Stoney Compton: Alaska Republik

“Yes, sir, in the strongest terms possible. I think the Japanese naval attaché perhaps duped me, and I should have anticipated that possibility. I didn’t.”

“No need to fall on your sword, Captain. We all agreed to the pact.”

“It’s just that I remember being very outspoken and possibly rude, General Sobolof.”

The general grinned. “I was once your age, Captain, and had just as big a mouth. What’s past is past; we cannot change that.”

“No, sir, we cannot. My brother has secured the cooperation of the Dená people as well as that of the ROC and the USA. The US fleet is sortieing out of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, preparing to engage the Japanese fleet if all other options fail.”

“What other options are there?”

“Frankly, General, none.”

“What are the Californians doing?”

“One of their submarines sank a Russian warship in Alaskan waters; other than that they are watching and waiting. In the meantime we are completely cut off from the Pacific by the Imperial Japanese Navy.”

“Are the USA and the ROC declaring war on the Empire of Japan?”

“That depends on whether or not the Japanese pull back.”

“So what happens if the USA and the ROC save our asses from the Japs? Are they an instant enemy also?” General Sobolof poured himself a glass of water and then drank it. He slammed the glass down on the table between them.

“Are we reduced to choosing who our new master will be?”

“The Dená Nation is sending a delegation to us, to explore the possibility of an Alaskan Republik.” Captain Paul Chernikoff said it as if it were an afterthought.

“Who suggested this republik?”

“My brother did, General. It just came to him, the possibility, that is, and he ran with it.”

“I think you and your brother have just redeemed yourselves, Captain.”

“Do you mind if I sit?” His relief was evident.

“Of course not.”

Chernikoff dropped onto the chair and sighed. “The most positive thing about this delegation is they’re sending our cousin, General Grigorievich, as head of the delegation.”

“Grisha?”

“You seem surprised, General Sobolof. Why?”

“Wasn’t he cashiered from the Russian Army?”

“Yes. He also led the Southern Dená and when the truce was called, the Dená made him commanding general of their army.”

“How can that be? He’s not even an Athabascan.”

“Personally, I think they thought he would fail, and he didn’t. Our northern brothers are doing something I think we should copy, immediately.”

“What?” General Sobolof asked in a guarded tone.

“Reward ability with increased responsibility. Grisha went from a rescued slave to a general in less than a year.”

“And we don’t?”

“With all due respect, General Sobolof, we never see the individual, we only see the kwan.”

The older man blinked and looked toward the rain-soaked window. “Perhaps there is something to what you say. I will bring it up to the others. Let me do the talking; you do not have the rank to push a thing like this.”

“Believe me, General Sobolof, I am very aware of that.”

65 miles south of Delta

“Sergeant,” Bodecia said, “would you please bring me the other pack, the one Pelagian was carrying?”

“Please, name is Rudi to person who saves my life. Of course I will.” He hurried off before she could respond. He had never been good at social skills, which served him well in his career.

In the Russian Army one agreed with one’s superiors and instilled respect and obedience in one’s subordinates. As an enlisted man he could rise no further than command sergeant major. Lieutenant Yamato’s squadron had obliterated Rudi’s command.

Colonel Lazarev came to mind. He hadn’t liked the man, but he had respected him. Rudi hadn’t found any trace of the colonel’s body. But he had been standing in the turret when the tank fell into the canyon.

Rudi found the pack near the place where Pelagian had been hit. He hefted it, winced at the flash of pain in his chest and side, and hurried back to Bodecia. The day seemed too warm to bear.

As soon as he dropped it next to her, Bodecia tore into it and pulled out the mottled green silk of Yamato’s parachute. She shook it out and started tying it to saplings.

“Help me, Rudi. We must build a shelter to keep him out of the sun and rain.”

Rudi glanced at the cloudless sky. “Is not raining.”

“It will. And the sun is strong this time of year.”

In twenty minutes they fashioned a tent, which could shelter up to five people if they were friendly. They gently moved Pelagian into the shade and piled their gear close. Rudi carefully pulled in large rocks to make the position defensible if the need arose.

The pain flashed in his chest again and he grunted.

Bodecia peered at him with her obsidian-black eyes. “How are you feeling, Sergeant? The truth now, I’ll know if you dissemble.”

“Is Rudi, please. I ache most of the time, sleeping has become difficult, this gives me much weariness.”

“You should have said something. I could have—”

“Please, is of no account. I am alive because you save my life. I do not complain, you asked me.”

“I could have given you something to help you sleep. You should let me finish my words.”

“I already know what you will say. If I take medicine to sleep, I lose survival edge, I don’t let little wrong noises wake me, and we all die. I am well able to endure small discomfort, please not to worry.”

“I, or the dogs, would know if someone came close. I could wake you. You need to heal as fast as you can.”

“How would you know if dogs also sleep, or wander? You don’t sleep at all? You are only healthy person here, must stay that way.”

“Rudi, look deep into my eyes, yes, right now.”

He stared, more out of politeness than curiosity. She wasn’t a hard woman to look at.

“Good, you’re getting close, now concentrate on what you see in there.”

He started a smile but it died halfway. Something moved in the back of her eyes, something there and not a reflection.

“Do you see shapes or people? Do you see yourself, or what you wished to be? Look deep, push your senses, and open your heart and mind.”

At first they were shapes. Slowly they coalesced into a startling image of Natalia as he last saw her. Her laughter abruptly crossed an unfathomable abyss to brush his ears.

He sat transfixed as completely as an opium eater. He could taste Natalia’s tears, feel her hands in his, and smell the lavender defense with which she blocked the world. He smiled at her for a long time.

“Ser— Rudi, you need to wake up now.” Bodecia’s voice insistently pushed into his contemplation, eroding his smile. He jerked at her touch and woke.

He pushed himself upright and shook his head. “I have been asleep?”

“Quiet. There’s something out there, along the river. The dogs and I heard it.”

“Were voices?”

“No, it might be an animal.” She continued to whisper. “If it is, it’s a big one.”

Rudi licked his lips and tried to peer through the brush. “What animals live here?” he asked in a low voice.

“Well, no lions or tigers.” Bodecia gave him a grim smile. “But we do have caribou and moose, brown bear and black bear, lynx, wolves, fox, and even muskrats.”

“Real bears?” His voice rose slightly.

“Shh. Da, not like the kind Jerry wears on his chest.”

He thought of the lieutenant’s flight wings: a roaring bear head with wings on either side of the skull.

“California grizzly is national symbol,” he showed a deprecating grin. “Have been extinct sixty years, perhaps more.”