Arc of Fire

Chapter 676: Chapter 14: Wings of Freedom (Extra update 43/84)

In Prosen territory, near the Gil Canal riverbank clearing.

Dr. Heisenberg stared at the aircraft promised by the Royal Air Force for a few seconds, then turned to Shaun, the spy from the United Kingdom, and said, “You’re not playing me, are you? This plane is made of wood!”

Shaun: “Oh, many aircraft were made of wood before the war started. All-metal airplanes are the unreliable new gadgets. The Swordfish that damaged the rudder of the Bismarck had a fabric-covered body, you know.”

Heisenberg: “Fabric? Really?”

"Really, It didn’t stop the Swordfish torpedo planes from damaging the Bismarck’s rudder and being the first to corner the Bismarck. Plus, wood planes have their advantages. For one thing, they don’t reflect radar waves, or at least not as many, so they can sneak deep into enemy territory without being noticed.

"Secondly, it flies very fast. Currently, the Empire of Prosen has no fighter planes that can catch up with it.”

Shaun said with a smile.

Heisenberg sighed, “If I weren’t facing certain death by going back now, I would never get on this plane, never!”

Shaun patted the doctor’s back gently: “Once you’re in the United Kingdom sitting in it, you’ll realize we certainly didn’t mean to slight you by sending it. In fact, we sent it precisely because we trust it.

"Besides, the Imperial Ministry has been lured by a bait I set up to the border of the Neutral Country. But they will soon realize you didn’t take that route. Maybe they’ve already come to their senses. Do you still want to stay here and grumble about a wooden plane?”

Dr. Heisenberg stepped forward, complaining as he walked, “If I had known I was going to fly over the North Sea in a wooden airplane and face possible interception, I would’ve taken the Neutral Country route no matter what sweet nothings you whispered.”

Shaun: “Don’t worry, the Eighth Air Force fighter wing will come in midway with test auxiliary tanks to meet us. Just relax.”

Dr. Heisenberg shook his head, by now he had reached the front of the aircraft, and the Royal Air Force pilot reached out to pull him in.

But the doctor didn’t grasp the Royal Air Force pilot’s hand immediately. Instead, he stared closely at the plane that had come for him: “What’s this plane called? I mean the model?”

"Mosquito.” The Royal Air Force pilot responded truthfully.

"Hmph, Mosquito! I’m fleeing the Empire of Prosen on a Mosquito!”

After saying this, the doctor crawled into the narrow cabin of the Mosquito bomber.

Spy Shaun approached the plane and said to the doctor: “Be very careful not to touch anything else. Your seat is in the bomb bay, and you might get tossed out if you touch the wrong thing.”

"What?”

The pilot hurried to say: “That’s not going to happen, Doctor, that’s Sir Shaun’s sense of humor.”

Heisenberg cursed: “You’re actually using your humor on a Prosen? We take everything seriously!”

Shaun laughed heartily: “That self-deprecation is quite funny! By the way, Doctor, just to be safe I have to ask one more time, without you, is it certain that Prosen won’t be able to develop that thing?”

Dr. Heisenberg stared at Shaun, batting his eyes mysteriously, and smiled, “Yes, they won’t be able to figure it out. Before I left, I burned all the blueprints and papers, but I know they secretly made copies behind my back.”

Shaun’s expression became serious: “Then I’ll go steal that copy. Do you know where it is?”

"No need,” the doctor waved, “I knew precisely because I intentionally burned the papers and blueprints. That way, they would firmly believe they were correct. But in fact, I miscalculated.”

Shaun: “What?”

"I miscalculated. I used the wrong formula, so the conclusions are wrong; the amount of weapon-grade material is off by an order of magnitude. The Empire of Prosen will never be able to initiate a chain reaction, as they will be far from reaching the critical point.”

Shaun was stunned for a few seconds before bursting into laughter, “That’s quite humorous!”

Dr. Heisenberg: “It’s not my credit. I thought of this method inspired by General Rocosov from Ante. He’s particularly good at these tricks, fooling the Emperor and the generals around in circles. At that time, I thought I could pull off the same thing.”

Shaun: “Yes, the Guardian of Ante, the Star of Victory, a legend on the battlefield. To make your plan more credible, I’ll go steal that copy again but deliberately let them fend me off.”

After saying this, Shaun stepped back and gestured to the people in hiding nearby.

Then, a makeshift windsock fashioned from fabric was let loose in the air, and the people at the end of the “runway” took their positions, signaling that it was clear for takeoff.

Shaun waved: “Bon voyage!”

The Mosquito bomber’s twin engines roared to life, pulling the wooden aircraft slowly forward.

Heisenberg stared at Shaun for a few seconds, then looked away and asked the pilot aloud, “Is there really cover halfway through?”

"Yes, P-51 Mustang fighters carrying auxiliary tanks will cover us. Don’t worry.”

As the pilot finished speaking, the plane began its takeoff roll and lifted off into the night sky a hundred meters from the end of the runway.

At the same time, from the direction of the nearby city, came the sound of air raid sirens and anti-aircraft fire, with massive searchlight beams tearing through the night curtain, visible even from this great distance.

Heisenberg: “Is that Hamburg over there?”

"Yes, to cover our escape, the Royal Air Force deliberately launched a raid on heavily defended Hamburg. That way, the local air superiority fighters would all be drawn away, ignoring us flying low.”

Heisenberg nodded, just as a gust of wind hit, causing the wooden aircraft to shake violently and sway from side to side like a drunk.

"Oh my God!” Heisenberg cried out in terror, “Will I ever make it to the Federation? My God!”

Pilot: “Do Prosen scientists also cry out ‘god’? I thought the light of science was supposed to replace divine grace?”

Heisenberg: “It’s only the Secular faction that really believes everything can be interpreted by science. Prosen… sounds more like grumbling about not being favored by God.”

Pilot: “I see.”

Heisenberg was silent for a few seconds before saying, “Actually, I’ve considered going to Ante. Their agents have extended an olive branch to me. But I am a Prosen, and thinking about what my compatriots have done within the territory of Ante, I dared not go.

"Who knows if one day in the future, the Anteans will seek revenge on us? Even if they do seek revenge, no one can blame them. So I might as well go to the Federation. I’ve had correspondence with Dr. Oppenheimer.”

Pilot: “In at most a week’s time, you’ll set foot on the soil of the Federation. We’ve prepared blankets, right beside your seat. Cover yourself with it and have a good sleep.”

Heisenberg nodded.

He found the blanket, leaned back on the chair, and closed his eyes.

— I wonder if the letter will be successfully delivered to Ekaterinburg Fortress.

In Prosenia, an Ante underground contact station.

The spy codenamed ‘Bishop’ opened Dr. Heisenberg’s letter.

"Respected General Rocossov, I hope this letter finds you well.”

He read aloud softly,

"I believe with your level of knowledge, you will undoubtedly understand the value of the weapon mentioned in the attached documentation to this letter. It is a weapon powerful enough to change the course of the war. Of course, it is very difficult to produce, and it might not be possible to produce many operational rounds before the end of this war.

"But in the future, it will change the balance of power in the world, and might even prevent hot wars between major countries from ever happening again—of course, it also could lead to the destruction of the world.

"I urge you to press Ante, no matter how difficult, to begin research on this weapon. Because if only one country possesses this weapon, it will inevitably become greedy and tyrannical, using this terrible power to oppress other nations.

"This is something that I, and all scientists, do not wish to see.

"I am in a rush with time and cannot elaborate further for your conviction, but I trust with your intelligence, you will understand.

"Yours sincerely, Dr. Heisenberg.”

‘Bishop’ put away the letter and opened the accompanying brown paper envelope to look at the many documents and photographs inside. He could hardly understand the documents, but he knew what the thing on the photographs roughly was—an ultracentrifuge.

‘Bishop’ made a quick decision, tucked away the photographs, put on his coat, and hurriedly left the station.

Before he left, he placed a flowerpot on the windowsill and opened the window.

This was a signal to activate the emergency communication channel, indicating that highly important intelligence needed to be sent to Yeburg as quickly as possible.

That night, the entire Ante intelligence network in Prosenia sprang into action. Countless dormant nodes were activated, and the contents of the brown paper and Heisenberg’s handwritten letter were copied many times, sent towards Yeburg through different channels.

Back to Heisenberg.

The doctor had finally fallen asleep, when he was suddenly awakened by a severe jolt.

The moment he opened his eyes, the plane banked sharply to the right, pressing him against the wall of the cabin.

"What’s happening?” the doctor shouted.

He then realized that it was already light outside, and the plane was flying over the sea.

"The enemy’s new type of fighter plane!” the pilot shouted back, “On our six o’clock! I can’t shake it off!”

The doctor turned his head and saw the Iron Cross on the slender fighter plane.

Pilot: “Prosen has developed such a fast fighter!”

"Were we not supposed to have an escort?” Dr. Heisenberg asked, gripping the handle on the cabin wall.

"A slight hiccup in the rendezvous! The fighter must have yawed off course!” the pilot responded.

"What do we do now?”

As soon as the words fell, Heisenberg seemed to see something flashing in the direction of the sun.

In an instant, the source of the flash darted to the side of the Mosquito bomber.

It was a beautiful silver fighter!

A P51 Mustang!

The Mustang swooped down from the high skies, firing a dense net of bullets that completely enveloped the slender Prosen fighter that was on the tail of the Mosquito bomber.

The Prosen fighter’s engine burst into flames, trailing thick smoke as it plummeted towards the ground.

"Calling the Mosquito bomber, are you the ‘courier’?”

"Yes, we are. The ‘package’ is intact,” The Mosquito bomber’s pilot responded, “Glad to see you guys.”

Dr. Heisenberg listened to the pilots’ radio communication and took a long breath of relief.

He was finally free.

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