328 | John W. Warner IV rude outbursts and Das Reich uber alles bravado, he patiently listens and learns in between tirades, unlike his more shallow subordinate officers, new boys Hauptsturmfuhrer Pickelhaube and that nasty little squirrel Otvbs, both regular-issue Waffen SS, eager idiots who would rather be gloriously fighting Cossacks in the Caucuses and winning Iron Crosses than babysitting us weary bone-diggers. I only broached the idea as a possible future concept post-war, Klemp knows only the long-term broad horizon view, and I was vague on precise details, but he did listen carefully those many months ago when Enraged, Geer grabbed Schafer by his collar. Scheissei Why would you have He broke the grip with a quick, two-handed upward thrust. Quiet, Edmund! If he suspected even a whiff of conspiracy among us eggheads he would have turned us in by now, eager for promotion. Dont you understand? Klemp is the keystone in our arch, we must have him on our side when the time comes, hes the only officer his mountain men will listen to when the going gets hellish rough, they display utter devotion to him, you know that. Hes a Thule, like us, remember? His mother is Austrian, father Sudeten German, a Moravian. Hes spiritual, enlightened, educated, and knowledgeable with a Geer pushed him hard. So what? Hes a hard, pig-eyed He pushed back. Keep your head! The tiny Gebirgsjager fraternity is as tight as their fucking rope knots, Edmund, an elite group, mountaineers first, SS second, he said in strict confidence. Theyre not fanatical, dishonorable, an-and psychopathic Einsatzgruppen in Russia slaughtering Jews and Slavs and civilians by the thousands behind the lines, they are mostly Austrian alpine farm boys…from the Norway Ski Jaeger battalion, did you ever notice that? No? Recruited under a bit of pressure into the SS, Klemps company never made it to Norway, most were assigned to the Ahnenerbe first by order of Himmler, knowing full well that we needed the best on rough-terrain expeditions, especially in the high-altitude snow. He rapidly pointed to his chest. I know because I personally asked for them before we left Germany, Klemp especially, knowing this mission would be dangerous and difficult in British-held territory. Weve climbed and sided with a few of them from here to Go/Z-damned Nepal, remember? Shared hardships, frozen tinned food, frostbite. But Klemp, hes a mad dog of a Mad dogs? Are they? One of them, that…that corpsman Naso, he splinted your broken foot outside Kathmandu in a blizzard, sewed up your festering wound,