Admiral Armbruster was one of the commanding officers of the U-boat base. He was average build, in his mid-fifties, with jet black hair, the wrinkles on his face, and bags under his eyes made it obvious that the war had taken a toll on him. Admiral Armbruster was proud of his family’s seafaring history. Both his father and grandfather had honorably served as naval officers in the past. Armbruster did not blindly believe the Nazi rhetoric, but he was intelligent enough to play the political game to avoid a firing squad. Armbruster took great pride in his role in developing the cutting-edge underwater boats and in winning navel battles. There was honor in engaging an armed enemy at sea.
“Are the U-boats ready for their long journey?” Nox asked, in his raspy voice.
“Yes, the modifications were just completed this morning. Each of the Type IX U-boats can now carry 100 people, including the crew,” the Admiral said with confidence.
“And the paperwork?” Nox had learned how important paperwork was on this planet.
“All four of the U-boats were reported missing in action, and there is no record that would indicate they are anywhere else but lying on the ocean floor. No one will come looking for these boats.”
“Any weapons?” Nox knew the plan was to eliminate torpedo tubes and storage to make room for more passengers.
“Unfortunately, we had to eliminate all torpedo tubes to make enough room. We were able to leave both cannons on the forward and aft deck,” replied the Admiral.
The Type IX U-Boats typically carried a crew of 53, were 251 feet long and displaced 1,034 long tons. With a maximum range of 15,000 miles and up to 24 torpedoes, they were perfect for attacking and sinking ships along the coast of North America and Africa. The tradeoff for carrying 165 tons of fuel and torpedoes was that it was slow. With a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour, this would be a long trip.
“How many crew are necessary to man the submarine, now that we have no need to man the torpedoes?”
The Admiral paused, and put his hand to his face as if he were thinking. “I could probably operate each boat with as few as 25 men, seeing that the plan is to stay out of shipping channels, and to not engage the enemy. Basically, we are just moving people from here to Antarctica.”
Nox nodded, his pitch-black eyes staring at the Admiral, not that the Admiral could tell as the creature had no eyeballs. “That means I can carry 300 men to Antarctica. One hundred and twenty-seven men are already chosen for the voyage. That means we can take 173 of your people.”
The Admiral sat up in his chair. This was the first he was hearing about the other passengers; “I did not realize you were bringing other passengers?”
“Yes, I was unsure if I could get them here, but I was able to convince some of the V-2 rocket scientists to defect with us.”
“I thought the V-2 scientists were relocated from Peenemunde Army Research Center after it was bombed by the British? How could you get them here from the Alpine Fortress?” asked the Admiral. If the Admiral was concerned with the word ‘defect,’ he made no mention of it.
Nox nodded. Nodding was a human gesture, but Nox had learned, not only the spoken language of humans, but also their body language. It seemed to put them at ease when he used familiar body language that they understood. He was also teaching himself to learn human facial expressions, not because he cared what they thought of him, but because sometimes he was forced to engage in diplomacy.
“After the scientists were moved from Peenemunde, they were taken to Mittelwerk in the Harz Mountains to work in an underground bunker. Some of my operatives were able to convince them to come with us. We helped them escape the Nazis when they were being transported from the underground base to the Alpine Fortress. Once in our custody, we could bring them here by boat, now on the Elbe River,” Nox said.
Admiral Armbruster understood the importance of having V-2 rocket scientists. German scientists and aeronautical engineers were the most advanced in the world. They were good to have, if only to ensure the Americans did not have access to their knowledge.
“Very well, what shall we do now?” asked the Admiral.
“Is everyone on the list I gave you present?” asked Nox.
“I received your list of 224 names. A few of them had been killed and few transferred, but I was able to ensure that 217 of them were present at the yard today.” Admiral Armbruster knew Nox did not appreciate failure, but, he was reasonably certain that he had come close enough to completing the assignment.
“How many of the persons missing from my list are dead?” Nox asked.
“Three.”
“Four have been transferred?”
“Yes”
“Very well, that’s close enough. Have them assembled in the briefing room in one hour,” Nox grumbled.
“Yes Sir,” The Admiral stood to attention and started to say Heil Hitler but caught himself.
“We can dispense with the ‘Heil Hitler’ at this point,” Nox muttered, and he waived off the Admiral.
Nox sat in the empty Admiral’s office for the next hour, contemplating what he would say to the 200 plus men. Nox was not only a warrior, but a cunning politician, as well. He understood that his alien forces were not strong enough to rule this world alone; he needed allies. He needed allies that were not so eager for war that they could wait for the perfect time. His plan was to rebuild, not the Third Reich, that brand was damaged beyond repair; no, he was going to rebuild in a new place, create a new world order.
The people on the list that Nox was assembling were not war hawks or greedy politicians; they were the best scientists and engineers he could manage to recruit. These were not just any scientists; they were scientists that he had either worked with or that knew of his existence. No one in that room would be shocked to see him.
Nox had 173 seats to fill on the recently reported missing U-boats. He hoped to convince 173 of the 217 men to join him. It would be unfortunate to launch the U-boats with empty seats. Nox did not need the scientists and engineers for their knowledge of human technology. Nox was more intelligent than any human that had ever lived, and understood the intricacies of technology centuries beyond what human scientists could even imagine. Earth’s technology had not even developed enough to create basic tools to fix and repair the equipment Nox had brought with him from his home planet. Nox had to train humans on the basic concepts of his technology so that they could start planning to build factories that could produce advanced equipment. When you are stranded on a deserted island, you must invent an ax before you can chop down a tree. Then, you must make rope before you can tie the timbers together to build a raft. In this little parable, Nox felt like he was still swimming to the island.
Nox walked into the crowded conference room. The room was hot and stuffy from having over 200 people jammed into it. The group was a mixture of Nazi officers, yard workers, welders, planners, engineers, shipbuilders, and scientists. The walls were dark gray concrete. The men sat on metal chairs with no padding. Nox walked down the center aisle between the men, toward the front of the room. He had not made the same mistake he made in the Vosges Mountains; he was wearing full body armor and an interactive helmet with head up display vizor. At the front of the room was a wooden desk and on the wall before the men was a nautical chart of the Elbe River and coastal Germany.
Nox stood before the seated men. He was not nervous. He was hopeful, hopeful that he could convince 173 of these men to go to Antarctica to start over. The room was silent; you could hear a pen drop as he turned to face the group.