Alptraum (Nightmare)
An Alternative History Affair
By TekcoR
An Alternative History Affair
By TekcoR
Flashback
Chapter 4
Orders from the Rear
Chapter 4
Orders from the Rear
I desired to open the letter after we boarded the plane, which had an insignia on the tail that I had never seen before; however I kept meeting resistance. I insisted on stopping by headquarters, but Preissner assured me everything had been arranged, and that the situation along with the calling to Berlin was of utter importance. Before I was even properly seated, I felt the plane moving down the runway, swaying ever so slightly to avoid shells that had penetrated the surface since landing. I glanced over at Rhiley, though awake he looked as if he were about to fall into a slumber. I waited a few minutes until he had fallen off into the state of sleep.
“Preissner, I know you too well, and you know this. I know there is an alternate reason for your visit. We are both trained in our fields too well to know that you were just randomly visiting Warsaw and happened to find me sitting upon the banks of the river.” I watched his face, as it tightened up, his smile becoming serious.
Colonel Erwin Daniel Preissner
“Schnack,” he said. Though knowing each other for all our lives, it had become an instilled within the fabric of our existence to address each other this way, unless we could catch ourselves and conduct a more informal saying. “There is a certain level of secrecy that always must be taken, I am sure you are aware of the necessity of hiding ones activities,” he paused there and winked his left eye.
Except for the roaring engines, there was deafening silence that continued on for a handful of seconds. “Tristan,” he deliberately said before pausing for an excoriating three seconds. “I often wonder what kind of situation or predicament I would be in if it was not for you. There is no doubt though, that I would not be in the position, nor place for that matter, to properly repay the debt that I owe,” he finished, not by choice but his emotions forced the end of his speech.
On numerous occasions Erwin and I had discussed this very topic, often over dinner as old friends at a local restaurant, in plain view of all the other patrons. “Erwin, I…I understand and know the depth of your feelings regarding what has happened. I am greatly honored that you insist on honoring an assumed debt; but I cannot accept it. To the extent that I am concerned, none of us truly owes the other a life altering favor.” He had partially regained his emotions; though at times it was hard to distinguish if he was acting.
Preissner slowly removed his left hand from his forehead and looked dead into my eyes. “I know we have gone over the details a thousand times my friend. Every time though, one detail that has haunted me since that day I came to your rescue for the first time. We became friends; we shared stories and our deepest fears about the remainder of the war.” He continued his tremendous stare into my eyes; any unaccustomed person would have broken by now.
He carried on. “It is hard to express my brother, but I believe if our chance encounter never happened I would not be here. I am afraid I,” he paused. There was no acting, only the raw emotion of truth. “I am afraid I would have committed suicide, not only once near the end of the war, but throughout the difficult times afterwards. For that, I am forever grateful. Without all that has occurred between us, my three beautiful daughters would not breathe. For the life you have spared and brought into this world Tristan, I have sought to reward you.”
I didn’t quite know what to say. I never thought that I had radically changed my friends’ life, just provided suggestions and consultations when requested. “What kind of reward?” I ended up squeaking out.
His eyes death-grip-like stare ended, but now focused on the manila envelope he had given me earlier in the morning. “You can now open it my friend. I promise.”
I raised the envelope to be level near my stomach, above my lap. Carefully undoing the protective seal, I noticed only one piece of paper was in the entire package. I delayed, returning my eyes to Preissner who looked back into my eyes and gestured that this was not a game. With his second round of approval, I reached in and pulled out the paper.
‘To Lieutenant Colonel Tristan Schnack,’ I nodded, reading further down on the relatively scarcely filled piece of paper. ‘You are ordered to return to Berlin with haste and report directly to Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm, the commanding officer of the Reserve Army. Effective immediately you are now the Chief of Staff for Generaloberst Fromm.” I slowly placed the letter back into the envelope, all the while looking at Preissner. My face expressed the feeling that he did not have to repay me with such honors.
“Tristan, my friend, my savior; I have read your reports, they have not gone unnoticed to certain individual people and small but influential groups. I speak for one of these numerous groups,” he again delayed, for dramatic pause. “Tristan, you saved my life. Now you have a chance to save millions.”
I motioned him to stop, as he began repeating the last sentence about saving millions of lives.
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), just a small talk with Adolf...
