Tyranny of Steel

Two weeks had passed since Berengar had first dispatched Jaegers in Vinland to search for critical resources. As of right now, the team that he specifically sent to a prominent granite quarry location were standing upon atop a hill gazing in awe at the beautiful sight.

It had recently rained, yet now the sky was a clear crystal blue, the sight of a rare double rainbow hovered over the location of the rocky ravine, the trees surrounding the area were a vibrant green, as it was now spring, and the natural landscape was filled with life.

The Sergeant in charge of the unit gazed in awe at the splendid scenery as if he had stepped foot into heaven. The mild weather of the New York Spring, combined with the natural beauty of its landscape, was indeed a sight to behold. Here in this new world which was wealthy in new natural resources, one gained the feeling that a man could be anything he wanted to be so long as he worked hard enough.

The Sergeant immediately descended from the hill into the ravine; his task was simple. He and his soldiers needed to confirm the location of granite which was required to build the stone fortifications around the military outpost. With this in mind, he carefully climbed down to inspect the bedrock of the area.

Having tied a rope to a sturdy tree near the edge of the cliff, the Sergeant was the first to repel down the hill, and into the ravine below, as he slowly but surely descended, he gazed in wonder at the beautiful granite that revealed itself. Should they build their fortifications and houses out of such material, it would make the settlement in Vinland a highly desirable place to live once its existence was revealed to the general public.

Such was his thought process as the Jaeger Sergeant descended from the cliff and into the ravine; before long, his squad followed him into its depths, where they stood ankle-deep in water, gazing upon the massive quantity of granite nearby.

Having confirmed that this location was rich with granite, the squad leader immediately pulled out his map and marked the site; when they finally returned to the settlement, they would dispatch workers to begin the construction of a good quarry so that the materials could be mined and brought back to the territory to be used in the establishment of the most significant fortifications.

Unbeknownst to the Jaeger Squad, several pairs of eyes were gazing upon them from within the tree line above. The Algonquin scouts had watched as the pale-skinned foreigners descended into the ravine; though they did not know what these people were looking for, they knew it could not be suitable for them.

Remaining entirely unaware of the nearby hostile scouts, the Austrian Jaegers continued to dredge more, plunging into the ravine; up until this point, they had not only been scouting for resources but creating a detailed map, and this location was no exception. The soldier in the group who was skilled in cartography walked around the area and jotted down the details onto his piece of scrap paper.

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While he was doing so, the remainder of the squad were on guard, they were far from the known territory that the Expeditionary force had established, and danger lurked in every corner, from the wildlife as well as the natives that had proved to be hostile.

While they were searching through the area and taking up defensive positions, the Algonquin scouts had trekked through the tree line in an attempt to set up an ambush; the moment the Austrians climbed up the rope from the ravine below the native warriors planned to beset upon them.

As per usual tactics, the Austrian squad consisted of a Sergeant equipped with a sub-machine gun, a machine gunner armed with an MG-22(H), a sniper with a scoped G22, and the rest were standard riflemen. The sniper gazed through his optic as he searched the surrounding treeline for any potential threats.

He immediately became aware of the Natives' presence; the man raised his fist and communicated silently with the squad that hostiles were approaching and preparing an ambush. No words were spoken, and instead, the Austrian Jaegers communicated via sign language as they prepared themselves for combat.

The individual soldiers flicked off their safeties as they began to climb the rope. Before doing so, the Sergeant pulled out a smoke grenade and threw it with all his might onto the cliff above. A pool of smoke filled the air when the device went off, obscuring the Native Warriors' sights. Afterward, The Sergeant began to rapidly climb onto the cliff above, where his soldiers immediately followed suit.

By the time the smoke dispersed, the squad had managed to make it to the cliff with their fingers on the triggers. The moment they could contact the enemy, the sound of gunfire echoed in the air as bullets roared down and towards the concealed Algonquin warriors. Blood splattered as the sniper was the first to pull the trigger; in doing so, an 8mm round pierced straight through the skull of his opponent.

Immediately after, he racked the bolt back and acquired another target, where he sent another round into the man's torso. The Algonquin began to panic as their initial wave was cut down so quickly. Nevertheless, they started to unleash a volley of arrows down onto the Austrian soldiers; arrows filled the sky and fell on the Austrians, who braced for impact, with their heads, necks, and vitals protected by the steel armor.

While some arrows pierced through their limbs, they were far from mortal wounds; with this in mind, the Austrians ripped the hands from their joints and opened fire once more on the Native Warband. While not every bullet hit their mark, there was too high of a volume of fire for the natives to counteract, especially with a machine gunner prone in the mud, slinging 8mm projectiles downrange at a rapid rate of fire.

Every time his mag would run dry, he would pull another one from his pouch and insert it into the top of the machine gun before racking the bolt back and firing another 30 rounds at his targets. It did not take long for the enemy to begin to flee.

One of the soldiers was too eager for blood and immediately sprinted off towards the opponents, however before he could get far, a bullet shot past his head and hit the tree in front of him; the Jaeger looked back to see his NCO staring at him with a frown on his face, and a smoking gun in hand.

"What are you, a moron? They have probably set up traps for us! Fall back in line; we have done our damned job; it is time to return with the intel!"

The soldier immediately swallowed the saliva pooled up in his throat as he thought about what his NCO had said and immediately obeyed his orders as he fell back into line. Those wounded were carried away by members of their squad as the Austrian Jaegers began to flee back to the settlement; this would not be the only ambush they came across on their journey back to the main force.

Nor was this the only squad under attack by the native tribes; there would be several losses on the expedition to locate and secure resources for the Austrian settlement. However, Conquest was never achieved without bloodshed; the resources these young Austrian Men gave their lives for would become the backbone of the Kingdom of Austria for years to come.

Berengar would later declare any man who gave his life in service of exploration to be posthumously honored with an Iron Cross Second Class. While Berengar's soldiers were locating and securing natural resources, he was overseeing the ongoing construction efforts of the settlement. This fortress in the New World was designed to be self-sufficient, with monthly exchanges between the Fatherland and the Colony.

As for the Native Tribes of New York, what remained were preparing for war, and these ambushes were the first of a broader conflict on the horizon. The more Austrian soldiers arrived in the new world, the more threatened the pre-existing inhabitants would become. It was only a matter of time before bloodshed occurred on a far larger scale than what had already been fought.

Berengar was well prepared for this eventuality, and before long, the fortress in the new world would be impregnable, at least when dealing with the primitive people of North America. Without gunpowder, it would be impossible to bring down the granite and mortar walls of the massive star fortress that was being constructed.

While the remainder of the American wilderness was an unknown factor to Austria, its fortress would be a beacon of hope for the soldiers living in Vinland and future generations to come. After all, this was a land rich in natural resources, and the only enemies the Austrians had to face were various stone age societies.