Field Marshal Mustafa Kemal Atatürk remained completely and utterly silent for several moments, despite the tension in the room being enough to decapitate each and every one of them should they dare move a muscle.
Like a garrote against the neck, they dare not even swallow the saliva pooling in their mouths as they waited for their leader to inform them of what to do. One wrong move and they would all be dead. However, if they waited too long, the protest could turn into a riot, and if that happened, there was a possibility of something being destroyed that the invaders demanded to remain intact.
The consequences of which were certain death for all life within the city, just as had been done to Belgrade. And even the most faithful of fanatics would question provoking such an overbearing response to them and their loved ones.
After what seemed like a lifetime, the supreme commander of what remained of the Ottoman Empire’s army sighed heavily and shook his head. He knew he had been completely outplayed by the enemy and was quick to speak of this thought aloud.
“That bastard really has our balls in a vice, doesn’t he? Alright, tell the enemy commander I will agree to his terms. It is better to abandon Istanbul and regroup with our other forces to prepare a counterattack than it is to waste our lives here today….”
Though the Ottoman spoke of a hope for tomorrow, giving the men beneath his command the will to live on and fight another day, he himself was all too aware that the lines were crumbling everywhere else as well.
Hence why he gave another order to what remained of the Sultan’s personal guard. Though merely a puppet since the Young Turk Revolution in the previous decade, the man would be required to sign whatever peace treaty they were handed in an ultimatum after they were well and truly crushed in Anatolia.
“Get the Royal family out of the city safely, and discreetly. Just in case the German commander proves that his word is unreliable….”
The royal guardsman nodded his head and saluted in silence before running off to do as he was told. As did the men within his unit who stood next to him. Without a single shot fired, Constantinople had been reclaimed by Christendom for the first time in nearly 500 years.
—
Bruno stood face to face with the Ottoman Field Marshal just outside the city’s gates. Neither of which were in range of snipers from either army, and when Bruno gazed upon the historical figure who even he frankly knew only of in passing, he was quick to smirk as he goaded the man and his unwillingness to follow the examples of those set before him.
“When your people first took this city, the Romans fought until the last man in its defense. Every man capable of baring arms, including the emperor chose to die on their feet rather than submit to those who would force them on their knees.
It was said that Constantine, despite not being a particularly good Emperor, stripped himself of his regalia and wore a standard set of armor so that he could last a bit longer in the fight, and take a few more of you with him when he chose to meet his maker.
This despite having every opportunity to flee the city with his life intact and live as an exiled emperor. Yet… When given the same opportunity, those who claim to be descended from Mehmed, the so-called conqueror, refuse to do the same?
I question the courage of you and your men…. Where is your Sultan? Why is he not standing before me? Has he already fled the city? Simply disgraceful… No Emperor should outlive his Empire….”
The fact that Bruno chose to rebuke the man surrendering to him, and in doing so possibly provoke some form of retaliation, led the Ottoman Field Marshal to believe that his German counterpart was either overly confident, or knew something he didn’t…
He had no words to retort with, because what Bruno said was true… It was alleged that the last words spoken by Constantine XI was “I go to God now…” Before marching straight into the Ottoman Army. Yet, when given such an opportunity in this life, the Ottomans did not do the same.
Because of this, the Ottoman Field Marshal could only bite his tongue and speak with all the venom he could muster as he accepted Bruno’s terms.
“Your terms have been accepted. We surrender the city to you willingly and without a fight… But your overconfidence will be the end of you. Just because you have taken Istanbul does not mean you can defend it. If you think this is the end of the Great Ottoman Empire, then you are sorely mistaken!”
Bruno sneered in response to this absurd statement, and when he did so, there was an almost monstrous look in his cold blue eyes as he did so. The way the shadow of the setting sun cast upon his features was particularly demonic, almost as if he were possessed by the devil when laughed at the Ottoman Empire’s response before condemning him as a naïve fool.
“I hate to break it to you, but this is the end. Armenia has been liberated, Anatolia is being rapidly conquered by the Russians, and the Arabs, those of the same faith as you, have betrayed you. Seizing the Suez Canal for us, and in doing so, cut off any and all reinforcements from your allies to come save you.
The levant burns, and local rule is being re-established. Now that Constantinople has returned to its rightful rulers, all you have left is Ionia, and maybe Phrygia. As I said, every non-Chrisitan is guaranteed safe passage to Muslim lands east of the Bosphorus.
And you can attempt to re-unite with what little remains of your shattered army in a vain attempt to defend the remnant that you have left. But if you do so, I will encircle you, and the next time we meet, I will not be as merciful as I am today.
I am not the kind of man to grant mercy to an enemy twice… Take your peace and live in whatever remains of your country after we have given back the Greeks what have historically been there. Or raise an army in defiance and die like the dogs you are.
Either way, the choice is yours, but this city is ours now, and your Empires is now nothing more than a stain in the history of humanity… Go now, and choose your path little man… I look forward to seeing whether or not we meet again in this life.”
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had no response to this. No witty one liner, and no defiant last “Fuck you” in the face of humiliation and defeat. He simply lowered his head and gave the order to his men. They surrendered without a fight, and for the first time in nearly five hundred years, the Chi Rho was raised above the Hagia Sophia, and the Islamic trappings were torn from its walls and burned in the background.
Bruno himself would walk into the Holy Chapel and kneel before the altar, and the ancient interior that was revealed on the taint had been washed away, giving thanks and tribute to God who had made this all possible with his reincarnation.
The scene of which would forever be immortalized in a series of paintings marking his march from Sarajevo to the Bosphorus in the Balkan Campaign of the Great War, which lasted a single year.