Tyranny of Steel

After a brief encounter with one of her generals, Itami placed a military jacket over her nightgown and followed her subordinate into the war room, where her generals and admirals were already gathered. Before anyone could speak, she had already begun to bark commands at the men.

"Status update now!"

During her walk over to the war room, she had been alerted about what had transpired in the skies above Borneo no more than an hour ago. What she was more concerned about was how the Germans were responding to this incident. A balding fat man who looked almost like a turkey stuffed into a military uniform was quick to speak as he addressed the Empress of Japan with the utmost respect.

"Tennoheika-sama. In case you are not already aware, we have made contact with the German Air Force over the skies of Borneo. They have gunned down one of our squadrons before fleeing back to their air base in Singapore. What are your orders?"

Itami was naturally already aware of this and was quick to lash out at her general for repeating the same story that the other had already told her.

"I am already aware, General. What I need to know is how are the Germans reacting? Do not waste my time!"

The gluttonous General who had just spoken had a nervous expression on his oversized face as he began to sweat bullets after receiving such a violent outburst from the Empress, he knew she would be furious at his next words, but he also knew hiding the truth would only get him into further trouble. Thus, he sighed heavily before admitting that they knew absolutely nothing about the Germans' movements.

"As of right now, we have limited knowledge about German deployments outside of Borneo. However, there seems to have been an increase in activity from the Royal Majapahit Army. It is as if they are preparing to go on the offensive. A large gathering of troops is being deployed to the front lines as we speak!"

Itami frowned when she heard this. She wanted more than anything to curse out her subordinates for being so useless in a time of crisis. However, she knew screaming at them would get her nowhere and thus she did not hesitate to respond to this news with a strategy of her own.

"Advance the First and Second Armored Divisions from the rear lines to the front. We must stop this attack before they have a chance to press forward into our occupied territory. I also want as many fighters and bombers that we have in the Philippines to hit the air and take over the skies of Borneo. We must establish Air Supremacy before the Germans can arrive or else the war will be lost before it has even begun!

As for our First and Second Fleet, have them immediately set sail from Osaka and head to Singapore. I doubt the German Navy will sit still after such an attack. Gentlemen, as of this moment, we are officially at war with the German Empire!"

A look of dread appeared on the faces of every General and Admiral gathered to witness Empress Itami Riyo's bold declaration. Not a single soul dared to inform her that it was their men who had first opened fire on the Germans.

For some, they had grown impatient in waiting for the war with the German Empire to begin, and made use of this opportunity to spark conflict between the two industrial powers. For others, they were fearful of how the Empress would respond if their blunder was to be discovered. Either way, unless Berengar made some move to halt hostilities before they began, it would appear that war had now become inevitable.

Berengar was awoken in the middle of the night and immediately alerted to the crisis which the entire German Nation was currently facing. It was a crisis quite unbeknownst to the public at large, but the consequences of inaction would surely mean the deaths of thousands, if not tens of thousands.

Knowing that he would get no further sleep on this night, Berengar rushed out of his bed and dressed himself into a military uniform before storming through his halls and to his Palace's war room, where soon enough Generals, Admirals, and politicians would gather to discuss a very dire situation that occurred over the skies of Borneo no more than an hour prior.

It did not take long for these men of great importance to gather in the war room, and discuss the crisis at hand, in fact the moment Generalfeldmarschall Adelbrand entered the room Berengar snapped at him, still rather irritated at being awoken from his slumber so late into the night.

"Just what in the hell is going on in Borneo that I have to be woken up at 0200 hours?"

Adelbrand, having just been informed about the situation himself from his staff, was quick to point towards the map where the problem currently lies. He did not hesitate to voice everything he had learned on his march to the Imperial Palace.

"It would appear that during a propaganda mission, a squadron of Japanese fighters had intercepted and fired upon our Air Wing. In doing so, our pilots retaliated and shot down the enemy squadron.

As far as we know, there were no casualties on our side. However, this incident is clearly an act of war, and we must react before the Japanese have a chance to attack! Which they most certainly appear to be mobilizing as we speak!

Berengar was startled that such a scenario had happened while he slept, and was deeply concerned about the potential ramifications of the incident. He was quick to ask a follow up question about the enemy and how they had responded to the incident.

"You say Japan is currently mobilizing its forces? I need to know the exact details! Have they begun to deploy their fleets, and where are they headed? Have the Japanese launched their planes stationed in the Southern Philippines? Is there any noticeable activity from the Imperial Japanese Army?"

Adelbrand was quick to move wooden figures representing the First and Second Fleet of the Japanese Navy which had departed from Japan where it was headed to Singapore, he then moved the figures representing two different Japanese Armored Divisions advancing forward to reinforce the front lines in Borneo, from which the Field Marshal then explained in detail what their agents had reported.

"It appears that there is a mass mobilization effort on the part of Japan. As we speak, their First and Second Fleet are moving from Osaka to Singapore in what appears to be a pre-emptive strike. In total, there are roughly two dozen warships in this attack group.

As for their Air Force, they have launched every fighter and bomber they have in the Southern Philippines, and are preparing to launch more from the Northern Philippines who will land in the south and refuel before taking flight to Borneo. We are looking at the possibility of hundreds of enemy aircraft attempting to establish Air Superiority over the island.

As for the Imperial Japanese Army, they have mobilized the First and Second Armored Divisions, which were held back in Brunei towards the front lines in preparation for the Royal Majapahit Army's attack. I am proud to say that we have already reported to our allies about the incident in skies above Borneo, and they have responded with a mass mobilization of their own forces.

There are also signs of civilian ships being appropriated in Korea and the Japanese mainland to act as a means of transport for the Imperial Japanese Army. If they succeed in this endeavor, then we are looking at potential region wide conflict."

Berengar gazed upon the movements that the Japanese Military had made, and had felt that war was imminent. If he were to respond in kind, there would be no avoiding an armed conflict. However, he still had hope that the Japanese Empress could see reason, and was quick to give out his instructions.

"Send a message to ambassador Gerhard von Graz at the German Embassy in Beijing. I need him to get in immediate contact with the Japanese Empress. Tell him not to go out of his way to infuriate the woman, and to patch me through to her the moment he has made a connection.

As far as our own forces are concerned, I want you to immediately mobilize carrier group Six stationed in Singapore and send them to intercept the Japanese fleets outside Borneo. We can not allow the enemy to trespass into our maritime borders.

As for the Luftwaffe, have every fighter stationed within range to take off, and head to Borneo, however, keep them above the Majapahit lines, make sure they do not trespass into Japanese-occupied airspace, until we have attempted contact with Japan.

As for our ground forces, prepare the LCTs stationed in Singapore and dispatch both a Panzer Division and a Panzergrenadier division to the shores of Borneo. If this war becomes hot, I want German troops on the ground.

I must emphasize once more that nobody is to attack Japan unless we have first been fired upon, or I have given the signal! There is still time to salvage this crisis and prevent it from escalating into a full-scale war!"

Adelbrand snapped to attention and saluted Berengar before responding in the affirmative.

"Yes, my Kaiser!"

As for Berengar, he concentrated on the map, as the comms operators began making their calls to deliver the Kaiser's orders. All while thinking to himself that he hoped to god, Itami was not the psycho bitch he always thought she was.