Author's Note: This story owes its existence to several different inspirations. First of all, the series mentions a caper where the heroes convinced Klink that LeBeau was part Chinese so that they could hold a Chinese New Year Party. Secondly, this story is a response to "The Land of the Rising Hun" Challenge from the forums to introduce characters of Asian descent into Stalag Thirteen. Thirdly, I had a very interesting conversation with a total stranger while I was watching fireworks last 4th of July about a weapon the Japanese developed in WWII that was too interesting not to use. I had a lot of fun weaving these threads together and I hope that you will enjoy reading the result.

Chapter One: Monkeying Around

There were days that Carter felt bad for Schultz. Today, however, was not one of them. It was the guard's own fault for barging into the barracks just as they were about to plug in the coffee pot. Besides, he was practically drooling over the chocolate bar Colonel Hogan was waving around.

"Colonel Hogan, I know nothing. I did not even know that General Burkhalter was coming until his car showed up in camp."

Hogan raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"

"Nothing," Schultz promised.

"Guess you don't want this," Hogan said as he nonchalantly tossed the chocolate into the air. While Schultz's eyes followed the precious candy in its flight, Kinch snuck into the officer's quarters. The candy came to Carter who caught the bar easily. Smiling, he got into the game. "Catch it if you can," he teased before throwing it over the guard's head to Newkirk.

Newkirk let Schultz come close before tossing it to Olsen who threw it to Addison who passed it onto LeBeau before Colonel Hogan gestured that he wanted it back.

Out of breath and with no reward to show for his efforts, Schultz shifted to begging. "Colonel Hogan, I'm starving. Can't you just throw the chocolate to me? I'm too fat to be jumping around."

Carter gave the guard a friendly sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Come on, Schultz. Don't tell me you've never played monkey in the middle."

"Carter, I am too old to play children's games.

"A man like you, with five kids," LeBeau said. "You're never too old to play children's games."

"My children are not here and you're up to something. Besides, monkey games sounds a lot like monkey business. And I want to know nothing about any monkey business going on in this camp."

"Alright," Hogan conceded as he waved the chocolate under the guard's nose. "No more games. Just tell us what Burkhalter said when he got out of the car."

With a sigh, Schultz finally gave in. "The General did not speak to me, though he was very upset to see trash lying on the ground. He yelled at Gruber and said that if the camp wasn't spotless in two days, Gruber would be sent to the Russian front. I, seeing that it was best to stay out of the way of angry officers, came here."

Smiling, Hogan handed over the chocolate. "See that wasn't so hard. All you had to do was say we're expecting important visitors in two days."

"Visitors? Who said anything about visitors?"

"You did, Schultzie," Newkirk said as he draped his arm over the guard's shoulders and began to steer the guard toward the door.

Carter quickly stepped up and pushed from the other side. "Yeah, thanks a lot for the information. You know, you might want to go see to the guards. We'd hate to lose you over a few dirty uniforms." Then after shoving Schultz out the door, Carter quickly joined the others around the coffee pot.

"What'd we miss?" Hogan asked.

Kinch rolled his eyes. "The usual groveling and Burkhalter yelling at Klink to shut up."

"Guess we should be thankful Schultz showed up," LeBeau joked.

Kinch held out a hand for silence as Burkhalter spoke again. "The cleanliness of this camp is deplorable."

"Yes, deplorable," Klink agreed, "But, General, if I may…"

"You may not."

"I may not."

"When I return, this camp better be spotless. It is important that we make a good impression on our allies."

"Of course, Herr General."

"In two days, Major Jirō Saito of the Imperial Army of Japan…"

"Japan!" Klink gasped.

"Japan!" Carter echoed.

LeBeau whistled and Hogan leaned in closer to the pot as his face grew more thoughtful.

"That's what I said, Klink!"

"I am honored, sir, to ….

"Shut up and let me finish."

"Yes, sir. Shutting up, sir."

"As I said, in two days Major Saito and several members of his staff will be traveling here for a top secret meeting with one of our most respected scientists, Dr. Johan Reiter."

Carter exchanged a worried glance with LeBeau. He didn't like the sound of that meeting. Japan and Germany caused enough trouble doing their own things. He didn't want to see what they would achieve working together.

"General, I'm honored to host such distinguished visitors. But Stalag Thirteen is not equipped to provide for so many guests…"

"You will host Dr. Reiter and his assistants in the guest hut. Major Saito and his men will take your quarters."

"My quarters! But, sir, where will I sleep?"

"You will sleep on Russian Front if everything isn't ready in time!"

Klink whimpered and Burkhalter gave several more threats before storming out of the office.

Newkirk whistled as Kinch unplugged the pot. "Sounds like we're getting a big fish, sir."

"Right," Kinch agreed. "And Reiter is a scientist. You think they're coming to work on a new weapon?"

"It could be a new bomb or a missile. Or a specialty tank or a new type of plane. But whatever it is, it can't be good," Carter said.

"Well, we aren't going to wait to find out," Hogan declared. "Kinch, get on the radio and see what London knows about our visitors." Then changing gears, he ordered, "Newkirk, Carter, get some sleep if you can. I need you ready to go out tonight. There's going to be a bombing raid on a factory north of Dusseldorf. Depending on how this meeting goes, we may need a courier."

Newkirk's muscles were beginning to stiffen from standing out in the cold for so long. The bombers had been late, and the wind had a cold bite to it this evening. He longed for a smoke to help him break the tension, but he had left his pack back at camp.

Carter, however, was a bundle of energy beside him as he watched the explosions. "Look at that one! Boom, what a beauty! They sure got the factory good, didn't they?"

The Englishman ignored his friend's enthusiasm as he kept a careful watch on the fight above. The Krauts had finally managed to rouse their fighters and they were zeroing in on one of the bombers. He held his breath, but luck did not continue to remain on their side as the next explosion brought no exclamation of joy from his friend. Newkirk counted five parachutes in the air which meant that the entire crew had gotten out in time. However, only one parachute – the last one – looked like it was going to land close enough for them to pull off a rescue.

Silently, the two POWs moved as one in the direction of the final parachute. They would have to be careful. It wouldn't be long before the woods were filled with Krauts.

Ten minutes later they found the downed flyer moving slowly through the brush ahead. "Psst," Newkirk called out.

The solider spun around toward the sound.

"Whoa!" Carter gasped. "You're Japanese!"

Newkirk immediately tensed. The man's uniform was that of a Yankee officer, but his face looked Japanese. At least, it looked close to what he had seen in the cinema.

The officer sighed as he gestured at his uniform. "I'm an American. And my family emigrated from China, not Japan."

"Ah, China," Carter said.

Newkirk recognized that tone in his friend's voice. It was the same tone he used before playing twenty questions with prisoners whom they suspected of being moles back in camp. How Carter could fool half of Germany into thinking that he was a German general, but fail to hide his suspicions in front of people who were supposed to be their Allies, the Englishman would never know. But Carter's suspicions weren't completely off base; Newkirk didn't know how to tell the difference between a Japanese and a Chinese person either. However, they were under orders to bring downed flyers back to camp and this man had clearly been shot down. So he was going to have to take charge before Carter's well-intended suspicions drove the officer away.

Newkirk extended his hand. "Well meet, sir. I'm Newkirk and this is Carter. We were sent to get you to safety."

The officer took it. "Lieutenant Arthur Kong. And you're clearly British."

"Guilty as charged, sir."

"What about my men?"

"Your parachute is the only one that landed close enough for us to pick up, sir," Carter explained. The Germans respond quick."

"Then we should get moving."

Newkirk and Carter led the way back to camp. Their charge was quiet, but Carter kept looking back at him in a way that told Newkirk that his friend's suspicions hadn't eased.

"How do we know that he is really Chinese?" Carter whispered. "All we have is his word. He could be a Japanese solider pretending to be a Chinese-American soldier. I can't tell the difference, can you? Japan would count on us not being able to tell the difference. He could be a spy. He could have stolen a uniform and now is planning to expose the whole operation. I don't know if we should be taking him to camp."

There were times that Carter was the most trusting man in the camp, but when his suspicious were raised, he had the annoying tendency to refuse to back down until they were proven wrong. On one hand, it was touching. It showed the depth of care Carter felt toward the men in camp.

However, at this particular moment, it was not helping matters at all.

"Carter," Newkirk whispered back, "he's a bloody officer. We should be thankful he's following us." Left unspoken, he thought, the Gov'nor will figure this out.

The downside of being in communications, Kinch decided, was that you to were continually forced to deliver difficult news. However, he had learned in working with Hogan that the best thing to do was deliver it quickly and calmly, trusting that the officer would come up with a plan. So after ensuring that the door was shut, he gave his report. "London recognized Reiter as he is involved in the upper levels of chemical warfare research. Last they heard, he was stationed somewhere in Poland. The Krauts have some top secret project going on out there and they suspect that Reiter knows the details."

Hogan took the news with a simple nod. "Let me guess. They want us to send them a Reiter-shaped package with a bow on top."

"Right. And once they consult with American Intelligence, London suspects they are going to want us to add a second package to their order."

"Figures they'd want to save on shipping," Hogan joked before falling silent.

Kinch couldn't blame him. The news that Reiter was involved in chemical warfare was not good. He had heard the stories from the survivors of the last war. He had heard of the horror and the pain caused by such weapons. War was brutal, but chemical warfare was an entirely different level of brutality. So far, neither side had been willing to resort to that degree of inhumanity. Unfortunately, it looked like that was about to change.

Kinch's thoughts were interrupted by a light knock at the door. Sergeant Greenberg stuck his head into the room and said, "Excuse me, sir. Carter and Newkirk are back."

The two men were waiting in the barracks with the rest of the men when Newkirk helped an American officer, with Lieutenant bars on his shoulders, into the room. Kinch held back a gasp of surprise when the man's face came into view. The officer had ancestry in Asia – Chinese, Japanese or Korean – he was ashamed to admit that he couldn't tell the difference.

While Newkirk gestured for the officer to sit at the table and LeBeau pressed a steaming cup of coffee into his hands, Carter inched over to them. "Colonel," the Technical Sergeant whispered, "he's Chinese. At least, he says he's Chinese."

Kinch frowned; for even though he knew what it felt like to be judged by his ethnicity, he couldn't help but share Carter's concern. How did they know that this man was who he said he was and not an enemy in disguise?

Hogan, however, wasted no time. He stepped forward and introduced himself. "Colonel Robert E. Hogan, 504th. I run this madhouse."

The officer rose and saluted. "Lieutenant Arthur Kong, 381st. I'm just glad your boys found me before Gerry did."

After the Colonel returned the gesture, he held out his hand for the officer to shake, signaling to his men – that unless proven otherwise – that Kong was one of them and he expected him to be treated as such.

When Kong sat back down at Hogan's insistence, he asked, "What happens next, sir?"

Hogan grabbed his own mug of coffee from LeBeau and said, "We hide you until the search dies down. Then we hand you off to the Underground who will help you get to the coast and you'll be back in London before you know it."

Kong whistled. "How about that? You think I'll be home in time for the New Year?"

Kinch exchanged surprised looks with the others. Had Kong bumped his head or just been so busy with the war that he had lost track of time?

Hogan grinned. "We hope that all of us will be home by the New Year. But your trip should take days or a week or two at the most. Certainly not a whole year."

Kong laughed. "No, not your New Year. The Chinese New Year. My ancestors used a different calendar so our New Year usually falls several weeks after yours. Our zodiac tells what animal is associated with each year."

"Animal?" Carter asked.

"Yes, we are currently in the Year of the Goat."

Newkirk looked incredulous. "Why would you name year after a goat? They smell and they eat everything."

"Hey, my uncle raised goats," Carter protested.

"And they taste great in stew," LeBeau stated.

It was a good thing that Kong was a good sport as he patiently explained, "The goat is considered creative, dependable and intelligent. They look soft but possess a great inner strength."

"What animal comes next, sir?" Kinch asked.

Kong shrugged. "I forget."

Hogan had that look as he asked, "Lieutenant, when did you say the New Year was?"

"January 25th."

"That's four days from now," Kinch stated. "Sir, you're not thinking…"

Hogan grinned; he had been thinking exactly what his XO suspected. "Kinch, radio Mama Bear. I want to know which animal is next in the zodiac."

While Kinch confirmed a few details with Kong to make sure that he asked London the right questions, Carter elbowed LeBeau. "Any chance we are entering the year of the bear?'

Kong smiled. "Sorry, no year of the bear, but we do have the year of the horse, rat and snake."

LeBeau shuddered. "Rats. Hope it isn't that one."

A little disappointed he didn't get to hear the rest of his friends' guesses, Kinch quickly descended into the tunnels. In no time, he had the radio up and running.

"Papa Bear calling Mama Bear."

The radio crackled. "This is Mama Bear."

"We picked up a new cub this evening. We want to confirm that he is one of ours."

"Go ahead."

Kinch rattled off a string of code that gave Kong's name, rank and unit. It didn't take long before he got confirmation that the Lieutenant was legit. That was a relief. They needed his help to pull off this scheme Hogan was hatching and Kinch was beginning to genuinely respect the man. Kong must have faced obstacles similar to his own and yet he had risen to a position of leadership in the USAAF.

But now that Kinch had confirmed Kong's identity, he took a deep breath. He hoped it wouldn't be too hard to convince London that their next request was not a joke. "We also need to know what animal in the Chinese zodiac corresponds to the upcoming Chinese New Year."

It wasn't hard to hear the shock in the operator's voice. "Say again."

"We need to know what animal in the Chinese zodiac corresponds to the upcoming Chinese New Year. We are currently in the Year of the Goat. We need to know what animal comes next. Over."

A few moments passed before London replied, "Papa Bear, Year of the Goat is not in the code book."

"Negative, Mama Bear. We aren't using code. We just really need the answer."

"Roger. I'll see what we can do. Out."

Knowing that it would take some time while London searched for the answer to their question, he returned to the barracks.

"Well?" LeBeau asked as the radioman lowered his bunk.

Kinch smiled. "First things first, Lieutenant, London is pleased to hear that you survived the raid on Dusseldorf and hopes to see you soon."

Relief was immediately evident on most of the prisoners' faces. It seemed that they all had had their doubts concerning the downed flyer's loyalties and Kinch's words confirmed that the officer was legit. However, Kong also recognized the message behind the message and rose to his feet. "You checked me out?"

"Take it easy, Lieutenant," Hogan reassured him. "With our operation, we check everyone out."

Thankfully, Kong seemed to accept that answer and he sat back down and allowed LeBeau to refresh his coffee.

Kinch continued with his report as if the interruption hadn't happened. "However, I believe our other request confused them. They said they're looking into it, but I'm not sure they are going to be much help. I think they're convinced that we've gone mad."

"Completely bonkers," Newkirk agreed. "But considering we are talking about a second New Year, London might not be wrong."

"Other New Years are nothing new," Foster explained. "The first Sunday of Advent is considered the Christian New Year. And that is in late November or early December."

"And the Jewish New Year is in September or October," Greenberg added.

"Imagine if we were able to celebrate all of them!" Carter said enthusiastically. "Klink wouldn't know what to do."

Hogan smiled as he said, "We just need Klink to let us celebrate this one." Then turning to his XO, he added, "Mama Bear will come through."

Kinch took that as a sign to return to his post. Thankfully, he only had to wait about twenty minutes before the radio came to life. "Papa Bear, this Mama Bear calling."

"Papa Bear here."

"According to the Chinese zodiac, we are entering the Year of the Monkey."

"Thank you, Mama Bear. Papa Bear out."

Kinch climbed up into a silent barracks as every eye was watching him with eager anticipation. He grinned as he announced, "Year of the Monkey."

Carter could hardly contain his excitement. "Year of the Monkey! That's even better than the bear. Schultz is going to go crazy when he finds out."

"When Schultz finds out, he might just volunteer for the Russian Front," Newkirk quipped.

LeBeau, however, saw a major hole in their plan. "One problem, mon Colonel. We have no Chinese prisoners in camp. So, unless we let the guards capture Lieutenant Kong, how are we going to convince Klink to let us celebrate?"

Hogan smirked. "We'll just have to convince him that someone here is part Chinese."

The short, black-haired Frenchman looked around for a likely candidate. "But, sir, who?"

Hogan didn't have to answer because it didn't take LeBeau long to realize that everyone else in the barracks was staring directly at him.

Author's Note: To anyone who is wondering, yes, Chinese-Americans flew in combat during WWII and I have named Lieutenant Arthur Kong after two of these heroic veterans.

Major Arthur Chin was the first American ace in WWII and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He served as a US volunteer combat aviator during the Japanese invasion of China from 1937 – 1939.

Second Lieutenant Wah Kau Kong was the first Chinese-American fighter pilot in the US Army Air Corps. He was killed in action when his plane was shot down over Blomberg, Germany.

Source: Wikipedia