Within minutes all the nation’s military representatives were in deep discussion about what needed to be done. France was in their own discussions which did not surprise either Yegor or Randy.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- LISBON, PORTUGAL –
- Day Eight – Afternoon -
Yegor called for the meeting to get underway as Randy had suggested earlier.
“Please, if we could get started,” Yegor said standing and waiting.
“We have worked out a plan to deal with the situation in Austria. Unfortunately, due to the difficult of travel, it will take longer to correct than we would like. This is to be a two phase operation. Herr Ramsden and Dossler will go back and immediately locate Colonel Rinested. He will be promoted to General Field Marshall of all military forces. The Field Marshall will then try to take control of the Army and have General Schenck arrested. The troops will return to Germany soil immediately.
The second phase is that the other nations will send all available troops to Berlin as quickly as possible. If General Schenck will not relinquish command we will form one army under my direction to forcefully remove the German troops and restore Austria’s sovereignty. Time is of an essence. We need to get troops to Berlin as quickly as possible. Every day could mean the loss of Austrian citizens' lives. People have already been killed. We cannot tolerate such acts against another country,” Yegor said and paused, looking around the room.
His eyes settled on Monsieur Bédard, “I believe France was going to state its position at this time. Monsieur Bédard, where does France stand on this situation?”
Monsieur Bédard was trapped. They had no maneuvering room. He could see everyone in the room looking at him. Damn the Germans. Why did they always have to be so aggressive? Finally he stood.
He cleared his throat and replied, “As you are all aware, France is a peaceful country. We abhor war in any form. We have very little in the way of an organized army but we will make it available for your use and immediately send what troops we have to Berlin.”
It was done. France would join the coalition. Not so much because they felt it was the right thing to do, but out of fear that if Germany invaded France, none of the others would come to their aid.
“Very well,” Yegor said, “Then it is decided. While Herr Ramsden is working internally in Germany the rest of our nations will ready as many troops as possible and send them to Berlin as expediently as possible. Hopefully we will not have to use force but we need to be ready to respond if necessary. I have discussed this with Mr. Boling at length. They will immediately sail for America and gather as many troops as possible and have them make the long return trip. If they get here after we are forced to fight, then they will act as our reserve army. If they get here before then, they will join us on the front lines. Mr. Boling has agreed that any American forces will be placed under my command as well. We will establish a united front to deal with this situation.”
Applause broke out and everyone was pleased with the outcome. Only France seemed to lack enthusiasm for the plan.
Randy stood up and waited for them to all quiet down before speaking.
“It saddens me that we have to break off the conference at this point but I feel we have made great progress in this past eight days. It has been delightful getting to put faces with the voices we hear when talking. I believe that this will help to bring our countries closer together. We may be separated by an ocean but not in our desire to make the world better. I know each of you is committed to the same goal. While we must take care of this one unfortunate incident, we need to keep in mind that any nation can have a rogue element. We have one in America in the state of Utah. We know we will have to deal with it the same way Germany must deal with its rogue element. We must all be on our guard and it is paramount that we keep open and frank discussions between our nations. Business as usual is no longer an option and I for one say good riddance.”
Everyone stood, applauding and cheering. It was apparent that they were all ready for a change in the way the world operated. To a person, everyone felt that open communication was the key to survival for all their nations. A new era of cooperation would be necessary for the rebuilding of the world.
* * * *
“Absolutely outstanding Randy,” Miller said as they stood leaning on the deck rail watching the ocean roll by.
“I think overall it went really well. I am anxious to continue our dialogue with General Nikitin. He is a man who is committed to changing the way Russia interacts with the world”
“Keep in mind, Russians are often devious. They present one side but there is another often lurking just below the surface,” Miller warned.
“That may have been true but I feel Nikitin is different. I trust him and think he will be a valuable ally in the years to come.”
“I hope you are right,” was all Miller said.
The trip home was faster. The engine room crew had managed to remove the bearing from the shaft and make temporary repairs, at least enough for them to steam at 18 knots all the way back. They were all anxious to get back and see what was happening. Randy most of all because of Rachel’s pregnancy. It was a long time to be gone and he missed her immensely.
Captain Taylor did all he could do to keep them busy. He encouraged them to stand watches like the rest of the crew and held a few drills to keep them occupied. While it helped, only one thing was on each of their minds. Getting back to Colorado Springs.
* * * *
Randy rushed home as quickly as he could. He ran up the stairs to the house but found Rachel and Sophia weren't home. It seemed strange since it was almost dark and Rachel seldom stayed out late, especially with Sophia. He decided to drive over to the hospital and see if anyone there knew where she was. It was always possible she had worked a double shift since he was gone. No one knew exactly when they would be back.
“Dr. Madison, do you know if Rachel is working?”
“Randy. Nice to see you again. When did you get back?”
“Just a little while ago. I’m trying to find Rachel and let her know.”
“Yes. Well...ah, you see the thing is...”
“Doctor. Just spit it out. What’s going on?”
“Rachel has been admitted to the hospital,” he said.
“What? Admitted? Why?”
“Complications with the baby. She has been here for three days now and her condition isn’t improving much. I understand that your neighbor, Miss Baker, is caring for your daughter.”
“What’s wrong? I don’t get it. She was healthy as a horse when we left,” Randy said running his hands through his hair.
“Our diagnosis is HELLP Hemolytic anemia Elevated Liver Low Platelet count. It usually appears during the third trimester, which Rachel is in.”
“Is it life threatening?” Randy asked.
“It certainly can be. Right now we are monitoring her and running blood tests. In mild cases, bed rest often takes care of the problem.”
“And?”
“Well, more severe cases can result in life threatening conditions for both the baby and the mother.”
“I don’t understand. How could this happen?”
“It is most common in first time pregnancies. We don’t know why it occurs or understand fully how it develops. Sometimes it results from a condition called preeclampsia,” the doctor said.
“I don’t understand any of this. This is our second child,” Randy said, his face flushed.
“It is more rare with a second child but it does happen. What happens is that substances from the placenta can cause endothelia dysfunction in the mother’s blood vessels.”
“What is the prognosis for Rachel and the baby?”
The doctor looked at him and took his glasses off and absently cleaned the lens with his coat.
“When Rachel came in she had swelling in her hands, feet and face. She was complaining of pain just above her stomach and had been having headaches and blurred vision. We admitted her and
started with a series of tests. Immediately we determined that her liver wasn’t functioning properly. We treated her with Diazepam initially but the results were less than we hoped for. We switched to Phenytoin and saw some improvement. Her blood pressure has dropped back to an acceptable level. It was quite high when she first came in.”
“I need to see her. Where is she?”
“Come on, I’ll take you to her room. She is probably out of it. We have been giving her something to help her sleep each night.”
“I just want to see her,” Randy said.
They walked through the hall. Only the sound of their shoes could be heard.
“Here you go, she is by herself. We didn’t want anyone else in the same room,” Doctor Madison told him as he pushed open the door.
The room was dark except for a light that had been left on in the bathroom. Randy stepped in the room and walked over and looked down at her. He could see that her arms and face were definitely swollen. He shook his head. He should have been here.
What was he thinking, running off to Europe? Rachel was right. He always thought he could solve any problem. Now Rachel was in trouble and he couldn’t do a damn thing. He wanted to just hold her but decided she needed sleep more than anything.
The Doctor whispered in his ear, “Why don’t you crawl up in the other bed and get some sleep? You look beat.”
“I think I will. I want to be here when she wakes up,” Randy whispered back.
The doctor nodded his head, patted Randy on the arm and slipped out the door. Randy slipped his shoes off and climbed into the other bed and pulled the sheet over him. Rachel, please forgive me, I am such a jerk sometimes, was what he was thinking as he drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
- COLORADO SPRINGS –
The first thing Captain Miller did was to have every military person meet him at the airfield. No matter what they were working on, attendance was mandatory. That included any personnel that were in the Reserves before The Event as it was officially referred to by all nations at the conference.
A quick head count came to 740 Army, 340 Air Force, 210 Navy, 79 Marines, and 12 Coast Guard. Another 86 were in various reserve units. Making the total 1467 men and women.
Miller had already talked it over with Randy and they both agreed that they only wanted volunteers. No one would be forced to go.
“I honestly can’t tell you what we may get into. It could be a trip for nothing. It will depend on how long it takes and what kind of progress Germany has made on its own. For now all I need to know is how many are willing to volunteer. You need to understand that if you do not want to participate nothing will be said or held against anyone. I know what you are thinking, ‘Sure Miller, easy for you to say but when you go what will the others think?’ The answer is simple. Nothing because of the way we are presenting this to the general population. They will be told we are selecting those that meet our needs. Not everyone could go. We had to have some military here in Colorado in case something came up. No one will ever know if you volunteered or decided to stay behind for whatever reason,” the Captain tried to assure them.
Of course they were skeptical but some of them couldn’t see risking their lives for Germany or any other nation. Many felt that just surviving The Event gave them a second chance at life.
“Everyone. I want you to all face the hanger.”
He waited as they all turned away from him and were facing the large hanger.
“Those that are volunteering I want to go to the building I am standing at and go inside and wait for me. Go now if you would.”
Several immediately turned and walked into the building. A few seconds and several more went. More followed as each person weighed out the consequences of their decision.
Captain Miller waited a full two minutes before he dismissed those still facing the hanger.
Of those present at the start, 643 men and women had volunteered. It was far more than he had expected. He was anticipating two or three hundred.
* * * *
“Okay, listen up,” Major Miller said, “Yeah, yeah, I see you looking at and my ogling my new oak leaves. It seems someone finally realized how worthy I was.”
Hecklings, and hiss rained down on him as he stood there grinning.
“Ah, you’re all just jealous.”
That brought another round of jeering.
Finally he held up his hands and they all quieted down.
“Anyway, I wanted to bring you all up to speed on what we know as of early this morning. The German administrators have been unsuccessful at bringing General Schenck's army under control. Things have actually gotten worse. The good General has decided to take over control of the government. Russia’s Major General Nitikin has an army of 800 men and women getting ready to deploy to Amsterdam. Italy is sending 250 and Spain 140. France has not responded at this point. We will be leaving at 0600 for Quincy, Massachusetts. We will go immediately to the USS Salem and depart as quickly as we can.
We will sail to Amsterdam and meet up with the Russian and Spanish armies. The operation will be under the control of Major General Nikitin. I have met the man and he is not your preconceived Russian military leader. I think you will find him both capable and tactically impressive. They will provide the transportation to get us all to Berlin.”
He had everyone’s undivided attention. No joking or horseplay was taking place now.
“It is a straight shot to Berlin. Once we get control of that area we will go wherever necessary to remove any resistance. The ultimate goal is to liberate Austria. When we get aboard, I will hold briefings on our individual unit assignments. General Nikitin and I have already discussed this in detail so there should be little confusion once we get to Amsterdam.”
He knew they would have a ton of questions but he didn’t want to get distracted by small details at this point.
“All questions will be answered once we get onboard the USS Salem. What I will tell you now is that each platoon will be supplied with the clothing and equipment that they are to bring. Russia will provide all necessary transportation. They have trucks that they have rehabilitated. We simply do not have the means to bring heavy equipment so we need to rely on them. When Captain Sims dismisses you, I want the platoon leaders to stay and he will give you your specific materials list. Men, women, we have some serious work to do but I can’t think of a finer group of volunteers that I would rather be going into battle with. Thank you all in advance for your sacrifice. May God be with us all and I will see you on the Salem,” he said, finishing up.
Captain Sims dismissed them and started the detail work.
CHAPTER TWENTY
- Berlin, Germany -
General Schenck had taken up residence in the Bundeskanzleramt less than a kilometer from the famous Brandenburg gate. It was the new center of government. Herr Ramsden, his secretary Anneke, Herr Dossler, and Colonel Rinested were all under house arrest. General Schenck had decided that he would be the Chancellor of Germany.
He had immediately initiated mandatory military service for all men and women between the ages of seventeen and fifty. Only medical exemptions were allowed.
“Chancellor Schenck, we have been picking up a lot of radio transmissions between Russia and America,” Oberst Mitten said.
“Let them talk. They may rattle sabers but that is all they will do,” he assured the Colonel.
“But Chancellor what if they are coordinating an attack?”
“Oberst Mitten. And just how would they do such a thing? The Americans have one broken down ship and the Russians could care less about the rest of Europe.”
“Even after the conference?”
“Conference? A lot of talk and nothing more. No one is going to cry about Austria. Why would they shed blood over an insignificant country like that?” he asked.
“You do not want to heighten our security level?”
“You may do so if it would make you feel any better but I think all it will do
is irritate the troops.”
“Alright Chancellor. I will leave everything as it is.”
“A wise decision,” Schenck replied, “Have Corporal Zess sent in as you are leaving.”
Seconds later Corporal Zess stood at attention in front of the Chancellor.
“You sent for me sir?”
“Yes, I want you to go to the house of Frau Anneke and bring her here.”
“Ja mine Herr.”
* * * *
“Frau Anneke, how nice to see you again.”
“Is that so? Then why have I been placed under arrest?” she asked.
“Come. Surely you understand my position. Your relationship with Herr Ramsden...well, it causes certain difficulties if I let you do whatever you want,” Schenck replied.
“Oh. I didn’t realize I was such a threat to the new administration.”
“Frau Anneke you are on thin ground here. I would suggest that you watch your tone with me. I do not find it amusing.”
“Really? You with your army are intimidated by a woman in custody? You don’t see the humor in that?”
“What I see is a woman that just may step over the line and then I would have to do something you would find most unpleasant.”
“I see. You are intimidated too?.”
He strode over to her and slapped her face, knocking her to the floor.
She looked up from the floor, her lip split open and blood running down her chin. She didn’t attempt to get up but just looked at him with hate in her eyes.
“You do not want to make me angry Fraulein.”
“What do you want from me?” she asked, getting to her hands and knees.
“I want to know everything that went on at the conference. Everything, do you understand?”
“I have no way of knowing that. You must already know I did not go to Portugal.”
“I want to know what Ramsden told you,” he said.
THE REVELATION - Book 3 (THE EVENT) Page 9