Tyranny of Steel

While Itami was alone in her room, reflecting on her entire life, and the many choices she had made along the way. Yasmin and the kids returned home with wide smiles on their faces. Ghazi was quite happy with his little fiancee who was still living with her parents in Nevarre.

As for Zara, she was extremely pleased with her first successful rocket test. She held a video cassete in her hand while shaking with excitement. The little girl could not wait to see her father and inform him of her achievement.

Not long after Yasmin entered the palace with her many children, did Berengar rush to meet them. The excitement he felt at the mature Moorish beauty's return was something that only a man who had been separated from his love could truly understand. He quickly picked up the woman and spun her around, while kissing her passionately, an action that she did not anticipate. Once Yasmin finally had a moment to breathe, she was quick to ask about her husband's journey abroad.

"So, how did things go? Was your little vacation without incident?"

Berengar smiled and nodded his head before shifting the subject to something else.

"It was quite enjoyable. Now tell me, how was your visit to Granada? Did the boy learn some things?"

Before Yasmin or Ghazi could even respond, Zara had lost her patience and butted in.

"Daddy! Look what Zara did!"

Without waiting, the girl thrust the video cassette into Berengar's hands, where the man smiled and petted the girl's hair.

"Oh? What did you do while daddy was away? Shall we go watch it together?"

Despite the enthusiastic expression on Zara's doll-like face, Yasmin was far from pleased and quickly spoiled the girl's fun.

"Zara is to be punished for launching a rocket in the Granadan Palace gardens. What she did was incredibly dangerous and spooked more than a few people. I have decided to defer to you to decide just what punishment she receives!"

Though Yasmin was visibly upset, Berengar was quite excited. He wanted to see the footage that Zara had caught of her first successful launch. Though he had read about it in the daily paper, there were no first-hand accounts. Thus, the man faked a stern expression on his face as he gave out a "punishment" to his young daughter, which he deemed to be fitting.

"Well Zara, since your mother says you are to be punished for your actions, then you must accompany daddy to the home theatre so that I can witness with my own eyes just what you have done that deserves punishment."

Berengar did not wait for Yasmin's approval, and quickly picked up his young daughter and carried her off to the home theatre. He did not dare look back, because he knew for certain that his wife was fuming with anger. Knowing that once more, the man had let his daughter off scot free for her repeated shenanigans.

Naturally, Berengar's presumption was entirely accurate as Yasmin had her arms crossed beneath her substantial bosom while glaring at her husband's back. Even though she knew this was exactly what was going to occur, she still deferred judgement to the man. Thus, in the end, she could not remain mad at him.

After reaching the home theater, Berengar reached into a cupboard that had a bag of caramel corn within, along with two soda can from the mini refrigerator. He then brought the snacks over to the reclining sofa where Zara sat comfortably, waiting to play the video. Once he was seated, Berengar shared the treat with his daughter, where the two of them leaned back in their seats and watched the footage unfold.

On the large screen, Zara was counting down the time until lift off rather casually, until she finally pressed the button that sent the relatively small rocket into the air. The camera then panned up and followed the rocket as it went higher and higher into the sky until finally safely falling down back within the garden with its parachute.

The film suddenly ended, and the lights turned back on, revealing Zara's smiling face. She was eager for her father's praise, and waited patiently to receive it, despite her impatient nature. As for Berengar, he was quite shocked by what he had seen.

Though he did not know the details of the rocket's design, and how it functioned, it was quite possible that such a small rocket had actually passed the Karmen line, there would need to be more thorough studies of the rocket Zara had built from what was clearly mostly scraps and perhaps a few speciality parts crudely put together by machinists. But there was no mistaking the range of this rocket.

Zara began to pout as she saw her father continue to stare at the now blank screen with a peculiar expression on his face. She was just about to pound his shoulder with her little fists when the man broke out into a wide smile and patted the girl's head with fatherly affection.

"That's my little girl! I can't believe you made such an exceptional rocket at such a young age! Mark my words, one day when we finally land on the moon, it will be thanks to you. I just had a sudden bout of inspiration. I think I am going to establish a fund to help gifted children like you pursue their scientific dreams. What do you think about the name The Princess of Granada Fund?"

Zara broke out into a smile twice the size of her father's when she heard this and quickly hugged the man while thanking him for his praise.

"That's sounds wonderful! Daddy, did Zara do good?"

Berengar once more began to pet the girl's silky hair as he responded with further praise.

"Zara didn't just do good, Zara did amazing! I'm truly astonished you were able to build such a thing at your age. Don't tell your brother this, but you might be a little bit smarter than Hans!"

Such praise was the most Zara had ever received in her young life. Hans was considered an icon in the Reich, a war hero, and the most promising young genius in the nation's short-lived history. To be compared with her older half-brother, by her own father, was the most joy she had ever experienced. Thus, she was quick to express her disbelief.

"You really mean it?"

Berengar continued to smile and pat the girl's head as he responded once more.

"I can't say for certain, but it is entirely possible. Your mother was wrong to admonish you. You don't deserve to be punished for this, instead I will reward you for your achievements. How about daddy builds you your own private testing facility? Where you will be free to experiment with your rocket designs to your heart's content. I will even have whatever components you need specialty manufactured by the professionals at the Royal Kufstein Armory! How does that sound?"

Zara's amber eyes had practically become as golden as her hair, as they sparkled with a combination of joy, anticipation, and excitement. She could not believe her father was willing to spare such an expense for her and quickly hugged him once more.

"Thank you, daddy!"

Berengar simply chuckled and continued to pat the girl's head. He could hardly believe that he had sired two exceptional geniuses. Naturally, he could not have the girl testing her rockets in the palace gardens, but to hamper her ingenuity would be a criminal act. Zara needed to have an environment where she could safely experiment with her designs, and because of this, Berengar was more than willing to spare the expense.

Thus, it would not be long before rockets were regularly being launched over the skies of Kufstein. Though Zara's designs were innovative and had proven successful, it would still be several decades before the Reich was able to land a man on the moon. After all, they were only just scratching the surface of astrophysics and astronautical engineering.