The Price of Friendship Raid

By:AliasCWN

Chapter 1

"Thomas!" Dietrich rushed toward the staff car to greet the new arrival.

"Captain." The young lieutenant replied as he saluted his superior officer.

Dietrich halted in his tracks. "Is there something wrong Thomas?" His joy at seeing the younger brother of a dear childhood friend was suddenly dampened by the younger man's reaction to his greeting.

"Nothing is wrong." Thomas replied. "I am very glad to see you sir."

"Sir?"

"Yes sir. I don't think it is appropriate to use first names with my superior officer in front of the troops. Don't you agree sir?"

Dietrich dropped his head to hide his smile from the young officer. "Of course Lieutenant, you are right. I understand. Perhaps you would be more comfortable if we talked in my office?"

"If you would be more comfortable then I would be pleased to join you there Captain." The lieutenant replied formally. "You are the senior officer here."

"Yes I am." Dietrich replied as he noticed his men watching the exchange. "Come along lieutenant, I think we should talk in my office." He spoke in a louder voice so that all those listening could hear. "Did you bring me any news from headquarters?" He clasped his hands behind his back and walked in front of the younger man into his office.

"As a matter of fact Captain I have several dispatches that I have been tasked with delivering." Thomas answered.

"Fine lieutenant, you can give them to me in my office."

"Yes sir." Lieutenant Thomas Heilman followed the tall form of his new base commander into an office that offered immediate relief from the relentless heat of the desert sun.

"Close the door lieutenant." Dietrich ordered.

The lieutenant closed the door firmly but quietly and turned to be met by Dietrich's outstretched arms. The two men hugged and slapped each other on the back. Both men were smiling broadly with delight when they stepped away.

"It truly is good to see you Captain." Thomas exclaimed when Dietrich released him.

"Captain outside," Dietrich informed the young officer, "Hans inside. We can maintain the formalities in front of the men but alone in here we are just friends."

"Are you sure Hans? We may be overheard."

"Let them hear us." Dietrich dismissed the concern with the wave of a hand. "I may be their commander but I am also human. I am sure that they would understand my need for friendship in this godforsaken place. We are friends aren't we Thomas?"

"Of course Hans." Thomas answered immediately. You are Ernest's best friend. I can remember following the two of you around in so many of your adventures. I was always grateful to you for allowing me to tag along. Ernest always called me a brat and wanted me to stay behind but you always stuck up for me."

Dietrich laughed light-heartedly at the memories the comment evoked. "I suppose that most young men consider their younger brothers to be brats. Despite what he said to you, he never really minded your presence, but don't tell him I told you that. You weren't in the way and you quite often unintentionally offered us comic relief. We were so serious about ourselves and you were always so full of life. Ernest called you his shining star. He always said that of the two of you, you were the better man."

"That's funny." Thomas chuckled. "That's what he always said about you too."

"Really?"

"Really." Thomas confirmed.

"And I always thought that he was the better man." Dietrich smiled. He poured two glasses of brandy from his private bottle and handed one to Thomas. "To Ernest and old times."

"To Ernest and old times." Thomas repeated as he tapped his glass against the one that Dietrich held. He took a sip and grinned in appreciation.

"So how is your brother these days?"

"He's just fine." Thomas answered as he sipped the drink. "I received a letter from him just before I left my last duty station. He was just given his own panzer unit. He is still serving under Major Schmidt. The major is a good officer and Ernest says he is learning a lot from him. In his letter he told me that he recently had the pleasure of meeting Field Marshal Rommel."

"I have had that honor myself." Dietrich admitted.

"Did you like him?"

"Very much." The captain admitted. "More importantly, I admire him. The Field Marshal is a man of great integrity. He also happens to be a brilliant field officer. The Allies don't call him the desert fox for nothing."

"Ernest agrees with you." Thomas replied. "He was quite impressed with the field marshal too."

Dietrich smiled at the thought of his friend. "We always did agree on the important matters that came to our attention. We share a lot of the same values."

"As do I." Thomas admitted. "I hope that I get to meet the field marshal someday."

"Perhaps you will." The captain suggested. "He is here in North Africa. Perhaps you will get a chance to meet him before you return to Europe."

"Perhaps." Thomas agreed. "But for now, I am glad I have this chance to learn from you. Ernest told me to pay attention and I would learn more in the weeks that I am here than I could in months on my own."

"Don't speak too soon." Dietrich warned his young friend. "I can be a hard taskmaster."

"That's all right; I want to learn all that I can while I am here. I could hardly believe my luck when I read your name on my orders. Ernest says that you have been making quite a name for yourself here in the desert."

"I have been lucky."

"I don't believe that for a moment. You are too smart to count on luck alone."

"Perhaps, but there was certainly some luck involved." Dietrich admitted with a smile.

"I hope some of it rubs off on me. I would like nothing more than to make my brother proud of me."

"He is proud of you, he always has been."

"As a brother; I want to make him proud of me as a soldier."

"That is all very well," Dietrich replied, "but we must be careful not to count too much on luck. Luck can be a fickle mistress. Your training will be based more on experience and sound decisions. I am sure Major Schmidt didn't rely solely on luck when he trained Ernest."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Thomas reached into his satchel and pulled out several envelopes. "I am supposed to give you these dispatches."

"Thank you." Dietrich said as he took the messages and placed them on his desk.

"They said that they were important." Thomas explained as Dietrich seemed ready to ignore the dispatches.

"They always are." The captain responded. "I will look at them later. Right now I would like to hear what you and Ernest have been up to since last we saw each other. Here in the desert we are too far away to hear much of what is happening. Any news at all is welcome."

"As I said, Ernest has his own panzer unit now. He even earned an Iron Cross for his service. You have one of those don't you?"

"Two, actually." Dietrich answered.

"Two?" Thomas laughed in delight. "Then I have some catching up to do."

"Not on my watch you don't." The captain warned him. "In my experience, those who go out looking for medals usually wind up dead heroes."

"You didn't."

"I wasn't looking for a medal; I was just doing my job to the best of my ability." The older man explained. "I'm serious Thomas, no glory seeking while you are here."

"All right Hans, I promise, I won't try to be a hero. But I will be doing my job to the best of my ability." He added with a chuckle.

"Fair enough." Dietrich agreed. "But please use some of that ability to stay alive. Your brother would be most upset with me if you were to die under my watch."

"I will try Hans, for your sake." Thomas promised. "It wouldn't do to make my brother angry at you."

"Thank you." Dietrich replied. "I'm sure we both appreciate it."

Thomas smiled and nodded at the dispatches lying unopened on the desk. "Really Hans, I was told that those dispatched were very important."

Hans raised an eyebrow at the tone in Thomas' voice. "That important are they?"

"That's what they told me." Thomas nodded, suddenly serious. "I'm sorry to break up our reunion but they told me to make sure that you read the dispatches as soon as possible. We can always catch up later; I will be here for two months."

"All right." Dietrich sighed. "I'll read the dispatches, but then we are going to catch up on recent events."

The captain opened the first dispatch and read the contents. His smile turned to a frown as he read the message.

"What is it Hans?" Thomas asked in a worried tone.

"It's nothing." Dietrich answered as he placed the papers on his desk.

"I know you Hans." Thomas pressed. "I can tell that whatever it is, it bothers you."

The captain looked out the window of his office at the busy base. He paused so long that Thomas thought he wasn't going to answer. Finally he sighed and looked back down at the papers. "Berlin has issued new orders concerning a certain group of Allied commandos. The group is known as the Rat Patrol and they have done quite a bit of damage to our supply lines and to our bases. They hit our convoys whenever they please. Our fuel and ammunition depots are frequent targets of their destruction too. Berlin wants to make sure that all of our commanders understand that this unit is to be executed as soon as they are captured. They have a reputation for escaping from our custody and Berlin wants them stopped. Some officers, myself included, have been reluctant to murder unarmed prisoners."

"They are the enemy. Would it be murder?"

"Killing an unarmed man while he is helpless to defend himself is murder; at least I have always thought so."

"Then you have had problems with this unit?" Thomas asked.

"Unfortunately yes." Dietrich answered. "They have done serious damage to many of my convoys, not to mention my columns and patrols."

"Perhaps this new order will put an end to them." Thomas suggested hopefully.

"I rather doubt it." Dietrich replied. "They seem to lead charmed lives."

"Anyone can be killed."

"Yes that is true." The captain replied. "But enough of my problems." Dietrich attempted to change the subject. "This second dispatch is from Major Schmidt, your brother's commander."

"Yes, that one was handed to me as I was boarding the plane to come here." Thomas explained. "Perhaps Ernest slipped a note in with it. I understand that it was Ernest who asked Major Schmidt to recommend you as my teacher over here."

"I'm glad he did." Dietrich smiled. "It gives us a chance to talk about old times. There are too few opportunities to truly relax here that I am looking forward to forgetting the war and talking about our youth for a while."

"We aren't that old." Thomas smiled. "You make us sound ancient."

"Sometimes I feel ancient." The captain answered. "Now what have we here?" He opened the packet and began to read the letter he found inside. As Thomas watched his face paled and the captain's hands began to shake. With an anguished cry he fell into the chair at his desk.

"What is it Hans? What's wrong?" Thomas rushed to the side of his childhood friend. He placed a hand on Dietrich's shoulder. "What is it?"

Dietrich looked up with tears running down his face. "It's Ernest. I'm sorry Thomas."

"Ernest? What about Ernest?" Thomas searched his friend's face for an answer. The one he found sent him crashing to the floor.