Harrigan's Heroes

by Warlord-Shirt

A trio of unlikely comrades are dispatched to find Crichton. But things don't go quite as planned. WARNING! Some chapters have higher ratings! Check chapter headings! NOW A FINISHED WORK.

19. Chapter 18 : Rescue and recruitment

Chapter 18 : Rescue and recruitment

Towards the middle of the third arn's watch, the private was beginning to nod off, when the live TV footage showing Harrigan ordering the charge came on. He was not pleased at being stuck with the entire watch duty at all, but couldn't ignore this, not if he wanted to avoid a thrashing at the hands of the team's leader. "Frell! Frell!" muttered the private, recording the footage in question. Then he woke the team leader and the other members of the team. "Sir!" he addressed his team leader frantically "You're going to want to see this!"

The team leader was not pleased that his much-needed rest was being interrupted, not pleased at all. "This had better be good..." he grumbled "...or things'll go REALLY bad for you, private!" The private quickly powered up the portable TV again, brought up the TV recording, and pressed play. "How old is this footage?" asked the recon specialist in his perpetual whisper. "Just finished on the TV a few microts ago. Probably a slightly delayed telecast, though" replied the private. As the footage continued, the TV station's anchorman confirmed this when he stated that the footage was on a 30 momens delay for security reasons.

"So what's so frelling important that it's worthwhile interrupting my sleep for?!" growled the team leader, growing more irate. The private looked over at the recording, and directed his leader to it. "Just coming up, sir" he explained. When he noticed the others turning away, he called out "You'll want to see this as well". They were surprised at this remark, and turned back to the TV just as it showed Harrigan was about to order the charge. The private turned up the volume on the TV as high as he dared in anticipation of the the speech he knew was coming. "Almost there..." he whispered, then the camera footage changed to the viewpoint of one of the PA trooper's helmetcams, and the audio track to the feed from the PA's audio gear.

The A-Team gazed, absolutely riveted, as Harrigan gave his speech and ordered the charge. A couple of them even mouthed the words softly to themselves in wonder as they followed along. When the video feed moved on, the privated shut the TV off and erased the recording. "Worth waking up for, wasn't it sir?" he asked. The team leader didn't notice his underling, as he was mulling things over in his mind. So, he thought, we may have actually found the one spoken of by the Lord Chamberlain all those cycles ago! Then he calmed down a little before moving on. But to make sure, I'll need to talk to him a little. Though I doubt he'll be in much of a mood to listen.

"That woman with him..." the demo specialist remarked with suspicion. "Yes?" prompted the team leader. "Her uniform looked a far too familiar shade of grey to me. Just like a Deadhead's fatigues, sir" she replied finishing off with an angry growl. "You can stop that right now" the team leader replied, cutting her off "I don't much like Deadheads either, but that woman's there for a reason. Perhaps after the mission we can track him down and ask him all our questions. But it'll have to wait until then, WON'T IT?!" he insisted, loudly. A volley of "Yessir!" from his team was the reply.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Aeryn had just turned up at the medical corps field position just inside the walls. Several streets had been taken over, and numerous wounded militia and troops were lying on makeshift stretchers or stretches of pavement. Surgery was being performed on a constant basis, the screams of wounded patients being heard for many metras. The stink of disinfectant covered everything. And, of course, there was blood flowing over the streets and down the drains almost constantly from the operating tables and first aid stations.

"The chief medical officer, please" Aeryn ordered, as the first of the returning troops began walking, or frequently staggering, back through the city gates. That individual, the head surgeon at one of the city's major hospitals, was summoned swiftly. He was under extreme stress from his heavy workload, and was not pleased about being rousted from his office. "Yes?!" he asked crossly "I've got surgery myself soon, so make it quick".

"I am Sub-Commander Sun" Aeryn replied "I commanded the main battle front out there" she went on, pointing in the direction of the walls. Then she turned back to the surgeon and continued. "I am informing you that the battle is over. The remaining Charrid forces are now retreating to Rathlaas even as we speak. But as you can see..." she explained, gesturing at the troops now turning up "Ithlin forces suffered heavy casualties. Prepare all your surgery personnel for a heavy surgery schedule. There are many militia and Lord's troops who will need your attention if they are to see out the day. Get to it".

The chief medical officer summoned an underling and explained the situation. The underling immediately ran off and informed the nearby medical comm officer, who passed the information over the airwaves to the various medical areas and hospitals. After receiving an acknowledgement from each of them, she returned to her superior. "Done, sir" she reported. Aeryn nodded, then said "I'll leave you to your work. I've got to get all the live ones back to base, and get all that equipment repaired and stowed back in its proper place. Dargo?" she asked, turning to him. "We've got work to do".

She and Dargo wandered over to the nearest militia outpost, where the troops turned to watch them as they approached. "Sir, ma'am?" asked the senior officer hesitantly "How goes the war?" Aeryn nodded at Dargo, indicating that he should explain. "As you are no doubt aware by now, a commando team led by War Commander Harrigan, Sub-Commander Talannah, and myself" he added, with a slight measure of pride at his own part in that event "went into orbit and commandeered the Scarran warship. This was then put to good use laying down supporting fire for the infantry". Several troopers nodded at this – the hissing of incoming plasma fire, the huge explosions of dirt and shattered tank hulls, and the screams of dying Charrids from those alive long enough to draw breath when the ortillery fire hit home had been clearly heard by all.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Then the same three who led the boarding action on the Scarran warship returned here and led the final push." Dargo continued "War Commander Harrigan, again accompanied by Sub-Commander Talannah and myself, personally led Lord Aranak's powered-armour forces in the attack that decimated the Charrid elite guard and captured their leader". A loud cheer swept through the ranks of the nearby militia at this good fortune. Then Dargo went on. "After intensive questioning..." Dargo added (the emphasis he put on 'questioning' really meant torture, and everyone knew it) "the Charrid leader was persuaded...", everyone replaced that with 'painfully forced' in their minds, "to order a full retreat. The enemy returns to Rathlaas now. THE WAR IS OVER!" An even louder cheer rose up now, with all troops present (even the officers) shouting and hollering and generally carrying on at the good news that the victory was theirs, and that life could start getting back to normal.

While the news passed around and the celebrations continued, Dargo turned to Aeryn. "It's not all over, Aeryn, is it?" he probed. "That's true, Dargo" she replied "But those troops need a boost to their morale. They need hope. Besides - (a) they couldn't do anything to help, and (b) they don't have 'need to know' anyway. I know you wish Harrigan had taken you with him, but let him and that woman of his deal with it on their own." She had a vague idea of the impression they might want to create, and having a Luxan around would definitely not help matters. Dargo scowled a little, then replied "OK! I would have preferred to go with them! So hang me!" before growling a bit and turning away. Aeryn laughed and knuckled him on the shoulder. "Don't worry!" she reassured Dargo "I'm sure he'll call you up in front of the adoring public when the victory parades are going on. You'll get your time in the spotlight, and a place in the history of this planet".

Back in the palace, the news of their victory was rapidly spreading amongst the staff. Much appreciation of the 'helpful foreigners' was expressed by all, added to patriotic assurances that they would have won anway. Some of them expressed the desire to thank certain of the offworlders in a more personal way, with more than one woman bemoaning the fact that Harrigan and Talannah appeared to be inseparable; but several speculating on whether the Luxan was available instead. The noise even percolated as far as the A- Team's hideaway.

"What's that?" asked the team leader, giving his gear one final check-over. The recon specialist placed his ear to the door and listened intently. After several microts, he turned back to his leader and the rest of the team. "It appears that the forces of this city have carried the day and driven the Charrids back to Rathlaas" he whispered "This effort to induct Ithlin Prime into the Imperium has failed". While this was not entirely unexpected, it was certainly not appreciated. "Those useless bonehead Charrids frelled it up again!" muttered the electronics specialist "Give me a few squads from our company, with a few Strykers for air support, and this could have been over and done with in half the time, with far less casualties, and the victory would have been ours instead!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Perhaps it would" responded the team leader. He knew that battle situations were never so clear cut. All manner of things could, and often did, interfere with even the most carefully planned operation, he knew; and this was before taking into account the actions and leadership of the enemy forces. "And then again, maybe not" he went on "The chance of success with Scarran leadership and battle units would have been noticeably higher, that's true. But not certain. It's never certain, no matter how carefully the plans are made. That's what politicians fail to appreciate. You lot should know better than some know-nothing civilian in his nice, comfy office, insulated from the real world".

"Perhaps our colleague" clarified the XO "suffers from a little misplaced zeal. But his attitude, if not the degree thereof, is shared by us all. We all believe that a purely Scarran force would have succeeded here". "This is a very interesting little discussion" said the team leader "Now's the opportunity to prove the worth of Scarran infantry. Get your gear ready NOW. Since the Charrid attack has performed as expected, or at least as expected by you" A few laughs and sniggers greeted this, before their leader continued "The success of this venture falls to us. We move out ASAP. XO, get everyone up and ready". "Aye, sir" the XO responded, and woke everyone up and started prodding everyone into full readiness. Once the rest of the team caught on, preparations were finished in very short order indeed – most of the equipment was already checked out, weapons close by and loaded, and both only needed to be placed in backpacks or holsters, and slung over shoulders, to ensure full readiness.

"Recon, you know where to go?" asked the XO. "I'd be a poor recon specialist if I didn't" replied the recon specialist "No problem, sir". The XO turned to the team leader, who nodded. "Take point" the XO ordered "Down to the king's court. If he's not there, the war room. Go". The recon specialist scanned the corridor for palace staff or troops. Finding none, he signalled 'all clear' to his fellows and slipped out of the door, heading nearest staircase. The rest of the team followed close behind, their eyes warily scanning the corridor and their weapons in battle position.

At the medical HQ, the chief medical officer was trying to persuade the king to petition his allies for more doctors other medical personnel. "We're snowed under here, Your Majesty" he pressed "Our allies may not have sent troops, but we can surely prevail on them to send medical assistance. I've got the entire city's medical personnel working round the clock, and we're still backlogged". "I understand, doctor" replied the king "We have some from Orthal in the city, and some of the embassies have volunteered their own medical staff as well. But not all have been cleared through security yet".

The chief medical officer was losing his patience. "Pardon me, Your Majesty, but proper clearance can go jump!" he growled "I'm losing people here! I couldn't care less if the only doctors available the the most ugly and brutish-looking Scarrans in the entire span of the Uncharted Territories! As long as they can save lives, I'll find a use for them here! Let's get them out here before more lives are lost, sire"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The king didn't like the head doctor's attitude, but conceded that he did have a point. "Very well" he replied "I'll detail some of the Royal Guard to escort them to your location. This will include their combat medics as well. I hope you meant what you said about Scarran doctors. We've got three from the embassy who have been permitted to assist".

The head doctor was very surprised at that. But he supposed that either the local proconsul may not have known what was going on, or just wanted a little favourable publicity. Releasing the medical staff to assist the locals would certainly do this. "That is a surprise, Highness" he replied "But I stand by my remarks. As long as they're experienced with Sebacean physiology, I'll take 'em".

Harrigan and Talannah grabbed a lift back to the city with one of the militia. Despite many mechanical protestations from the car, they reached the man's shop without problems. "I'll have to leave you here, sir" the man said apologetically "If there's going to be food on the table in my family tonight, I'll have to open up straight away". "Just helping us to get this far has been a great help" Talannah reassured him, surprising all of them by leaning over to give him a quick kiss. "The wife won't like that too much" he replied, after the blush had faded and he'd regained control of his voice "But thank you, milady. I thought Scarran skin would be all rough, knobbly, and scaly. It's not like that at all". He shook his head slightly in delighted surprise, before walking into his shop.

Harrigan had turned to scan the street for any new means of transport. Unfortunately, it was the end of the working day, and most of the town centre was gridlocked. "Slight problem, love" Harrigan growled "The war has apparently ended in the middle of rush hour. We'll have to go the last stretch on foot. You up for a quick jog? It's only five or so kilometras", he finished with a friendly jibe. Talannah thought this over. She was feeling rather out of puff – they'd been on the move constantly for the last two days. But I will not show weakness in front of my John! she decided emphatically to herself. Then she spoke up with "Ready when you are, dear. Do you think you can keep up?" and took off down the main street for the palace.

"Playing hard to get, are we?" Harrigan laughed, giving chase as soon as he saw which way she was going. The pair of them ran over several kilometras of vehicle-infested streets, with Harrigan's booming voice and Talannah's slightly higher-pitched replies and laughter providing great amusement for the locals and returning troops as the Harrigan pursued his lover along the main highway towards the palace. About three kilometras into the stretch, just after the traffic had started to thin out enough to get the speed up, Talannah pulled up on the pavement holding her left calf muscles and grimacing with pain. "Had enough?" Harrigan asked as he pulled up beside her. "Cramp" she replied tightly, as her muscles tightened up again "Aaagh! We've been going here, there and everywhere for the past two days without rest. It's starting to catch up even with me now"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I'm so sorry love" he apologised, stroking her cheek "I should remember that other people don't have my extended physical endurance". He leaned over slightly and kissed her slowly and lovingly, before finishing with "Your pain is my fault! Can you forgive me?"

Talannah squeezed him back tightly. "Of course I do" she replied, leaning against him "But we're going to need to secure more transportation. Even if you carry me, we won't make it back in time". Harrigan picked her up anyway, and jogged off down the emergency lane of the highway singing a very fractured serenade to Talannah in Scarran. This didn't sound too good, as Harrigan couldn't remember all of the words and just made some up to fill the hole, but Talannah didn't care – his intent was clear beyond measure. She relaxed into his arms, ignoring her cramp for the moment so she could enjoy this precious moment of free time. Fifteen momens later, a fast hovercar pulled up just ahead of them. "Need a lift, mate?" yelled a young Sebacean male. His girlfriend in the front seat added "Hop in! You look beat!"

Harrigan looked down at Talannah, lying in his arms looking up at him with a smile on her face. Oh what a lucky man I am! he rejoiced, to have won this fine lady's heart! But we have to get back to the palace fast, he knew, returning back to earth. We just don't know when the A-Team will make their move. "Come on" he decided "We need the help". Then he picked up the volume and yelled at the driver "Hold on! We're coming!" When the teenage girl in the car opened the back door, she looked at Harrigan closely for the first time. "Hey, you're the guy off the TV!" she exclaimed "The one who's in charge of the army! Hey, Shor!" she called to her boyfriend "It's that Harri-something from the TV!" "You're famous, John" Talannah whispered. "We're famous" he corrected her "I wouldn't have made it without you".

The driver turned to take a look at his passenger. "Hey, it is too!" he replied "And that's 'Harrigan'" he corrected his girlfriend. "Get in" he urged them. Harrigan slid Talannah onto the back seat and climbed in after her. "Is your woman OK?" he asked. "Just cramp" Harrigan replied "She'll recover in a little while". The driver took a closer look at her, saying "She's a Scarran!" in surprise when he saw her closely enough to discern her species. Harrigan glared at him, not too pleased with his tone. "I wouldn't speak like that in front of her if I were you" he warned politely but firmly "She's not so hurt she can't draw her Viper if she wants to". "Hey, Hey!" the driver replied placatingly, holding up his hands "I'm not passing judgement, I'm just saying it's unusual. Haven't seen a Scarran before. Are you still on a mission?"

Harrigan smiled at the young man's excited, enquiring tone. "We are actually" he replied, starting to massage Talannah's calves. She hissed softly in pleasure as Harrigan's ministrations eased her discomfort, but otherwise stayed face-down. "You can help us by getting this thing back to the palace quick smart, as well" He noticed that the car wasn't bottoming out or otherwise complaining at his weight, and asked why. "Had this beast all hotted up" he replied with pride "Everything's all top of the line. We'll outrun those coppers easily".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Even if they do catch us, they won't pull you up at the moment" Harrigan explained as the car got underway. "As the TV undoubtedly said, I've been given absolute authority until the king says otherwise. They won't do anything. Just get us where we need to go in one piece, fast".

"Absolutely!" Shor replied, slamming his foot to the floor. The car took off with such speed, even loaded down as it was, that Harrigan thought that it had to be almost raceworthy. When he asked, Shor confirmed this. "That's right. Not all of the mods are strictly legal" he revealed "which drives father absolutely fahrbotz, but I don't much care. He doesn't like me hanging around with some of the militia training officers, either" he muttered, threading through the traffic as fast as the car would go. Several other drivers yelled insults and honked their horns after a number of close shaves. The young woman in the front passenger's seat gave it back as good as she got. "But I don't give a pile of steaming brindz-dren for that" he went on "He reckons I should stay in the family trading business, in a life of privilege. Frell that, I want some excitement, to DO something. I already know how to strip down and reassemble regular and heavy pulse rifles, prime and set tarvek grenades, and I've even flown a Prowler a couple of times. Much more interesting than sitting in an office, adding up figures" he finished, snorting. Then he quickly swerved around a newspaper delivery truck on the way to the other side of town with the next day's edition, cutting in close once they were past to avoid an oncoming car transporter. "Sorry about that, Harrigan" he replied, weaving between another couple of cars.

His attitude could do with some work, Harrigan mused, but his reactions are well above average. I could use him aboard the Cry Havoc later. He spotted a pair of police cruisers bearing down on them, fast. OK, let's see how he handles this... "Bandits!" Harrigan called out "Two! Position 178 dash 000, range 80 or so metras, and about 181 dash 000, range about 70 metras. Move!"

"Yes, SIR!" Shor replied happily, reaching for a concealed button under the dash. "Hold on, people. Big red button time!" The car took off like an angry dragon, slamming everyone back into their seats and leaving the police far behind. Ten momens later, they reached the turn-off for the royal district. Shor turned the boosters back off, and slowed down as they moved in closer to the palace. Several police cars tried to move in again, alerted by their badly outrun colleagues. But Shor proved his mettle again as he threaded the car down several tight streets at a several times the legal limit, evading their pursuers again. "Frell!" Shor's grilfriend replied "Comp's reporting transmission and repulsor damage aft! We gotta stop in a few momens while we have the chance!"

A familiar sight drew Harrigan's and Shor's eyes. "That's the palace, Shor" Harrigan urged "Can you hold it together that long?". Shor looked over the damage readout and replied "Should do. But it's going to need a full rebuild. Dad won't like the cost". "You're helping me out with saving the city" Harigan replied "You'll get the best repairs that the Royal expense accounts can afford". "It'll get a bit rough" he hissed, sliding the car through a red light. Several warning lights lit up on the dash. "Frell!" he added again "You'd better call ahead and get the guards to open the gates, sir. We'll probably be crashing through, otherwise"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Talannah sat back up, woken from her dozing by all the rumbles, crackles and smells given off from the damaged hotrod. "What's up?" she asked. "Get on to the palace guards and get them to open the gates!" Harrigan replied "We'll be coming in hot, and our vehicle's damaged. Have the engineering corps standing by".

Talannah called through to the Lord Chamberlain's office. Once Talannah had explained the situation to him, he slapped a few buttons to open the gates and call the engineers. Then they heard him yelling "Open the gates! Harrigan's coming in!" on another line. She cut the call and turned back to Harrigan, saying "Done". Two hundred metras further on, Harrigan saw the gates slowly opening. "One last burst!" Harrigan called. Shor gave his now heavily damaged car all it had left. Occasional clangsing noises marked momentary repulsor failure as the edges of the car bounced off some nearby obstruction.

The car shot though the gates making some very distressing noises. Shor cut the engines and the repulsors, bringing the car to a hard emergency stop. It skidded along for several metras before coming up hard against the wall. "Close the gates!" he yelled at the gate guards, who did just that once they saw Harrigan in the car. The police were just a few microts too late, turning up as they arrived just after the gates slammed shut. "Out, out!" yelled Harrigan, prodding them all onwards. Shor, his girlfriend, Talannah, and Harrigan bolted from the crippled vehicle and ran for the small gathering of engineers who had just arrived. "Get that car fixed up, good as new" he ordered "Including all its special mods. Shor here will lend a hand, I'm sure. Don't you go anywhere, Shor, we may need you later". A swift "Aye, sir" from Shor was followed by him talking to the engineers, making sure they knew what they were getting into.

Both Harrigan and Talannah made sure their G8Cs were loaded and ready. "Try and lay off the firepower unless it's unavoidable" he cautioned Talannah "Even the sound of suppressed gunfire will carry in this place". "I know" she replied firmly "That's why I'm just slinging it now. Swords should do just fine". "I know you know, Tal" Harrigan apologised "I'm still getting used to working with, of loving..." he looked over at her tenderly "...a lady who's even better at this stuff than me. We don't have very many women in spec-ops back home at all. Any ideas?"

Talannah gave him a quick kiss, before replying "You're doing very well so far, John. On both counts". After Harrigan's delighted surprise had worn off, she added "Much the same as you came up with, I think. These guys are very good. Sneak in really carefully. Then we'll look the situation over and decided what comes next". The pair of them slipped in through a guard shack as the guards were helping to sort out the mess outside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The noise of Shor and the engineers arguing over the whys and wherefores of fixing his car died down as Talannah shut the guard shack door and the pair of them snuck further inside the palace. The first thing that they noticed was that no palace staff were clogging up the corridors and going about their daily business. "This looks odd" Harrigan stated uneasily "I'd expected all manner of servants, butlers, clerks and suchlike to be running back and forth. We haven't seen one". "The A-Team's probably on the move already, then" Talannah whispered back "First thing the staff would do is find somewhere to hide. We've got to find a staircase. The courtroom's a floor down".

The pair of them inched their way down the corridor towards the main staircase. Harrigan stuck his head over the edge of the stair rail and saw two Scarran privates, carrying large weapons of a type Harrigan hadn't seen yet, patrolling slowly around the foot of the stairs. "Back!" urged Harrigan, when Talannah came up behind him. "Two of the A-Team are patrolling the foot of the stairs. We'll have to find another way down". Talannah mulled over what little she remembered of the palace from before the war started, then pointed. "This way" she decided "There should be a smaller lift shaft the kitchen uses to get meals to the other floors".

"A dumbwaiter lift?" replied Harrigan. "Oh, well. Just get ready to jump on my shoulders to get me moving again when I get stuck". When the pair of them rounded the corner, they found two dead bodies in the middle of the corridor. Most of two dead bodies, anyway. Most of the torso area had been blasted away by some unidentified weapon, leaving only the arms, head and neck, and hips and legs for Harrigan and Talannah to find. "Ugh" remarked Harrigan "What did that to them, Tal?" She took a closer look at the wounds and smelled the stink of messily cauterised flesh and plasma discharge.

"They weren't around when you found me" she mused "but I'd seen a test article. Portable plasma cannon. Range a little over six hundred metras. Made for anti-armour roles really, but the special operations version has a special underbarrel version of the Viper mounted on it for soft targets as well. Didn't much like them myself – but apparently the Army units love them". Harrigan's mind flashed back several momens to the two troopers at the base of the stairs, and the weapons they were carrying. "About this big?" he asked, stretching his hands out to the right length, "and this wide..." moving his hands again "with black scorch marks round the muzzle?" Talannah turned to look at him. "Seen one?" she asked, astonished. "Those two guys at the bottom of the main stairs had them. We'll have to be extra careful".

Talannah opened the door to the dumbwaiter lift and looked up and down the shaft. Nothing in it right now. Good! "In you get, John" she urged, pushing him toward the cramped opening. Although wider than he'd hoped, the lift shaft was very tight around his shoulders and he had to struggle to slide down the shaft without being heard. Talannah had no such problems, and just did a standard chimney descent until Harrigan stopped once his waist was level with the top of the hatch. One swing of his right foot and bits of the hatch flew over several feet of corridor – but Harrigan got stuck at the waist. "Love..." he pleaded, embarrassed "I'm stuuuuck!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Talannah laughed softly, and then immediately let go of the walls and dropped. Slamming both feet into his shoulders, two hundred and sixty pounds of quick-released Scarran woman proved to be just the thing for solving this problem. It wasn't very good for the decorations – the decorative surround to the dumbwaiter lift door, plus several denches of wall in several directions, came loose as well. Harrigan helped Talannah out of the lift shaft and shoved the rubble to one side.

Back at the foot of the main stairs, Harrigan's noisy entrance had been heard by the guards. "I'll stay here" decided the electronics specialist, who had taken over from one of the privates "You geet over there and check that out". The private nodded, picked up his gun, and strolled off to the source of the disturbance. "Sir..." he reported, once the private was clear "We've just had what sounded like someone smashing through a wall. We may have intruders". "Copy that" the team leader "Keep your eyes open. I'll sort things out in here. Need any help?" "Shouldn't do" the electronics speecialist replied "I've sent that private off to check it out. He should report back in a few momens".

The private advanced warily up the corridor, the muzzle of his plasma rifle swinging slowly from side to side. He stepped slowly and softly along the carpet, as he was taught, to minimise any noise he made. Unfortunately for him, this was not enough to prevent Harrigan's enhanced hearing from picking up his slow advance. His fist immediately shot up in the universal sign for 'enemy found'. "Just one, love" Harrigan whispered in response to Talannah's hand on his shoulder "I think, anyway. Probably with one of those plasma thingies you told me about. I think I'll just borrow it off him and take a quick look at it. You stash yourself over there", he directed Talannah to a cupboard, and moved over to just behind the corridor corner "while I wait just here".

The Scarran private advanced cautiously up to the other side of the corridor corner. He wasn't stupid – he knew he could be ambushed here, but he could also smell brick-dust from just a little way ahead. He stuck his head around the corner for a quick look, and did indeed see the brick-dust and a small pile of rubble that he thought would be there. "Sir?" he reported over his comm. The team leader grabbed his comm from the top of the TV set they'd set up on the judgement table. "Yes?" he replied "Find anything?" "Brick dust everywhere" the private reported, coughing "A small pile of rubble as well. Maybe a commando or two came down the lift shaft and messed up their exit". The team leader didn't like that at all. "DEFENSIVE POSITIONS!!" he yelled "Prepare for attack. We got frelling infiltrators! Private, did you see anyone?"

The private stepped past Harrigan without noticing him, intent on the corridor ahead of him. Talannah stuck her head through the gap in the cupboard and nodded the go-ahead at him. "Nothing so far. Wait, something behi--- What the frell? Aaaagh!" he screamed, as Harrigan loosed an electrical blast at him. The private wobbled a little, then collapsed onto the floor. Harrigan tentatively picked up the plasma rifle, well aware of the effect he usually had on energy weapons. When no explosive surprises were forthcoming, he grabbed the fore-end with his left hand and teested the feel of it. "Good weight...nice feel" Harrigan remarked happily "I wonder what this trigger does?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Talannah's eyes widened in shock as Harrigan slid his index finger around the frontmost of the two triggers. She hurled herself to the floor just as a wash of plasma shot over her head and blew an almost metra-wide hole in a parlour wall. "Whoops!" Harrrigan remarked "Sorry dear! I think that one's the plasma gun, then". He lifted a very irate Talannah off the floor, then went on with "The back one's probably the Viper one, then. Hmm..." he pondered, looking over the varios controls and fittings. "Plasma charge here...Viper mag there...barrel quick-release...and of course, safety catch and Viper fire selector. Very good". To Talannah's relief, Harrigan slung the weapon over his shoulder and moved his trigger finger to the outside of the trigger guard.

"Don't you EVER do that to me again!!" Talannah yelled straight in Harrigan's face "If you're going to test something in the field like that, WARN ME FIRST! You should know how to handle weapons properly – why didn't you this time?!" Harrigan sttod, head bowed in embarrasment and shame, as Talannah's tirade washed over him. Once she'd stopped, he apologised. "I really am sorry love" Harrigan explained "I should have engaged my brain first. Or at least warned you first if I wanted to field test new weapons on nearby walls". He gave a little sheepish laugh, but kept his face towards the floor. While Talannah was still rather angry at her near-miss, she couldn't stand seeing Harrigan looking so dejected right there in front of her. She ran over to him, threw her arms around his neck, and hugged him so tightly he thought he'd choke. "Ease off, Tal!" he laughed softly "I'm glad you've forgiven me, and even more glad you're not hurt". He finished that off with a squeeze of his own.

"Private?!" came a tinny hollering over the comm still on the unconscious private. "What's happening? Did you find any enemies? Servants? Ladies- in-waiting? Speak up!" Harrigan picked up the comm, winked at Talannah, then thumbed the transmit button. "Hello, people..." he said, in his best 'evil Rasta' voice "Guess who's back!", before he dropped the comm on the floor and stepped on it.

In the coutroom, the recon specialist was listening in to the dialogue between Harrigan and his team leader. "That's not any Ithlin accent, sir" he explained, when the team leader looked over at him "It's that Harrigan himself!" King Torthil looked over from where the Scarrans had handcuffed him to his throne. "If you release me" he asked satirically "I may be able to persuade him not to kill you all." The team leader turned towards him and stepped up to the throne. Towering over the king, who wasn't short himself, the team leader stated his position again. "We will deal with this interloper our own way, Your Majesty" he rumbled "Soldier to soldier. I can place some measure of trust in a soldier. I don't place ANY in politicians, even Scarran politicians. We will see how this goes from here. You will keep your MOUTH SHUT, sire".

"Tie him and stash him, John!" Talannah told him sharply. Harrigan grabbed a whole roll of twine from the nearest cupboard and wrapped the entire reel around their unfortunate captive, finishing off with a massive lump of a knot sealed with superglue.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Don't you go anywhere, d'you hear?" Harrigan told the trussed-up private, before laughing a little. Talannah prodded him on the shoulder to remind him that the clock was still ticking. The pair of them walked off down the corridor, with Harrigan readying his recently-liberated weapon in case of unexpected enemies.

So, thought the king to himself, Harrigan and Talannah have taken the rescue mission themselves, instead of any of my own troops! Then he thought a bit longer as to why this was the case. I suppose, he pondered, that the news of my capture was not allowed to reach the press and the public. Harrigan would not want to start a panic amongst my people after all, or risk further conflict if the few Scarrans in the city got lynched in revenge attacks either. Very interesting...

The Scarran leader made sure that the room was as secure as he could make it. Thankfully there was only one entrance, but those doors are wide. If this Harrigan has my private's plasma gun, those doors might last a whole quarter-microt at most! "Demo, make sure those doors are secured!" he yelled "Recon, make sure we can move out on our E&E route at a microt's notice! XO, get eveyone else ready to fight!. I'll take care of our guest".

The electronics specialist, still outside, could only hear the bare edge of this tirade through the thick doors. But he deduced, correctly, that things weren't going according to plan. He was just releasing the safety on his plasma gun when he heard a scuffling down the corridor to his right.

Talannah went ahead on point. When she heard the edge of the team leader's rant , she raised her hand for Harrigan to stop. Then she looked carefully round the slight bend in the corridor and saw the electronics specialist coming the other way. "Enemy close aboard!" she hissed at Harrigan, pointing down the corridor "That way!" Harrigan grinned happily, whispered back "Follow me!", and took off as fast as he could go.

The electronics specialist brought up his gun warily. What on earth is that thumping noise? he wondered. Then he didn't even have time to reach for the trigger as Harrigan threw himself full-force srtaight at him, wrapping his arms solidly around his waist and slamming him to the ground. Not slacking off, Harrigan waited for Talannah to come alongside before picking the specialist up by the throat with both hands and drop-kicking him through the closed courtroom doors.

The rest of the A-Team, still inside, heard the ruck outside and made themselves as ready as they could. The team leader started calling "Stand back or we kill your king!", but only got as far as "Stand back-"before the doors flew open and his electronics specialist came flying in through the air, hit the judgement table, and knocked the TV onto the floor before collapsing into a comatose lump.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan stomped into the room, gun up and ready, before letting loose a wild "SKKRREEEEEEEE!!!" that caused even the battle-hardened A-Team to tighten theier grip on their guns a bit. "Sorry about that, Your Majesty" Harrigan said to the king "But sometimes I just can't help it. A good screech like that can be very relaxing, I find. Not for them, of course". He pointed at the various members of the A-Team to show who he meant by 'them', and sniggered a bit as well.

"Right, you lot!" Harrigan barked "In case you haven't figured it out yet, I am War Commander Harrigan. I have overall command of the defences of this city. I'm here to rescue the city's king. Who's in command here?!" The team leader stood up, and stepped forward slowly from behind one of the jury benches. "I am, War Commander Harrigan" said his deep, booming voice. "I am War Captain Kran, and I command this team". The newly-named War Captain Kran and the rest of his team turned towards the door as Talannah came in, walked right up to Harrigan, and wrapped one arm around his waist before leaning up against him. Harrigan leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the nearest cheek before turning back to the War Captain.

"Oh, sorry, where are my manners?" Harrigan went on "This is Talannah, the finest example of Scarran womanhood in the entire universe. Talannah, this is War Captain Kran and his team". Then the demo spcialist turned towards the pair. "I don't know if you're aware of this..." she said accusingly. "Another Scarran woman!" exclaimed Harrigan in surprise "How nice! Oh, do carry on...". He waved at her, prompting her to continue. "Hmph. As I was saying, I don't know if you're aware of this, but that lady you're with..." she said with some spiteful hostility "is a member of the Military Intelligence's special action division. Commonly known as Deadheads. A right callous and nasty bunch they are, too".

Harrigan turned to the new speaker and growled nastily. "I suggest you restrain yourself from speaking in that manner about my 'matchless one'" he ordered with ominous softness "While you're still capable of speech. And life as well. Who are you, anyway? Just so I know what to write on your gravestone". The senior Scarran female in the room stood up. "I am Koronna" she replied firmly, but not without a small trace of fear "For a short while I was ITC Koronna, before I was transferred to the Army's A- Team command. Team..." she turned to the others, catching their attention "This is, or at least was, IFC Talannah. An instructor from my early training days". A low murmur passed among the team as this revelation was digested. "Are you sure you'll be OK?" whispered Harrigan, as Talannah walked up to her former student. She turned to Harrigan and gave him a long, probing, passionate kiss before saying "I'll be just fine, my love".

However, War Captain Kran cut in before she reached Koronna. "Do you understand the full gravity of the words you have applied to this lady? The Old Scarran word that you spoke is not to be used frivolously"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Most certainly" Harrigan replied, wrapping both arms around the woman he loved, drawing her as close as he could. She responded with equal fervour, holding him tight and resting her head against his chest carapace. Harrigan stroked the top of her head lovingly before turning back to Kran. "Not only have myself and Talannah discussed this in detail ourselves, but I have....previous....knowledge of the Old Scarran language and culture".

Talannah gently prised Harrigan's arms from around her and walked the rest of the way over to Koronna. "You obviously did well for yourself after leaving the intelligence division. What do you do now?" Koronna stood up proudly. She was about four hentae shorter than Talannah, but much more heavily built. An unusual woman indeed, even for a Scarran. "Demolition" she replied "I'm here to blow stuff up, or of course to defuse any little surprises his people..." she pointed to the king "...may have left behind. I love that job, blowing things up. Lots of fun"

"This 'old school reunion' stuff is all very nice" the king interrupted "but aren't you here to rescue me?" Harrigan turned to the king, while Talannah and Koronna continued catching up on old times. "Sure we are. We're getting to that" Harrigan soothed the king "But a non-violent approach often works best in this kind of situation, if the hostage-takers aren't complete nutcases, and these people aren't. They're military professionals. So I'll continue this soldier to soldier talk. It'll be sorted out in no time, sire."

When Harrigan stepped out into the corridor and gave a loud, piercing whistle, a servant came running. When he saw who was in the room with the king he almost ran screaming in terror. "Hold your horses!" ordered Harrigan. Though the servant hadn't heard Harrigan's expression before, he quietened down a little "They won't eat you! Just get some food and drink in here. Enough for all of us. Yes, including the Scarrans" he insisted, seeing the look on the servant's face "That's an order! Go!"

Once the servant had scuttled off to the kitchens, Harrigan turned back to the A-Team and the king. "I just sent out for some food. It'll be along shortly" he told them. This was greeted with much enthusiasm from the A- Team. "We've been stuck on field rations" the trademark whisper of the recon specialist revealed "for the last weeken". Harrigan cringed in sympathy. "I don't know what yours are like, but back home ours were revolting things. People say that the stronger the army, the worse its food. That's what keeps the troops in a nasty mood."

The recon specialist passed his last ration pack over. "You're a glutton for punishment" he whispered "if you actually want to eat that, but if it gives you pleasure...". Harrigan took two mouthfuls before spitting it out. After treating the room to half a dozen vile Old Scarran swearwords, he calmed down and wiped his mouth. "I didn't think the Scarran army was that strong!" he remarked, spitting more crumbs and sauce onto the floor.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Talannah heard Harrigan's little culinary commotion and walked back over to him with an amused look on her face. "I would have warned you about Scarran field rations, dear" Talannah lectured, as a murmur from floor level announced that the electronics specialist was coming round. "If I'd thought you'd be mad enough to actually try them. They really aren't that nice at all. Even stale food cubes taste better".

"I yield to your wisdom in this area, my love" Harrigan murmured lovingly in her ear. He followed that up by stringing a line of tiny kisses from top to bottom of her left ear, then taking his time and planting more kisses down the side of her head and towards her mouth. "Mmmm...." she murmured in reply, before winding her arms around his neck, planting her lips firmly on his, and slipping her tongue in to meet his. Just as Harrigan's arms reached out around her waist, the electronics specialist came fully awake and heaved himself up off the floor – to see, straight in front of him, Harrigan and Talannah as close as close can be while still clothed.

His gruff laughter immediately caused the couple to break apart. "What's so funny?" Harrigan asked. The electronics specialist turned to War Captain Kran for permission to continue, receiving a short nod in reply. He stood up, cracking his knuckles slowly, and started pacing back and forth across the floor. "I'll need to explain a little Scarran history" he explained "Up until two and a half thousand cycles ago, the Scarran people were ruled by a monarchy. Our empire was still expanding in those days – it had not reached the stalemate that it has now. But, out of nowhere, a coup attempt was made.

We know now this was led by disaffected senior officers in the military, and at least one royal advisor – though we still have not discerned which one that was. Much of the Imperial Guard Corps was subverted by these rebels, and it was them that obtained entry for their fellows into the palace compound. A savage and bloody battle erupted beween those troops still loyal to their king and those who sided with the military junta. Shortly before the final assault on the king's royal bedroom, the Lord Chamberlain prophesied that a new War Commander would appear and herald a new chapter in Scarran history. I can't remember all of it" he admitted in embarrassment "but the part I do remember goes '...formed by Scarrans, made by Scarrans, loved by Scarrans – yet not of them...'. I don't think any of us thought that 'loved by Scarrans' meant this", he finished, pointing at Harrigan and Talannah, who still had their arms around each other.

"None of those present could understand what he was saying as the War Commander was there with them, commanding the king's personal guards. But mere microts later, the doors to the royal bedchamber were breached. The..." the electronics specialist stopped as Harrigan collapsed to his knees, putting his hands to his head with an "Oooh..." of pain and anguish. "John?!" Talannah asked, frightened. She had never seen him afflicted like this before, after all.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan's mind flashed back though many cycles of history, until his mind's vision cleared. He saw a room, richly appointed. The doors were barricaded with all manner of furniture, but it was obvious to all that these makeshift arrangements would hold for long. Then he saw one male Scarran in the centre of the room, wearing ornamental armour, surrounded by his wife and several children. These were surrounded by twelve bloodied but ready soldiers, one officer, and one civilian advisor.

The male in the room's middle spoke up. "My wife and children must be taken to a place of safety" he ordered, strong and clear "While they live, there is still hope". "But, Highness!" pleaded the officer, standing up. The old king! thought Harrigan in wonder. "What of your own life? I and my guard are sworn to protect your life down to the last man. We must see you safe as well". The king looked in his officer's eyes, seeing the concern there. "War Commander, your primary duty..." he ordered, making sure his family were out of earshot "is to make sure they are taken to a place of safety. You'll probably have to leave Scarran space altogether – the junta's stooges will be in all positions of power by now".

Harrigan looked at the man identified as the War Commander. A great man, thought Harrigan, ready to sacrifice himself to ensure his king's escape. The War Commander turned to his senior NCO and barked out orders. That individual grabbed half of the troops and quickly prodded the king's family out of a side passage. "Your Majesty?" the War Commander prompted. "NO!" shouted the king "If these renegades want to see how a king can fight, I intend to show them". A number of hisses and growls of solidarity came from the remaining troops, as they all drew their swords. "Then we stay with you, sire" the War Commander decided resolutely "We fought external enemies for you – now we fight internal enemies together".

He laid his fist out towards the king. "I am deeply touched, old friend" the king replied "that you all decided to fight and die with me here today, despite being given the opportunity to leave with my wife and children". Then he laid his hand atop that of his War Commander. All the remaining troops did likewise. "Lord Chamberlain" ordered the king "You should leave. These men are soldiers. You are not". "I'm not some weak-willed Sebacean or cowardly Hynerian! I am a SCARRAN!" the Chamberlain replied spiritedly "Chamberlain or soldier, sire, I will FIGHT! Not run!" He enphasised his determination by drawing his own sword and laying his other hand with those of the soldiers.

The doors were splintering badly now. Large pieces were falling away, and the chilling black unifrom of the junta's Praetorians could be seen outside trying to complete their work. "For the glory of the king and his guard!" came the eerily familiar words from the War Commander. Then he raised his own swords over his head, tapped them once and swept then forward just as Harrigan had done a few long arns ago outside the city. "VICTORY OR DEATH!!" he howled in rage. An equally intense "VICTORY OR DEATH!!" came back from the king, the troops, and even the Lord Chamberlain.

"TRAITORS!!" the War Commander yelled "NOW YOU WILL SEE HOW KING'S MEN FIGHT! GRAK TA'HAA!! NO PRISONERS!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "No prisoners!" replied the last squad of loyalists and their monarch, charging to their doom.

Harrigan came to with a loud screeching howl of anger, still seeing the valiant last stand of the king's men and their king in his mind. Talannah braved this bone-chilling noise and wrapped her arms tightly around her tormented lover's shoulders. "It's OK, my love" she soothed "I'm here, your Talannah is here". Then she stroked his sweating brow until his grip loosened and he calmed down and stopped shaking.

When he managed to open his eyes again, the first thing he saw was Talannah with her hands pressed either side of his face. "I'm back, hon. Oh my love, my perfect Tal, my..." , he added the word for 'matchless one' again before hugging her tightly and murmuring loving remarks and endearments in both Old and Modern Scarran, plus English. Talannah replied with light kisses and a few loving remarks of her own.

"Uh...War Commander?...Your Majesty?" asked a servant timidly , all except his head still hidden behind the wall. King Torthil beckoned him in. The servant, and those accompanying him, brought in a variety of food and drink which was laid out on the jury bench. War Captain Kran came over to look at what they were laying out. One servant laid out a dish that looked strangely familiar, so he tapped one of the group on the shoulder. "You..." he growled "Is that authentic Kruldan Scorcher? Properly prepared?" The man in question, who happened to be an assistant chef, stood up straight in front of Kran and replied "Very much so! I prepared it myself. Some of the staff at the Scarran embassy like it on occasion at diplomatic receptions. Once our apprentice had calmed down enough to tell us there were Scarrans in here with His Majesty..." he gave a short bow in the direction of the king "...and that food had been requested, I thought it best to put my skills to work and make it again. Try some..."

Harrigan stood up and shook his head back and forth a bit to clear his senses. When he heard food mentioned, he walked over to where War Captain Kran was further berating the assistant chef about the correct way to prepare Kruldan Scorcher. "War Captain, he's stressed out enough just dealing with Scarrans" he explained "But before you dig in, I'd better test it first. No telling if a Peacekeeper or Nebari agent might add more than just chillies to the mix...", took a fork and brought up a large lump of meat from the serving dish.

After swallowing the meat whole, he waited a few microts. Then the full blast of the traditional Scarran recipe hit him all at once. Electricity started crackling all over his carapace, shortly followed by a loud SKREEEE! of delight. "That's the way!" said Harrigan in response to their mystified stares "That stuff's got the kick of half a dozen rhinos on bad crack! Is it always like that?" Koronna chuckled softly at him, replying with "If it's made properly, yes. Not a lot of people can eat very much of it. None of us have had some for a while", while reaching for a plate and cutlery for herself. "Dig in, people!" encouraged Harrigan loudly and happily "Don't let it go to waste!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- That was all the incentive the Scarrans needed. After several weeken on field rations, the sight and smell of real food laid out before them made them break into a run for the table. Harrigan grabbed himself a large plate full of Kruldan Scorcher before returning to where Talannah had positioned herself in the jury benches. "Go on, love" he urged "Get something to eat as well. Can't have you wasting away on me, can I?" This finally brought a soft laugh out of her, after which she stood up and walked slowly over to the table get some food of her own.

Despite Koronna's friendly exterior, Talannah mused to herself as she loaded a plate for herself, are these newcomers really trustworthy? They're being a little too friendly for people whom we haven't encountered before – especially Scarrans whom we haven't encountered before! And they certainly seem to know more about John than either of us know about them... So she resolved to keep watch over them for the time being, just in case. After her deliberations had finished, she took her plate back up to her seat to eat.

Talannah's wariness had not gone unnoticed. The recon specialist tapped Kran on the shoulder where Talannah couldn't see. Kran didn't show any outward sign of noticing the tap, but replied quietly "Yes?" "That woman suspects something" the recon specialist whispered even more softly than usual "Don't know what she suspects or how. Perhaps we're not following the script in her head that says how Army troops are supposed to behave. Perhaps she's just resentful of our team's bond. Could just be that she's a Deadhead, of course". The one remaining private spoke up unexpectedly. "It's not that" she explained, with a slight smile on her face "At least I don't think so. Have you seen the way she acts around that man? It's like he's the centre of her personal universe. She thinks we may be a threat to him, and responds in the way she knows best. Her Deadhead training".

Koronna sidled up to her leader and sat down close by with her second helping. The recon specialist turned and looked at the contents of her plate this time around. "Urrrgh!" he whispered in disgust "Sweet and sour Morlian arachnid. Revolting stuff. Spiders are to be stepped on or shot. Not eaten". "It's dead!" Koronna replied, laughing "Not going to bite you now". Then she grabbed a large piece of arachnid carapace and gnawed and gouged every last bit of meat off the inner edge of it before laying it on the edge of her plate. "Sure you don't want some?" she asked, waving a spider claw at him. The recon specialist retreated to the judges podium, out of sight of dead spider parts.

"Hah!" she said before turning to her leader. "I should have seen that myself" Koronna stated about the private's idea "Those two are like those little buzzing insects and the flowers we saw on our last mission, sir. They're just drawn to each other. Look at them". Koronna, Kran, and the recon specialist looked over to the jury benches, where Harrigan had chosen that moment to put one arm around Talannah's shoulders and feed her a haunch of roast pronger sinew with the other. She munched her way through that in just a few microts before looking up at Harrigan's face. He smiled back at her before wiping a bit of meat juice off her chin with a napkin and laughing happily.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- War Captain Kran thought he'd better bring things to a head. "Gossiping amongst ourselves and stuffing ourselves senseless at the kings expense is all very well" he stated, with a slight smile. Then he cleared the smile off his face and went on. "But it obviously hasn't occurred to any of you the kind of trouble we'll be in, now that the mission has failed. Has it?" Kran looked at each of his troops' faces, seeing various expressions along the lines of 'Oops!', 'Oh, frell!', or 'Can't we get a microt's peace round here?!'.

Harrigan tapped Talannah on the shoulder to alert her to this new development. Talannah nodded her head in Kran's direction, as if she was saying 'Shall we go down there?' Harrigan flicked his left index finger quickly in the A-Team's direction, indicating 'Why not?' The king noticed everyone converging around the table, and came up in case an opportunity came to add his views.

"What's the prob, War-Captain?" asked Harrrigan. War-Captain Kran weighed up just how much to say. The mission was supposed to have been classified, he knew. But they would not have been able to defuse the situation even this far without advance warning. Oh well, I'll explain the immediate problem to him and call the scout-runner about the rest. "The situation I and my team find ourselves in is not a good one" he explained "We were supposed to execute the final contingency plan once the military option failed. It was felt that the local Lords would submit to Imperium rule rather than see their king slain. By the politicians, at any rate".

"Instead" Koronna said, taking up the briefing from where Kran left off "We find ourselves, though currently alive, in the king's palace – with the king not only alive but standing no more than a few metras away. The Hierarchy will probably want to execute us for failure, and the king's advisors will undoubtedly want to execute us for trying in the first place". "Some may well want that" replied King Torthil "One or two Lords as well. I may not be able to stop them from inciting lynch mobs from amongst the people from their own territories, if no official punishment is forthcoming"

Harrigan pondered the problem while chewing on another piece of roast pronger sinew. They definitely need a peaceful way out of this – and quick, before someone decides on fighting their way out of it. Talannah saw him deep in thought, scratching his chin. Then he nodded to himself and turned to her, beckoning her towards the courtroom doors.

The pair of them both tried to speak at the same time. Talannah laughed lightly and waved for Harrigan to go first. Harrigan shook his head, pointing back at her. "Very well" she started "They need a way to safety. If they don't find one, or get given one, soon, they'll go to their back-up escape plan – probably involving fighting their way to the spaceport and stealing or hijacking a ship out of here. Since we'll need some help running that monster up there, perhaps we should ask..." Harrigan hugged her close, lifting her up off the floor in his enthusiasm. "I was thinking much the same thing, dear!" he said excitedly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Not only would they come in useful running the ship, but it'll be great to have a real command of my own! Not just being the XO, but me!" he almost squealed "In charge! You know, ever since becoming Captain Lazarus' XO, I've wanted a command – a group of well trained, well motivated, well equipped spec-ops guys like me, all ready to go out and stick our noses where nobody wants them to be. The only problem here is..." "Will they accept you, a non-Scarran, as leader?" Talannah finished for him "Or would they prefer to make their own way in the universe?"

"Got it in one, love" Harrigan replied, drawing her close. "But I'm sure they're holding out on me somehow. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. Not 'bad' holding out, but I don't exactly know if it's good yet either". "Why don't we ask them?" Talannah asked, gesturing with her free hand at the A-Team, who by now were looking back at them as well.

"Talannah and I may have an way to ensure your team's safety" Harrigan told them "But there's a few things I'd like to know first. Namely, that you seem to be somewhat familiar with me, while I know nothing about you at all". The A-Team went into a huddle to discuss this new turn of events. "He knows, or at least suspects, something" Kran whispered "We can't get out of revealing some of our real background". "Besides that" added the electronics specialist "it may be that he is the one described by the scout- runner who escaped from the Hierarchy's tech-prison". Then the recon specialist added his opinion. "If there is even the slightest possibility that he is the one who helped our comrade, we should go with him and seek to contact the Blood Hand Council and confirm his identity. Even if he isn't the one, he and his lady could prove valuable allies in our struggle". "Are we agreed?" War-Captain Kran asked his team "We ask for his protection and assistance. We will have to reveal our true allegiance to him, but unfortunately I see no way around that".

He held out his fist. The four remaining members of the team laid their hands on top of his. "I cannot thank you enough for trusting me in this matter" he told his team thankfully "Our lives hang on that man's reaction to what I reveal to him". "We stand with you all the way" the last private replied stoutly "You haven't led us wrong since I joined the team. Here's hoping he won't either". The team drew back and walked over to Harrigan.

"There is more to us than may be obvious, sir" War Captain Kran explained "Our position as Army Special Forces is just a cover, though one we are skilled at carrying out. Our true calling..." he paused until the king got the point and walked over to the judges podium, then continued "...is to a group loyal to the old Royal Family. That group is called the Blood Hand, and we are one of its most accomplished action teams. I see you know something of us.." he finished, turning to Talannah.

"All I know is what was in the Deadhead central records" Talannah replied "The entry for your group stated that you were a subversive organisation bent on the destruction of our society by any means necessary."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Now that I come to think of it..." she pondered, thinking back to her time in the archives "...actual hard information on your group was very vague, and not considered too reliable. None of it had been confirmed by other sources – at least not at my clearance level".

"Our own operatives in the Hierarchy have tried to ensure that this is the case" came the whisper of the recon specialist "We are glad that their efforts have not been in vain". "As am I" interrupted War Captain Kran. "I was about to explain our connection to the old monarchy when you collapsed. What happened?" "OK..." Harrigan decided "You might think I'm a little wacko, but here goes...", and launched into a full account of his vision. As he described the events he saw in his head, various team members looked at each other and nodded. "When the vision receded, I could still feel the resolve of the king and War Commander as they sacrificed their lives for the Queen and Royal Family. It's like I was part of it with them. That's probably why I screamed like that".

"I knew what the position of War Commander used to be" added Talannah "but the exact details of what happened to the last one aren't in the records anywhere". She turned to Harrigan and looked up at him with an adoring smile. "Now that I hear of the man's true purpose, I know I was more right than I thought in giving you that title".

"Besides, you will always be MY War Commander" she emphasised, placing his hand over her heart "Now and forever. Whatever anyone else says". The pair of them just wrapped their arms around each othe and drew as close together as they could, just taking comfort from the closeness of each other. A few microts later, Harrigan drew away from Talannh and revealed his plan. "Now we have begun to place some trust in each other, I will tell you the only way I can think of to address our current situation peacefully. Your squad signs on with Talannah and myself, and assists us in at least the next part of my mission. In return, we'll try to help you with your group if we can. I'll give you a short while to discuss this with your team. But we should release the king from confinemnt now, to avoid unnecessary problems outside". War Captain Kran told his team to wait for him, and accompanied Harrigan over to where King Torthil was sitting.

"Your Majesty" Kran's rough Scarran voice proclaimed "In consultation with war Commander Harrigan, it has been decided to let you go free". He finished off with a brief bow before unlocking his restraints and returning to his team to seek their acceptance of signing on with Harrigan and Talannah. "Well, Harrigan" the king stated gratefully "You have my gratitude and that of my people for securing my freedom. Even more so for doing this without bloodshed inside the palace". "Except for one Scarran sentry on the way in" Harrigan replied sheepishly "There's a large hole in the wall of the ground floor parlour as well as considerable damage to the dumbwaiter lift, and surrounds, near there as well"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Fortunes of war, Harrigan" the king replied "Since you are a man who lives by your skills, and we did not finalise a fee for the defence of the city before the siege started, what reward can the kingdom give its loyal servant? You can but name it, and it will be done". Harrigan thought back to their time on the Cry Havoc. It was clear from the ship's records that it was sent here with only a partial loadout. Since King Torthil did say 'anything', I'll see just how far I can push it, he thought.

"Since you ask, Your Majesty, there IS something you can help out with" Harrigan elaborated slowly. Both Talannah and the A-Team heard this and clustered around them, anxious to hear what Harrigan would require as his fee. "The ship I commandeered arrived with the bare minimum of equipment. If your spacedocks could give it a full refit to my specifications, this would be excellent. I would need to speak to any personnel who can help us out; both with engineering, planning, and weaponry".

King Torthil replied "That will be expensive. Your ship is very large indeed. My treasury will be stretched to breaking point to accommodate that". "Perhaps you can call on your allies for aid" Talannah suggested "Since they were unable to contribute in the area of war materiel, they should contribute to the reward instead. I'm sure the other rulers realise the fall of their cities would follow yours swiftly if we had failed". "Indeed so" replied King Torthil "Orthal's King was caught here when the siege began. I'm sure he can be depended on for a large contribution. With him behind us, varying degrees of help can be obtained from the others. Very well, you shall have what you require. And the Scarrans?" he added, pointring at the team.

War Captain Kran talked more time to his team. "So, what say you?" he asked "This man seems ready to put himself on the line for us. He may even be the one who helped our comrade. Whatever his purpose and place in the universe, we would do well to stay with him. Despite him not being of our race, I believe he can be trusted". He looked at each of them in turn, seeking their approval. All gave it.

Kran walked over to Harrigan and the king. "The team has decided" he proclaimed "to place our lives alongside the War Commander and become his squad. Sir, I present your team". The A-Team gave the old Scarran salute to Harrigan, which he returned happily. "Well, you have ended the war with a victory for Ithlin" the king said "If not quite in the way most of my advisors will like. But we can deal with that tomorrow. Rooms in the palace will be made available for your new friends" the king gestured to the Scarrans "for now. I suggest you make use of them. You look like you could use the rest. I know I could". The king walked out of the coutroom and up the stairs to his royal bedchamber, greeted along the way by many of his servants and staff, who were glad he had not suffered harm.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "The first thing you can do, before we turn in for the night" Talannah told War Captain Kran irately "Is show my future husband how to set the controls for that frelling gun of his! He almost blew my head off on the way here!"

The whole team laughed loudly at that. "You should be more careful with an unfamiliar weapon, sir!" added Kran gruffly "It's not that hard anyway. Look..." and pointed to one of the knobs on top of the gun. "I figured out what most of them are" Harrigan interrupted "But I would like to know if I can tighten up the blast radius at all". "That varies with the range setting, " explained War Captain Kran "which was what I was about to show you. In short – greater maximum range, less blast radius". Harrigan twisted the knob all the way to maximum range, saying "Nice and tight, that's the way", before putting the safety catches back on.

A very bedraggled and out of breath Aeryn walked in through the coutroom door. When she saw the Scarrans, her rifle came up almost instinctively. But before she could fire, Harrigan called out "They're with me now, Aeryn. Lower your weapon". Aeryn did so reluctantly, but still kept a wary eye on Harrigan's new squad. The Scarrans just looked back at her unflichingly. "I've done what I can now" she revealed "The locals can take care of demobilising the army and all that goes with it. The king will probably put on a big victory parade tomorrow. With us, or at least you, right up front. I suggest we get some sleep". "Come on, team!" yelled Harrigan happily "You've got rooms across the hallway from us. Follow me!"

Once the Scarrans and their gear were settled in their rooms, Chiana came bounding out of her room. The first thing she saw was the gigantic bulk of War Captain Kran going into his room. He turned to say "Hello, liitle lady" before retiring for the night and closing his room door, then locking it. Harrigan saw Chiana's mystified look, and said "We've made some new friends. I'll explain later. I'm tired". "I'm just glad you're OK" Chiana blurted out. "Me too" Harrigan replied, giving her a quick squeeze on the shoulder. "Get some sleep, Pip". Then Harrigan and Talannah returned to their own suite for the night, and some much-needed rest.

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