< previous page page_284 next page >

Page 284
and in a position to reward or to punish. I told the men, he thought. More than that I am unwilling to do. Danius's transfer from the air force to Aeroflot was still hanging up in the bureaucratic thicket, and he did not need any of this political nonsense. Colonel Bukharin insisted that membership in the new political group headed by General Kondratiev would be advisable for all pilots. "They'll judge you by the number on your card, Danius. The lower the number, the more status you accrue immediately on the day Soyuz becomes the supreme power in the land," Bukharin had said. But Danius had procrastinated. One learned to be cautious in these troubled times.
The door was flung open and, along with a blast of cold air, into the room strode the new commander of the Moscow Air Defense District, General Yuri Kalinin, accompanied by an aide. "Attention!" Danius shouted, and the regimental officers came to a semblance of order.
The general's cold eyes regarded Danius, discarded him as inconsequential, and moved on to the others in the room. A karakul-collared greatcoat worn loosely over his shoulders was shrugged off and into the waiting hands of the obsequious aide. A handsome and blond Great Russian, Kalinin conformed perfectly with the Ministry of Information's poster image of the ideal fighter pilot: tall and erect with piercing blue eyes. He was resplendent in full service uniform and eight rows of medal ribbons. Danius raised his hand and again shouted for silence from his officers.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen! This is General Yuri Kalinin, chief of the Moscow Defense Command, come to speak to us on a most important matter." The pilots ceased most of their rowdy chatter and focused their attention on their guest.
Kalinin had been looking over his audience of aviators speculatively while Danius struggled to quiet them. What an undisciplined lot they were; they would have lasted less than a week in Afghan bandit country, or in Star City. They wore their uniforms carelessly, their hair was too long, and their manners were insubordinate.

 
< previous page page_284 next page >