“We were expecting to spend some time in our search and rescue operation, so we laid on extra fuel. Eventually I will have to rendezvous with my ship to replenish, but we should be able to operate here for a while yet. We can set up a secure comm-link to you on HF bands not used here. I can keep you informed as to the situation you will be facing, and also see what I can do to help brief Wavell and O’Connor.”
“That sounds acceptable,” said Kinlan. “Do you think you can get Wavell out here?”
“Possibly, though he may be in the thick of things up north.”
“Then perhaps we should start with the bird in hand and give this General O’Connor a little tour of the brigade. Let’s take this thing slowly. If we can brief O’Connor and get him over the fence, that may help us with Wavell when it comes to that. You know I studied that man’s tactics in the academy-O’Connor as well-we all did. To think of them being right here at my side… Well, all this is a bit overwhelming.”
“You’ll need time, though I’m afraid we have all too little to spare. Rommel may decide things before we can intervene, but I’ll keep you informed of anything I hear on that.” Fedorov extended his hand now, smiling.
“General, thank you for giving me that small benefit of the doubt and having that look at Sultan Apache, and welcome to this nice private little fight here. I’ll do anything I can to help you. You have my word on this. Understand I’ve been through all this with my own crew.”
“I appreciate that,” said Kinlan, and they shook hands warmly.
Then to Popski, Fedorov said: “Can you go inform General O’Connor that we would like him to tour the brigade?”
“Well enough,” said Popski, hoping he could come along too.
“And tell him not to worry about Siwa,” said Kinlan. “I’ll handle the matter, then together we’ll see about this General Rommel.”
“He’ll be happy to hear that, sir.” Popski was glad to hear it as well, but he was no fool. He had been listening very carefully to everything that was being said, involved in all the discourse between Kinlan and this Russian Captain. He had seen things on that ship, and on the ground here that he knew were quite extraordinary, fantastic, as Fedorov had put it to him earlier. Slowly, like a hunch that was gathering strength by degrees, he was starting to feel something was not quite what it seemed to be here, and that all these men, the Russians, Kinlan, and his soldiers in those odd new uniforms and equipment, were a bit of a mystery that he set his mind to solve.
How was it that these two men could share a common understanding on all that gibberish they were talking over? They just mentioned that Indian Sultan again, and what was all that talk about ICBMs and nuclear bombs? And these damn tanks… That was sixty tons I saw there last night if it was an ounce. Where in bloody hell did the British Army get that monster I saw? Was it true that this was all new equipment? If so, Rommel is going to get the surprise of his life.
The General is right cozy with the Russian Captain now, but things didn’t start that way. These men assumed we were hostile right from the get go. The one thing I don’t understand yet is why this Russian seemed to have to convince General Kinlan that they were on the same side. It was as if the General had been sleeping under a tree somewhere and knew nothing of what was going on, yet he had to have been briefed if he was sent here with this new unit. And why did he presume to think I was an enemy combatant at first encounter, or the Russians, for that matter? In fact, that cheeky Lieutenant who first found us went so far as to state we were to be his prisoners! Kinlan said the same. Was the man blind or merely stupid? He did not seem that way.
It just didn’t make any sense, and it fed that growing feeling of uncertainty in his gut. Something wasn’t quite on the up and up here. These men are not what they seem, he said to himself. They seem like fish out of water here. Maybe it was the harsh environment of the desert, but he had the feeling it was something more. I’ll play along, even play dumb if I have to, but I’m going to find out what’s up, one way or another.
Kinlan thought long and hard about everything Fedorov had told him. Yes, the Germans had another 200 divisions out there if they needed them. Yes, he had every confidence he could make a difference here, but for how long? His tanks had ready ammo of 50 rounds, and he had another 100 rounds per tank stored with the supply train. The Warriors had 180 rounds with twice that in reserve, and the Scimitars 160 with two reload ammo sets in train. The missile inventories were lighter. They would have to make every round count, so the first thing he did was brief his senior officers and tell them to pass the word. There was trouble up north, and the brigade may soon be going into action. There was no telling if they would ever see friendly ammo stocks again, so he put out a standing order to make every round count and be stubborn about it.
