Tyranny of Steel

The city of Mecca was the Muslim holy city, and because of this after the Byzantine Empire had conquered their neighbors, they had ceded control over it, and the city of Medina, along with a bit of land connecting the two of them to the Iberian Empire which was ruled over by the Sultan Ghazi Al-Fadl. Who, at least on the surface, appeared to be a rather devout Muslim man.

Naturally, due to the significance of this city, Berengar had elected to establish an embassy inside it, not to the Iberian Empire, for that embassy was within Madrid, but instead as an embassy to the Muslim Faith.

It was quite rare that the Ambassador to the city of Mecca had to actually do any work, but today was not one of those days. Because immediately after waking up and opening up the facility, he and his staff found a group of desert nomads waiting for them.

At first, the German ambassador to the city of Mecca thought that these men might have found themselves lost, but it became immediately clear after Lawrence spoke about what their intent was.

"We have come to request migratory access to our ancestral lands, which your people have now built military bases upon!"

The German ambassador immediately looked at the delegation of the Bedouin tribesman as if they had suddenly lost their marbles, and just when he was about to politely refuse their request, Lawrence became rather persistent.

"Please, sir, we don't mean any harm. We just wish to travel through the lands we always have, and perhaps hunt for the game we find within them. We do not know what you are doing, nor do we care to ask. I promise, no harm will come to any of your people."

The German ambassador was flabbergasted by this sudden request. And thought that perhaps he was being pranked. But upon realizing that he was not, he quickly allowed Lawrence entry, and sat down with him. In the meantime, tea and cookies were served to the ambassador and his guests, and only after he and the others had taken a few sips did he finally speak.

"First off, allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Ambassador Walter Krause. Can I ask who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

Lawrence nodded his head. Though he appeared a bit anxious to give his name, he ultimately decided to act in good faith for the sake of these negotiations and did as requested.

"You can call me Lawrence...."

It suddenly dawned on Ambassador Krause who he was speaking with, as a few weeks ago he had received a communication from the German military that there might be a possibility of some desert nomads coming to speak with him, and that their representative was named Lawrence. Needless to say, the military explained the background information that Lawrence had given the officer, and thus Ambassador Krause now understood what was going on.

"Okay, Lawrence, it is a pleasure to meet with you. Now, I am going to pull out a map of the region, and you can point to the areas which you consider being disputed, Okay?"

Lawrence nodded his head and waited rather anxiously for the ambassador to do as he had claimed. Which only a few moments later, a large map of the region was sprawled out on the table. Where there were plenty of markings that Lawrence did not understand. However, he did know where the disputed territories are and thus he outlined them to Ambassador Krause with a simple gesture.

"Right there! These are the regions were are requesting migratory access to."

Ambassador Krause sighed heavily as he gazed upon the areas that Lawrence had marked. They were large oil fields, and because of this, there was naturally a lot of work that was going on in the region. It would be entirely unwise to allow a bunch of desert nomads to just wander through and gaze upon the restricted areas. Thus, he immediately shook his head and rejected Lawrence's request.

"I am sorry, sir, but that region is filled with oil fields. To put it simply, with the amount of work going on there, it would be incredibly unsafe to allow your people to migrate through the area. I am afraid you will simply need to look for new routes to travel."

The other nomads who had followed Lawrence immediately became outraged as they expressed their disapproval of Ambassador Krause's words.

"This is an outrage. Our people have traveled through this land for hundred of years. What gives you the right to take them over and prevent access to all others?"

Ambassador Krause' eyes narrowed with slight hostility as he responded to this statement with one of his own.

"After the Byzantine Empire's conquest of the Arabian Peninsula, the Reich was guaranteed exclusive rights to the minerals and resources within the area for supporting their war. It was not just the Byzantine Emperor who signed this agreement, but also the Iberian Sultan. I am afraid that land is bought and paid for by the Reich, and since we own it as private property, your people have no right to trespass."

Ambassador Krause immediately turned to Lawrence and then smiled before speaking in a slightly more friendly tone.

"Surely, as an Englishman, you know about property rights? Am I correct in assuming this?"

Lawrence could only sigh heavily in defeat. If what this ambassador said was true, then the land truly belonged to the Germans, and there was nothing he or his people could do to force them to change their minds. Thus, he nodded his head before speaking his opinion on the matter.

"I understand. I will do everything in my power to convince my people to travel elsewhere from now on. As I know better than anyone what fate is in store for those who oppose the Reich. However, my people have wandered through those lands for centuries, and without them, many of us may day in search of a new oasis. Is there not something you can do to aid us?"

Naturally, as a career diplomat, Ambassador Krause knew that Lawrence was simply asking for a token gesture so his people could feel like they had earned something valuable in exchange for their losses. With this in mind, Ambassador Krause began to think about what was most valuable to a group of desert nomads, and was quick to come up with an answer.

"Can I ask you how much water your people are capable of carrying during your travels?"

Lawrence thought about this question for some time, before finally giving an answer in an ancient system of measurement which the Reich had long since stopped using. It took the Ambassador several moments to transfer the units into the metric system, before he finally responded.

"Since you are losing access to such a valuable oasis, I can perhaps offer you and your people as much water as you can carry. And for the next one hundred years, if you ever find yourself near any of these cities where we have military personnel stationed, then I can guarantee free refills as well."

Fresh water was indeed the most valuable resource for a group of desert nomads, but for a people who were capable of desalinating the world's oceans, it was practically worthless. Of course, Lawrence and his people did not know that the Germans were capable of such things, and because of this, they were more than happy to accept what they considered being a generous offer.

"Thank you, Ambassador, you are truly generous!"

Ambassador Krause merely smiled, before handing the desert nomads a list of Byzantine and Iberian cities where the Germans maintained a military presence, as well as a token which allowed them to request free refills for one hundred years.

And though this small gesture may not seem like much to the Germans, it had allowed Lawrence to gain quite a bit of prominence among the Bedouin tribes. Far more so than he had before. In fact, for the next one hundred years, Lawrence and his descendents would be treated like royalty by the Bedouin people.

Of course, Germany was naturally aware of Lawrence's identity ever since he first stepped foot into the military outpost. But they did not seem to care about a King from a long forgotten era, one whose own people had given up on decades ago. So rather than assassinate the man for being a potential "contender" for the English throne, they decided to monitor him, and his bloodline, and if they ever decided to press their ancient claims for England, it would simply be a matter of a drone strike to end the problem once and for all.

As for Germany themselves, they thought of this incident as nothing more than a token gesture to a group of Muslims who were not yet accustomed to the modern world, and hoped that in a few decades they would cease their nomadic ways, and enter polite society once and for all.

But most importantly, the Germans had ensured that the Bedouin tribes would stop poking their heads around the massive oil fields, which the Reich now controlled. Because the last thing they needed was for a group of primitive nomads to stick their noses where they don't belong.

I wanted to thank you all for supporting Tyranny of Steel up to this point. From here on out, until the very end of the novel, updates are going to be less frequent with one chapter a day. Instead, I would like to invite all of you to read my new novel Interstellar Age, at https://www.webnovel.com/book/interstellar-age_ 26235247006730205

Which will be receiving my primary attention from here on out. Thank you all for the support you have shown me, and I look forward to writing novels for you all for years to come!