anything."

"Wow... So he came to you for advice?" Norin asked, even further amazed at the weight Dieter through around, even back then. "But what about later in the war... for example with the D-Day invasion... Did you know about that before hand?"

Dieter nearly laughed, "We all knew the outcome of the war before it even started! Well that is we in the Illuminati knew it, it was supposed to end in a draw with Germany giving back France and the Low Countries but keeping the part of Poland she had taken in 1939... But the Japanese got America into the war, they were just asking for trouble with that..."

He scoffed a bit, "And then the Soviets didn't play by the rules. But I'll let you in on a little secret, the war was basically planned so the UN could come into creation, since the First World War, which my father and granfather had been instrumental in planning, which created the League of Nations, well it failed to get the globalization we were all pushing for."

Norin felt his jaw drop down slightly. Now things just became slightly wieder. With the revelation Dieter gave, everything Norin had learned in school basically took on a whole new meaning. The curtain had been removed from behind the stage, the crew in addition to the actors were in full view of the audience.

"Why do you want globoization?" He questioned, now the topic diverting from World War Two, to something Norin had a fairly strong opinion about.

Dieter smiled, "Ah, just think, everything under one government, it makes it a lot easier to secretly dominate that one government, and thus the world. Right now we've barely got half of the world governments under our control, but we get the important ones, you know? Anyway, we started World War One for that reason, but as I said, the League failed to get anything done. World War Two helped a lot."


He chuckled lightly, "Think of it this way, you're a leader of a nation, and I'm a leader of a nation, we both want to oppress our people and rule with an iron fist, so we declare war on each other, that way my people beg for me to protect them from you, and in so doing they give up all their rights. Your people beg you to protect them from me, and in so doing, they give up their rights. The war eventually ends, but we keep the rights we took... Have you ever noticed, whenever people give up liberty for safety, even after the threat to their safety is gone, they never get the liberty back, never."

Norin nodded following along with Dieter's explanation. As the example came he listened to what Dieter was saying and could follow it to the greater extent.

"I've never really though about that, but you do bring a valid point. Still though, why would you want the world under the single government? I mean you would still need to sub divide everything so that you could manage it. And besides, the threat of conflict would be gone under one government, over time and with realization, the people would want those liberties returned to them." He said to Dieter, bringing up part of his opinion on the matter.

Dieter shook his head, "No, overtime we just use internal problems, domestic terrorism, since the world is one nation under our plan, any terrorism counts as domestic terrorism. Let me tell you this, governments gain power through terrorizing their own people, making the people think it's outside forces or internal subverters, they get them to bargain away their rights. For instance, remember the 1995 attack in Jackson City, against the Ministry of Finance building? Over six thousand died, it was a DIS operation... As a result, Curtis Fabus was able to get enough support for the Crime Fighting Act of 1995."

Norin nodded, following along. He shook his head when asked about the attacks, but was still very surprised and definately shocked to find out that it was a DIS operation. Norin still couldn't believe that the government would do such a thing in order to gain approval for laws.

The thought itself made him question wether or not Beliam and Merk even existed, or if the Anti-Royalist movement was nothing more than a government plot to scare the people and strengthen support. Still, he couldn't believe that they were behind everything and knew that they certainly were not for a world government. After all they were always taught about the greatness of their people, their accomplishments, and culture. It was something to be preserved, not destroyed in some false attempt to rule the earth.

"I can't believe that all governments would do such a thing... It's just not right..." He said, now leaning back against the wall as he tried to sort things out. Norin felt as if a large burden had been placed upon his shoulders. "Was it the burden of truth?" He questioned.

Dieter laughed a bit, "Oh isn't it? That's just a matter of opinion, I know what you're thinking, you're wondering if your government does the same thing, maybe with false opposition parties and such, eh? Let me tell you this, that peasant rebellion where the Czar and Czarina fled to Mississippian Egypt, the whole Movement For Democracy, that was my work there, we had no intention of toppling them, just getting them to continue the work of Curtis in regards to taking away more rights. Indeed Curtis often had us help stage rebellions against his rule, so we could claim there were enemies all about waiting to take away all we'd worked so hard for."

He sighed, "Of course there were always real enemies..."

Norin listened, shaking his head at the fact that the opposistion was just a figment. The chance however was very unlikely, after all the last major crisis saw the death of almost the entire Imperial Family, save a young man who was one of the last in line to inherit the throne. But Mississippi was different than Avadria, much different, and they of course had their own ways of installing loyalty to the state.

"Who are the real enemies?" Norin asked, curious as to who Dieter defined as the actual enemy.

Dieter's voice and expression showed his contempt as he spoke, one word only, "Jews..."

"Ah..." Norin said looking away slightly. He knew there was a miniscule Jewish population in Avadria (Less than .001% of the population) but was not at all familiar with them. Besides, most of them were most likely reeducated back into an acceptable way of life by the government.

"How are they the enemy?" Norin dared to ask, never fully understanding the situation. He could understand though that Dieter must also have a certain disposistion towards them due to the war, but he had also heard it throughout Mississippi and never fully understood it. Perhaps it was due to his lack of exposure.

Dieter spoke, and spoke well, his ideas rolling out like a rug, "Well you see, the jews have been plaguing the Aryan race since the very beginning, since we first walked the sands of Atlantis, they ruined it. Then they ruined our kingdom in Central Asia, but we being a resilient and strong people, trekked west, into Egypt and Greece. They instigated Persia to attack Greece though, but we held firm. They managed to corrupt Egyptians into becoming sexual perverts."


He sighed and continued, "They caused the downfall of the Roman Empire, they sold-out Constantinople to the Turks, before that though, during the Fourth Crusade, the Jewish ship owners sold white Christian youth into slavery in Tunisia. We have never had a moment of peace with those parasites plaguing us."


He continued, "In Russia, well they started communism as you know, and carried the revolt into Russia in 1917, they raped all the nuns they could find, killed the priests. Granted I'm not a Christian, but seeing Russians treated so horribly, it shocked me. Thankfully the Illuminati managed to reign in Communism, but we never fully had it under our control, it fluctuated you see, throughout the 30s and into the 60s."

Norin nodded, listening, although was fairly skeptical about what Dieter was saying. Afterall he was talking about lands never existed, however Norin would not dare be rude in front of the man and instead felt it necessary to hear him out. Afterall it could help him learn more about Mississippi and what exactly shapes a Mississippian.

He signaled for Dieter to continue with a silent nod in his direction.

Dieter wanted to clear one thing up, "First of all, realize, most all Mississippians don't buy into the Atlantis theory, they think it's just crap, I'm sure it exists. We are though, well the mainstream scientists here are, certain that Ancient Egypt and Greece, and Rome, and Persia, were all originally founded by Aryans."


Dieter walked over to a nearby cabinet and took out a picture frame, "Sorry to get off topic, but here... This is what sums up the differences between myself and most Mississippians."

He handed Norin the frame, it was a picture of him and Hitler sitting at a table at his mountain retreat, eating lunch. "Read the writing on the back..."


It read,

"Dear Dieter,

You're a fine and loyal soldier and an outstanding party member. If ever there was a man who represents the ideals we're fighting for, it is you. I look forward to seeing what great things you will continue to achieve in the future.

Your friend,
Adolf"


Dieter smiled, "See, most Mississippians view Nazism as misguided, they're Fabusists."

Norin took the photo and carefully turned on it's back. He was very gentle as he held the fine piece of personal history. As he read Norin studied each and every stroke of the pen used to write the letter. He couldn't believe that it was one of the personal writings of one of histories most infamous men right in front of him. Upon finishing, Norin turned the photo back to it's proper side, studying the image rather intently. The young Dieter Thaller with Hitler, up at his retreat, the image offering a much more personal look at the man than what anyone would have suspected.

He looked up at Dieter when he spoke of the difference between a Fabusist and a Nazi. "So... are you still a Nazi then?" Norin asked rather hesitantly.

Dieter nodded his head, proudly smiling as he said, "If the fuhrer were to walk into this room and tell me to do something, I would snap to attention, salute him, and then go do it without hesitation."

Norin nodded, but then chuckled. "I would probably do the same... though merely because he is such an imposing figure" He said, agreeing with Gunther that he would most likely follow the orders, but effectively saying that he did not perscribe to the Nazi doctrine. Afterall, the Hitlerian Philosophy and worship was strongly condemed by the Avadrian government. Hitler was regarded as no more than an influential leader who helped shape the modern world in many ways, but it was nothing more than that.

Dieter smiled, "Ah, yes, he was imposing, he had this way of speaking to a crowd, but you felt like he was talking to you, right to you. It was..." he sighed a bit, a pleasant sigh, "It was, I can't put it into words, it was something you would have had to see firsthand."

"Ah yes... I can imagine" Norin said with a nod. He looked down at his watch seeing that it was a little past one o'clock. "Well, how does lunch sound right now?" Norin asked Dieter.

Almost as if on cue, Helga came walking into the room, asking, "Are you boys hungry? I've got lunch almost ready if you are, or if you two want to go out to eat, I can put the food away and it'll be here for you both later."



Dieter looked over to Norin, "Your call..."

"I'm actually fairly hungry myself" Norin said before slowly heading towards Helga, waiting for Dieter to catch up.

Dieter smiled and followed Norin and Helga towards the dinning room, asking along the way, "So Helga, how are things going?"

So shrugged a bit, "Fine, daddy, why, is something wrong?"


He shook his head, "No, nothing at all... Although I'm not really done talking with Norin here."

Helga sighed, "Daddy, anything you have to say to Norin, you know you can say it in front of me, I won't tell anybody."

Dieter chuckled, "Ah, I guess you have a point..." He turned to Norin, "So Norin, do you want to join the Illuminati then? We're looking for some young blood, don't worry, we mean new members, not blood for any sort of rituals, hehehe, you know what I mean, we need to get a new generation into the group."

Norin paused for a moment, looking over at Helga momentarily. "I'm not certain Deiter. I don't believe that it's a post I could handle or deserve. As well I'm not certain it's something I want to be apart of..." He said, prefering to stay in the reality of the world he knew. The one not manipulated by secretive organizations.

Dieter smiled, "Ah, come on now, you've married my daughter, that means you deserve at least a small position within the group, we'll start you off small and work you on up the pyramid."

"I-I don't know..." Norin said. It was a big decision and one that he didn't quite understand. He could see the Illumnati as a group where once you join you can never leave. "I'd probably have to think about it overnight..." Norin said. "But what exactly would I do in the Illumnati?" He asked Dieter.

Dieter smiled, "Ah, what wouldn't you do is more the appropriate question. Well you'd get to help us carry on our policies into the next generation. The older members are, well, as I am, old, we won't be around forever..."

Norin nodded, still thinking about it. "I-I'd have to get back to you on it... I can't just make a decision like this on the spot... I'd need some time to think..." He said to Dieter, still not certain what he wanted to do.

Dieter nodded his head, "Yes, of course, certainly. Anyway, shall we go get something to eat then? I think Helga has lunch ready."

Norin nodded. "Ah yes, of course" He said, trying to push the thought of the Illumnati out of his head for the time being. Then he headed over to the table where the food was waiting.

Helga made sure that both Dieter and Norin had enough to drink and were happy with their lunches before she sat down and started to eat as well.

The phone suddenly rang, it was actually Dieter's cellular phone, which he'd set down on a nearby table. He looked to Helga and coughed loudly when she was just sitting there.

She immediately stood up, apologized, and then got the phone for him.


She handed him the phone and sat back down.

"This is an excellent meal Helga" Norin said, moments before the phone rang. He looked up at the phone and then over at Dieter, expecting the man to get his own phone. However Dieter signaled for Helga to get it, something that seemed unecessary as he could have very well of gotten it himself.

Norin shook his head and then looked over at Helga. "This is really good" He said, hoping that it wasn't loud enough to disturb Dieter's conversation.

Helga smiled, saying, "Thank you Norin, dear, I'm glad you like it."

Dieter's glass of wine ran out as he was talking on the phone and drinking between sentences. He lightly wrapped his finger against the side of the glass and Helga promptly got up, picked it up, and then went and refilled it.



About five minutes later, Dieter ended the conversation, he then started to eat again, quickly sighing, "Helga, this food is cold, why would you serve me cold food?"

She frowned, "Sorry father..." before she picked up the plate and went to heat it up for him.


Dieter chuckled to Norin, "Women, they're always needing to be reminded what to do, can't live with them, can't live without them, and you just can't really get along well with them unless you let them know who is in charge, you know what I mean?"

Norin sighed. He was almost willing to just take the food up for Dieter and let Helga actually enjoy her own food.

"For the record Helga didn't serve you cold food Dieter..." Norin said, rather annoyed with the man. "You let it sit while you were on the phone... it got cold. It's hardly her fault" He said, realizing it was more or less a cultural issue more than anything.

Dieter frowned at him, not believing what he had heard, "What? What did you say?"

"Helga didn't serve you cold food" Norin repeated rather sternly. "You let it get cold..." He said, looking straight at Dieter.

Dieter decided to ignore Norin's remarks, he just smiled and finished off his glass of wine, before shouting, "Helga, more wine..."

She came back into the room and set his plate down and then walked off with his glass to get him some more wine.

The phone on the wall two rooms over started to ring. Dieter shouted, "Helga, phone..."


She quickly came back, set his glass down, and then went to answer the phone.

Norin eyed Dieter, obviously seeing what he was doing. After Dieter gave his last order to Helga, Norin rose from the table, slamming his palms down on it. "Dammit Dieter, can't you do anything for yourself? Is it really that difficult to fill up a glass of wine for yourself, or to at least be polite about asking?" He said, trying not to raise his voice too much. "I mean Helga's hardly had a chance to enjoy her own meal."

Dieter smiled, "Ah, an eighty-three year old man, or a young energetic lady? Hmmm... Okay, I'll do my own work, and die of a heart attack..."

He then spat, literally, on the ground in front of Norin, "You think I was wounded over four dozen times in World War Two so I could be on my feet, standing up, in pain, the rest of my life... It hurts to stand for me, I don't like to tell people this because I regard it as a sign of weakness, I'm very lucky to even be able to walk though. And I only walk with great pain and difficulty, there, are you happy..."

As he said that last part, he stood up and walked across the room, not making any effort to hide the pain it caused him, as he had hidden it earlier.


He then sat back down, "My daughter realizes I can be a burden at times, but I cared for her for her entire life as a girl, and provided for her education as a young adult, and I've done everything for her, so I don't think she minds taking care of her old father who is most likely going to die in a few years anyway. Maybe in your nation they don't care about taking care of the old and sick, but here we do."

That said, Dieter stood up, took his coat from a nearby closet, and said, "Goodbye..." as he turned to head for an exit.

Norin looked down at the ground, feeling rather ashamed of himself. There were many factors that he hadn't taken into consideration, but none-the-less he felt that Dieter's demands went somewhat further. Afterall he seemed to show little respect for his daughter when making the demands, was horribly rude, and seemed, in Norin's opinion, to be using his wounds as a scapegoat for his behavior.

"Listen, Dieter..." Norin said, his voice still firm. "I'm sorry for not taking your wounds into consideration, but you at least should treat your daughter with more respect."

Dieter turned, took his coat off, set it aside, and sat back down, "I'm sorry Norin, I'm old and forget to say thank you and please a lot, Helga knows I respect her and mean well... I try, you know, I try, but I'm a rather old man, she knows I don't mean to offend her about anything that I say... I try, I try, you know."

Avadria...


Reminding bump.


:)

Norin nodded firmly. "I understand Dieter, but still... It would do you best to remember those things more often and at the least have some patience with her." He said. Norin then sighed and returned to the table, grabbing his plate and bringing it into the kitchen. He figured he should do at least something to help out.

Helga came back into the room, said, "Father, the phone was for you, they want you to call them back..." She then sat down and started to eat.

Dieter immediately sighed, "Well I can't read your mind, Helga, please tell me who it was that called..."

She quickly apologized and told him, "Sorry, sir, it was Hans Stahlecker."

Dieter smiled, "Okay, thank you."


He then stood up and walked off to go call Hans back.

After Dieter walked off to make a phone call, Norin entered the dining room. "Is there anything I can get you Helga?" He asked, offering himself to be of service while she finally ate.

She rubbed her temples with her fingers as she replied, "Some apsirin or opium, or whatever painkillers father keeps around here... They ought to be in the cabinet in the bathroom down the hall."



Down the hall, there was a cabinet, Dieter had it well-stocked with standard over-the-counter items under South African Commonwealth law. Opium was in a nice 12 ounce box that had "49.99: Great value!" written on the side. There was a small box that contained a sealed ziploc bag of cocaine, the box said, "Miracle Pain Relief Power! 25.95!"

Norin laughed when she suggested he get her opium to help with what he assumed was a headache. Afterall Norin knew medicinal opium was used in the field to stop serious pain, but something little like a headache certainly didn't call for it.

Nonetheless though, once Norin found the medicene cabinet, his choices were slim and extreme. Cocaine or opium, both highly illegal in Avadria (With the exception of opium as a pain killer in extreme situations) and certainly too powerful to treat a headache.

Norin returned to Helga empty handed. "I didn't find anything dear... I can run out and try to find you some aspirin or something" He suggested.

((OOC: I can edit if aspirin was implied to be present in cabinet or not))

Ooc- Dieter doesn't believe in Aspirin, "poison pills" he calls them.




Ic-

Helga frowned, "Why that just can't be... Father always keeps some Opium around here... At least there ought to be some morphine in the other bathroom, or perhaps some Aspirin in mother's bathroom cabinet, she keeps some around, even though father hates the idea of using what he calls "poison pills", or sometimes "junk medicine". So if you want to go check the other bathroom, I'd really appreciate it."

Norin nodded and headed to his mother-in-law's bathroom. After a brief period of scrounging he did come across a bottle of aspirin, but upon reading the label, decided it would be best not to give it to Helga.

Yet again Norin returned empty handed. "Helga... I didn't find anything in there either." He said to her. "How about you just lay down and relax, I'll take care of anything else." Norin suggested to her. "Or if you'd like, I can go out and buy some medicine for you" He said.

Helga sighed, "Never you mind, I'll go look in my bathroom..."

She stood up and walked off to her bathroom, where she knew there would certainly be a bottle of opium somewhere around there.

Norin was quick to give chase. "Helga, I'm asking you to stay away from that stuff" He demanded with a firm voice. "At the least while you have the baby" Norin said, obviously concerned by the health of their upcoming child.

Helga rolled her eyes, "Norin, they wouldn't sell it in stores if it was harmful, now would they?"

"They wouldn't sell it if they couldn't make a profit off of it..." Norin countered. "Now please Helga, I certainly don't want my child to come out deformed or sickly and I would hope you don't either. So please, just go lay down and relax, I'll go get you something instead" He again suggested.

Helga relented, nodded her head, saying, "Yes sir..." and then she went off to go lay down as she had been instructed.

She supposed he was right anyway, Mississippian companies were rumored to just be concerned about how to make money.

Norin followed Helga and approached her when she had laid down. "So do you still want me to find something for you, or would you just like to rest it off?" He asked, not sure if he would be going out by himself or not.

Helga sighed and yawned as she laid down and got covered up. She shook her head before saying, "I think I'll be okay, perhaps if you'd be so kind as to get me a glass of water..."

"Yes of course" Norin said before walking off towards the kitchen to retreive the beverage. After a brief moment of scrounging he found a glass and then turned the tap on. He waited several moments, testing the water with his finger to make sure it was cold enough. Norin then filled the glass up when he felt that the water was a good temperature.

"Here you are" He said with a smile when he handed her the glass.

She graciously accepted the glass, and quickly drank it right down. After she had done so, she smiled at Norin, said, "Thank you." and then promptly fell asleep.

Norin took the glass from her and brought it to the kitchen. He set it on the counter before taking a seat at the table. Norin sat there just sat there staring off and trying to think about what to do.

He honestly hoped they wouldn't be in South Africa too long, after all he wanted to have the wedding ceremony in Avadria as well. But he reminded himself that it was all part of the honeymoon and that he should enjoy himself as best he could.

Dieter came walking back into the room Norin was in, he quietly asked, "Hey, where is Helga? Did she go to lay down?"

Norin shook his head to come out of his little trance when Dieter entered the room. "Yeah she is... She said she had a headache or something and I suggested she lay down for a while." He explained

Dieter shook his head, "Hmmm, did you give her some opium or cocaine first? That always helped her when she was a girl..."

Norin paused, clearly taken aback by that revelation. Upon collecting himself Norin informed Dieter of the course of action he took. "No I didn't... I don't want her using that stuff when she's pregnant" He said.

Dieter chuckled, "Ah come on, don't worry, it never affected her the first time she was pregnant..."


He suddenly realized what he had said, he quickly shook his head and said, "I meant... Wow, I'm drunk, don't pay any attention to what I just said."

Norin's eyes went wide, he wasn't sure what to say let alone think. "Wh-what do you mean?" He demanded, still not even sure what was going on. However Norin refused to accept that Dieter was drunk.

Dieter shook his head, "No, I have nothing to say on the matter... Helga made me promise not to talk about it, and so I won't... The matter is closed... There is nothing to discuss, now I'm drunk anyway, so just ignore whatever I said."

"I'm not ignoring it Dieter" Norin said sternly. He rose from the table, almost ready to go wake Helga but decided against it. Norin would deal with her when she was awake.

Instead he walked out the front door and sat down outside. He needed to sort things out now and plan what he was actually going to do if Dieter was telling the truth. Norin only hoped it was the alcohol talking.

Dieter sighed and walked into the room Norin was in, he sat down and started to talk.


"Helga first got pregnant a few months after she turned fifteen, she was out of school during that time, officially she was ill and being home tutored... When she was about to have the baby, we sent her to an aunt's in Austria, and the child was then given to an SRG man who had a barren wife... Anyway, Helga had a very, how shall we say, active social life, when she was in school... Don't forget, she was in the Diplomatic Corps in her young adult years..."

Norin looked down at his feet, a deep, shattered feeling in him. Sure he had been with several women before, but never in his knowledge actually gotten them pregnant. To him there was certainly the underlying possibility of Helga's 'activity' years ago, but that wasn't something they would talk about. But for Norin to find out that she had given birth before struck an even greater blow to him.

"Who was the father..?" He asked in a saddend tone, still looking at his feet and the grass around it.

Dieter shrugged, "Meh, just some son of a duke, or was it a baron... Now that I think about it, I think it was the son of a duke..."

Norin shook his head. "Why... why didn't Gunther hunt him down, why didn't he go through what I did, and why didn't Helga stay with him?" He asked, sending out several of the questions that had popped into his head, hoping that Dieter would be able to answer them.

Dieter shrugged, "I don't know, Gunther was busy with wars then, none of them were nice to her, none of them seemed to want anything but sex from her... Hell in all of the, well heck, I don't even know how many, I lost count along the way, but of all the guy friends she had, none of them were really good husband material, well at least none back then were... Another thing, they were all Mississippians, you aren't, so Gunther might not have liked that."

"Why wouldn't Gunther like his own countrymen?" He asked Dieter, wanting to probe deeper into not only Helga's background but Gunther's as well. But for the most part Norin was looking to avoid the topic of Helga's sexual background as much as he could.

Dieter shook his head, "No, no, Gunther didn't go after them because they were Mississippians. You were not, so he went after you, get it? You just didn't understand me."

"Still... I mean..." Norin shrugged. "I don't know..." He said giving up on trying to figure things out.

Dieter shook his head, yawning a bit, "So who cares if Helga was with a few hundred guys, it's not really an issue, is it? I mean overall, nobody cares, do they? I mean, anyway..."

He stopped just as suddenly as he had started talking, realizing what he'd said. He decided he'd said much more than enough, and so he just leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, pretending to be sleeping.

When he thought he couldn't feel worse Dieter had to give his estimate of how many women Helga had indeed been with. His spirit already shattered, Norin felt as if a boot was now stomping down on the broken remains. He laid down, not able to gather the energy needed to walk away.

"I married a whore..." Norin said, not caring if Helga's father was right beside him. The fact that she could even consider marrying some unfortunate man after what she had done was beyond him. Norin couldn't help but question if Helga indeed wanted to be married to him.

Dieter opened his eyes, he knew Norin was right, but there were other circumstances he wasn't looking at. He had to explain them to Norin now, he had no choice.

He tapped him on the arm, lightly, not hard at all, saying, "Norin, you know she was in the Diplomatic Corps, that's how they do business..." He wasn't sure if his words would have any affect.

"Why, is that the only way you people can come to diplomatic solutions?" He said, obviously upset about the entire matter. "I mean how do I even know if she actually wanted to marry me? It was a one night thing, hell I wasn't even supposed to be the man. My boss offered her to me instead because he had a wife and kids..." Norin said.

Dieter shrugged, "Meh, probably she felt you were nice to her... You know, now that I think of it, I probably shouldn't have hit her so much when she was a little girl, but meh, what are you going to do, you know?"

"Dieter you aren't helping matters..." He said, now just wanting Dieter to go away. "Please, just leave me alone for the time being... I need to think about some things..." Norin said.

Dieter shrugged a bit, "Meh, I dunno..." and then he walked off, heading for his room to go to sleep.

He walked into his room, locked the door, and then climbed into bed, falling rapidly asleep.

Norin closed his eyes, hoping that for at least a little while he would be able to forget everything that has happened and return to better times. He soon felt himself slowly creep into a state of sleep as he lay there thinking about what things were like before the diplomatic mission to Mississippian Egypt.

((OOC: I'm pretty sure it was in ME, I forget for certain though))

Norin closed his eyes, hoping that for at least a little while he would be able to forget everything that has happened and return to better times. He soon felt himself slowly creep into a state of sleep as he lay there thinking about what things were like before the diplomatic mission to Mississippian Egypt.

((OOC: I'm pretty sure it was in ME, I forget for certain though))



Ooc- Western Sahara actually, but close enough. :)



Ic-

About five hours later, he heard noise in the kitchen, Helga was up and about. Dieter though was still asleep. She was preparing dinner for Norin and herself, knowing that Dieter would be heading out to a nearby town to eat, and would be heading to Bloemfontein afterwards.

Norin had been lost in a dream. It was a combination of random events that he had experienced through out his life and some that he hadn't. Each was strung together in an odd sort of story that all seemed logical to Norin.

At this point in his dream he was in a thick forest, presumably in South Western Avadria, with a small band of twenty or so paratroopers. Of course Norin had been in service with a mechanized unit during his time and this was just one of the many oddities in the story.

The group progressed through the forest, the faint sound of gunfire growing closer with each step. The problem was they didn't know who's it was, it could've been theirs or could've been the rebels. Either way they needed to stay alert.

Their journey into the woods continued in eerie silence as the gunfire seemed to cease. Now only the sounds of nature and of boots crunching against leaves filled the air. They continued on like that for at least ten minutes.

Then suddenly a salvo of gunfire tore through a low lying shrub and into one of the lead soldiers. The others immediately sought cover but were met with gunfire from the opposite direction. Norin, now posistioned behind a tree was at a loss of what to do.

He watched as one of the soldiers flung a grenade towards the machine gunner and the others exchanged fire with the assailants. Then the grenade went off, sending leaves and dirt into the air. Norin decided to choose that moment to act. He gripped he rifle and ran up to take a posistion.

However as soon as he reached a spot, one of the rebels seemingly appeared out of thin air and plunged a large knife into Norin's chest. With that single act Norin had immediately awaken. He was relieved to not find himself writhing on the floor of a woodland battleground but rather on a nice lawn at an estate in South Africa.

However it was with that realization that Norin felt the full weight of the situation return to him. He knew though that he would have to face it. And with that Norin rose from the grass, brushed himself off, and stepped inside.

He hadn't bothered to confront Helga with it, at least not yet, and certainly not until later. In the mean time he just took a seat on the couch and sat in general silence until dinner would be ready.

Helga had heard Norin making a great deal of noise, as though he was kicking around outside, she looked outside and didn't see him though. About a minute later though, she was at a point where she could leave the kitchen for a few minutes and so she she walked towards the door to go look for him, not sure how serious this was, but hoping he was okay and figuring he could handle himself since he was once in the armed forces.

She then saw him, sitting down on a couch, she looked at him, smiled, and then asked, "Norin, are you okay?" before adding, "Dinner will be ready soon..."

Norin nodded, although he knew that he wasn't. "I just had a bad dream, that's all" He said, technically telling the truth.

Helga smiled, sat down next to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, saying, "Well Norin, if you're feeling nervous, perhaps after dinner I can help you feel a bit better and relaxed?"

Helga's kiss had little meaning anymore. As far as Norin was concerned it was just another thing she used to influence people. He was certain she had used that to lead onto other things with hundreds of other men.

"I'm not too hungry right now, but I'll eat what I can." Norin said in a rather expressionless manner.

Helga sensed something was seriously wrong with Norin, she didn't know what though... She moved a bit closer to him and asked, "Norin, what is bothering you, tell me, please... I want to know."