Glenview, few days later
As Illu enters the commander's office everyone is already there waiting for her.
>"You have something important to share with us Major?" Brigadier Marseille asks.
>"Yes, I received a letter from "Hasse", and I feel you should all hear what she says in the letter."
>"The floor is yours" Marseille says with a theatrical hand gesture sweeping across the room.
>"As you know, "Hasse" is the top instructor of Ilmavoimat" Illu says, and before she can continue Colonel Barkhorn interrupts her.
>"We do", causing Illu to grimace in annoyance.
>"Go on, Major, you were saying?" Marseille says while looking pointedly at Barkhorn, the two Karlsländer witches have never gotten along, but Marseille's tone makes it clear her current displeasure with Barkhorn isn't because of personal issues.
>"What you may NOT know, and even I didn't know this until I read the letter, but after the events of 1947 and 48, the Suomus government has had "Hasse" under surveillance by the new secret police Supo, both to make sure she doesn't have 'an accident' arranged by the NKGB, but also to make sure she doesn't pack her bags & follow me to the States", Illu says, continuing:
>"Apparently, someone at Supo tipped her off about the surveillance, and recently she received another tip; the NKGB has her under surveillance as well."
>"'Has' instead of 'had'?" Barkhorn asks, confused.
>"From what I know about the Suomus intelligence, they expect that if the Orussian agents shadowing "Hasse" are neutralized the Orussians would immediately purge the NKGB staff in Suomus, including all the Orussian illegals cultivating spy networks in Suomus and start over, and Supo would prefer to keep watching the known agents rather than having to start from scratch as well."
>"'All' the illegals, cultivating spynetworkS, plural?" Marseille asks.
>"Well, yes, between Suomusian commies dating back to the Civil War, turn-coats from the War years & the offspring of those who either fled or were 'helped' across the border into Orussia between 1918 and 1930s, the Orussians have always had spies in Suomus & Supo's predecessor Valpo had quietly been keeping track of them right up until the agency got infiltrated by commies & got turned against the Suomusian State itself. Thankfully Valpo's archives weren't fully penetrated so there are still Orussian spies from before and during the war who don't know they have been found out, but all of that would change if Supo were to start rounding up even a few agents watching a military officer or three."
>"'Helped' across?"
>"In 1920s and 30s Suomusian ultranationalists had a bad habit of kidnapping suspected communists, taking them to the border & forcing them to cross at gunpoint" Illu explains before continuing:
>"In any case, "Hasse's" Supo contact also informed her that the Orussians have approached a handful of former Ilmavoimat witches with offers of a life of luxury if they were to defect to Orussia as instructors."
>"I am still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that Supo would tell her about the surveillance, and then you drop THIS bombshell on us? Why would they DO that?" Barkhorn exclaims.
>"For the same reason Ilmavoimat has been turning a blind eye to her correspondence with me, namely in order to establish & maintain unofficial lines of communications with the Western alliance, I suspect that the group of suspiciously Suomisian-sounding US Army officers being fast-tracked through the ranks is related as well."
>"I guess that answers the question I was about to ask, namely what you want us to do with this information" Marseille speaks before anyone else.
After thinking for a moment, Marseille digs out a pack of Lucky Strikes from her pocket, places a cigarette between her lips & offers the pack to the others, once everyone who wants one has taken one, she takes out a Zippo to pass around, lighting her own cigarette last. After a long pull, she exhales and continues:
>"I am going to D.C. tomorrow on an unrelated business, if you'll let me make copies of your letters, I'll take them to the White House myself, Truman will know how to make the most of them, and if he doesn't, he knows who will."
>"While I am away, Barkhorn will be in charge, anything discussed in this room tonight will stay in this room until I get back, the training will continue as normal" Marseille says, takes another pull from her cigarette before addressing Barkhorn.
>"The cadets seem to have taken your lecture about fighting solo to heart, who do you see as the most promising among them?"
>"Cadet Buttelmann, she is the most skilled among them & after the lecture her progress has only picked up speed" Barkhorn says without a moment's hesitation.
>"I am sensing a "but" incoming"
>"No "buts", only a "however"; the main problem with Buttelmann is that she clearly knows she is the most skilled among the cadets, not sure whether she knows she is also the one showing most progress" Barkhorn finishes her report.
>"So, someone should keep her on her toes so that she doesn't become complacent?" Marseille asks with a devilish grin, she had been the topic of many discussions like this in her early days & she finds being on the other side of the matter rather cathartic. She wonders whether her own instructors and/or commanding officers were also amused by the dilemma of what to do with a promising witch 'with an attitude'.
The mood in the room shifts instantly, until now the air had been heavy with the implications of "Hasse's" letters, but now with the topic of what to do with Buttelmann & especially after seeing Marseille's reaction, they all grin like little kids planning mischief.
>"I have had my fun with her, how about Hartmann?" Illu suggests.
>"No way, if we give the job of keeping a loose cannon in check to another loose cannon, we'll be lucky if by the end of the week there's anything left of Glenview" Barkhorn retorts half-jokingly.
>"I'll do it" Urbanowicz says,
>"it has been a while since I have had a chance to 'dance' with a skilled German."
>"She's Liberian though" Hartmann protests.
>"Here in Liberion everyone is Something-Liberian, are they not? In her case, her name speaks for itself."
>"We will go with Urbanowicz then, question is how do we go about testing her?" Marseille asks.
>"We will put her as "Tail-end Charlie" in a flight with two other cadets & one instructor as the flight leader, then the aggressors will force the flight to split & take out the leader, as the most skilled cadet Buttelmann should take the lead while keeping her own wingman safe. If she fails to do that we'll give her constructive criticism about her performance, and if the rest of the flight argues with her taking the lead, we'll read them the Riot Act & repeat the exercise with some changes to keep the pressure on" Illu suggests.
>"Sounds good, in fact I think we should start doing exercises like this with every cadet rotating in every position, though after a while we'll have to find a way of surprising them so that they don't get used to the formula" Yeager comments, clearly liking the idea.
>"I may have a solution for that already, it's part of the reason I am going to D.C. in the first place" Marseille says with a smile.
>"Do tell" Illu urges Marseille to elaborate.
>"It's still very hush-hush, but let's just say there is a man from Karlsland somewhere in South-America whose vision in 1945 for what jet strikers of the future should look like is being studied on both sides of the Iron Curtain & his continued work on that vision has taken flight, literally" Marseille says.
The room goes silent for a moment, the Karlsländer witches can already guess whom Marseille is referring to based solely on what they heard during the war while Yeager, having been a test pilot until very recently, has almost certainly flown the Liberian interpretation of The Man's vision & finally Illu, being a former test pilot, has heard enough rumors to come to the same conclusion as to the man's identity.
>"I take it we shouldn't voice our educated guesses as to his identity, but can we briefly discuss the matter of 'his vision' having been made reality by a country that ISN'T one of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, AND the fact that you seem to be implying that his South-American striker might be coming here to Glenview to be used by aggressors against the cadets?" Barkhorn asks.
>"Forget that, how about we discuss the fact that we apparently aren't going to use the Liberion design for the role instead?" Hartmann interjects.
>"Having flown the Liberion design, I know for a fact that it will be a cold day in Hell when USAF allows us to use it in aggressor role against cadets before the striker has even entered service, this South-American striker is probably the closest to what the ruskis are working on we here in Glenview can possibly get" Yeager explains.
>"Lieutenant Colonel Yeager is right" Marseille states curtly, ending the debate before continuing
>"As for how that country has managed to build a striker that challenges the permanent members of the UNSC, they have spent more on the project than they can afford & Uncle Sam is considering bailing them out in exchange for allowing us to evaluate the striker, and I intend to twist Truman's arm & get him to grant the task of evaluating the striker to us."
>"Can I ask a question about the Orussian design?" Sanya asks, joining the conversation for the first time.
>"I can already guess what you wish to ask, the answer is that all we know is they are working on a design & it hasn't been going well, but there are rumors that they have started serial production anyway."
>"Sounds like Orussia is still Orussia" Illu retorts with a frown.
>"Where did they get the engine?" Barkhorn asks, puzzled.
>"Britannia!" Marseille, Yeager, Urbanowicz and Illu answer in unison.
