Chapter Two Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-Four
23rd October 1974
Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
This was not a small logistical undertaking, and they were part of the first wave. The rest would arrive in the coming days. They were moving tons of equipment and men across an ocean with the added complication of animals thrown into the mix. Decades earlier, it would have involved weeks spent at sea on a ship. These days it involved an entire day spent on a Junkers “Herkules” Transport airplane. The trouble was that the horses absolutely hated the sound of the four turbofan engines and several of them had needed to be sedated. There had been Veterinarians on hand, but Niko and Willi had been among the most junior of the men aboard the plane so much of keeping the horses calm had fallen on them. That meant more than a day in the air and no sleep. Leading a mule down the ramp, Niko saw Oberst von Kropp with his Staff walking off a different Transport that had an Iltis Utility Vehicle rolling down the ramp. The intention was to go places without roads, that didn’t mean that they didn’t have need for motor vehicles. That meant that the Oberst had gotten a quieter, most certainly less odorful flight.
“How do you like that?” Niko asked to no one in particular. He had been sent to the 3rd Hussars to learn from Oberst von Kropp. As it happened, Niko was getting quite an education, probably not what the Prussian Institution had in mind though. Comments that he had heard his mother making about rising to the level of your incompetence came to mind.
What the Oberst was or wasn’t doing was hardly Niko’s focus as he climbed onto the saddle of his horse thankful that the long coat he had been issued had been made with riding a horse in mind, the broad-brimmed hat ha had been issued was supposedly worth its weight in gold according to Manny. He had not gotten to know the bay horse well enough to come up with a name yet, just the KP0122-3H from his brand. Niko knew that it stood for Cavalry Horse n.0122-3rd Hussar Regiment. Opa had warned him that he and the horse would need to work out an understanding because it was a mutually beneficial partnership. The rub was that he couldn’t very well explain that to the horse and he had tried to turn and bite Niko on a few occasions.
Niko grabbed ahold of the lead for the mules that he was supposed to take to the Depot. The mules were trained to simply follow the mule or horse in front of them, so long as nothing else was asked of them they were fairly easily handled. That was unless Willi was the one holding the lead, Niko had stepped in to prevent that particular calamity.
After listening to Manny describe Rio Gallegos it had loomed large in Niko’s imagination. Actually, seeing it was different. The sleepy Provincial Capital that his cousin had described was gone because the railroad that had been built to facilitate the Patagonian War had caused a flood of people into the region. Adventurers, speculators, prospectors, tourists, and opportunists. Leaving the airport, Niko saw that the streets were full of traffic and pedestrians. Volkswagen, Kubelwagens, Bergwinds and the civilian version of the Iltis were popular here along with Ford and Chevrolet Pickup trucks, and America’s answer to the Iltis, called the Jeep after the character from the Popeye cartoons. It was noticeable that nearly all the vehicles were four-wheel drive. Manny had said that with the exception of some of the main Federal Highways, paved roads more or less ended outside of Rio Gallegos. Niko also saw that no one batted an eye at seeing horses and mules going down the road.
“So, this is Argentina?” Willi asked looking at the baren hills in the distance.
“Yeah” Niko replied as they passed a tree that was just starting to get the first green leaf buds on it.
“I thought it was the fall?” Willi asked, pointing at the tree they were passing.
“The seasons are reversed” Niko replied, “This is South America, the Southern Hemisphere. You know?”
“Ah, yeah” Willi said awkwardly. Had Willi really not known about that? Niko thought to himself. He also couldn’t help but notice that Willi sat in the saddle of the Sorrel mare that he was riding like a sack of flour. Apparently he had lived an apartment tenement in Reinickendorf that had been torn down with only a few weeks warning to the residents. His family had been scattered and joining the Heer had been a frantic effort to escape a spiraling situation. Niko was unclear as to how exactly Willi had ended up in Cavalry.
“Someone has to teach you how to ride properly” Niko said, knowing that he had basically just volunteered.
“Not all of us are born on a horse” Willi said, and Niko almost laughed at that.
“When I was five Opa insisted that I learn with him as a teacher” Niko said, “He is one of the greatest heroes of the realm but as a teacher, he is the sort who throws you in the deep end of the pool to teach you to swim.”
“My Opa just likes to keep pigeons and tell stories about the old days” Willi said, he had listened wide-eyed to Niko’s stories about how he had spent his time on his grandfather’s estate. Some of the things that Niko and Bas had done. Even some of the things his cousin Marie Alexandra, Bas’ little sisters, and even Mathilda got into. “He also loves to read cowboy novels, Louis L’Amour, Zane Grey, Three-Ten to Yuma and whatnot.”
They passed a seedy looking tavern that had a number of Gauchos standing out front watching them pass. Tough looking men who knew every centimeter of this land, Manny had told Niko all about them. How they had bled the Chileans white.
“You should write your Opa and tell him you are in the Wild West” Niko said.
“Really?” Willi asked, surprised by that.
