Throughout the course of the day, the weather around Stalag 13 had taken a turn for the worst, pummeling the entirety of the area with a 2 feet blanket of snow. If it weren't for the fact that both Colonel's had come to an understanding, the entire grounds of Stalag 13 would've been a sea of snow, devoid of any sort of hard ground for vehicles to drive on and people to stand in without freezing their feet off.

When all of the snow shoveling had finished, everything more or less looked like it was back to normal, but it didn't still stop the snow from falling down. So, instead of trying their best to keep on shoveling the snow out of the camp, the prisoners were allowed back into their Barracks.

The guards on the other hand, still had to stand outside within the freezing weather, to at least present the fact that Stalag 13 was still a prison camp for their upcoming visitors, much to the chagrin of Schultz and his men. But, orders had to be followed. Otherwise, what was the worth of an army if orders could not be followed by the men within them? It would mean absolutely nothing.

Well, there was an exception for the guards of Stalag 13, given the monkey business that went around the camp. The unspoken rule was to do the bare minimum, as to not cause trouble, and to not be transferred. That was the unspoken rule... and its enforcement wasn't strict, but it was kept well understood and in place by Schultz and his own little clique of confidants, for they wanted nothing more to happen than what already did occur. That was where Langenscheidt had found himself now.

Standing at his post near the front gate, Karl Langenscheidt had found himself having a shouting conversation with Private Becker, who stood high above the Corporal from his post within one of the guard towers.

"Why did we ever sign up for the army Karl?" Becker yelled.

"I never signed up, I was drafted into the Fallschirmjger you know!" Langenscheidt yelled back.

"Ja, I know... but still. To have to deal with all of these high command visits and always have something go wrong whenever Hogan is involved... don't you think that this is starting to go far?" Becker asked.

"Becker, you remember Schultz's words when you first questioned this, right? We... see... nothing!" Langenscheidt answered, his head turning back and forth while trying to look above at Becker and keep watch on the gate.

"I know that, but this getting weird now. You know, usually when a visitor is coming, Hogan and his gang are always outside watching the gate, and now look... they are in their barracks, probably sitting by the stove while we freeze our rears off!"

That was true, but knowing Hogan, there was still something more to that... Langenscheidt knew that very well after the Paris incident.

"Becker, remember... as inconspicuous as Hogan may seem at times, he is always thinking of some. Just don't ever get in his way... besides, sometimes it is amusing!" Langenscheidt explained, earning a hearty laugh from his younger compatriot.

"Who knows, maybe we will even get a visit from Hochstetter to add up with it!" This time, Langenscheidt laughed... but still shuddered after the joke wore down. Seeing Hochstetter make a fool of himself was always amusing, but still... he was a Gestapo Major, and thus no person to truly mess with. That job was always left up to Hogan, seeing as the American Colonel had a knack for either manipulation, or inflicting embarrassment upon his enemies.

With all jokes put aside though, Langenscheidt returned his focus towards his duty... waiting for whatever staff car to come through the thick snowstorm towards their little Stalag. His rear end was freezing, but somewhere inside of him... he felt like something else would happen that would make things all worth it, for better... or for worse.

HH

After having to take a detour off the main road in order to reach the meeting point, Burkhalter was well and truly annoyed as he stared out into the white abyss right in front of him, waiting for his guests to arrive in their staff car. At this point, the cold was becoming unbearable, and ever now and then, they would rev up the engine just to keep the thing from stalling and freezing in the weather.

Like him, his driver, Sergeant Doltz, was bundled up into all the coats he could find, but even from the back seat he could see that the man himself was shivering while he sat at the drivers seat. While he would never show it, he even felt pity for him. He had been on the eastern front, and while the cold in Hammelburg was nowhere near as bad as Russia, it was still nothing to mess with. Fate had a weird way of brining back passed memories it seemed... but then again, not all were bad. Some were humorous, namely those that involved threatening Klink with the Russian Front, and watching his annoying old fri- acquaintance... of too many damn decades, shudder at the thought.

Then again, Fate also seemed to at least do something good for once as well, as a few minutes later, headlights began to flash through the thick snow and out of the mist, a large staff car slowly lumbered through, as if too scared of possibly hitting something out of the blue. The flags on the front signaled the rank of a Field Marshal, and Burkhalter knew that the car belonged to his guest. If the weather had been different, he would've at least gotten out to meet the man and his guests, but given the circumstances, all he could do was simply roll down the window (much to the chagrin of Doltz) and try and signal Rommel's driver that they were to follow him.

Surprisingly, it seemed as if the man could see through the thick mess... and soon, they were back on the road to Stalag 13, albeit slower than before. Absently, he wondered what Klink was exactly doing while he waited for them to arrive.

HH

"Hogan, are you mad?" Klink said as he slammed his hand on his desk.

"What's the matter with it Kommandant?" Hogan asked, his grin beginning to become evident.

"Hogan, you are asking me to put your men out on parade... in this freezing weather! Are you crazy?" Klink asked.

"Well Kommandant, you have to be a little crazy to be a pilot. It helps you get out of a lot of sticky situations."

"Hogan... what you are asking me to do may as well be considered against the Geneva Convention as cruel and inhuman punishment. I thought you were always adamant against that Colonel!" Hogan had to be crazy... there was no way that he could do that to his own men.

"C'mon Kommandant, just think of it... Field Marshal Rommel comes through the gates and sees the camp all clean and the prisoners disciplined. Then he and General Burkhalter enjoy a meal from Le Beau, and when he gets back to Berlin, he sits down and thinks 'Gee, that Kommandant at the prison camp ran a pretty tight shift. Maybe he should get a promotion'". Hogan was reeling him in and he knew it... there was something he was planning and give or take, he probably would not be seeing that promotion. But then again, this was someone who held a lot of weight with the Fuhrer...

"Just think of it Kommandant, General Wilhelm Klink, promoted by Field Marshal Rommel for exemplary service for the Third Reich. Personally approved, by the Fuhrer himself." Hogan added on. Oh... it was too good to be true, and Klink knew it... but then again, if he did refuse, there might be some sort of unaccounted for variable that could easily be added in if he tempted fate.

Blast you Hogan... was all he thought as he waved Hogan off with his approval. As Hogan made his way towards the office door, Schultz came running in as if he had just seen Hochstetter arrive.

"Komman- wheeze Kommandant Klink, Corporal Langenscheidt tells me that General Burkhalter and the VIP have arrived." The fat sergeant managed to wheeze out.

"They... they are here, right now?"

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant."

And just like that Klink scrambled to get everything in place, while Schultz and Hogan just watched in amusement (well, in Hogan's case) and confusion (for Schultz's case).

HH

So, this was Stalag 13.

From the onset, it looked like any other sort of prison camp, complete with barbed wire, spotlight towers with machine gun posts, as well as typical prison barracks. The guard at the front gate was a young Corporal who seemed like a nice man at least, though he clearly cold, given by his fidgeting hands and the icicles hanging down from his eyebrows, though he still managed to at least keep a smile.

Within the prison camp though, he saw at least a few hundred prisoners in a multitude of different uniforms standing at attention within the freezing cold. Even Gause raised an eyebrow when he saw it, but it looked like they weren't out there for long as they still had the determination and strength that you would see from normal soldiers who stood at attention. At the very front though, stood an American Colonel, with a neutral look on his face as he evidently watched the two staff cars roll on in.

On the other end of the prisoners, a multitude of guards (including one who could possibly rival Goering) stood at attention, along with the apparent Kommandant. Now, that in itself was an entire different thing to see, for the man stood ramrod at attention, with a monocle placed firmly within his left eye, and a riding crop held firmly in his left hand. He certainly didn't look fat, but he almost did look a pretty goofy. All that would complete it would be if he were wearing a crap eating grin.

When the cars finally stopped out of the Kommandantur, the fat Sergeant opened up the doors to the staff car and held up a salute, letting both Lucie and Gause's wife Elisabeth get out first before Rommel and Gause exited. Burkhalter himself was helped out of his staff car by the camp Kommandant, and almost immediately, when he came around to go see the Kommandant, the prisoners snapped into a salute, a gesture he returned solemnly... at least the enemy could show respect, unlike some of his own fellow members of the High Command, namely Halder.

"Ah, Field Marshal Rommel... let me be the first to welcome you to Stalag 13. It is a great honor, to have not only two distinguished officers from the Afrika Korps visit but their spouses as well." The Kommandant was clearly gushing with excitement, almost like a child. It was almost amusing to say the least, though from taking a quick glance from Burkhalter, the look on the portly General's face showed that of contempt... as if he had seen the whole routine before. But then again, this was only a first impression... surely a Colonel with decades worth of apparent experience could not contain himself in some childish manner. Right?

With the Kommandant leading them up the stairs, Rommel could only wonder what was to come of the visit. He did not notice the grin that was on the American Colonel's face as the men were dismissed back to their barracks, out of the freezing cold.