A\N: I only own characters you don't see in the series, i.e., Echo and his team, any of the Irishmen, any Americans I name that I bring over later... et cetera, et cetera....

Oh, and in this chapter, the Hogwartians get some reinforcements.. and a few surprises to put up their sleeves. :)

WARNING: TECHNICAL DESCRITIONS IN THIS CHAPTER. IF YOU ARE EASILY BORED BY THE DESCRITION OF WEAPONS, ARMOR, AND HEAVY VEHICLES, JUST SKIM.

Approaching Mars Orbit, on the bridge of the HMS Invictus -

Honor kept an eye on the distance gauge, waiting for the moment they hit Mars orbit. When they did, she intended to order the comms section to make an indepth scan of the transmissions from Earth, and for a recon drone to be launched into Earth's geostationary orbit. The reason for getting so close was this - she wasn't using impeller drive, and she didn't want the Recon done to burn its' reaction thrusters out on the way there.

The distance gauge hit zero.

"Helm, all stop." Honor ordered.

The ship's forward thrusters blew back explosively, jolting the crew forward, and ramming the multimegaton superdreadnought to a stop as if it had run into a wall.

The helmsman looked up apologetically."Sorry, didn't mean to stop her that hard."

Honor nodded."Just don't do it next time."

The helmsman saluted."Yes Ma'am!"

Honor turned to the comms section."Get FlightOps on the line, and tell them to launch the RD, and begin an indepth scan of Earth's transmissions. Use the videoscope to get us an idea of what it looks like on the planet's surface until the drone gets there."

The comms officer nodded sharply, and turned to her comms section and began barking out orders, before picking up an intraship phone and talking to whomever was on the other end.

Honor sat back in her command chair. crossing her legs, and stared at the image of Earth, thinking.

Castle Swords, County Dublin, Ireland -

Harry was speaking to Echo, on the top of the gatehouse, when Hermione came running up to him, panting."Harry! Portkeys - arriving - castle courtyard!" she stammered breathlessly. Harry turned to the courtyard inside the castle walls, where indeed, the blue glows of portkeys were pulsating. Harry turned to Echo, who was grinning slyly.

"Do you have anything to do with this?" Harry demanded of Echo.

"Yes I did." he pronounced proudly.

The portkeys suddenly appeared, and then there were many soldiers and their equipment in the courtyard, looking around. From what little Harry knew of military unit sizes, he'd have to guess there was a full company of soldiers there. As he looked, he spotted some scientist-types in white lab coats scrambling around, asking soldiers to help them carry crates of equipment. As he watched, a soldier and her squad set up something that looked like a miniature radio station aerial.

"How?" Harry asked.

Echo shrugged."I sent an owl back to HQ yesterday. Didn't think I'd get this sort of reply, or so fast." he said.

A boy with a commander's rank bars ran up to Echo, giving him a salute."Cap'n Echo, sir! I'm Commander Bill Holliday, of the US First Magical Army Company. We're yours to command. And, I was told, to give you...these." Commander Holliday said, handing Echo a packet of mail."They're orders from HQ, situation reports, and you and your team's mail."

Echo nodded, and waved a hand to Harry."This is Harry Potter, and he's in command of the Hogwarts survivors. Any orders he gives, are as if they are from me, clear?" Echo said, raising an eyebrow.

Commander Holliday nodded quickly."Yes, sir!"

"See to the company, Commander." Echo said.

Holliday saluted and jogged off again.

Echo turned back to Harry."You approve?"

Harry, now that Holliday was no longer in their presence, was rolling on the ground, howling with laughter.

Echo looked confused."Harry? What's so funny?"

Harry tried to talk, red-faced."He, heheh, was so stiff, you could almost see the stick! 'Yes sir, no sir, three bags full, sir!'"

Echo tried to look offended, but then Hermione got it, and thought about it, before trying not to giggle and laugh - and failing miserably, winding up rolling on the ground as well.

Echo frowned."Hey, no making fun of my men and women, got it?" he demanded.

Harry waved him off."Relax, it's a joke." he said, before cocking an ear."What's that humming sound?" he asked.

Hermione stood up, and Echo scanned the skies."Over there." he said, pointing to the south west.

Harry looked in that direction.

There, about forty miles away and closing fast, were three massive sword-shaped objects, with a dozen smaller dagger-shaped objects swarming around them in a defensive pattern.

"Those, Harry, are three Vertigo transports, and their Dagger fighter escorts. They use brooms for propulsion." Echo said.

Harry looked confused."But they're made of metal, and those transports are too large.." he pointed out.

"Harry, the fighters are nothing more than weapon-carrying shells to protect the broom-riders inside. Remember, the metal can be bewitched to weigh less than they do - but not to fly, unfortunately. That spell just bounces off metal. Same with the transports. Note how the transports look like swords? In the "hilt" and the "crossguard", there are, between them, about thirty brooms that are built into the transports, and bewitched to fly on command. There are also about five on the underside, to let it have vertical takeoff and landing capability. They can lift as much as thirty tons of equipment, or a battalion of troops and their equipment." Echo explained long-windedly.

The heavy, ungainly-looking things accelerated, coming behind the castle, before their noses jerked up and slowly started to sink to the ground. Unlike with a muggle helicopter, there was relatively little kicked up dust underneath them. A ramp lowered from the front of each, and men and women in mechanic's and loader's and loadmaster's uniforms started to guide large bundles of crates down the ramp, gentling them to the ground. Out of one transport came several broomfighters, all with their landing gears down, and they were hauled away, pulled through the gatehouse door and into the castle.

A notable piece of equipment came down the ramp: a short-barreled, wheeled artillery piece, pulled by three men.

Harry turned toward Echo again."Was this the artillery piece that you talked about earlier? The one that was based off of Zach's grenade-thing?" Harry asked. Echo shook his head."No, actually, the "grenade-thing" was based off this artillery. But yeah, this is it."

Harry let out a low whistle.

Echo grinned at him, and pulled on his elbow."Come on, let's go see what the geeks are up to - that looks like body armor!"

Harry stopped, and looked down slightly at Echo."And you're supposed to be the captain of this battalion?"

Echo shrugged."Might be the captain, but I can still act like a fourteen year old when I want to. Now come on...."

Harry let himself be taken down to the men, woman, boys, and girls in labcoats, who were indeed battling a Kevlar vest style piece of body armor out of its' box, it apparently not wanting to cooperate until one of the women noticed that there was still an elastic band holding the thing in, and severing it with a Severing Charm. The vest popped out, knocking the people wrestling with it to the ground.

Echo walked up to them."So, is this what it looks like?" he asked the scientists, pointing to the armor they all clutched between them.

The woman who had cut the band nodded."It's Mark I anti-magic armor, yeah. And you are...?" she asked, trailing off.

Echo held out his hand for her to shake."Captain Traviss. I'm your new commander. This is Harry Potter, and... well, he tells me what to do." he said with a grin.

The woman's eyes widened a little."Captain Traviss? And the Boy who Lived? Well, this is an honor!" she said, getting up and shaking their hands vigorously."I'm Doctor Karen Yate, from R&D. We were ordered here to perform field trials on the new equipment."

Echo nodded."I've heard of you. Weren't you the one who invented the MagiFlex armor plating?" he asked.

Dr. Yate shrugged."Me and my team. That's what the vest there, and the helmet that goes with it, are made of. There's enough to equip the battalion and the Hogwartians." she said.

Harry piped up."Us too? Really?" he asked.

Echo nodded again."I asked for that much, gave them your numbers. I hoped they would..."

Harry begins to thank him, before hearing a thump and a groan as Ron slips on a plastic bag and tumbles down the stairs, coming to rest face-first in the dirt. "Thanks, Echo." he said, walking over to Ron and pulling him up by the arm.

Harry walked up to the top of the tower, and leaned over the parapet."All Americans and Hogwartians - make your way to Dr. Yate and her team, to be fitted for your armor!" he shouted.

Mars Orbit, HMS Invictus -

"Ma'am, you might want to have a look at what just popped up in England, or what we think is England." the comm officer said, her finger pointing at a viewscreen that showed what the videoscopes were looking at. Honor strode over to the comm section, peering over the shoulder of a com tech.

The viewscreen before her showed a sword-shaped vessel, gliding smoothly over a mountain, and coming to rest just outside of the ruins of a castle. Ramps slid down from underneath it, and specks she thought were people ran down the ramp, pulling seemingly slightly larger crates down the ramp with them.

"What is that?" she questioned.

"We don't know, ma'am - it's in none of our databases." the officer replied.

Honor continued to stare at the view, before seeming to make up her mind."That settles it." she said, straightening up.

"Settles what, ma'am?"

"I'm going down there. Get on the horn to FlightOps and have them ready a pinnace, a squad of armored Marines, and please ask Mercedes to meet me there."Honor ordered.

The officer snapped off a salute and a "Yes, Ma'am", before carrying out her orders.

Honor looked to her flag captain, Rafael Cardones."Captain Cardones, you have the bridge." she said, and Rafael nodded, sitting in the command chair. Honor took one last look around the bridge, then walked out of the bridge, making her way to a turbolift.

A/N:

So, how do you like it? Please review - there will be battle in the next few chapters, and Honor meets Harry in the next one!