Close Call (story)

[Schöneboom]

"On the tenth, in black night, the gods brought me near to this island, Ogygia, where was Calypso. The awesome goddess took me in and loved me passionately and tended me, vowing that she would make me immortal and ageless, forever and ever."

Anton smirked. "Ja, I can tell Odysseus hated every minute of it."

Rolf asked, "Why would he give all this up to go back to Penelope? I mean, he wasn't exactly the faithful type, was he?"

"I've given that some thought myself," I said. "Maybe he knew she was still waiting for him. In his dreams, perhaps, she was calling to him to come home."

Rolf waited for Matrosengefreiter Schilling to clear the breakfast plates from our table. "Herr Kaleun," he asked at last, "Is someone back home waiting for you?"

I nodded. "Her name's Eva. We met in Danzig, when I was a Training Flotilla instructor."

"Will you get married?" asked Anton.

"Her father won't approve, now that I'm on the front line again."

"Mensch... And I thought everybody loved U-boatmen."

"He's an executive for Danziger Werft," I said. "So he knows how many U-boats get sunk. I can hardly blame the man."

Willi called down from the bridge, "Land ho!"

I put away my book and grabbed my binoculars. "Let's have a look, shall we? This is the last land we'll see for a while."

Our course would take us northwest through a rugged archipelago. The morning was clear and calm, ideal for viewing.

"Meine Herren, the Aeolian Islands. From left to right, Vulcano, Lipari, Salina, Panarea, and Stromboli."

Anton gazed at Stromboli, the peaked island off our starboard bow. "That's not a normal cloud up there... Mein Gott, that's a volcano!"

"Si, Signore Leutnant! And people live there, too!"

"They must be crazy!" Anton said, shaking his head. "You couldn't pay me to live on a volcano!"

"But they pay you to live on a U-boat," said Rolf.

"Ah, that's different!"

Rolf watched the tiny fishing boats near Panarea, off to port. "They must have a very simple life here."

"Ja, sometimes I imagine how it would be to leave everything behind and live on an island like that."

"Which island is Calypso's, I wonder?" asked Anton with a sly grin.

"I would venture... that far one, in the middle."

Anton stared through his binoculars at Salina, then let out a laugh. "Of course! With those two big round hills, Mamma Mia!" Naturally Rolf and Willi had to look as well.

"Herr Kaleun, may I see you for a moment, please?" It was Heinrich, calling up from the Zentrale. His tone made it seem urgent -- typical for him.

I climbed down and met with Heinrich and Oskar, who carried with him a large coil of thin wire. "Well, what's this about?" I asked.

"It's a little surprise, Herr Kaleun," said Oskar, smiling hopefully. "This is our new radio antenna."

I stared dumbfounded as they showed off their handiwork.

"We had plenty of idle hands in the Bugraum to help out," said Heinrich. "First they unravelled the remnant of the broken antenna."

"Then they spliced all the strands end to end," Oskar continued. "We measured out the right length, soldered the connections, and ecco fa!"

"Because the wire's so thin, I made small insulators from blocks of wood," added Heinrich. "Though the antenna trunk's kaputt, we can run the wire up through the tower hatch and suspend it over the bow. "

"Mensch, what crafty elves you are!" I said. "Phenomenal!"

"You did tell us to improvise," said Heinrich.

"Today the weather's so calm, we ought to try it out, Herr Kaleun," said Oskar. "Even if it lasts only one day--"

"Absolutely! Put up the antenna straight away! Let's send a message to BdU! They must be worried sick about us!"

"At the very least, we'll get to hear some cheesy Italian radio!" said Anton.