He had rallied his company of 30 men that should have number 90 strong to hold off yet another enemy charge and lost half of them to injuries and death. They took many times more their numbers, but knew they could not withstand another attack.
A scared soldier lamented that this was madness for them to continue this rear maneuver. The General was more concerned with moving his heavy artillery pieces out of harms way and sacrificing the 331st. Wolf agreed and said each howitzer saved was the price of a dozen soldiers and they've already paid their weight many times over. They probably will all die and Wolf was just 23.
The senior Sergeant motioned and they saw the enemy begin to stir. They braced for another charge and Wolf felt this would be his last and if not, surely his final day.
The enemy never came and instead withdrew.
To this day, Wolf never quite understood why they would make such a tactical blunder. The opposing commanders must have seen the 331st consisting of just a few measly men and they could have smashed through them and then overrun the rest of the Army. They would have won the battle.
The surviving members of the 331st were all awarded medals and hailed as heroes for saving the day. Wolf was quickly promoted and placed on the Division General's staff and by the end of the war a Colonel.
He made sure he never such a tactical error and gave no mercy nor opportunity. He earned his name and needed no other nickname than The Wolf Gustafson.
To Wolf's surprise as he was mulling about the Capital commons he bumped into someone from the 331st, his old regiment. It was the young soldier he shared a foxhole with on that day. He was now a retired veteran and strolled the commons for daily exercise. They recognized each other instantly and embraced with pleasantries. He asked of this person and of that and they went down the list of everyone they knew, there few of them left, even fewer as most were killed in action before the wars end.
He knew of General now as a Commissar and saluted him, but Wolf bade him never do that as they are equals when they are alone. His concern was now of another soldier who they remember from one of the final battles and had lost a leg and his right eye. Suicide, point of fact he said. He took his own life not too long after the wars end. For the weirdest of reasons, he couldn't stop a ringing in his ears.
They bid adieu and Wolf waited for Sophie and I to meet him as we then walked to the Great Hall. The council would convene under the mammoth canvas. At least a million people could fit standing under that canopy and here we would stand dwarfed within.
The council convened of 3 of the most senior Commissariats of the capital. There were 11, but only 3 were randomly selected to convene on this matter. They would have to vote unanimous my fate and if they could not agree it would likely mean my final reassignment.
The General made no stir and stood at ease in a box a few hundred feet from an elevated platform with a simple chair that I was made to sit in. The Commissariats began speaking and deliberating my fate. They asked if I knew what I stand accused of and I acceded I did and was ready to accept what decision they had made.
To my surprise, the first Commissariat who stood on the right of the other two began sharing that they do not find me guilty of the Artesian movement as they themselves had concocted the silly scheme to test many a foolish young Commissar. I had not been fooled by it. Instead, they offered a seat at their council, next to my brother.
They said I had demonstrated my faith in the Politiburo. Steadfast even when tested and even when given a sentence, took so without complaint and served it in the full belief and loyalty to the party. They found this most enlightening and of praise. While most would have lamented their fate or lambasted the party for an unfair judgement, I had not.
The Politiburo is very fragile and can be shattered at any moment. This would bring about chaos and ruin. They seek out Commissars who can demonstrate they truly believe in the principles of the party to become the next generation of leaders. They had put considerable faith and hope that it would have been people like Karl Knutmudsen and were both appalled and later relieved in their surprise discovery in me. Somehow I bested their most brightest of students.
I could not believe what they were saying and asked them I had not bested anyone. I didn't do anything and their might be a serious misunderstanding in my capabilities or of the entire situation that has transpired the last few years.
The mood quickly darkened and the 2nd Commissariat felt offended and angrily recriminated me in saying that was I rejecting such a grand offer to join the highest seat in the Republic?
I did not reject the offer only that I would be found wanting if it was bestowed upon me. They then deliberated and agreed and felt the suitable punishment would be reassignment.
Sophie then spoke on my behalf and asked why was I summoned here if that was all they had intended. The Commissariats were all taken aback by this girl speaking to them as if their equal. They looked towards Wolf who mulled his hat in his hands and said nothing.
I looked to Sophie and implored she not say anything incriminating. She didn't and responded that she heard Karl Knutmudsen speak and while she didn't understand the Artesian movement, she felt she was very nearly a convert to it.
This gave pause to the Commissariats who huddled between themselves. They then spoke out towards Wolf and asked if this was fact was withheld from them. He nodded it was.
Then they had no choice but to declare Wolf would be reassigned as well. And as for Sophie, they pondered the Island. But decided she must select someone to take her place or I would be sent to the Island.
Wolf was summarily vacated a Commissar. He was sent to a camp. His son Sigmund inquired, but found no word of where or for how long he would be sentenced, only it was for hard labor. He was found wanting. A new Commissar was selected and granted to a Yorkman, for no other reason than there had not been an Adelaide or Yorkman in the city Politiburo for enough generations.
I asked to be sent to the Island, in which Sophie replied she would go as well. She named Oliver instead.
No comments:
Post a Comment