By 1928, the world hadn’t caught up—nor would it, not in time. But deep within the shipyards of Danzig, Germany unveiled a weapon that made the Great War look like a schoolyard scuffle.
Nearly three more years had passed since 1925, and something truly spectacular was emerging within the German Reich. Over the twelve years since the end of the Great War in this alternate timeline, the Fatherland had become almost mythic.
There were rumors abroad of a modern-day Atlantis rising in Europe; a land of impossible advances, secret technologies, and prosperity so profound it bordered on the unreal. Yet within the borders of Germany, it was simply the result of meticulous planning, limitless ambition, and the guiding hand of Bruno von Zehntner.
The infrastructure was unlike anything else on Earth: mega-highways crisscrossed the empire, high-speed rail lines connected to capitals and towns alike, harbors teemed with new-generation vessels, and sprawling airfields dotted the countryside.
Power sources, once thought theoretical, nuclear, hydrogen, and advanced thermoplastics, had become realities. And while these advancements dazzled the public and terrified rival powers, the true marvels of German innovation remained hidden behind locked doors and iron curtains.
Military projects were a matter of sacred secrecy. Every facility was guarded by elite units, and every scientist monitored by the twin eyes of German and Russian intelligence.
Since the dynastic alliance formed between the betrothal of Bruno’s daughter Elsa and Alexei of the Russian Empire in 1917, a powerful research axis had been established. This joint-German-Russian development framework allowed every field of science to accelerate well beyond its natural course.
It was not mere progress; it was a controlled detonation of advancement.
And today, Bruno had been summoned to witness its most silent detonation yet.
Nearly fifteen years had passed since the first Type XXI submarines were rolled out for the Kaiserliche Marine.
Even by 1928 standards, the design remained cutting-edge. But with Bruno’s foresight and obsessive adherence to long-term retrofitting, these submarines were far from obsolete.
With routine overhauls, replacements of outdated systems, and structural upgrades, the oldest hulls, now sixteen years in age, had their lifespans projected to stretch well into the mid-1940s, possibly beyond.
Those that had aged out of frontline service were repurposed: some as training vessels, others as test beds for primitive unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) concepts. Submarine warfare, as the world understood it, was still in its infancy. But Bruno had already forged its adulthood.
These retrofitted Type XXI submarines received a suite of upgrades:
Reinforced pressure hulls constructed from composite-laminated alloys
Advanced hydrodynamic shaping informed by Type XXVI and XXI hybrid research
Overhauled propulsion systems, swapping early electric motors for efficient diesel-electric or Walther turbine variants
Experimental air-independent propulsion (AIP), using hydrogen peroxide cycles inspired by the Type XVII
Upgraded digital fire-control systems and acoustic homing torpedoes
Pop-up rocket launchers embedded into the deck for land-attack or anti-ship missions
Despite these innovations, they were still merely the shadows cast by a newer titan.
Today marked the unveiling of a vessel so far beyond the old doctrines that it belonged more to tomorrow than to 1928.
Her hull was a culmination of Type XXVI stealth contours, Type XXI modularity, and Cold War-era fluid dynamics that Bruno alone understood. For all intents and purposes, this was the spirit-child of the never-built Type XXIX—a ghost sub, resurrected with flesh.
This was U-900.
Her design featured a streamlined teardrop hull, optimized for permanent submersion. Equipped with early AIP and Walther turbines, she could remain submerged for weeks.
Her sonar profile was nearly nonexistent to all but Germany and its Russian allies. On her dorsal line, sealed within retractable hatches, sat a bank of VLS-style pop-up rocket pods; capable of launching early cruise missiles or precision torpedoes from below the surface.
And this was just the hunter-killer variant.
A larger sister class, currently in late development, would soon follow. These raketenboots, as some were already calling them, were ballistic missile submarines designed to strike coastal cities from submerged positions, with a range nearing 20 kilometers. Still undergoing stress testing, they represented Bruno’s ultimate play for submerged deterrence.
Bruno stood at the edge of the drydock, his long coat billowing in the salty air as he looked upon the future made manifest. The submarine gleamed under the overhead lights, sleek, predatory, and quiet as death. This was more than a machine. It was a philosophy. A doctrine of silence and supremacy.
Around him stood Germany’s grand admirals, their expressions mixtures of reverence and disbelief. Some had dismissed Bruno’s ideas a decade ago; called them fantasy, wasteful, even mad. Now they stood before a ghost-ship brought to life, and could only marvel.
Bruno descended the catwalk and entered the U-900 for a final walkthrough. He took his time. Every console, every hydraulic seal, every launch tube. Nothing was out of place.
The reactor housing, silent and unassuming, throbbed with contained energy. The crew quarters were cramped but livable. The sonar suite? A generation ahead of anything Britain, France, or America even had on their drawing boards.
He stopped at the command chair, placed his hand on the armrest, and looked around.
This was the edge of tomorrow.
Turning to the assembled officers, his voice rang clear and low.
“Gentlemen… the next great war is already over.”
—
In contrast to Germany’s ongoing advancements in warfare, and their technological union with the Russian Empire. Great Britain had an ongoing offer on the table from across the Atlantic.
In 1924, Calvin Coolidge, Presidential nominee for the Republican Party, had approached King George V with an offer to join the United States in a military and economic alliance. One with a silent clause of technological joint-development in certain critical fields.
At the time, King George had laughed at the offer, and sent Calvin Coolidge home with nothing to show for his journey to the British Isles. And in the end, Calvin Coolidge had lost to the Democratic Nominee like Bruno had expected.
However, the people soon realized that Democrats didn’t really have an answer to the problems that had been created as a result of a lack of others to solve. And thus, in 1928, Herbert Hoover was starting to look like he was going to come out on top in this upcoming election.
As a result, the Republican Party sent another envoy to Great Britain, in an attempt to speak with the King, and further negotiations. As a result, an aide of the Presidential Nominee sat in Buckingham Palace, with a cup of tea in his hands, across from the aging King, who looked upon the man as if he were a nuisance.
“I’ll have you know, the only reason I’m entertaining this meeting is because recent reports from Germany have been troubling. If the stories are to believe, they are practically a modern day Atlantis, and since we are already on their bad side after the Great War, I am just willing enough to listen to what you have to say…”
It had taken some time, but seeing Great Britain fail to keep up with even the technology the Germans had used in the previous war in certain regards, or just barely catching up with others. Even the ever-proud British Empire had been forced to admit they were falling behind.
Not that the aide really cared, instead he spoke with determination and confidence as he tried to sell his pitch to the British Monarch.
“Allow me to be blunt then… The reason Germany and Russia have advanced so quickly is because they have combined their resources, manpower, and think tanks to outpace the rest of us.
I suggest we do the same, through a less formal and permanent alliance than what they have going on. An alliance built upon mutual interest, not something as antiquated as dynastic marriage. Surely you agree?”
Americans were quite an arrogant people, so much so they might actually give the British a run for their money. They believed their lifestyles, their ideals, their norms, were the way the entire world worked.
And could not even fathom someone else, especially a King of an ancient household, holding some favoritism towards something like alliances cemented in stone through dynastic marriages, rather than tied to mutual interest that died when the next administration was voted into power 4-8 years later.
Even so, King George and the British Empire as a whole were becoming quite desperate, as they were technologically outpaced by their adversaries at every level. And thus, he let this snide remark slide, instead, letting his thoughts on the matter be known with a forcefully calm façade.
“Four years ago, when your forbearer approached me with this proposition, I shut him down.. And yet you come to me offering the same thing? For the same reasons, no less… Yet you think I will so quickly accept them and be thankful for it?”
The aide had no idea what to say in response. He was absolutely dumbstruck. And was just about to leave with his head helm in shame and embarrassment, that is until King George muttered beneath his breath.
“And you would be right….”
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