Tyranny of Steel

While war waged in the German-speaking regions of the world for a unified Empire beneath the crown of Austria, things were progressing at an equally astonishing rate in the new world. Despite the ongoing war effort, Austria had ensured that regular deliveries to the Colony of New Vienna, and the burgeoning settlement in South Vinland, were perfectly punctual. 

At the moment Honoria was sitting back on a straw chair, on the beaches of the land that was once known as Venezuela in Berengar's past life. In her hand was a cocktail that had been created from a mixture of imported distilled spirits and local fruits. By now, the woman's indigo hair dye was fading, and her natural chocolate color was showing its roots. 

She sat back on a straw beach chair, beneath a parasol, dressed in a bikini that Berengar had devised for her use. Honoria's crew of privateers watched over this section of beach to ensure that no man approached and gazed upon the immaculate figure of the Third Queen of Austria. 

While Honoria was enjoying her time sunbathing on the beach, a Naval Officer approached the vicinity. The moment he got close, the Privateers who acted as Honoria's personal band of mercenaries blocked him. They would not allow a man to gaze upon their captain's sublime body.

When Honoria noticed this, she sighed heavily before placing down her drink on the nearby table. She immediately covered herself in a gossamer robe which, while translucent, heavily obscured her figure. She then sat up in her seat and motioned for her crew members to part ways, revealing a man she was not expecting to see. Grand Admiral Emmerich stood before the pirate Queen with a stern expression on his face. When Honoria saw this, she scoffed before boldly dismissing her crew. 

"Leave us..."

When these orders were given, the girls of Honoria's crew begrudgingly left their captain alone with the Austrian Admiral. It was only after they were out of earshot did Emmerich speak. 

"You seem to be doing awfully well for yourself..."

Honoria quickly grabbed hold of her glass and drank from her cocktail. After several seconds of sipping through a straw, she made a snide remark towards the man her husband had chosen as the leader of the Austrian Navy.

"Tell me, Admiral, is the war already over? Or are you being derelict in your duties to the King?"

Now it was Emmerich's turn to scoff as he explained the reason for his sudden visit.

"What war? You mean the one with the Northern German states? I regret to inform you that our enemies are utterly lacking in Naval Warfare Capabilities. My job has mostly composed of patrolling the Baltic and North seas, and intercepting merchant vessels. A single ironclad can maintain dominance in the region. There is no reason for my presence. 

Rather than act as a common pirate, I spent my efforts in Trieste overseeing the retrofitting of our Frigates into the mighty ironclads that our king has given you command over. Interestingly enough, as I was looking through the books related to our colonial expenses, I came across a bit of an abnormality. 

Unlike New Vienna, whose growth outpaces the immigration of natives. Thus causing a rise in demand for labor, your settlement here seems to be operating without the need for more personnel. If anything, you have only asked for military units such as marines to provide assistance. Tell me, my Queen, you wouldn't be doing anything prohibited by the king's law now, would you?"

Honoria nearly choked on her cocktail as she heard these words. The truth of the matter was, she had been operating her settlement in the South under rather dubious conditions. It had long since been known that Berengar outlawed slavery in his Kingdom. In fact, it was a rather severe crime punishable by a life of hard labor in a work camp. 

However, because she was so far away from the fatherland, and had been running out of bullets, Honoria had opted to enslave, rather than massacre, the natives she had come across. After all, she couldn't very well maintain defense over her settlement if she used all her munitions in pursuit of gold. 

Thus, currently, the overwhelming majority of work within the settlement outside of military affairs was being conducted via slave labor. She had thought that as long as Berengar was unaware of this crime, she could continue to conduct her settlement in such a manner, but unfortunately, she had been found out. 

Honoria was wise enough to know that if Emmerich was bringing such claims to her, then he had sufficient evidence to back it up, thus with a heavy sigh the pirate queen gazed at her accuser with a fierce glare before uttering the question on her mind.

"How much?"

Emmerich's brow raised slightly as he heard this question. He initially believed he had misheard. Thus, he swiftly asked for clarification.

"I'm sorry?"

This only made the pirate queen's glare grow more fierce as she clarified what she had meant.

"How much of a share do you want to keep quiet about this?"

When Emmerich heard these words, his expression lowered before speaking in a grave tone.

"So it is true, then? You are using slave labor to establish the settlement? You know his majesty will be very displeased with you when he hears about this."

Honoria's expression immediately became enraged as she chastised the man for his self-righteous attitude.

"Give me a break. Berengar doesn't give a shit about the natives. He's only pretending like he does because he knows something about this region that we do not. I have spent the last few months on this god forsaken spit of land, fighting tooth and nail with these filthy savages to defend the settlement my husband ordered me to create, and to locate natural resources for the sake of his Empire. 

I'll have you know that I have found a rich gold mine, and yes, I am enslaving these God damn barbarians to use as my primary labor force. So what? Berengar is waging a war with the North that is no doubt draining his treasury. If anything, I am helping him, and his efforts by doing this! How dare you come here and act as if you are better than me? You do not know how difficult it is to establish a settlement in hostile lands!"

Upon seeing how belligerent Honoria had become over her actions, Emmerich could surmise that she knew what she was doing was against her husband's wishes. She just deemed it a necessary evil to complete the task he had given her. When he reflected on how Berengar handled the natives of New Vienna, a simple question appeared in Emmerich's mind. 

"Tell me, why could you not follow the same path that Berengar had laid out during his colonization of New Vienna? You were there. Surely you know better than I?"

Honoria simply scoffed at this question before finishing the rest of her cocktail in one big gulp. She then berated Emmerich for his ignorance.

"That was different! In New Vienna, we established peaceful ties with some tribes from the moment we landed. That was not the case here. The second I stepped foot on this soil during my initial expedition, and my current one, the locals were instantly hostile to our presence. With the plague breaking out and ravaging the land, it has only become worse. 

I can not sit idly by and allow these savages to continue their onslaught against this colony, and I simply do not have the munitions to kill them all. So, I came up with an alternative solution. As long as the locals are underneath my ball and chain, they can not rise against me and harm our people."

Upon hearing this line of reasoning, Emmerich sighed heavily before concluding on the matter.

"I will alert his majesty of what is transpiring here the next time I see him. However, you should be forewarned. Berengar is not the kind of man to take the violation of his laws lightly, even if it is by one of the women he loves. I suggest you prepare yourself for your punishment, whatever that may be."

When Honoria heard this, she merely scoffed before responding to the threat.

"He knows where to find me. I would like to hear from him personally how he would have handled things differently if he were in my shoes."

When Emmerich heard this, he merely smiled and nodded before standing up and exiting the scene. Before he disappeared entirely, he left one final remark.

"I am sure he would be happy to lecture you..."

With that said, Emmerich had marched back to the colony. By now, his crew had already delivered the supplies they arrived with. He would then sail back to the fatherland and wait for Berengar's arrival to inform him of the charges that his wife faced. 

As for Honoria, she would remain headstrong, and continue her policy of enslavement, believing she could buy Berengar's forgiveness with an overwhelming supply of gold. What lengths of cruelty she would go to in order to achieve this, and how Berengar would react to the accusations against his wife had yet to be seen.