The Generals (30 page)

Information about the capitulation was radioed uncoded. When, however, it was clear that the Reds in the southern part of the Eastern Province were not included in the capitulation, General Oswald ordered a continuation of the advance. At about 1800 hours
in the afternoon, most of the rebels were fleeing wildly south, though a few groups remained in their positions and refused to give in. Soon after eight o’clock the following morning, the sixteenth of March, motorised units from the Peace Corps advanced into Ludolfsport, where all resistance had ceased. On the other hand, one rebel unit, which had clearly not heard the capitulation order, continued stubbornly to defend a position hastily constructed north of the motorway about fifteen kilometres south-west of Ludolfsport, until nine o’clock the next morning, when it was finally overcome. At this, all organised resistance in the northern part of the Eastern Province ceased. The enemies of the people Janos Edner and Aranca Peterson fled the country, leaving behind them widespread and frightening destruction. The harbour installations, warehouses and many buildings in Ludolfsport had been destroyed, as had the airfield and a large part of the road network. Several fanatical members of the Red militia had fled to the southern sector, to which a large amount of valuable materials had also been transferred.

Captain Schmidt
: I do not think there is much more to add to this matter. We have here, however, also moved on to charge numbers one hundred and three and one hundred and four in the case against Velder, concerning sabotage and furthering escape from the country.

Commander Kampenmann
: You skipped a charge, as far as I can see. Number one hundred and two.

Major von Peters
: Must you interfere with everything, Kampenmann. We’ll never get anywhere at this rate.

Captain Schmidt
: Charge number one hundred and two is of a different nature. From the time point of view, I consider it an advantage at this point to abandon chronological order.

Commander Kampenmann
: I see.

Colonel Orbal
: Do you? If only I could say the same for myself.

Captain Schmidt
: I will return to examining the witness. Is the accused ready, Captain Endicott?

Major von Peters
: It’s absolutely unbelievable how slow everything is. Well, Endicott, haven’t you fiddled about enough? Can the swine speak or not?

Captain Endicott
: We can go on now, sir.

Velder
: We abandoned headquarters at about one, but it took us
almost three hours to get to Ludolfsport. There was terrible disorder everywhere. The roads were blocked with people and vehicles and in many places the roads had already been blown up. In Ludolfsport, total chaos reigned. Stoloff’s demolition units from the southern sector had been at work for several hours and now they weren’t only destroying stores and administrative buildings but also shops and ordinary houses. Many people were desperate and in some places people even offered resistance. Janos Edner was furious and ordered the marauders, as he called them, to stop at once, but the officer from the southern sector who was in charge of the demolition work—he was a foreigner, whom none of us had ever seen before—said that he was not under our command and he’d done everything strictly in accordance with his instructions. Then Aranca Peterson and Janos Edner tried to make contact with Ludolf, but it was no longer possible to establish any communications. Soon after three, the harbour-master came to see us. He was very nervous and said that the harbour was completely destroyed. Not even small boats could leave it any longer and anyhow there was nothing left afloat. He urged us to go on to the pilot-boat station fifteen miles north of the town at once, where one of the militia’s patrol-boats was waiting to take us on board. The road there was still open, but if we stayed any longer in Ludolfsport, he couldn’t guarantee our safety. Aranca Peterson said that for the moment there was hardly anything in the whole world that interested her less than her safety. At twenty past three, we all got away in an armoured car, and at ten to four we were at the pilot-boat station. The patrol-boat, which was roughly the size of a small torpedo boat, was ready; all we had to do was to remove the camouflage net and set off. At exactly four o’clock, Janos Edner sent out the capitulation order over the pilot-boat station’s radio transmitter. He just said: ‘To avoid further useless loss of life, I exhort the militia in the northern sector to cease fire. We have shown ourselves incapable of meeting our enemies with their own weapons, namely force and stupidity, and we have reason to be proud of that.’ He was silent for a moment and then he said : ‘Do what you wish.’ At five past four, the patrol-boat moved away from the quay. On board, apart from the crew, were Janos, Aranca, Bartholic, Dana Rodriguez, myself, the harbour-master from Ludolfsport, the driver who had brought us and the staff of the lighthouse
and pilot-boat station. The captain was scared of air attacks, but the only planes we saw were two Army helicopters cruising along the coast, recce planes, presumably.

Major von Peters
: Well, why doesn’t he go on? Pull yourself together, Mateo. Don’t go off to sleep again.

Colonel Orbal
: What’s the matter? What?

Captain Endicott
: The accused will continue in a moment. They say his memories are as if divided up into chapters, like in a book.

Major von Peters
: Who is they?

Captain Endicott
: Mr Gerthoffer.

Major von Peters
: Funny how people never seem to learn to express themselves exactly.

Velder
: As soon as we sailed, Bartholic went below deck, but the rest of us stayed in the stern looking at the island. I thought it was the last time I was going to see it. What the others thought, I don’t know. But I remember their faces were absolutely expressionless. It was winter and a grey misty day. A giant plume of smoke hung over Ludolfsport from the houses and warehouses the demolition patrols had set fire to, and farther north the hangars and petrol and oil tanks on the airfield were burning. The smoke mixed with the clouds and lay like a thick bank of fog over the island. It was quite black, but flashes of light flared now and again, from new fires and explosions, I presume. Dana Rodriguez shivered and said: ‘Our island.’ Then she shrugged her shoulders and went below. Aranca Peterson said nothing and didn’t move a muscle, but Janos Edner said: ‘I still think we were right and we’ve proved it.’ Then we were silent for a while. But we made a few more remarks. ‘This must be regarded as the socialist-liberal-left-radical régime’s collapse,’ said Janos Edner. ‘Are you thinking we shouldn’t have left them in the lurch,’ said Aranca. ‘No,’ said Edner. ‘Why shouldn’t we have done it?’ ‘They believed in us,’ said Aranca. ‘Probably. Now it’s his bloody island, anyhow,’ said Janos. ‘And Ludolf’s,’ I said. The weather was bad and the waves kept coming in over the side, so soon after that I went into the wheelhouse, but Aranca Peterson and Janos Edner stayed in the stern until all that could be seen was a black bank of smoke above the horizon.

Major Niblack
: That’s all very poetic, but I don’t see what it’s got to do with the accused’s crimes.

Commander Kampenmann
: Furthering of escape. He helped those people get out of the country.

Captain Schmidt
: Partly that. But this episode also shows some of the motives behind Velder’s next step towards his downfall, what definitely carried him beyond reach of human kind. This is proved by the following. See to it that he continues, Captain Endicott.

Velder
: Normally it would have taken us four hours to get to the nearest neutral harbour, which, by the way, lay in the old so-called mother country, but the weather was so bad that it took us five hours to get there. We asked for asylum and the police directed us to the quarantine station, where we were tied up. The authorities seemed embarrassed and bewildered and there was a lot of ‘phoning back and forth. Finally they said that we were to stay in the quarantine station overnight and we would receive further orders the next day. Before we went on land, the captain of the patrol-boat gathered us together on the deck and said: ‘I’m intending to go back to the island tonight. Anyone who wants to come with me to join General Ludolf may do so. But you’ve only got an hour left. We must get there before it’s light.’ Then we went on land. We were given hot coffee and shown quarters in the quarantine building. Janos Edner and Aranca Peterson said that they were not thinking of returning, because they doubted that Ludolf was acting in accordance with their ideas and principles. Danica Rodriguez said: ‘No. I’ve had enough. It lasted six years, anyhow. And nothing’s ever lasted that long for me before. And I think I know what’s going to happen.’ We talked about it with Bartholic, who said this: ‘I’ve a feeling that I can be more use elsewhere. I’m sorry it didn’t work out better, but I did my best.’ Dana Rodriguez said: ‘No one’s blaming you.’ Bartholic sat in silence for several minutes before answering: ‘It was doomed from the start. To be honest, your ideas aren’t worth fighting for.’ Then Aranca Peterson said: ‘Neither was it the idea that anyone should have to fight for them.’ And that was the last thing I heard her say. ‘And as you see, they play into the hands of the wrong parties all the time,’ said Bartholic. I didn’t even say goodbye, because I saw that both Janos and Aranca understood what I was going to do and I didn’t bother about Bartholic. He could keep his anarchic syndicalism and his specialists. I went down to the quay and on board the patrol-boat and a quarter of an hour later, we cast
off and went at slow speed out of the harbour and I don’t think anyone noticed.

Captain Schmidt
: With that we can consider charges numbers eighty-three to and including numbers one hundred and three and one hundred and four, concerning rebel activities, terror, murder and accessory to murder, organised sabotage and furthering of escape from the country to have been concluded. All of them have been admitted by the accused and corroborated further by his own testimony. As we still have part of the day left and the accused seems to have recovered somewhat, I suggest that we also deal with charge number …

Colonel Orbal
: What’s that row? Is it an alarm clock, or what?

Major von Peters
: Sounds like a telephone.

Major Niblack
: It is a telephone, here on the shelf under the table—just a moment and I’ll answer it.

Colonel Orbal
: What sort of idiot is it ‘phoning in the middle of a session?

Major Niblack
: Hullo … yes, Niblack here … yes, sir … yes, sir … I see, sir …

Velder
: Excuse me? What did you say?

Major von Peters
: Shut up, you.

Major Niblack
: Gentlemen. That was Colonel Pigafetta ‘phoning. General Widder died ten minutes ago at the military hospital in Oswaldsburg, without regaining consciousness.

Colonel Orbal
: Oh, Christ!

Major von Peters
: What did I tell you?

Colonel Orbal
: What do we do about it then?

Major von Peters
: We could have a minute’s silence.

Colonel Orbal
: Excellent idea. To honour the memory of our late Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, General … what was his first name, now?

Lieutenant Brown
: Jan, sir.

Colonel Orbal
: Oh, yes. To honour the memory of General Jan Widder, we will keep one minute’s silence. Everyone stand to attention. You do the timing, Brown.

*   *   *

Colonel Orbal
: For God’s sake, Brown. Isn’t the time up now?

Lieutenant Brown
: Five seconds left, sir. Now.

Colonel Orbal
: That’s that. So Pigafetta’s Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force now, is he?

Major von Peters
: And a general. Christ!

Commander Kampenmann
: With reference to what has happened, wouldn’t it be appropriate to break off the session today.

Colonel Orbal
: Exactly. Have you anything else to say, Schmidt?

Captain Schmidt
: I request to be allowed to place this part of the case, which embraces charges eighty-three to and including one hundred and one, as well as one hundred and three and one hundred and four, before the court for consideration.

Major von Peters
: Granted. The parties may leave.

Colonel Orbal
: Bloody bad show, this business about Widder.

Major Niblack
: I feel paralysed with grief and distress.

Colonel Orbal
: What? Well, it’s not much good moping now. That was a good story, Niblack, that one from Africa. Tried it out in the mess last night. Great success. But of course I’d forgotten what cunt was in Swahili.

Major Niblack
: Kwahashu.

Colonel Orbal
: That’s it. Difficult word. Must write it down.

Major von Peters
: Adjourn the session now, Mateo.

Colonel Orbal
: Oh, yes. We’ll be burying Widder tomorrow, I suppose, well, presumably. The session is adjourned until Wednesday at eleven o’clock.

Lieutenant Brown
: Those present, Colonel Mateo Orbal, Army, also Chairman of the Presidium of this Extra-ordinary Court Martial; Major Carl von Peters, Army, Commander Arnold Kampenmann, Navy. The Prosecuting Officer is Captain Wilfred Schmidt, Navy, and the accused is assisted by Captain Roger Endicott, Air Force. Officer presenting the case is Lieutenant Arie Brown, Air Force. Justice Tadeusz Haller reports his absence.

Colonel Orbal
: Where’s the representative of the Air Force then? Is neither Pigafetta nor that Niblack coming?

Lieutenant Brown
: Colonel Pigafetta has not reported his absence. He has probably been delayed for a few minutes.

Colonel Orbal
: And Haller’s presumably boycotted the session completely. He’s said to be occupied with important government matters. Oh, well, let’s start, anyhow. Brown, call in …