Below deck, inside a sealed chamber, silence reigned. White light. The hush of ventilation. The hiss of steam winding through brass tubing.

  Technicians in white overalls bent over consoles. Manometers trembled. Needles flicked. One of them wrote on a glass screen with a grease pencil.

  In the center of the room — a cylinder. A translucent capsule filled with thick amniotic fluid. Inside it floated the Homunculus.

  Neither living. Nor dead.

  The biomechanical form swayed slowly to some internal rhythm. Cables trailed from its head and chest — slender as nerves — feeding into the interface of the Zerst?rer command module.

  Tubes pulsed like arteries. Light flickered inside them, shifting from amber to cyan. Every so often — a soft electric tremor.

  At the console, an engineer spoke:

  "Psychogenetic response is stable. Neurocenter link within normal range."

  At the entrance, Friedrich von Blumenkranz stood with hands behind his back. His face obscured by shadow. Only his gaze — sharp. Metallic. Alive.

  He nodded.

  "Proceed. And keep it in isolation."

  Then he turned and walked into the adjoining compartment. A sudden shift — from laboratory sterility to the machine room’s dense heat, reeking of oil and iron.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Near the wall stood his adjutant, clad in a gray field uniform with the tactical division insignia. Blumenkranz didn’t even look at him:

  "Tell Kugelblitz to prepare. We’re launching a sweep."

  An hour later, the deployment ramp opened.

  Twelve figures stood in formation. Soldiers of Kugelblitz, clad in steam-powered exoskeletons. Segmented armor, servo joints, steam vents hissing at the shoulders. Helmets sealed, visors opaque. Every movement — a display of brutal efficiency.

  Their weapons: flamethrowers and assault muskets loaded with liquid-propellant charges. At their belts — grenades and reinforced cartridge belts.

  Behind them, in the shadows — four Eisenhunds. Four-legged combat platforms. Sensors. Hydraulics. Comms arrays.

  Von Blumenkranz stepped forward. Held silence for a moment.

  Then spoke.

  Combat Order: Operation Kormoran

  Airship Donnerschlag Command Deck — 03:40 Code Window: Eisenlicht

  1. Unit Rapid-response tactical team Kugelblitz: 12 soldiers + 4 Eisenhund units.

  2. Infiltration Landing zone: coastal slope across from the residence of F. Steinmeier (target: Balaban). Method: aerodynamic descent from the airship Donnerschlag. Estimated arrival: 04:15.

  3. Objective Locate and neutralize the traitor who transmitted disinformation. Lethal force authorized. Confirmation via direct visual ID or biometric scan using Kr?hensinn.

  4. Callsigns & Comms

  Team Leader: callsign Raubvogel

  Command Center: Falkennest

  Autonomous dog unit: code Gamma-Hund

  Primary channel: Z3-B Backup: Type III red flare beacon. Status updates every 20 minutes post-landing.

  5. Exfiltration Point: vineyard station on the southeast bank of the Sukhyi Estuary. Signal: smoke grenade. Extraction: ornithopter Luchs.

  6. Special Instructions If contact is made with enemy regulars — no engagement. Immediate withdrawal. Destroy gear and remains per protocol Staubfall.

  Von Blumenkranz lowered the tablet. Scanned the line of armored figures.

  “Execute.”