As per usual, Major Schwarzkopf was reluctant to commit funds towards an unproven concept. Schwarzkopf, Hartmann and Meyer debated long into the night, as to whether an expenditure of this magnitude was a good idea, or not. However, this new machine represented something fundamentally different, to Nicholas Meyer. With the hiring of mages Wolverine and Flamebringer, he really believed that the two magic users could improve the fighting qualities of the battalion. But this time, it wasn't belief or speculation on his part; he knew for certain that the machine would work.

  'Why?' he asked himself, and the answer went like this: Ever since Nicholas had been toying and experimenting with his parchment data sheets, he knew that he had an intuitive ability to quantify combat abilities, and assign them number scores based on probabilities. He was very good at this technique, but he never really understood why. However, when Professor Babbage explained the history of his experiments with his Analytical Engines, the timeline of the earliest model matched exactly the timeline of when Meyer wrote up his first data sheets, in the Pfieldorf public house some five years ago. At first, Nicholas was willing to consider the matched timing to be a coincidence, but there was something else he had noticed while inside the laboratory. The more that Nicholas Meyer learned about the way that the mechanical device worked, the more he could feel his intuitive powers improving! He tried a small experiment, while he was in the laboratory with Professor Babbage, and the two were able to produce a reasonable data sheet for the Thuringian swordsmen on their first attempt. As the steam whistled, wheels whirled, and gears turned Nicholas actually saw the numbers appear in his field of vision. Even when he closed his eyes, Nicholas could see the numbers:

  Thuringian Swordsmen

  Unit strength: 100 men

  Leadership: 6

  Fighting skill: 4

  Attacks: 1 per soldier

  Quickness: 3

  Power: 3

  Defence: 3

  Speed: 4

  Wounds: 1 per soldier

  Armour save: light armour plus shield 5+

  Special abilities: none

  Experience points: 15,894

  Payroll: 1000 pfennig per month

  Nicholas felt quite entwined with the machine. It was as if he had found a long lost relative who thought the same way as he did. He also realised just what a powerful tool that such a machine represented on the battlefield. Nicholas imagined processing both the improvements in fighting qualities of his units, as well as monitoring the damage taken by the soldiers, in real time, during the course of a battle. He was quite sure, that if he had a portable Analytical Engine at his side, he would be able to simply look out over the field of battle, scan a unit of his troops, (or the opposition troops for that matter) and know their current fighting ability. With such information available, he could provide expert advice to Major Schwarzkopf. There were many, many additional uses that he could imagine for the Analytical Engine, and he felt that he simply had to have one.

  Nicholas Meyer argued tirelessly, long into the night, and eventually convinced his two fellow Flying Eagles officers. The next morning, Nicholas personally placed the order for Difference Engine #16, along with a down payment for half the purchase price of the unit. Professor Babbage promised that he would personally deliver the new machine to their army encampment, once it was completed. Along with the operating technicians, Babbage planned to perform a series of on-site experiments.

  ___________________________________________________________________________

  "That was a hell of an expensive trip," commented Major Schwarzkopf. "I can't believe that you convinced me to let you buy that frigging machine, Meyer. It looked like a blasted steam engine! Just like the one they use to pull the Badendorf to Danzig express train!" The Major was shaking his head in disbelief, as their carriage trundled down the road, on their way back to the 427th battalion encampment. "We're going to have to find a second patron for the battalion, at this rate."

  "Professor Babbage promised that the version that he is building for us will be smaller and lighter than the laboratory model. Light enough for two horses to manoeuvre. The steam engine will not just turn the wheels of the computational machinery, but it will also provide some power to the rear wheels of the reinforced carriage. I saw the plans. He had everything all worked out. Our machine will have more than 8000 parts!" Nicholas Meyer could hardly wait to see the completed Analytical Engine #16. There was one thing that bothered him a little, though. His ability to visualise the data had faded as soon as he was physically separated from the machine by more than a few metres. So, it was back to the parchments for the time being. Nicholas supposed that was fine, since everybody else was going to need to see hard copies anyway. He had been pleased to see that the hard copies produced by the typesetting printing press, which was one component of the Difference Engine, were far superior to his hand written efforts. He just hoped that the ability to visualise the numbers would return, once he was close to the Analytical Engine again.

  _____________________________________________________________________________

  Back on the front lines, there was a lot to do. The first priority was to pack up and move the battalion north to General Paulus's regiment. Located on the far north of the Eastern Front, the region had firmer ground than the Pripet marsh lands. Paulus directed them to set up their camp about 10 kilometres north of the Fedorina estate. Once Lieutenant Meyer had regained the use of his office tent, he had all of his agents report on the adventurers and mercenaries that they had scouted out, travelling through the Koblenz region. There were a great number of possibilities, so Meyer arranged a series of screening interviews. The battalion still had some financial freeboard, but Major Schwarzkopf had warned him to be conservative with his requests for additional funds.

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  Schwarzkopf had also set out the priorities in who he wanted hired. Regimental meetings with General Paulus's staff had identified two areas of specific concern. 1) Hobgoblin Bear Cavalry. Siberian brown bears were being used by the hobgoblins as mounts for their shock attack cavalry. These bears were enormous and thought to be the largest and most ferocious in the world. Difficult to control, they were impossible for a human to ride. But the more massively strong Hobgoblins had found the idea of breaking and riding a giant brown bear, to be an irresistible and appealing challenge. In combat, the momentum of a brown bear cavalry charge could not be stopped. General Paulus hoped that the Flying Eagles could find a solution to this problem. His staff also speculated that it wasn't just the raw physical strength of the Hobgoblins that was employed to control the beasts. Hobgoblin magic users had been seen deployed with the cavalry. Nicholas wrote up a data sheet for the bear cavalry, basing it on the accounts he had heard from Prussian soldiers who had already fought with the beasts:

  Hobgoblin Brown Bear Cavalry:

  Unit strength: 30 Siberian brown bears

  Leadership: 7

  Fighting skill : 3

  Attacks: Rider 1, plus 2 sets of claws, and jaws 1

  Quickness: 3

  Power: 7 for bears, 4 for riders

  Defence: 6

  Speed: 7

  Wounds: 5 (4 per bear and 1 for the rider)

  Armour save: None for the riders, but the tough hide of the bears was 3+

  Weapons: Heavy 2 handed war hammers, +2 to power

  Special abilities: Able to control the bears!

  2) The second concern was still no more than a rumour. But the rumour was so fearsome that General Paulus requested an opinion as to how to prepare, just in case the rumour became a reality. Khanty tribes reported sightings of a mammoth being trained to fight, deep in the Siberian wilderness. No live mammoth sightings had been confirmed by the University of Danzig researchers for more than one hundred years. If this one was real, its presence on the battlefield could turn a Prussian army victory into a defeat. It was impossible, at this point, for even Nicholas Meyer to put together an accurate data sheet describing the capabilities of a war mammoth. For that, he would need to hear first hand accounts of the beast in battle action, if it truly did exist. None the less, he took a stab at writing up a provisional assessment. No more than guesses, really:

  Siberian War Mammoth:

  Unit strength: 1 mammoth

  Leadership: 7?

  Fighting skill: 3?

  Attacks: 4 trample attacks, (1 per leg)? two tusk attacks

  Quickness: 2?

  Power: 10?

  Defence: 8?

  Speed: 6?

  Wounds: 15?

  Hide save: 3+?

  Special abilities: If the Hobgoblins lost control of the beast, would it stampede across the battlefield?

  By studying his own data sheets, Nicholas Meyer instantly realised why the bears and the possibility of a mammoth were so daunting. The strength and weight of a bear would overwhelm the strongest man, and crush the strongest armour. Blades, hammers, and even bullets would have a difficult time piercing the tough hides of Siberian brown bears. Light armour and hand carried shields would simply be no match against a 1000 pound bear.

  The most obvious solution was artillery. Cannon balls would definitely be substantial enough to cause harm, to the relatively large target that the bears would provide. An artillery technician was now a serious priority, preferably one who might bring with him some of his own guns. Nicholas had heard of such heavy gun mercenaries. In fact, the battalion could probably make use of more than one, in order to optimise the accuracy and reliability of their own large guns.

  His second idea would be to hire a mounted wizard, hopefully familiar with the ways of the Siberian wildlands. With luck, he might even be able to identify a practitioner of the dark arts who would be capable of driving a wedge between the riders and their bears, if that was possible. In any case, the fighting capabilities of the Wolf cavalry would have to be considerably improved, if they were going to stand a chance against brown bears.

  ______________________________________________________________________________________

  On Monday, word came through to the Flying Eagles base camp, that Analytical Engine #16 was on its way from the University of Danzig. Lieutenant Meyer and Major Schwarzkopf resolved to meet the machine, on the road. Meyer mounted his new mount, Daisy, a reliable mare with excellent endurance. Schwarzkopf rode Gunther, his new beloved warhorse, having replaced the previous one, after the battle of Hell Hill. Truth be told, this was the 14th warhorse that Maximilian had ridden, every one of them having been named Gunther.

  By the time that Meyer and Schwarzkopf had reached Koblenz, they could tell that the population was excited about something. Cheers were ringing out, from the east side of the city, and the local citizens were making their way to the main boulevard, as if they expected an approaching parade. Just then, a commotion became visible to the two mounted officers, in the form of a belch of steam emitted into the warm afternoon air. Emerging from the mist were two powerful grey mares, pulling a shiny new brass coloured carriage. The Analytical Engine #16! Following behind, were 6 technicians and Professor Babbage himself. The citizens applauded and even threw flowers towards the remarkable vehicle, which was travelling at a modest walking pace. As it passed by, Meyer and Schwarzkopf marvelled at the incredible complexity of the machine. The two officers urged their mounts forward to ride next to the Professor.

  "Gentlemen!! acknowledged the mounted professor. "Thank you for joining our little parade! The common folk seem to approve of our new Analytical Engine!"

  "Indeed," agreed Lieutenant Meyer, as two young girls tossed bouquets of roses onto the back of his black mare. "I am also enthusiastic. Ever since your demonstration of the machine's capabilities, my mind has run wild with possibilities. I think, perhaps, that we may be at the forefront of a whole new form of warfare."

  "You could be right, Lieutenant Meyer. I am most grateful that you are able to see the potential inherent in my machine. Your purchase of Analytical Engine #16 is the very first privately purchased machine, but we hope not to be the last! I am determined to work tirelessly until you are satisfied with its performance, and you experience the improvements in your battalion's fighting performance that you so desire."

  Nicholas closed his eyes for a moment and considered the fighting capabilities of the Thuringian swordsmen. There they were! Displayed in his vision, as it had been back in the laboratory. Proximity was all that was required for Nicholas to visualise the numbers. He knew it! This was going to succeed.

  The parade lasted all the way to the military base camp, arriving on the banks of the River Blau quite late in the day. Nicholas had big plans for the Analytical Engine for the following morning.