“Holy Mother of God, but that must’ve been a real stinger when that baby went into your leg.”
“Sort of like it feels right now, Algy,” Palcikas said. “Do you mind …?”
“Stop being such a crybaby, Dominikas.” He examined the wound carefully, nodded his approval, and reapplied sterile dressings from a medical bag beside his desk. “Those field medics did a bang-up job debriding your leg — in the dark, in the rain, and considering you mucked it up pretty good slapping that mud into it, they did a fine job.”
“It was either that or bleed to death.”
“Next time don’t lose your first-aid kit,” Virkutis said.
He had an annoying habit, Palcikas thought, of making one feel tremendously guilty for even the slightest error. “I thought we had business to discuss, Algy,” Palcikas said.
“Oh yeah, business,” Virkutis said. “Good news: we think we’ve got a cease-fire agreement put together with Byelorussia.”
“That’s great,” Palcikas said. “Under what terms?”
“The United States has agreed to head up a United Nations peacekeeping force in Byelorussia,” Virkutis said. “All Byelorussian and Commonwealth troops out of Lithuania and Kalinin, and all Russian and Commonwealth troops out of Byelorussia; supervised destruction of all nuclear weapons and inspection of weapon-storage sites, military bases, and government facilities; and unlimited reconnaissance aircraft overflights of all Baltic and Commonwealth countries. We’ve also agreed to more-favorable terms for transporting goods across Lithuania to Byelorussia.
“What about the Byelorussian Army?” Palcikas asked. “They’ll still have hundreds of thousands of troops and a sizable ground force — they can threaten us with retaliation at any time.”
“I think, with reactionaries like Voshchanka gone, the threat will be greatly diminished,” Virkutis said. “In any case, world attention has focused on the problems we face around these parts. I think people are starting to realize that just because the old Soviet Union is dead, aggression isn’t.” He slapped Palcikas’ leg again, stood up, and returned to his desk. “Plus it means we’re still in the prepare-for-war business, my friend. That is, if you still want to be.”
“Of course!” Palcikas said. “This little scratch won’t keep me from performing my duties.
“Well, you won’t be rappelling out of any helicopters for a while.” Virkutis chucked. “But no, I don’t see any medical reason to exclude you from active duty. But you’ve been battered around a bit, Dominikas— some might say a little too much.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that people — and I mean those in government, in business, and prominent citizens in this country — think you’ve done a terrific job as leader of the Self-Defense Force, but you’ve got a fire in your belly now that perhaps isn’t appropriate for what we need to accomplish.”
“Are you asking for my resignation, Minister?” Palcikas asked angrily. “Are you?”
“No, I’m not, Dominikas,” Virkutis replied. “But I want you to think about it, is all. You’ve always been a forward-thinking man, Dominikas, but with all you’ve been through, perhaps your outlook may be a bit clouded.”
“I don’t believe this, Minister!” Palcikas said angrily. “My career, my whole life, is the defense of my home and my country — now you’re telling me that I can’t do that effectively and objectively?”
“I’m telling you to think it over, Dominikas,” Virkutis said. “I know you aren’t good at listening to me, you young buck, but listen to this: I’m telling you that you’ve built a strong, proud country here, and now it may be time to step out of the trenches and smell the flowers in the fields instead of rolling tanks or landing helicopters on them. You understand, Dominikas? And stop calling me Minister or I’ll stop assigning pretty nurses to you and start assigning some big, hairy-armed medics to look after you.”
Palcikas couldn’t help but smile at Virkutis’s words. He nodded. “All right, all right. Maybe in a year or two I’ll think about retirement. But right now all I want is to get my headquarters organized again. If there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to Trakai.”
“Yes, there is something else.” Virkutis pushed Palcikas’ aide aside and took the handles of his wheelchair. He pushed it out into the hallway, down the elevator, down the main hallway of the Parliament building, and took a right turn toward a set of ornately decorated double doors. Two armed soldiers opened them.
“What in hell is this, Algy?” Palcikas asked when he realized where they were going.
“Call me Minister, General,” Virkutis said. “Christ, won’t you ever listen?”
Over two hundred men and women, the members of the Lithuanian Parliament, rose to their feet when Palcikas and Virkutis entered the Parliament chambers. Ceremonial trumpets sounded, and the sergeant-at-arms announced in a loud voice, “Mr. President, members of Parliament, distinguished guests and fellow citizens: the Chief of Staff of the Self-Defense Force, General Dominikas Palcikas!”
Thunderous applause erupted in the Parliament chambers, hands slapped his shoulders, and photographers snapped away as Virkutis wheeled Palcikas to the podium. The Lord High Minister of the Parliament raised his pommel staff for silence, but it was ignored for several long minutes as the applause continued.
“The chair recognizes the President of the Republic, the honorable Gintarus Kapocius,” the Lord High Minister announced. Kapocius himself moved down from his chair beside the Lord High Minister and stood beside Palcikas.
“Lord High Minister, members of Parliament, guests and fellow citizens. I know this is not yet a time for celebration. Enemy forces are still on Lithuanian soil. Our country is still suffering the effects of the nuclear explosion, and it will take many days to assess the damage to our population and our nation.
“But we are here today to honor the man who by his courage and his leadership helped to save our nation from certain disaster. In the face of vastly superior forces, he led a small force in ambush raids and carefully planned and perfectly executed guerrilla-style attacks on the invading Byelorussian forces. He is a genuine hero to us all, and an inspiration for Lithuanians and free people all over the world.”
The applause again lasted for several minutes until Kapocius finally quieted them down. “There is one more act of recognition I am obliged to perform. As a sign of his fidelity to the government and to the people, General Palcikas surrendered two very valuable things to a member of this Parliament. It is my happy duty to return these things to him as a token of our respect and pride in him and what he has done for our country. Miss Kulikauskas?”
From a side chamber, Anna Kulikauskas and Corporal Georgi Manatis walked to the podium. With the corporal holding the item, Anna unwrapped the Lithuanian flag that covered the Lithuanian Sword of State, and carefully presented it to Dominikas Palcikas once again. To the deafening applause of the members of Parliament, Palcikas held the Sword of State aloft for all to see.
But amidst the applause and adulation, Palcikas could see only one person: Anna. Her eyes were locked with his, and he knew in that instant that the growing love between them was unbroken and getting stronger each day. Perhaps there was something more important than fighting for one’s country, Palcikas thought: perhaps one did not fight for a flag or a sword, but for the people and the loved ones that were family, friends, and fellow countrymen. And when the fighting was done, perhaps it was time for the older, more battle-weary soldiers to step aside and let the younger lions take their place. How else were they to learn the value of defending their homes, their people, and their way of life?
Palcikas saw that Alexei Kolginov’s identification bracelet was still firmly locked on to the cross-hilt of the Sword. He touched it, a silent remembrance of his friend, but left it there as a symbol of the old and the new. He turned to Manatis and gave him the Sword. “Take good care of this, George.” The young corporal was stunned, but Palcikas only smiled and offered no other explanation or orders. He motioned for Anna to move closer, and as she did, he kissed her cheek.