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.

21. Chapter 20 : New friends, old home

Chapter 20 : New friends, old home

The next months went by in a blur. Harrigan, Talannah, Dargo, and even some of the Scarrans and Shor, could barely walk down the street without being mobbed by grateful locals. The people of Ithlin were a little more fearful of the Kran's A-Team; but once the first few saw that they weren't going to kill any of them now, that muted slightly into an edgy curiosity among most and active interest amongst some of the younger people – though that was mostly brought about after Shor and Ryalla were seen arm in arm walking through the nearest public park. Some of Shor's old friends showed up for a while, teasing him a little about what they thought him and Ryalla were up to. After Ryalla demonstrated her irritation to their jesting by beating two of them to a pulp on her own, the rest stayed well away.

The refitting of the Cry Havoc had started well, if a little slowly. The old engines had been removed from the hull, and almost two-thirds of the staff were working around the clock removing excess crew quarters, life support equipment, and other unnecessary stuff so that the newer, larger ones could be fitted. This had to be done first – full weapons and manoeuvrability testing could not be done until the vastly increased power of the new units were brought online, which promised to be messy and tiring.

Crichton spent most of his time closeted in the palace's maintenance section, building the phase-stabiliser that Harrigan would need for the next stage of his mission. This did cause some friction amongst the engineers and techs already there, as Crichton was monopolising some of the more complex equipment and considerable resources along with it. The fact that he refused to tell them what he was making or what it did wasn't helping matters either. "One or two of the senior techs are beginning to get a bit too curious" Crichton explained wearily to Harrigan one lunchtime "When I tell them it's a secret, they try to sneak looks when they think I'm busy. Some of the junior techs and apprentices actually try stumbling 'accidentally' into my work area! Some of that's their own youthful inquisitiveness, but I'm fairly sure their superiors are sending some deliberately. Then I have to stop and shoo them away. It'll take forever to finish at this rate!"

"Looks like some people have an over-inflated ego that needs bringing down to size" growled Harrigan "I won't tolerate obstruction of this work by some grease monkey who thinks he owns that space. Come on". The pair of them got up from their table by the palace kitchens (it was the only way they could eat in peace, after all) and walked off to Crichton's work area. One or two of the senior tech were standing by Crichton's workbench, pointing at various parts of the device and debating amongst themselves what it was for. A couple of the apprentices (who'd spent more time watching the victory parade on TV when they should have been studying) recognised Harrigan coming back with Crichton. Harrigan placed one finger over his mouth, requesting silence, as he slunk round behind the gossiping techs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "...when I managed to get a scan during his lunch break two days ago" one tech revealed to his comrade "It looks like a field generator of some so...Aaawk!" he finished hoarsely, as Harrigan grabbed him round the throat and lifted him several hentae off the floor one-handed.

"So..." Harrigan drawled rhetorically "Your nosiness and distrust of a newcomer in this space lead you to stoop to hindering the progress of a project sanctioned directly by your king, and by me?" The apprentices just stood and stared at this display of strength, while their hapless boss just hung in Harrigan's fist, struggling and gasping for air. "Put him down" asked Crichton "We couldn't get an explanation out of him if he can't breathe, can we?"

Harrigan let go, dumping him unceremoniously in a lump on the workshop floor. "Well?" he probed, after the tech had a few microts to catch his breath. "Who the frell do you think you are?!" the tech squealed in self- important rage "Sending your people down here. Commandeering work space and materials as if you owned them. What give you that right?!" Crichton looked over at Harrigan, who had a slight grin spreading across his face. "Go on" he urged, "I'd better get started". Then he turned his attention to the apprentices who were still there. "If two of you could get some equipment for me..." he asked, holding out a scruffy bit of paper on which he'd written a list of parts that he'd need. Two of the nearest took the paper, grabbed a small trolley, and ran briskly off to the stores to fetch what was needed.

"My name..." Harrigan revealed "is War Commander Harrigan. If you've been watching the news recently, you'll know who I am". The tech got up and smoothed down his overalls. "Don't watch that stuff" he replied disdainfully "I have more than enough to do here, seeing to the maintenance of the palace and king's vehicles. I've no time for TV news hacks squawking on about who's doing what to who". "Perhaps you should" Harrigan told him "If you had, you would have known that this city came this close...", he held his fingers about a dench apart, "...from forcible induction into the Scarran Imperium, just over one solar month ago today. Over a quarter of the city wall was destroyed, one third of the militia slain along with a similar quantity of regular Army units from the various Lord's retinues."

"Charrid infantry and armour breached the walls in huge numbers" Harrigan explained from three denches in front of the tech's face. "Despite everything I could come up with, the outer suburbs of the city were smashed flat. Only the efforts of your troops, as commanded by Sub-Commander Sun and myself, stopped the city from being overrun by our enemies. After a storming party led by myself and General Ka'Dargo forced a reversal in the enemy's war plans, the final stand was made at the city walls no more than a few kilometras from where you stand now".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We were attacked?" the tech exclaimed in alarm, looking back and forth. Then some of the rest of what Harrigan said sunk in. "YOU commanded the city's defences and armies?" he exclaimed in surprise, taking a good look at Harrigan. "You? You're definitely not local, not even Sebacean! Someone must have lost their mind to allow that".

The whole place went deathly quiet. After a shocked "Oh, frell!" from one of the apprentices bring Crichton's gear in, Harrigan said "I suggest you address your complaint to King Torthal. He should be in the courtroom about now. Because it was him that placed me in command. I brought Sub- Commander Sun and General Ka'Dargo to assist, but the buck stopped with me. Apprentice?" he called to the nearest one "Perhaps you could escort your superior to the courtroom?"

"No, no" replied the tech "But why are you here in my workshop?" "The king has graciously consented to refit my new ship in payment for my services." Harrigan explained more easily "Crichton, over there...wave, John" Crichton waved briefly at them before returning to his work "good...is building something I need. The nature of this work is CLASSIFIED! So keep your curiosity in check and don't ask questions. The sooner he's finished, the sooner he can be out of you hair". He took the scanner off him next and crushed it to powder. "You'd better not have downloaded that data into your computer" Harrigan warned "Or I'll demonstrate what I did to one of the Charrid officers on you. I'm sure some of the apprentices would like to see that". "That was the only copy" came the reply. "Don't any of you do anything like this again" Harrigan finished, as he made his way to the door "Or I'll send someone from my new squad next time. They aren't as patient and understanding as me".

When he'd stomped back into the guests quarters lounge area, Talannah immediately picked up on his irritation. "What now?" she asked archly. "Some of the techs getting uppity and sticking their noses where they don't belong" Harrigan replied, slumping into a chair and resting his head on the table "It was holding Crichton back from completing something important that we'll need for the next leg of our journey". When a couple of the Scarrans turned to look at him, Harrigan laughed. "No, I didn't have to kill anybody! Besides..." he continued more soberly "they can't learn the error of their ways if they're dead, can they?"

"So true" Captain Kran said "Something else too, sir". When Harrigan looked up, Kran elaborated "Not bad. Might turn out to be useful, even. Over the past few weeken, there's been a steady stream of people pestering us to let them join up with us. Most of them are completely useless – dead weight. So I sent them away. But we got a couple of offers at the spaceport from people who may come in handy". "Is that so?" Harrigan asked, getting out of his chair "Are they still around?" "Should be" Kran decided "If you head over to any of the spaceport clubs or resupply shops, you should be able to find them if they don't see you coming."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "I'm heading out that way soon, in any case" Kran said "I've got to contact some people in the Blood Hand now that the war's died down, let them know we're still alive. There should be a commercial hyperwave comm shop there that I can use who won't mind me making a scrambled call".

"Don't bother wasting your money" Harrigan told him "I've got a small ship at the spaceport. It's got its own hyperwave comm system on board, all ready for encrypted transmission. We'll stop off there, you can make your call, then I'll try and find these potential recruits you told me about while you pick up anything else we need. I'll take Shor and Ryalla with me – do you think he's ready for a simple field test yet?" Kran took his time thinking this over. "About ready, I'd say" he decided after a few microts "Ryalla's been running him ragged since he signed on. If she hasn't killed him yet from overwork, they'll be fine".

"Let's go find out, shall we?" Harrigan asked more happily. One of the palace servant said they had seen two people matching those descriptions going to the guest quarters. Harrigan and Kran walked up to the guest rooms slowly, taking the time for a quick hello with one or two staff on the way. As they approached Ryalla's room, they heard a low "...Well come on, Shor! That's the standard cockpit layout for an Intruder on that sheet! What's that one for?...Master arm for the guns, Ryalla?...That's right, trainee, it is. I'm finally getting something through that thick skull of yours..." from inside.

Harrigan and Kran made their way inside quietly, but Kran tagged a wall cabinet on his way past. Both Ryalla and Shor immediately drew Vipers, spun round, and pointed them at the newcomers. Once Shor saw who they were, he safed his and put it away, Ryalla following with hers shortly afterwards. "Don't DO THAT, Harrigan!" complained Shor after he'd calmed down. "Everything's a test, trainee!" chided Ryalla "If one of them hadn't tagged something on the way in, we'd not have heard either of them. Anyway, I don't know what you're complaining about. You reacted in just the right way, quickly too", finishing off with a smile.

"Up, the pair of you" ordered Harrigan. Both Shor and Ryalla got off the floor and stood to attention. "The Captain thinks, and I agree, that a little field test would be good for you about now, Shor. Get yourself and Ryalla down to your car. We leave in 300 microts". While the pair of them put away their training materials, Kran led Harrigan outside into the corridor. "I'm a little concerned about those two, sir" Kran confided "Do you think it's entirely wise that they're spending so much time together? This is the first friendship outside her species that Ryalla's been involved in".

"Don't worry, Captain" Harrigan laughed softly "It is for Shor as well. You should have seen the look on his face when he first saw Talannah and I. We were running back from the walls when Tal's legs cramped. Shor happened to be going past, and stopped to pick us up. The look on his face when he saw Talannah was a Scarran – well, you just had to be there..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "We'll watch them, Captain" decided Harrigan after thinking it over "But we'd better not interfere unless it affects combat effectiveness. Besides, I'm a human who loves a Scarran. I can't exactly give an unbiased opinion here". "Perhaps so" replied Captain Kran "But Talannah and yourself are older and wiser. But the most important thing, sir, is that you command here now. You need to establish what the rules are for your people – us".

"I'm honoured that you place so much faith in me" said Harrigan gratefully "But we'd better grab our stuff and get down to the car before they leave without us". The pair of them rushed into their rooms, grabbed their plasma cannons (they already wore their Vipers and swords), then relocked their rooms and ran down the stairs and out the door to the car – where Ryalla and Shor were waiting for them. "Thought it would be a good time to test Shor out on the spider rigs" Ryalla explained "So we hooked them on the wall, and out the window we went". Then she reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder, adding "You learned fast too. Very good".

The group all managed to get themselves in the car – Shor driving, Ryalla navigating, with Harrigan and Kran in the back. "First real test since the rebuild, here goes..." said Shor, and pressed the starter button. The engine started faultlessly, so Shor backed the car out of the garage and shot out of the gate as far as he could go. "Spaceport, Shor" Harrigan ordered from the back seat "Bay three. The Captain needs to phone home. Try to obey the road rules this time, please?"

Shor eased off the throttle a bit, but continued on – barely under the speed limit. As he threaded the speeding vehicle in between other cars, and several trucks, he was the cause of several blaring horns and some harsh language from the other road users. A soft "...killjoys..." was the only response that Shor gave as he gave his full concentration to driving. "Can't this thing go any faster?" teased Ryalla. "Absolutely" replied Shor, reaching over to flick her ponytail again, which caused Ryalla to pull his hand down so she could kiss it. Once Shor regained control of his voice, he continued with "But Harrigan asked me to stay under the limit". "Sir?" Ryalla pleaded "Just this once?"

"OK, OK!" Harrigan replied in exasperation "But just this once! You're going to have to learn to rein in your love of speed if you go on a covert op. It'll blow you cover, could get you killed". "That big red button, Ryalla" Shor said "Press it hard". Everyone was immediately slammed back into their seats under the fierce acceleration. Shor expertly threaded the car between an ever-increasing number of commercial vehicles and around corners to the main spaceport entrance, where he turned off the boost and slowed down.

"Great, Shor!" said Ryalla enthusiastically "If that's how good you are with a car, I'd love to see you fly!" "Just get us to bay three without killing us, or anyone else" ordered Kran. "Yes, Captain" replied Shor, moving into the port proper as soon as the gate was raised.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Park in here" Harrigan ordered Shor, as they came up on the short-term passengers car park. Shor looked a little surprised – after all, they could easily drive right up to the pit – but did as he was ordered.

Once Kran and Harrigan had got out and reslung their guns, Shor and Ryalla followed, locking the car behind them. "First test, Shor" Harrigan told him "Take Ryalla with you and scout out the route between here and the Harbringer. Even if you can't find bay 3, my ship looks quite unusual – and it's sort of blackish-grey as well. Can't miss it. Try and blend in with the locals – I know it'll be difficult when you're with Ryalla, but you should think of something". Shor walked over to tell Ryalla their orders, as well as Harrigan's other directives. A few microts of discussion followed before Ryalla whispered something in Shor's ear he must have really liked the sound of, because he nodded eagerly. Shor unlocked the passenger door so Ryalla could grab a bag she'd left there when they'd gone on a short drive the previous day. Then she rushed to the public restrooms to change out of her uniform.

A few hundred microts later, Ryalla emerged in her new street clothes. Shor was awestruck – all he could do was stand and stare. Ryalla added to his delight by giving a short twirl in front of him before putting her A- Team uniform back in the car and reaching for her shoulder holster. "Let me help you with that..." Shor asked, a little too helpfully. But Ryalla just smiled, saying "Sure...", and waved him on. Kran swore the two of them took longer than was really necessary to put it on, but contented himself with a slight "Harrumph..." of cautious approval.

"We'll masquerade as a pair of young lovers" Ryalla told Harrigan, before reaching over and giving Shor a long, passionate kiss – which he returned with rather stunned enthusiasm. "A cover that works – and is enjoyable, too" said Shor, breathless but happy, when they came up for air. "Just get on with it" urged Harrigan, shooing them forward. Shor pulled her black beret a little further down on her head, and the two of them walked on towards the Harbringer's blast pit, arm in arm.

"Seeing those two" Harrigan remarked to Captain Kran as they followed at a safe distance "Reminds me of myself and Talannah after we met – frell, we're still like that now. We've only been away from the palace for an arn or so and I miss her already". "Hah!" Kran replied "I've been out on this mission for several months here in Ithlin, away from my family for all of it. Wife, one daughter, and two sons. I miss them too – but I put that aside while I've got a mission on. Both them and my superiors would expect me to give it my best, so I won't disappoint them".

"Call them in" Harrigan urged "We've got space on the Cry Havoc for them as well – space to spare. The unit will pay their passage here. Are any of the others married?" "No" replied Kran as Harrigan paused at a confectionery stall, where he devoured two whole meringues in quick succession. "Just perfect" he told the stall owner, as he paid for them "Don't change anything".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Not one of them" Kran continued, after Harrigan wiped meringue from his mouth "Especially our recon specialist – don't think any of us have actually heard his name, funny, that... Never mind. No, the military, and later the Blood Hand, has been their life. Nothing serious for any of them. I suppose I just treat Ryalla like I'd treat my own daughters, and drive her just as hard".

Kran's comm chirped. "Yes?" he whispered. "Shor here. All clear. A few police on patrol, but no one near the ship. Not even a tech. Come on in" Shor whispered back. A slight murmur from Ryalla told Kran she was doing her part of ensuring their cover remained watertight. "Mmmmm....Ryalla, wait a microt, please?" a slightly strained Shor asked her "The Captain's on the line. Ahhhh!" Then he calmed down a bit, and got back to the Captain. "But not too quickly, please." Shor explained "We need to work on our cover a bit more". "A lot more" cut in Ryalla, on her own comm, before turning her attention back to Shor.

"Come on, sir" grumbled Kran "We'd better keep going. Those two are enjoying their assignment a little too much, I think". "Don't sweat it , Captain" Harrigan whispered, laughing softly "They'll be fine". They arrived at the relevant blast pit almost a quarter-arn later. Ryalla and Shor were on a bench outside the resupply shop, oblivious to anyone else but each other. "Get UP, you two!" whispered Kran firmly. The pair of them moved apart (but not far), Ryalla refastening the top few buttons on her shirt and tucking it back inside her trousers and Shor doing the same with his own. Kran glowered at them a bit, but Harrigan just waggled his eyebrows at the two of them – which only caused them to blush even more.

"Come on in" prompted Harrigan, rushing up the stairway to the Harbringer's door and tapping in the entry code. The door slide noiselessly aside, and the four of them went in. "My first ship" Harrigan proclaimed proudly "You lot are the first of my squad to see the inside. Ryalla, sit to your right at the flight engineer's console. Captain Kran, the nav station ahead of you has the hyperwave comm controls. Shor, you sit here beside me at the copilot's station. That's where Talannah usually sits, so don't make a mess". Shor was looking over the flight controls, pointing out the ones he recognised. "Altitude...engine diagnostics – three engines, right...if I guess right master arm switches for the front guns..." Shor muttered "Front guns? There are others?" "Yes" Harrigan replied "A tail turret and a top turret. You can only control the front ones from here, though. But they are the biggest ones. If you look back, you should be able to see the access ladder for the top turret". "Oh yes, I do" he replied, looking over the back of his chair.

"This was a Peacekeeper ship, wasn't it sir?" asked Captain Kran. "Operative word – WAS" replied Harrigan. "Now it's mine". "Tovak would know for sure, he's our electronics specialist – the one you booted through the courtroom doors – but I think I see a full surveillance hardware suite here, amongst other things". Shor looked over at Harrigan hopefully, and pointed at the start-up switches.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Harrigan leaned over, asking "Have you done any takeoffs yet?" "Two, sir" Shor replied uneasily "In Prowlers. This thing's a lot bigger". "As my old CO used to say – 'Throw them in the water and see if they can swim'" Harrigan whispered back "I remember how excited I was when I made my first takeoff in a fighter. Power up, and take her out" "Are you sure, sir?" Shor asked. "Scared?" Ryalla asked from behind them "I'll do it if you won't". "No way!" Shor replied hotly, flipping through the start-up sequence. As the engines came online and power flowed through the ship's systems, Kran turned towards them. "Going out, are we?" he asked. "Flight training, Captain" Harrigan replied "Just to see what Shor knows. We'll get into a proper training regimen once the refit on the Cry Havoc's finished and we can see what we've got".

Shor turned the vector-thrust knob to vertical and applied power. The Harbringer shot up quicker than Shor thought it would, so he eased off the power and made the transition to forward flight. The ship wobbled a bit while Shor got used to the controls. "Take it easy" Harrigan urged "The Harbringer's engines are very powerful, and flight controls are quite sensitive – especially in atmosphere. So just take it slow". Shor sat back in his seat, relaxing his grip on the controls. The flight smoothed out noticeably after that. "That's right. A little more speed would be good, but don't take it above one-quarter power – you can't handle that yet". Shor did as ordered, making a few slow turns to see how things went. "Nice, very nice" he said. "The Captain has to make a call, so just keep us in a nice loose loop around the city for a while" ordered Harrigan "You have the conn, I'm getting some rations". Shor almost panicked at being left to pilot a new craft alone, but Ryalla stepped over and kneaded the knots in his shoulders. "I needed that, Ry, dear" Shor relied thankfully, as her movements went from remedial to romantic, her hands beginning to caress and encourage. This proved to be just what Shor needed.

Kran turned the hyperwave systems on, and hooked in his scrambler. It took a few microts for the ship's system to check the unit for malicious code and synchronise with it, but it was reported clean and ready. Kran punched in his call code and waited for the call to connect. Fifteen microts later, when Kran was beginning to worry, a slightly scratchy image formed over the console and the audio came online as well.

"War Captain Kran, I assume" came the voice on the other end "Are you safe?" What the man at the other end was really asking was if Kran was under duress. "Yes, Councillor" Kran replied "It is me, and I am safe. Is scout-runner Nrakal there please? I have information he may find useful". "Wait one" the Councillor replied, walking away to talk to one particular individual in the room with him. The comm then flicked to another system. The picture was much sharper, and the audio clearer now – the scout-runner knew how to get the best from his system.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Yes, Captain Kran?" the scout-runner asked. "He is here" Kran said proudly. "Really?!" came the anxious reply. "About 29 hentae tall, big as a stealth capsule, short buzz-cut black hair?" Kran added. "Oh yes!" he added, almost as an afterthought "And a preference for hurling obstructive diplomats through doors without opening them first". A short laugh came back as the scout-runner replied "Oh yes, I remember seeing him do that little party trick once before, before we escaped from the tech-prison. Could I talk to him, please?" "He's in whatever passes for a galley right now, but should be out in a microt or two" Kran replied.

Then Harrigan emerged onto the bridge, carrying several ration packs and bottles of water. Ryalla passed those around to Kran and Shor, then put her own on the flight engineer's console before feeding Shor little pieces of his rations so he could still hand-fly the Harbringer. "Even PK rations taste nice when you feed them to me, Ryalla" assured Shor. "I've got something else for you here..." said Ryalla, leaning forward to kiss him. When she pulled away, he replied softly "That tastes even better", to which Ryalla replied, smiling coyly, with "More?" Shor, seemingly unable to speak, just nodded, so Ryalla proceeded to comply as best she could – which caused the Harbringer to wobble a bit.

"If you have to do that in here" said Harrigan "engage the autopilot. You do know how, don't you?" "Yes sir!" replied a rather embarrassed Shor, blushing an almost fluoro red. He laid in the course and pressed a couple of buttons, before getting up and walking over to Ryalla's chair and beckoning her to join him. Ryalla asked "Is there a bunkroom or something round here?" hopefully, but Harrigan cut her off. "While I'm rather accommodating, there's a limit to what I'll accept from an unmarried couple in my unit" he stated firmly "And that's going too far. Not before you're married. The pair of you will have lots to do without worrying about that kind of recreation, especially once the refit's done. Clothes stay ON". Ryalla bowed her head, saying "Yes sir. Sorry sir". "Don't look so woeful, either of you" Harrigan laughed "It's been hard for me to hold back with Talannah as well, but it shows I'm prepared to commit to her for the long haul, instead of using her and throwing her away. If you two really want to follow in our footsteps, you'll do the same".

"Commander" called Kran "You're wanted on the comm". "Try and spare a few microts to check to controls from time to time, Shor" Harrigan teased him, before heading over to the nav console, while Ryalla virtually pulled him out of the chair and onto the floor so they had more room to move.

"Commander Harrigan here" he called over the comm "Who am I talking to, please?" The picture brightened, and a familiar face appeared on the screen. "I thought you'd recognise me by now" came the voice of scout- runner Nrakal. "Nrakal!" laughed Harrigan "Good to see you alive and well! I gather you managed to find your friends, then?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Oh, yes" came the reply "Three days after you left, a raider came to retrieve me. I'm back at one of our hidden bases now, back where I belong. Where are you? My system can't trace you". "In the Harbringer, that black ship we flew out in, remember?" Harrigan explained "But if you mean which planet, Ithlin Prime. Conducting a little flight training for our newest recruit – although he seems to want to join the mile-high club right now more than he wants to learn to fly". The scout-runner looked mystified, so Harrigan spent a few microts explaining what that was.

After a burst of Scarran laughter, Nrakal asked "So how are you adapting to your altered body?" "Quite well. I take it from the project notes that I'm supposed to be able to fire electrical blasts off my arms?" Harrigan asked. "That alteration worked, did it?" Nrakal asked "I did wonder about that". "Very well indeed" Harrigan replied "I can even control the level of power now. From a killing blast, through to knockout, even a mild crackle. My future wife quite likes that crackle...". "Getting married are you?" Nrakal asked "Who's the lucky lady?" "Talannah is her name" Harrigan replied proudly "A Scarran, actually. A fine, strong, beautiful, and loving Scarran too. Certainly far better than I deserve". "That IS good news" Nrakal replied happily "I look forward to meeting her. But is Ithlin safe right now? A Charrid battle force was supposed to be en route there".

"It arrived, alright" Harrigan replied "It came, it fought, it ran like hell. We took horrendous losses, but drove them off. I commandeered that prototype Fortress-class superdread they came on too. It's about half-way through being refitted at the Ithlin spacedock as we speak". Nrakal shook his head from side to side, laughing. "The Hierarchy definitely won't like you absconding with the Navy's pride and joy" he said. "Tough noogies!" replied Harrigan "Once I've got it refitted, that ship will have a few more presents for them I'll be happy to deliver. I'm definitely not on the Hierarchy's list of favourite people now, especially considering my Talannah used to be a Deadhead before she met me". Nrakal almost looked as though he was about to burst a blood vessel at that revelation, so Harrigan went on with "Yes, I know who they are. I used to be in a similar line of work myself, back home. Talannah's proved her loyalty, and her love, to me hundreds of times over. No worries on that score. Anyway, Ithlin's safe enough now. Get yourself, any equipment you can't do without, and Captain Kran's family over to Ithlin right now. We've got almost a month and a half before refit's complete. I expect to see you in half that time. I'll put Captain Kran back on".

Harrigan headed back to the copilot's chair and strapped in. Ryalla was sitting in Shor's lap right now, on the flight engineer's chair; both of them had their arms tightly around each other and were just murmuring sweet nothings to each other and kissing occasionally. "Come on, flyboy!" Harrigan ordered "Back to work! Captain Kran will be finished in a few microts, and then we can be getting on with a little gunnery practice on ground targets. Hup, hup hup!" Ryalla reluctantly let Shor get up and go back to the pilot's chair, giving him a small wave as he went before sitting back down and strapping in.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Back on the comm, Nrakal was questioning Captain Kran. "Are you sure you want your family with you?" Nrakal asked anxiously "Your wife may not like field conditions for long". "My unit has signed on with War Commander Harrigan" Kran explained "We will be permanently based on his new ship, there's plenty of room for any families on board and plenty of work for them to do to keep themselves occupied. I suspect Harrigan wants you with him as well. Having his personal doctor around will be good, especially as we don't have a trained surgeon yet". "That's a bit premature, calling him War Commander. You know that would have to be approved by the Council. I'll be on my way soon, though." Nrakal replied "We should be able, barely, to fit your family and myself in a raider for the trip. It won't be comfortable, but we should be there in a weeken or so. Nrakal out". Then Kran shut the hyperwave comm off and removed his scrambler. "All done" he replied, strapping himself in again "Let's see if Shor can hit anything from the air".

Shor deactivated the autopilot and swung the Harbringer slowly round on an intercept course with the ruined staging base. "Arm the guns and activate the HUD" Harrigan ordered "We'll just do a simple test with the active sensors to see how good with systems you are. We'll have to get back to the spaceport soon – the clubs will be open, so our two possible recruits should be around". Shor flicked three switches, which caused two yellow lights to go green and the targeting HUD to appear in their headset displays. Shor locked on to a tree just beyond the complex, which brought up a countdown-to-firing timer on the display. "That's a small target," Ryalla said from behind him "Sure you can hit it?" Shor grinned, saying "Just watch me, Ry!"

As soon as the timer flicked to zero, Shor squeezed the trigger. The twin heavy pulse cannons in the nose lashed out, pulverising the tree, as well as burning all the grass to blackened wisps within three metras either side and ten in front and behind. "Very good, for a first-timer" Ryalla encouraged him. Shor reached over and squeezed her hand in thanks before turning his attention back to the controls. "Take us back to the spaceport" Harrigan told Shor "Pick up the speed a little if you're up to it, and take us as low as you feel comfortable with. Let's buzz a farmer or two on the way back, how about that?"

"Captain, can you give me a bearing to the spaceport on my HUD?" Shor asked. Kran grinned, calling up the relevant information from the planetary navigation system and placing a marker on the HUD to indicate the right course. "Thank you, sir" he said, when it came up. Then Shor applied a little more speed and dropped down far enough so they could just see the windows of individual vehicles on the highway below. "Not a bad idea, Shor" Harrigan complimented him "We can just read the street signs from here. OK, I can just read the street signs from here even if you can't. But just follow this road back to town. You should see the spaceport once we get closer".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "But we'd better disarm the guns" Harrigan decided, flicking the master arm switches again. A slight whine marked the guns going offline. "The king won't be too pleased if we incinerate a merchant caravan on a test flight".

The rest of the trip back proceeded without incident, Shor loosening up as he became more used to the vagaries of the Harbringer. The landing proved to be a bit rough, but Harrigan waved Shor's apology off. "You'll get better" he assured Shor "You didn't come down that hard, though – so I doubt you broke anything. It's early evening now, so the place where we'll be meeting these two potentials should be opening soon". Shor shut the Harbringer down, then Harrigan told Shor and Ryalla to wait on the bridge while he and Kran went to the armoury.

"We'd better leave these plasma things here" Harrigan decided, putting his in the rack. Kran did the same, then noticed the remaining G8C. "What's that?" he asked. "It's what we'll be using most of the time" Harrigan explained "A G8C. Suppressed light machine gun. Hundred-round drum, release there..." he pointed out the mag-release lever "...safety catch here..." and the safety catch as well, including the positions for semi and full- auto "...combo-scope on top. Do you want to take it with you? I left mine back at the palace in my room". Kran pondered that for a few microts, before shaking his head. "Better not" he decided "It would be better to blend in rather than stick out. I'll have enough problems doing that, being a Scarran, without adding to the problem by carrying heavy weaponry. My Viper and sword should be plenty". When they returned to the bridge, Shor and Ryalla had their arms around each other, murmuring to and teasing each other. "Come on, love birds!" laughed Harrigan "We've got people to meet!" The pair separated rather guiltily, following Captain Kran out onto the tarmac while Harrigan locked the ship down. The small group fell in behind as they walked briskly off to the nightclub district.

Despite having just opened for the night, the Starburst club already had a fair-sized queue outside the front doors. Shor waved them to an alley running down one side, hissing "Before the bouncers see us!" "Got a plan, have you?" Ryalla asked. "Yes, dear" Shor replied "Me and my old mates used to get in here all the time this way without paying. We caught hell off the bouncers if they caught us – which happened a couple of times..." Shor winced at the memory of the bruises he'd suffered "But I don't think anyone will dare to throw us out tonight. Especially not you and the Captain, sir. I just hope the weapon detectors won't find our guns". "Even if they do" Kran responded "Vipers can't be shut down with suppression nets – they're purely mechanical. But keep them under your coats, anyway. They really won't like our swords, but let them try to take them, please...". Kran finished this off with a nasty grin and cracking his knuckles all in sequence, which communicated quite clearly what he had in mind if anyone did try.

"Smoker's door" Shor explained pointing to a nondescript wooden door further down the wall. "City law restricts smoking to clearly labelled rooms in public venues, which have to be heavily airconned and filtered. Since the staff can't go there while they're on duty, there's this door".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Good" Ryalla reported "No one puffing away right now". "Too early" Shor replied "Staff aren't allowed breaks until peak hours. That's several arns away". Then Shor eased the door open and looked carefully from side to side. "All clear" he told the others. As they all walked in, Harrigan's nose crinkled up at the smell. "Public toilets" Shor replied "Yeah, the drains sometimes get clogged. Smells like it's happened again. Yeeecch!"

They emerged into the club proper. A large open dance floor occupied most of the space, with one bar down each side. A DJ's booth could be seen about 100 hentae or so above the centre of the dance floor, so that whoever played the music could gauge the response of all the club patrons at once. This centre section was itself raised above the rest of the dance floor for challenges or exhibitions. The bouncers were still clustered around the doors, attempting to sort out the throng of potential customers seeking admittance. Two or three did not apparently meet the standard required – they appeared not to be wearing the right style of shoes – and tried to force their way past. The bouncers just grabbed them by the necks and threw them to one side.

"Looks like Pit won't be starting drinking competitions tonight" Shor told them. "It means 'bottomless pit', from the amount of raslak he puts away in those drinking competitions he starts up." Shor replied, in response to their mystified looks "They almost always finish with the bouncers throwing one or more people out. Let's get something to drink while we can still see the bar. Those people you're supposed to meet should be along within an arn or two". He took Ryalla's hand and led her to the bar, calling for fellip nectar for the pair of them. Harrigan and Kran picked stool a bit further up – Harrigan's one bent slightly at his enormous weight, but didn't break.

The DJ entered his booth, and other couples soon started filling up the floor space. Harrigan and Kran scanned the crowd regularly; Kran looking for their potential recruits, Harrigan just seeing if they were attracting hostile attention. A few people came closer to see who they were – but backed off once they saw Captain Kran's face. This resulted in a two or three seat exclusion zone around the pair of them for the next half arn or so, until people's desire for alcohol outweighed their distaste of Scarrans.

A small group of younger Sebaceans ran over to Shor, striking up an animated conversation. Kran and Harrigan moved towards them slowly, in time to hear Shor introducing his friends to Ryalla. "Ease off" Harrigan cautioned Kran "None of them are hostile – they seem to know Shor quite well, in fact. Let's see how things play out". "So this is your new girl" one young lady remarked, scrutinising Ryalla carefully, as if examining her worthiness for her friend. Ryalla hissed a little at that, but calmed down a little when Shor place his hand gently on her arm. "Possessive, isn't she?" the young woman's boyfriend said "Doesn't seem to like other women looking at you". Shor straightened up proudly after that remark, saying "I can't say I've noticed. This is the first time we've been out in public together. Anyway, all her people are somewhat on the territorial side".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "What kind of people are they?" asked the young lady. Shor moved to shut this down, but Ryalla said "Perhaps you'll find out later. Perhaps you won't. Got to preserve some sense of mystery, don't I?" The group laughed out loud at that and headed back out to the dance floor.

"Nicely done" complimented Harrigan, coming up from the left "A diplomatic and subtle defusing of a potentially hostile situation. I'd probably just have hit somebody". "Thank you, sir" Ryalla replied. Shor waved one hand at the dance floor, asking Ryalla "Shall we?". Ryalla went as red as her Scarran skin allowed, but soon followed him out into the mass of dancers.

Kran tapped Harrigan on the shoulder, nodding towards one particular individual sitting by the bar. "Looks like recruit number one has decided to show his face" Kran whispered "Let's go and let him know we're here before he leaves". When the two of them approached this potential comrade, a few more things became clear to them. For one, he was a Nebari – a race neither of them had much experience with. Two, he seemed to have considerable battle experience – he was definitely not smooth-skinned, with a long scar going across one eye as well. He had some native cunning, or at least was a good observer – like Kran and Harrigan, he was still armed, this time with a shortsword over his right shoulder and a pulse pistol strapped to each leg.

"He's managed to get in here without getting hassled by the bouncers, and still has his weapons" Harrigan whispered to Kran "This looks promising". The Nebari had ordered crispy grolack, and was just tucking in to it when Kran tapped him on the shoulder. The Nebari spun round instantly, yanking his pistols out of their holsters almost instantaneously, before recognising Captain Kran and putting them away. "So" he said slowly "Am I in or out?" Then he looked who was accompanying the Captain. "The illustrious War Commander himself. I am lucky. My name's Matthew. Just Matthew. My old 'comrades' called me Hellbolt".

Harrigan caught the emphasis he put on 'comrades'. "I take it you didn't separate from your previous unit on amicable terms" probed Harrigan "Why was this?" The newly named Hellbolt stared at him for a few microts, then replied "They liked my combat record well enough. I saved my superior from getting ripped to pieces by a Scarran assault team who boarded our ship, which is where I got this", and he pointed to his scar. "But apparently they decided I was too wild, headstrong, and generally individual. I did not conform and fit in to the accepted norms. So I got into my Cyclone and left as fast as I could before the cleansing team found me".

"So why should we take you in? What skills do you have?" Captain Kran asked "What can you do for us, Hellbolt?" "Up front and unsubtle, just like a Scarran" Hellbolt growled, before continuing in a lighter tone. "Piloting fighters and shuttles is my primary skill" Hellbolt replied "Especially if it involves attacking ground targets in planetary atmosphere. I just love targets that can't run away".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------

"An air-to-mud fighter pilot" Harrigan said excitedly "With atmosphere experience. Just like me! That's what I like best as well!" Harrigan took a few microts to calm down, then asked "Anything else?"

"Close assault and sabotage" Hellbolt replied, rather amused by Harrigan's excitement. "I prefer the sword, as you see" he continued, pointing to the one he had slung on his back "but have some skill with pistols as well as other small arms as well. Some with explosives, but I prefer a quieter and less messy option". "Good, very good" Kran stated "But can you fight alongside, and be commanded by, Scarrans? Though we will be taking recruits from many species, the core of the unit will be Scarran for the foreseeable future".

"It's true I have something of a history with Scarrans" Hellbolt explained archly "But since going freelance I've had to work with all sorts. If they back me up, I'll back them up". "I'll have to talk it over with my XO, Sub- Commander Talannah" Harrigan said. "But I'm giving you provisional approval right now. We can forego a recruitment test based on your previous combat experience. So, are you in?" Harrigan asked, holding out his hand. Hellbolt laid his hand on top of Harrigan's, then Kran put his on top. Kran gave a slight push, sealing the contract. "Relax a while, Hellbolt" Harrigan told his newest recruit "We've got one more potential recruit to meet, so we may as well enjoy ourselves while we're here. I'd better call Talannah, she'll be wondering where I am by now".

"Just your XO, is she?" Hellbolt asked, smirking a little. "Observant, aren't you? Oh, yes" Harrigan revealed, a happy smile spreading across his face "Talannah's the best thing that's ever happened to me, the most wonderful lady I've ever met. We'll be getting married at our next stopover. Hold on a moment...". Harrigan pressed a button on his ear-comm, putting him through to Talannah. "Hi honey..." he murmured "Yes, I'm fine...where was I?...out on a little improvised training for Shor...yes, I know that doesn't take this long – Captain Kran met some potential recruits...yeah, sure dear – come out and meet them. We've got one more to check out, your opinion would be useful for this one...Starburst club, love...No, Shor and Ryalla aren't getting into trouble...Just use the smoker's door down the side alley, you won't have to pay to get in...see you soon...". Harrigan cut the call, and turned back to the other two.

"Well, that's all set!" Harrigan revealed happily "Tal should be here in less than a quarter-arn. All we have to do is sit back, enjoy ourselves, and wait for both her and the final recruit to turn up". Harrigan ordered more crispy grolack for himself; Captain Kran tried to order Kruldan Scorcher again, but the cook here hadn't even heard of it – it was a testament to the trust he had for his commander that he let Harrigan talk him out of eviscerating the chef for incompetence and being a cultural ignoramus.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Sit DOWN, Captain" ordered Harrigan gently "We've got more important business tonight than re-educating one brain-deficient cook".

Shor and Ryalla took a break from their dancing to come back to the bar and check on how well things were going. "So, you're the newest recruit now?" Shor asked Hellbolt "Pilot-trainee Shor. This is Ryalla. What's your name?" Hellbolt looked over at Shor, gauging his capabilities. "You can call me Hellbolt, like the others" he said finally "Pilot trainee, are you? Well, well, that IS good news. Perhaps I may be able to teach you a few things, later on". Ryalla ordered fellip nectar for the pair of them, and started tucking into Harrigan's plate of crispy grolack. Harrigan didn't mind too much – he just ordered another full plate and some contala tea.

300 microts later, Hellbolt sat bolt upright and started sniffing the air, as though something hostile was approaching. "What's up?" Harrigan asked. "Smells like a Scarran" Hellbolt reported "Since I'm no Vorcarian, it'll be close". Hellbolt's hands reached for his pistols, as the Scarran in question stepped into view and put her arms around Harrigan. "Ah, Talannah, my love" Harrigan crooned, wrapping his arms around her as well "I've missed you so much. Take a seat". "I'm just fine right here" Talannah assured him, snuggling further into his arms. Harrigan just kissed the top of her head and squeezed her lightly in return.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Harrigan exclaimed "Hellbolt, this is Sub- Commander Talannah, my XO and future wife. Talannah, this is Hellbolt, the latest recruit to our little band. What do you think?" Talannah immediately started quizzing him over his past history and military skills – to which Hellbolt replied exactly the same way as he did for Harrigan and Kran. "You don't hold back, do you?" Hellbolt said, after Talannah had finished grilling him. "It's my job" she replied bluntly "I'm the First Officer of the unit, so I have to test out the suitability of new recruits. Captain Kran over there will be doing the infantry training for us – Scarran style. You'll love it". Harrigan grinned nastily, and Kran just cracked his knuckles and nodded.

"You obviously don't take the easy way out" Hellbolt remarked. "Nope" Harrigan replied "Not a chance. We're a special forces unit – so that means special training at special hours. Since every time's a special time", Harrigan paused to kiss Talannah again, "we train all the time we can as well. This is Shor's first field exercise too". "Covered as a pair of honeymooners, are they?" Hellbolt replied, looking over at where Ryalla and Shor were walking back on the dance floor again. "No, no" Harrigan replied, laughing. "Just boyfriend/girlfriend. Don't worry, Tal" he said, after Talannah growled in response to Shor and Ryalla's public affection "I've read them the riot act about that. I think Ryalla took it better than he did, although both are going along with it – however reluctantly".

"I can see that life in this unit won't be boring" Hellbolt said, grinning "A Scarran first officer who's marrying the CO, a Scarran infantry commander, a Sebacean pilot-trainee... What species would you be, sir?" "Human" Harrigan replied. When Hellbolt looked questioningly at him, Harrigan added "No, I'm not normal for my species. Definitely not off-the- shelf. But the fewer people who know the precise details about that, the better".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Haven't heard of them" Hellbolt replied. "Few out here have" Harrigan replied, "Only two of us have left our planetary system so far, including me". "And the other one?" Hellbolt asked. Harrigan waved one finger at him, saying "No. Their identity remains secret, for their protection". Hellbolt just shrugged, saying "As you prefer".

A soft scampering marked the arrival of the newest arrival, crawling down the wall from the direction of the public toilets. "So, Keyah" Captain Kran said "You decided to join us". "I've been here for almost half an arn" she replied "Just scoping the place out, testing the lay of the land. Even the MC up there in his booth hasn't seen me crawling around. But every time I tried approaching, the big one here..." she continued pointing at Harrigan "turned to face me. How he knew I was there, I'll never know – so I stayed clear until I saw you again".

"That 'big one' you mentioned" Talannah cut in harshly, stepping in front of Harrigan "is the commanding officer of the unit, young lady!" Then she added, almost as if she'd forgotten (though she hadn't, of course) "And my soon-to-be husband as well. You should address him as War Commander Harrigan, or 'Sir'". "Ease off, love" Harrigan soothed, wrapping his arms back around her waist and drawing her close "She's not trying to steal me away from you, or being insubordinate. She's just saying things as she sees them. You have to admit, I am quite large". "You are indeed correct, sir" Keyah told Harrigan, in response to Talannah's ire "I apologise for any disrespect. My full name is rather longer than most people can remember, so you can call me Keyah Kamara for now. I specialise in infiltration, reconnaissance, assassination, and information retrieval". She opened her long coat, revealing the two long daggers, suppressed slugpistol, and burglary toolkit stowed there, before closing it again.

"So, am I acceptable to you?" Keyah asked. Shor looked a little scared of her, and Ryalla a little hostile, but neither did anything aggressive. Harrigan nodded, and turned to face Talannah and Captain Kran. "She will be very useful" Kran stated "Despite our special forces status, we aren't at all comfortable with extended periods of stealth work. We can do it, but don't like it. Having an expert in the field will ease the strain on us all". "Fine by me" Talannah added gruffly "Her skills aren't in question – I'm concerned about where her true loyalties lie. I've had too many bad encounters with Kalish to trust them easily". "Though I am no longer attached to the Organisation" Keyah replied heatedly "my loyalty is still with my people, where it should be! I don't spend my time blowing up Scarran supply dumps, or murdering Scarran diplomats or Kalish aides and clerks, just for the hell of it – unlike some! If you sign me on, I will stay loyal to you and the unit as a whole – depend on it".

"Back off, both of you" Harrigan interrupted "I won't allow fighting between leadership and recruits. Her species is not an issue here, Talannah, only her skills and motivations. What do you say on that score?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "She's good, I'll give her that" Talannah said with grudging respect "But I'll be watching you and testing you, every step of the way". Keyah looked Talannah in the eye. "The quintessential First Officer" Keyah stated flatly "Good. This is as it should be. Who's the Nebari?" "May I present to you Pilot-commando Hellbolt" Hellbolt said with a flourish, adding a short bow "Pilot, commando, and all around good guy. The newest recruit before your own lovely orange self". "He's got a commando's attitude, that's certain" Keyah replied "We'll see in combat if his skills match his mouth".

"Good!" Harrigan exclaimed "That's settled then! Until we get a combat mission to test you in, you're both in on probationary status. Don't think that'll get you off easy, though – we've got a new ship to sort out, and a bit of a wild trip ahead of us. We've got about another month until the ship's refitted and ready to go. Once I've given it a quick test at the helm we'll be off. Until then, we're guests of the king. Get your gear over to the palace, the Chamberlain will sort you out with rooms. Let's get there right now, in fact – I'm tired and need my sleep".

"We had better go out the same way we came in" cautioned Talannah "Not one of us paid to get in. The door staff will ask too many questions if we try to go through the front way and they can't remember seeing us go in". "And we don't want to throw off our anonymity by hitting people" Kran added "Fun though that may be, the sneaky way is the best way this time". Harrigan went to pay the bar bill, then waved the group towards the back door.

"It's going to be a very tight squeeze getting everyone in the car, sir" Shor told Harrigan as they made their way back down the alley. "We'll just have to commandeer alternative transportation, won't we?" Harrigan replied, then turned to their newest arrival. But before he could start, the screech of a siren and the squeal of tyres announced the arrival of a large vehicle. "Keyah!" Harrigan barked softly "Get up the wall and see what's going on!" Barely a rustle marked her transition from walking along the alley to climbing the wall. "That's good" Hellbolt remarked "That's very good".

A click came over Harrigan's comm. "Yes, Keyah?" he whispered. "It's a police van" she reported back "Quite large. Six armed men have emerged from the back of the vehicle and ran into a building across the street. The driver appears to be remaining inside". "Can you take him?" Harrigan asked "Just gag him and cuff him. Then back the van up here smartish, we'll dump the driver in the alley, then pile in the back – and off to the palace we go". "Easy..." Keyah laughs. "Then prove it" Talannah cut in "Bring us the van". "On the way" Keyah replied, then cut the call and leapt to the ground.

"Shor, you and Ryalla can go back in your car" Harrigan told him "Don't grin too much – I'll expect to see you back before us. No lagging behind for tonsil-hockey practice". Both Shor and Ryalla looked completely mystified, so Harrigan groaned inwardly and explained what that was. Shor just went bright red again, while Ryalla said "Perhaps there will be time for that tomorrow". "You never know" Harrigan replied "But you'll find out tomorrow. Now get going, the pair of you".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Keyah grinned inwardly as she scampered up below the van driver's door mirror, glad to be back in the field, even on a simple task such as this. Despite that Harrigan's bullet-headed unsubtlety, she thought, this wasn't a bad test of her abilities on a number of fronts – stealth, unarmed combat, driving, and general sense of timing would all be needed here.

The armed policemen seemed to be involved in a forced-entry manoeuvre of some kind. Good, she thought, the aftermath of that action will take all night – they'll never even know I'm here. She slunk right up, noticing that the door was slightly open. That means the mirror won't show the whole length of the van...I wonder if...she thought, and took advantage of the driver's lax behaviour by crawling onto the side of the van. None of the nightclub patrons in the queue noticed anything amiss – they were too busy talking to their friends or arguing with the bouncers.

Keyah leaned down slightly and tapped the door twice, just behind the window. "Huh?" said the driver blearily, and opened the door to see who was disturbing him. Keyah flipped herself smartly inside the van, right on top of the driver – where she delivered a fast pantak jab. After heaving the driver's body onto the floor, she shut the door carefully and backed the van up to the mouth of the alley where the rest of the group were waiting. "Could someone please help me shift this lump of a driver?" Keyah asked, leaning out of the driver's side window. Kran walked up on the other side; after opening the door, he grabbed the driver one-handed and heaved him out of the van and down into the alley. After stripping him of his uniform and equipment, Hellbolt cuffed him wrist to ankle around a nearby lamp post, and rolled up his cap to stuff in his mouth for a gag. "Leave the uniform in the back of the van" Harrigan told him "We've had enough fun for the night by ambushing him like this". He then waved the others forward into the van, following Kran up inside and shutting the door behind him. "All present and correct?" Harrigan asked. A squeeze from Talannah, and a volley of "Yes, sir!" from the rest of them told Harrigan that they were.

"Roll 'em, Keyah" Harrigan ordered "Back to the palace. Do you know where that is?" "Yes sir, I do" she replied "I make sure I memorise the location of a city's major landmarks. It's just good sense". The van moved out slowly, Keyah obviously not wanting to alarm the bystanders. Once they were about 100 metras down the street, she gave it some more speed, bringing the group back to the palace in a little less than twenty momens. "Very good, Keyah!" Harrigan praised her, as the others walked over to the guard shack where Shor and Ryalla were waiting for them "Very nicely done. Quick, clean, and quiet. Not even my old squad back home could have done so well". "Thank you, sir" she replied, smiling up at Harrigan's face, a little over 8 hentae above her own "It's nice to be appreciated". "Don't worry about Talannah" Harrigan told her "She's a hard taskmaster, true – but demonstrate that you're not all talk and no substance and she'll start to trust you, maybe even like you". "I will do as you suggest, sir" Keyah responded "This is, after all, a military unit – even though it's a rather odd one. That will be the best way to earn the trust of the others".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Just get on up to your room and get some sleep" Harrigan told her, before walking up to Talannah. "Come here" he invited her, holding out his arms. Talannah wrapped her left arm around him and leaned gratefully against his shoulder as the two of them followed their troops up to the guest rooms.

"A productive day all round, I'd say" Harrigan told her slowly, stroking her cheek slowly with his right hand. Talannah pulled his head down slightly so she could kiss him, then replied "Yes, my love. Those two recruits that Captain Kran found should be excellent additions to the unit. Even that Kalish". "Come on, dear!" Harrigan chided her "It wasn't that long ago I would have probably run screaming with terror at the sight of a Scarran. Either that, or started a firefight. Then I found you, and look where we are today?" Talannah stopped to wrap her other arm around him, and the two of them just stood there in the guest wing corridor holding each other close, delighting in just having the other close by. "About to get married, leading a military unit together...".

Shor and Ryalla stood outside his room, watching the byplay between their leaders. "It's so romantic" Ryalla remarked wistfully, looking down the corridor at Harrigan and Talannah as they broke apart and walked into their room. "Hey, Ry" Shor said, slightly worried "I'm still here. If you really need me, we'll work things out together, in our own way, and in our own time. You know what?" he continued, a little more upbeat "I still can't stop thinking about the first time we met. When I flicked your pony tail...", he demonstrated – which drew a giggle from Ryalla, "...and you didn't immediately beat me to death for impertinence – but actually accepted me, even though I'm not of your species".

Ryalla drew him close, wrapping her arms around him just as Harrigan had done with Talannah microts ago. "I suppose what first attracted me to you was how refreshingly uncomplicated you were" she explained to him "Eager, even. Like the whole situation was one big adventure, and you wanted to experience all of it. It's nice to find a man I can look straight in the eye as well. Scarran males are several hentae taller than you – though not often as large as Captain Kran, and never as large as the Commander".

"With Sebaceans, it's much the same" Shor replied, holding Ryalla close "Most women of my species are shorter than me. It's wonderful to just look out across the landscape, without even looking up or down, and see you there on the same level looking back at me – that's the most delightful thing I could ever hope to see". As soon as she heard that, Ryalla placed one hand on each side of his face to hold him still and gave him as long and passionate a kiss as she knew how to, probing deeply and joyously. Shor felt like small fireworks were going off in his head. Moving his left arm down around Ryalla's waist as they kissed, the right one stroked the skin of her head and down her neck slowly and softly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- What seemed like arns, but was perhaps only a momen or so later, a short "Ohhh!" of pleasure was drawn from Shor's mouth as they separated. Shor just slumped against the wall, huffing and puffing, as he caught his breath. Ryalla stood in the corridor and smiled. "You've sapped all my strength, dear" Shor gasped "But how delightful it was. We'd better go to our own rooms now. I know I'm going to need an ice-cold shower before I calm down enough to sleep..." Ryalla just ran the tip of her tongue over her lips, winking at him, before walking inside her room and shutting the door for the night.

Eight days later, in the early morning, Nrakal's raider still had not arrived. Captain Kran was definitely getting upset and irritable; so Harrigan, Talannah, and Keyah went up to the Cry Havoc with the Captain to check on the status of the refit – and also to see if the Cry Havoc's sensors could pick up something that Ithlin's satellite net and ground stations could not. The Plokavian chief engineer was talking to Harrigan on what was being done. "Engines are fitted and ready for testing, and the improved sensors are on-line, amongst other things" he explained "The remaining four weeken will be taken up finishing the weapons fit and hooking up the crew quarters sanitary systems. Then your ship will be ready for a full flight test".

"Very good" Harrigan complemented him. Then he turned to his little group, saying "We'll test those sensors right now. To the bridge, people!" Twenty momens later, they reached the bridge elevators. Harrigan opened the right-side one, grinning as he remembered the last time he was in it, and pressed the lift button for the bridge. When they stepped out into the Cry Havoc's huge bridge area, Keyah gasped in surprise. "This is amazing!" she exclaimed in wonder "It's Scarran originally isn't it? Gunnery desk, helm console, engineering...". Keyah went on, naming all the bridge stations she recognised. She walked up onto the raised rim level, and over to the engineering console. "May I?" she asked Harrigan. "Status report, if you please" Harrigan replied. A rapid tap-tap came from Keyah's direction as she coaxed the required information out of the ship's computer. "Done" she said once it was finished. "On screen" Harrigan ordered.

Keyah grinned slightly, and tapped a few more keys. A holographic representation of the ship appeared in the middle of the room, with the equipment locations colour coded. Green denoted what was fitted and online; yellow for work in progress; and red for work still remaining. The Plokavian engineer had understated their achievements – considerable portions of the ship were active at this time. Even weaponry. "Keyah!" Harrigan ordered "Weapon status!" After the readouts below the model scrolled down to the relevant section, several locations on the holo lit up. "Seismic disruptors?" Keyah said, slightly shocked "Oh well, mine is not to reason why. The forward one, of three total, is online. Triple-A as well. Main guns in all quadrants still offline".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "What about the long-range sensors and comm systems?" Kran asked anxiously "I need to see if Nrakal's Raider is insystem yet". Keyah moved over to the nav desk and flicked two toggles. "Sensors powering up now..." she reported, moving over to the comm desk and flicking two more toggles "...and long-range comm and hyperwave systems as well. All report no problems". "Give it a momen or two, Captain" cautioned Harrigan, as Kran started for the nav desk. He stopped, turning to face Harrigan. "I'm sure it's hard on you, but those systems haven't been used before. Give them time to warm up. Don't rush it".

Soon, a voice message came over the speakers. "Sensors online" the main computer reported "Long range comm online. Hyperwave comm online. Bridge monitors register Commander Harrigan, Sub-Commander Talannah, and two unidentified personnel. Identify, please". "The computer needs a voiceprint from you" Harrigan explained "Then it'll ask you what your post is, and I'll tell it if it can take orders from you. Keyah, you first...". She swallowed nervously, then stated "I am Keyah Karimu Kalifa Kamara". "Position and responsibilities?" came the next question. "On the ground, scout and infiltrator" Keyah continued "Here, well, none have been assigned as yet".

"Captain..." prompted Harrigan. "I am Captain Kran. I am the chief infantry officer of the unit. I suspect that security responsibilities here will be mine as well". Harrigan nodded, adding "Captain Kran is third in authority. You can take orders from him as well". "Noted" replied the computer "All positions and responsibilities noted and logged. Captain Kran's authority noted and logged. Anything else, Commander?" Harrigan just pointed at Captain Kran.

"A ship carrying a comrade and my family was due to arrive yesterday" Captain Kran explained "It has not arrived at this time. Full sensor sweep on all bands". "Those commands can be entered from the navigation console if required" stated the computer "but I will institute a full sweep now". Half an arn passed by, with a subvocal growl emanating from Captain Kran the whole time, before a beep sounded from the nav console. "There is a contact just registering at the extreme edge of my sensor range" the computer explained "Impossible to determine type of vessel at this stage. But current data eliminates the possibility of a capital-class warship, Commander". "Keyah!" barked Captain Kran excitedly "Get on the comm! As soon as this ship is positively identified as Nrakal's Raider, hail it!"

Keyah smiled at the Captain in amusement and walked over to the comm desk while Talannah walked over to the nav desk. "In range" Talannah reported "Identifying...". A tap-tap cam from Talannah as she tapped in the commands manually, still not used to voice activation. "Ship registers as a Raider" she reported "Energy scan shows improved engines and sensors, but no other modifications. It's on an intercept course with the planet – it should arrive in a little less than an arn at our location". Kran turned to the comm desk to order Keyah to hail the ship, only to see her smile again and say "In progress, Captain. Contact made, sir. The pilot awaits you call".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "Nrakal!" Kran boomed over the comm "Scout-runner Nrakal! Is that you?" "No need to shout, Captain" came the reply, as the visual came on the forward viewscreen as well. "Ah, Harrigan is there as well. Talannah too. Who is the Kalish? A servant?"

Before Keyah could explode with fury, Harrigan explained her reason for being there. "Not at all, Nrakal" he said in response to Nrakal's query "She signed on as a scout, infiltrator, and assassin. Very useful to have around. She's a soldier with the rest of us, not a scullery maid". "Interesting" replied Nrakal, thinking over the implications of this "A Kalish would prove useful for such tasks, it is true. They have many talents and skills you could use. Captain Kran, your wife is here on the bridge with me. Would you like to speak to her?"

"Put her on!" Kran almost squealed in excitement. Keyah almost collapsed in laughter at his tone, but slapped her hand across her mouth so as not spoil the Captain's call. A muffled laugh still emanated from the direction of the comm desk. A middle-aged, but still striking, Scarran lady appeared on the forward screen. "Moratha, my love!" Kran exclaimed joyfully "You're OK? Unhurt?" A low, rich, laugh later, and Moratha replied with "Yes, yes, my husband! Just fine! We had to take an extra day to detour around a Peacekeeper battlegroup. All of us are fine. The children are anxious to be out of this "festering scum-hole of a dren- bucket Raider" as our son put it. We're about an arn out from Ithlin, dear. We'll be at the spaceport shortly". "Bring them on board, Captain" Talannah told him, flicking a few switches "The forward portside flight deck reports as ready".

"Who is that?" asked Moratha. "You'll meet them all when you come aboard" Captain Kran explained to his wife "Change course from the spaceport. We're activating a landing beacon for you. Follow it in. We're on our ship, in geostationary orbit. The forward portside flight bay is ready for you. Kran out". Keyah then cut the call, and Kran waved them on with him as he made his way to the nominated flight deck. Talannah activated the landing beacon and followed them out of the bridge.

Keyah ran on ahead, moving from floor to walls to ceiling and back again as she went. "Testing out your new surroundings?" laughed Talannah. "No, just taking a little exercise" Keyah replied from the ceiling "I like to practice this kind of thing. It's both useful and fun. Could very well make the difference on a mission. So the more comfortable I am at it, the better of we all are".

Ten momens run later, they reached the flight deck. A comm call came in, which the computer rerouted to Harrigan's earpiece. "What's that behemoth in orbit?" asked Moratha in alarm "It looks like a Hierarchy vessel". "Not any more" Harrigan replied, laughing quietly "It's now mine. Follow the landing beacon in, we're waiting on the flight deck for you". "Who are you?" Moratha asked suspiciously "You don't sound Scarran...". "He isn't" cut in Talannah "That was War Commander Harrigan. He commands our unit, including this ship. You will meet him when you land".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "And you are?" Moratha continued. "You'll find out when you land, ma'am" Harrigan said "All will be explained, and you can ask your husband all the questions that I'm sure your begging to ask him. Commander, out".

Three-quarters of an arn later, Nrakal's Raider entered the flight bay and set down by the Harbringer. The first people out of the Harbringer were three Scarran children. "I'm SO glad to be out of that waste-hole of a ship" he said with disdain, gesturing back at the Raider "It's definitely not designed for long distance travel. Oh for the freedom to stretch my legs without hitting at least three crates or a wall..." One of the girls added "I'd have to agree. Almost every part of me that can ache, does". The older of the two girls silenced her younger sibling with "Oh, don't whine! That Raider was all that was available at the time. We have to make the best use of the resources we have to hand. I wonder what our quarters will be like..."

A Scarran woman came down the stairway next. "MORATHA!!" Kran yelled, running to meet his wife. He picked her up off the floor, swinging her round in circles, delighted to see her again after almost a cycle apart. "Put me down!" she laughed, finally catching her breath "What will your friends over there think of us?" After Kran had put his wife back down on the flight deck, the whole family walked over to where Talannah, Harrigan, and Keyah were waiting for them. "Harrigan and Talannah will understand completely" Kran explained "They are engaged to be married. She is his 'matchless one'", he used the Old Scarran word, "just as you are mine". Moratha snuggled up close to her husband when he said that word, asking "He knows that word? And used it himself about that lady? How come? He isn't even Scarran. Can't tell what he is, actually..." as they came closer.

"War Commander Harrigan" Kran said formally "May I present my wife Moratha, my son Karroch, and my daughters Urana and Leasa". "Glad to finally meet you" Harrigan said, walking up to them. Karroch looked up in amazement – this unusual man before him was even bigger than his father! "You're really huge!" Karroch said, adding a 'Sir' at a glare from his father "Are you Scarran? You don't look Scarran". Harrigan laughed, placing one hand on Karroch's shoulder. "No, I'm not Scarran, young man" he said "But I can quite truthfully say that Scarrans made me what I am today". Even at his age, Karroch could sense that Harrigan wasn't telling him everything – but he could also tell when not to push his luck.

"So..." asked Moratha as she walked up to Harrigan "You are the cause of all the furore at Council. There is a lot of heated discussion over you appropriating the title of War Commander. You are my husband's commanding officer, and Captain of this ship as well?" Harrigan took his time, thinking about how best to respond. "As for the title, Moratha, it was given to me by Talannah over there" he decided eventually, pointing her out "As for your other questions – yes, I am your husband's commanding officer and Captain of this ship. You'll be quartered on board with us and the rest of the unit. We've got a few larger staterooms – you and your husband will get one between you. We'll berth your children next to you so you can keep an eye on them".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "The Blood Hand Council can sort itself out" Harrigan decided "Whatever they decide, I'm still Commander here. Your gear will be safe where it is for now – we'll get it shifted once the refit's complete in another three weeken". "Where are we going to stay until then?" asked Leasa, the older of the two girls. "Down at the Ithlin palace with us, young lady" Talannah told her. "You're wearing a Deadhead's uniform, aren't you?" asked Karroch. Kran gave him a solid slap around the face, hard enough to knock anyone else down. "Do not be impertinent, son!" Kran barked "That is something you do NOT NEED TO KNOW ABOUT! Show respect to the First Officer, Karroch!"

Karroch gave the Old Scarran salute, but stayed bowed over. "Sorry, First Officer, ma'am" Karroch said slowly "I apologise for any disrespect, and submit myself to any punishment you decree for my misdeeds". Talannah put one hand under his chin and lifted it up, so he was looking her in the eye. "No punishment is necessary, Karroch" Talannah replied "Consider this a learning experience. Don't do it again. Your father has punished you enough, in any case". "As you wish, ma'am" Karroch replied, backing away. "I won't kill you if you call me by name occasionally!" Talannah laughed "You aren't signed on yet, anyway – so military decorum doesn't apply. But my rank is Sub-Commander, if you prefer to address me that way. My name is Talannah".

"Who's the Kalish?" remarked Urana disdainfully, looking down her nose at Keyah. Harrigan started to explain, but Keyah laid one hand on his arm to stop him. "No, sir. I'll do this. Don't worry, Captain – I won't kill her" she said to Kran. He nodded his permission to proceed. "I am not a servant or slave, as you seem to think" Keyah said firmly "I am a scout, infiltrator, and assassin. The War Commander's personal fist and pest- controller". Urana almost went white when she heard 'assassin', but her father said "She's not going to kill you, Urana. However annoying you may seem to her". "It is as your father has said" Keyah continued "You will have to re-examine your outlook on many things to fit in here. We are a multi-species unit. Skill and loyalty are what is required for admittance, not species".

Nrakal came forward. "So, where's the sick bay in this ship?" he asked. "Not accessible at this time" Harrigan replied "The sanitation systems and nonessential power still aren't reconnected there yet". Harrigan yelled at a DRD to get the Raider hooked into the ship's main power supply. "Your Raider will be hooked into our power supply soon" he continued "Any medical supplies you have will stay safe where they are. The medical supply refrigerators in the sick bay have power, so you'll have everything you need available in three weeken when we conduct our first flight test. Now if everyone would get into the Harbringer, we will go down to the planet, settle you into temporary quarters in the palace guest wing, and any of you who want to can meet the rest of our unit. We're small right now, but will be recruiting more members as we go along".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Kran and his family followed Harrigan, Talannah, and Keyah into the Harbringer. "Talannah, could you get them safely stowed in the bunkroom, love?" Harrigan asked. "Yes, dear" Talannah replied giving him a short peck on the cheek. "Moratha" she called, as she walked down to the bunkroom on the lower deck "If you and the children would come with me...". Once they were safely ensconced in the bunkroom, Talannah ran back up to the bridge and strapped herself into her copilot's chair. "Keyah" Harrigan said "Sit there, in the flight engineer's chair". Once she was strapped in, Harrigan gave the engines some throttle and lifted off slowly. Talannah then opened the flight deck doors by remote, and the Harbringer flew out into space, after which the bay doors closed behind them.

Talannah put a call through to Koronna, down at the palace. "Yes, Sub- Commander?" she asked, when they were connected. "Captain Kran's family have arrived" she told him "We'll be back at the spaceport in ten to fifteen momens, and at the palace perhaps twenty five momens later. Make sure the rest of the unit is there when we arrive. Hopefully Hellbolt hasn't got at the raslak too much". "He hasn't been drinking at all" Koronna replied, to Talannah's astonishment "I've been getting him used to our Vipers. He won't have any of his own until we can get to one of the Cry Havoc's armouries – but I'll make damn sure he knows them inside out when we do". "Very good" Talannah replied "See you there. Talannah out".

"That went well" Harrigan remarked to Talannah "Hellbolt's learning to use our gear AND staying off the sauce". "He looks like an all-guns-blazing type" Talannah replied "Any new weapons will interest him. I think he knows to stay away from alcohol when he's on duty". When they landed, Koronna and Shor had appropriated two crawlers from the palace motor pool and were waiting to meet them. Captain Kran ushered his family into Koronna's crawler and got in with them, while Harrigan, Talannah, and Keyah jumped in the back of Shor's. Naturally, Ryalla was there in the front with him. Harrigan slapped the wall twice, saying "Go!", which got Shor to turn the crawler around and drive off back to the palace. He actually kept at a fairly sedate pace, which he explained away with "Well, I can hardly talk to Ryalla at top speed, even in this lump, can I?"

When they pulled up in the palace courtyard twenty five momens later, Tovak collared Harrigan as he stepped out if his crawler. "The King has invited the unit to lunch in the main dining room with the Royal family" he explained "Captain Kran's family as well, I presume. Come on, sir, let's get going. Our recon guy's there already – I doubt there's any entrée left by now. Kran won't be too pleased if he misses out on the Kruldan Scorcher for the main course, either".

"Food, people!" Harrigan called "To the palace dining hall!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Four weeken later, as the time came to finish the refit, Crichton was screwing the last plate into place on the displacement engine he'd need for his module, so he could create a wormhole. This one wasn't quite the same as the one he'd used to destroy the Scarran dreadnaught so long ago at DamBaDa – he knew he'd have to direct the wormhole to its desired destination as it was being formed, and it must be large and stable, too. Once he'd verified that the seal was in place and tight, he pulled the NBC suit off and threw it in a corner. "If I never see the inside of one of those frelling suits, it'll be too soon!" Crichton exclaimed, putting his two machines on a trolley and wheeling them outside. "Harrigan..." Crichton called over the comm "We're all done. Just tightened the last nut and bolt. We'll need to go EVA on you ship to put the phase stabiliser on, but we can do the wave-form calibrations from the bridge. Once that's set, you can drop me off on Moya so I can fix my other toy to my module". "We may as well get all our gear moved up to the Cry Havoc now, then" Harrigan told him "Give us, oooh, fifteen momens to get our combat gear packed and ready. We'll need to borrow a shuttle to get Shor's car up – it'll never fit in the Harbringer – but I'm sure there's a shuttle pilot who'll be willing to assist"

Fifteen momens of military chaos later, all the Scarrans (plus Keyah and Hellbolt) and Captain Kran's family, were in the motor pool waiting for Crichton as directed. Aeryn and the others were there too , standing behind Crichton. All were holding, or pulling trolleys of, various provisions they would need. Even Noranti had a huge sack slung over one shoulder. Four crawlers had been commandeered for this journey – their drivers being rousted from their barracks lunch-break to perform this last duty for their city's saviours. The King and Queen themselves came out to see them off, which surprised Harrigan if no-one else.

"Your Nrakal has explained what you are attempting" King Torthal told Harrigan. "Our satellite net will broadcast a time signal for you to home in on for your return journey. Make sure your ship synchronises a chronometer with it, so you arrive in the correct place and time when you return". "Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty" Harrigan said "We will always remember our time here. Yes, we will remember to synchronise with your homing beacon – Crichton's drilled us relentlessly on what we must do". The Queen was just whispering a few things to Talannah – who smiled and nodded back. "Move out!" yelled Harrigan, for the last time on Ithlin for their current stay "Shor, take that gold I gave you and hire a shuttle to get your car up to the Cry Havoc. Make sure the pilot can keep his or her mouth shut". Shor assured his commander that he would do so, and sped off ahead with Ryalla to see that his car got safe transport to their new home.

Everyone else boarded their crawlers. Harrigan's moved off first, then Aeryn and the Moyans, then Kran's family, then the rest of the unit. News of their departure had leaked to the news media, and many of the locals were lining the roadside to see them off. Lots of ticker-tape was thrown over the crawlers, and some of the crowd had made placards with photos of Harrigan, Talannah, or one of the others on them, captured from the newsfeed, which they waved as the convoy passed them.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Once they reached the spaceport, Harrigan's unit, Kran's family, and Crichton walked over to the Harbringer and the Moyans went to their transport pod. "It'll be a very tight fit on the way up" Harrigan cautioned the group "but it's only for twenty momens or so. Hang with it, and keep calm". "Recon, get down to the tailgunner's turret" Harrigan ordered once they were inside "Koronna, up top. Tovak, in here on the nav desk. Keyah, flight engineer's desk. Hellbolt, you'll have to jam in with the others I'm afraid". A short grumble came back in reply, but Hellbolt moved off down to the lower deck and the bunkroom.

Tovak was scanning his panel with interest. "Full surveillance suite, full comm disruptors and interception gear – including hyperwave! I could see what the King's just eaten for lunch with this lot..." he muttered happily as he looked it over. "Never mind that!" Harrigan laughed "Just get the nav gear aligned with the portside forward flight deck landing beacon". Ten microts later, Tovak reported "Done!"

Outside, Shor's shuttle had just lifted off. Harrigan and Talannah went through their preflight systems checks, then brought the engines online. Tovak had his nav gear up already, and placed a steering marker on Harrigan's HUD to guide them in. "OK, people!" Harrigan called over the interphone "In twenty five momens, we'll be safely in our new home on the Cry Havoc. Talannah will make sure you get squared away in your new quarters. Nrakal – we'll take you to the sick bay once the quarters are sorted out. Tell us if you need anything else before we set out – because our next stopover doesn't have all the mod cons that Ithlin has. Up, up, up, and away!"

Harrigan took the Harbringer up slowly, just enjoying the chance to fly. He brought the Harbringer up alongside Shor's shuttle – and saw that Ryalla was doing the flying. "What's going on over there?" Harrigan asked over the comm. "My Dad's shuttle pilot didn't want to come" Shor told Harrigan "So Ryalla knocked him out and we came anyway. I can send the shuttle back to its private pit on automatic when we're done". "You have the lead, Ryalla" Harrigan told her "Take it nice and slow – trash-haulers like that don't respond like fighters; Shor's father won't appreciate it being returned damaged, either". Ryalla promised to do her best, and slid the shuttle in through the slowly opening bay doors.

Once Harrigan had set the Harbringer down, he quickly powered it down, yelling "Everyone out! We're here!". The bunkroom emptied with astonishing rapidity, a testament to how cramped the journey was in a room designed for eleven soldiers, that hadn't been properly cleaned out since Harrigan had got it. Talannah punched up the location of the forward sleeping quarters, and led the group off to their new rooms. Crichton walked over to a locker and spent a few momens finding a flight suit that fitted, before grabbing the phase-stabiliser and walking slowly to the bay doors for the EVA. "You're not getting a suit, Harrigan?" Crichton asked. "Don't need one for short trips" Harrigan replied "This bod lets me hold enough air for fifteen momens. I'll take a breathing regulator...", and then spent a further five momens struggling to get the strap over his head, "...and that goes up to twenty five momens. Ready when you are".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Crichton stopped by a tool chest and commed Aeryn on Moya. "We're just going EVA to attach the stabiliser on the Cry Havoc" he explained to her "Shouldn't take more than ten momens". "Yes, there's a suit here that fits me!" Crichton replied easily in response to Aeryn's prodding "No, Harrigan isn't wearing one. Doesn't need one, he said. Much like Big D, I suppose. We'll be over to Moya when we're done here".

They cycled through the nearby airlock. Harrigan took up most of the space, but Crichton still had enough room to move. The artigrav generators were online now, so neither of them floated off the hull into space as they bounded slowly over to where Crichton had decided to attach the phase stabiliser. "If my perfunctory knowledge of Scarran serves me" he asked Harrigan "I can get a power feed from that socket. Let's get to it". "Yes, that's a power feed in there – plus a low-level data cable as well" Harrigan replied, passing a welding torch to Crichton. Fifteen momens later, Crichton snapped the cover over the data cables and they were done. "Better get back inside" Harrigan urged "Don't want to push this regulator too far if I don't have to". Within five momens, they had cycled through the airlock and were back inside the ship again.

Harrigan took a few deep breaths to clear his lungs. "Not too bad" he said, in response to Crichton's concern "I was beginning to find the air a little thin towards the end, but nothing major. Let' catch the transit system back to the bridge – it's quite a long walk, which I'm not in the mood for right now. Ten momens at slow transit speed later, Crichton and Harrigan stepped out onto the bridge. "Engineering desk's behind you, Crichton" Harrigan said, waving vaguely in the right direction. Koronna walked in, having stowed her gear in her new stateroom, and asked "Need me anywhere, sir?" Harrigan scratched his chin for a microt or two, finally replying with "Nav desk for now, Koronna. Talannah will be busy for a while yet. Once Crichton's done here, I'll power the main engines up and take us over to Moya. Wring the bugs out of the system a bit. Then we'll get Crichton sorted out at his end and say goodbye to his people. Probably just Talannah and myself will go – they don't react well around Scarrans on Moya.

"That's fine, Sir" Koronna said equably. "We'll have a few momens to get settled here". "I want you and Captain Kran here on the bridge while I'm over on Moya" Harrigan told her "Just in case something turns up". Koronna said "Yes, sir", sat down at the nav console, and brought the sensors back online. "We're ready here" she called to Crichton. Crichton tapped out a bunch of commands, verifying that the Cry Havoc's computer was talking to the phase-stabiliser. "Connectivity check, all green" he reported. Then he spent half an arn twisting dials, tuning the wave-form from the generator so it covered the entire hull in the correct shape.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- "That's all I can do here" Crichton said, locking the settings in "We'll need to test it for stability close to the mouth of the wormhole once I've created one, so let's get over to Moya and fix up my module".

"We could put that on an Intruder or stealth capsule from the flight deck" Harrigan said "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer one of those?" "Nah" Crichton replied "I know my baby inside out. For a tricky job like this, I'll use what I know best". "You could have one anyway, if you want one" Harrigan pressed "Why don't you ask Aeryn? A stealth capsule or Intruder may be useful. It's unfortunate a Stryker won't fit in your transport hangar or I'd give you one of those". "Between Lo'La and Aeryn's Prowler we're covered" Crichton replied "But thanks for asking".

"Get your box of tricks, then" Harrigan said, then he got on his comm again, calling Talannah. "Come on, dear" he urged her "We're heading over to Moya. I've got Kran and Koronna on the bridge, everything will be fine here. Get over to the Harbringer". No more than five momens later, Talannah ran up to the Harbringer, up the stairway, and strapped herself into the copilot's chair beside Harrigan. Crichton sat himself in the flight engineer's chair. Harrigan lifted off, and shot out of the flight deck and into open space as soon as he had sufficient power available.

On Moya, Pilot copied Crichton's notification of his arrival and passed it on to the others. "Talannah will be with them, but no others" Pilot told Aeryn. "Good" Jool remarked "I can barely tolerate her. I don't even want to think about being near to Captain Kran". "He's not so bad, Princess" Chiana replied "Very big, that's true – but nice enough once you get used to him". When the Harbringer locked into place over the inspection hatch, Harrigan and Talannah dropped through to see most of Crichton's friends waiting for him. Crichton passed the phase stabiliser down through the hatch to Harrigan, then dropped through himself.

"So" asked Aeryn "We're almost done here?" "Soon, Aeryn, babe. Soon" Crichton soothed her. "I've just got to get this whirlygig strapped onto my module, make a wormhole, and take some close readings from the bridge on Harrigan's ship. Once that's done, Moya can starburst as far as she likes". "Need any help, John?" Aeryn asked. "No thanks, love" Crichton replied, giving her a quick kiss. "You go and make sure the girls get those supplies stowed away properly, and really make sure Rygel doesn't get at the food. Granny will probably have her stuff stashed away already, so you just need to stop Spanky from having a gastric overload in the maintenance bay". "Great..." Aeryn groused "Guarding a gluttonous Hynerian and a larcenous Nebari. What fun". "You're the best at it" Crichton reminded her "The DRDs are busy, so Pilot can't watch them; Noranti's probably busy, and not the best of guardians in any case; and if we put Sputnik in charge, there'd be a full-blown war within a momen. You're it".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Aeryn walked off with Chiana and Jool in tow. Sikozu walked slowly off to her own quarters, looking over her shoulder at Talannah warily as she went. Talannah, Harrigan, and Crichton walked down to the transport hangar, and the module; where Crichton immediately dived straight for his tools and got to work. Fifteen momens later, he was almost finished. "Wrench" he called, and Harrigan passed the tool over. Crichton tightened a couple of mounting bolts, and called "Glue". Crichton took the proffered glue and stuck down a loose seal on the module's canopy. "Snickers" he called next. Talannah looked mystified, while Harrigan laughed. "Don't have any of those right now, Crichton!" came the reply "We'll add it to our list when we get back!" After he'd explained to Talannah what a Snickers bar was, Crichton jumped into the module's pilot's seat and sealing the canopy. "Stand clear!" yelled Crichton happily, as he powered up the module's engine. Harrigan and Talannah ran behind a crate, before Harrigan yelled back "All clear!" to Crichton over the comm.

The module shot out of Moya to the sound of a "Yeee-haaa!!" from Crichton over the comm. "Ooookay..." Crichton mused, comm open "I'm far enough outside all major gravity wells, so here goes...", flipped the displacement engine on, and started flying his module around in a loose circle. Harrigan and Talannah rushed up to Command, where they joined the rest of Moya's crew in witnessing the creation of the wormhole. First a dim bluish glow appeared, which soon got brighter and larger the more Crichton's displacement engine worked at moulding it into the proper shape and size. Twenty circuits later, a truly massive wormhole was sitting out in front of Moya , though thankfully at a safe distance so neither Moya or any other ship would get sucked in. "Initial readings from the module show that it's stable" reported Crichton "But I'll still need you to move the Cry Havoc closer in, so I can see if your phase stabiliser is working properly. I'm coming back in. Someone get the coffee on".

Used to Crichton's odd quotes, Dargo sent Chiana to get some hot contala tea ready. Ten momens later, Crichton had landed, and they were all in the dining room taking a well-earned rest. Harrigan sat on the floor, with Talannah leaning against him lovingly. One arm was wrapped around her waist, while the other held his tea. "Ohhhh, I needed that!" Crichton exclaimed, after his first gulp of tea "All that wormhole work gave me a headache!" Aeryn pulled his head over to rest on her shoulders, soothing the pain away with a scalp massage. "My poor John" she crooned at him "So overworked, so tense...". "We'll have to find some time to loosen you up" she whispered more invitingly in his ear, to avoid a lewd remark from Chiana. "Come on, Aeryn, love. I'd better finish this off now" Crichton said, reluctantly freeing himself from Aeryn's comforting arms.

Harrigan, Talannah, and Crichton jumped back in the Harbringer for the short trip back to the Cry Havoc. When they landed, Harrigan immediately called ahead to Koronna, getting her to get the ship ready to move. "All indicators read safe" she reported back "We're ready to move out as soon as you reach the bridge. The last Plokavian left half an arn ago"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Crichton stepped out onto the bridge to find several Scarrans, plus Hellbolt, Keyah, and Shor watching him. "Ah, yes" Harrigan said, in response to Crichton's surprise "We've had some new additions to our little band since you saw us last. Shor here", Ryalla pointed Shor out, then stepped in and put an arm around his shoulders, "will be training first of all as a pilot. Then we have Hellbolt over there...". The Nebari gave a short wave. "...specialising in air-to-mud piloting and infantry assault. Finally, we have Keyah..." Harrigan finished, pointing up at the ceiling where Keyah was sitting cross-legged at the moment. She gave a soft "Hello, Crichton" and a warm smile, then closed her eyes and got some more rest. "...for scouting, infiltration, and two-legged problem solving". "Hmm" Crichton said on hearing that "I somehow get the feeling there'll be a lot of that sort of problem around you lot".

Crichton strode over to the engineering desk. Keyah scuttled along the ceiling keeping pace with Crichton as he walked. After tapping out the commands necessary to get the stabiliser working, he asked Harrigan "Could you move the ship in closer, please?" Harrigan sat down in the helmsman's chair, flexed his arms nervously, then said "Here goes..." and almost smashed a cargo shuttle in front of them to kindling. "Baby steps...baby steps..." muttered Harrigan, giving the barest micro-movement of the throttle and helm controls, easing the ship forward. Within a few momens, Harrigan was becoming more confident, increasing speed and bringing the Cry Havoc in line with the mouth of the wormhole. The ship shuddered a little as the phase stabiliser's field locked into the substance of the wormhole – but that disappeared inside half a momen. Crichton made a few notations on a bit of paper, then calculated a few more things in his head before nodding to himself and getting up.

"You're all set" Crichton declared. All Harrigan's people clapped in response, which prompted Crichton to make a few dramatic bows and "...Thank you, thankyou's" around the room. "Shor" Harrigan ordered "Get an Intruder and take Commander Crichton back to the Leviathan, Moya. We'll get started as soon as you return". "Aye, Commander Harrigan" Shor replied, turning to Crichton and prompting "Commander Crichton? This way, please".

Once the two of them had left, Harrigan started giving out more orders. "Talannah, I'll need you here on the nav console. Not only do I want you close to me, but you're the best nav we've got" he said. Talannah smiled and sat down close by Harrigan at the nav station. "Koronna, you're on engineering". Koronna nodded and moved over to the nominated desk and sat down. "Keyah, comms for you". She dropped off the ceiling, flipping over in a somersault, before landing right-side-up on the bridge floor and walking over to the comm desk. "Ready and waiting, Commander" she replied after sitting down. "Hellbolt, gunnery" Harrigan directed the Nebari, then added "We'll do a short target practice test here, but don't touch anything after that. We've got enough power to level cities from geostationary orbit – and I don't want to start World War 3 when we get back home". Then he turned to Captain Kran. "You'd better go to your wife and children and get them secure for wormhole travel. It's very rough, I don't want anyone moving – get your crash webbing on and tight. Ryalla and you others, you get yourself in you quarters and strapped down as well. Shor will be back soon – once he's in his quarters, we'll let Hellbolt loosen his trigger finger on a couple of asteroids before we take the plunge".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- Five momens later, Shor's Intruder landed back in the flight deck. He immediately vaulted out of the cockpit, sealed the canopy, and ran to his quarters. "Lock down the flight deck!" he yelled over the comm as the ran through the open door to his stateroom. Once he shut it and strapped himself to his bed, he reported "All secure here, Commander. Moya's moving away – we're all clear".

Koronna immediately turned flight deck gravity up to maximum, ensuring the small craft there wouldn't shift during violent manoeuvring in the wormhole. "All secure on the flight deck, Commander" she reported. Harrigan eased the Cry Havoc around away from the wormhole and sent the ship a little further outsystem. "Hellbolt, try to lock up an asteroid as far away as you can with the starboard gun pods" Harrigan said. Hellbolt did so. "Got three locked in, sir. Two are moving slowly relative to us, but the other's dead still" he replied. "Fire when ready" Harrigan ordered. Searing flashes of plasma from several of the starboard batteries pummelled the small asteroids into tiny fragments no larger than a pea. "Good, the fire control works" Harrigan said happily. "Cooling's good too" reported Hellbolt, ten momens later "We're ready to fire again".

Harrigan tuned the Cry Havoc right around and headed back for the wormhole. "Keyah, give me the shipwide PA please" Harrigan asked her. She pressed two buttons, then nodded at him. "People, this is you Commander speaking. Secure all loose objects, turn off all running water, flush the toilet, and strap down for the wildest ride of your lives...". Harrigan's left hand slashed down, and Keyah cut the PA off. "Tal, lock on to the frequency received by that small GPS receiver in my backpack. I need a time and year hack for our destination. Keyah, do the same for Ithlin, so we can find our way back" Harrigan ordered, getting more excited by the microt. "Ithlin time signal locked in" replied Keyah. "Add one week to that signal to avoid temporal overlap, then snap the key off in the lock" Harrigan said back to her. A short while later, their return signal was set.

"Get us closer" Talannah asked "I'm not getting a clear signal". "We need mid to late 2004" Harrigan clarified "That will put our arrival approximately four to five months, local time, after Crichton and Moya were there. That'll do until we arrive. We'll figure out what to do next when we get there". "Still can't get a signal, John" Talannah complained "We'll have to lock on as we go. I'm getting multiple signals and can't clean it up from out here". Harrigan shook his head slowly from side to side. "Oh, isn't this always the way..." he moaned softly, before pulling sharply to port and plunging down the wormhole...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- The Cry Havoc's engines responded magnificently to the strains of wormhole travel. The ship flipped up, over and around a s Harrigan wrestled with the controls and fought the ship through the wormhole dench by dench. "I need a signal, Tal!" Harrigan pleaded. "Almost there, love..." she muttered, twisting and turning her own controls as she fought to get a clear signal on the sensors "...locking on, signal shows 12th June 2004, LOCK ON!"

"Thank YOU!" Harrigan thanked her. "Guide us in, my dear! We're relying on you!" "Left!" she yelled. Harrigan pulled the control stick in the required direction and eased off the throttle slightly.

"Right here!"

"Right again!"

"Left!". "Oops, nearly went the wrong way! Sorry!"

"Right..."

"Left..."

"Straight up! There's an opening into normal space ahead. Signal's coming in faintly but clearly. It IS the correct time period!" Talannah yelled.

Fifteen microts later, the Cry Havoc emerged from the wormhole into the Sol system for the first time. Harrigan immediately brought the ship down to station-keeping thrust once they were clear of the mouth of the wormhole. Then he unstrapped himself from the helmsman's chair, and stood up to face his crew. "We've made it, people!" Harrigan howled victoriously, jumping up and down. Talannah got up to join him, and he wrapped his arms around her in a crushing hug. "You were just perfect, Tal, my love. Yet again" he whispered.

Harrigan got Keyah to switch the PA back on. "In case you haven't already figured it out..." he explained with a grin "...we've just emerged from the wormhole back in to normal space. We are now in the home system of my species". Once the looks of stunned amazement had died away from those on the bridge, Harrigan continued in a more sober tone. "We'll need to be very careful. According to the signal we're receiving, it's about five months after Crichton left, local time. There may still be some hysteria about aliens in the local news media. Under no circumstances is ANYONE to talk to the press AT ANY TIME! This whole jaunt is classified Most Secret – if they ask, tell them that you're not permitted to say anything. If they persist, thump them. Hard. Now, we'll meet in the forward galley for refreshments and decide what to do next. Harrigan out".

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