by Unknown
Smiling down at the young boy, a peace came over him. He felt his body soften and his shoulders felt lighter. He walked up to the table and spread his arms.
“These are difficult times. We come together to seek the will of God, but often we do not hear His voice. Around the world, people are crying out in fear and pain, yet we do not hear His voice. A nation’s might has turned against others, yet we do not hear His voice. We see our youth spirited away from us, without our will, yet we do not hear His voice. We watch as the lust for power leads people to do things we would not do ourselves, yet, we do not hear His voice.
“It is time to listen. The voice is there. It is deep within each of us, telling us what is right and what is wrong. It causes us to question and to wonder at what goes on around us. It causes us to rise up in response. Our Lord taught us a great many things, but on that mount, he gave us insight into the rewards that small voice can provide us. In today’s times these simple promises are particularly poignant.
“People who are poor in spirit are becoming all too numerous today, yet, theirs will be the Kingdom. Let that voice be heard.
“All around us are people in mourning, yet, with that voice, they shall be comforted. Let that voice be heard.
“Our meek young men and women are being forced to take up arms in places we do not know and against people we do not hate, and yet, these young men and women shall inherit the earth. This is not their doing, yet within them that voice cries out. Let that voice be heard.
“Across the world there are people who hunger for the righteousness of that voice, to seek the truth and live in His grace. That voice promises satisfaction. Let that voice be heard.
“Even though many of our people cry out for mercy from those who oppress us and hopefully from those fighting in this war, the voice offers that if mercy is offered, it shall be obtained. Let that voice be heard.
“We know that our children are pure in heart. Their innocence is undeniable. Even though they must fight, we know that voice comforts them in time of pain and suffering. They shall see God.
“And now we must listen to that voice and raise it up. We must listen to what the voice says to each of us. We must give it strength. We must rise up, because that voice is one of reason, caring and the love shared with each of us through our risen Lord. Raise up the voice. Let the world hear it. For those who proclaim peace, are truly the children of God.
“Let the voice ring out! Though we may be persecuted, though we may be scorned, that voice must rise. It is the voice of all people seeking righteousness. It is the voice of moral reason. It is the voice of the living God, coming through each of us. Raise up that voice, for ours will be the kingdom of Heaven,” he shouted, ending his sermon. His hands were spread wide as he looked out over the people. “Go now, and let that voice speak to you.”
Murmurs spread through everyone there. Something had changed. Men and women had a new determined look upon their face. Many stood taller. Some cried. The rest of the service passed quickly and people filed out into the bitter cold, but something was different. Only time would tell of Gregory’s talk had any real effect at all.
Chapter 12
Changes
Over the Atlantic
Jeffers stared at the covered window wishing he could look out and see something outside the aircraft. He had expectations of spending the evening with Hammond and the others, however, with the incursion into southern Poland, Hammond and his staff were going to be busy, so the decision was made to return home that night. Now the G650 was at 35,000 feet and all the shades were down so that there was no light escaping from the aircraft. Just forward from where he was sitting, Admiral Hustvedt and General Richardson were sleeping in their reclined seats.
Jeffers wasn’t that sleepy. The events of the day had him too keyed up. Hammond had taken the time to introduce him to almost every leader of every Allied country. All had commented on his plan, but a little later, the King of Great Britain had pulled him aside to add a few words.
“I remember when I was just starting out in the military,” the King had said. “I know that all this attention can be a little overwhelming at times. I had quite a bit of it myself. But in the end, we get by. The attention I got was because of family. Yours is because of what you have been able to do for yourself. From what Admiral Hammond says of you, I am sure we can expect much more. In some ways I envy you,” he said.
“Envy me?” asked a surprised and still a little overwhelmed Jeffers.
The King nodded. “All the time I was in service I wanted to rise on my own achievements instead of relying on a few hundred years of tradition. In some ways, I was able to do that, but you will be able to go much further than I did. Of course it didn’t hurt having the Admiral as a friend, but I expect your abilities would have come out in the end. Just try to remember that we all are trying our best to serve the people at home. You appear to be what people call a nice guy. I find that the nice guys make more of a difference than some others. So keep being a nice guy,” he said.
Jeffers had already turned a darker shade of red at the compliments. He smiled at the King. “Your Majesty, I’m just a small town guy from Tennessee, but everything I’ve seen about you and your family tell me you must be pretty nice yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come to say this to me. As Americans, we sometimes don’t know how to really act around royalty, but we do appreciate people who are friendly and supportive. In many ways I wish we had been able to serve together. I’m sure there are experiences we could share,” he said.
The King smiled. “Sea stories amongst friends? I have been known to share experiences such as that. Just survive this war and I have a feeling we shall have such times in the future. Take care of yourself, Commander Jeffers,” he said as he shook his hand once more before turning away.
Jeffers smiled inwardly in his airplane seat. His Mom and Dad would never believe all this. Then he thought about Hammond. Jeffers could tell the job was taking a lot out of his friend. The hair was more gray and the lines in his face more evident. The smile was still there, but it didn’t come out as often as he remembered. It was as if all the strain was killing him slowly. It was too bad they hadn’t had the time just to talk. Jeffers felt it might have helped.
As he walked around that afternoon, many of the others around the room had been expressing their own ideas of what should be done. Some wanted to simply mass all their forces and press deep into Russia. Others had wanted to move inland along a broader front. Jeffers decided not to get involved in the discussion. They were wrong. They were thinking of tactics centuries old, when armies lined up and fired at each other. That was the older European way. Only General Dortmund and General Pol seemed to see what he was thinking. They were more than enthusiastic. Dortmund even asked when Jeffers had studied Rommel’s tactics. Jeffers had an image in his mind of the two of them sitting atop their tanks singing Panzerlied, and rolling across the land toward an enemy. He broke into a smile.
Whether it storms or snows, or the sun smiles on us,
The day burning hot, or icy cold the night.
Dusty are the faces, but our spirits are high, yes, spirits are high.
Then roar our tanks in the storm's wind.
Jeffers decided he liked the Germans and Poles. They too had been nice guys and had welcomed him alongside while the others were more standoffish. Too bad he had served only in the Pacific so far. Germany and Poland were places he wanted to visit.
The thoughts let Jeffers relax. He felt his eyes grow heavy and adjusted his seat into its reclining position. Within a few minutes he too fell asleep.
The White House
Jim Butler knocked on the door then entered the Oval Office. President O’Bannon was making a late night of it. His desk was piled with papers to go through and there was never enough time in the day to get through it. The President looked up at his Chief of Staff. His tired eyes had the look of “not one more thing” in them.
Butler grinned. “I know you d
idn’t want to be disturbed, but there’s a call you may want to take. It’s on three.”
O’Bannon got a curious look. It wasn’t often his Chief of Staff was so cagy. He picked up the phone. “President O’Bannon.”
“Mr. President, this is Patricia Hammond. Have you got a minute?” she asked.
A smile crept on his face. “Patricia! It’s good to hear from you. How’s Steve?”
“He’s fine and everything here is doing well as can be expected. I just had something handed to me and I wanted to ask your opinion,” she said.
“Okay. I seem to have a few around. What’s troubling you?” the President asked.
“Well, I just had a visit from our party leaders out here. It seems they want me to run as the party’s choice for Governor,” she said.
“Well, now. That’s interesting. I believe your recent leadership got their attention. What did you tell them?”
“I told them I would let them know. I’m just not sure I should.”
“Why not?”
“Well, Steve, I’m happy here. I know my people and they know me. It takes a lot just to run this small city. I’m just not sure I could handle a whole state, especially California. There’s so much more to do. I’m not sure I could serve the people like I can here,” she confessed.
O’Bannon sat back in his seat a smiled. “Patricia, we’ve known each other a while now. I’ve watched you do your job. What’s more, the people of California have seen what you were willing to do to get a job done. They have seen you succeed. Right now, after Yost, they need someone they think will take up the reins and spur things on. They don’t need a politician, they need a leader. I think the party knows that. That’s why they came to you. I personally think you are perfect for the job. I wouldn’t have any reservations throwing in with you,” he said.
“But what about the people of San Pedro? Won’t I be letting them down?”
O’Bannon chuckled. “On the contrary. I would bet they are so proud of you they would parade from San Diego to the Oregon border just to get you elected. And remember, they are in California too. You won’t be letting them down. They will be with you every step of the way. Listen, Patricia. I’ve been in large scale politics a long time. It’s really people like you who get things done the right way. You know your constituents and your know how to work things out with the movers and shakers you always find in the legislature. You will do fine.”
“And Little Steve?”
“Hell, take him with you to work. They probably have a preschool somewhere near the capitol. You’re the Governor. You can set your hours and priorities. You know Roger will support you. Besides, he’s going to be busy for a while, so just keep going. He’ll catch up.”
“You make it sound like a breeze.”
“We both know that’s not the case, but it can be managed. Only don’t try to kick some legislator in the balls when he opposes your wishes.”
Patricia Hammond laughed on the other end of the line. “I’ll keep that in mind, but I’ll also keep them a little worried.”
“That’s the way to do it. Really, Pat. I’d go for it. You can do a lot of good for a lot of people. You could make a lot of people feel a lot better,” he said.
Patricia sighed. “Yea, you’re right. I guess I just needed to hear it from a friend.”
“Call them up and tell them yes, but let them know you’ll have some things in mind to change. That leaves your options open. It will also give them something to prepare for. I’m behind you Patricia.”
“Thanks Steve. Would you mind if I called for advice every so often?”
“Call anytime. If I see something, I’ll give you a buzz as well.”
“Thanks again. Sorry I bothered you.”
“No bother at all. Take care Patricia.”
“Good bye Steve.” She hung up the phone.
O’Bannon looked up at a grinning Chief of Staff. “How about we get hold of some of our friends to give her a hand. Then once she gets things started, we can make a trip to stump for her a bit. I may not be running, but I can help her when the time comes,” he said.
“I already lined up a couple of calls in the morning. I wouldn’t mind a trip to California before leaving this place,” said Butler.
O’Bannon nodded and looked around his desk. “You know, maybe I’ll just leave this for the morning too,” he said. “After that good news, I don’t feel like even looking at it.”
Javornik, Czech Republic
“People, it’s up to us to get this rolling. We have six hours to clear the way for the Czechs and Slovaks. I know this has been thrown together last minute, but we have to make this work,” Colonel Sanders said. “Take over Master Sergeant.”
Ricks stepped up. “Okay people, listen up. You know your assigned sectors. Get in there and clean house. If it has a uniform on, shoot it. If there’s a tank, try to get as many of the crew as you can. Get in there and get back. I want as many sorties as we can tonight. The Czechs and Slovak armies aren’t that big and they are going to need all the help they can get. Once we clear our sectors, we are moving up. If we get lucky, this will only be a small force guarding the border. I’m here to tell you we aren’t the only ones moving. The Spanish and Italians are going in on the Austrian border too. Let’s go make this happen,” he said dismissing the group.
The group turned in their seats and almost immediately, the first drones took off and headed toward the border. The launch point was only a quarter mile from the border and almost immediately targets that initially were only blips on a screen, came into view of the cameras.
Like in Poland, it was a slaughter. The Russians had dug foxholes every twenty yards with two men in each. The drone pilots could see which was on guard and which was trying to sleep in the bitter cold. One by one, the drones lowered toward their prey and the shots rang out. At one point, a group was huddled under a tarp. Corporal Petyr Krusov saw the group. Tonight he had a drone with a grenade. He flew the drone under the tarp and dropped it, then flew out the other side. Once clear of the woods, he pressed the “return” key and sat back to watch his drone automatically fly home. He raised his hand to indicate he needed another drone.
Ricks walked up behind Kursov. “You don’t mess around, do you? Enter in 5014 and let’s see how many more you can get tonight,” he said as he patted his hand on Petyr’s shoulders.
Kursov grinned and entered the code. His image changed to another drone and he took off again. This was another grenade drone. After ten minutes moving into a new area he saw his target. A squad of tanks sat together near a tent. Petyr could tell the tanks were running by the heat bloom at the rear. He saw the tank commander with his head looking out the hatch. Petyr watched as he ducked his head back into the tank. The hatch was left open. Moving the camera controller downward, he stopped only when the camera was pointed straight down. He lined up the center of the hatch in his viewer and dropped the grenade. It fell neatly into the tank. Petyr pulled back on the stick to veer away when he caught the puff of the explosion. Stopping for a moment, he moved the camera back to the tank. Smoke was coming out of the hatch.
“You are evil with that thing,” Ricks said standing behind him.
Giving the command to return, Petyr turned to see the smile on Ricks’ face. “I try not to think about it,” he said returning the smile. “You have another?”
“6856. But after that you’ll have to wait for the first one to get back. This one is a pistol. Let’s see if you can shoot as good as you drop.”
Once again, Kursov changed drones and took off. By now the Russians were running all over trying to escape the swarm of “bees” that was after them. Petyr could see the blips on his screen moving rapidly. His sector was almost void of people until he saw someone duck under something. The infra-red camera could be fooled if someone could get behind another object that was as cold as the outdoor area. He eased his drone over to the area where he saw the figure disappear. Moving around to come in from a different dir
ection, he noticed that from the other side he could see some warmth. He fired a round into the warmth.
Suddenly the covering over the trench flew upward and several men desperately tried to get out from under the branches and blankets they had set up to form a makeshift shelter. As they struggled to get clear, Petyr shot each one, emptying the clip from the pistol on the drone. Once again he pressed the return button and watched the drone move up and away from the carnage he had created.
“Damn!” said Sergeant Nizewski, Ricks’ counterpart on the mission. “The man has almost a sixth sense.” He turned to Ricks who had joined him at the rear of the room. “You know, Kursov is a little different from the others. I noticed that most have that boyish enthusiasm at first. They look for that excitement not only from doing something grand and heroic, but just being out from their parents’ coat tails. But Kursov doesn’t have that. He thinks before he does things, not like these other guys,” he said tapping his temple with his index finger.
Ricks nodded. “I noticed that too. I also noticed that the others follow his example a lot of the time. He’s what we call a natural born leader. They don’t come around very often.” He saw Petyr turn and look back toward them. Ricks motioned for him to come to them.
Petyr got out of his seat, stretched, then made his way to the back of the room. Sergeant Nizewski motioned toward the canteen. “Take a break. It will take time to reload the drones and get them charged up. You’re getting pretty good at this. Just don’t get to liking what you’re doing too much,” he said.
Petyr shrugged. “They invaded my country and hurt my family. Until this is over, I will do what I have to do,” he said. “Tell me. Am I making a difference?”