Into The Aether

Chapter Twenty-Six: From Russia With Love

Richtofen sat in the back of the GAZ-M1 as the car jostled along the bumpy streets of Moscow. The engine hummed and groaned each time the car shifted gears. The poor chauffeur made sure not to make eye contact with the German - who was completely in awe of his surroundings. It was nice being back in some kind of normality as the city was already starting to salvage what it could from the war. But it was November 1945 and the harsh Russian winter made efforts more difficult.

Mounds of snow had already filled the streets despite the best efforts of the natives to keep it at bay. Everything was shrouded by its touch. Hollowed out buildings peppered each side of the road amongst the others that remained unscathed. The city was grey and lifeless with a pulse barely registrable. Groups of men worked tirelessly to clean up the streets - their faces blackened with soot. The odd military official was seen patrolling along with observers who had arrived to record the scene for posterity.

Richtofen took some enjoyment in imagining the city in the throes of war. The fighting, the gunfire and the inevitable casualties. The current scene was only the boring aftermath of the real excitement. But regardless, he still wanted to make sure he made the most of his trip. Soon enough, he would be back in the hellish pigsty with the others.

His chauffeur had not spoken a word the whole journey from airport - which Richtofen preferred as he abhorred small talk. Richtofen had actually arrived in Russia from the United States but made sure to make an intermediary stop in Berlin as not to arouse any suspicions.

The voices had laid out the trajectory of the course of action Richtofen needed to take. Simply teleporting to the Moon from Der Riese was no longer viable. His diary was of the utmost importance if he were to formulate an alternative confrontation with Samantha. But now that he had finally visited the facility at Kino der Toten- its existence he had been aware of but never visited - the voices helped him see this as a useful opportunity.

The solution to the problem would have proved almost impossible for a mere mortal to figure out alone. But the voices were omnipotent and they were there to guide him after all. How else would Richtofen be able to know whose hands his diary was now in?

Teleporting was one thing but now he had teleported through space and time. This was uncharted waters for even Richtofen's great mind. Simply teleporting back to Der Riese was one thing; but, with this new variable, he had to find a way to calculate the coordinates to include the time. So, the voices obliged in guiding him on overcoming this new vector. But, just as Richtofen was about to simply travel back and retrieve the diary - something most people would have assumed was the best course of action - his Overlords had other plans.

Mortals only saw the path directly in front of them - but They saw the bigger picture. They wanted to play the long game that was now possible with this opportunity. Simply retrieving the diary would have prevented the next stage of the game that could be played. They knew that the diary would inevitably be found by the Soviets - who wanted to continue where the Germans left off.

They were also aware of the potential the Americans had as they too wanted to get their hands on the German research. These beings were carrying out an agenda which spanned the beginning of time; and they wanted to ensure all possibilities were accounted for. Element 115, the Aether; bringing humans into the mix was required for them to see through their plans. But of course, they would never explain this much to Richtofen.

So, they simply told Richtofen to travel back in time but to instead carry out the necessary provisions which would aid him in 1963. In order to reach the teleporter unseen, Richtofen made sure the others were sufficiently away from the stage before jumping in - armed with his new orders and coordinates. He had input the coordinates to return to his secret Stuttgart facility in 1945.