Ring of Fire III(22)

He decided to go for Regensburg. That was a riskier decision for his own forces, but Tom was pretty sure that the Bavarians would try to seize Regensburg before they tried to penetrate further into the Oberpfalz. If they held Regensburg as well as Ingolstadt, they’d control both of the main crossings of the Danube along the border between Bavaria and the USE. They wouldn’t have to worry that a sudden attack by the USE would get large numbers of troops across the river that could threaten their own rear and cut their supply trains.

The Iron Regiment would be hard pressed to hold Regensburg on their own against the full weight of the Bavarian army. But with the help of what was left of the Danube Regiment and its guns, they’d have a real chance. They didn’t need to hold for long, after all. Tom had been part of the staff planning for this eventuality. General Schmidt could get a full division of the National Guard down to the Danube within a week. Ten days, at the latest, if the independent little principality of Nürnberg got stubborn and refused to let the SoTF march its soldiers through their territory.

He turned to give the order to his immediate subordinates, who had gathered around him once he called the halt to use the radio. To his surprise, he discovered that none of them were paying any attention to him at all. They were all gawking at the moon, it seemed like.

That was annoying. It was just a three-quarter moon, no different from the same sight that came every month. Tom was normally an even-tempered officer, but there’d been enough stress tonight to put him on edge. He was about to make a sarcastic remark when a peculiar gleam caught his eye.

When he looked up at the sky himself, he immediately understood what had drawn his officers’ attention. They weren’t looking at the moon—in fact, they weren’t even looking close to it. They were looking at an airship flying northwest of the city.

That was the Pelican, if Tom remembered what Rita had told him. The airship was carrying out a survey of the region and had arrived in Ingolstadt yesterday. He’d forgotten all about it. Luckily for them, they’d obviously managed to get airborne again before the Bavarians could seize their craft.

He cleared his throat. “Gentlemen, if I could have your attention.”

His officers immediately turned away from the sight of the airship, several of them with slightly sheepish expressions.

“I’ve decided to make for Regensburg,” he said. “That will almost certainly be the next target for the Bavarians. We and our guns—especially the guns—would be a big help for the Iron Regiment. Does anyone have any questions? Any problems you can see that you’d like to raise?”

Most of the officers shook their heads. Bruno von Eichelberg, though, had an intent look on his face. “Does that airship have a radio, Major? If it does, it would give us superb reconnaissance. We could use that badly, come tomorrow. The Bavarians will be able to send out cavalry patrols everywhere and all we’ve got to match them are a handful of couriers.”

Tom shook his head. “No, unfortunately, it doesn’t. I’m not guessing, either. Rita went over to pay a visit yesterday after they landed and spent an hour or two with them. She told me Dina Merrifield and Amanda Boyd were complaining about the absence of a radio, which they thought was plain stupid. Apparently the expedition commander insisted on loading the airship with enough foodstuffs to fly to the South Pole and back, so there wasn’t...”

He didn’t finish the sentence, struck by a sudden thought. He’d forgotten about the Pelican—but what if Rita hadn’t?

It was a long shot, but you never knew. He looked around for the radioman and saw him standing ready just a few feet away. Tom had given him the walkie-talkie to put in his backpack.

He held out his hand. “The walkie-talkie, please, Corporal Baier.”

The corporal set down the pack and rummaged in it for a few seconds before coming up with the device and handing it to Tom.

“Rita, are you on the other end?” he asked. “Rita, Rita. Repeat: are you on the other end of this thing? Rita, come in. This is Tom. Over.”

A few seconds went by, that seemed much longer than they actually were. Then, when he’d just about given up hope, Rita’s voice came through.

“Tom? Tom! Is that really you? Never mind, stupid question. Where are you? Uh, over.”

“Looking right at you, babe,” he replied, almost laughing with relief. “Right up at you, I should say. Me and my soldiers—what’s left of us—are out of the city and on the road to Regensburg not more than a mile from Ingolstadt. We can see the Pelican clearly in the sky. Over.”

Belatedly, it occurred to Tom that he was simply assuming Rita was on the airship. She might be transmitting from the ground herself, after all.