"I hate this uniform," said Dylan to Rommie as he ran his fingers through the collar of his tunic trying to loosen the pressure on is windpipe.

Immediately after Sam had left the cottage Dylan had made a phone call to the operations office at the High Guard base. The operations officer had had given him the date and time that the Provider would be arriving. He and Rommie were now on the tarmac of the landing pad, near to where the Provider's shuttle craft had landed, waiting to greet their old comrade in arms.

"You look very dashing in it," responded Rommie. Like Dylan she was wearing her dress greys. However, unlike Dylan, she hadn't gained any weight over the years and hers still fit comfortably.

"I'm retired. I don't have to wear uniforms if I don't want to."

"Would you really want to meet the Sergeant Major in civvies?" asked Rommie pointedly.

"Well..."

"Exactly. Just be glad you're wearing your dress greys and not your whites. I wouldn't have had time to let them out." She playfully poked him in the stomach with her finger. "What do you want to bet the Sergeant Major will have you doing calisthenics with his men once he gets them settled in?"

Dylan's retort about his weight gain was cut off as the shuttle craft's cargo hatch began to rise. The hatch opened, the landing ramp extended, and a voice could be heard bellowing from the cargo hold. "Straighten out those ranks you slack jawed, drooling, miserable excuses for Lancers, and make sure you step out smartly. The Admiral and the Warrant will be watching and I expect you to look sharp. Now pick up your kits and move out, and the Divine help anyone who stumbles on the ramp. If you do you'll be leaving with the shuttle when she lifts off, only you'll be nailed to her exterior hull when she does."

"It sounds as if the Sergeant Major is in rare form," whispered Rommie to Dylan.

A moment later the Lancers appeared, marching down the ramp single file and in perfect step. Each one was wearing full battle dress, the visors of their helmets raised so their faces were visible, each carrying their personal weapon slung over their left shoulder, and their kit bag their right hand. At the end of the column was Sergeant Major Beltran. The Umbrite was older than Dylan, but his back was still straight and his step strong. Unlike the others he was wearing service greys instead of battle dress, the longevity stripes on his left sleeve ran from the cuff of his blouse to the shoulder.

"Am I getting older or are the Lancers recruiting children now?" whispered Dylan to Rommie. "Some of the Sergeant Major's men don't look old enough to have to shave."

"Fall in," ordered the Sergeant Major as they reached the end of the loading ramp. "Two ranks." As soon as the Lancers were in formation he walked up to Dylan, and stopping at exactly the regulation three paces distance, came to attention, and gave a perfect salute. "Sergeant Major Beltran and Broughton Expeditionary Force One reporting for duty. Awaiting your orders, Sir."

Dylan's return salute was not nearly as precise. "Welcome to Broughton, Sergeant Major. Have your men stand at ease. I assume your kit will be arriving soon."

"Yes Sir. My kit is with the heavy weapons."

"Heavy weapons?" queried Dylan, not quite sure he wanted to know what the Sergeant Major meant.

The Umbrite turned to the troops standing at attention behind him. "Connors, Nguyen, bring out the rest of the equipment. The rest of you, at ease," he ordered.

Two of the younger Lancers broke ranks and headed back up the shuttle craft's loading ramp moving at not quite a run. A moment later a Gremlin armored personnel carrier trundled down the ramp followed by a grav lifter loaded with crates. From where Dylan was standing he could read the writing on one of the crates. It read 'Ammunition, Mortar, 107mm Cluster Munitions'

"I thought you and the others were sent here as body guards, Sergeant Major," said Dylan. "Not to fight a war."

"Well, Admiral, it never hurts to let the wogs know who has the upper hand."

The smile that had been on Rommie's face since the Sergeant Major had stepped off the shuttle disappeared. "Those wogs as you call them, Sergeant Major," she spoke quietly so the Lancers standing in ranks couldn't hear her, but the tone of rebuke in her voice was obvious, "are our friends and neighbors. Some of them served with you during the wars. Our daughter Andy, whom you were sent here to protect, goes to school with them and has started dating the local boys. You will not refer to them again as wogs."

Umbrites don't blush, but when they are embarrassed their mandibles click together. Sergeant Major Beltran's clicked several times, then he turned to his men still standing in ranks. "Enough standing around . Get the carrier loaded and get aboard. We'll be following the Admiral back to his home."

The men broke ranks, hurried over the the grav lifter, and began loading the crates onto the Gremlin. Deciding to pour some oil on troubled waters, Dylan walked over to where the Unbrite was overseeing the loading of the armored personnel carrier.

"I'm surprised, Sergeant Major, that you didn't bring in a Ung Tae with you," he said as two of the Lancers loaded a crate labeled 'Barrel Plasma Cannon 25mm' onto the Gremlin

"Sir! If the Admiral feels one is needed I can have one here within a week."

"Does the Admiral want to know how you'd manage that?"

"I'm sure the Admiral doesn't want to be bothered with a minor detail like that when he has much more important things to do."

"I'm sure the Admiral doesn't want to be bothered either. But, Sergeant Major, I'd like you to remember that the Warrant has put her roots down here, so try not to call her friends wogs. Or at least don't do so where she can hear you."

The two stood in companionable silence for a moment as the Lancers finished loading up the armoured personnel carrier. "Are you sure all this is firepower warranted, Sargent Major?" asked Dylan as the Lancers loaded up the last crate which was marked 'Grenades, Dual Purpose, Fragmentation, High explosive'

"May I remind the Admiral that Rim World flag officers are in danger of becoming an extinct life form?" responded the Umbrite.

"I'm not sure I follow you, Sergeant Major."

"I'm sure the Admiral is aware of Admiral Tanakas's sudden death by heart failure."

"What!" exclaimed Dylan loudly enough to cause some of the Lancers' heads to turn and bring Romme to his side. "When did this happen?"

"It was shortly after the skirmish between High Guard Group Defense Squadron Fifteen and units of the Castalia Home Guard, Admiral."

"What skirmish, Sargent Major? Please remember that I'm retired now, and don't have access to the latest intelligence reports."

By this time the Sergeant Major's men had gathered around their NCO and were following his words as interestedly as Dylan and Rommie. The Sergeant Major gave his species' equivalent of a sigh of resignation. "Begging the Admirals pardon, but if the Admiral hadn't settled in the arse end of nowhere, he might have access to current intelligence reports."

"The skirmish, Sargent Major," prompted Rommie.

"Of course, Ma'am. According to the reports we received, Group Defense Squadron Fifteen was on maneuvers in the outer regions of the Castalia system when they were attacked by units of the Castalian Home Guard. The Cassies claim that the courier ships carrying the messages about the squadron maneuvers never arrived, and when the squadron didn't respond with the proper codes when challenged, they attacked thinking the squadron was pirate flotilla. The squadron commander claims that the fish faces never issued a challenge, and they attacked without warning."

"What happened then, Sargent Major?" asked Rommie. She had placed her hand on Dylan's shoulder when she had come up to join the conversation, and Dylan could feel her tense up as she asked the question. During the wars GDS Fifteen had been assigned as her escort unit and she had become friends with the squadron's AI's.

"Those Core World wogs may make sure that they always have the newest equipment ma'am," continued the Umbrite, "but equipment doesn't do much good if you don't know how to fight. Our boys sent them back to Castalia with their tails between their legs, crying for their mothers." Several of the Lancers pumped their fists at the Sargent Major's words.

"So Admiral Tanaka was called to Castalia to explain what went wrong with communications," said Dylan. "That's understandable and quite proper."

"Unfortunately, Admiral, the Admiral died the night before he was supposed to testify. The O.P.S. office on Castalia took charge of investigating his death and determined that the Admiral suffered a massive heart attack. However, when High Guard headquarters on Mobious requested permission to send in a medical examining team for an independent investigation as to the Admiral's cause of death the Oopsies refused to grant permission."

"I suppose it could have just been coincidence," offered Rommie. "Perhaps the heart attack was brought on by the stress of the situation." The tone in her voice suggested that she didn't believe what she was suggesting.

"Not too bloody well likely," said the Sargent Major harshly. His mandibles clicked as he noticed the language he had used, and he continued in a more controlled tone of voice. "I pulled some strings, dropped a few well placed bribes, and got myself a look at his medical records. The Admiral had had a complete physical three months prior to the incident. And his heart was fine then."

"That's...interesting," said Dylan. The pause between the two words said more than the two words themselves.

"There's more, Admiral. Vice Admiral Hawking of Fenree died of a what was reported as a massive cerebral hemorrhage just days after Admiral Tanaka's death. The Vice Admiral's death was investigated by the Fenree Oopsies, who conveniently cremated his body after their investigation. When Commander Heiyu learned of the Vice Admiral's death she sent me here, with orders to ensure the Admiral doesn't become the next Rim World flag officer to come down with a sudden case of natural causes.