Change of Ways

by The Ravenwolf

Set directly after the the events of the Rat Patrol's final episode, the story follows Dietrich's path into an unsteady future, joining his ways with the Rats and even less expected individuals. Reunions with former friends and foes included. (CHAPTER 1-14 revised!)

37. Caravans and Convoys

Sam Troy and Tully Pettigrew have decided to take some rest in the corner of the office tent. Both keep themselves awake and entertained by listening to the quiet discussions between the officers or Dietrich and Moffit who reviews the SS files and consults the German Captain for several details. Tully is chewing on a fresh matchstick to have something to focus on, while his splitting headache and weariness put a strain on him. After his experiences with suffering from concussion multiple times, Hans Dietrich is aware of the importance of not letting the Private drift off to sleep. To this effect the German diligently checks on his soldier every half hour and exchanges a few words with Tully in a calm and reassuring manner. "Pettigrew, you should stay awake!" "I'm awake, Cap", Tully mutters groggily. "Do you feel a headache, dizziness, Private?", the young officer inquires with a worried frown. "Both", the American confesses. "I'm sorry. But we mustn't let you fall asleep", the Captain tells him with an apologetic tone. "No worries, Cap. I know. We did the same to you after all", Pettigrew replies without opening his eyes to look at the German. Tully has no need to see the young officer's face to know that he bears a worried scowl, as his tone of voice communicates Dietrich's concern clearly enough. "Stay awake until the medics have checked on your status again!", the German Captain tells him finally and after a few seconds of hesitation briefly squeezes the Private's shoulder, before turning to Sam Troy who has chosen to keep his distance to the table where Ari and Hitch work on the boy's drawings, while Moffit performs his investigation of the files confiscated from the SS and the infiltrators.

"How are you, Sergeant?", Dietrich inquires quietly. Sam Troy does not meet his eyes and grumbles something incomprehensible. Scowling at the reaction, the German tries to evaluate the American Sergeant's state and mood. Deciding to settle for their well-established sarcastic exchanges, the Captain states dryly: "I beg your pardon, Sergeant. I'm not fluent in whatever that was supposed to be, but I'm willing to learn. I have a knack for learning strange languages after all." Smiling in spite of his dark and gloomy mood, Troy counters: "You really have a knack for learning languages, Captain. Almost as much as Jack, or maybe more, since you haven't grown up as a scholar's kid." "You're still dodging my question, Troy. How are you?", Dietrich inquires somewhat more sternly, now that he has finally drawn the American out of his depressed state and managed to receive an answer from him. "What do you think?", Troy growls testily. "That stuff your damn cultist drugged me with still makes me feel like one of your former tanks ran me over, Captain. And I don't even know if it's some jackal blood or whatever other horrid stuff he gave me as well."

The German Captain takes a calming breath, before continuing this discussion that starts to wear down his nerves as well. "Troy. Corporal Gottschlich and I searched the chest diligently. We only found two quite mundane anaesthetics which explain all the symptoms you are suffering from. There is no reason to think that he has injected you with jackal blood, unless you have kept quiet about an injection spot until now which would be incredibly stupid." Although the young officer tries to keep his tone calm and reassuring, some of his own frustration finds its way into his voice during the last part. "I haven't kept silent about anything", Sam Troy snaps back at the German, before turning away and grumbling: "Just leave me in peace, will you, Captain?" With a sigh, Dietrich stands up again from his bent over position. "Let us know if we can help you, Sergeant!" Troy refuses to look up at the younger man or acknowledge the statement, staring straight ahead at the ground instead.

"That was brave and noble, Captain", Jack whispers to the German once he has returned to his table, "but I doubt that Troy will take you up on that offer. If it helps, he wouldn't take me up on it either I suppose, so it's nothing personal." "Have you ever experienced him like that before, Moffit?", Dietrich inquires, sounding clearly worried. "No. But I have at least as much experience as you with how stubborn Troy can be", Jack replies dryly. "I'll speak to his old friend Captain Brown. He's Troy's mentor after all who has managed to help him before, so he's possibly the only one he might listen to right now", the German officer suggests. "That is an excellent idea and probably the best we can do for Troy", Jack confirms, before he becomes serious and matter-of-factual again: "Could you take a look at this SS report please, Captain?" The German officer sighs wearily. "Of course, Doctor. Where is the file from?" "From one of the infiltrators, but they mention a SS Obersturmbannführer Frenzl who I have never heard of before. Also, I'm not sure whether some kind of code language is employed here", Moffit replies. "I've never heard of Frenzl either, but my acquaintances among the SS are rather ... limited", the German replies dryly.

With his curiosity piqued by the code, Hans Dietrich takes the proffered report and starts reading. 'Bericht für OSBF Frenzl', the German Captain reads and scowls, wondering why one of the infiltrators would write a report for a specific Obersturmbannführer, unless he has been in command of the operation. 'Knoten im Netz geknüpft. SW an der Laterne mit AA. Schokolade für WW und RA bereit. FM fischt IV und LH.' Blinking the young officer wonders about the encoding, before turning back to Moffit. "Do we have a list with the names of the infiltrators and the people they manipulated, Doctor?" Moffit smiles at him. "Yes, somewhere here..." While he rummages through the pile of files regarding the camp's infiltration, Dietrich thinks about the other parts of the text. "It starts with 'knots knotted in the net'. I would suppose they refer to their network of spies and infiltrators", he tells the Brit who nods. "I would have thought the same, Captain. But the rest of the text snippets is strange... here is the file you were looking for."

Thanking the Brit for his support, the German starts to check the list. "SW ... Sara Westwood. 'An der Laterne' is rather clear for me. It refers to the song text of... my rumoured Hollywood relation." His tone is dry and dripping with irony, as Moffit smiles with amusement. "Marlene Dietrich, of course." Hans Dietrich nods. "I've heard 'Lili Marleen' more often than I care to count, as Wagner, my former Oberleutnant, loved the song and played the disc for hours on end. I think this part of the text refers to the Abwehr agent who brainwashed Sara Westwood." "AA means Abwehr agent?", Moffit asks incredulously. Scowling, Dietrich checks the list of names provided by the German Major, before answering with a bemused tone: "No, his name was actually Adolf Alpenbauer." "The next part is absolutely strange though, Captain. I have no idea what chocolate is supposed to have to do with any of their operations", Moffit mutters with some of his confusion and annoyance about it audible. "That's because you didn't fight on the German side in France, Doctor", Dietrich counters with a haunted expression. "Panzerschokolade is what they called Pervitin during the Blitzkrieg among the heavy infantry." "My goodness. You're right, Captain. WW... that's William Winters, the First Lieutenant they drugged with Pervitin." Gritting his teeth, Dietrich nods in agreement, before calling out: "Captain Boggs, what is General Atkins' first name?"

The American Captain looks absolutely stunned for a few seconds by the unexpected question. "Richard, I think. What have you found that is linked to the General's first name?", the older American replies, as he walks over to them. "Richard fits well", Moffit tells Dietrich who nods in agreement. "This only leaves the last part." "Frank Miller, actually Franz Müller, was the SS agent who initialised the prisoner uprising. According to Major von Gelder he recruited Ian Vernon and Liam Hampsmill", the German argues and points the initials out to Moffit and Boggs who also looks at the German text with puzzlement. "Would you explain to me what you have found, Captain Dietrich", the American Captain orders sternly. "We were finally able to understand this report directed to the SS where they report the creation of their networks of spies and manipulated Americans. Sara Westwood, Ian Vernon and Liam Hampsmill were all collaborators we arrested or killed in action. This part, mentioning 'chocolate', refers to the Pervitin and drugging of First Lieutenant Winters and General Atkins." Boggs briefly wonders how the German has deduced Pervitin from chocolate, but decides to simply trust him instead of asking for further explanations. The case of the British cultist has cured him of unhealthy curiosity. Luckily, Hans Dietrich enjoys this kind of investigative work, as does Jack Moffit and the two have proven a surprisingly efficient team in this regard.

"As you have decrypted this SS report efficiently, may I consult you regarding your logistics expertise, Captain Dietrich? Please double check First Lieutenant Adams' and my calculations and estimates", Boggs decides to put the younger officer's talent and expertise to good use. Having the German Captain with his experience with coordinating large supply convoys and their protection as well as their fuel and food usage, repairs and required spare parts around proves invaluable for Captain James Boggs and First Lieutenant Adams. "Jeeps and tanks do not only differ in size, armament and weaponry, but also in personnel, upkeep, speed and repair necessity", Dietrich points out to them, as he corrects some of their estimates. "We will have to consider these as well as the trucks with our backup troops, POWs and wounded. This would change your estimates and increase them by at least 25%..." Hans Dietrich mutters to himself, as he starts scribbling onto a sheet of paper, jotting down numbers and sketches of tables.

Boggs realizes that the young officer has the far better ability to provide realistic estimates for their movement speed and upkeep opportunities given actual experience in the North African desert warfare with various types of vehicles and troops during the past two years. After letting the German Captain double check and correct their estimates, the older American Captain decides to hand all further calculations of these estimates directly to the younger officer, since the German has pointed out half a dozen assumptions that they have to adapt because the heat and sand cause additional strain on the material. Boggs understands for the first time why Sam Troy calls him a Jerry smartass which the proud officer has not even protested against. At least, the young Captain is compliant enough not to complain about his change of assigned duties, but performs his calculations with calm diligence.

Sam Troy however appears utterly annoyed and restless after another hour of observing Moffit's reading and Dietrich's calculations, when his sedatives finally lose their downing effect. As Ari is too afraid of him to agree to going outside and Hitch has to stay with him to keep him entertained, Fritz is the only one willing to keep the Sergeant company, since Tully is dozing in the corner and only answering curtly, when Hitchcock or Dietrich address him directly. "Hey, Fritz", Troy addresses the dog that wags its tail at him, looking expectant, as he grabs a pencil Ari has dropped during his drawing attempts and holds it out for the Sergeant to throw for him. "Let's go outside", Troy mutters, while the dog follows him, never letting him out of his big puppy eyes. The pencil is of course not the best throwing device, but suffices to keep Fritz happy and Sam occupied, so that he does not have to think in more detail about what is troubling him so much about the whole affair with the curses, cultists, strange rituals and rabies infections.

Everything that has happened since the previous afternoon and the falcon's attack has had an eerie quality of something not being quite right. All the Brits have the uncanny ability to irritate him, keeping him on edge and drawing his attention away from what is important. In his haste to keep an eye out for the suspect, the strange Professor and that annoying hellbird of a falcon, he has blundered into the trap like an absolute greenhorn. Not only does this bug him to no end, being taken as a hostage and at the mercy of a mad murderer who has done god knows what to him, while he has been out of it, is truly troubling him as well. Maybe the lunatic has taken his blood for strange rituals, sacrificed something in his heathen rituals that should not exist and never be performed by men. Maybe the psychopath has infected him with rabies as well to get rid of him in a slow, painful, yet deadly way. Even though Dietrich has assured him that they have found no evidence in this regard and Jack and he can explain all that has happened in very mundane ways, Sam is not sure whether he is quite ready to listen to them and truly believe their explanations, as his inner turmoil is still raging on. Also something else, something uncannily familiar about the way the young student has behaved due to rabies, until Dietrich has shot him to protect everyone else, is truly unsettling Troy still, but he does not want to think about it in detail and distracts himself instead with throwing the pencil for the excited dog. The American has to give the German Captain credit though for trying to talk to him and act like his actual friend, even if pushed back harshly.

"Sergeant Troy", Sam Troy hears somebody call out to him who he recognizes as Lieutenant Jakob Silberblatt only after turning around. The Jewish officer looks concerned, as he approaches the Sergeant and inquires urgently: "You look horrible. What has happened? Is Hans alright?" Troy scowls and snaps: "Your friend's alright or not worse than he was before." Jakob breathes a sigh of relief. "What happened then, Sergeant?" "I... don't wanna talk about it. Ask your friend!", Troy growls and the younger officer looks truly worried now. "Are you alright, Sergeant?" "Do I look alright?", Troy snaps. "Just leave me alone, all of you! If you want to look after someone, ask your friend about France and what's troubling him. Maybe he'll talk to you more willingly, as he doesn't consider me trustworthy enough in spite of our probation." Even though the American knows in his heart of hearts that this is not true and he is wronging the German Captain in his own anger and frustration which are none of Dietrich's fault, it still feels better to leash out than confront his own inner turmoil. Thus, he simply wants to get rid of anybody confronting him with questions or the unwanted truth. Turning away from Silberblatt purposefully, Troy calls Fritz and throws the pencil for him again. As soon as the Lieutenant has disappeared in the tent, Troy adds for the dog to hear: "Let's get some lunch, hm, Fritz?" Anything serving as a good distraction will have to work right now. Fritz is overjoyed, when Troy uses one of his favourite new words, 'lunch'. Wagging its tail the dog runs toward the mess tent, yelping with excitement.

When Jakob Silberblatt enters the office tent, he finds his friend sitting at a table next to Moffit, each of them scribbling on a piece of paper before him. On the other side of the table sits Mark with Ari, pointing at a piece of paper. James Boggs who is bent over some tables like his aid First Lieutenant Adams looks up and smiles at the new arrival. "Lieutenant Silberblatt. I trust that you're finished with packing all documents from General Atkins' office and his personal belongings and had them safely loaded on a truck." Jakob nods. "Yes, Captain Boggs. I just finished with that and wanted to take a look at how you are faring. What happened to Sergeant Troy?" Tully who only appears napping, answers from the corner: "Sarge got kidnapped by a crazy Tommy. The guy almost burnt him alive. Cap and us got him out though." Shifting his matchstick back to chew on it serves as his indication that he is finished talking. Silberblatt appears incredulous however. "What? How? Why?", he stutters in confusion. "You'd better ask your friend about the details which I hope to receive in a written report. Maybe you can support him in writing this up, Lieutenant, as he is somewhat handicapped at the moment", Boggs suggests with a sympathetic smile. Incredulity at the unbelievable events are an emotion he can absolutely relate with.

Both walk over to Hans Dietrich who appears so sunken into his calculations that he has not even looked up or acknowledged his friend's arrival. Jakob's hand on his shoulder startles the young German enough to make him jump to his feet and look around, as he raises his arms in a defensive motion. "Hans, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that", Jakob speaks with an apologetic tone. Sighing in recognition of his friend, the younger Captain lowers his hands again and grimaces with pain, as his shoulder reminds him of the stupidity of such sudden motions. "Jakob, what's the matter? Has something happened?", Dietrich inquires with worry. "These are exactly the questions I wanted to ask you, Hans", Jakob replies with a smile. "I just met Sergeant Troy outside and he looked ... not good at all. And his reaction was strange, very defensive. He wanted to get rid of me." The young German Captain nods in agreement. "This is my impression as well. I will address Captain Brown as soon as possible to ask him to speak with Troy. Maybe his friend and mentor can actually talk some sense into him." "I thought you're his friend as well." Dietrich grimaces at the comment. "On probation and obviously I'm not actually his friend." "You're no less his friend than I am, Captain", Moffit comments without getting up from his seat. "Troy's just utterly stubborn in accepting help." The German officer scowls at him, but refrains from further discussions in front of James Boggs.

"Captain Boggs, I'm mostly finished with the planning of shifts for driving, maintenance and repair for all our vehicles", he reports with a matter-of-factual tone, intent on changing the topic before any unwanted questions arise. "Thank you, Captain Dietrich", Boggs replies, eyeing his younger colleague carefully and deciding against confronting him right away, as the German Captain appears already wary enough to dodge any questions with the skill rivaling his rebellious unit. "I would ask you to dictate your report of the strange events of this morning to Lieutenant Silberblatt, as I cannot ask you to provide a written report in your current state." Dietrich narrows his eyes slightly, but nods finally. "As you wish." "I would suggest to finish dictating the report now, before we all leave for lunch. Lieutenant Adams and I will double check and implement your planned shifts for the men in the meantime", Boggs suggests calmly, observing his lean second in command with caution. Both younger officers agree to that suggestion with actual relief, before turning to their designated work.

Jakob's eyes grow wider and wider, as he listens to his friend's clearly formulated report, almost forgetting to take notes at times. "Jakob, you should write down your notes of the details and not just listen with the fascination of a child hearing a horror story for the first time", Hans admonishes him in a good-natured manner. "Hans, this is unbelievable", Jakob mutters. "Sergeant Troy was drugged and dragged out into the desert unconscious, where that con man posing as an archaeologist meant to burn him alive... This explains why he acted so dismissive earlier, when I talked to him." Hans Dietrich sighs wearily. "I fear that there is something more to this. Troy is a frontline soldier and has been through enough near death experiences, even as far as I have been aware of. But for some reason this whole affair has shaken him a lot more than any German attack or imprisonment or even his own death sentence ever has. I don't really know what to do, except for suggesting to Captain Brown as his trusted mentor to look after him, since Troy surely won't talk to me and I've honestly tried to speak to him and offer some support." "I have no doubt about that, Hans", Jakob tells his friend with a compassionate smile, squeezing his left shoulder gently in a gesture of support.

"Captain Dietrich, are you finished?", Boggs inquires, when he notices their interaction. "Yes, Sir", the German replies curtly. "Then, I suggest we all get our well-deserved lunch." Hearing that they will go to lunch, Ari jumps to his feet and runs around the table to his brother, holding up a sheet of paper. "Look what I drawed, Hans!", the boy exclaims enthusiastically, as Moffit winces and grimaces as if in pain, correcting him immediately in perfect Cambridge lecture tone: "The correct sentence is 'Look what I drew' or 'Look what I have drawn', Ari. The word 'drawed' does not exist." "Why not?", the boy inquires. "The English language is not always logical", the British scholar has to admit. "Some verbs are irregular."

"So, what did you draw, Ari?", Hans saves the child from further language lessons, before Moffit starts a lecture on irregular verbs and the quirks of English grammar. Hitch smiles at him gratefully and even Tully looks slightly relieved. "Look!", the boy returns to his previous enthusiasm. Dietrich is hard challenged to keep a poker face, as he stares at the almost indiscernible pattern of lines and pretends to be impressed. At least, he does not have to ask what he is supposed to see on the drawing, as Hitchcock explains with a bemused tone: "Almost looks like you, doesn't it, Cap?" Torn between looking incredulous and glaring at the insolent Private, the German settles for adopting a neutral expression. "Indeed. I have been under the impression that I'm not an acute case for our medics though", he replies dryly. "Do you like it, Hans?", Ari asks. "Mhm", the German murmurs in a noncommittal manner, smiling at the boy with lenience. Taking this as encouragement, Ari smiles back at him. "I can make others as well. Mark showed me how." "Did he now? Abstract art has lost one of its true talents I see", Hans Dietrich replies with dry sarcasm, making Moffit grin with utter amusement, while Hitch blushes slightly. "I'm better with poetry than with drawing, Cap." "I'd never have guessed... even better with poetry", the German counters with sarcasm.

James Boggs finally has some pity with the bedraggled looking Private and addresses his younger colleague: "Leave him be, Captain Dietrich. He tried his best." Blushing even more, Hitch protests slightly in self-defense: "I'm not that bad at drawing. I just have no idea how to teach a kid." "Of course, Hitchcock. I apologize for insulting you", the German speaks in a much more serious tone and actually sounds apologetic. Hitch looks at him utterly bewildered. These are not the words he would have expected from Captain Dietrich, but the young officer is obviously serious and his brown eyes hold no malice, when Mark finally meets his gaze. "It's alright, Cap. I wasn't really ... you know... insulted or anything", Hitch stutters slightly. "Leave your explanations be, Hitchcock. We require no further examples of eloquence today", the German Captain tells him with dry irony, while they walk toward the mess tent. Tully follows the group silently, glad to not be in the center of attention.

When the group is about to enter the canteen they almost collide with Sam Troy who tries to leave inconspicuously, but fails miserably at the attempt, as all of them notice him immediately, since he barely stops in time not to run down Hitch. "Sergeant Troy", Boggs and Dietrich address him almost simultaneously. Troy glares at both Captains, but refrains from answering. Boggs indicates Dietrich to keep talking, while walking off with Lieutenant Adams to leave them some privacy. "How are you, Troy?", the younger German inquires sternly. "Fine", Sam Troy snaps and it is perfectly clear for anyone listening that he is not fine at all. "Ari, go and get some lunch with Mark Hitchcock. I will come to join you immediately after speaking with Sam Troy", Dietrich tells the boy calmly and it is perfectly clear to Hitch that this is an indirect order for him that he should better not ignore. "Sure, Cap. Come, Ari. Let's see what they have today", the Private answers immediately. Tully gladly follows the two of them without uttering a single word. Sarge is acting strangely and he is relieved that Moffit and Dietrich are around to take care of it, as he feels out of his depth. "You watch them, Lieutenant, and intervene with your friend, while I take care of Troy", Moffit whispers to Jakob Silberblatt who nods immediately and stands to the side, observing the drama unfold.

"Troy, I'm merely trying to help you", Dietrich argues with a slight tinge of frustration and desperation in his voice, forcing himself not to pinch his nose and show his exasperation too clearly. "I don't wanna be ungrateful, but I'd rather be left alone with this, Captain", Troy growls back. "You've got your own load and I don't wanna add to it." "Troy, looking after my men's wellbeing is part of my duty in addition to my obligation as a ... personal friend", the German grinds out. "I really don't wanna talk about it, Dietrich!", Troy snaps and turns around. The lean young officer takes a step as if to follow him, when his friend intercedes. "Leave him be, Hans! This makes no sense right now." Moffit nods in agreement as he observes Troy walking away from them. Then, Jakob addresses his friend with concern, as he remembers something else the American has told him. "Sergeant Troy said I should look after you and ask whether you wanted to share what is troubling you. He mentioned France", the Jewish Lieutenant inquires carefully.

Hearing them interact Troy turns around and grumbles with a tone that truly sounds wounded: "I thought you'd like to talk with your actual friend since you don't want to talk with me and don't really consider me that." "Troy", Dietrich sighs, and forces himself to speak in a calm tone. "That's not what I meant... I simply want to have a choice about what to share with whom and not be backed against a wall with basically no other choice left but to comply." "I pushed you against that wall pretty often enough lately, didn't I?", Troy asks slightly sheepishly, feeling a pang of guilt. "You could say so", the German states dryly. "And so did your brother. Why is this whole episode so important for you, Sergeant?" "You're a good guy, Captain. You're suffering, but too reluctant to accept help unless pushed really hard. I know what I'm talking about after all. So just accept some help, cause I don't wanna see you suffering for years for something that's not even your fault." "You don't get it, Troy! Amelie's death actually is my fault", Dietrich growls defensively, not caring about Silberblatt and Moffit listening right now. "How can your fiance being murdered be your fault? You're playing the big bad German pretty well, but given how skinny and compassionate you are, you're neither that big nor bad", Troy counters grimly.

Dietrich grimaces at the argument and fights hard to swallow his wounded pride and stay calm and reasonable in this argument that takes a totally different turn than he would have wanted. But he should not have expected anything else from Sam Troy after all. "The animosity between France and Germany is several centuries older than the United States, Sergeant. We all grew up knowing about it. I chose to ignore it for selfish reasons and she paid with her life for my mistakes. How is this not my fault?", the German points out and considers the last question absolutely rhetoric, as he continues without giving any of his listeners the time to answer, as he turns the table against his original target: "And accusing me of not considering you a friend I can confide in is absolutely ridiculous, coming from you, Troy, as you totally refuse to talk with me or even Jack Moffit about what is actually troubling you, although it is perfectly obvious that something about what has happened today is affecting you, extremely even given how easily you have brushed off wounds, captivity, torture and death sentences through your enemies in the past, Sergeant." Seeing Troy bristle, the German raises his hand in a calming manner. "I understand that you are not fine, Sergeant. As you don't wish to talk to me or Moffit, we both suggest that you talk to Captain Brown instead. He's your friend and mentor after all and has helped you in difficult situations before." Moffit nods in agreement and meets the German Captain's gaze with determination. "That's a very reasonable suggestion the Captain has brought up and I fully support him, unless you wish to speak with us." Troy growls defensively: "This has nothing to do with not considering you, any of you, my friend." "I don't require a justification, Troy, none of us does. We simply want you to accept help from whoever, not necessarily me or Moffit, if this is a problem for you. But please talk to somebody, as this cult affair is obviously eating on you", Dietrich argues.

"Leave us alone, will you?", Troy tells the rather shocked looking and uncomfortable Jakob Silberblatt. The German Captain nods. "Just do as he says, Jakob!" "I'll speak with you later, Hans", Silberblatt tells his friend, squeezing his shoulder in a reassuring manner, before he allows them their privacy. "What is it that you don't wish Jakob to hear, Troy?", Dietrich inquires wearily. "It's nothing against your friend, but he's not my friend and I don't know him so well. I can't really tell you what's the matter, Captain, 'cause I'd rather not even want to know myself." "Troy, we both want to help you", Jack Moffit intercedes. "And believe me that I know perfectly well what it means that something is eating on you, your very being, your very soul, gnawing away all that is civil, good and decent, until nothing but raw anger, fear and hatred is left. Captain Dietrich is really speaking for both of us, when he tells you that we just want to see that you receive help and support, but we are not selfish enough to think that we are the only ones to give it." Troy shakes his head and growls back: "You don't get it, Jack. I can't tell you what's wrong, 'cause I can't even tell myself really. Something about these rituals and cultists driving people insane and manipulating them not only to kill others, but to kill themselves... It's just too much of ... I don't know what... something uncanny, something inhuman. And then there's what happened to that one kid. It... somehow reminds me of my father's death and how some things were just uncanny, but I didn't really think about them too much..."

Jack Moffit exchanges a long look with Hans Dietrich, before the German inquires cautiously: "Why's that? How did your father die?" Seeing Troy's haunted expression, the younger man adds immediately: "If you don't want to tell me the answer, I accept this. But talk with Moffit or Brown or whoever you trust enough to give this answer!" "Stay where you are, Captain!", Sam growls, although the tall officer has not even moved at all. "Just let me give that answer, before you're running away like a beaten dog." Dietrich tenses and scowls at the words, his wounded pride obvious from his angry expression. But the German remains silent, when Moffit moves next to him and puts a hand on his upper arm, trying to prevent the younger officer from acting rash, as the British Sergeant has done before to focus his attention and calm him. Both share a long look, but none of them dares to speak to not interrupt Troy's actual answer whenever it may come.

"Okay. So you both listen. I don't know if this is real or if I'm just spooked by ... something that isn't there and never was. And you gotta promise, you won't tell Davey", Sam Troy insists. "I can assure you that I have no intention to share any sensitive information with your brother ... ever", Dietrich replies dryly. "Neither have I, old man", Jack adds with an equally dry tone. Troy nods. "You're both as good as your word. You know that my Pa was a rancher. During summer time, we kids used to help out on the ranch all day, 'cause we didn't have to go to school. Helen was still small, not even ten years old and Davey either had sneaked off to do some mischief as usual or overslept to dodge out of helping with the animals in the morning. Anyways, just Ma and I were around. She was worried, 'cause Pa hadn't come home in two days. It's not strange to stay out for the night on a single day, when some things have to be taken care of, but a second night was strange and he'd already struggled with a fever before. We rode off to check what kept him and if he needed help. After a few hours of riding through our territory, checking the fences, water pools and hunting cabin we finally found him at the cabin. Dead."

Again his two listeners exchange worried and confused glances, as both wonder where this will lead and how it is connected with the death of the British archaeologist and the con man. When Sam Troy stops speaking and just grits his teeth with a strange look none of the two can actually place, Hans Dietrich inquires: "What about his death has reminded you of what happened yesterday, Sergeant Troy?" Staring briefly at the German officer, the American finally replies: "He had died of thirst. His lips looked parched and his canteen lay on the ground, empty. He had smashed all glasses and bottles in the cabin. Back then, Ma and I thought it was because of his ... bouts of violence he had ever since returning from the war, you know, the Great War." The tall Captain tenses visibly at the words and swallows hard, as memories of his own family members and war veterans invade his thoughts. Forcing them to the back of his mind, the young officer is not ungrateful, when he feels a hand on his arm again which provides him with a focus and anchor in reality. Only after a few seconds does he realize that this hand belongs neither to Jakob nor Troy, but Jack Moffit who eyes him with almost as much concern as the American Sergeant. "Thank you", the German mutters and along with his current supporter focuses back on Sam Troy who has not even noticed what is transpiring, as he is too caught up in his own recount.

"We didn't think that much of it back then. Ma had said he'd run a fever for days, but was too stubborn to lie down and get some rest", Troy argues and both his listeners recognize the family streak in that regard. "But after what happened yesterday with that guy... the fever, the foam, throwing away the water. It reminded me of that cabin again and how we found him dead. Noone considered rabies... Maybe he'd noticed he wasn't right and left to protect us. But he's long since dead and I'll never know", the American growls with frustration. "It just keeps bugging me." "That is understandable, old man", Jack Moffit tells him with a sympathetic look. "Whether he died of fever, thirst or rabies, Troy, the important part is that noone of your family got harmed", Dietrich adds after clearing his throat. "Keep your father's memory the way it was, as the man who raised you, took care of you all and gave you that knife to take care of yourself!" Troy stares at him for a few seconds, before nodding. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm starting to ask the wrong questions... Your damned nosy streak is rubbing off on me, you smartasses." Both the Brit and the German smile at the insult which sounds a lot more than the Troy they are familiar with. "Good to have you back, old man", Moffit comments with actual relief. "Stay with us, Sergeant. I don't want to have to deal with any further crying children, whimpering dogs or scared archaeology students before having my lunch", Dietrich adds dryly.

For the first time, Sam Troy realizes that they are the only ones staying with him instead of having their own lunch and his protective intent triggers. "You'd better get something to eat, before we have to start carrying you, 'cause you can't stay on your feet, Captain." The German officer scowls now, as he answers sarcastically: "If not for a certain source of trouble which has haunted me for a year, I'd be eating my lunch already." "Okay. Fair enough. It's my fault to keep you from eating this time. I'll come with you to make sure you're taken care of", Troy relents almost too quickly for Moffit's and Dietrich's liking, but neither protests as they can have an eye on him in this way.

When the three enter the mess tent, they find an unexpected commotion at the food dispenser station. Ari is crouching on the ground, while Mark Hitchcock has tackled one of the British archaeology students. Several of his colleagues surround him, but are held back from intervening by Riku Gottschlich. Jakob Silberblatt kneels beside Ari and speaks quietly with the boy, while Tully is guarding their food and keeping out of the quarrel, obviously still affected by his concussion. "What is going on here?", Dietrich bellows from the entrance in an irritated tone that makes several of the men flinch and freeze in their tracks. Followed closely by the two Sergeants the German officer stalks toward the scene with a thunderous expression. Several of the Oxford students shrink back in fear at the sight of the livid Captain, his equally angry looking American Sergeant and the British soldier who assesses them coldly.

"He kicked Fritz", Hitch exclaims with righteous anger. "That beast barked and jumped at me. The cretin might be rabid", the Brit defends himself, gasping as he struggles to breath, when Hitch tightens his grip with actual animosity written on his face. "That dog is no threat for anybody and our unit mascot", Dietrich growls in indignation. "Refrain from harming him or you will pay the price." Stepping closer to Jakob and Ari who pets the softly whimpering Fritz, the German Captain takes a closer look. The little dog has curled up and licks his right front paw and side. "Will Fritz die?", Ari asks with tears welling up in his eyes. "Let me have a look", the young officer tells him fighting to sound calm and controlled to not further worry the boy. Fritz opens his eyes and starts whimpering more loudly when he recognizes his master's voice. Although his veterinary expertise of canines is virtually nonexistent the German Captain carefully feels the dog's ribcage to check if anything has been broken. Fritz whimpers desperately, at a certain spot and Dietrich frowns as the bones actually shift under his finger tips. "Ruhig, Fritz", he gently speaks to the dog who starts licking his hand, as if sensing the good intent. "Some ribs are broken I fear. I'm not a veterinarian, but from my own experience with broken ribs, this is cured through rest and reduced movement", he states his diagnosis coolly. "Fritz will not die?", Ari asks again with a worried expression. "I hope not", Hans tells him honestly, as he checks the dog's bent front paw. Fritz immediately starts whimpering, as if he would die and Ari hugs his brother tightly, burying his face in his side, as he starts crying. "Don't worry, Ari. Fritz is not dying, but his paw hurts", Dietrich speaks gently to the child.

Looking up from his crouched position with a withering glare, the young officer orders: "Release the man, Hitchcock!" Then he focuses his gaze on the rest of the young men held back by Gottschlich and intimidated by Troy and Moffit. "If any of you try to get near this dog again or attempt any further attack, I will have you arrested. Be gone, gentlemen!", the German Captain growls with an angry scowl. The Brits scatter with the panicked expression of hens in a shed, when the fox jumps among them with bared fangs. Hitch kneels next to Dietrich and looks between him and the suffering dog with sad eyes. "Can we help him, Cap? Fritz saved my life and Ari's. Bravest little dog I've ever known." Gently he scratches the whimpering animal behind the ears. "I think that he suffered some broken ribs and his front paw was injured, but I have no idea how to treat him except for allowing him to rest and the bones to heal. That's the way broken ribs are treated in human patients, as far as I can tell you from personal experience." Hitch looks at the German Captain with almost as desperate a look as Ari has before, wanting to trust the calm reassuring words, as he inquires: "So what do we do with him?"

Dietrich sighs. "For now, just find him a soft place to rest and calm him down. I'll try and find out whether one of our medics has experience with treating animals." "Lisa has", Hitch exclaims with a smile, as his panic reduces enough to think clearly again. "Her dad was a vet. I'll bring Fritz to her and she can check on him." The German Captain nods in agreement. "Excellent. But I'd rather not move Fritz too much. Fetch your girlfriend right now and return with her, Hitchcock. It's better if we don't carry the dog around too much and leave him at our table where I can look after him, as we don't know the extent of his injuries. Pack Fritz in a jacket to keep him warm in case a dog might also suffer from shock after an injury." Hitch looks actually scared for Fritz, when he hears the officer's rational arguments. Then, he takes off his jacket and wraps Fritz into it, before picking him up gently and carrying him to the table where Tully is sitting. "I'll be back. Don't cry Ari! My friend Lisa will help Fritz!", Mark tries to cheer the boy up as much as he likes to reassure himself. "Why did he hurt Fritz?", Ari asks in between sobs. "They were afraid that he could hurt them or make them sick", his caregiver explains gently. "But Fritz doesn't hurt anyone. Only he hurt Fritz. He's a bad man." Ari mumbles his protest into his protector's jacket, holding onto him as if for dear life. "Come, Ari. We need to get you something to eat, before we will ride into the desert. Don't worry about Fritz. The nice nurses who helped you will help him as well", Hans tries to reassure the boy who still clings to him, as he tries to get out of Ari's grip and back on his feet again. Jakob helps to free his friend from the boy's grip, as he speaks gently to the child. Dietrich swiftly stand up and looks over to the table where Fritz is lying now and Pettigrew pets the whimpering animal quietly, after having given his word to Hitch to look after the injured dog for the moment.

Jack Moffit is still occupied with keeping Sam Troy from beating up one of the British students who has been imprudent enough to mutter an insolent statement within the American Sergeant's earshot. Riku Gottschlich meanwhile approaches the Captain with a sheepish expression, as he mumbles: "I hope the dog ... Fritz will get better, Captain." Dietrich nods, but admonishes him with a gentle tone: "I know that you don't like him and are afraid of dogs, Corporal. You don't have to pretend." Gottschlich blushes slightly and then points at Ari, as he argues: "I don't like dogs. But that one is really harmless, as you said, Captain. And it would break the boy's heart, if he died. Our neighbour, the mean one with the dogs, caught my brother's pet turtle once and stepped onto it in the stairwell, just to kill it. Akira, my brother, cried for weeks and he never forgave our neighbour. I don't want the boy Ari to suffer like my brother." Dietrich smiles with actual sympathy at the younger man. "Thank you, Corporal Gottschlich. I appreciate your concern for Ari and Fritz in this regard. I only hope the dog doesn't suffer from internal bleeding, as I doubt that we have anybody able to operate on a dog in this camp. And you are right that the boy would be heartbroken. He has lost too many loved ones in the last weeks already. "

Finally, Jack Moffit has managed to persuade Troy to let go of his potential victim whose shirt he has gripped to shake the archaeologist letting him feel the full force of his ire. "Damned Tommies... Don't you dare get anywhere near us or our Fritz again!", the American Sergeant shouts angrily after the fleeing students. "Excellent, Troy. I suppose you have successfully managed to scare a handful of university students out of their wits", Moffit comments dryly. "It's their own fault for attacking one of us!", Troy growls lividly. Moffit knows better than to argue with Troy in such an angry mood about whether the dog can actually be considered one of them. In this regard the typically more reasonable German Captain will not be of any help either, as he is even responsible for bringing the mutt along. Instead of continuing the discussion he turns towards their young unit commander who is still speaking with the Corporal, looking concerned and worried.

"Didn't I tell you...", Moffit starts, but finds himself roughly interrupted. "When I hear one more comment from you about adopting strays, Moffit, I swear to you that you can join this band of archaeologists permanently", Dietrich growls, pinching his nose with his nerves worn to a frazzle. Jack immediately shuts his mouth again, as he realizes that the Captain has finally reached his limits of bearing the stress loaded onto him lately. "You need some lunch and some rest, Captain", Troy tells him wisely. "Are you mocking me, Sergeant?", the German snaps back at him, looking haggard and worn underneath his superficial burst of anger. Jakob Silberblatt intercedes, before his friend can start an actual verbal fight. "Hans, please sit down and look after Ari and Fritz. We will get you some lunch." Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, the German Captain nods and turns without uttering another word toward his ward who looks at him with big reddened eyes.

"Did you all come to terms? I mean before all this...", Jakob inquires of the two Sergeants. Jack nods, while Troy scowls. "You could say so, Lieutenant. Thank you for your support and friendly intervention. I wouldn't have expected you to care so much, not only about your friend, but also about us." The younger man smiles in a friendly manner. "I know that Hans cares about what happens with the men of his unit. Also I enjoyed working through these SS files with you, Doctor Moffit, and I really like Mark Hitchcock. You were right after all, Sergeant Troy. We share a love for poetry." Troy smiles mildly in spite of his grim mood. "I told you so, didn't I? You'll join us sooner than you realize." Jakob's expression turns rather sad. "As I told you I'm not a frontline soldier and I'd never want to endanger my friend's life." "He's pretty good at risking his life without your intervention", Troy counters sarcastically. "And you wouldn't have to fight on the frontline with us. Having someone who works in the background, researching materials behind our own lines, manning the radio and sending us back up to get us out of a tough situation would be valuable as well", Jack Moffit argues matter-of-factually. "This will not be for either of us to decide, as not only General Atkins, but also several other high ranking officers in Allied HQ are the ones to actually decide about the fate of your unit", Jakob argues with a worried glance in the direction of his friend who speaks gently with the boy Ari, as he leads him toward the bench where Tully Pettigrew is already sitting and eating his lunch, while scratching Fritz behind the ears with his left hand.

Ari puts down his plate with some food Hans has insisted that he takes, but does not even pick up a spoon or fork to eat, looking instead at the whimpering Fritz with a worried expression. "Ari, you really need to eat something", the German reminds him gently, trying hard to keep his exasperation out of his voice. "I'm not hungry", the child responds with a despondent tone. His caregiver sighs wearily. "I know that you're worried about Fritz, but you will not help him by not eating and you will get hungry later, if you don't eat now. And we cannot stop to get you food during the afternoon when the caravan, our convoy, is on the move", the Captain lectures him in a gentle manner, taking over the duty of calming the whimpering animal by petting the dog gently. Fritz at least feels calmed by the presence of his master who speaks with a gentle tone and keeps the physical contact as further reassurance.

"It's good", Tully tries to help the Captain, as he holds up his fork filled with potatoes and licks his lips purposefully. Ari looks at the young man with some curiosity. He knows that the quiet one is Mark's friend, but he has never really spoken to him before, as he speaks very little in general. "If Tully Pettigrew likes the food, you will like it as well. Just give it a try. I'm taking care of Fritz", Hans tries to goad the boy, nodding gratefully in Pettigrew's direction. Finally, Ari picks up his fork and takes the first bite of his fried potatoes. As soon as he tastes the warm meal, his appetite triggered by hunger actually sets in and he starts eating hungrily. "It's good", the boy confirms with his mouth full of potatoes. "You should not speak when you have your mouth full of food or drink", his caregiver admonishes sternly. "Okay, Hans", Ari answers after swallowing the potatoes. "Don't you want something? It's good." Smiling gently, the German tells him: "Don't worry. Jakob or one of the others will take care of bringing me something to eat." "That's damn right", Sam Troy confirms from behind, as he puts a plate in front of the younger Captain. "Enjoy your lunch, Captain." "Thank you, Sergeant." Ari looks slightly scared in the direction of the loud American who has behaved in a strange and scary way lately, but does not shy away or panic.

"I'll leave you to your lunch", Troy states in a clipped tone, before Dietrich stops him. "Stay, Troy! I feel a lot better, when I can have an eye on you and know where you are." "That sounds like a true friend's empathy", Jakob comments with a smile, as he takes a seat on Ari's other side to keep an eye on the boy, while he eats. "I've actually felt like that ever since knowing him", Hans counters with dry sarcasm. "That's what true friendship sounds like, doesn't it, old man?", Jack Moffit adds dryly, as he joins them. "Bunch of smartasses", Troy grumbles, but without actual anger, as he sits down next to Tully who still enjoys his lunch. As Fritz whimpers slightly, Dietrich offers him half a meatball which serves as an excellent distraction from the little dog's pain who settles for laying his head on his master's thigh and applying his best begging performance combined with playing the poor dying animal.

"Hey, Cap. I found us the best vet in camp", Mark Hitchcock announces loudly, as he enters the tent with his girlfriend Lisa Hartigan in tow. Fritz makes a sound between a yelp and a whimper, as he hears the Private's voice. "Ruhig, Fritz", Dietrich speaks to the suffering dog in a calming manner. "Captain. I used to work as my father's assistant and he was our town's doctor for humans and animals alike", Lisa Hartigan announces. "I have no doubt of your expertise, Lieutenant", the young officer replies coolly. "From what I could sense through touch I would guess that some ribs have been broken. The man who kicked Fritz must have attacked him several times and with great brutality. I have no idea how to tell if a dog suffers from internal bleeding though." The German gently pets the dog's head, as Fritz lays his head back on his thigh with a sound between a sigh and a whimper. "Can I touch him for a medical inspection?", Lisa inquires, as she eyes the suffering dog with sympathy. "Fritz has never bitten or even bared his teeth at anybody. You can safely touch him", Dietrich assures her. Like before Fritz starts whimpering loudly, when she touches the sensitive spot along his ribs. Yet, the little brown dog suffers through everything without a snarl or baring his teeth as the German has predicted, trusting in his master whose voice speaks calmly to him that they have no intent to harm him, even if it hurts.

"You're right, Captain. Several ribs were broken", Lisa confirms with a frown. "You should observe the dog, whether his spittle becomes red from blood or you find blood in his excrement or urine which would be an indication of internal bleeding. Otherwise I will look at him later again to check whether some blood has collected in the abdominal cavity." The German Captain and Mark Hitchcock both nod intently, as they listen to the description. "We will watch him", Dietrich replies with determination. "Sure, Lisa", Mark adds. "What else do you suggest except for letting him rest, Lieutenant? I suppose we have to take special care during the transport and should keep him in a place where he can ride with little wild movement, such as a truck as opposed to a Jeep." "Why exactly did you call me, when you know everything already?", Lisa inquires with irony. "To ask for your expertise in case my assumptions are wrong, Lieutenant. It certainly was not my intent to summon you needlessly or mock you", The German officer states in a calm manner, hoping to deescalate the situation, as he is not sure whether his nerves will survive an irate Lieutenant Hartigan's attack without permanent damage. Not only Lisa Hartigan, but all the men around the table look at the Captain's haggard and drawn face with concern. "That's surely not what I would've suspected, Captain", Lisa replies with a more friendly tone than she usually applies recognizing the young officer's defensive stance. "Why is she so friendly to Dietrich and so bossy toward me?", Troy mutters grumpily. "Because our dear Captain is much more of a polite gentleman than you, Troy", Moffit whispers dryly.

Once the nurse has finished her instructions, Lisa Hartigan says her goodbye, while Mark Hitchcock takes off to get some food for himself. As soon as she has left, Ari inquires: "Fritz will get well again?" Dietrich smiles gently. "We will all do our best so that Fritz gets healthy again." The little dog whimpers softly at his name and nestles against his master's leg. "Schon gut, Fritz", the German speaks in a calm and reassuring tone that helps to calm Ari as well as Fritz. "Can you take Fritz with you on the truck, Jakob?", Hans inquires. Silberblatt looks briefly surprised. "Sure, Hans. Whatever you need to keep him safe." "We cannot take him on the Jeeps with us, as this would be far too much movement for his injuries to survive the ordeal", his friend argues. "Don't worry. I'll take care of him. He can sleep on my lap", Jakob assures him. "It looks like he will already be spoiled rotten even before meeting your mother", Hans replies dryly. His Jewish friend smiles. "You should know Mama well enough to realize that she will find ways to top that."

"Hey, Dietrich. How is my favourite Jerry in camp doing?", Captain Brown greets him jovially and the German Captain automatically narrows his eyes and grits his teeth in annoyance and wounded pride. "Brown, would some basic manners really be too much to ask of you?", Dietrich snaps indignantly. "Come on, lad. You're not half as stiff as you pretend to be", the older Australian comments with a smile that falls immediately, when he sees and hears the whimpering dog. "What happened to your dog?" The younger Captain still scowls at him, but answers grimly: "One of our British guests kicked him several times. He feared that Fritz could be infected with rabies." Brown looks quite incredulous now. "Rabies? Is he mad?" The German officer scratches the slightly whimpering animal, as he answers grimly: "Unfortunately they actually have reasons to fear rabies infections. I shot one of their colleagues yesterday, when he attacked and bit a second man. That man has subsequently taken one of our nurses as a hostage to force us to shoot him. So simply fearing the dog as a source of infection is not as unreasonable as other things that have happened in this camp lately." Brown looks still slightly incredulous, but comments with his usual grin: "I really have to grant you that, Dietrich. I haven't had a dull day since meeting you." Seeing the younger officer narrow his eyes again in indignation, he adds: "That's really meant as a compliment, young fellow." Looking at all of them, he adds: "So that's why you all look like a whole pack of beaten dogs? I can't believe that."

Both Hans Dietrich and Jack Moffit look at Sam Troy expectantly who just grits his teeth and stares back stubbornly. The German Captain finally sighs wearily and provides the Australian LRDG commander with a summarised report of the events of the morning, the British conman and his almost killing of Sergeant Troy. "Sammy, are you fine?", the Australian Captain asks with clear worry and concern edged into his voice. "I'm okay", Troy grits out. "So you're not fine at all", Brown remarks. "Come to me when you want to talk. Or I'll just start pestering you again by inviting you over with your nice pack of friends for the evening. My men keep asking when they will see your next performance, Captain Dietrich." "As long as my shoulder is so badly affected by the after effects of your last party, Brown, I will not consider any sleight of hand action." "But you cracked the lock today quite fine, Captain", Riku Gottschlich astounds them all with his comment. Before Dietrich has the chance to glare at him any longer, Moffit adds: "And your drawing looked less abstract than Ari's in spite of your injury." "You can have my cards anytime, Cap", Tully offers. "Looks like you're overruled here, lad", Brown comments with a wide amused grin, as the German mutters: "Bunch of backstabbing traitors."

"You can even bring your boy along", Brown starts out and immediately gets interrupted: "He's not my boy." Ari looks slightly scared at the tone of Hans' outburst. Noticing his expression, the German Captain takes a deep breath and mutters: "I'm sorry for being loud and scaring you, Ari." "Why are you angry, Hans?", the boy inquires. As his caregiver still reviews his options for a good explanation, the Australian addresses the kid: "So you're Ari. I'm Browny. I'm sorry for annoying your...", he points at the younger officer trying to prompt the completion of the sentence. "My brother Hans", Ari provides willingly and nestles against the tall man again with obvious affection. "You look nothing alike", Brown comments and Dietrich glares at him. "He's my wolf brother like Mowgli and Akela", Ari explains with due seriousness. "Jahwe sent him to take care of me." Now the German Captain tenses visibly and his Australian colleague notices him paling slightly. Ari feels his brother's tensing muscles and hears the change in his heartbeat, asking with worry: "Hans, are you okay?" Dietrich merely nods, before clearing his throat and answering cautiously: "I'm fine, Ari. I'm just worried about you, Fritz, a lot of things." "I'm okay now", the boy tries to assure him. "You're a good boy", the German officer comments affectionately, tousling the child's hair.

"I promise you that we won't harm you or the boy and behave as best we can, Dietrich", Brown addresses him now. "The last time you swore to me that you wouldn't perform another test of character with me, Brown, only to do just that. Forgive my wariness under the circumstances", the German Captain remarks sarcastically. "I swear to you that I have no intention to harm the boy in any way which I would through harming you", the Australian Captain gives his solemn word. "A place where a bunch of rowdy soldiers are imbibing alcohol is the last place I want the boy to be", Dietrich argues sternly. "Lisa and the girls would love to look after Ari. They really like him and they're not against helping you out, Captain", Hitch offers a solution. The German Captain appears slightly astonished but nods finally. "That's actually a good idea, Hitchcock. Ari, would you like to spend the evening with the nice nurses and look after Fritz to see that he gets healthy again?", the young officer poses the question slyly. "Yeah. I want to see Fritz get better", Ari exclaims enthusiastically. "Excellent", his brother agrees smoothly, while petting Fritz who has started to yelp and yowl at his name again. "Now that this is settled, I expect you all at our camp after dinner, especially you, Dietrich", Brown declares with an open smile. "And now I'll get my men ready for our ride." "You remember that you will cover the rear with your truck and your Jeeps, Brown", Dietrich reminds him sternly. "I might be older than you, young man, but I'm not demented", the Australian Captain replies with a humorous gleam in his eyes.

A soldier approaching them stops Captain Brown from following up on this announcement though, as he approaches and addresses his German colleague. "Captain Dietrich, the Arabs will arrive in a few minutes. Captain Boggs ordered to inform you", the young American reports diligently, although his face betrays his astonishment to find the young officer sitting with the enlisted men with a dark skinned boy sitting next to him and a little dog putting its snout on his leg. "Thank you, Private Mayfield. I will meet them in a few minutes", the German Captain responds, pointedly ignoring the stare. "Yes, Sir", the American replies and salutes, slightly baffled that the Captain knows his name in spite of never having dealt with him directly before. "Did you really learn the name of every soldier in camp, Captain?", Troy asks him incredulously. "I don't even know half the guys' names." "It was my obligation to learn the names of the men of your unit, when I had to take over command from Captain Boggs and it was not clear for how long this state would last", Dietrich argues smoothly. "That's impressive. It took us, Tully and me, a few months to learn all the names through our Poker rounds, Cap", Hitch comments, sounding truly at awe.

"Although you may not believe it, I have certain standards to uphold as an officer", the German Captain replies dryly, before adding in a matter-of-factual tone: "Please look after Fritz, Private. Ari, you stay with Mark Hitchcock and Fritz. I'll be back soon. I need to speak to the traders of the caravan." "I'll join you, Captain", Moffit offers. "That would be a benefit, Doctor, as we need to try the clothes they bring for us", the younger officer argues coolly. "I'll come with you as well. Someone has to keep an eye on you two", Troy tells them immediately. "Der einzige, auf den man ein Auge haben muss, ist derzeit er", the German Captain argues dryly, exchanging a long glance with Jack Moffit who confirms: "Leider nur allzu wahr, Captain." "Are you two conspiring against me again?", the American Sergeant growls. "I just said that you are the only one one has to have an eye on right now, Sergeant, which Doctor Moffit confirmed", Dietrich replies dryly. "Jerry smartass", Troy grumbles. "I see that we're gonna have lots of fun together, Dietrich", Brown remarks with a grin, patting the German officer on the left shoulder. "But I'll leave you to your Arabs and disguises, Captain, and take care of my unit. "I'll see you later."

Dietrich scowls as he looks at the Australian Captain's retreating back, but reigns in his temper to not further scare Ari. "Corporal Gottschlich, take care of our Jeeps and equipment, as Private Pettigrew has shown you. Pettigrew, you have your concussion checked again in sickbay, before we leave. The rest of you already have your orders. I will see you later at the Jeeps." "Yes, Sir", Gottschlich confirms with a salute. Tully merely nods and mutters: "Sure thing, Cap." "I will see you later, Ari", Hans tells his ward gently. The boy briefly hugs him around the chest, before declaring bravely: "I'll take care of Fritz and protect him." Smiling gently, the German Captain gets up and tousles his hair. "You do that." Hitch smiles at the brave boy as well. "You really have the brave heart of a wolf, like Mowgli", he tells the boy who smiles widely at the praise.

Trusting Hitchcock to take good care of the child for now, the German officer leaves the tent, closely followed by his two Sergeants. They move toward the Northern rim of the camp, where several soldiers already await the arrival of the caravan. Private Mayfield stands next to a brown haired British Sergeant in his mid thirties who salutes to the officer. "Captain Dietrich. Thank you for coming to aid us." "My pleasure, Sergeant", the German replies smoothly. "Where are the trucks to be loaded with the supplies the caravan delivers?" "I ordered them to move here", the Brit replies and Dietrich nods in approval. "Excellent, Sergeant. How many men do you have to help with loading the trucks?" "I called off two of our guards and we have six more responsible for the trucks", the man reports diligently and Dietrich is almost astounded to finally meet someone who would easily pass the Wehrmacht standards. His expectations must truly have dropped rapidly in the last few days among the Americans and Australians. "Lieutenant Johnson must be glad to have you, Sergeant. Well done", he praises the man with honest appreciation. Looking briefly astounded, the Brit finally smiles. "Thank you, Captain. I rarely hear such praise." "It's well deserved, I assure you", the German officer replies, before turning toward the arriving caravan. "Why do I never hear such praise?", Troy grumbles for Jack to hear. "Because it's obviously not well deserved", the British Sergeant counters dryly savoring the American's sour look.

"As-salamu 'alaikum", Hans Dietrich greets the leader of the Bedouin caravan who has been responsible for the trading caravan in the last few days and Murat ibn Muhammad, Prince Hassan's cousin, riding next to him on a fine Arab horse instead of a camel. "Wa-'alaikumu s-salam, faris alsahra", both greet him back after unmounting their riding animals. "*It is an honor that you come to visit us again, Murat ibn Muhammad*", Dietrich addresses the young man from the Sheikh's own family. "*I come here in the name of my uncle Sheikh Sulaiman and my cousin, Prince Hassan. Both send you their regards, faris alsahra, and wish you well on your travels.*" "*But they also wish to learn that we start these travels today*", the German officer replies slyly. "*Send them my regards and those of my Sheikh, General Atkins, who cannot join us, because he has been poisoned by assassins.*" The Bedouin looks slightly shocked but nods in acceptance. "*I wish him a fast recovery, as Sheikh Sulaiman has had, since you have treated him along with your soldier.*" Dietrich bows respectfully, before replying politely: "*I also wish him well and that he will recover soon to continue reigning over his people with wisdom.*"

Moffit nods in approval at the Captain's polite exchange, refraining from intervening, as the respectful relation the younger man has with the local Bedouins makes him the far better negotiator in this case. Murat turns to the trader and orders: "*Bring the gifts for our friends!*" Then he turns back to the tall German officer who observes him cautiously, yet maintaining his proud stance at the same time. As the trader takes two daggers from a case, all three soldiers tense into a battle ready stance and Sam Troy even reaches for his gun holster. "Stay calm, Troy!", Moffit admonishes with a harsh whisper. "He said something about gifts." Dietrich meanwhile addresses the Sheikh's delegate: "*Who are these gifts for? And from whom?*" "*Sheikh Sulaiman has intended them for those who treated his wounds and saved his life from the poison and infection*", Murat declares with dignity. "*He also said that the utility knife he once gave you for your ride is not worthy a man of your standing, faris alsahra, and to take this as a sign of his appreciation. The gift your Sheikh has chosen was to take the content of the Ifrit's cursed metal case.*" Dietrich accepts the two weapons trying his best to hide how perplexed he is by the gift. "*Please report to the Sheikh our gratitude in the name of myself and my soldier who is currently treated in our medical area himself*", he replies with a polite bow after handing Tully's dagger to Moffit and holding only his own with his right, while he tries to hide that the arm is shaking slightly from the stress and pain.

"*I am sorry, Murat ibn Muhammad, that I cannot offer any gifts in return*", the German Captain adds, in a polite manner. "*Sheikh Sulaiman does not expect that you will return his gift. Your gift has been the treatment for his wounds which you have offered without asking anything as payment, faris alsahra. We are honorable people and repay our debts as we honor our friends. May Allah protect you on your travels and in your battles!*", Murat explains in a stately manner that makes him worthy of being a Sheikh's nephew. Dietrich notices that not only Prince Hassan, but also his oldest cousin has grown into a more mature and respectable man through the events of the last weeks. Bowing politely in return, the German officer speaks with the stateliness worthy of his rank and upbringing: "*I thank you and your family for all your support and send my best regards to the Sheikh and his son. May they reign your people with wisdom and foresight. May Allah protect you on your ways, Murat ibn Muhammad.*" Taking the dagger in his left hand, he shakes hands with the Bedouin, hiding most of his pain this incites in his shoulder.

Murat then bows and steps to the side accompanied by his two warrior guards, while the Arab trader addresses Dietrich: "*I have brought the clothes you asked for, faris alsahra.*" "*Excellent. My man and I will try them now to see if they fit over our uniforms*", the German replies with an actual smile. "*You can meanwhile order your assistants to hand over the other wares to my soldiers who will take care of loading them into the trucks.*" The Arab trader shouts orders to his caravan assistants, while Dietrich turns to his own men. Knowing that Moffit can understand him without requiring a translation, he motions for the Sergeant to take the pack of clothes intended for them, while addressing Sam Troy: "Inform Captain Boggs that our delivery has arrived and ask him to hand you 40 Reichsmark. Either he gives you the money confiscated from my safe or the equivalent of the value in US Dollars. The first option would be preferable, as neither I nor the Arab knows what the exact rate of exchanging the currencies is. This is important however for paying for our trade to provide Moffit and me with disguises." Not being in charge of his unit's money, as he has been in the past two years, bugs the German officer, but he has to comply with the changed realities of his change of sides. Asking the reasonable Captain Boggs for the amount is far better than having to beg from the General would have been. Troy nods and answers: "Sure. You can rely on me, Captain." Then, he turns to the office tent where he expects to find their Captain by now.

Knowing the young German officer's pride and the extent of his injuries, Jack Moffit does not wait for him to ask for help with getting dressed, but offers his support instead. "May I help you with getting into these, Captain?", he inquires with due politeness that Hans Dietrich actually appreciates as a quality of the British scholar. "Thank you, Moffit", the younger officer replies after the Sergeant has helped him out of his jacket and into a wide linen shirt worn over his own shirt and the kaftan worn above both. "They fit quite adequately", Jack assesses, as he musters the German Captain. Without the weapon belt and another shirt worn underneath both pieces of clothing would be quite too wide for the lean officer, but that is not a problem, since they intend to hide their uniforms and weapons underneath the clothes. Then, Jack tries his own intended clothes which fit equally well for him as for Hans Dietrich, since they have a similar stature and only differ by an inch or two in height and probably several pounds of weight, since the younger man's torture and starvation.

By the time they are finished with the procedure, half of the goods have been loaded onto the trucks and Sam Troy has returned with Captain Boggs in tow who eyes the two men, each holding an Arab dagger in their hand, with curiosity. "We need to pay the man for the clothes which we require for infiltrating the oases, as Captain Brown has suggested", Dietrich reminds his American colleague. "I'm aware of that, Captain Dietrich. I had not known though that you bought weapons in addition to clothes", Boggs tells him sternly. The German narrows his eyes, as he glares at the American with indignation. "I did no such thing as buy weapons! These are gifts from the Sheikh for Pettigrew and me for treating the Sheikh's infection of his wounds with antibiotics which have helped him greatly", the younger Captain growls with his wounded pride clearly resonating in his voice. "I'm sorry to have wrongly accused you then, Captain Dietrich", Boggs quickly tries to calm the irritated younger man. Still eyeing the American officer warily, the lean young Captain takes the offered banknotes which he recognizes immediately as German Reichsmark. So Boggs has at least taken his instructions seriously.

After a curt expression of gratitude, the German Captain turns back to the Arab trader and hands him the money, counting every single bill onto his hand, until they end with the fourth. "*It's a pleasure to do business with you, faris alsahra*", the trader tells him contently. "*As it is to deal with such a reliable trader such as yourself*", Dietrich returns the compliment, as it is expected of him. The Bedouin then bows and turns back to his caravan, instructing his men, while the German officer turns to his men and Captain Boggs. "Thank you, Captain Boggs", the younger Captain addresses his commanding officer sternly. "You're welcome, Captain Dietrich. And I really want you to know that I don't suspect you on principle simply because you are German. It was simply a matter of misunderstanding", Boggs assures the wary Dietrich who scowls, but finally nods in understanding. "Overcoming mutual distrust will be a challenge for both of us, Captain Boggs", the German admits with a wry smile. "I should apologize for my reaction and impoliteness as well." "You're right. It will be a challenge we have not yet mastered fully", the older American agrees. "Let's get this convoy moving though before something happens again to delay it."

"Gott bewahre uns davor", the younger officer mutters in his native tongue, then translates immediately for the benefit of Troy and Boggs: "May God protect us from that happening." The American Sergeant smiles wryly at the words. "How often did you say that about us and your German convoys, Captain?" "More often than I care to count or remember. Leave it at that!", the German counter warily. "And from avenging angels to Anubis' false servants, let's hope nothing further happens to sabotage us", Moffit adds dryly. "Please stay quiet, Sergeant Moffit!", James Boggs laments with a sorrowful tone. "That's right, Jack. Mention that damn jackal again and you might end up with a broken nose", Troy adds grimly. "Sergeant Troy! Sergeant Moffit!", Dietrich admonishes sternly. "Sorry, Captain!", both men answer almost simultaneously, stare at each other and then start laughing with their tension relieved. "What's this about?", Boggs whispers to the German Captain. "Believe me! You don't want to know the answer to that question", the younger officer replies dryly. Eyeing the Rat Sergeants with some curiosity and wariness, the American Captain finally concedes: "You're right. I don't need to know." Knowing that his younger second in command not only has the men of his unit astoundingly well under control, but also truly cares about the men's wellbeing suffices for James Boggs to not need to worry or get involved. After all that he has seen of the Rats' interactions between each other and their new Captain, he is assured that Dietrich does a far better job at handling this pack of unruly jerboas than he ever has.

"I will check on the trucks and our Lieutenants. You coordinate the tanks, as well as our British and Australian allies, Captain Dietrich", Boggs orders the younger man who salutes properly although with his left and acknowledges the command diligently, before turning to take care of his job. The lean German turns to Moffit. "Could you please take our Bedouin clothes, Sergeant. You may hand me the dagger instead, so that I can give it to Private Pettigrew." The British scholar hands him back the second dagger after a moment of hesitation. "I'm sure Tully appreciates the gift. Could you ask him though to lend me the piece for our disguise missions. Also I would recommend you to leave that fancy piece of art in camp and use your other one for our infiltration." Dietrich looks more closely at the weapon he holds in hand and realizes that Moffit is right and this dagger is quite different from the one he has worn during his desert ride and at previous meetings with the Bedouins. Unlike his more practical weapon and Pettigrew's gifted dagger which are both made of a steel blade and handle with a bronze sheath, Dietrich's gifted dagger has fine decorations made of filigrane silver wire with some precious stones inlaid in the sheath and at the top of the handle. This is obviously a decorative weapon meant to show the status of its bearer.

"Be sure to wear this, when you meet my father at Cambridge!", Moffit tells the Captain with a wry smile. "I cannot wait to see his face, when you tell him how you earned this weapon as a gift." "Remind me again, Moffit, when exactly did I agree to this?", the German inquires dryly. "I suppose at the latest when you agreed with Professor Stevenson to visit Oxford", Jack answers with a mischievous grin. "I only agreed to get him to shut up", the younger officer groans. "I doubt I'm welcome in England." "Oh, you're very welcome. Somebody with good manners and education who appreciates the fine tastes of tea can only be welcome", Moffit counters with a smile. "I'll accompany you personally." "Would you take care of your duties now, Sergeant!", the German Captains admonishes slightly unnerved. "Bring the clothes to our Jeeps and put them among our bags with clothes! Gottschlich, Hitchcock and Silberblatt should have managed to pack our things and take down the tent in addition to watching over Ari and Fritz." "Of course, Captain!", Moffit confirms. "Don't even think about sending me away, Captain! I'll keep an eye on you to assure you don't get attacked or anything", Troy growls warily, as he sees Dietrich turn his gaze on him. The German officer merely raises his eyebrows then nods. "It seems our intentions coincide anyways, Sergeant Troy", the Captain remarks dryly, before turning on his heel to stalk off toward the British part of the camp.

Lieutenant Johnson coordinates the British trucks and their tanks along with the German Tiger tanks. One of the soldiers points at the approaching duo and Johnson quickly approaches them. "Captain Dietrich, how can I help you?", the British officer inquires slightly nervously. "Captain Boggs sent me to check on your unit and assure a coordinated movement of the convoy", the German Captain tells him smoothly. Johnson calls toward the tanks: "Sergeant Fletcher!" One of the men Dietrich recognizes from the training session with the Brits this morning approaches them. "Captain Dietrich", the black haired man at approximately Dietrich's own age greets the German Captain with a sharp salute. "How can I be of service?" "Sergeant Fletcher, Lieutenant Johnson. We will expect your trucks to stay in the convoy which starts with the prisoners of war, then continues with the supplies and the medical trucks. Afterwards we would have your trucks and at the rear the Australian truck of Captain Brown's unit which covers our rear along with the Australian Jeeps. We would therefore require that you spread the tanks to guard the prisoners' truck and the medical trucks from both side. This means three tanks per side will be an additonal buffer to the LRDG's Jeeps and your armored cars."

The British Sergeant nods. "I will order the men to take their positions accordingly, Captain." "Thank you, Sergeant. That is all I require from you, Lieutenant, except that you take care that all units are ready within the next half an hour", Dietrich tells him. "We will make sure of that, Captain", Johnson confirms. "Excellent. Thank you. Then I can take care of my own men now", Dietrich replies with a weary sigh. "I'll make sure to deliver some tea to you and Sergeant Moffit in the evening. You sure look like you will need it, Captain Dietrich", the British Lieutenant tells him with open sympathy. "I would appreciate that, Lieutenant. Thank you", the German replies with a grateful nod, trying to ignore Troy who grimaces with disgust at the thought of strong black English tea. "I wish you a good ride." "Likewise, Captain", Johnson replies and turns back to his men.

Troy puts his hand on the lean young officer's shoulder. "You actually look like you need some support." Tensing slightly at the unexpected touch, the German Captain replies dryly: "That last days have truly taught me modesty. I'd already settle for an uneventful ride, Brown sparing my nerves in the evening and getting some rest during the night without being woken." "I couldn't agree more with you, Captain", Troy confirms. "Let's try and make the first part of that come true." "What happened to 'let's shake it'?", the German Captain asks with dry sarcasm. "That's only for the whole pack", Troy replies with a grin. "As long as they don't start howling...", Dietrich comments with dry irony. "Why would they howl?", Troy snaps. "Because Hitchcock created this Jungle book wolf pack analogy for Ari who loves the stories", the German Captain replies with a weary sigh. "Hmph", the American Sergeant huffs indignantly. "He'd better not get too carried away!" "You may tell him that", the young officer suggests slyly. "I will", Troy confirms with determination. Poor Hitchcock.

As they arrive at their Jeeps, the rest of the Rats supported by Jakob Silberblatt have indeed finished packing their possessions and loaded everything onto the Jeeps. In addition thay have taken down the tent and its spartanic furnishings, loading these onto one of the trucks. "Hans!", Ari exclaims with joy, as he makes out his caregiver and comes running to embrace him. Still afraid for the sutures at his abdomen, the German Captain crouches immediately, as his shoulder and neck can still bear the brunt of the boy's affection better. "You promised I can ride with you on the Jeeps", the boy reminds Dietrich that there always comes a time to pay for one's mistakes of giving a promise just to silence a child. "I did. Today would be a good day for that", the young German officer concedes wearily. "You really want to take the boy along with us, Captain?", Moffit inquires doubtfully, as Troy is not paying attention, because he is lecturing or rather intimidating Hitch about not to start howling in his presence or vicinity ever again.

Hans Dietrich gazes up at the tall Brit from his crouched position to meet his eyes. "Within a four hours driving range from our current location, we have secured almost everything during the last few days. In addition, the Afrikakorps currently has neither the interest nor capacity to send any fast moving troops in this area. This ride is as safe as it will ever get out here", the young Captain argues with furrowed brows, while Jack nods in acceptance. "As you like, Captain, but you will have to sit in the back with Ari then", the British Sergeant counters. The German Captain sighs, but nods. "Fine. It's only for today." Hitch and Troy have joined them by now and heard the argumentation. "You can ride with us, Cap", the young Private offers with a wide smile even before Troy can hinder him. "Tully has to break Gotty in on driving, so it's really safer for you two." They all accept this reasonable argument without much discussion. Sam Troy appears even delighted. "Finally, you're riding with us, Captain. I've been waiting for that day", the American Sergeant comments with a grin. "Agreed, Hitchcock", Dietrich confirms, pointedly ignoring Troy's moronic comment.

Pettigrew and Gottschlich have joined them by now as well and accept the new driving arrangements with a nod. Given his injury, it is indisputable that Tully cannot drive himself and should sit in the front to have a more comfortable ride and instruct the young Corporal, while Jack Moffit will stay in the back. The Private looks somewhat baffled, when the German Captain steps toward him and holds out and Arab dagger in its bronze sheath which he holds in his left hand. Shifting his matchstick to the corner of his mouth he gazes at the tall officer with a puzzled expression. "This is a gift for you Pettigrew", Dietrich announces in a stately manner. Seeing the Kentuckian Private's incredulous stares, the tall German smiles wryly. "Not from me personally, but from Sheikh Sulaiman who you have treated along with me." Tully still looks incredulous, as Hitch exclaims: "Wow!" "Stop making canine noises, Hitch!", Troy scolds him. "But Sarge...", the young Private tries to defend himself, but quickly stops arguing, as he sees Troy's livid expression. "I never got a gift from anyone... I mean not like that, like official", Tully stutters absolutely incrdulous at the situation. "You earned it nonetheless. I'm just the man delivering this gift", the German Captain tells him with calm stateliness, fitting for his rank and upbringing, but the Rats know him well enough by now to also hear a hint of sympathy and amusement in his tone. "This is... wow.. thanks, Cap", Tully just mutters, as he takes his gift and holds it like the most precious thing he has ever possessed. "Moffit might have to borrow it for soe of our infiltrations in the oases", Dietrich adds diligently. "Sure, Cap, Doc. Whatever you need", Pettigrew mutters, still in awe at his new prized possession.

"I'll take Fritz now and take my ride with the General's armored staff car", Jakob informs his friend, as his turns to let the Private come to terms with his gift. The little dog starts whimpering a little at hearing its name again, but is quickly consoled by Hitchcock, followed by Dietrich and Ari, when the Captain lets the boy say goodbye to him for now. Silberblatt gently and carefully carries his injured load, as he walks to his riding option. Hitch helps Ari to climb into the back of the Jeep which is halfway filled with their stuff, making it a more cramped area than usual. Sighing wearily, Hans Dietrich follows the boy he feels responsible for, as he would never go back on his word or leave his ward with anyone else. "You tell us, when you need something, Captain", Troy turns around in the front seat to address the tall German who still evaluates how to best sit in the available space and finally settles for sitting back to back with Troy, placing Ari next to him, after stowing his dagger among his own possesions the Rats have loaded onto the Jeep. This position allows him to utilize his left arm for grabbing the linkage of the Jeep with his left arm and place his right on Ari's shoulder who can cling to him on his own, when the ride becomes rough, as the German already suspects that it will become.

Tully meanwhile takes his seat in the front of the Jeep next to Gotty who looks slightly nervous to be under the scrutiny of the expert driver. The Kentuckian however is monosyllabic as ever, as he gives his curt advice to stay close to the convoy and avoid the roughest tips of the dunes, unless he wants to enjoy the effect of actually jumping into the air. The half-Japanese Corporal gets slightly greenish in the face at the prospect and immediately assures his instructor that he has no intention whatsoever to try such a stunt. "Too bad", Tully mutters, then puts his matchstick back into his mouth, signalling clearly that he is finished talking, as he sits down in the front set and stares at the Arab dagger in his hands as if still not comprehending how this miracle has happened. Jack Moffit faces a similar challenge as Hans Dietrich in the other Jeep, namely being tall and confined to an even more restricted space than usual with all the baggage taking up space on the Jeep's load. In the end, the British Sergeant chooses a similar position to the German Captain to be able to easily communicate with Tully and Gottschlich, if the need arises.

They all observe the trucks from their positions on the right flank, until the can observe the movement of the slower vehicles. Then follow the tanks which require a longer period for starting and getting to move than the Jeeps. Finally, at Dietrich's hand signal their Jeeps start moving as well positioning themselves on the right flank in between a British tank and Johnson's armored car. For the first half hour Hitch drives rather slowly and carefully and the German Captain almost starts to relax in his uncomfortable position, while Ari leans into his side. Then, Troy shouts and points at something and the tall officer cranes his neck to see what the Sergeant has spotted simultaneously to Hitch speeding up their vehicle and breaking out of the chain of companion vehicles of the truck convoy. As he shoots up the dune, Hans Dietrich grips the metal linkage tightly, expecting the worst, if they shoot over the tip of the dune, while Ari crows loudly with excitement, feeling the spirit of adventure in the wild ride. Fortunately, Mark has the presence of mind to not shoot over the dune's top, but drive around it, sparing his back passengers the agony of clinging to the metal frame for dear life.

As they round the dune, Dietrich shouts: "What did you see, Sergeant?" "I think I saw something moving on top of the dune, a jackal maybe", the American bellows back. The German officer is momentarily stunned before snapping: "Have you lost your mind to break out of line to hunt a jackal of all possible critters out here, Troy?" "Nothing 'round here anyways, Cap", Hitch shouts his opinion, as they come around the dune. Glaring at Troy as best he can in his current position, the tall Captain orders: "Return to the convoy, Hitchcock!" The American Sergeant looks grumpy and sheepish at the same time, but does not comment on the order. The only one not minding the detour at all is Ari who continues to crow with joy at every bump and turn. Hitch flashes a grin, before he dives a bit to the side which makes the boy squeal even more with joy, while his caregiver is hard challenged to keep himself and the excited child inside of the Jeep.

When they finally arrive at their intended camp location for the first night, as arranged with Boggs and Brown, the German Captain merely groans with acute pain in his shoulder, when Troy helps him down from the back of the Jeep. "Did you see? We were so fast! When can I come with you again?", Ari blabbers with excitement, as he clambers down from the Jeep behind his beloved brother. "Next time, you can go with Mark Hitchcock or Tully Pettigrew or whoever you like, but I will be riding the truck!", Hans mutters with pain laced into his voice, while rubbing his aching shoulder with an expression of serious torment. "But I want you to come too, Hans!" Ari hugs his brother around the waist, making the tall man flinch as he presses against the injury there. In spite of his excitement, Ari finally notices that something is wrong with Hans. "Are you hurt?", the boy inquires with a concerned expression. "You don't have to worry, Ari", Dietrich dodges the question. "I'm fine."

Trusting his caregiver's word without second thought, the boy continues to his previous focus of excitement. "That was so great. I really want to do this again. Please, Hans", Ari pleads with his brother. "Ari, even if we want to take you along, we cannot do so anytime soon, as the road ahead is too dangerous", Hans admonishes sternly. "Can I come with you again, when it's not dangerous?", Ari begs with a big puppy eyes look he has adopted from Fritz. "Only in a safe area", the German Captain concedes which basically means nowhere in North Africa for him. The Jewish boy does not realise that and hugs him with excitement which makes the Captain tense, as he tries to not get his sutures torn. "I love you. You're the best big brother I ever had", the child declares honestly, making the young man flinch at the words more than at the pain, as the feeling of guilt over the death of the child's family washing over him and haunting him unbidden.

"Hitch, Gotty, take care of the Jeeps and then help setting up our tent!", Troy orders the Private and Corporal in the meantime, while the Captain is occupied speaking with Ari. Before Dietrich can turn toward his unit though, a young American soldier comes running toward the officer and addresses him: "Captain Dietrich, Captain Boggs ordered me to fetch you immediately." The German officer nods wearily. More troubles are the last things he wants or need right now, a cup of strong tea, morphine IV and a bed to sleep in for a whole night would be more to his liking, but Fortuna has always hated him. "I will come with you immediately, Private", the tall officer tells the young man sternly who must be from General Atkins' unit, as Dietrich does not remember having read his file or name.

"Ari, please stay with Mark Hitchcock and...", the young Captain catches himself, before saying 'Sam Troy' and corrects himself quickly to "Jack Moffit". As the boy is scared of Troy since the morning, he would be the worst choice for looking after him right now. Since Hitchcock has driven off with the Jeep, the British Sergeant is the only one remaining and walks toward him, as he tells his caregiver with a serious tone: "But you will come back after helping Captain Boggs, Hans." Dietrich struggles slightly to keep his facial expression impassive at being ordered around by a six-year-old, while Troy and Moffit grin with obvious amusement. "Good to know what the chain of command is around here", the American Sergeant comments mirthfully. "I'm so glad you're entertained. Then I'm not bearing the name Dietrich for nothing", the German Captain tells him sarcastically, even purposefully pronouncing his own name in the American way. "So it's true?", the unknown young Private addresses the young officer with curious wide eyes, "you're really related to Marlene Dietrich, Captain?"

Almost twentyfive years of indoctrination what is a proper and dignified behaviour for an officer have instilled in him the self-control to not follow up on the urge to roll his eyes which overcomes the tall German now. "I would have thought Lieutenant Hartigan and Lieutenant Silberblatt have informed you all accordingly", Dietrich deadpans with a tone as dry as the desert around them. The American soldier looks briefly unsettled, before nodding intently. "Of course they have. It's an honor. Do you think I could get an autograph?" By now the Captain starts to almost enjoy this game of cat and mouse, as he inquires with dry irony: "From me or my famous cousin?" The young man starts stammering now: "I ... uh ... from your cousin, Sir?" "Unfortunately, we're in North Africa and dear Marlene lives in the U.S. with the whole Atlantic Ocean separating us, so I fear that I will not be able to provide you with that", the German officer savours the irony of the words, as he grills the young American. "But I'm sure the Captain will sign an autograph for you instead", Troy adds mirthfully. "Uh... yeah.. sure. Who can say they got an autograph from Marlene Dietrich's cousin after all?", the young man swallows the bait. "Who indeed?", Hans Dietrich comments with dry sarcasm. "I hope though that this can wait until after you have led me to Captain Boggs. Possibly we can even borrow a pen from him", the lean German enjoys himself at the expense of the American who is not even aware of it. By now he actually savours this inside joke as much as Troy and Moffit who really have to struggle hard not to start bursting into laughter at the expense of the naive young man.

As the young Private leads the Captain to his American colleague, the young soldier continues telling the officer how he has admired Marlene Dietrich's acting ever since seeing her in the cinema for the first time as a kid. At some point the young German almost feels ashamed to trick the naive man like that, but he cannot forgo his story Jakob has talked even General Atkins into supporting. Captain Boggs awaits them with a worriedly scowl in his tent. "Captain Dietrich", he greets his younger second in command with obvious relief audible in his voice, but also a tinge of worry or sadness that Dietrich cannot quite place. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I need not only your knowledge and advice but also your language skill." While the tall German Captain looks obviously puzzled, Boggs continues with his explanation: "Two of the German soldiers who were gravely injured yesterday died during the transportation in spite of our medical personnel trying to help them." Dietrich winces at the news that pains him, even though they have not been his men and partially responsible for causing their own death through the senseless uprising. "How can I help? These men were Major von Stolberg's not my men. I doubt their comrades who participated in the uprising as well will listen to me, the hated traitor", the proud young officer spits the last words with some derision, while he sounds as worried as he actually is during the rest of his statement.

Boggs sighs as wearily as his younger Captain is feeling himself. "I fear that talking to them will be of little use, as they hate us on principle. But I ask you to speak to the rest of the Germans and Italian. Most of our current POWs are members of your unit after all and will listen to you, as will the Italian Lieutenant. We need to assure them that neither did we kill their comrades nor did we let them die on purpose." The lean German officer nods in understanding. "Of course, Captain Boggs. I will take care of that immediately, as the POWs need to appear for a roll call anyways to count that none is missing. Where is the location of the prisoners' area?" Boggs smiles at his compliant and uncomplicated colleague. Dietrich has his pride and unruly tendencies, but he is a man of reason when this is called for and does not act rash or antagonistically like some of his other officers, Baker and Griffiths immediately coming to his mind. "Lieutenant Carlos is still taking care of handling the prisoners and I'm sure he appreciates the assistance of an officer fluent in all three languages of the major factions involved. Report to my office tent, when you are finished, Captain Dietrich! This will be erected in the next few minutes. Good luck!", Boggs wishes him sincerely. The young German Captain nods curtly, salutes with his left, wincing slightly at the movement, before turning around to take care of his mission.

Approaching the truck with the prisoners, Hans Dietrich can make out Lieutenant Carlos speaking with Tenente Marcello, while several guards with their guns armed and ready stand around, aiming at the prisoners and their commanding officer. "Captain Dietrich", one of the guards greets him and the two Lieutenants turns to the tall officer immediately. "Capitano Volpacchiotto", Marcello greets him with an honest smile and relief audible in his voice, while Carlos similarly smiles and repeats his name and rank title in English. "Gentlemen. I'm here to calm the prisoners and reassure them of our goodwill in the name of Captain Boggs, the current commander of the convoy", the German Captain announces with the stateliness appropriate for his rank and upbringing. "I am cosi sollevato to hear that, Capitano", Marcello speaks with obvious relief. "I'm glad to hear that", Carlos confirms, without knowing that he has actually said the same as his Italian colleague who mixes his native Italian terms into his English sentences when no knowing the correct wording. "Will you address the prisonsers directly?" Dietrich nods. "Yes. I would have them appear for roll call and then speak to them directly."

"I will take care of that", the American Lieutenant declares then shouts to the prisoners: "Roll call. All come here!" Apparently, they are already familiar with this procedure, as all prisoners come forward with weary expressions and line up according to their units. Many men of Dietrich's former unit, several of the Italians and even some of the other Wehrmacht soldiers smile, as they make out the German Captain. "Meine Herren, Signori. Ich muss Sie leider darüber in Kenntnis setzen, dass trotz großer Mühen des Krankenpersonals zwei Ihrer gestern verwundeten Kameraden verstorben sind", the tall oficer announces formally that in spite of all the medical personnel's efforts two of their comrades wounded on the previous day have died. He chooses purposefully not to speak of the uprising, as most of the POWs have been cooperative and compliant, especially his own and Marcello's men. "Ich versichere Ihnen allen, dass die Amerikaner keine boshaften Absichten hegen und ihre Kameraden weder gemeuchelt haben noch sterben haben lassen." As he declares that he assures them that the Americans have no ill intentions and neither killed their comrades nor let them die, the former Wehrmacht Hauptmann kann see several men of von Stolberg's former unit scowl at him. "Seien Sie versichert, dass stets gemäß der Genfer Konvention gehandelt wird, wofür ich mich persönlich verbürge und Sorge trage." A few of his own men cheer at his words, when he declares that he vouches for the Americans and will personally assure that the Geneva Convention is upheld at all times.

After repeating the same speech in Italian, the German Captain salutes with his left and loudly bellows: "Wegtreten!" The command to disperse is known to Germans and Italians alike and they all turn to make their way back to the camp fires in between the large tents which they are in the process of building to serve as their night quarters. "Grazie mille, Capitano Volpacchiotto!", Marcello thanks Dietrich in his usual Italian manner by embracing him, although he quickly releases the younger man when he feels the tall lean German tense as his shoulder protests against the treatment. "Mi dispiace. Non volevo farti del male." The German Captain believes him that he has not wanted to hurt him and feels sorry. Like David Troy the man is acting before thinking with all the negative consequences this brings along. But Marcello is otherwise honest and straightforward, so he does not hold it against the Opera singer who is more of an eccentric diva than a serious officer after all. The unnerving Troy brother has similar tendencies without the voice and acting profession to back up his airs and graces. "Prendersi cura di te stesso, Tenente. Arrividerci", the German tells the Lieutenant to take care of himself, before saying good bye. Carlos who is as always impressed by the young officer's ability to switch between three languages with seamless ease thanks the Captain again for his support, before taking care of his duties of guarding and organising meals for the prisoners.

The guard at Boggs' office tent is the Private who is Marlene Dietrich's greatest fan in camp and might have become Oberleutnant Wagner's best friend in this way, if the Bavarian would not have been killed needlessly by the SS, Hans muses with sad reminiscence of his trusted second in command. "Captain, would you have time to sign that autograph for me now?", the young man shyly addresses the German officer to Dietrich's astonishment. After all he has hoped that the young American would have forgotten about the scheme, but that would apparently have been too much to expect from Lady Luck. "Of course", Dietrich instead replies smoothly surprising himself how well he plays his role of the devious impostor. Maybe his whole change of sides has made him more adaptable to sneaky ways than his proud and honorable side approves of, while some roguish part of his mind proudly reels its head and congratulates him. "Come inside, so that we can borrow something to write." James Boggs looks up at them in astonishment, when he hears the comments about borrowing something to write. Holding out a pen to his younger colleague the older American Captain observes the strange proceedings.

"Could you write 'To Martin Umbridge' and then sign with your name please, Captain?", the Private inquires sheepishly. "Of course", Dietrich replies with a tone that reminds of a cat that enjoys to play with a particularly dumb mouse. Then he writes a few words on a sheet of paper and signs it which is the limit of strain his shoulder is able to bear, before his hand starts to shake visibly. "Are you alright, Captain?", the young Private inquires with worry edged into his voice. "An older injury that still plagues me", the German officer brushes him off with a stern but not unfriendly tone. "You should return to your post, Private." "Uh... sure, Sir", the young American mutters, grabs his paper and turns around, when he is almost out of the tent: "And thank you so much for this, Captain Dietrich. I can't wait to write to my Ma that I got an autograph from Marlene Dietrich's cousin." Hans Dietrich cannot wait for him to leave the tent to not be forced to maintain his poker face.

"What was that about?", James Boggs inquires incredulously. "That was the manifestation of the rumours strewn by your nurses before I had even defected which have been picked up and nurtured by my dear friend Lieutenant Silberblatt who has even managed to convince General Atkins of the reasonability of this scheme", the German replies with obvious sarcasm. "I don't understand. Are you related to Marlene Dietrich?", the American Captain inquires sounding puzzled. "Of course not. But Lieutenant Hartigan found it amusing to create the theory and spread it in the whole camp, considering she is the industrious miller of the local rumor mill." "You're a keen observer of human nature to have grasped our camp culture within such a short time span", Boggs expresses his admiration. "It hardly takes a qualified judge of human nature, as the Lieutenant is in no way subtle and quite obviously enjoying her gossiping", the German counters dryly. "It took me a lot longer to realize this", the older Captain admits a bit sheepishly.

"You've likely spent less time in sickbay than I have", his younger colleague counters dryly. "That is true and reminds me that this is where I want to go after this meeting to have your shoulder and arm checked, as you were barely able to write more than a few words which is a deterioration compared to this morning", Boggs admonishes the younger officer in a stern tone. "A result of the Jeep ride", Dietrich admits grudgingly. "Why didn't you take a truck?", Boggs asks incredulously. "Because neither do I want to leave the Rats unsupervised, as any kind of havoc can result from that which nobody knows better than I, nor did I want to leave Ari unattended when riding with Hitchcock and Troy." Boggs eyes the lean German Captain with some concern, as he states resolutely: "That is of course a sentiment I can understand. Nonetheless, I hope that you in particular can understand that I want none of my men to walk around as obviously in pain as you are without wishing for them to be checked and treated in sickbay. Get yourself some painkillers and don't do anything else before that, Dietrich!" The younger officer looks slightly baffled by the stern reprimand, but concedes: "It would have been my intention to get those anyways, Captain Boggs." "Excellent. See that your men take care of their vehicles and accomodation in their tents, then you are off duty. You look like you need the evening off", the older Captain orders. The proud German narrows his eyes, as he tries to assess whether this is intended as an insult, but concludes that this would be out of character for the older American officer. "Thank you, Sir", he finally gets out, nods and salutes with his left, this time wincing somewhat less, as he turns around to find his men and get his tent erected.

When he finds Troy, Jakob Silberblatt, carrying Fritz in his arms, is standing next to him, while Jack Moffit speaks to Ari, as the rest of the team carry bags and furniture into a large tent. "We never agreed that we'd permanently share our living quarters", the German Captain protests slightly, when he sees that Pettigrew, Hitchcock and Gottschlich have erected the Rats' tent and are already moving all their things into it unbidden. "You're a member of our unit, Captain, so nothing speaks against sharing a tent", Troy argues making Dierich scowl. "Besides, in this way you always have someone to look after Ari and Fritz at hand. And we all like the boy and the dog." While the first argument does nothing to convince the German Captain, the second argument is quite valid in his eyes and solves his problem of what to do with Ari and the injured Fritz, when he has his duties to take care of. "That is a valid argument. We agreed to let the nurses look after them for tonight, as they all like Ari by now and Fritz is better off in medical care. But we cannot always rely on their cooperation, as they have duties of their own. " Moffit joins them and adds in a dry tone: "In addition to Troy's argument, I want to express that I truly appreciate to finally have more civilised members in our tent." "You British snob", Troy starts cursing, but gets interrupted by Dietrich, before this escalates even more. "Sergeant, you get your wish granted for the rest of this journey. I need to get checked up in sickbay and we could leave Fritz there already." "Good idea, Hans. I'll come with you right away", Jakob immediately is all for this plan, as it will rid him of the injured dog he has carried around and taken care of all afternoon.

When Silberblatt and Dietrich enter the sickbay, they find Doktor Sommer discussing with Leutnant Haberfeld how to bury the two men that have died during the transport. Both turn toward the newarrivals and appear actually relieved. "Hauptmann Dietrich, Sie schickt der Himmel", Sommer even declares that the Captain is a godsend. "Wir müssen die Leichen der Verstorbenen so schnell wie möglich begraben, aber das sollte nicht gänzlich ohne miltärische Ehren geschehen. Da Leutnant Haberfeld noch wochenlang nicht aufstehen oder gehen kann, sind Sie der einzig verbleibende deutsche Offizier." The staff medic argues that their bodies have to be buried as soon as possible and that the Captain is the only remaining German officer to take care of the duty of paying them the respect they deserve as soldiers, as Haberfeld will not be able to get up or walk for weeks. Sighing heavily at the prospect of this sad duty, Dietrich nods. "Einverstanden. Ich werde mich darum kümmern. Ich benötige allerdings vorher eine Behandlung meiner Schulter. Diese verdammten Jeeps sind noch viel unbequemer als ein Kübelwagen." Sommer smiles with relief, when the young officer agrees immediately, but asks for treatment of his shoulder. Haberfeld, Sommer and Silberblatt share a grin, when the tall Captain curses the Jeeps as being even more uncomfortable than the German Kübelwagen. "Um Ihre Schulter kümmern wir uns gleich, aber gegen diese Jeeps ist kein Kraut gewachsen", Sommer jokes. "Das sagen Sie ausgerechnet mir!", Hans replies dryly, sharing the humor of the statement nonetheless.

"What did he say?", Lisa Hartigan who has approached them silently whispers to Jakob Silberblatt. "When Sommer said that you can take care of his shoulder right away, but there is no cure for the Jeeps, as they all well know, Hans just replied 'Don't you tell me!'", the Jewish Lieutenant whispers back with a grin of his own that the nurse shares as well. "You know that they say the Jerries are all dry and lack any humor, but I can tell you for a fact that those two are a lot more funny than most of our officers", the brown-haired nurse tells him with a roguish wink. "I know what you mean", Silberblatt replies with a mild smile, having spent enough time in the U.S. army to know that not overly many of the older officers have a sense of humor for situations such as these. "But Hans and Ludwig are not your typical Prussians devoid of any humor either. Hans Dietrich is a Northerner from the Baltic Sea like me and Ludwig Sommer is from the Black Forest region. But since you're the expert, could I ask for your help with this furry patient though, nurse Hartigan?"

"Is this how you talk about your friend?", Lisa asks and points at the tall German Captain who still speaks with the two other Germans. Jakob laughs heartily. "No. I'm talking about Fritz actually, although Hans will surely require your treatment as well, given how he winced after getting off the Jeep." "I'll take care of both your friends or one of my colleagues will look after your other friend, sonce I am the animal expert in camp", the American nurse tells him with a softer smile and some pride in his tone. Then she takes Fritz from Silberblatt's arms and gently speaks to the whimpering dog, until he calms down and nestles against her chest. "That's a good boy, Fritz", Lisa mutters gently, then addresses the Jewish Lieutenant again: "I can actually give him the same as I usually treat your friend with, a local anaesthetic to be massaged into the skin. You just need to hold Fritz a bit, as I need to shave him to not have everything caught up in the fur." Jakob looks baffled, but complies.

While they perform Fritz' fresh shave, Hans Dietrich has sent one of the guards out with the order to have some of the soldiers dig two graves outside of the camp. He and Ludwig Sommer have recruited Wolf Bauer as an assistant for carrying the bodies, as the young Gefreite is physically mostly recovered and only kept in the sickbay isolated from the German prisoners for his own protection to be separated from the Nazis who have attacked him before. Bauer is actually happy to be able to do something and even more so to support his former Hauptmann he still admires. The lean young officer leads the duo with the body on a stretcher through the camp. Most soldiers get out of their way unbidden, when they see the stern German Captain leading the informal funerary procession.

When Sommer and Bauer lay the first man into his sandy grave, Dietrich inquires: "Sie haben sich um die Erkennungsmarken gekümmert?" Ludwig Sommer confirms right away that he has taken care of the dog tags of the two men and kept them for the Captain to document along with the other dead he has listed. Once the body is covered with sand the former Hauptmann recites the name of the soldier, as Sommer has told him and provides the standard wording after the death of one of their comrades to honor their death and sacrifice, before they go to fetch and bury the second body as well. Once this is done, the Captain starts to sing the German military funeral song. "Ich hatt' einen Kameraden", Hans Dietrich starts out and Wolf Bauer joins him at the second line, "Einen bessern findst du nit." By the time they have finished their sad song, several spectators have accumulated at the rim of the camp, American, Australian and British soldiers driven by curiosity.

"Danke, Hans", Sommer expresses his gratitude by squeezing his former commanding officer's uninjured shoulder. "Jetzt haben Die sich Ihre Massage mehr als verdient." Dietrich smiles wryly that he has earned his massage now. "Mittlerweile bin ich nicht mehr wählerisch und würde von Massage bis Morphium alles nehmen, was hilft", he mutters dryly that he is not fastidious anymore and would accept anything from massage to morphine as treatment. "Die Schwestern werden sich über so einen folgsamen Patienten freuen", Ludwig counters dryly that the nurses will be relieved about such a compliant patient which they indeed do. As Lisa Hartigan is still focused on Fritz, nurse Regula gladly takes care of his treatment. First she helps the young officer out of his jacket and shirt and then diligently removes all bandages currently covering his injuries. As she removes the sweat drenched bandages from around his midsection, the Swiss nurse scowls while she looks at the slightly reddened skin around the sutures at his abdomen. "Da sollte man noch etwas Sulfa drauf geben", she mutters to herself as she first disinfects the wound with alcohol and then adds some more sulfa powder to be sure to stifle any infection. The German hisses slightly at the burning pain, but otherwise remains lying on his back.

"Was war das denn für ein Vieh?", Regula inquires incredulously what kind of beast has caused the gashes when she removes the bandages from his lower arm. "Horus, der Höllenfalke des Britischen Professors", Dietrich informs her on the culprit. "Ich hoffe, er lässt diese Biest nicht frei herumfliegen. Das ist ja gemeingefährlich", Regula protests that she only hopes he does not let the beast roam freely as it is obviously dangerous, while she cleans and redresses the wounds. "Sergeant Troy sieht nur unwesentlich besser aus", Dietrich informs her that Troy hardly looks any better, before adding that he has explicitly instructed the Professor to keep the animal from roaming free. "Ich habe Professor Stevenson allerdings ausdrücklich angewiesen, den elenden Vogel unter Kontrolle und bei sich zu behalten." Nodding in agreement, she finally checks on the young officer's head injury. "Wenn Sie nichts Wildes anstellen heute Nacht, können wir das bis morgen unverbunden lassen, damit die Wunde atmen, trocknen und heilen kann", she suggests to leave the injury unbandaged to allow it to dry and heal better, as long as he does nothing to worsen it again. "Ich werde mich benehmen, das verspreche ich", Hans promises with dry humor that he promises to behave himself. "Das will ich doch hoffen, Herr Hauptmann", Regula laughs that she hopes he will do so.

Then, helps the Swiss nurse helps him to lie down on his stomach without tearing his abdominal sutures, as she puts an additional rolled up blanket underneath. "Nun zur Massage", she announces proudly. After all, the muscular Swiss nurse is the expert for massages which Dietrich cannot deny when he has to bite hard on his rolled up shirt sleeve to keep from crying out with pain, as she kneads his shoulder and neck muscles through a short while later. "Nicht verspannen! Dann tut es nur noch mehr weh", Regula admonishes him not to tense up the muscles as this will only hurt more. Trying to relax the tension in one's muscles although pain sends the automatic signal for them to tense up for their own protection is an exercise in mental control and leaves the young officer even mores exhausted by the end of this treatment than he has been to begin with.

Jakob Silberblatt observes his friend's massage and still skinny appearance with some concern. Hans has obviously not gained any weight or visible muscle since he has met him again two weeks ago and still looks as underweight as he has on the first day he has arrived in camp. Hopefully once they are out of the desert, when the worst stress has been taken away, the young officer will be given some time to let his injuries heal, as this would also remove a large issue from his points to worry about. How they will get Ari to the United States is another issue that worries him. As long as he has not known the boy well enough and seen the growing relationship between his friend and the child who loves him like a family member, it has been easy to imagine that they could just put him on a boat with all these unkown people he does not know any less than Jakob or Hans. But by now, sending the boy without any of them coming with him is definitely out of the question. Given his duties, Hans would not be able to accompany him, apart from never even having been in the United States himself, so Jakob would have to go back to the U.S. by boat which is always a risk, as German submarines target troop transports to and from the U.S. in the Atlantic.

By the time his treatment is finished, Hans Dietrich is shivering from pain and exhaustion as well as the cold that starts to find its way into the tent, now that the night has fallen. Too frazzled to even sit up right away, the German winces when he feels a hand at his good shoulder. "I'm sorry, Hans", Jakob mutters with a slightly guilty expression. "I just wanted to offer you a hand to get up and into your clothes again." The lean Captain sighs wearily. "Thank you, Jakob. I really appreciate that." "Fritz is taken care of really well. Lisa Hartigan is quite handy with animals", the Jewish Lieutenant tells his friend who nods with a brief smile passing over his face. "Excellent. Thank you for taking care of that. Ludwig has dragged me off to bury the men who died during the transportation and provide the words of honor meant to be spoken by an officer." Jakob looks briefly baffled, as he retrieves his friend's clothes, but smiles softly. "Of course, you'd do that. There's no other German officer back in camp who could take care of this?" Dietrich shakes his head, but watches out not to irritate his neck any further. "Not since Haberfeld caught a bullet in the knee." Jakob winces. "I can live without that." "So can I", Hans confirms, as he grips his friend's outstretched hand who helps him stand up.

"You're a bit light considering you're almost a head taller than me", Silberblatt tells him with worry, as he pulls the young man up by his left arm. "Leave me in peace, Jakob! I already get my three meals per day and still scolded by everyone from Troy to the medics and my COs. It's not my fault that I can barely get the time to recover and train some of the lost muscles", the German counters defensively, as his friend helps him into his shirt sleeve. "I didn't mean to accuse you, Hans." "Then leave it be. It's bad enough that Troy treats me like the worried mother hen would her freshly hatched chick!", Dietrich mutters sarcastically, as he buttons his shirt singlehandedly with great dexterity. "I can almost imagine him with all the feathers on his uniform... Clucking like aunt Gerti when we sneaked away with the pudding", Jakob tells his lean friend with a wink. They both share a grin at the happy childhood memory. "We were lucky Lisel could charm her in situations such as these", Hans adds with a soft smile, although his gaze becomes more haunted, as the memory of their fates, his cousin Lisel shot by the SS and his aunt Gertrude sent to a concentration camp, catches up with him. Silberblatt helps his tormented friend into the sleeve of his jacket, noticing that he winces more often than before, but appears more mobile as usual after the massage.

After leaving the sickbay, Hans Dietrich turns toward Boggs' office tent to report as ordered, telling Jakob: "You take the Rats and Ari and get some dinner, when you're finished with the tent. I'll join you at the mess tent after my meeting with Captain Boggs." Siberblatt smiles and nods. "Sure, Hans. I'll handle your pack of Rats." "If you can actually manage that, Jakob, you can keep them", the German Captain jokes dryly. "I mean I can keep them from destroying anything ... well, maybe from destroying too much until you're back", his friend replies with a grin. "This sounds more like the Rats I know", Dietrich agrees. "I'll meet you later." Then he approaches Captain Boggs' tent again. Martin Umbridge is still guarding the tent and smiling widely, as he sees the German officer return. "Captain Dietrich", the young man greets him enthusiastically and the tall officer immediately starts to suspect that he wants something from him. "I would actually like to ask you, if you could write a note to my mother. Then I could send it to her in my next letter home", he starts to blabber, when the lean Captain shows no sign of interrupting or rejecting him. "And you want me to sign it as Marlene Dietrich's cousin?", Hans Dietrich inquires with dry amusement. Actually, he can start enjoying this ruse by now, as the whole joke really still feels amusing to him. "Yes. This would be the perfect Christman present for her, since the letter will take weeks to reach her", Umbridge argues. "But of course I will send a note for your mother", Hans purposefully answers loud enough, as he enters to enjoy Boggs' dumbfounded expression. Too bad Jakob is not here to savour the fruit of his spywork.

The young German Captain does not wait for him to recover from his bafflement how his camp has escalated into a circus so quickly again, but grabs a pen from the desk with his left hand. Martin Umbridge has taken a folded paper from his jacket pocket and holds it out the the young officer. "Here. Could you write 'To Dolores Umbridge', please?" "Of course. Do you want me to add 'Merry Christmas' as well?", Hans Dietrich replies smoothly and the Private almost falls over with nodding enthsuiastically. "That would be ... wonderful." The young German officer notes with some relief that his letters and signature look far less angular and shaky than before his treatment even if the pain feels to have tripled that some movements cause him. "Send my regards to your mother", Dietrich adds with dry irony, as he hands back the piece of paper and the young soldiers beams at him with a grin reaching from ear to ear. "I sure will, Sir. Thank you so much, Captain Dietrich!" "Get back to your post, Private!", the German Captain orders sternly. After saluting properly, the young American turns around and keeps muttering ot himself: "I can't believe it. Mum will fall over with joy. Marlene Dietrich's cousin wrote her a Christmas note."

"Don't you feel some remorse playing such a roguish trick on the young man?", Captain Boggs inquires after recovering from his own shock and incredulity somewhat. "I have practiced tricking Americans for almost a year and now I can finally reap the fruit of such hard labour. Your Rats have taught me well after all", Dietrich counters with a roguish smirk that makes James Boggs sigh. "Too well I fear. I'm only relieved to know that we're on the same side now, although it doesn't look like this is a full protection either." "You're not safe from Troy and the mischief and mayhem of his gang either, just because they have alway been on your side", the German argues with dry sarcasm. "That's true and proves that you're actually a worthy Rat, although I would never have thought that, when you arrived in my camp a little more than two weeks ago", Boggs comments. The proud German furrown his brows and tries to determine how much of an insult this has been intended to be. "I suppose the rest of your unit would actually consider this a compliment. I suggest that you do so too, Captain Dietrich", the American Captain adds, when he notices the younger officer's reaction.

Deciding to leave it at that, the German proudly stands at attention and provides his report of calming the prisoners, organising the funeral for the dead German soldiers and having taken care of the quarters of his unit. "Are you still sharing your tent with the rest of the Rats?", Boggs inquires curiously, as he has noticed that Dietrich has left out the details about his precise living conditions. Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, the German Captain growls warily: "What difference does it make for you?" "Apart from being the camp commander and wishing to know where I can find my second in command should I need to fetch him, I still try to assess how this miraculous cooperation between you and the Rats is working", Boggs reprimands him sternly. "As Ari and Fritz, while he is injured now, need somebody to look after them, having a larger amount of people available for such tasks is a reasonable decision. At least that is how Troy has sold me the idea", the tall German officer replies with obviously wounded pride.

"Less eloquently I suppose knowing Sergeant Troy", Boggs counters dryly. "You're actually a far better commando unit officer than I am, Dietrich. And this is a compliment. These men trust you enough to share their tent with you, while they could not wait for me to leave, as they don't trust me even half as far." Hans Dietrich appears thoughtful, then finally nods. "I suppose you're right. I've not properly appreciated or considered this aspect that trust is also required in this direction", the younger officer admits. "Troy is really determined, as it appears." "Have you been able to find out what haunts him?", Boggs inquires with some concern. Dietrich nods. "Somewhat. But I'm not at the liberty to share what has been entrusted to me." "I trust you will take care of your man. You're taking all your duties as an officer seriously, especially clerical duties of your unit. That's what many men in this camp like you for, not just from your unit, and unfortunately it has never been my strong suit." "I will do what I can to look after all these men entrusted under my command", the tall German assures him immediately with true conviction. After all, the younger Captain is a good and dedicated officer who takes his duty toward his men seriously which is a quality Boggs absolutely appreciates about him.

"I suppose we can finally get our dinner then", the older American Captain announces calmly, as he gets up. "That sounds like an agreeable idea", the younger Captain confirms, following him outside of the tent and nodding to Private Umbridge in greeting. "You've spent too much time with Sergeant Moffit, when you start adopting words like 'agreeable'", Boggs tells his German second in command with a smile. "I have actually learned English in school for eight years. And school books in Germany are all written in British English", Dietrich counters dryly. "How did you learn to speak American English so well then? You sound like a native speaker with only a hint of an accent from time ot time", the older officer decides to try and sate his own curiosity. Having shared this information already with Brown and the Rats, the German sees no harm in telling his CO. "When I was a teenager I used to accompany my uncle to expeditions he organized for the German archaeological society to learn survival, camp organisation and other skills he and my father termed valuable for a future officer of the German army." Boggs realizes for the first time how much experience the younger man must have with organising desert camps and expeditions, when he has actually started learning this as a school boy.

Hans Dietrich meanwhile continues his recount: "A regular employee my uncle hired for years was an American ... let's call him an adventurer. He had grown up in a travelling circus as an acrobat and stage artist and moved to exploring the world on his own, using all the feats, tricks and skills he knew. He taught me English and Arabic, haggling at bazaars or how to hire locals assistants and informants, but also some of his more unsusual skills that I as a teenage boy was more than eager to learn, especially since those were tricks my father would never have approved of." "Such as picking locks?", Boggs inquires curiously. The German grimaces. "Mainly some cards tricks applied by stage magicians, but also picking locks or pockets which I have never employed to actually steal from anybody", the proud young officer insists. "I have no doubt of that. But I see why Captain Brown insists on inviting you regularly to provide entertainment for him and his soldiers. You are a trained stage artist after all", Boggs declares with some amusement. "I'm not a trained stage artist!", Hans Dietrich insists stubbornly. "I merely learned a few tricks as a teenager, as a hobby and to impress or play trick on my peers." "Captain Brown actually invited me along with you tonight to join his evening round. I would be curious to see some of those tricks at work, if you are up to it given your injuries", Boggs states with amusement. The German Captain rubs his aching shoulder with a pained expression. "I cannot actually promise that I will be up to anything." The older Captain nods in understanding, as he holds the tent flap open to let the younger man pass and enter before him.

"Hans!", Ari cries with joy and hugs his brother around the neck, since the German has stooped to protect his sutures. "Did you help Captain Boggs?", the boy inquires curiously and looks up at the older Captain who smiles mildly. "Your brother is always a great help to me", he assures the boy who grins widely. "Does this mean you can stay with us now?", the child asks his caregiver with a hopeful tone who nods in response. "Yes. I will stay with you for dinner, Ari." "It's great. They made Falafel. They're not as good as Fahina's are at the bazaar, but they're good as well", the boy informs him with an open smile. Apparently, Sheikh Sulaiman's caravans have also delivered chickpeas and somebody in the kitchen has tried the local recipes, Hans muses, as he follows Ari. Sam Troy intercepts him at the food dispensing station and takes up a tablet for the younger officer unbidden who also follows him to their table to take a seat next to his friend Jakob with Ari joyfully taking his place in between the two, while Troy sits on the Captain's other side after placing down his food and drink. "Mark just told me about all the things he has seen in the desert", Ari tells his brother, while looking at him and his falafels pleadingly. "Take another falafel", Dietrich offers graciously, taking one for himself as well. "So what amazing things have you seen in the desert, Private Hitchcock?", he inquires with dry irony. "I told Ari, how we navigated a whole maze in a wadi. And all we had to help us was Doc picking on the walls and looking at the sand", Hitch replies with a grin.

"Indeed", Dietrich comments dryly, as he eats another one of his falafels himself, before losing them all to Ari. "I have always wondered how you managed to outrun us, Captain", Moffit addresses him. When Dietrich looks slightly puzzled, Jack adds: "The fastest way to the radio station we blew up led through a wadi, but you had to know the directions to not get lost and end up going in circles like we did." The German Captain narrows his eyes slightly. "The pink exploding ball. Where did you get this stuff from? Pettigrew's homebrew kitchen?" "Nay, Cap. We're honest moonshiners. We'd never make no weird stuff like that, 'specially no weird exploding stuff", Tully protests and provides his justification. "The guy who gave us the stuff died right after, never got time to write down the recipe", Troy explains. "I cannot say that I am particularly dejected by this news, Sergeant", the German states dryly. "I will definitely sleep better knowing that you have none of this substance anywhere around anymore. That stuff definitely didn't look particularly safe to to handle to me." "That's right. Felt like we're transporting some particularly fragile eggs, only that they explode and don't just break", Troy shares his grievance. "I feel truly sorry for you", the German states sarcastically. "I can only thank God that no formula of this substance has survived." "But it could be useful...", Troy tries to argue. "I don't care how useful it could be. There are already enough explosives out there, as it is", the Captain counters angrily.

"Could we get back to the story with the wadi instead of quarreling about explosives", Jakob reprimands them, knowing fully well that trying to argue with his friend, when he tries to stand up for his humanistic moral principles his uncle Heinz Wolf has taught him rather well. "You're right, Jakob", Hans concedes. "To answer your inquiry, Moffit. I turned to the local intelligence and asked one of the Bedouins whether they knew the way and he introduced me to the grand daughter of an old shepherd who has been the last to know his way through the wadi, but passed his knowledge on to her." "So his granddaughter led you through the wadi?", Jack asks curiously, while Hitch whispers to Tully with a wink: "Why didn't we get a beautiful girl to lead our way?" "We got Doc instead", the Kentuckian counters dryly, making Troy snort with laughter. "Well, she did not exactly lead us through the wadi herself", the German Captain sighs. "The problem was that the young woman was blind, so she could not lead us in any way. But she shared with me the tale her grandfather used to tell her to provide her with directions. I created a sketch based on this and led my column right through the maze." "That's amazing", Hitch comments and grins at his own pun. While Jack Moffit rolls his eyes, Hans Dietrich pulls himself together to not stoop so low and focuses the Private with a reprimanding glare instead. "Sorry, Cap", Hitch adds sheepishly.

"What was the weirdest thing you've ever encountered in the desert, Captain?", Troy asks the German curiously now. "You mean except for you?", the young officer replies dryly and savours Troy's annoyed look as much as the rice mixed with dried fruits. It is not really Pilaf rice, but tastes excellent nonetheless. "Are you done with being funny?", the American Sergeant grumbles, glaring first at the young Captain and then at Hitch who dares to grin with amusement. "My fellow Captain Boggs is of the opinion that my sense of humor and mischief integrates me so well with your unit that he is almost scared to become the next victim of your pranks... after getting trapped in the devious Marlene Dietrich scheme", the German declares with a straight face, yet enough irony laced into his tone to make it clear how much he considers the whole episode he is talking about rather hilarious. "Okay, I'll bite for that. What happened?", Troy wants to know. "As I believe to have told you before, Sergeant, patience is a virtue", Hans Dietrich counters dryly.

"Come on, Hans. We really need to hear this. You can't just throw us a teaser like that and then not follow up on it", Jakob interferes. "It is a rather ridiculous episode though", the German officer states. "You remember the Private who picked me up at the Jeeps to bring me to Boggs and that he asked me whether I could get him an autograph from Marlene Dietrich, since he's heard that she is my cousin." Hitch grins from ear to ear and Jakob looks similarly bemused, while Troy barks a laugh and Moffit smiles mildly. Only Tully chews on his matchstick and Gotty wonders how he has fallen through and ended up on the wrong side of the looking glass. "I told him that I'd have to cross the Atlantic Ocean for that which is not possible given my duties here", the German Captain continues. "Excellent explanation. You're getting good at this", Jakob congratulates him. "I still don't want anything to do with your spying business. Don't even think about suggesting this to Atkins!", Hans Dietrich growls back.

"Stop squabbling and continue with your story. This can't be all of it", Troy insists. "Did you give the poor guy the autograph?" "Not so fast, Sergeant", the lean German replies dryly. "Private Umbridge was as you remember rather downcast until I offered him the option of at least getting a personal autograph of the cousin of the star." Hitch giggles silently. "Let me guess. He wanted you to sign one of his letters home", Troy states. "Not only that. He went straight into Captain Boggs' office and asked for a pen and paper to receive his personal autograph. Boggs' face while watching was absolutely priceless", Dietrich adds with obvious amusement. Hitch laughs so hard that he is in danger of falling under the table and even Moffit is hard challenged not to laugh along, while Troy and Silberblatt do just that, as does Ari who simply enjoys sharing the laughter. "So that's why Boggs thinks you belong to us?", Troy asks with a mirthful grin. "I'm repeating myself. Patience is a virtue, Sergeant. This is only part one of this story", Dietrich admonishes with a sly smile. "When I returned after my treatment in sickbay the Private asked me whether I could sign a personal message for his mother as well, a Christman note no less. He took the letter from his pocket in front of poor Captain Boggs and pleaded me to sign with the message for his mother, Marlene Dietrich's greatest fan, wishing her a merry Christmas."

The grinning Tully Pettigrew grabs Mark Hitchcock just in time, before the young Private falls under the table, as he clutches his belly which almost hurts from laughing so hard. Even Gottschlich seems to realize the hilarity of the situation, as he starts to grin slightly. Ari enjoys the laughter that follows the story for the second time. These are the best stories he thinks. Even though he cannot understand why the other find this funny, he enjoys to laugh with his pack. Now he really feels like Mowgli howling with the wolves of Akela's pack. "Okay, you just won this month's badge, Captain!", Troy declares after reining in his own laughter. "Don't you agree, boys?" Hitch and Tully nods in agreement and even Jack Moffit provides a curt nod. "Badge?", Dietrich inquires with puzzlement written on his face. "Yeah. The badge for the best prank of an officer. We've had this running ever since the episode with Tully and the Volcano's booze", Troy informs him.

Dietrich briefly pinches his and wonders whether he might be affected by some substance or other effect impairing his perception, until his usual intelligence rejects such an absurd hypothesis, forcing him to accept the truth of this actually happening. "You award me ... of all possible people ... with the award for the best prank of an officer this month? Have you been drinking Brown's suspicious homebrew stuff, while I have let you out of my sight?", the young Captain inquires with dry sarcasm. Troy grins even more widely, enjoying this, as if it is his own prank. "No, Captain. We're all sober, but also in total agreement that you won this fair and square." "Yeah, Cap", Hitch agrees. "I haven't been laughing so hard ever since ..." "Hush. Brass Knuckle", Tully warns him and points at the beefy Lieutenant who comes walking in their direction with a thunderous expression on his face, cracking his knuckles. When he sees the tall German Captain among the enlisted men however, he closes his mouth again and bites back whatever reprimand he would have wanted to give, instead nodding at his senior officer and turning around to return to the officer's table with as much pride and dignity he can still muster.

"You're worth your weight in gold, Cap", Hitch mutters in awe. "We've never been protected from him before." Dietrich decides not to consider this an insult and raises his eyebrows insted in a meaningful expression. "This is not the appropriate place for sharing such sensitive information, Will Scarlet." Looking dumbfounded for a few seconds, Hitch starts to grin. "You're right, Sir Robin." Gotty appears rather unnerved that they apply the code language for hiding pranks on their officers and he is actually shocked that the Captain himself in initiating it all. "Okay, Robin. So for winning this ... archery contest. You get an invitation by all of us the next time we can go to some decent place where you can get a proper drink", Troy declares. "You're still trying to make me an alcoholic, Little John?", the German Captain counters dryly. "Not at all. But fair's fair." "What's archery? And who's Sir Robin and Little John?", Ari demands to know. Moffit and Hitchcock grin as if they have won the lottery, as they take turns in explaining the Robin Hood legend to the boy.

"You lads look like you're already having all the fun without us", Captain Brown addresses Sam Troy and Hans Dietrich, as he steps toward their table, closely followed by James Boggs. "What's so funny?" "That's something we'd rather share over a glass of whiskey, Browny", Troy replies. "Or not at all", Dietrich mutters silently for only his neighbours Troy and Silberblatt to hear who grin. "That sounds like a plan. I know you're all pretty roughed up, so I won't keep you long. Just a drink, some chat and that's it", Brown concedes looking at all their haggard and tired faces. "Can I come too?", Ari asks. "You promised that you would look after Fritz who lies in the sickbay hurt and alone", Dietrich reminds him with a sly lurking tone. The boy is immediately convinced by Hans' words. "I will stay with Fritz and protect him like he has protected me", Ari declares valiantly, making all the men including the Australian and American Captain smile. "Jakob will bring you to the sickbay and I will pick you up later, when you should go to bed", Dietrich tells him with a smile and the tone of the responsible parent. "Okay, Hans", the child replies with a smile and hugs his caregiver briefly, before turning to Jakob. "Can we go now? Fritz is waiting for me and all alone." "Of course. Let's go", Silberblatt replies with a gentle smile of his own. The boy has his place in all their hearts by now. "See you later, Ari", Hitch calls after him and Ari waves back before running after Jakob.

"If you would be so kind as to follow me, gentlemen", Captain Brown lets his actual British etiquette show for once. "Since when are you so formal, Browny?", Troy inquires immediately. "Since I have not just one but two Captains as my guests, Sammy. So try to behave yourself for once", Brown replies with good humor and an amused twinkle in his eyes. "I'm always behaving myself", Troy counters immediately. When seeing Brown's, Moffit's and Dietrich's doubtful expressions he adds: "Well. Let's say most of the time." "Selbsterkenntnis ist der erste Schritt zur Besserung", Dietrich mutters sarcastically for only Moffit to hear who grins at the German proverb that recognising one's shortcomings is the first step towards self-improvement. "Das hätte man nicht trefflicher formulieren können, Captain", the Brit replies dry that one could not have put it better. "Stop plotting and scheming behind my back in a language I can't even understand, you European snobs", Troy grumbles in their direction. "We're absolutely willing to translate for you, if you ask so nicely, Troy", the German Captain tells him with dry amusement. "This one might become one of your new favourites. 'Selbsterkenntnis ist der erste Schritt zur Besserung' means that recognising one's shortcomings is the first step towards self-improvement. I'm not aware of any English proverb transporting the same meaning." "You're still a Jerry smartass, Dietrich!", Troy counters and Hitch immediately starts giggling at the name which makes Troy glare at him, while Brown and Boggs look baffled and the rest of them grins again. "It's still one of the most hilarious schemes of all times", Mark gets out reducing his giggles to a wide grin. "I really want to know about what's so funny!", Brown comments with a curious look. "Let's get going, before the whiskey gets cold, fellows!"

When they arrive at the Australians' main tent for the officers to meet and the enlisted men to drop by during the evening and have a chat, Lieutenant O'Malley and Sergeant Williamson are already expecting them eagerly. Both have diligently prepared glasses for all their guests and two bottles of whiskey from Browny's personal depot, as the Captain has ordered. Captain Brown observes his guests, while taking the glasses Jimmy has filled with whiskey and handing them to each of the men. Boggs and Moffit seem to watch the aboriginal Sergeant with some disapproval, especially when he stays with the white men after preparing the glasses and bottles and even receives a glass of his own. Williamson has noted their stares as well and turned to stay with the two Germans instead, Captain Dietrich and his Jewish friend Lieutenant Silberblatt, who has joined them immediately after dropping Ari at the sickbay with Lisa Hartigan. Both men greet the aboriginal Sergeant without showing some adverse reaction, but even appreciation in Dietrich's case which coincides with how Williamson has viewed him ever since their first meeting and joint rescue mission. The lean German officer is most notably behaving differently than the last time, Brown observes. While he has been tensed up in a fight or flight mode and acted warily and defensively a few days ago, reacting with snide remarks to any comment and eyeing them all with suspicion, the young Captain appears a lot more relaxed and at ease among the men who have a month ago still been his enemies and turned into allies and some even friends in the past two weeks. Not only does he not flinch at any touch anymore or wear his constantly guarded and vigilant expression, but also does he actually smile and laugh while speaking with Williamson and the others.

The thought of enemies turned friends makes Brown look automatically toward Sam Troy, the man he has taken in on his ranch before the war, when he has been a total wreck and carefully gained his trust and gotten him to talk about his past, the man who has also followed him loyally to North Africa, when they have both volunteered to the LRDG and who still wears his Australian bush hat proudly against all U.S. army regulations. Sammy's behaviour also appears different, but unlike his German CO not in a good way. Although he grins at some comments from Moffit or Dietrich, his mood seems to slip back to dark and brooding every so often. The two men seem also to be aware of this, as they exchange worried glances from time to time. Brown knows this side of Sam Troy unfortunately from the times, when he has arrived on his ranch and spent every last shilling on cheap booze to down his sorrows. Deciding to speak to Dietrich first, since he does not know the British Sergeant well and has a natural wariness of all Englishmen, Brown gets involved in a conversation with James Boggs who appears slightly out of his depth how to escape the chatty O'Malley who keeps talking to him without even pausing to take a breath.

Together the two Captains approach their third colleague who listens intently to a tale Sergeant Williamson is telling him and Lieutenant Silberblatt about his life and family in Australia. Once he has finished, Brown interrupts them, pointing at the tall German: "May I abduct your listener for a while, Jimmy?" The aboringial Sergeant nods. "Sure, Browny. As long as I can keep the other one." Both he and Silberblatt smile at the friendly joke and continue sharing their experiences of discrimination in their respective homelands. Williamson is astounded to hear how white men discriminate other white men, while Silberblatt is not astounded at all by what the dark skinned man has to tell about his experiences in Australian society. Homo homini lupo, Jakob reflects. Man is a wolf to man.

Meanwhile Brown addresses the lean German Captain: "Can you tell me what's wrong with Sammy?" Some emotion flickers in Dietrich's brown eyes at the question and his eyes briefly move toward the American Sergeant, while his expression shows clear worry and concern. "I wanted to address you anyways, Brown. As Troy trusts you as a mentor", the younger Captain replies and Boggs nods, knowing this from when Troy has been transferred from Brown's to his unit. "I cannot disclose to you what has been told to me under the seal of trust to not share this personal information, but I want to ask you to speak with him and see if you can learn more about how to help him than Moffit and I could. Just offering him to talk to you will likely not suffice, as he doesn't want to get support for this." Captain Boggs looks slightly baffled by the unexpected alliance between the German Captain and the British Sergeant in dealing with the unruly Sergeant Troy, although it makes perfect sense that the two Europeans and highest ranking men in the unit beside Troy would cooperate to deal with him. This is an interesting dynamic he would not have expected, as he would have imagined Dietrich rather as the isolated lone wolf among the sworn in pack of Rats while his main connection to them is Troy himself.

Captain Brown still weighs what to do with the information the young German officer has shared a lot more willingly than he would have expected given his usual defensive and sometimes adverserial behaviour toward the Australian. Even though he would likely never admit it to Brown, the Australian Captain has the impression that the younger man truly cares about his former enemy's wellbeing. That Sammy does so the other way around is out of question for him anyways, since Sammy has treated the former Wehrmacht officer with a lot more sympathy and concern one would expect from long term adversaries. "I will speak with him. Rest assured, Dietrich", he tells the German who neither tenses, winces nor flinches when Brown pats him on the left shoulder, careful to not aggrevate the other's injury. "Would you care to tell us now what was so hilarious previously that your unit has gotten the whole mess tent roaring with laughter and Hitchcock cannot even contain himself when hearing your name?", the Australian adds his inquiry with a smirk and sees the younger Captain's previously worried expression turn into a smirk.

"I told them of an episode that happened to Captain Boggs and me earlier today", the German starts out slyly, before continuing to tell his tale in a more moderate version to not offend Boggs directly, since the older American Captain is standing right next to him. During his recount the Rats, Silberblatt, O'Malley and Williamson start to assemble around him, all appearing highly bemused by the autographs asked of the tall officer and the Christmas greetings he has written for the young soldier's mother. "That's still my favourite tale, Cap", Hitch tells Dietrich after getting his laughter under control again, once the German has finished speaking. "Truly hilarious", Moffit adds, as even he cannot hide a grin. "You're gonna be a helluva spy, Captain", Troy adds with a grin of his own. "General Atkins will be delighted to hear that he has hired such a competent conman for his commandos", Jakob Silberblatt adds and all of them notice Troy's face falling at the word 'conman'. "I'm not a cheater, impostor, liar or spy, Jakob!", Dietrich protests. "No, you're not, Hans. But you are a talented enough actor to be able to get such false information believably across. You'll be doing great", Silberblatt concedes. "And you received the badge of honor", Hitch adds, trying to cheer Sarge up a bit, as he has no real idea why he looks so grim and despondent.

Captain Boggs' main intention for joining this drinking round apart from the rare chance of entertainment and a good drink out here in the desert has been to observe his most unruly unit and their interaction with their new commanding officer in an unguarded environment. That Sam Troy has held an uncanny sympathy for the German officer has become more and more obvious since the man's arrival in camp, but how the others act toward him has not been so clear to Boggs. Jack Moffit and Hans Dietrich seem to hold a deep respect for each other in a professional basis. That much has been obvious during their research session in his office in the morning. But they also apparently share an excellent communication basis when it comes to dealing with Sam Troy, as their previous conversation has revealed. Apart from that the two seem to share a dry sense of humor and certain habits that Boggs has before viewed as British, but now realizes are part of a European culture not widely known or spread in the United States, but seem to create a connection and common ground between the two men that sets them apart from the rest of the Americans. Another person set apart from the rest of the Americans is the shy young Japanese descended Corporal the German Captain has taken under his wing. Gottschlich appears relaxed in the presence of the two Privates Pettigrew and Hitchcock and behaves respectfully but distanced toward the Sergeants, while he appears to observe Captain Dietrich with a mixture of admiration and hero worship that Boggs finds worrying. But he certainly cannot find that the young man would show anything but the most appropriate and docile behaviour which is not coinciding with his file that protraits him as an unreliable violent troublemaker.

When Pettigrew approaches the German Captain and starts to speak quietly with the young officer Boggs' curiosity is triggered again and he moves closer to hear what they are saying. "Doc missed out on the trick last time and Boggs as well. It'd be really great, if you could show'em, Cap. I'll lend you my deck again, if you want", Pettigrew speaks with more fervor than James Boggs has ever heard the quiet Private speak before. The tall German officer appears to be thinking and weighing his options, while he rubs his injured right shoulder absentmindedly. Finally, he nods and actually smiles an honest smile at the Private. "Fine, Pettigrew. Have your wish. I owe you one for today's delievery of the 'iron reserves'." This appears to be an inside joke between them, as they both share a grin, while the blond Private takes a deck of cards from one of the pouches on his belt and hands it to Hans Dietrich.

Hitchcock's eyes light up with actual delight and joy, while even the shy Corporal Gottschlich moves closer and has a mild smile on his lips. But Pettigrew's expression astounds Boggs the most. In the year since the almost convict has served his time in his camp and unit James Boggs has never seen the Kentuckian Private look at him or any of his officers with anything but antipathy in the worst case and wariness in the best case. The animosity between the hot tempered First Lieutenant Winters and the antagonistic former moonshine runner who has stolen his most prized whiskey has almost been legendary in camp. At the German Captain however Pettigrew looks with clear respect and even sympathy, which astounds Boggs more than many of Troy's stunts. What did Dietrich do to convince the wary Private with his criminal tendencies? Then he remembers the tall young officer stepping in between his Private and an irate Lieutenant Winters or offering to take his punishment in front of General Atkins. Dietrich's words that he will not sacrifice his men's trust over the punishment of a petty crime such as stealing from the Lieutenant's alcohol depot has held more truth than Boggs would ever have imagined and his gamble has truly paid off for the young German officer, as the rebellious Private looks ready to go through hell and back again for him.

"I'm not very dexterous with my right arm and shoulder right now, so you will have to have some patience with me", the German Captain declares cautiously. "We don't mind that. Maybe I stand a chance then to see what your trick is, Cap", Hitch comments with a grin. Dietrich smiles midly. "We'll see, Hitchcock." "Can I start?", Hitch inquires with a pleading look that is intended to imitate Fritz' but works less well with his face. "I don't even need cards to read your mind, Private", the German Captain comments dryly, while shuffling the card deck, before placing it on the open palm of his left hand and holding it out to the young American. All the men assemble now in a semicircle around the duo to observe what is transpiring. "Pick a card, Hitchcock. Then hand it to me so that I cannot see what is on it", the lean young officer orders and Hitch obediently draws a card from the deck, looks at it and then hands it to Dietrich so that its back shows to the Captain. The German winces visibly, as he has to move his right arm to take the card, but except for a grimace of pain his movements appear fluent enough to not suspect a grave injury. With a slightly shaking hand the young officer pushes the card back into the deck and then reshuffles the deck using both hands. Once finished, he ask Hitchcock with a sly smile: "Who shall do you the honor, Private?" "Doc's never done this before. Let him try", the young Private suggests and bears the expression of a boy waiting to see the Christmas tree.

Jack Moffit looks briefly baffled to be chosen by Hitchcock, but steps forward nonetheless, inquiring: "What shall I do, Captain?" "Take this deck and show the second card from the top to the rest of the crowd, Doctor", Dietrich instructs calmly. The British Sergeant does as he is instructed and picks up the two top cards, showing them to the men standing around. "Incredible", Hitch mutters with awe. "I still can't see how he's doing this", Troy grumbles. Tully smiles mildly, while chewing on his matchstick and Gottschlich looks torn between awe and disbelief that this is really happening. James Boggs definitely stares in disbelief at the display he would never have expected from the proud young German Captain. Brown steps toward his American colleague and whispers conspiratorially: "I'm still aggrieved that your General didn't give me that man as an officer. You probably can guess how much my men enjoyed watching and participating in this the last time he visited us. You're really lucky to have a fellow like that." Boggs nods in understanding. This has been a most enlightening evening for him already, he considers, as he mentally notes never to play cards against the German officer.

The mind reading game meanwhile continues and James Williamson has eagerly volunteered, as he would never get the chance to participate in a white men's circus entertainment otherwise. The aboriginal Sergeant chooses the Irish stemming Lieutenant O'Malley as his second who similarly shows the card Dietrich instructs him to take to the eager crowd of the Rats and Silberblatt. The duo of Tully and Moffit are the next, followed by Troy and Brown. After five more rounds, the German Captain finally lowers his arm and a pained expression shows on his face. "I will have to end this for today, as my shoulder will not bear any more of it", the young officer declares with finality and even though some look disappointed, they all can understand his reasons. "I'm sure Ari would love to see this", Jakob comments. "I won't teach the boy to be a pickpocket or card shark!", Hans Dietrich protests. "Of course not, Hans", Silberblatt laughs. "But he'd love to see this. It's like a real circus performance and I know for a fact that you can do some even more impressive tricks. But you'd better let your shoulder heal before that."

"The next time I go to play Bridge in an officer's club, I'll ask you to join me, Captain Dietrich", Boggs declares with a mild smile, as he steps toward them. "With pleasure", the German replies with an honest smile and actual joy lighting up in his brown eyes. Playing Bridge is one of his favourite pastimes, if he can find three other adequate players. "I will not cheat or perform any tricks at Bridge though", the proud young man adds resolutely and pridefully. "I wouldn't have expected anything else from you. You're an officer and gentleman in spite of your dubious skillset", Boggs adds with a smile of his own. "But I haven't had a competent Bridge partner in a while and you appear more than capable. Winters was and Griffiths is far too hot headed, while Adams is a Puritan to the core who despises all kinds of games and alcohol." "That's his own loss", Troy comments and adds muttered for only his unit's men to hear: "I knew I didn't like or trust that guy."

"Well, it's all fun and games here. We're not Puritans after all", Captain Brown declares with a grin. "But I suppose we should call it a night, as you look like you'd fall asleep on your way back to your tents already. And you still have to pick up your boy, Ari." Dietrich's eyes narrow at the expression, but he keeps from protesting loudly this time. "I'll join you to pick up Fritz, my little friend, if you don't mind, Cap", Hitch offers and the German Captain actually nods gratefully. "Thank you, Hitchcock. I appreciate that offer. Troy, take the rest of the band back to our tent and prepare everything for the night!" "Don't worry, we'll get everything ready and the nightwatch organised, Captain", Sam Troy replies coolly. "Thank you, Sergeant", the younger officer replies with actual gratitude and his weariness and exhaustion show more clearly on his face and whole stance, as he does not try to stand at attention or is tensed up with apprehension and wariness. "Let's go, Private", he addresses Hitchcock who follows him eagerly toward the field hospital.

When Hans Dietrich enters the sickbay tent late in the evening, Ari has already fallen asleep, but Fritz awakes and starts whimpering, when he hears his master's voice, as he speaks to the Swiss nurse Arno. The stern woman scowls in disapproval at the German Captain and the unnerving animal. "Hauptmann Dietrich. Ich wäre Ihnen sehr verbunden, wenn Sie dieses ungezogene Tier endlich aus meiner Krankenstation entfernen", she reprimands the younger man that she would be much obliged if he would finally remove the misbehaved critter from sickbay. "Fritz ist wohl kaum ungezogener als die meisten der Amerikaner hier", Dietrich counters dryly that Fritz is hardly more misbehaved than most of the Americans around. The stern nurse huffs and puffs with slight indignation. "Das ändert nichts daran, dass ein Hund hier nichts zu suchen hat. Hygieneprobleme. Sie als grundlegend medizinisch gebildeter Mann sollten das verstehen", she argues that this does not change the fact that a dog has no place in sickbay due to hygiene reasons which he should understand having received a basic medical training.

Ari is finally woken up by her tirade and sleepily sits up on his cot, until he recognizes his caregiver, jumps out of the bed and hugs him enthusiastically which makes the injured man flinch with pain in the abdomen from his rather freshly sewn up wound. Ari is still too sleepy to recognize the movement, as he blabbers: "I wanted to wait for you, Hans, but then I got too tired and fell asleep. Lisa said I can have a bed here, till you come. I'm so happy you're here now!" The young German smiles mildly at the child's word and ruffles his hair gently. "Let's get going then. Mark Hitchcock will carry Fritz." The Private is already occupied with consoling and petting his favourite life saviour, but looks up at hearing his name. "Sure, Cap. I'll take our dear Fritz. Come here, Fritz. That's a good boy." Fritz fawns excitedly, when he gets picked up and tries to lick Hitch's face several times with enthusiasm. "Ich entschuldige mich für die Umstände, die wir Ihnen gemacht haben, Schwester Arno", the tall German officer addresses the nurse in the meantime to apologize for the inconveniences they have caused her. "Schon gut, Herr Hauptmann", she tells him more leniently than before, as the interaction with the boy has warmed her heart and calmed her somewhat. In this manner they escape from the sickbay unscathed by the nurse's wrath and make their way back to their own tent to finally get some sleep.