Hi, my dear readers,

Thank you so much for the feedback. I'm glad that the different-told episode finds you approval, because it really was a challenge to write it just like it was filmed all those many years ago, yet to give it another atmosphere, and to add several things.

In the new chapter now, the last part of it happens – and its outcome will have a certain impact concerning the next coming showdown. In the end I mixed some true history events with it, but also added several scenes which should complete the episode but also it's end.

I hope, you're going to like it.

Have fun,

Love

Yours Starflight

Chapter 57 – Rockets, romance and the outcome

In Stalag 13, LeBeau already came up with an idea to set Hogan's plan concerning the sabotage of the rocket launcher within the camp into motion. An empty barrel that served as barbeque, Schultz's gluttony, and one of Carter's toys (namely the high power magnet he had crafted weeks ago to kill boredom) would be the path to success.

Of course Schultz knew that some big 'monkey business' was going on, as LeBeau appeared in an apron and chef hat with a plate full of utensils for cooking, offering to cook dinner for him because he was on duty. As much as he, Hans, and the prisoners of Barracks 2 had grown close, he knew that this here was completely out of line. Yet, Schultz played along. After all, Klink had told him during a calm minute that Hogan's men needed any support they could get.

Carter and Olsen wheeled a barrel beside the Kommandantur that held a grit and a heater LeBeau used to fry the steak. The Sergeant of the Guards simply knew that this whole 'cooking favor' had to do with the blasted rocket launcher and that Hogan's men wanted to stop the deadly rocket before it would cost thousands of lives. And he could have bet a whole month's salary that the 'barbeque barrel' held some technical device that was ought to sabotage the rocket.

Risky, but doable. And he was more than okay with it.

To be not the only one who could become a suspect by an obvious, paranoid Burkhalter, he invited another guard to join him for the unexpected dinner. Because any heater needed power, no one really minded that Carter used an electrical cord he connected with the truck's energy supply. While Louis cooked, using the barrel as a kind of electric barbeque grill, Carter activated the hidden magnet for a test. It worked on the fork, which instantly seemed to be glued to the grit.

Like this, no one became suspicious of the barrel's presence beside the Kommandantur, and Schultz was happy with the early dinner. The Heroes had been able to place the toy for their sabotage into the correct range of the rocket launcher. Now they only had to wait for Burkhalter to launch the rocket, and the missile would fly away…but not in the wished direction.

They were almost done with everything as they heard the approaching droning of aircrafts and looked up. They saw a few bombers heading to the northeast, and a minute later detonations ripped through the air. While Schultz and the others gaped at the pillars of smoke, which rose towards the skies, LeBeau and the others grinned. As it seemed, Hogan's mission had been a full success.

One of the windows of Klink's office was torn open, and Burkhalter and Klink looked out. The curses the general shouted didn't need any translation. Of course the fat Austrian knew what had exploded a few kilometers away. Screaming at Klink to contact his men and order them to check on the mobile rocket launchers, Burkhalter all but slammed the window closed that made the glass shivered.

"Poor Klink," LeBeau murmured. "He certainly gets the whole load of fury Burkhalter has to burst with."

"Yeah, even if our Balding Eagle is not to blame for the first failure of the general's mission," Olsen whispered.

"Do you know what this partial success also means?" Carter said quietly, looking at his friends. As they only glanced questioningly at him, he said, "The planned air raid of the Luftwaffe is cancelled, too."

"Hopefully. The Krauts could still attack without the support of the rockets – or simply delay the whole assault and plan a new one…this time with only one rocket," LeBeau grumbled, glaring at the missile a few meters away from him.

From inside of the Kommandantur, loud voices were still to hear, and Louis scratched his neck. "Maybe we should cover our device here with firewood. If one of the guards, or Burkhalter, should check on it, no one will find our magnet and think the barrel is being used to stock firewood for Klink's office."

"A good idea," Carter nodded and looked at Olsen. "Come on, let us get some wood before Burkhalter is finished with screaming murder and comes out of the office."

LeBeau began to summon the cooking utensils and threw one last look to the smoke. This part of the mission was fulfilled, yet one very important detail was still at risk: Hogan's safety.

*** HH *** HH ***

Hogan watched the grey SS truck with hawk eyes. For more than a quarter hour now it practically parked at their door step down the hill. He had switched off the transmitter and the handie-talkie, yet even with the devices cut off, the Gestapo could detect incoming signals. They could not lead them to Hogan, but to the broadcaster, and this was Baker in Stalag 13.

All of sudden, the truck began to move again, and for a few seconds, Robert felt a hue of panic, then he saw how the truck left the street and drove straight into the woods. Hogan didn't know if he should catch his breath or not. Obviously the Krauts had caught new signals and were following them.

Then it hit him. The transmitters here had been detected, and the men in the truck had contacted Burkhalter. Like this, Klink, and therefore Baker and the others, had learned of Hogan's radio being revealed, and his men were now outside to distract the Gestapo. He didn't doubt that his friends wouldn't move hell and earth to protect him, becoming themselves the bait.

On the one hand, he was glad that they were there, distracting the Gestapo. On the other hand, they had brought themselves into mortal danger. And if they were caught, Burkhalter would realize instantly that 'Papa Bear' was indeed Hogan.

With a dry mouth, Hogan watched the truck vanishing between the bushes, ruthlessly tearing down branches and little trees, which were not higher than twenty centimeters.

All of sudden, the colonel's hearing caught the typical droning of approaching airplanes. The bombers were coming. If out there, not far away, his friends were luring the Gestapo away from him, they were in dangerous range of the detonations.

So danger was coming from two sides now: from the Gestapo and from the British bombers. And there was nothing he could do about it.

'Be safe,' he thought, deep worry running through his whole being. 'Don't risk too much. The Gestapo AND our bombers are coming, so get away from this place.'

He flinched as he heard the rapid shots of a MP not far away. He didn't need to be a genius to know that the Gestapo had found what they were searching for and opened fire. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he could only stand there and wait.

*** HH *** HH ***

Baker and Newkirk had adjusted the mobile transmitter not far away from the Flensheimer Road a few bends from the cottage they knew their friend and superior was hiding out in. The faked signal they planned had to be near the original source to make the Gestapo suspicious, but also far away enough to keep Hogan and Frankel safe.

They heard the truck nearing, and Newkirk urged Baker to come with him, but the radioman continued to tap Morse signals to nobody until he heard the truck stopping and doors opening. Only then he and Newkirk raced away, seeking shelter in the tightly covered brushwood around them.

One black cladded SS-man began to fire into the direction of the transmitter before he came nearer. The man's face contorted in rage as he saw the radio and opened fire at it again. His colleague, who followed him, nodded with grim satisfaction before he stepped to the transmitter and lifted it together with shot away parts from the ground.

"I'll take it with me in case General Freiberger wants to have a closer look on it."

"At least we stopped the damn transmission," the other man said, securing his MP again. "A shame that the spies escaped. I would have loved to send them to hell and…" He stopped as he, and also his colleague and the two friends in the bushes, heard the nearing droning of heavy aircrafts.

A minute later, loud detonations ripped through the air as the two rocket launchers and their loading found an inglorious end in the falling bombs of the Royal Air Force.

*** HH *** HH ***

Hogan was glad that this part of the mission was a success, and he was even happier as Newkirk and Baker appeared in the cottage healthy and well. And he didn't mind that they interrupted Lily from kissing him. Where in earlier times he had very much liked to have her in his arms, he now felt as if he was betraying Will, even if he only played along to make her not suspicious.

Relieved, he learned that his two friends had been able to distract the Gestapo and fool the detection unit. The two SS/Gestapo men were convinced that they eliminated the danger, only to witness the destruction of the two mobile rocket launchers. Hitler and his goonies would be furious; this much was sure.

Hogan wanted to help Lily to dismount the Morse radio and to erase all tracks before they left the hut, but Baker urged him to return to the camp immediately. They would need time to get back, because dozens of Klink's men were in the area searching for the Underground agent who sent the signals. Therefore, they had to be careful. And the news that the two rocket launchers were destroyed wouldn't need long to reach Burkhalter. Klink's men and the Gestapo would confirm the disaster within a short range of time. It would be much better if the colonel was in his Barracks, where he was restricted to. It wouldn't be the first time that Burkhalter checked in person on Hogan's presence when something happened in the area.

Accepting that his men were right, Hogan bid Lily goodbye, asked her to be careful, and vanished with his two men into the wilderness around Hammelburg.

They were able to avoid the sent out guards of Stalag 13 and the Gestapo, and made it just in time back to the camp…or not. Entering the tunnels via the tree stump, Hogan was not completely done with changing back into his usual uniform as Olsen shouted down from the Barracks, "Colonel, hurry up! Burkhalter is stomping towards our Barracks, and Klink is walking after him like a scared up duck!"

"Dammit." Hogan snarled, took his shirt and shoes with him, and climbed up the ladder. Newkirk, also not fully back in uniform, did the same, while Baker remained in the tunnels. Racing towards his tiny quarters, Robert had barely closed the door behind him as he heard the entrance banging open, followed by Klink's flustered voice, "But my dear General Burkhalter, where else would Hogan be? I restricted him to his Barracks until your mission is fulfilled and…"

"STOP repeating yourself like a broken LP, Klink! What happened screams the name 'Papa Bear', and I want to know once and for all if Hogan is behind it or not! Out of my way, Corporal. And why are you half naked?" The general's voice sounded furious, gazing in Newkirk's direction.

"Because my jumper is getting washed, and I didn't exactly have my whole wardrobe with me when I was shot down over Germany," Peter deadpanned, stalling time.

"Doing laundry on Sunday? Your POWs have no manners, Klink," the general sneered, then took heavy, quick steps towards Hogan's quarters. Robert lay on his bed, shirt hidden beneath his pillow, boots beside the stock bed, book in hand. He looked up as the door was forcefully opened, and Burkhalter stopped at the threshold, Klink almost running into him before coming to a halt at the very last moment.

"Is something the matter?" Robert drawled. "Is the order that I'm restricted to my Barracks cancelled, Kommandant?"

Burkhalter only stared at him – half relieved, half angry – before he wordlessly turned around, pushed Klink out of the way, and stomped away. "Tell Hogan that there are uniform regulations even within the Barracks." He snapped before leaving the hut.

Hogan's "Yet clothes have to be washed from time to time!" reached him just before he was out of earshot.

Klink looked up at Hogan, who had braced himself lazily on one underarm, and a smile spread slowly over the Oberst's face. Robert was back safe and healthy. That was all that mattered – well, and the successful bombing of the two rockets.

"You're okay?" he whispered.

Rob nodded. "Yes, thanks to you…and Baker and Newkirk. They distracted the Gestapo just in time." He gave the older man a glance full of warmth and love. "Danke, Wilhelm."

Klink's smile even grew, then Burkhalter's voice shouted from the compound.

"KLIIIIINK, have you taken root in there or what?"

Will rolled his eyes. "God, his mood is the foulest one I ever had the displeasure to bear." Then he took a deep breath. "The air raid against England is deferred till tomorrow – with the last rocket." He nodded into the direction where the rocket launcher was parked. "It's meant for the centrum of London – Buckingham Palace and the Defense Ministry. I hope you have a good plan to prevent this catastrophe."

Hogan nodded and only asked, "When?"

"The assault is planned for noon. The rocket needs twenty minutes to reach London, and our aircrafts start earlier to attack a few minutes after the rocket hits home." He gave Hogan a pointing look before he left, closing the door behind him. With quick steps, he crossed the Barracks and gave Newkirk a short smile. "Well done," he said quietly, and headed for the entrance.

"KLINK!" Burkhalter yelled again. "I'M STILL WAI…there you are. What took you so long?" The general's voice was sharp like a sword.

"I only reminded Hogan of the uniform regulations and that laundry shouldn't be done at a Sunday," Will used Burkhalter's angry words from earlier as an excuse.

Inside of Barracks 2, the Heroes and the others smirked at each other. Poor Klink. To be the whipping boy for the general's wrath was really no walk in the park, yet they all admired how well their usually so gauche Kommandant did.

Hogan left his quarters, shirt open, shoes in hand. He sat down at the table and slipped into his shoes, lacing them together. "Okay, fellas; as you certainly all recognized, two of three rockets are done for." He glanced up. "And now, please tell me that everything is prepared to make the third V2 useless."

*** HH *** HH ***

Burkhalter became aware of the barrel beside the Kommandantur as well as Klink. They found it stocked up with firewood, and Wilhelm, used to finding excuses for everything within seconds, explained that the firewood could have been gotten for the office without a guard or Fräulein Hilda taking care of it.

Grumbling about 'everyone does only what he wants by now', Burkhalter accepted the explanation and returned to Klink's office, calling Hilda and ordered her to stay at home the next day. Even if he trusted the Luftwaffe and the scientists who had developed the launcher (and the rocket), there was still a risk that something would go wrong with the technic, and he didn't want the young woman to fall prey to it should the damn thing tear down the camp.

An hour later, he and the Kommandant went to Klink's quarters calling it an early night. Tomorrow a second attempt for a counterstrike against England would take place, and Burkhalter wanted everything perfect. The guards were doubled, twelve of them stood around the mobile rocket launcher armed with MPs, and two of the searching lights were trained on the device for the whole night.

Hogan sent the warning of the delayed, but still existing plan of the assault to London, giving them all the details he knew. He promised to try his best to prevent the rocket from reaching England, trusting that the Allies were able to intercept the approaching Luftwaffe air fighters the next day.

Later the Heroes received a message from Wagner, who informed them that Lily had made it safely back, including the equipment. All tracks had been eliminated and even if the Gestapo got the idea to turn the cottage upside down, they wouldn't find any hint that the source of the sabotage happened there. Even all fingerprints had been removed by a thoroughly cleaning of the furniture, door-knops and window-handles.

The night went by uneventful. Hogan's mind wandered a few times to Lily and how…strange it had felt to have her in his arms. He was used by now to embracing a lean, yet firm body, and to have long arms wrapped around him. Lily had been so soft and fragile somehow, he had feared to hurt her. What a difference of having Will close by. He could live out his passion with the older man all he wanted without the risk of harming him. And he felt safe and sheltered with Wilhelm, while being with Lily, he had been forced back into his role as someone who always had to take care of the other one.

Rolling from one side to the other, Robert didn't find sleep easily. The day's events, including the close call, and the bad conscience of kissing and flirting with Lily kept him awake. He would speak about it with Will at the next given opportunity. He didn't want to have any secrets between them, and Wilhelm deserved the truth…that Hogan had been forced to fall back to his old ways for a few hours, but had felt nothing for it. He hoped that Will would understand him.

The next morning came far too early, and again, no roll call happened, but the counting was done in the Barracks. To reassure Burkhalter that everything was all right, Klink made the counting in person in Barracks 2, getting the chance to speak with Robert in private for a few minutes. Like this, he learned of the Heroes' plan on how the rocket would be sabotaged.

"The magnet needs approximately ten seconds to delete the programed course and let the control system go crazy," Hogan said quietly. "So when I connect it with the electrical cord, I need…"

"Ten seconds or more until the magnet does its work," Klink nodded. "I understand. I'll distract General Burkhalter to stall for the time you need." He looked softly at Robert. "Be careful. If you're caught, General Burkhalter will shoot you without hesitation. He is so full of anger I think I have another person with his face in front of me."

Robert smiled. "It's all right, Will. Just try to calm the situation when he sees me on the compound. After all, I'm still restricted to the Barracks."

"Not anymore," Klink replied. "I cancelled the order to show you the 'strength' and 'glory' of the Third Reich that can't even be stopped by a few sabotages." He winked at him before he left the Barracks. The next few hours would be crucial.

At eleven o'clock, Hogan couldn't help himself. He became nervous. And half an hour later, he left the Barracks. His friends followed him, warily watched by the guards in the watch towers.

"Colonel Hogan, you're restricted to the Barracks," Schultz announced, as he stepped into the American's way in the middle of the compound.

"Not anymore, Schultz. Colonel Klink wants me to witness this 'glorious' moment of the Third Reich." He looked firmly into the large Bavarian's eyes, who realized that Klink had given this order to make it possible for Hogan to stop the next attempted attack on London with a rocket.

"Be careful with your monkey business," Hans whispered, before he said more loudly. "Oh, for goodness sake, then stay here. But make no trouble, do you hear me?" He lifted a warning finger before he walked away.

LeBeau, arms crossed, and Newkirk stepped beside their superior. "Good show, our tubby delivered."

"Yes, he gets better and better," Hogan nodded, eyes on the rocket launcher. "Is everything ready?"

"We have to remove the firewood from the barrel, but that is all," Louis shrugged.

"Okay, bring it into the Kommandantur. I don't take the risk that something goes wrong because of some damn wooden sticks. When the plan works, Burkhalter certainly will have other worries than checking the barrel again – or getting suspicious of it at all."

"D'accord," LeBeau nodded and headed towards the barrel, the others following him. Promptly, Schultz headed towards them while frowning.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing at the firewood.

"Ah, come on, Schultzie, you don't need glasses, do you?" Newkirk teased, gathering some of the sticks of the wood. "I'll bring this into the Kommandantur like ordered."

"'Like ordered'," Schultz grumbled, knowing that there simply didn't exist such an order, but he let it go. Following Newkirk into the building and taking care that the Englishman wouldn't disturb Klink and Burkhalter, he watched Newkirk leaving afterwards. The Oberst's order to come into his office prevented him from leaving, too.

"What's going on here?" Burkhalter demanded, still in the same foul mood like yesterday. "What was Newkirk doing in the anteroom?"

"He brought some firewood in, that's all," Schultz shrugged.

The general rolled his eyes and checked his wristwatch. "Five minutes to go," he said. "It's about time, Klink." He stemmed his fat figure off the visitor chair. "Schultz, take care that all POWs are restricted to their Barracks."

Hans hesitated for a moment. He received a short nod from Klink, sighed, and turned to leave, confused how the sabotage could take place with Hogan being sent away.

Schultz stepped out of the Kommandantur closely followed by Klink and Burkhalter. Instantly, he saw not only Hogan's men and the American troublemaker near the rocket launcher, but also a few other POWs.

Knowing his orders, Hans rose his voice loud enough to be heard even at the other side of the camp. "All right, everyone back to the Barracks," he began to shoo the men away. "Back-back-back-back-baaaaack! Macht schnell (hurry up)!" He waved at a slow Carter. "SCHNELL!" He barked.

Klink walked beside Burkhalter, looking dutiful at his wristwatch just like the general was doing again. Berlin had ordered that the last remaining rocket should be launched at an exact point of time so that it would hit the aimed target, London, two minutes before the German bombers – and the new Messerschmitts – would be there. He felt sick at the pure imagination what destruction it would bring over the town and the people if Robert's little plan should fail, and the missile would fly straight towards England.

"Colonel!" Robert's voice sounded hard and angry.

Klink turned around, seeing his beloved heading with large steps into his and Burkhalter's direction. "Yes, Hogan," He replied, hoping the younger man had found an excuse to disobey Burkhalter's order.

"I wish to register another protest…" the American officer began, flipping a thumb backwards to the assault weapon, but was instantly interrupted by the Oberst.

"I'm not interested in your protest, Hogan!"

"Neither am I." Burkhalter snarled. Clapping his hands behind him in a typical gesture, he forgot for a moment that Hogan should be restricted to his Barracks. Goering's and then Hitler's voice still rung in his ear as they voiced their anger about the destroyed rockets. The general's small eyes hung furiously at the opposing colonel. "Yesterday two of our rockets pointing to England were bombed by your barbarian Air Force."

Hogan stared at him. The Krauts wanted to attack London and Buckingham Palace with rockets and bombers combined in one assault, and Burkhalter called the Air Force 'barbarian'? The nerve! Who was the savage here, eh?

Glancing firmly at the fat Austrian, Hogan growled, "Then they will also bomb this camp if you don't move this rocket launcher." He pointed backwards at the missile.

A cynical smile appeared on Burkhalter's face. "I'm not afraid," he sneered, satisfied that the prospect of getting a bomb on his head made Hogan obviously very uncomfortable. For a moment, he almost wished that something like this would happen…with him out of the camp, of course, but then he would finally be rid of one of his biggest troubles.

"Your speech is a little bit off base," Hogan countered.

Burkhalter's face turned sour again before he took a deep breath. No, he wouldn't let himself being provoked by this cursed Ami.

"I personally am going to punch the switch and send this rocket to England!"

For a long moment, both officers only glared at each other, no one giving in. And Hogan realized that something really seemed to have changed within the general. The hint of humanity he always displayed seemed to have died. Or was it still somewhere in him, only paralyzed by the events in the last three weeks? Robert wasn't sure, but if Burkhalter really had become a fanatical follower of the bubble brain like so many others, Hogan wouldn't show any mercy should it come to the worst someday.

Burkhalter walked with hard steps towards the rocket's control. Klink followed him and saw from the edge of his eyes how Hogan hurried towards the 'firewood barrel' beside the Kommandantur. None of the Heroes had dared to activate the high power magnet too early to prevent the guard from realizing something was wrong. Klink felt his mouth going dry. Be careful, Rob. Don't let yourself get caught,' he thought.

The two German officers saluted the guard, who had watched the missile for hours now and returned the greeting before he stepped back. Klink didn't dare to look in Hogan's direction, but he knew that the younger man needed a few seconds more to activate the electric magnet.

"General Burkhalter, would you allow me the honor?" He asked, stalling time like promised.

At the other side of the mobile rocket launcher, Hogan connected the hidden electric magnet with the energy wire they had branched from the launcher. Instantly, the device sprang alive and did its work. No one saw how the control system of the rocket reacted; its readouts and displays going crazy for a moment before they adjusted to the nonsense the control was programmed with now.

"Of course, Klink." Burkhalter agreed 'generously' to the Oberst's request, handing the control switch to him, and gave a hearty "Thank you" – out of another reason the general maybe thought. Yes, Will was indeed grateful. Finally, he had the control over the damn 'cigar' in the middle of his camp and could give Robert a helping hand. Literally.

Taking the start button in one hand, Wilhelm glanced one time more at his wristwatch. It looked as if he was checking the time again to make certain that the rocket launched at the exact moment Berlin had ordered. In truth, he wanted to know if it was safe to start the rocket already. Robert had said the whole process to de-program the rocket's control system would need ten seconds, and if he, Klink, activated the launching process too quickly, everything was lost.

After a few more seconds, sensing Burkhalter was getting impatient, he punched the button with his thumb, and the rocket was started.

The Heroes, Klink, Burkhalter, the guards, and even Hogan ducked or turned away as the strong blow back whirled up dust and snow. Robert held onto his crush cap and closed his eyes, while he wished for another pair of hands he could have covered his ears with. The noise was deafening. Yet he used the short time to pull the plug of the high power magnet from the electrical cord, letting the latter fall to the ground before he leaned casually on the frame of the mobile rocket launcher.

As the wind calmed down, everyone in the camp looked up, seeing the rocket racing into the sky. For a few moments, Hogan thought that something had gone terribly wrong, then the missile began to spiral and alter its course. If anybody would have looked his way, he would have seen the impish glee on the American officer's face.

While Hogan rejoiced, Burkhalter recognized disbelievingly that the rocket went out of control and flew into another direction.

"KLINK!" He yelled. "England is that way!" He pointed to the northwest, the exact opposite way the rocket was taking now, while it made a half loop midair.

"My dear General Burkhalter, I cannot understand what's happening." Klink defended himself, his voice a little bit shrill because of the odd mixture of fear and joy he felt as he saw how well Hogan's plan ran.

Robert still watched the general from the other side of rocket launcher. As he saw the absolute horrified expression on Burkhalter's face, and the rocket headed straight towards the ground in some distance, the American officer knew that something was off.

"What's that way?" He called to overtone the still present noises.

"MY HOUSE, for one thing!" Burkhalter yelled back, without looking at the colonel. He and Klink watched how the rocket raced downwards, then a loud explosion ripped through the air. Soil, grass, stones, wood, and many other things sprayed up in a giant fountain accompanied with flames.

A shout was ripped from the general's mouth as he realized that the missile must have hit his home exactly. While he and Klink continued to stare at the still lasting tracks of destruction like every other guard in the camp (and many POWs), Hogan had to fight the grin that tugged on his mouth. Bracing himself casually on the empty rocket launcher with both arms, he looked at the broad figure of Burkhalter and couldn't suppress the little devil that poked his playfulness. "Frankly, General, I thought that neighborhood was lousy anyway," he commented wryly.

Burkhalter, still shell-shocked that the rocket obviously had destroyed his own home, heard the mockery in Hogan's voice, and his blood began to boil. Taking a deep breath not to lose control, he turned around and glared daggers at the younger man, who looked far too smug for his taste. Opening his mouth to give Hogan a fitting answer, he saw how the American suddenly paled, eyes widening in horror. What the heck?

Hogan felt pure glee at the turn of events. This rocket had been meant for Buckingham Palace – one of the most important English buildings, centuries old and the seat of the English kings and queens. It was a part of Britain's heart, and Berlin had chosen this target as vengeance for Dresden's historical town quarter. But instead of bringing death and disaster over London and King George's seat, this rocket had destroyed the man's house who had wanted to send it on its deathly path. What an irony of fate.

And there was still another point. Burkhalter had not cared for any men's safety in this camp, ruthlessly risking their lives. Now not the camp, but his house lay in ruins. Served him right and…

And this house had been occupied with Burkhalter's family – not knowing what hit them before it was too late.

The moment the general turned around, face flushed with wrath, Hogan realized that this turn of events had maybe cost Burkhalter's family members their lives.

Sweet Lord, this he hadn't wanted to happen.

Before the staff officer could give into his fury, Robert croaked, "General, what about your wife…and the rest of your family? Were they at home?"

All color left Burkhalter's face as the outcome of the misguided rocket crashed down on him. "Berta," he whispered. "Gertrude, she's here for a visit." For a moment he felt dizzy, then new adrenaline raced through his body, setting him into action.

Shouting for his driver, he all but ran towards his car. His duty to inform Berlin about the failed rocket start was forgotten. Yes, his wife was a shrew, and if there was someone on Earth who could give him hell – besides the Führer and Goering – then it was Berta. But she was his wife! They had loved each other in the past, and somehow they still harbored respect and even a kind of affection to the other one. And his sister? Yes, she killed his last nerves, but she was of his blood, and he still loved her despite her sometimes bossy behavior. If they had been at home, they were dead. Icy fear gripped him while he climbed in the backseat of his car, urging his driver to take him home…or, better to say, what was left of it. He didn't look back as his driver kicked the gas pedal and almost raced out of the camp, the gates barely opened yet.

Klink watched his superior driving away like the devil was after him and felt, to his own surprise, some dread on Burkhalter's behalf. He knew Frau Burkhalter, who loved food even more than her husband did and couldn't be quiet for more than ten seconds. And he knew, of course, Gertrude Linkmeyer. Every time she had shown up in his camp, he had wanted to run away as far as his feet could carry him, but she was not evil. She was bossy and anything but beautiful, but she was not a bad person. He didn't want her any harm, but maybe harm had befallen her now.

He heard someone stepping beside him and knew it was Robert without turning around.

Hogan had crossed his arms in front of his chest. He had used the chaos to hide the magnet's wire and the electrical cord he ripped away from the launcher before he went to Klink. He couldn't deny it. He was shaken because of the possible, personal outcome for Burkhalter. Yes, the general had angered him a lot within the last three days, but now this…

"I hope his family wasn't at home," he said softly.

Looking at him, Will recognized the guilt in his beloved's eyes and sighed, "Even if so, it wasn't your fault, Robert. You didn't program a course, but the damn thing flew of its own." He lowered his gaze. "Yet…I hope, too, that the ladies weren't at home. Not that I would miss Gertrude, far from it, but I don't want something bad to have happened to her – or Frau Burkhalter."

Hogan nodded. He could understand Will. Burkhalter's sister was like a sandstorm: dry, deafening, and blowing everything away in her path she didn't want. As Klink came to him for help because of 'Gertrude', he hadn't hesitated to support him. He hadn't known about Wilhelm covering for him and his men at this time one and a half years ago. The Kommandant had been for him nothing more than an opponent officer he had to interact with and somehow had come to respect and even like him. Yet, he had instantly agreed to help him as the 'lady' was after him. Not only because it fitted perfectly into one of Hogan's schemes concerning a given mission, but also out of manly solidarity. Gertrude Linkmeyer wasn't bad, but she was a man's nightmare in many regards. The three times Klink had tried to get rid of her, Hogan had helped him because such cases needed men to stick together, no matter the heritage and the current war.

But all this was no reason to wish said woman ill – or the general's wife, who was the typical goose with her never ending jibber-jabber. Newkirk had groaned about it even hours later, after dressing up as a woman for another mission and had been forced to bear not only Frau Burkhalter's chatter, but this of other officer wives, too. Hell, even Burkhalter had been nerved, and that said something given the fact that he shrank back from his wife's eventual irritation and more or less feared anger.

The latter had become clear as Hogan hinted he would give the photos, which had been shot of Burkhalter kissing a young woman, to Berta. Burkhalter had ripped up the written order for Klink being transferred to the Russian Front in return, which had told Hogan enough. The fat Austrian was very careful when it came to his wife. Why those two had married in the first place was still a riddle for Robert. Maybe she had the political and social power he needed to climb up the career ladder, while she needed a certain financial base for her lifestyle with him being an officer. The Burkhalters wouldn't be the first couple that married out of these reasons.

"What will happen now?" Schultz tore both colonels out of their musings, and Klink looked over his shoulder at his Sergeant of the Guards.

"General Burkhalter will try to find out if his house was occupied when it was destroyed – if the rocket really hit the building." He took a deep breath, straightened his shape, and gripped the handle of his riding crop tighter. "And I'm going to do something I wanted to do for two days now." He strutted towards the truck that had transported the mobile rocket launcher.

Out of the edges of his eyes, Hogan saw Newkirk and Carter nearing the barrel beside the Kommandantur and knew that they wanted to retrieve the electric magnet and the power wire before those two things could be revealed.

He heard Klink raising his voice. "Bring this damn thing out of my camp – now!" Two of the Wehrmacht members, who had accompanied the weapon, began to protest, but Klink wouldn't have anything of it. "I said take this whole equipment away from my camp. That's an order! Or do the gentlemen need an extra intervention – including a one-way ticket to the Russian Front?"

The men quickly saluted and manned the truck, while two privates climbed on the launcher to guard it again.

"OPEN THE GATES!" Will shouted, glad to get finally rid of the cursed launcher.

That was the perfect opportunity for Robert to steer the guards' attention onto his person. "Well, this is an order I hoped to hear for almost three years now," he deadpanned loudly. "Good day, Kommandant." He gave his German counterpart a mocking salute and headed towards the gates, well aware that he got the guards' full attention now.

"Hogan, what do you think you're doing?" The Oberst snapped, realizing that the younger man was up to something.

"You ordered to open the gates, and because I told you during our very first talk that I would leave Stalag 13 through the gates, I'm doing that now."

"Hier geblieben (equivalent to 'you stay here')," Klink ordered, swinging his fist while closing the distance to his senior POW officer. "Do you think this is funny?"

"No, I think this is very nice of you," Hogan replied innocently, pointing at the gates. "Like this, the Allies don't have to force their way into the camp and also spare time to liberate Stalag 13."

"HOOOOGAAAAAN!" Klink shouted. "You really killed enough nerves within the last few days, including mine. Behave for once, or you can spend the rest of the week in the cooler."

"It's just Monday, Kommandant," Hogan almost whined. "You can't do that."

"Don't tempt me!"

They stood nose to nose now, and Robert used the chance to whisper, "Carter and Newkirk are removing the electric magnet and electrical cord. I'm distracting your guards."

"You can try to bribe me with all chess games all day, Hogan, but I mean it. Retreat, or you'll be in trouble!" Will replied loudly, as he instantly played along.

"You're really tough, Kommandant, do you know that?"

"Hmpf," Klink snorted. "I'm not called the 'Iron Eagle' for nothing."

Looking over Wilhelm's shoulder, Hogan saw that his two men were done with the task and heading back to Barracks 2. Putting on a very disappointed face and sighing dramatically, Hogan replied, "Well, then not. And I so hoped to see the New York Rangers playing their final game next week live." He stepped away from Klink and headed towards Barracks 2, joining Newkirk and Carter. Andrew grinned at him and nodded down onto his chest. Hogan suppressed a smile, knowing that the magnet and wire were hidden beneath Carter's closed jacket. Mission fulfilled.

When the German bombers could be intercepted before they reached England, everything would be perfect.

"Well done, fellas," he said, as he closed the Barracks' door behind him. "What about the barrel?"

"We let it remain there where it was," Newkirk answered. "No chance to remove it without waking suspect. Its absence maybe would have given Burkhalter the right idea that it has something to do with the failed rocket start."

"We put more firewood in it," Carter nodded, while he pulled the electric-magnet and rolled up wire out from under his jacket.

"Good idea," Hogan nodded, while looking out of the window. He saw how Wilhelm watched the departure of the truck and vanish behind the curve of the street that led away from Stalag 13 to the next main road. He smirked. They did it. They hindered the Nazis from striking against Great Britain with rockets. The topic 'mobile rocket launcher' was hopefully off the table and…

He frowned as one of the guards, who usually watched the Kommandantur, ran to Klink and told him something that made the Oberst hurry towards his office.

"Coffee pot," Robert ordered, and dashed to his own office, setting up the listening device while his friends gathered around him. "Olsen, watch the door." He called, while activating the bug in Klink's office.

"Yes, Herr Reichsmarschall, regrettable I have to inform you that the rocket isn't on its way to England, but left course and exploded not far away from here." They heard Klink's voice. Silence, then, "I have no clue, Herr Reichsmarschall. The rocket started out perfectly, then it spiraled and finally tumbled over so that…what? No, Herr Reichsmarschall, I regret. I can't link you to General Burkhalter, because the rocket hit his house, and he drove home to check if his wife and sister survi…yes. Yes, yes, I'll tell him, Herr Reichsmarschall. He'll call you the minute he returns." Again there was a moment of silence before Klink asked, "But the strike of our glorious Messerschmitts and the Heinkels certainly saved the whole mission…intercepted? The Brits and Amis still shot our planes down from the skies? That's terrible! What? Yes, Herr Reichsmarschall, just like promised I'll tell General Burkhalter to…what? Ah yes, Heil Hi…" He stopped before he had to finish the loathed greeting, and the Heroes heard the soft clicking of a receiver being placed on a phone.

Then a sigh was to hear. "I ask myself for what this man needs a telephone. You really almost could hear him screaming from Berlin to here without any device." Then a chuckle sounded before Klink asked softly, "Robert, did you hear this? If so, please come over to my office."

Hogan disconnected the receiver of the small transmitter in the coffee pot and closed the lid. Rising from the chair at his desk, he said, "Sorry, guys. I have to accept the nice invitation." Winking at them, he left his office and then the Barracks.

The others looked at each other. "So, our combined Air Forces are giving the Krauts hell before they were able to reach England. This I'm calling a damn good message," Newkirk grinned.

"This will teach those filthy bosches not to mess with us," LeBeau nodded before turning serious again. "What do you think? Will Burkhalter be fired now?"

"Certainly not. It wasn't his fault that the rocket didn't work flawlessly. This is the risk when you're operating with prototypes of a new development. Errors are daily routine then," Carter replied before he smirked, "But I don't want to be in the technician's skin who built the rocket and the launchers. Knowing the madman in Berlin, they can break stones from now on."

*** HH ***

Hogan stepped into Klink's office, crush cap in hand. "I came to apologize, Kommandant," he said loudly. The Oberst hadn't called for him officially, therefore Robert needed an alibi for going to the Kommandantur so shortly after he had been sent to his Barracks.

"Nu, this I'm calling a nice streak for once, Hogan," Klink answered, and lifted a warning finger as soon as his American counterpart had closed the door. Yet, there was also a teasing smile on his face. "So, you did eavesdrop," he stated.

"Yeah. I saw you hurrying to the Kommandantur after a guard came running to you and thought maybe you needed some support." He threw the cap on the top of the Pickelhaube, what elicited the typical reaction.

With a frown, Klink snipped it down before he said, "This was the 'Fat Hermann' – Goering, I mean. He wanted to know if at least the last remaining rocket was on its way to England after our bombers were intercepted over the English Channel. In the moment, your boys and the Brits are plucking our aircrafts one by one from the skies."

Hogan smiled now, too. "Thank the Lord. Even if some of your air fighters and bombers make it to London, the devastation is warded off."

Klink nodded. "Knowing Goering, he will insist to terminate the mission to save as much aircrafts as possible. With the low output of Messerschmitts and the great losses the Luftwaffe suffered in January, Hitler will have no other choice than to stop the attack before he loses more than he could gain from a half attack." He leaned back in his chair and watched his beloved with pride in his eyes. "You did it, Rob. You stopped the hopefully last big strike against the Allies for the next few weeks. You saved thousands of lives like this. I'm honored to be called your friend."

Hogan felt himself blushing. Sweet Lord, what this man did to him. Clearing his throat, he replied, "I couldn't have done it without you, Will. You warned my men that Lily and I were about to be revealed. You stalled time for my men to interfere. You stalled time for me to activate the electric magnet. And you distracted the guards so that my men could remove the magnet before it could be found. Thank you, Wilhelm. Not only in the names of my men and me, but also of all those men, women, and children who will live to see another day in London because of your bravery."

The sincere choice of words and warmth in Robert's voice touched Klink deeply. He saw the real gratitude in the younger man's eyes and felt the urge to kiss him, but with the curtains wide open, there was no way that they could behave anything but professional.

"Thank you for your kind words," he said quietly. "I know that the brass in Berlin would instantly demand my execution if they knew what I did, but I'm glad that I could help prevent more civilian people from dying…heck the heritage." He sighed. "Yet I hope the next missions you get are less risky."

"I hope so, too," Hogan nodded, not knowing that the next mission wouldn't be a task London would give him, but would be forced upon him by an old enemy.

TBC…

Well, that the uncontrolled rocket that hit Burkhalter's house would lead to more than 'simply' teaching the general a lesson, never came up in the episode, but I thought that the whole gag had a very serious outcome for Burkhalter. He not only lost his home, but no-one seemed to think of his family which could have been in the house. For the first time Burkhalter learns how all the other people feel in such a situation, and it will give to think him a lot.

I also tried to find an explanation how it was possible for the 'Heroes' to hide an electric-magnet in a barrel (that never had been there before) between the Kommandantur and the rocket without waking suspect – or how Hogan was able to set the whole magnet to work and to remove it afterwards, before someone would check everything. I hope, you liked the ideas I had about it.

In the next chapter, Schmidt has to investigate the whole mess with the mobile rocket launchers (together with General Freiberger), and he gets several interesting thoughts concerning 'Papa Bear'. Schmidt is anything but stupid, and you can guess that his first assumptions from days, combined with everything now, will give him a few ideas…

And then Robert has to confess to Will about Lily. Any idea, how our Oberst will react?

I hope, you liked this whole part and I would be very happy to get some reviews. I'm damn curious what you think of this whole 're-telling' in conjunction with my story.

Have a nice weekend,

Until next week,

Yours Starflight