Russian Amerika: Chapter Twenty Six

26 Tetlin Redoubt, January 1988

    "Major Kominskiya, we're getting that carrier wave again."

    Valari slapped down papers, which eluded comprehension, and smiled at the corporal in the doorway.

    "Are you able to determine its location?" she said, elation in her voice.

    "We radioed St. Nicholas and Chena Redoubt for a triangulation fix. We should have something within a half hour."

    "Excellent!" She shot to her feet. "I'll be in the general's office. As soon as you have the location, inform me."

    "Yes, major." He saluted and vanished down the hallway.

    She studied her appearance in the full-length mirror behind her office door. The uniform accentuated her slimness and the sharp creases mirrored the planes in her face. Deciding she looked competent and powerful, she marched smartly down the tiled corridor to her commanding officer's anteroom.

    The tall, blonde, rugged cossack sergeant fastened his blue eyes on her face when she entered the room. He stood and saluted.

    "Good afternoon, Major Kominskiya." After she returned the salute he sat down. "How may I serve you?"

    The code amused her. More than one quiet afternoon had been passed in each other's arms. She smiled and shook her head slightly. "I need to see General Posivich, now."

    "Ah, I see." The sergeant stood again. "If you'll have a seat, I'll see what I can do." He stepped through the door behind his desk and closed it after him.

    Valari Kominskiya sat and speculated on the signal's reappearance. After the costly attack on Toklat seven weeks ago, the carrier wave had stopped. She and others thought perhaps Lt. Rezanov had finally been killed in the attack even though no bodies were found when the Troika Guard investigated the site.

    A squad had been dispatched to bring in his body when they thought him killed the first time near the Nenana. But they found nothing and she knew they had been victims of a charade. The memory of their last meeting still smarted, Grisha would pay for that one if it were the last thing he did.

    Perhaps the radio had been tripped accidentally? she wondered. And was Rezanov still part of the DSM or merely going native and running a trap line or something equally droll? Or was it another deception?

    "Major?"

    She jerked in surprise and stared at the sergeant. "Yes?"

    "The general will see you now. He has very little time."

    She hurried through the door and knocked on the polished wood at the end of the small hallway.

    "Come."

    She entered, stood at attention and saluted. "Thank you for your time, General."

    "Have a seat, Major." The commander of Tetlin Redoubt waved grandly and she settled into a padded chair. "What is it that has brought such color to your lovely face?"

    "The radio has resumed transmitting a carrier wave. We are triangulating its exact position as I speak."

    Posivich frowned in concentration for a moment. "Is this the same signal that brought our aircraft to Toklat?"

    "Yes, sir. I suspect our turncoat lieutenant has accidentally switched it on."

    His steady gaze unnerved her. Reading his eyes proved impossible.

    "Perhaps the lieutenant and your sea captain have prepared another trap for our forces? No?"

    She opened her mouth to disagree before realizing she had not thought it all out. "I, I don't know."

    "It is something we should give careful consideration, Major Kominskiya. What action did you have in mind?"

    "Ah, well, I was going to ask your opinion before promulgating any plans, General Posivich."

    His grin glinted like steel. "You are very quick, major, I like that in an officer. I will make no judgments. So, what was your first reaction when you received word of the signal's resumption?"

    She smiled ruefully. "I wished to make an immediate attack with our wing of Yaks. Frankly I feel that it is beyond the talents of the rebels to successfully carry off an operation that could withstand the strength of an entire squadron."

    "The idea is farfetched, I agree," the general said amiably. "But so was the notion that they could shoot down helicopter gun ships with hunting rifles."

    "True," she said in a low voice.

    A discrete knock sounded at the door and the sergeant pushed through "Excuse me, general, but the major wished this information as soon as we received it." He handed a sheet of paper to Valari.

    "Thank you, sergeant," they said in unison.

    She stared at the paper.

    "So where is the signal located?"

    She looked up at him with a frown. "About sixty kilometers north of Chena Redoubt, at Chatanika Crossing, very close to the road."

    "Perhaps they expect us to send in ground forces, since the signal is so close to the road," the general said.

    "They wouldn't be expecting a flight of fighters to hit them and their puny trap," Valari said.

    "I hope for the pilots' sake it is not an ambush." The general's voice had turned as steely as his grin. "But I have a hidden pawn; those savages won't know what hit them!"