Tyranny of Steel
chapter-916

While Berengar was spending time with his family, Honoria was about to reach the shores of Australia. The corvette was at the front of the formation, flanked by several destroyers, and protected by two submarines beneath the ocean's surface.

After god knows how long at sea, Honoria and her crew were about to step foot on the soil. Soil that had been untainted by human civilization, and was ripe for the taking. Upon seeing the land in the distance, Honoria plugged her magazine into her submachine gun's mag well, and racked the bolt back so that a round was chambered in place.

Nobody knew what awaited them in this foreign land, and Honoria's experiences with native populations were a mix of outright hostility and potential friendliness. What she did know, is that whoever dwelled on this massive landmass had little contact with the outside world, if any at all.

No longer were there wooden rowboats that Honoria and her crew made use of to reach the shore. Instead, RHIBs existed as the primary choice of landing craft for this corvette, and the attached destroyers. RHIB standing for Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat.

The front of these RHIBS were mounted with MG-27 general purpose machine guns, which was modelled after the MG-42 from Berengar's past life. This mounted weapons platform ensured firepower that was capable of defeating anything the crew might come across in this section of the world.

Luckily, the girls did not need to use the weapon as they safely approached the shores with Honoria in the lead. Shortly thereafter, the marine attachment deployed from the destroyers in a similar method. All in all, several hundred people from the Reich were now standing upon the shores of what was once known as Australia in Berengar's past life.

The moment the Marines landed, they unfurled a flag of the Reich, and stuck it into the ground, claiming the entire continent for themselves. Though it may seem like a small action, it was the first step in Berengar's plan. A plan which Honoria was an integral part of.

Over the following days, the German Marines and the privateers did nothing but begin construction of a small military base. In the typical fashion of Germany's early colonization efforts, the base that was established was a small star fort made of mostly timber. This acted as their means of defense against the local populations, and proof of settlement for any international claims Germany may make in the near future.

As the German Marines were constructing the base and the accompanying dockyard. Honoria and her girls had begun to explore deeper inland. Berengar had explicitly warned the woman of the sheer amount of dangers that existed in Australia.

From poisonous snakes, spiders, and octopuses to saltwater crocodiles, heavyweight kangaroos and, of course, the dreaded emu. And that was just the wildlife. If one were in the joking mood, they might even suggest the land of Australia itself wanted to snuff out all the human life that existed within its borders.

Thus, Honoria's expeditions further inland were done with a bit of caution. It did not take long for Honoria and her girls to come across one of these fabled beasts, especially considering they were operating out of the back of a kubelwagen.

Honoria was in the middle of taking photos of herself and her girls as the car drove through the westernmost portion of the Australian outback. The loud roar of the vehicle's diesel engine sent a nearby pack of kangaroos into a panic as they leaped off and away from the crew of western women.

The girl mounted on the back of the machine gun within Honoria's car, aimed down her sights at the fleeing animals and was about to pull the trigger when Honoria halted her. She had a stern gaze on her pretty face as she scolded the woman for the unecessary violence.

"What do you think you're doing? They're obviously not a threat at the moment. Don't shoot unless you have to!"

The woman looked down in shame as she nodded her head and lowered the weapon, ensuring that she would not accidentally fire a round at the native wildlife. It was not until they were reaching the limit of their vehicle's range did the small convoy of women come to a stop. Honoria sighed and began to apply her makeup when she gave an order to the girls in the convoy.

"Fill up the tank with the Jerry cans. I suppose we should head back now. We have yet to see any natives. So perhaps this land is entirely uninhabited."

While making this statement Honoria did not know that a group of aboriginals were hiding in the nearby bush, gazing upon the white women with complicated expressions. They did not know who these foreigners were, why they had come to this land, and just what vehicle they were using to propel themselves through the outback. After all, they had yet to invent the wheel, let alone steel, rubber, or even the combustion engine.

One of the hidden aboriginals stepped back in a hint of panic and landed upon on a dry branch which cracked beneath his weight, signalling to the woman that they were not alone. Honoria immediately stashed away her makeup and mirror where she unslung her MP-27 machine gun and aimed down its sights towards the direction in which the noise had occurred. She did not even have time to deploy the under folding stock, and merely held it forward with the tension of the sling.

As for the girl on the mounted MG, she also aimed down the weapon's sights and pointed it in the direction where the branch had broken. Though she would not fire until her captain had given the order. Honoria narrowed her gaze and called out in the German language, not knowing which tongue the local population spoke in, or even if intelligent life was surrounding her.

"Come out with your hands up! I will count to three. If you do not reveal yourselves by then, don't blame me for not being polite!"

After saying this, Honoria called out to the girls who were refuelling the cars.

"Hurry the fuck up! I don't want to be stranded out here in the middle of fucking nowhere, surrounded by savages!"

After saying this, she began to count.

"One!"

Yet not a single movement could be detected.

"Two!"

Still, not a single voice could be heard.

"Three!"

Finally, after three breaths, Honoria held down the trigger of her submachine gun, and unloaded its magazine into the bush blindly. The moment she did so, screams filled the air, indicating that she had indeed hit something.

The moment Honoria started spraying lead was the moment that the mounted gunners, as well as those members of the convoy who were not already in the act of refueling, noticed movement. With the first gunshots fired, the aboriginals had emerged with wooden spears in hand. They were less than thirty meters away, and because of this, Honoria deemed them as a threat.

"Kill them all!"

With this order given, thousands of rounds flowed from the mounted general purpose machine guns, and the handheld submachine guns. Ruthlessly gunning down the two dozen men who had approached the foreign convoy and its members.

Honoria spat on the ground, and reloaded her weapon, before raising her hand in the air, signalling her girls to halt their actions. After doing so, she sent a few girls to check out the bush and see if there were any survivors.

"Check it out!"

After saying this, a small squad of young women walked through the bush and found several corpses riddled with bullet holes. Their blood oozing onto the dirt beneath their corpses. However, there were indeed no survivors. Having confirmed this, the women returned to the convoy, which was now fully refuelled and ready for action.

"They're all dead, nothing but a bunch of stone age savages. Typical..."

Upon hearing this, Honoria knew that the natives here posed no threat to her, or the rest of the landing party, and gave the order to return to the encampment.

"Alright, fall back. For now, we will report what we have found to the marines. It is up to them to establish operational security. I think we have learned enough."

After saying this, the woman hopped back into her Kubelwagen, where the convoy departed back towards the shores where their encampment was located. Leaving behind a pile of corpses that would confuse the aboriginals who came across them.