“Well, for the next two weeks you know exactly where I’m going to be. It won’t be much of a wedding feast, and our first night together will probably lack a lot of the things I had in mind, but you get a holy man in here and I’ll marry you this afternoon.”
“You have a deal, General Grigorievich.”
“Colonel,” he said, still smiling. “I’m just a colonel, remember?”
Wing snapped her fingers. “I knew there was something else I had to tell you. The War Council of the Dená Republik promoted you to general as soon as they heard about your actions yesterday. And I think they’re working on a suitable medal to go along with the two stars.”
“I’m a brigadier general? Does that mean I’ll be stuck behind a desk for the rest of my career?”
“It means you’re in charge of the Dená Army, Grisha.”
89
Captain David Thiessen hoped their intelligence was correct, he was taking a big chance pulling Task Force 1 this far north. The weather in the Newfoundland Basin seemed to work hard to earn its reputation.
“Pure crap,” he growled as the bow of the aircraft carrier nosed into another mountain of green water. But they had managed to launch a recon bird three hours earlier before the weather changed yet again. Now he was worried they wouldn’t be able to get Lieutenant Todd back onboard in one piece.
The quartermaster striker on headphones piped up, “Captain, the radio room reports sightings from Prowler 1.”
Prowler 1 was Lieutenant Todd in his Hellcat.
“Tell them to put it on the bridge speaker.”
“Aye, aye.”
A burst of static issued from the speakers on either side of the bridge and then the lieutenant’s voice said, “—six ships with her.”
Captain Thiessen picked up his microphone and clicked for attention.
“Sam, this is the captain. Please repeat your report, we didn’t get the first part on the squawk box.”
“Yes, Captain. I have sighted HMS Endeavour accompanied by two Simcoe Class cruisers and four destroyers.”
“Well done, Sam. You sure it’s the Endeavour?”
“Positive, Captain. I went aboard her in ’82 when I was an ensign.”
“Just the battleship group with no birdfarm?”
“I have seen no aircraft carriers other than the Big E, Captain.”
“Good work, Sam. The weather out here is getting worse by the minute, so I want you to fly into Reykjavik and land there.”
“Captain, I’ll be interned, the Danes aren’t in the war.”
“I know, Sam, but you’ll still be alive. And don’t forget, the place is crawling with good-looking, buxom blondes who appreciate sailors.”
Lieutenant Todd laughed. “Aye, aye, Captain. I’m just sorry I’ll miss the fight.”
“So noted, Lieutenant, Enterprise out.”
The officer of the deck, Lieutenant Commander Stephens, watched his skipper with a gleam in his eyes. “We going to engage the limeys, Captain?”
Captain Thiessen grinned. “Bet your ass, Louie. But we’re going to wait and nail them when they come out of the storm, all beaten to shit and their brightwork dulled. Quartermaster, steer west, southwest, half speed, notify the task force.”
90
“What have you done to us, Lieutenant?” Rudi Cermanivich’s voice possessed sharp claws that ripped into Jerry’s aching semi-consciousness.
“Don’t shout,” he mumbled. “M’head hurts.” He tried to raise his hand to his throbbing neck but couldn’t move his arm; either arm. He cracked his eyes open and nearly wept at the intense pain riding the light waves into his nervous system. Tightly wrapped bonds proved to be his own parachute shroud lines.
Without looking he knew his pistol was gone. So the Russians had come looking for Rudi after all. He swung his painful gaze around and found Rudi still in his willow litter, firmly tied with more shroud line.
“What’s happened?” Jerry whispered.
“I thought you would know. When I wake up I am in this, this cradle—”
“Litter, I made it for you. So I could move you.”
“As you will, litter. Did you also truss me into it like a Christmas goose?”
“No. I suspect—”
“Ah, both of our guests are awake.”
Jerry looked up, borderline fearful to see who owned that massive, booming voice.
A bald, muscular giant looked back at him. Wearing soft leather clothing like the woman Jerry had seen somewhere in his past, the giant seemed sprung from the earth. The worked hide covering his chest boasted resplendent beadwork depicting a creature eating the tail of an identical, but darker, creature which in turn was eating the first creature’s tail.
The thought dog eat dog crossed Jerry’s mind but he didn’t share, deciding this wasn’t a good time.
Suddenly Jerry noticed the giant possessed blue eyes, and what little hair cowered about his ears definitely was not as dark as his skin. Coffee with lots of cream, he decided.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” Jerry asked, smiling through his pain.
“You’re very perceptive, Lieutenant. No, I’m not. But I have been here for a very long time. My question to both of you is: why did you bring war to our valley?”
“Accident, pure accident,” Jerry said. “This is where my shot-up plane crashed and my parachute brought me. Rudi, here”—he nodded his head—“fell down along with his tank, which had also been shot up. Nothing personal, but this is just where we landed. That okay with you?”
The giant considered the question. “No, it isn’t. But what can one do?”
“Are you both madmen?” Rudi asked in a low voice.
“Probably,” Jerry and the giant said in unison.
Jerry laughed. He hadn’t laughed for real since his orders had come through three weeks before. But this got to him; his laughter came from some place deep within him that had been pent up far too long. His headache eased.
The giant laughed with him, but a different cast had taken over his eyes and Jerry realized he was being measured for something and he hoped it wouldn’t hurt.
“I like the way you think,” the giant said. “What’s your name?”
“First Lieutenant Gerald S. Yamato, Republic of California Air Force. My comrade here is Sergeant Rudi Cermanivich, Imperial Russian Tank Corps. Who are you?”
The giant frowned. “Then I was correct when looking at your uniforms; you are enemies.”
“We were. I think Rudi may have shot me down. But we both seem to be out of the war and we might need each other.”
“But I heard shots, which is what attracted my attention.”
“There was much gunfire up on the road,” Rudi said, tossing his head back and then shuddering in pain.
“I heard that.” The giant’s frown deepened. “But I also heard rifle shots down here by the river.”
“We had yet to come to an understanding,” Jerry said. “But we did. So, who are you?”
“I am Pelagian, I rule this valley and all in it.”
“Where were you born?”
“In the Swedish Triumvate, Denmark, to be exact.”
“Your accent doesn’t sound European and you don’t look Swedish.”
“My father was Danish and my mother was French and Algerian. I spent nine years in the British merchant marine and decided to change careers.”
Jerry laughed again. “From sailor to king, right?”
Pelagian didn’t laugh. “Well, not quite that abrupt a change. I trapped for a decade before realizing my gift for uniting like-minded people.”