Josh had been "missing" for nearly a year, claiming he was off on an adventure with his wife. During that time, way too many people were looking for him. If he hadn't left in time, his estate in the U.S. would've been swarmed by visitors from all walks of life.
But things weren't much better when he arrived in Austria.
He had barely settled in before Austria's current president, Karl Renner, and Peter II, king of the now almost fully merged Yugoslav Kingdom, showed up together at his doorstep.
And they brought with them a rather tricky issue.
"You old fox! You really know how to bring me trouble!" Josh laughed and cursed inside the study of Neuschwanstein Castle, looking at the still energetic Karl Renner sitting in the guest seat.
In the original timeline, Austria's founding father should've passed away back in 1950. But in this world, thanks to the explosive growth in medical tech provided by Josh and the regular genetic medicine reserved for Ouroboros' upper ranks, Renner was still alive and well.
And the reason Josh was scolding him was because of some unexpected news he brought.
Two "kids" from the east wanted to come home.
What did that mean? Simply put, Austria—and by extension, the Yugoslav Kingdom—had been doing so well in recent years that their strength and prosperity had caught the eye of their neighbors.
Czechoslovakia and Hungary, who had long been under the thumb of the Soviets, were jealous.
So, some political groups in those countries started reaching out to Austria, hoping for help to break free from Soviet control and join the Mediterranean Trade Alliance, which Austria had led the formation of—They didn't know about the upcoming United Kingdom of Austria, since that was still a secret.
Back when Austria wasn't so powerful, Renner wouldn't have paid these requests much attention.
After all, these factions were small, and it wasn't worth risking a direct conflict with the Soviet Union just for them.
But things had changed.
In March 1953, Joseph Stalin died, and Nikita Khrushchev took over.
The Soviet political scene became a bit shaky, and various satellite states started making noise.
After more than two years, Khrushchev did manage to secure full control.
But then he did something shocking—he started a full anti-Stalin campaign inside the USSR.
That stirred up even more unrest in the satellite states.
With Western Europe's economy bouncing back, and especially with Austria growing so powerful, the smaller countries were getting bolder.
In the original timeline, by late 1956, many of these countries began openly resisting Soviet policies.
But those movements were crushed when the Soviets sent in troops, and no one from outside came to help.
Now, though, Austria's growing power had changed the equation.
Renner had started to consider taking action.
And just then, Josh returned from his "adventure."
So Renner immediately brought Peter II with him to discuss the matter.
If this plan works, then the glory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire might really return.
And if things grow just a bit more, even the grandeur of the Holy Roman Empire might not be out of reach.
Of course, whether it's the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the Holy Roman Empire, it would only belong to the House of Kahn.
The Habsburgs? They can stay out of the way!
"This really is the best time to act. If we wait for Khrushchev to regain full control and stabilize the Soviets, it'll be much harder to make a move," Renner said, clearly pleased rather than annoyed by Josh's joking tone.
That kind of reaction meant one thing—Josh wasn't against the idea.
And in fact, Josh didn't just agree—he was very much in favor.
"But if they want our help, just joining the Mediterranean Trade Alliance isn't enough," Josh said, wagging his finger.
"Of course. They were part of the empire once. Coming home now makes perfect sense," Renner replied, fully understanding Josh's point—and agreeing with it.
Czechoslovakia and Hungary were once parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Now they wanted Austria's help?
Fine—but they had to join the newly formed Austrian United Kingdom.
"We won't be too harsh. As long as they hand over control of their military and foreign affairs, we can allow them to govern themselves locally. We'll also support them economically," Josh added.
"Then what about the threat from the Soviets? Or from Western Europe and the U.S.? They probably won't be happy watching us grow stronger," Renner said, agreeing in principle but raising valid concerns.
In terms of military technology, Austria now had a clear advantage—Renner was confident in that.
But when it came to army size and resources, Austria had major limitations.
Its current population was still small. Even though most industries were now automated—making Austria the first fully AI-industrialized country on Earth—pure manpower was still lacking compared to the Soviets and the U.S.
Even with Josh's constant support and the Ouroboros group deeply embedded in Austria's system—Renner and many top leaders among them—Austria and Ouroboros were technically separate.
Austria's army was Austria's. Ouroboros' forces were Josh's private army.
So even if Ouroboros had already built a space fleet, Austria's military power was only about as advanced as America's in the late 20th century.
That level of strength was enough to surpass today's Soviets and Americans—but not enough to fully suppress them.
And resource-wise, things were even more fragile.
Right now, Austria and the U.S. were still in a honeymoon phase. That allowed Austria to freely import resources from all over the world.
But if things soured with the U.S., life would get tough fast.
Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Red Skull's Hydra were all clear examples of what could happen when a major power overreached without solid backup.
"Heh, don't worry. You guys just go ahead with a large-scale military expansion—I'll have Ouroboros give you full support," Josh said with a smirk. "As for scaring off the Soviets, Europe, or the U.S.… Well, they're all working on hydrogen bombs and starting to miniaturize them for air delivery, right? Let's just go ahead and test one too. We'll skip the baby steps—how about a 50-megaton strategic warhead, long-range guided delivery?"
Right now, both the U.S. and the Soviets still rely on bomber aircraft to deliver nuclear weapons. Their strategic nukes—meaning strategic missiles—are still in the testing phase.
In other words, there are no fully operational strategic missiles yet.
So if Austria were to be the first to officially announce it had strategic nuclear strike capability…
Josh didn't believe either the U.S. or the Soviets would dare start a war.
There was no Captain America around anymore… Huh, unless the Brits and Americans tried sending Carter to deal with Austria?
That would be interesting.
And as long as no one dared to use nukes, Josh could have a lot of fun playing around with all kinds of conventional weapons.
The advanced tech from the Red Alert universe—it was time to show it off a bit. Well, maybe not the Apocalypse Tanks… once those hit the battlefield, it'd be hard to keep the India incident under wraps. The fallout wouldn't be good.
"That's fantastic! When do we start?" Renner and Peter II were thrilled at the idea of Austria having strategic nuclear weapons.
"Don't rush it," Josh said with a smirk. "We have to take things one step at a time. Since the Soviets are unstable right now, we should wait until the chaos grows. Even though we now have real strength, as a rising power we still need to appear reasonable. We must not strike first, or end up as the world's common enemy. You need to understand—our Austrian United Kingdom is not the same as the Nazis or Red Skull."
In short: stir the pot, but do it quietly—image matters.
"Yes, Leader!" Renner and Peter II stood up and raised their hands in salute, full of excitement.
Josh gave them a blank stare.
Seriously? He had just said they weren't like the Nazis and Red Skull, and here they were throwing salutes?
"Heh… got a little carried away," the two men chuckled awkwardly, lowering their hands.
"As for resources, it's simple. For now, increase your imports. Over the past few years, we've stockpiled a ton of foreign currency reserves—start spending them. Once things go south and they hit us with sanctions, that money will just become useless paper. And later on…" Josh's smile turned sly, "we'll launch our own version of the Star Wars program."
In the original timeline, America used that exact strategy—advanced weapon development and military competition—to bankrupt the Soviets.
Now Josh planned to do the same.
Except while the original America was mostly bluffing, Josh had the real thing.
As the U.S. and Soviets tried to catch up, he'd make sure Austria always stayed just a bit ahead. Just enough to give them hope, but not enough to let them catch up.
This was how you played the game.
After an intense night of talks, Renner and Peter II left the next day in high spirits, heading back to Vienna. They'd be busy—probably for years to come.
Not long after they left, two of Josh's most trusted people on Earth—Vito and Ophelia—arrived at Neuschwanstein to report in.
During Josh's absence, Ophelia had been in charge of Western affairs, while Vito took over in Asia and Africa. After serving as Josh's personal bodyguard for so long, it was finally time for him to step up and take on bigger roles.
Originally, Vito and Ophelia should have come to report in the moment Josh returned to Earth—but Josh didn't allow it.
He waited until he got to Austria before calling them over.
Not that he needed them to report much—thanks to interstellar communication, Josh knew everything going on back on Earth, even while away. This meeting was more of a casual get-together.
Still, both of them had done a great job while he was gone.
And they deserved some recognition.
His chat with Vito was simple. The Asia-Africa region had mostly been controlled by the Ten Rings to begin with, and with Xu Wenwu's cooperation, things stayed stable. All Vito had to do was keep things running smoothly.
But when it was Ophelia's turn to report, she brought Josh an unexpected surprise.
"You're saying Claire Voyant is with you? And you've also taken control of several Leviathan branches?" Josh asked again, making sure he heard right.
"Yes," Ophelia replied. "After Khrushchev started the full-on anti-Stalin campaign, many hardcore Stalinist loyalists in the Soviet Union were heavily purged. The NKVD was broken up and replaced by the KGB, which then took over all intelligence operations. The Red Room, Leviathan—those were either disbanded or reorganized under KGB control. Anyone not aligned with them… well, you know how the Soviets handle that."
"And as luck would have it," Josh continued, "Madam Voyant was a die-hard Stalinist, so she was targeted, fled with her loyal followers, and ended up seeking protection from you? And you just happened to bring several Leviathan assets under control too?"
She really was the true lady of Hydra—always expanding and consolidating power.
"That's right," Ophelia confirmed.
"You believe her?" Josh asked.
"She seems credible," Ophelia replied, "but I didn't fully trust her either. I've been keeping her group under tight watch, waiting for your return to decide what to do."
Josh nodded with a grin. "Well, that works out perfectly. If their loyalty is real, we've got a job that's perfect for them."
He quickly briefed her on the situation with Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
While Hydra's intelligence network was powerful, its operations inside the Soviet Union had always been limited due to the closed-off nature of the system.
But now, with Voyant and former Soviet agents on board, they'd have much better reach and leverage when dealing with Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
"I see," Ophelia nodded. "I'll arrange a meeting with President Renner later to work out the details."
As the head of Hydra's intelligence system, she was far more informed than Renner on those countries' inner workings—but without Josh's approval, she never interfered in Austria's political affairs.
That was exactly why Josh trusted her.
She knew where the line was—and never crossed it.
Pleased, Josh praised his loyal and capable subordinate before sending her off.
And then, he turned his attention back to his own task—
A new dimensional beacon was about to be activated.
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