1634: The Baltic War: Chapter Seven

    Stearns shot him a look. “Something funny?”

    Jesse realized that Stearns had misunderstood his attitude and held up a placating palm.

    “No, well, yeah, a little. Do you remember last summer when that group wanted us to concentrate on ultralights? ‘They’re cheaper, they burn less fuel, they’re easier to fly.’ All that horsepucky? Well, every time I get up here where it’s a little bumpy or cloudy, I remember how Hal Smith stood up in front of the resource board and said, ‘I build aircraft, not toys.’ He reminded me of that German engineer in that old movie, Flight of the Phoenix.” Jesse grinned.

    Stearns mustered a small smile of his own. “I remember. You don’t look much like Jimmy Stewart, though.”

    Wood was about to reply when a stiff gust swatted the aircraft, forcing him to take a moment, wrestling the aircraft roughly back on course.

    “Well, anyway, don’t worry about this bird. She flies just fine.” He passed Stearns a thermos full of tea. “Here, warm up a bit. But take it easy, we’ve got maybe three hours to go with this headwind. We’re lucky Hal figured out a way to get a little heat in this version of the Belle. It’s probably twenty below out there.”

    Stearns took the thermos and nodded his thanks. Jesse let him alone and concentrated on flying. The cold and the constant juddering of the aircraft discouraged talk as they flew over the seventeenth century landscape.

    When they finally reached Wismar, Jesse flew low over the town, which looked almost deserted on this cold December day, save for the curls of smoke from nearly every chimney. The few townsfolk in the streets looked up at the sound of the aircraft and watched it for a bit, but there was none of the gawking little crowds there would have been just a few weeks earlier. Jesse reflected again on how quickly the people of this time became used to the wondrous American machines. He turned towards the airfield as Stearns took in the sights.

    Jesse flew over Richter Field, checking the wind and surveying the light snow covering on the grass. He noted many improvements made since his last visit, over a month ago. No need for a tower, as yet, but already there was a shed big enough for two aircraft and the shack that had been the sole building in October had been replaced by a big, solid-looking structure with new plank walls. He reckoned that another low building, surrounded by a berm near the field, must be the armory cum fuel storage. The new construction showed the importance placed on this small spot of turf near the frigid Baltic.

    As he took in the scene, it was as if Stearns read his mind.

    “Shame it takes a war to get things done quickly, eh, Jesse?”

    Jesse glanced over at his passenger and nodded. Looking down again, he noticed two figures, hands jammed in coat pockets, standing next to the wind sock, faces turned upward. He hooked a thumb towards his window.

    “It’s also those boys down there. Nothing very important gets done without the ‘Sons of Martha.’”

    After he spoke, Jesse realized that Mike might not understand the reference. The man had had something of a haphazard education, with just three years of college. But you never knew. He also read extensively and had a wife who was a genuine intellectual.

    So, Jesse wasn’t really surprised by Mike’s nodding reply. “Yeah. Kipling knew a thing or two, didn’t he?”

    “Yes, he did. Or will. Or something.”

    Jesse checked the windsock again and turned downwind for landing.

    “Might as well get this beast on the ground.”

    Later that afternoon, two aircraft moved through the North German sky at five thousand feet, headed toward Luebeck. “Snarled through the sky,” Jesse often thought of it. There was that one advantage to propeller aircraft compared to the jets that he’d mostly flown up-time. Damnation, they sounded like warplanes.

    Jesse flew as wingman, in a rather loose formation off Lieutenant Woodsill’s left wing. He’d decided to let Woody lead, since he knew the way. In any case, he realized that Woody and his copilot, Ernst Weissenbach had not had any recent formation practice.

    Best keep ‘em where I can see ‘em, Jesse thought.

    Otherwise, he had absolutely no complaints about the two young officers. Having left them in charge of the airfield at Wismar and with the original Belle, once a third had been built, the two young pilots had performed superbly. They’d made good use of the shipments of fuel and rockets sent to them overland. According to accounts from Luebeck, their observation and harassment of the Danish army besieging the city had been instrumental in holding off several assaults.

    As a result, Colonel Wood had listened carefully to Woodsill as the lieutenant had described what they could expect around Luebeck. Though the Danes had crossed the river and nearly cut off the city, they had not yet gotten any artillery across, apparently content, for the time being, to keep all of their field pieces on the west side of the river. That would probably change, especially if the rivers froze solid, but it meant that, for now, the area near the city’s eastern walls was reasonably unmolested. Unless very unlucky, they could probably land fairly close and reach safety under the city guns before the Danish pickets could even give warning.

    “Aside from scattered pickets and some small cavalry units, the Dennies aren’t very much of a bother there, sir,” Woody had said. “Naturally, we’ve been concentrating our attacks on the enemy’s main encampment on the other bank.”

    “Dennies?” Jesse had interrupted.

    Woody hesitated. “Uh, yes sir, that’s what folks have taken to calling them. Anyway, we’ve mixed up the timing and direction of our attacks, trying to keep the Danes off balance. It’s been working pretty well, but if you see a block of soldiers standing motionless while everyone else is running, break off your attack run. They know by now that our rockets aren’t all that accurate and any group standing still is probably under the command of a steady officer. It’s pretty clear they’re hoping for a lucky shot from massed fire to bring us down, the way they got Hans. We try to discourage that little trick by carrying a couple of black powder grenades. Ernst here, has gotten damn—uh, quite good at chucking grenades. They’re actually more accurate than the rockets, though they don’t have as much punch, of course.”

    Woody paused and pointed to a spot on the map he had made of the Luebeck area.

    “One other thing, Colonel. During our last reconnaissance a couple of days ago, we noticed some activity in this grove to the south of the Denny encampment. Right about here. We’d already expended our rockets and we didn’t get too close. Don’t know what it is, but it looked like tents and buildings of some sort. I recommend we give it another look this afternoon. Maybe one of us can make a low pass, while the other flies cover. No telling when we’ll have two aircraft here, again.”

    The idea was tempting, but…

    Jesse hesitated, glancing at Mike. This was already a somewhat risky enterprise, flying the USE’s Prime Minister into a city under siege. Adding into the bargain getting him involved in an actual combat operation…

    But Mike just grinned. “Sure, Jesse, go ahead. Don’t mind me. Actually, I’d like to see how it works. Give me a much better sense of what ‘air power’ does or doesn’t mean in the here and now.”

    There was always that about Stearns. He was a politician, sure enough, and had most if not all the vices of the breed. But you couldn’t ever accuse the man of lacking balls. Even brass ones, in his case.

    Jesse finished replaying the briefing in his mind. The flight from Wismar to Luebeck hadn’t taken more than twenty-five minutes and he could see they were nearing the city. The radio crackled and Woody’s steady voice came out of the speaker.

    “Two, this is Lead. Approaching Luebeck and descending to one thousand feet. Luebeck Radio should be listening.” A pause, then: “Luebeck, Luebeck, this is the Richter Express, five minutes out.”

    Whoever was manning the radio for Gustavus Adolphus was on the ball.

    “Guten Tag, Richter Express, Luebeck here. Have you brought presents for the Dennies, today? They’ve been getting lonely this past day or so.”

    “Roger that, Luebeck,” Woodsill confirmed. He sounded amused. “And some visitors. Better send for His Majesty.”

    “Roger, Express. Einen moment, bitte.”

    The Swedish king must have been nearby. The sound of someone fumbling with a microphone and a muffled, “Closer to your mouth, Your Majesty” was followed by the unmistakable voice of command.

    “Hallå där, Lieutenant Woodsill. Do you have Colonel Wood with you?”

    “Yes, sir. Standby, please. Go ahead, Two.”

    Jesse was ready. “Good afternoon sir. Colonel Wood here. As promised, we have your mail and will deliver it shortly.”

    They didn’t think anyone had sold the Danes a radio yet, but communications security was always a good idea. The Danes would soon know there were two aircraft in the area, but there was no sense in letting anyone, even the radio operator, know who Jesse’s passenger was. Word had already been passed to Gustav Adolf by coded message the day before.

    “Very good, Colonel,” the bemused sounding monarch replied. “All is in waiting for you.”

    “Yes, sir, thank you. But first, we must deliver some gifts to your neighbors. We will call again in fifteen minutes.”

    “We will be ready for you, Colonel.”

    Jesse clicked the mike. He looked over to see Mike Stearns give a thumbs up and gave one in return. Time to get to work.

    “Lead, this is Two.”

    “Two, Lead.”

    “It’s your show, Lieutenant. Call the shots.”

    The Richter Express, flight of two, flew low over the besieged battlements of Luebeck. As they passed, Jesse paid close attention to the flat green just outside the city’s east wall. Thousands of faces craned upward, mouths open, cheering wildly. Most of those cheering people, whether noblemen, soldiers, and peasants, had never seen an aircraft until two months ago. Waggling their wings, the aircraft flew the length of the city and then turned westward towards a decidedly less friendly audience.

    As had been briefed, the aircraft overflew the enemy encampment, the pilots taking careful note of potential targets. From high above, the camp looked like a disturbed ants’ nest, as men scattered or ran to their posts. Jesse could see no tent city, no large horse herd, no grouping of flags and standards. Siege cannon facing the city were thoroughly dug in, even from the rear and, all around, men were jumping in holes dug into the frozen earth. A large train of wagons was hurriedly pulling off the road leading into the camp from the west. By now, traders and camp followers knew the danger as well as any soldier. As the aircraft passed the camp, Woody gave his first order.

    “Two, maintain a thousand foot orbit just south of camp. Rejoin on command.”

    Jesse merely clicked the mike and dipped his left wing, turning back over the Danish camp. Blocks of men had begun to form on the ground below. Woodsill and Weissenbach continued westward passing from view of the enemy. Jesse continued to circle, just over the southern edge of the camp. Once, smoke erupted from a regiment formed up in a square below. Though no sound reached him, Jesse unconsciously edged upward two hundred feet.

    Come on, come on, Jesse thought. Let’s get going, Woody.

    As if reading his mind, Woodsill called. “Two, Lead has you in sight, beginning run. We’ll take a left climb out.”

    Jesse wracked the aircraft around and immediately spotted the other Belle, which, having circled well to the south, was now at no more than three hundred feet, hurtling at full power. The lower aircraft passed directly over the trees where the suspected Danish activity had been spotted. Just as he reached the edge of the trees, Woody turned energy into altitude, zoom climbing to the left. A group of soldiers sent a futile volley into the sky, far behind the climbing aircraft.

    Keeping the lead aircraft in sight, Jesse put the stick over and pushed left rudder, putting his nose inside of Woodsill’s turn. Performing a three dimensional aerial ballet, the two Belles continued turning, with Jesse sliding his aircraft “up the line” until the two were once again a rejoined flight.

    The Richter Express once again flew over the enemy camp. People on the ground a thousand feet below hugged the dirt in their holes, fearing what might come. Woody reported what they had found.

    “Two, target is a hidden gun park under trees. Tents, wagons, guns, and what appear to be unfinished bunkers. Lots of people down there. We might catch a loaded caisson or two.”

    Jesse’s jaw tightened into a hunter’s grin as Woodsill rapidly went on.

    “We’ll racetrack north and south, right hand turns, ten second spacing. Aimpoint is just inside the tree line. Fire at six hundred feet, four rockets per pass, and watch for secondaries. Copy, Two?”

    Jesse replied. “Roger. Two copies all. Right racetrack, ten seconds.”

    Woody gave the signal. “Lead’s in the pitch…now!” His aircraft turned sharply right, rolling out just as sharply when aligned with the target. Jesse continued north, counting to ten and then copied the other aircraft’s steep turn and rolled out precisely behind it. Focusing entirely on lead, he waited, waited.

    Suddenly, the aircraft ahead changed aspect, beginning a dive. Jesse again counted to ten and followed in a dive of his own. For the first time, he could focus on the target. From a slant range of no more than half a mile, Jesse could pick out shapes among the trees. Conforming to Woody’s dive angle, he displaced slightly left of Woody’s path and waited for him to fire.

    Suddenly, smoke and fire burst from under Woody’s wings, as four rockets came off their rails and streaked downward. Woody’s aircraft pulled up into a climbing right turn and then it was Jesse’s turn. He’d begun counting when Woody fired, but when he reached ten, he held fire for a couple of more seconds. Woody’s rockets had already impacted in the trees, four explosions throwing dirt, branches and smoke skyward. Just as Jesse fired his rockets, he saw a small figure running out of the woods, chased by a larger one in skirts. A woman following a child. He didn’t have time to look longer, pulling hard and banking into his turn. He could hear his rockets explode in the trees beneath him as Stearns craned his neck, looking behind.

    “Christ, Jesse, there are women and kids in there!” Stearns shouted.

    Busy following the first aircraft, Jesse did not turn his head or answer immediately. As he reached a trail position behind Woody, he turned toward Stearns and asked, “Mike, did you see any secondary explosions?”

    His face pale, Stearns replied, “Uh, no. Not that I could tell.”

    “Okay,” Jesse said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky next pass.”

    He didn’t say anything further. With Stearns—in this respect, he was different from most politicians Jesse had known—you didn’t have to waste time with stolid and antiseptic little speeches about the “unfortunate but inevitable side effects that come with war.” Mike detested the phrase collateral damage as much as Jesse did himself, and he was perfectly aware that given the nature of seventeenth century armies, almost all of them had lots of camp followers mixed in with the soldiery.

    You simply couldn’t fight against such an army, without accidentally killing or wounding some women and children. Mike’s protest had been the simple horror of the moment, that he’d just swallow and let go. Unlike—some very sour memories got stirred up here—any number of politicians Jesse could remember from back up-time. Men who had no hesitation ordering something done—nor any hesitation thereafter washing their hands of the consequences that had been guaranteed by those same orders.

    The second pass was performed like the first, except that they now had smoke and dust as an aimpoint. Woody aimed to the right side of the smoke and Jesse slightly more left. Once again, Jesse and Mike watched as rockets hurled from Woody’s aircraft. This time, as they impacted, there was a huge secondary as one of the rockets found something very explosive. Fire and smoke belched upward with a gigantic sound. Without thinking, Jesse fired his rockets and stomped left rudder, turning to avoid the still climbing smoke and debris. The blast’s concussive force shoved them sideways. Stearns stared out the window on his side, peering intently downward until the turn took the scene from his view. As he rolled out, Jesse could see where his rockets had struck. He saw no secondaries, but there were several fires burning down there and he could see people prone on the ground. Where Woody’s rockets had struck, there was nothing but a large smoke-filled gap, the trees blown flat, flames and smaller explosions hiding the ground itself.

    The rockets had done better than they usually did. Quite a bit better, in fact. But that was part of war, also. You got good luck as well as bad. More of the former than the latter, if you were aggressive but kept just this side of recklessness.

    Once the two aircraft had rejoined, Jesse could smell his own acrid sweat and tried not to consider what might have happened if he had flown directly behind Woody on that pass. He’d crossed that line some, he knew. This really had been too risky, after all, with Mike on board. There’d probably be hell to pay after Admiral Simpson found out.

    So be it. Jesse wiped his brow and grasped the radio mike.

    “Lead, Two. Good show, gentlemen. Well done. I suggest you revisit that spot in a day or two. That secondary was no caisson. It was probably a hidden magazine. Keep hitting the tree line all around their camp. They’re sure to have more such stores around the perimeter. Oh, one more thing. Should we ever do that again, I suggest that a thirty second spacing between aircraft might be more suitable.”

    Woody replied crisply, “Yes, sir. That might be more comfortable.”

    Jesse felt almost calm, now. “Excellent work, Woody. By the way, you are now a captain and Ernst is now a first lieutenant. Now let’s complete this mission and the two of you can go home and wet down your promotions. I’ll be sending you some help before very long.”

    The rest of the flight went smoothly enough. While Woody and Ernst distracted the Danish pickets by overflying their positions, Jesse slipped in behind, flying slow and low. Lined up on the grassy sward just outside the city wall, Jesse carefully picked his aim point and flew his approach only a few knots above stall speed. Power up and nose abnormally high, he firmly dropped the Belle onto the turf, rolling to a stop in only a short distance. He actually had to add power to taxi toward the outlying bastion where Swedish soldiers waited to aid them. After Jesse had shut down, the soldiers pushed the aircraft into dead space next to the bastion and surrounded the machine with fascines readied for the purpose. It would be well guarded for their overnight stay.