John Schettler - Grand Alliance

With each disclosure of the secret of their identity, Fedorov knew the risk of damage to the chain of causality that extended forward from this point would grow more and more severe. Only a very few men had eventually managed to discern the true nature and origins of the ship, Turing, Admiral Tovey, and the select few he admitted to that grey priesthood he had come to call the Watch. A ship like Kirov could be easily hidden in the world, out to sea on the vast oceans, and out of sight. That was not the case now for General Kinlan and his brigade of modern British troops! They were here, and their presence could not be hidden indefinitely.

At the moment, the isolation of this place, and the desolation of the endless desert around them, served as a thin buffer between Kinlan’s world and this one in 1941. But the General could not sit here for very long. He had neither the supplies or fuel to operate independently for any extended period. His men would need food, fuel, water, and when they ran through their own organic supplies, perhaps enough for a week or two, they would be forced to move to a place where they could survive.

And then it would begin…

What could they do, Fedorov wondered? The oasis site of Siwa presented one option. Could the brigade move there? Perhaps, but that would only become a brief outpost against the inevitable. They might be able to sequester Colonel Fergusson and his Australian cavalry units, and keep the lid on things for a while, but one day someone would get through to Alexandria on a radio, or the simple silence and lack of contact from the outpost would prompt the British to determine what was going on there. Another a relief column would come and they would be facing this same moment again, standing at the precipice just as they were now.

No. Fedorov knew that trying to conceal the fact of Kinlan’s presence here would only delay the inevitable. His other choice was equally difficult. It meant he would have to subject the locals here to the sudden shock and realization of what had happened, and by so doing, the chances that knowledge of this would spread became astronomical. He could hear the rumors now, of invincible warriors from another time, or another world, come to rescue Britain in her hour of gravest need. The shock would be profound, but he wondered how the Axis powers would react to such knowledge?

Certainly Volkov knew the truth by now, particularly if he met and spoke with Karpov. He was, himself, a denizen of that future world, and this was most likely something he had held secret since he first disappeared-over 30 years now since he manifested in 1908, if that was really what happened to him. Images he had retrieved of the man belied his age. Volkov was easily in his 60s as far as Fedorov could tell.

Then what to do? He had difficult choices on every side. Should he simply spirit O’Connor off to Alexandria and leave things as they were? There would be a brief interval of calm, until Kinlan decided he would move north, and then all hell would break loose. He needed to sort this through.

“General,” he began. “We must face the problem of your presence here, and the shock it will cause. If you go north I can tell you what you will find, just as I told you about Sultan Apache. One division is still besieged in Tobruk, and the British are making a last stand below Sidi Barani. From intelligence we gathered, Rommel is stronger than he was at this time, and he’s moving east well ahead of schedule. Do you know this battle?” He was going to say ‘this history,’ but he was choosing his words carefully with Popski translating the bulk of what he said.

“Somewhat,” said Kinlan. “I can educate myself quickly enough.”

“Well I can brief you. Rommel has two German divisions in hand now, the 5th Light and the 15th Panzers. He should have only one, but that second division arrived sooner than expected. Between the two he’ll have four battalions of armor, four more motorized infantry and a pioneer and recon battalion in each division. These are veteran troops, even at this stage in the war, and he also has two more Italian motorized units at hand, the Ariete and Trento divisions. they will be opposed by a single division, the 2nd New Zealand, and if Rommel is true to form he’ll execute a flanking maneuver. The problem is that the British have insufficient mobile reserves to counter that. The remnant of the 2nd Armored is no more than a weak brigade now, and just retreated all the way from Mersa Brega on the Gulf of Sirte. Their vehicles and men will be worn out, and their 7th Armored division is in equally bad shape, refitting at Alexandria.”

“Well…” Kinlan offered a grim smile. “The 7th is about to get some reinforcements, Captain.”

“Then you mean to engage here?”

“I mean to go north as planned, and if these divisions are in my way…” Kinlan did not have to say anything more.

“Yet you realize that Mersa Matruh will be no haven for you,” Fedorov explained. “If you do this, then you will be joining the British Army up north. There’s no other way to look at it, and we have the issue of how they will react to your arrival.”

“True enough. Well, I’ll have to coordinate my effort with the men here, that much is certain. It would seem we’d best start with this O’Connor.”

“Yet how do we… bring him along the garden path?” Fedorov said carefully, glancing at Popski. “How do we brief O’Connor?”

“I can think of only one option,” said Kinlan. “I’ll have to take him over to the Scotts Dragoons and show him. It’s the only way.”

Yes, thought Fedorov. Talk is one thing, but seeing was believing. Would seeing those monstrous Challenger II tanks be enough for O’Connor to believe what they would have to eventually tell him? Would Wavell have to fly out here as well and learn the truth? He suggested this to Kinlan, and the two men agreed that if they could get these senior officers into their camp, that would be the essential first step.

“I can speak to Wavell directly,” said Fedorov. “He speaks fluent Russian. Shall I do this?”

“Convincing Wavell might be one more log on the fire for me as well. I must tell you, Captain, that I’m still having some trouble with this in spite of the evidence.”

“I understand. It took us a good long while to believe what had happened to us as well. After that the real questions get asked, and you have to decide what to do. We had the option to find a remote island and hide while we tried to get home. Unfortunately, this war spans the entire world, and it was impossible to stay clear of it. The desert is a fine and private place here at the moment, nicely isolated from the reality of what is happening out there. But this is a temporary grace. Any move north and we reap the whirlwind.”

“Someone does,” said Kinlan. “And I think his name is Erwin Rommel.”

“You realize the Germans will fight.”

“Of course they will, until they have nothing left to fight with. Do you have any idea what a Challenger II can do in battle?”

Fedorov knew the power Kinlan could wield here all too well. “Yes, but that said, you will be facing two full divisions. The Challengers aside, how thick is your armor on the other vehicles?”

“The Warrior IFV has a welded aluminum armor hull and laminated steel armor turret. We’ve got the upgraded version, with the new stabilized 40mm main gun, but I take your point. Their armor can protect against armor-piercing rounds up to 14.5mm, and the frontal arc is likely to withstand 25mm rounds. Many have the modular applique armor system for the turret and hull, and the anti-mine barrier below, so we can toughen those vehicles up considerably. We usually lay on the modular protection depending on the mission. You say this Rommel has four tank battalions?”