067: New Orders

Paterson, October 15, 2000

Two full days in Krakow.  I've been eyeball deep in details.  Paying off the ORMO, getting the troops settled, and inspecting the greenhouses and hoop gardens.  The locals must think us strange.  We're buying garbage and making compost.

Emowitz tells me we're turning into a Napoleonic era army.  We've got camp followers just across the street and some of the men have taken 'wives'.  I'm supposed to decide if they can come inside the compound.  We're going to have children crawling on the floorboards come spring. 

We've also acquired a preacher.  Brother Lang, a Franciscan, holds mass and confessional twice weekly in a room Sergeant Hernadez assigned him.  From what I understand, he's been telling the men that these are not the End Times, that God has not turned his face from us, and that Jesus died for all mankind.  When we spoke he impressed me with his earnest desire to comfort the distressed and that included soldiers lost in a foreign land.

Now, in this time, George had left to report to Colonel Stark.  Reassure him the box was still safe and we were planning to head out, with it, in the spring.  George was away for more than a day and I figured this was a settled point.  I should have known better.  Life enjoys fucking me over. 

Ed let him into my office.  Seems even after the bombs drop we need paperwork. 

George pulled his sidearm holster from his belt and set it on the table.  "I'm bearing orders and information from the Colonel.  I'd rather avoid any misunderstanding, Captain.  I'm just delivering, not enforcing."

"So, it isn't happy news."  I take his sidearm and put it in my desk drawer.

"No, do you want it alone?  Or should we wait for Major Emowitz?"

"Was he supposed to receive this?"

George looks aside and nods. 

"Ed!  Get the Major, Doc and Leo in here.  George is dropping a bomb."

Major Emowitz is the last to arrive.  Doc and George make small talk in the meantime.  He's still having headaches and trouble concentrating.  Doc tells him to come by after the meeting.  "I can't do more than treat the symptoms, but I can give you some ibuprofen for the head."

Once Emowitz gets seated George hands over our new orders.  Typewritten pages from a faded ribbon.  "Operation Omega, Stark received these via coded shortwave on September 20th.  We were already in Warsaw.  The short story is the American military believes the Pact is spent.  Germany can hold on it's own.  All troops are to assemble at Bremerhaven no later than November 15.  They're going home."

Emowitz is the first to respond.  He slams his fist on the table.  "Fuck them!" He snarls.  "They're abandoning us here.  They've written us off."

"Yes, Major, they have.  The summer offensive was a failure.  Even if they knew you were here, they couldn't get to you."

I redirect back to the orders.  "You aren't here just to dash our hopes, are you George?  Tell us the rest."

"Yes, Captain Paterson, that's just to set the circumstances.  I've been told to inform Major Emowitz that he's to assume overall command.  Due to the short time frame available to get the RESET materials to Bremerhaven for transport to America, Stark is ordering you to institute the helicopter plan."

"Like hell he is."  Its my turn to snarl.

Emowitz holds up placating hands.  "What plan is he talking about."

"The one where most of the men get killed and 15 lucky souls helicopter to safety," I answer hotly.

"Yes, the Colonel believes you can assault the Wawel, capture both the heads of the city, and hold it until you get their MI-8 Hip fueled and loaded.  Using the heads of the city you gain free passage for the Hip and negotiate their return for safe passage out of Krakow for the remaining troops."

"And where would we go?"

George shrugs, "Decision for the commanding officer."

In the silence I ask, "And where was I suppose to be in all this?"

"Captain," quietly, "according to the orders I was to pass to the major either you're giving willing cooperation or you were to be placed under arrest pending courts martial."

I can feel Leo tensing beside me.  I know all I need is to give the word and the major's dead.

All eyes turn to Emowitz. He puts his head in his hands while his shoulders shake.  At first, I think he knows what could happen next and he's crying.  Soon I realize he's shaking with silent laughter.  He wipes his eyes.  "Whew, that's a good one.  You really had me going there.  I don't really appreciate the joke, but you sure had me."

"I'm sorry," George starts, "but it is re..."

"It is a fucking joke," Emowitz interrupts.  "Anything else and I might have to do something about it."  He pats his balding head.  "Yes, assault a real life castle, steal the last functional copter in Poland, and fl;y to safety with the top secret materials and a girl or two.  I am not James Bond."

"Yes, major, I have a sick sense of humor.  However, the Omega packet is real."  George swallows thickly, "I am so sorry."

Emowitz picks up the briefing materials.  "We got 30 days.  Let's bust out the maps and see if there's any way to get there in time."

Leo rocks back in his chair.  "Why bother.  Six hundred plus klicks with enemy units in between.  Not enough motor transport and not enough fuel if we did."

"Because Mr. Padgory, this is going to get out to the men.  They need to hear it from us first.  They need to know we looked into every possible permutation before calling it quits.  Moral's going to hit rock bottom as it is.  If they though we had phoned it in this command would break.  Am I clear."

I smile, "Couldn't say it any better Major.  Ed!  Get me the map case would you?"

I turn to George, "Now what about you and Stark?"

"He's got his own orders ma'am.  Command told him to stay behind.  Disrupt any developing government as much as possible and harass the hell out of any remaining Soviet units.   I think he's looking for a blaze of glory.  Don't be in the blast radius."

"That's Stark, what about you?"

"Told you before, my money's on you and box out of Poland in a year.  I'd like to come along for the ride."

"Fine then," I remove his sidearm from the drawer, stand, and hand it back.  "Welcome back George."

-----------------------------------------------

We spent the day working all the angles from a month long forced march to jacking the ORMO motor pool.  I even bounced the thought of 'borrowing' a herd of horses from Margraf Filipowitz seeing as he still owes us.  None of them worked out for all of us.

We might be able to get there if we peeled off the OT-64s and the Deuce-and-a-Half with full trailers of fuel.  But that would get no more than thirty and and box out.  Both the Major and I wanted all out.

The two of us took it to the men that night.  Ed did a spectacular sketch of Poland and northern Germany in chalk on the wall.  We marked where enemy units were according to Stark's data.  We pointed out all the places we knew units were, Lodz, Kalisz and other cities.  I pointed out the wide swaths of unknown from the mouth of the Oder and all points east.  We'd been cut off by Pact formations moving behind us.  God knows where they were now.

The two of us alternated plans.  Each one hamstrung by  lack of time and materials.  I could read the despair growing.  We cut it short and gave them two options.

One, any man who wanted to give it a try could make a go of it.  We wouldn't part with any of the vehicles, but they'd get a pack full of rations and out best wishes.  God speed.

Two, stay with the unit through the winter.  Come spring, we'd head back to Germany.  There was no way this would be the last boat from the continent.  It would take longer, maybe years, but we'd get home together. 

It wasn't the military thing to do, but we gave them the choice.  Most went to think it over.  A small group stayed up well into the night looking for flaws in our reasoning.  They couldn't find one.  Others told us to get their packs ready, they'd be leaving in the morning.

The morning came cold with heavy snow.  No one left.