I was bored.....so sue me.
The villagers had gathered up their belongings and had gotten into state provided automobiles. They were being moved. Something was going on here on the northern Norwegian coast that was critical to the security of the Norse Empire. The villagers were happy to move. They were receiving nice homes in the larger cities of Southern Norway. They were also being given help finding good jobs. The government was very concerned with some project, most likely dealing with the military.
Over the next few weeks tons of trucks came into the former village. They held in them building materials. Along with the trucks came new residents of the area. They were all construction workers. They came from one of the large corporate blocks made by the new Fascist government to work with them most efficiently. The workers were not surprisingly very motivated. This was a common theme throughout the empire. People had a new motivation to work. It was like a fire had gone through them. It could have been their new dictators proclamations of a time of crisis, or it could have been the fact that if they didnt work their hardest there would be big trouble, or more likely a combination of the two.
Very swiftly the building was nearly complete. It was a large shipyard of sorts. More like a military base. Here the Norse Empire would headquarter its navy, and design new naval units to be built at the huge shipyards in its industrial centers. The centers first project was underway. Not much was known about it, except that it would change the world. The Norse Navy was determined to establish a strong Navy. It may not be the worlds largest, but the Norse Empire was determined to build a naval force that could hold its own in the worlds oceans.
Near this new naval command center was a large area of ocean and beach with which the Norse Navy could practice. They drilled the current members of the navy very often, but also maintained a variety of types of drills so nothing was routine. For example one night, they woke the entire force at 2:00 AM and had them practice landing and then using stealth to establish a foothold on some of the worst beaches in the world. The theory was, that if they could do it on these beaches they could do it anywhere.
After a while of this the naval commander estimated that man for man they had perhaps the best beach fighting units in the world. They would practice endlessly as they caught glimpses of what could be prototype ships being built. What the men saw excited them. What they saw was swift moving, and very hard to see.
What was happening with the Navy was fairly reminiscent of what was happening throughout the armed forces. New things were being discussed, and most importantly the troops were becoming very skilled.
Everyday life for the Norse Empire citizens hadnt changed much. The only thing that had changed was that there seemed to be many more police (who also were armed as if they could be reserve solders). There were rumors of harsh punishments for crime now. But many people saw this as a good thing as crime nearly went away. The media was full of positive messages about the future of the Empire. It was hard to escape it. The people had no choice but to believe it because they werent getting any other news.
Attitudes were also changing. People started out thinking that this would be a good change to stay out of wars. Now people were starting to think that maybe if a war presented an opportunity to better their nation that they should take that opportunity.
Every town also received orders to get a group of people, who wouldnt be eligible to go into the military, to set up plans for the towns defense. All of the large towns on the coast had gun implements installed and had locals, either too old or young to serve, trained to operate the guns. It was starting to become clear that fascism or at least major militarism had begum to spread throughout Norse society.
Although these may not sound like the best of changes the people didnt view them very harshly. The major thing people were concerned about was violence from the Fascist police towards citizens. This was kept under control, and all people were treated with respect.
Things certainly were changing in the world. Fascism was taking root in much of Europe. Communism was taking root in most of Asia. According to some outside observers, The nations of the world have gone and caught a case of mass hysteria. This is how it must have seemed to the democracies of the world, but whos to say what was mass hysteria?
One thing was known. Eventually this war in Europe would probably reach them, and they had to be ready. That seemed to be the main concern of the fascists for now. They wanted to build up the countries industry, economy, and technology level. Their major reason for this was to improve their effectiveness at war, but the people didnt complain because this would help them in their daily lives as well.
Many changes were also happening on the islands that filled the channel between Sweden and Denmark. Many islands now had huge gun implements being built. These would wreak havoc on any navy passing through the area, presumably one that was attempting to get to Copenhagen, the center of the Norse Empire. All of this preparation by the empire was starting to make threatening the Norse Empire via sea look like a very daunting task.
Many posters were put out that were designed to convince people to join the armed forces. Some of them had sayings like:
forsvare de hjemlande
or
Du er en kriger
(sorry to any Scandinavians if I screwed anything up

)
The Norse Empire was on the move up. Things were improving for their citizens. Everyone was working extra hard, as fascism required. The people were hopefully that this would pay off. The general consensus on the street was that the next person who dares threaten the Norse Empire will get a big surprise. One new, and very popular radio show was the show given by Arkin every two weeks. He described the progress of his plan and basically gave out loads of propaganda.
Tonight was another one of Arkins speeches. In fact it was supposed to be one of his most important since the day he took power. It would indeed be a very important and powerful speech. Surprisingly this very speech would alter the history of the Norse Empire forever.
It was a very impressive sight if you were witnessing his speech. There were huge banners with the Norse Empire flag on them hanging from the ceiling. There was a large Podium from which Arkin gave his speech. Above his head was a giant replica Long ship suspended by steel chords. Slightly in front of the podium was a large Symphony Orchestra to provide pre speech entertainment. Around him there were many seats that were completely filled. People were cheering madly.
When Arkin began to speak, everything went silent.
Translation of Arkins speech:
Hello my friends. Today is an important day. It is one of the many days we are working hard to ensure our countries safety. To us here in the Norse Empire, every day must be important. This is because we do not currently have a huge army to call upon. So every person must work their hardest. The war is undoubtedly on all of your minds. Well let me put you at ease. I do not seek a war. I seek to help my country as much as possible. So at this moment, we are not at war. I dont know what the future may bring, I am not omnipotent. But I do see that we need to build up our military in order to be in the best possible position when war does come.
We can not say from what direction it will come. But it is certain that this will come from someone. It is our hope that by that time we will be able to successfully defend our land. Your government knows that you are working hard. We also know its starting to pay off. We would like to tell you that the Norse Empire is modernizing faster now then ever before. Machines are being used in factories to produce things faster than was previously possible.
Soon it will become obvious to the world that our country is one the way up. Our country will become a model of modernization. We are working to make sure that your toil pays off. Soon our country will be able to build something that used to take months in weeks. It is all thanks to you. Thank you very much people of the Norse Empire.
After that Arkin walked off of the podium to wild cheers.
Diplomacy:
To Japan: Care to trade?
To the USSR:
I hope you are able to get your anti-fascist movement under control. It was looking like we were goona get along so well.
To Byzantium:Care to trade? We dont have any problem with a NAP with you....and yes we are a fascist nation.
Orders=later