Transition Plan Chapter 79: In His Majesty's Service Part 29 -"The Tower"

Authors Notes: Well here we go on the final run to the end. Climb in, sit down, strap in, and hang on! As always, the British, French, and German soldiers' names involved in the actual battle for Kamina are real (with a few minor changes in their roles in the historical events to help the plot), the locations of the battles are real, and so is every date of the timeline for historical characters into which I have interwoven our fictional heroes. Hope you enjoy!

…

On the opposite side of the clearing from Jeanne and Jack, Armand, his men, and Tarzan were also startled awake just before dawn by the train explosion in its approach to Kamina, its destruction by grenades, and the sound of sudden and intense gunfire, including a machine gun, one of the few super weapons used in the conflict invented before the War by a British-American. The fighting south of town was extremely vicious. The locomotive would never move again and Armand wondered how many allies the explosion had taken out. He could see the smoke and steam cloud marking its demise rise from the train station from the top of the hill.

The locomotive explosion took a number of troops out in the lead passenger coach just behind the coal tender, and the Germans momentarily rejoiced. But streaming from the passenger coaches further behind were an overwhelming number of troops that closed on the defenders, and there were more trains approaching.

…

For the French Special Forces, it was the long-awaited signal to move out. The gunfire would hide their operation on the hill in an inevitable battle with that defensive force.

The German Polizeitruppen guarding the radiotelegraph were very nervous. The fight would soon come to them if Major von Roebern failed to defend the town. No other regular German Army commander had yet won a battle against the French or British. They knew that all the British and French forces had to do to complete their victory in Togoland was take the radiotelegraph.

The Lieutenant, a young policeman in Kamina drawn into service as the squad leader, said, "Men, if they get through, we fight with everything we have to save this station. The telegraph cannot fall into their hands. They will control communications for thousands of miles. Every German colony is at risk if it falls and is destroyed with no communications. Our Navy will be blind on the high seas without it.

Swallowing hard, the rest of the troops, "Yes sir."

The citizen soldiers knew they were no match for the regular French and British Army, but counted on von Roebern's warriors to defeat the threat in town, and vowed to do their best no matter what. The men went into the jungle to protect the long trail up the hill from the town to the Wireless, looking for any early signs of the troops. They had no idea they were already compromised, but not by the French troops that overran the train station laying waste to the remaining defensive force.

…

Major von Roebern was wounded and was down but not dying. Major Maroix stepped past his injured body after disarming him and shackling him to be a prisoner, guarded by the corporal he ordered to stay behind with the German, and pressed with the rest of his men deep into town. Von Roebern had been a worthy foe. Every inch of gained turf from Chra onward was hard fought against this determined leader, and just because he was defeated didn't mean the fight was over. No other German force had fought as bravely as his men and they fought fiercely. Armand pinned his French Valor Medal on the German commander's tunic and saluted the shocked warrior in honor. Maroix never assumed he had the upper hand, ever since the near-loss at Chra. The battle for Kamina was still street by street and the defenses were not withering. Major von Roebern had many equally well-trained assistants facing them ahead.

…

Jack and Jeanne positioned themselves low in the last line of trees and bushes overlooking the open field that held the Wireless, ready to move at a moment's notice. The wait was excruciating, especially since their fathers were directly involved in the fighting here and both men could be injured or killed, and the children knew this part of the fight they could do absolutely nothing about. They could not safely reveal themselves until their fathers secured the area or they themselves were at grave risk. While they were waiting, they could hear the battle raging all over Kamina in the valley below the hills, and they heard civilians screaming and crying and fleeing from the French and German troops. There were random explosions and numerous black plumes of smoke collected over the village. It brought back very bad memories for Jeanne. She shook. But there were no signs of their fathers. They involuntarily held their breaths.

…

The Lieutenant leading the Polizeitruppen knew he was in trouble for at least a half hour into their patrol. The jungle was absolutely silent. He knew that wasn't right. It was like the animals themselves were holding their breath in anticipation of something happening. He was about to turn to disperse the men further apart than in a single long line.

But before he could do that, without warning from a huge outcropping of dense foliage, two huge bare feet attached to a nearly naked man flew sideways into the side of the head of the Polizeitruppen soldier right behind him, snapped the man's neck, and he dropped like a rag doll. Improbably, the blur of the half-naked man swung across the trail on a vine into the safety of the trees on the other side and vanished. As the next soldier in line swung his gun around to shoot where the wild man had disappeared, an enormous knife came from the foliage right into the soldier's chest, pinning him to a tree. The gunshot went off harmlessly into the trees, and the soldier groaned and slumped over the blade that had impaled him.

The jungle man moved to the tree, pulled his knife from the victim, and roared a like a lion, freezing the next three soldiers in their tracks in the trail behind, who could not see what was happening ahead. The foliage was so dense all they heard was the lion's roar from in front of them but saw nothing. Immediately the rest of the German guards reacted in panic to what they thought was a lion attack. There was a frenzy of gun fire in all directions. They had nothing to aim at, so they fired everywhere.

The Germans were so focused on the lion sound, not realizing a man made the noise, they failed to see, from all around them just off the trail, men covered in leaves and branches who rose up and shot their own weapons or slashed the defenders with blades. Blood from the guards was instantly everywhere.

The surprise didn't last long though, and they realized they were in a fire fight with the French, not a lion, but hours earlier than expected. It had all been a trick.

The Lieutenant was baffled how had the French soldiers had arrived so fast from the railway station, but then he was crestfallen, realizing they had been there all along for who knows how many days. They were dealing with forces who knew the jungle far better than they, and he knew all was lost already. But like any good soldier he fought on because he had to, and duty to country would not permit otherwise. He knew he was not far away from his last breath.

…

The kids were nervous hearing a scuffle across the clearing in the woods. They jumped as they heard a lion's roar. There were no lions in this jungle, but the Germans didn't know that.

However, Jack and Jeanne knew no lions lurked here, so Jack smiled knowing it was his dad. She asked, "It's him, isn't it?"

"Yep."

Jeanne squeezed him seeing his relief. But their relief was short lived, as they heard gunfire erupt very close by. Jeanne could hear her father's yells ordering the men under his command. Nothing could be heard from Tarzan after the lion roar, but there were other animal sounds and it was certain that those noises were his or the animals that would help them fight against the Germans.

…

With the surprise gone, the battle between the German guards and the French Special Forces became vicious and hand-to-hand, but the defenders were completed outclassed. The German guards dropped one-by-one at the hands of the French Special Forces. A German sharpshooter, the only real soldier in the guards near the end of the patrol line, had a fleeting view of what was happening, and quickly dropped to the ground and crawled away, hoping not to be noticed and killed. Someone had to survive to continue the fight. He already realized the others were lost. He knew what he had to do. Even if he eventually died, he had to take out the French and especially the wild man, all of whom had obviously come to capture or destroy the station.

Tarzan sounded like a lion, and he fought as hard as a male lion unleashed. He grabbed a German guard by the collar and tossed him against the Lieutenant, knocking both of them unconscious. He would try to spare lives if possible, but realized it was a kill or be killed situation.

In little over a minute, the skirmish was over. The French Forces stood over a fifty yard section of path, looked around them, and signaled the 'all clear' to one another. It had not been a perfect surprise against a very determined group of defenders. Several Frenchmen had been killed or were mortally wounded. Not one German was left standing with most either dead or dying, and the rest had no fight in them.

The lone survivor was the Lieutenant. He fought valiantly, but was, like the others, thrown into this fight. He was a policeman, not a soldier. He knew it was hopeless to fight on against these men. He begged for mercy after being felled, so he could take care the surviving population of Kamina, and his pregnant wife, an 18 year old who was hiding in a cellar with her mother who was afraid she'd never see her husband again. Having pregnant wives themselves and children already, Tarzan and Armand took pity on the young man, but bound him and gagged him securely and disarmed him roughly, letting him go with a prominent white flag to surrender to Maroix. Armand knew the Major had the reputation of always honoring terms of surrender.

Armand stared into the 20 year old's terrified eyes, and threatened in fluent German, "Go home, Lieutenant. Tell them you fought were captured and escaped, but say nothing of us to the French or British or I will track you down and slit your throat personally."

The Colonel ripped one of his buttons off with the Armee de Terre coat of arms and put it in his hand, so the young man's story would seem plausible.

The Lieutenant had no reason to believe this intimidating French warrior wouldn't do exactly has he vowed and agreed fully. The young man fled for home for his wife, wearing the white flag in case Maroix' people found him first.

"Think he'll go home or call us out?" asked Tarzan, genuinely impressed by the Frenchman's act of kindness.

Armand shrugged, "He's a local forced into this. I've never seen a man more frightened and worried about his family. He'll never say anything."

The French all exchanged very serious looks, and for once they had the upper hand, despite their losses, finally feeling they had avenged the hundreds of lives lost in the Moroccan base ambush and U boat sinking of the cruiser. The months of jungle training for the operation to take down the defenders had worked well even with casualties, and they had the Count to thank for how successful they were so far, but knew they weren't done yet.

Tarzan and the French warriors did not see one of the wounded guards, thought to be dead, struggle to give the fight one final try. He got on his knees, drew a bead on Tarzan's head from behind, and slowly squeezed the trigger.

A green and red blur flashed from the underbrush directly into the German gunman's face. Tarzan heard a sickening rip, a scream, and a squawk, and turned in time to a see spray of blood behind him. The enemy guard dropped in agony and his shot went astray.

A Special Forces soldier just behind the fallen enemy guard put his bayonet through the assailant's heart. Tarzan had the chilling expression of a wild animal as he watched the man die who almost killed him.

"Thank you," the Count rasped to the Frenchman, who grimly nodded.

Before Tarzan could ask what happened, a cape parrot landed on his shoulder. There was blood all over his claws, beak, and feathers. Tarzan understood instantly and reached to soothe the bird, "Thank you Icheoku. I owe you my life."

The bird calmed down and replied, "My pleasure, Tarzan. Korak saved my life from that croc. Family protects family."

But then Tarzan realized how far out of place his son's bird friend was, and asked, "Icheoku? What are you doing so far from home? You left your new mate to travel over 100 miles just to protect me? Did Jane and Noni put you up to this?"

The bird said nothing, but licked the blood off its claws and plumage and looked away from the Lord of the Jungle.

Tarzan scrutinized the parrot, "I can tell that look. Talk to me."

The parrot hesitated but finally said, "They made me promise not to tell you."

Tarzan was completed puzzled, "They? They who?"

But the ape man knew instantly. He got a look of total shock, "Oh no! The children are here, aren't they?"

"Yes Tarzan, they are," Icheoku answered sheepishly.

Tarzan rose from his crouch in a combination of anger and shock, not at the bird, but at his son.

"Where?" he snarled, looking all around. He had no idea he had just become a target.

"Now I have you wild man. Time for revenge," thought the sharpshooter who had managed to escape the melee by climbing high into the sanctuary of the canopy. He took careful aim at the ape man now standing in the clear on the trail below. He would not miss like the other guard who just paid with his life.

Armand caught the movement above them and shouted, "Count!"

The sharpshooter's shot rang out in the jungle.

Tarzan reacted without thinking, and he leaped out of the way to one side of the trail with Icheoku flying away into the dense tangle of the jungle to safety. Tarzan clutched his left leg and groaned.

Armand emptied his pistol at the gunman, but the German had already disappeared further up into the foliage.

The French commander pursed his lips and thought, "This one knows something about the jungle."

The Colonel yelled to his troops, "After him, now!"

Three soldiers took off in pursuit, climbing into the trees like Tarzan had taught them all.

Tarzan tried to rise, but yelled out in pain. A gunshot wound was bleeding in his thigh and he collapsed and clutched his leg in agony. Armand rushed to Tarzan's side and looked at the wound. It was not serious, with no damage to any major artery or nerve, but it was deep.

"Medic!" yelled Armand.

Tarzan attempted a brave smile at his French friend.

"I'm getting too old for this sort of thing," he said through clenched teeth.

The field medic tried to clean and dress the wound. It had really gone far into the muscle. It was going to take a lot more to get the slug out.

Tarzan clenched his fists in pain, but managed to say, "Armand. I have to tell you in case I pass out. The parrot told me the children are here."

Armand was shocked, "What? No, that cannot be. You're delirious, Count Clayton."

"I assure you the parrot would not lie to me. They are here, but I don't know where. We have to continue the operation before they decide to 'help us' like they did that practice day. I know Jack will stay hidden and out of danger until they see us safe. That will give us some time."

Armand helped the ape man to his feet, but it didn't look good, with Tarzan favoring his good leg, as he asked, "Can you climb like that?"

"I don't know, but we sure are going to find out," the Englishmen answered uncertainly.

If Tarzan's ability to climb the tower in time was in doubt before, Armand said nothing, but knew it was even more unlikely now.

Tarzan tried to ignore the pain and strode forward with purpose as best he could toward the radio station, "We got the defenders, Colonel. Let's get to the tower quickly and get on with it."

Tarzan grimaced and groaned with nearly every step, but denied any help after being assisted to stand and he limped on. The Frenchmen all noticed Tarzan's bad limp and just looked at each other with great concern.

Armand ordered his men, "Maroix is taking the city. With little defense, he'll be here in the early afternoon. We have to be done and gone."

…

Jeanne and Jack were hearing but not seeing their fathers' battle with the radiotelegraph guards. They were frightened with every gunshot and yelling in French and German. Jeanne could hear her father's shouts ordering the men in his command and looked at Jack with hope and he squeezed her hand. It was suddenly quieter. Jack heard a parrot's screech, a shot from in the trees and a groan, and Armand's urgent call for a medic, and they heard and noticed the upper level foliage move across the clearing. Jack's heartbeat raced. Had Icheoku or his dad been shot or killed? He expressly told the little parrot to leave and not to fight.

The noise of battle in the trees beyond them stopped. They heard footsteps and low conversation and a couple of extra gunshots in the distance. They were really worried.

Men appeared in the clearing.

Instead of German troopers, Tarzan appeared with the Colonel and the French Special Forces.

"They won! Jack whispered joyously. Jeanne and he hugged, but remained unseen and silent.

The children noticed the allies had won at a cost. It seemed like a large number of Frenchmen were missing, but that was not what worried Jack the most.

Tarzan had a big bandage around one leg, and the French Army medic was tending to him. It was clear his dad had been shot and wounded, and was limping pretty badly. His brave father pressed on. The men rushed to the base of the tower and got ready to take it down.

Jeanne watched Jack anxiously as the boy bit his lip in great worry about his father, "Jeanne, we need to go. Now. He's hurt and going to try to go anyway. He'll never make it."

Tarzan hefted the bag of dynamite, clearly in pain just standing, much less trying to carry the extra weight of the dynamite. He tried three times to climb the tower but couldn't. Each time he fell back groaning in pain.

Tarzan finally admitted, "I'm sorry, Colonel. After all these months and all this way and I can't do what I need to really do. I can't demolish the tower."

Armand shook his head in dismay, "The tower has to be completely destroyed or the Germans will just mount an offensive to recapture it and then we've gained nothing. My men and I have to secure Togoland and proceed to aid the Kamerun offensive. That will be a much harder battle. Every French soldier is needed there. We can't waste more time or energy on Togoland other than to provide forces to occupy it. None of my men have your skills, Count. This has to come down. All we have is a bag of dynamite. Maybe we can damage or partially destroy this station from the ground."

Fighting was clearly dying down in the city. They were under intense pressure to complete the mission.

"Let me try again…" Tarzan said with exasperation, but before he could attempt a climb again, the French Forces noticed there was a lot of noise and motion in the bushes across the clearing. All the men were on instant alert.

It seemed to Tarzan that whatever was in the bushes was making too much noise for enemy soldiers. He pulled his knife.

The Sergeant asked his Colonel, "Should we fire? It could be that sniper again."

Eight weapons were trained on the movement on the jungle's edge, all ready to open fire.

"No! wait! Let's see who this is," Tarzan shouted loudly. The Colonel assented and gave his men the sign to hold.

The bushes moved in a familiar way – the way he'd taught his son to announce a surprise entrance when his presence needed to be known and to not be attacked.

Tarzan yelled as loudly has he could, "Don't fire! It's our children!"

All the gun muzzles were instantly raised up when they heard Tarzan's revelation. The Special Forces always had perfect discipline.

Jack stepped forward with Jeanne and proudly declared, "Uh… hi Dad. I'm here to climb the tower for you. I am really sorry you are hurt, Dad, but everyone here knows you can't climb now."

Tarzan ignored what Jack said and his jaw tightened in anger, but had to ask the obvious question, "Jack? What are you doing here?"

"Like I just said. I knew you needed help. We had to help, Dad. Please don't be mad. The treehouse was attacked but mom and Grandpa stopped them. We were all almost killed. We needed to come here. Or you would be killed too."

Both fathers knew that story had to be explained, but it had to wait.

Jacot was livid that Jeanne was with him, "Children. We forbid you to come."

Jack tried to explain, "Sorry Colonel Jacot. We needed to help. We had to. You'll both die without us. Only I can climb the tower. Especially now."

Ignoring Jack with an angry look, Jacot grabbed Jeanne by the arms and shoved Jack away. He crouched and looked sternly into the eyes of his daughter. He demanded of her, "Did Jack make you come?"

Tarzan took some offense at that but stayed silent. Jack didn't do those kinds of things. He knew Armand's headstrong daughter couldn't be forced to stay home if Jack went. If Jacot wanted to blame someone for his daughter being here, the Frenchman's temper needed to be directed at her.

Jeanne was on the verge of crying. She had never seen such anger directed at her from her father,"No Papa. I came on my own. I had to come with Jack. I could never let him go alone."

The two fathers understood the young couple's devotion to each other. But they were too upset with their children to appreciate their bond.

Tarzan was equally angry with his son and chastised them both, "Why did you come? It's too dangerous. Doing this together could get you both killed. Your mothers will be worried sick. You both are totally reckless."

That made Jack bridle, so he stood bravely tall and declared, "This was our choice, Dad. If we don't defeat them here we will all fight and die in Nigeria. You know the Germans will just come back."

He had a point. The two fathers reluctantly agreed, relented in their anger, and Jacot gained a grudging respect for the young man standing before him. Jacot let Jeanne go and she immediately reached to Jack and took his hand. She was as determined as Jack about this matter.

"Jack's right, Papa. And you know it," she said defiantly.

Armand saw the commitment in her eyes and the set in her jaw. Though she had her father's eye color, that determined look was totally her mother's. He hoped Jack was ready for that very strong will of hers.

Tarzan and Armand knew their backs were to the wall, and there really was only one person who could do this. Both men exchanged a silent look of assent.

"All right Viscount Clayton, you are going to get what you asked for," Jacot decided, "We've secured the area, and the one remaining German soldier is being pursued. You are going to do this, Viscount Clayton. You're the only one who's proven they can, whether your father and I like it or not."

Tarzan nodded in agreement.

Jacot hesitated a moment, and it was still hard for him to quell his anger at the children, but he continued, "Dammit young man, you two you give us no choice. You already know what to do, but let's be clear – you will dynamite each major section of the antenna, the transmitter, and the generator. You must light each fuse by hand. Jeanne will guide you and time you like she did before. Remember Jack, you must light the longest fuse at the top, you will only have five minutes to place all the other charges and get to safety. The French and British regular forces will be here soon. We have to be long gone from here by the time they come. This operation is a secret. Even from our own people. There is no backing out now, Viscount. You are in his Majesty's service for England, young man."

He stood proudly, knowing he was now the youngest English conscript, "I would never back out of this duty, sir. You know I can do all of that Colonel Jacot, and you know that too, Dad."

Tarzan just shook his head in pride at his brave son, "It pains me to say 'yes', but we do know, Jack. I guess we always knew. That doesn't change a thing about what we told you to do. When we get home, you and Jeanne will be severely punished for disobeying us. Am I clear?"

He scrutinized the children waiting for their acknowledgement. They both swallowed hard.

"Yes, Count Clayton."

"Yes, Father."

Tarzan affirmed that decision with deliberately crossed arms staring down his son. Jack winced. Being on the receiving end of punishment from his father was going to be more painful than any gunshot wound to the leg.

…

The Special Forces had forgotten two other Germans inside the transmitter room, now completely trapped because all the guards were eliminated and the Frenchmen were next to their transmitter blockhouse. Through hidden slits Gunter and Karl-Heinz had seen most of the battle rage, and certainly they knew the outcome and what was going to happen next.

"Children with the fighters?" asked a very perplexed Gunter.

"I have no idea why. They appear to belong to the wild man and the leader. Clearly, three of them are some sort of jungle people like the natives," Karl-Heinz observed.

"Should we kill them?" suggested Gunter.

Karl-Heinz dismissed the thought, "No. We aren't murderers, besides with only two pistols, we wouldn't last a minute against those soldiers. I have another idea now that those kids are here. Something better than killing. This place will be history in minutes. We're leaving while we can still leave."

Gunter noted, "Our German Army friends won't be happy."

Karl-Heinz snapped, "Our German Army friends are all dead."

Gunter sighed, "Yeah. Right. Too bad. I liked those guys. But how do we get out of here? Outside will be a death trap."

Karl-Heinz gave Gunter an annoyed look and glanced at the way out.

Gunter was a bit embarrassed, "Ah! I almost forgot. Karl-Heinz, am I ever glad now that you had them put that in."

"That's why I'm the brains of this outfit," Karl-Heinz replied and gave a self-righteous grin, and added, "Grab your pistol, the bag of money and gold, and the rucksack of special Giftgasgranates out of the safe. Leave everything else."

Gunter cautioned, "Are you sure you know what you're doing? Those things give me the willies. They could go off in here."

Karl-Heinz scolded, "Absolutely I know what I'm doing. Those are our only way out of here alive."

The younger blond man removed the throw rug covering the square wooden escape hatch in the floor, opened it, revealing the ladder down into the tunnel, and started climbing down into the dark and wet. He removed a snake from one of the wrungs.

Gunter fretted, "Did I ever tell you I was claustrophobic?"

Karl-Heinz just rolled his eyes, "Nope. Too late now, get over it. Or stay behind and die. Unless you're too fat for the tunnel, too."

Gunter shook his head at his partner in crime, "I'm coming. I'm coming."

Neither man could believe this was all happening to them and their anger just started.

…

Jack and Jeanne stood by the tower as the Frenchmen set up a defensive perimeter and watched for anything that might interfere with Jack's destruction of the tower.

Jeanne stroked Jack's cheek and kissed it, "This is it, cher copain. I know you can do this. There's a real kiss waiting for you when you get back."

He grinned and blushed, "Your faith in me will get me through, Mangani girl. And you know I'll do anything to kiss you."

"Why do you think I promised that, jungle boy?" she grinned.

They laughed a little, had a brief hug then parted, and she encouraged, "I got your back. Get going."

Tarzan and Armand noted the degree of affection between them and their maturity. It was cute and worrisome at the same time.

Jack knew that he had to leave his bow and arrow, keeping his knife only as a tool aloft, trusting his total defense to the others. He hefted the bag of dynamite, secured it over his shoulders, checked for the lighters and noted the color coding and markings on each stick of dynamite exactly where each was supposed to go – each had a pre-cut fuse. It was a very heavy bag, but not so much he couldn't handle it. He'd been carrying Jeanne on his back for nearly two weeks and she was heavier than the bag of dynamite. He was in the best physical shape in his life, an unexpected benefit of the trek.

He grabbed the first brace of the tower truss-work, looked at Jeanne with that wordless loving glance which she returned with a tender smile, looked at the mass of metal and cables above him, sighed deeply, and climbed upward with purpose.

…

Author's Notes: Sorry everyone. This became a two-parter in mid-stream. The characters demanded I tell their story the way they want it remembered. Who am I to argue with a naked armed ape man, jungle boy, and Mangani girl? Especially with a bag of dynamite?