CIRCLES OF TIME: The Great War
-by: the Yarnspinner-
the_yarnspinner@yahoo.com
www.geocities.com/the_yarnspinner/
Rated: PG-13
> Chapter 14 - The Eleventh Hour <
Setsuna, Daniel, and Eric walked along the street of a small French
town. Civilians and soldiers were gathering in the town square. Several
trucks carrying American soldiers pulled into the center of town and
stopped.
In the distance, the boom of artillery could be heard as the war
went on.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
East of Verdun, an American artillery battery under the command of
Captain Harry S. Truman fired its new seventy-five millimeter guns deep
into the German positions. At 10:45am, under orders from the American
command, Truman ordered his battery to cease fire. With the French forces
around them, Truman and his men settled down to wait.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Elsewhere, batteries continued to fire. Setsuna and her companions
saw more people gathering. There was an air of expectation in the air,
but also uncertainty. Many eyes were directed at the clock in the square.
The thunder of artillery rolled in from the battlefield, miles away.
The great clock began to chime. Men removed their hats, many in
prayer. The priest crossed himself, while two nuns dropped to their
knees. Other waited silently, listening to the chiming of the clock's
bell.
There, and all across France, bells were tolling the eleventh hour
of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year 1918. As the
eleventh chime faded, all was quiet. No one moved, nor did they say a
word. All was quiet. Across France and Belgium, no guns fired. For the
first time since the Fall of 1914, all was quiet. From out of the
distance came a soft noise, like the rustling of the wind. It was the
cheering of the men at the front.
The previous evening, a German delegation had met with the Allies in
Paris to negotiate an armistice. The final agreement was reached shortly
after five in the morning, and declared to go into effect at 11:00am.
Cheers broke out among those in the town. The American soldiers were
hailed as heroes. Among the American troops was a group of musicians.
Quickly pulling out their instruments, they returned the honor by
striking up the rousing tones of "La Marseillaise", the French national
anthem. Men and women joined in the singing, with tears streaming down
many faces. The song came to an end with cheers of "Vive la France" as
men and women danced in jubilation.
Swept up in the emotion of the moment, Daniel pulled Setsuna into
his arms and kissed her.
Wine was being passed around. The mayor jumped up and called for
attention.
"Let us offer a toast, to our brave sons of France who have fought
so long!" he declared.
A cheer swept the crowd, and many of the American soldiers saluted
and congratulated their French colleagues.
"To our brave American friends!" the French captain cried, bringing
another loud cheer.
The mayor waved again for attention. "To President Wilson, the
savior of France!"
The loudest cheer yet filled the air.
The American captain stepped up alongside the mayor. "Thank you, Mr.
Mayor," he said in French. "Americans remember the help of France in our
fight for independence. Long live France!"
The crowd cheered again.
Eric stood there, his eyes misting with emotion, and a bright smile
covering his face. "I didn't think I'd be this affected," he said. "But
I'm glad to be here for this."
Daniel nodded. "You were in Sarajevo when it started. You and
Setsuna both."
"Yes," said Eric. "But from my standpoint, the ending is far better
than the beginning."
"True," Setsuna agreed. "The immediate threat is over, but there
remains much political uncertainty."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Celebrations broke out all across France and Britain. That evening,
Captain Truman found wild celebrations going on around him. Rifles and
flares were fired into the air, while all the French soldiers, after
imbibing heavily of wine freshly brought in on the ammunition train,
insisted on parading past Truman's quarters, saluting and shouting "Vive
President Wilson, vive le capitaine d'artillerie americaine!" Truman
would get no sleep that night.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Two days later, Albert and Samuel were reviewing information being
collected from world capitals and military commands.
"The public euphoria is beginning to wear off," Samuel said. "The
initial jubilation of the war being over has passed, and people are
beginning to ask the difficult questions of what the war was fought for,
what was gained by it, and perhaps most ominously, who is to blame for
it."
"There is fault to be shared by just about everybody," Peter said.
"But the British and French people refuse to hear any such
arguments," Samuel replied. "They're suffering from historical tunnel
vision, I'm afraid, and want to declare Germany as the villain. All they
can see at the moment are all their sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands
who will never come marching home."
"The American General John Pershing was very displeased with the
armistice," Albert said. "He wanted to see the war continued for several
more weeks."
"Why?" Aaron asked.
"For essentially the same reason the German military had wanted to,"
Albert said. "Pershing believed the German army did not consider itself
defeated, and was determined to make them know they were beaten on the
battlefield."
"Pershing's view appears to be borne out," Samuel said, picking up a
piece of paper from a file. "General von Einem of the German Third Army,
told his troops when the armistice took effect, 'Firing has ceased.
Undefeated... you are terminating the war in enemy country.' Einem is not
alone in his view. There is already considerable feeling in the German
army that the negotiators handed the Allies a victory at the table which
they had not, and in the view of many German soldiers, could not win on
the battlefield."
"But Germany could not sustain their armies in the field," Aaron
pointed out. "The monarchy essentially collapsed, and the new government
is on a very shaky footing. The economy is in ruins."
"Very true," said Samuel. "But the German soldiers in the trenches
do not know that, and those in the command who wanted to continue the
fight dismiss all reports of economic collapse as defeatist propaganda.
Many of the soldiers who will be returning home, will first hear the
words of the generals that they were not defeated."
"Yes," Albert agreed. "Some are already beginning to say that it was
only the threat of revolution at home that forced Germany to surrender."
Aaron rolled his eyes. "It sounds like the upcoming peace conference
could get pretty nasty. And this does not bode well for long-term peace
prospects."
Peter raised his hand. "The next question, I think, is whether there
is anything that compels us to involve ourselves in this."
"To be honest, I really don't think so," Albert said. "Unless the
Council changes the current policy, this is basically just something we
would monitor, but we would not become actively involved."
"I have to agree. There is nothing we can really do that would in
any way be constructive," said Aaron. "And in any case, we still have the
more immediate concerns of the Spanish Influenza and monitoring for any
signs of renewed activity by the Order."
"Quite true," said Peter. He turned to Samuel and Albert. "What have
we learned about the Order's remaining organization?"
"Well, I'd say we've learned that 'organization' would be too strong
a word for it," Albert answered. "The Order seems to have greatly
centralized its structure during the last few years. The operational
structure that we would expect to find as a managing bureaucracy just
below the council appears to no longer be there. The highest levels we've
been able to identify are purely regional, and most of these seem to have
gone into hiding when communication with the central authority was lost."
"If that's the case, then we've probably shut them down almost
completely for perhaps ten years," Aaron said. "It should take them at
least that long for their regional centers to resume contact, and then to
settle the inevitable leadership struggle."
"I would have to agree with you there, Aaron," Peter said.
"And what about the flu?" Daniel asked.
"The medical section expects to be ready to deploy their counter-
virus by the end of the month," Peter replied. "We're already working on
the necessary arrangements to put it into circulation."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Daniel and Setsuna entered the main room of the casino. He was
attired in a tuxedo, while she wore a dark green gown. As they walked
across the floor, they saw Esteban talking to one of the cashiers. Daniel
pointed to the roulette table and they sat down.
"Do you play?" he asked.
She shook her head. "For many of these games, you might say I have
an unfair advantage."
He nodded in understanding, then placed several chips on the table.
The croupier spun the wheel and released the marble. Daniel's number did
not prove a winner. After the chips were cleared, he placed several more.
Just then, one of the casino staff stopped behind Setsuna. "Excuse
me, miss. A message for you."
Setsuna turned and took the envelope. "Thank you."
The young man nodded, then walked away.
She opened the envelope and glanced at it.
"Something urgent?" Daniel asked.
"No," she said. "It's from Samuel. They've found a lead on the fake
Maltese Falcon. He wants to know if I want to retrieve it, or leave it to
the Paladins."
"What are you going to do?"
"I think I can let the Paladins collect it," she said. "He hasn't
indicated there is anything particularly difficult about it."
Daniel's second bet on the roulette table also came up a loser.
"Haven't you had enough of this thing yet?" she asked.
"I find it fun," he replied.
She shook her head as he placed more chips on the table. The
croupier gave the final call for bets. Just before he spun the wheel,
Setsuna took one of Daniel's chips and slapped it on a number.
The wheel stopped spinning. "And we have a winner!" the croupier
announced, looking at Setsuna. He then slid a small stack of chips to
her.
"Showoff!" Daniel whispered.
She just smiled as she drew the chips back to his stack.
Esteban appeared behind them. She glanced back over him.
"Don't worry, Esteban. It's less than what he's lost on his three
plays, so you're still ahead," she told him softly.
Esteban looked slightly puzzled. "I just came over to see if you
were having a good time," he said.
"Well, Daniel's losing. But he seems to be enjoying himself,"
Setsuna said.
Daniel nodded. "I enjoy spending some time in the casino," Daniel
said. "And I never bring more money with me than I can afford to lose."
"That's the key," Esteban agreed. "Enjoy yourselves." He turned and
walked away.
Daniel turned back to the table. When the croupier called for bets,
he put down several chips. The wheel was spun, and the marble released,
stopping on Daniel's number.
"We have a winner!" the croupier announced.
A stack of chips was slid over to Daniel.
"You see? I can win at this," Daniel said.
"I suspect we have Esteban to thank for that," Setsuna replied. "I
don't think I'd place another wager if I were you."
Daniel considered for a moment, then signaled the waiting croupier
that he would not place a bet for that round. Moments later, another
casino attendant arrived to offer Daniel a tray for his chips.
"Let's try a few hands of blackjack before we leave," Daniel
suggested.
"It's your money," she replied.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It was now early December. Peter, Aaron, and Lucas has assembled a
group of Paladin wizards within the Pyrenees cavern. With Lucas were four
other members of the medical section.
"The counter-virus has been finalized and tested," Lucas said. "Once
it is deployed, it should spread far enough to show serious results
within a few months."
Aaron stepped forward. "We have made arrangements to deploy the
counter-virus on all six inhabited continents. The coverage rate will be
in inverse ratio to population density."
"Inverse ratio?" Eric asked. "Why inverse?"
"Areas of dense population will actually need less of the virus,
since people will quickly spread it from one to another," Lucas
explained. "Our real concern are the areas with very thin and isolated
populations."
"Can we reach all of these?" Daniel asked.
"No," Lucas admitted. "Our primary hope is to cover the main
population centers to defeat the flu, then rely on the fact that when
people do move into the isolated areas, they will take the counter-virus
with them."
"But at the same time, we can't just ignore more isolated areas,"
Aaron added. "Some of the communities up in Alaska, as an example, have
been hit very hard."
Lucas nodded. "We've had similar reports concerning fishing villages
in Greenland."
Bernardo stepped forward. "I can say from personal experience, it is
definitely not pleasant."
"How do we proceed?" Eric asked.
"We will form a circle around this crystal pillar," Aaron said,
indicating the pillar in the center of the floor. "The pillar will
conduct energy to the selected points around the globe, allowing us to
release the counter-virus. We will channel the necessary energy from the
storage containers here into the pillar."
"Sounds simple enough," said Daniel.
Aaron and Lucas motioned for everyone to gather in a circle. There
were twelve wizards in all in the circle. Ruth stood at the main console,
monitoring the storage containers. Another moved inside the circle,
placing a large sealed container holding the virus atop the crystal
pillar. This wizard nodded to Lucas when the container was in place, then
withdrew. Ruth adjusted several controls, while Setsuna stood alongside
her.
"Aaron, you may start drawing energy when you are ready," Ruth said.
"Thank you," Aaron said. "Let us begin."
Energy began to swirl around them, and the pillar took on a bright
glow. They were all experienced wizards in the circle, carefully sensing
the flow of energy around them, and adjusting their own contributions as
necessary.
As the power levels increased, the pillar's glow reached up to
envelope the virus container. Both began to pulse. The wizards could now
sense energy being transmitted out across the globe. The glow around the
virus container grew brighter.
"We're just about there," Aaron announced.
"You still have ample energy reserves," Ruth declared. "Don't feel
that you need to hold back."
A sudden flash of light burst out from the pillar, and the virus
container vanished. Its contents were instantly transported to various
spots around the world. The wizards maintained their spell to insure the
fullest transmission and exposure. Finally, Aaron nodded, and the power
flowing through them all began to fade.
"Everything went well?" Ruth asked.
"Very well," Lucas said. "We achieved full transmission of the
counter-virus to every location we targeted."
"When do you expect to see demonstrable evidence of success?"
Setsuna asked.
"Probably about two weeks, I would say," Lucas replied. "We should
see some early evidence by then, but it will be several months before the
flu is brought under control."
"We already have our networks monitoring the progress of the
influenza," Peter said. "And they're being alerted that the counter-virus
has been distributed, and will be reporting any signs of it they see."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Setsuna entered the main room of the Havana center with Daniel.
Samuel looked up from the center table, and hurried over to them.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news," Samuel said.
"What's happened?" Setsuna asked.
"The Maltese Falcon. The fake one. Our team blew it."
"How?" Daniel asked, incredulous.
"The bird turned up in Rome, among the belongings of a wealthy
landowner who had his household shipped south after the Austrians broke
through," Samuel explained. "He was a senior officer and was killed in
action. His son had been killed earlier on the Isonzo. That left the
estate to be divided up among the landowner's two brothers, neither of
whom had any interest in the bird. It turned up at a sale. Our team
apparently decided they'd just buy it, since the family wasn't asking
very much."
"But something went wrong, I take it," Setsuna said.
"I'm afraid so," Samuel said, shaking his head. "Somebody broke into
the estate agent's store rooms. They tried to cover their tracks by
setting fire to the place, but a watchman sounded the alarm. The fire was
put out before the store rooms were destroyed, and the theft was
discovered."
"I see," said Setsuna, a frown on her face.
"Do we have any idea as to who stole it?" Daniel asked.
"Not yet," Samuel answered. "But we're working to get more people
into the area to try to find it, before the thieves can get too far."
Setsuna shook her head. "No. That would be a waste of time, and
would risk attracting unwanted attention."
"You want to just let it go?" Samuel asked.
"No," she said. "The thieves will have to keep the bird hidden away
for at least several months before they dare let it appear for sale. When
they do try to sell it, that's when we'll make our move."
< To be continued >
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Always remember, good gentles, that a yarnspinner works from and within
existing legends and stories. The characters of "Sailor Moon" belong to
others. In spinning my yarns, I do not seek to infringe on their rights
of ownership, but merely to join with other fans to spread the legend
still further. "The moonlight carries a message of love." Enjoy.
-05.16.2001
(
geocities.com/tokyo)