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Chapter 23 : Terran Revelations
A few momens later, Shor pulled up outside a neatly turned-out house where the married officers are quartered. "Pull up here, young man" General Franklin ordered him "That's my house. We'll just wait for Harrigan and the rest of your lot to turn up".
Not long afterwards, they turned up, running on ahead of Harrigan and Talannah. With Ghost leading the way, the group saw Shor's car and ran over to General Franklin's house and pulled up, leaning against the fence until the Americans got their breath back. "You'lll have to do better, you lot!" Harrigan laughed "Even Keyah did better than you! What are you – mice or men?" Lazarus' people muttered all manner of remarks about that, but not too loudly.
"Come on in" General Franklin asked them "You'd better remember to duck – my house is made for humans, not your people – the ceilings aren't too high". Harrigan had to turn side-on and duck – his altered body couldn't fit through the door straight on. Some of the taller Scarrans – Kran, Trannak, and Tovak – had to duck a little, but otherwise made it inside fine.
"Hello, dear" General Franklin called out to his wife as they walked through to the lounge room "Got a few guests here". "Oh, yes?" she replied from the kitchen "How many? Don't know if we've got enough dinner for everyone". General Franklin did a quick head count, saying "Ten, hon. Just a few too many at short notice, I know. But could you put the kettle on for us when you've got a moment?" A tap turning marked her filling the kettle, and a flick of a switch followed as it was turned on. "Who are these people you've bro....Ohh!" she asked, almost screaming in shock when she saw the Scarrans sitting on her sofa. Seeing Harrigan squatting on the floor didn't exactly make it any easier, either.
"They're quite safe!" the General soothed his wife, calming her down "Not exactly locals, I know – but you'll like them once you get to know them". His wife immediately picked up on the way he said 'locals', adding "You don't just mean from another state, or even another country. You mean another planet. They're al—". Harrigan cut in at that point. "Mrs Franklin" he said "Please don't say that word. We don't like it at all. My guys are people on the inside, just like you". "Not exactly like you" Keyah added, raising one eye at Harrigan "But you don't have anything to worry about in relation to us being in your home.
The General's wife turned to Harrigan. "You speak like you've seen me before" she said, trying to figure out who he was "But I'm sure I'd recognise someone as unique as you". Harrrigan laughed a bit, saying "That's a good word ma'am, I like it! But I looked a lot different when you last saw me". He scanned the photos on the wall and sideboards for any with him in them, then pointed to it. "There" Harrigan said "Standing next to Captain Lazarus on the left". She took a look at the photo, then back at you, switching back and forth between the two, seemingly unable to reconcile one with the other.
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"Yes, that IS me" Harrigan confirmed "That photo would be a few years old by now, though. I've changed a lot since then". He looked down tenderly at Talannah sitting on the floor beside him. Despite the others offering her a seat, she'd decided to sit on the floor with Harrigan, saying "If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me". She reached up and kissed him, before leaning back against his shoulder.
"Who's that with you?" the General's wife asked, trying to figure it out. "This is Talannah, Mrs Franklin" Harrigan explained proudly "The love of my life, my one and only – and soon to be my wife". Her brain just about shut down at that point. After her mouth just flapped open and shut for a few seconds, she eventually regained control of her voice to say "It's good to see you're settling down, losing your wild edge. But marrying a...non-human?"
"Yes..." Harrigan replied emphatically "Talannah is not a human. But I don't care about that, and neither does she. What we do care about is being together for the rest of our lives. Both with my unit, and every other way as well. I just couldn't imagine going through life without her". Even through Talannah's bluish-purple skin, General Franklin's wife could recognise a loving expression when she saw it. "That's a big turn around for you" she said, finally coming to accept that this was Harrigan before her "A long way from the man who filled the Officer's Club sprinkler system with fluorescent green paint and turned it on in the middle of the Christmas party three years ago". Kran and the others looked over at their CO, eager to hear what else he'd done before meeting them.
"And from the man who put laxatives in the hor d'oeuvres the year before that" she added slowly "AND the man who used every chance he could get to mess with the base MPs and tie them stark-naked to lamp posts with gaffer tape". "His favourite party trick now, Mrs Franklin "Shor said with a laugh "Is hurling obstructive diplomats bodily through doors without opening them first. He's the diplomat bowling champion of the Uncharted Territories, is our CO". "I've only done that once!" Harrigan protested, but not too much – because a slight grin was forming as he remembered that incident. "He deserved everything he got" Harrigan laughed. "You'd just got me to try Kruldan Scorcher, too" Shor told everyone "That stuff should carry a warning label!"
The General and Mrs Franklin brought the tea out. "Thank you, Mrs Franklin" Kran said, while taking some care with his English. Kran's deep Scarran growl startled her slightly, but Kran steadied her tray before she dropped it. General Franklin pulled up the last chair, and turned it to face them before starting.
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"Right, Harrigan" General Franklin began "Here's the situation as it stands. That Israeli Colonel is the latest in a line of visitors and comminiques from their embassy asking where the hell their Captain's disappeared off to. This time, it's her division head from the Mossad! At least that's who we think he is – no one's been able to find any records for him..."
"This 'Mossad'..." Talannah asked "It is an intelligence organisation of some kind, yes?" General Franklin turned to look at Talannah, saying with some surprise "Yes, it is – though not from this country. How did you guess?" Talannah just smiled, adding "I was a commando for the military intelligence branch of my government before I met John here. The way you spoke – 'division head' instead of 'superior officer' – proved my suspicion". "One of Harrigan's original crew was a visiting officer from there" General Franklin confirmed "A woman about the same age as him. Their government doesn't believe we don't know where she's gone".
"Number two problem" the General went on "the girlfriend of the other member of that crew, along with a bunch of like-minded crackpots, has been badgering and bothering us about where her young man has gone. They've been saying a whole bunch of things about government cover-ups, flying saucers, and who knows what else – to the press as well as us. When their pet reporters find out you're here, and your connection to the missing corporal, they'll go ballistic".
"Our Commander" said Keyah, from her vantage point on General Franklin's living room ceiling "has specifically forbidden us to talk to such people. We will not let him down". General Franklin looked up in astonishment, opening his mouth to say "How the he...." Before Harrigan said "It's a species' trait. All of her people do that. Don't worry about it". "Back to our conversation – my guys won't talk to the press" Harrigan explained, getting things back on track "I've ordered them to keep their traps shut. If any reporters don't take 'No' for an answer, they'll get a knuckle sandwich in return".
"So you can see them tomorrow, then?" General Franklin asked hopefully. Harrigan shook his head, replying "No, General, I can't". Seeing the agonised loook on his face, Harrigan explained "Wedding first, PR last. I didn't come here to ride herd on a bunch of self-important government diplo-nuts, or any journalists either. I'll talk to this Colonel, and MAYBE the corporal's girlfriend. AFTER the wedding – not now".
"Very well" General Franklin replied, a little peeved "At least you'll see them. That damn Holt willl probably be back for that as well – he's got the President's approval to be involved, I can't get rid of him". "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it" decided Harrigan finally "Tomorrow, I'll need to get a suit sorted out for the wedding, and Talannah will need a wedding dress as well". "I'll get my wife to help out there" the General replied "She'll take Talannah along with some of the other wives on-base and sort her out. What about the bridesmaids and best man?"
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"'Bridesmaids'?" asked Talannah, perplexed "What are they?"
"A small retinue, dear" the General's wife explained, coming to join her husband "Just there to look decorative – and hold the end of the dress off the ground, if it's a long one". "I'd ask Koronna to do that..." Talannah mused aloud "But I seriously doubt we'd find a dress big enough, even if she was inclined to wear one". Koronna smiled, a slight flush spreading across her cheeks, saying "For Talannah, I would make the effort. If we can find anything that will fit my somewhat over-muscled body". Koronna looked down at the floor a little sadly after that, until Ryalla reassured her a little.
"I'll need you as well, Keyah" Talannah added, much to Keyah's surprise. "Me?!" she replied, almost losing her grip on the ceiling "What in hezmana for? I've never even worn that kind of dress before – I'll just look stupid! Why not Ryalla...or even Jane..." Mrs Franklin looked up to see Keyah sitting cross-legged on the ceiling, and almost dropped the teacup she was washing on the floor. "Don't you worry, young lady" she reassured Keyah "Though your skin tone is a little...unusual, you're the same size as a human – one of us will either have something that'll fit on hand, or will be able to make it. Though that will take all day...".
"Now that the ladies have sorted their side of things out" General Franklin said, leading Harrigan into the back garden "Who's going to be the best man?" "Tricky..." said Harrigan "Trannak doesn't like being in the public eye much...much less our recon guy...Tovak's better with machines than people, and Karroch's too young...Ah yes, Hellbolt! He'll be just fine!" "Which one's he?" General Franklin asked, to which Harrigan replied "The pale grey-skinned one nearest the kitchen, talking to your wife".
General Franklin looked in through the patio doors – indeed there was a man of that description talking to his wife. He seemed to be quite the conversationalist, his wife laughing at his jokes and asking him all sorts of questions, to which he responded in kind. "Quite the ladies man, that one..." the General remarked, a little suspiciously "He'd better watch himself round the base – not all the fathers will appreciate him trying to make a move on their daughters". "Hellbolt knows when not to push his luck, General!" Harrigan laughed "The single women on base will be quite safe, as will your wife". "What makes you think..." the General started, when Harrigan cut him off with "I know that look, General. It's been directed at me a few times – though not for some years".
"Who'll be giving the bride away?" General Franklin asked next. "Captain Kran" Harrigan replied instantly "He's the only one suitable – he's the oldest Scarran we've got, and he's married. His wife and daughters are staying on board our ship – they didn't want to come planetside with us". "That really big one?" General Franklin said, a little uneasily. "Yes, him" Harrigan said, waving through the glass doors for Kran to join them outside.
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"Commander?" he asked "You asked for me?" "Yes, I did" Harrigan replied "I want you to give the bride away at the wedding, Captain". Kran smiled happily, saying "I would be honoured. Talannah's father isn't here after all, and sooner or later my own daughters will marry, so this will be good practice".
"What about a suit?" General Franklin asked "A suit for Harrigan's likely to stretch the PX to breaking point. What about you?" Kran tapped the General on the shoulder, adding "I am quite well connected in the my group's high council. My wife should have brought my formal robes – they will suffice admirably".
"It's getting late, Harrigan" General Franklin added, looking at his watch "Your people better get back to their guest quarters. We can put up Talannah and you in my house for tonight". When they went back inside and told the others, their was much relief on their faces. "We all need the rest, sir" Tovak replied "We've had rather a full few days recently". "So we have" added Trannak "I'll just get everyone back to the VIP quarters, then. Make sure they don't get lost". "You can ride with Shor and Ryalla in the car" Harrigan decided "Make sure they don't get...sidetracked...on the way. May take them several days to get there otherwise". "I hear you, sir" Trannak said solemnly, getting everyone outside – and giving a few very pointed directions to Shor and Ryalla on the way.
Shor dropped off a couple of Scarran-sized sleeping bags before returning to his car and driving off slowly to the VIP quarters. General Franklin unfolded his couch into a bed, while Harrigan unrolled one of the sleeping bags and tested it against his own height. "Hmph" he said resignedly "Long enough. It'll do". The sofa-bed bent slightly at Harrigan's enormous weight settling on it, but nothing broke. Mrs Franklin led Talannah upstairs to the spare bedroom. Harrigan looked over at her as she went, whispering "...love you..." as she went up the stairs. Talannah whispered "...love you, too..." back at him before she and the General's wife went upstairs.
Five hours later, Harrigan was twisting and turning in his sleeping bag – he'd barely had two hours of sleep that night. Rubbing his eyes slowly to clear them he staggered over to the sink to get himself a drink of water, ducking to make sure he didn't dislodge the light fittings or destroy the ceiling fan with his head. As he passed the staircase, he looked up it, imagining he could see Talannah at the top of it waiting for him. "This isn't getting anything done, is it?" he muttered slowly, before filling a glass.
Up in the guest bedroom Talannah had got an hour or so more sleep, but was still finding herself unable to return to sleep at that time. Perhaps if I see him just for a while, she thought to herself, I'll be able to get some sleep. After putting her undertop and shorts back on, she wandered down the stairs, emerging into the kitchen to find Harrigan by the sink getting a second glass of water.
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"Can't sleep, Tal?" Harrigan enquired, smiling sleepily. Talannah nodded, leaning against his chestplate, saying "I don't know why. I just feel more secure, more at ease, when I can see you". Harrigan smiled back at her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close for just a few seconds.
Folding the sofa-bed back to sofa mode again, Harrigan rolled his sleeping bag out in the sitting room's open area. Climbing back in, he grabbed a couple of cushions for a pillow and lay back. "Come on, dear" Harrigan urged her "Unroll that spare sleeping bag and get some sleep here. We've got a busy few days ahead of us. Use me for a pillow if you like – though my chest carapace isn't the most comfortable place for you to rest your head". "It'll be just fine" Talannah assured him emphatically, making a show of kneading his chestplate to the proper shape. Harrigan laughed quietly, and soon the pair of them drifted off to sleep.
General Franklin came down the following morning to find the pair of them sound asleep. Talannah was lying perpendicular to Harrigan, her head resting on his chest and her arms curled up under her. Harrigan had a slight grin on his face, and was snoring quite loudly – it sounded almost like a constantly running unmuffled engine. The General gave a slight laugh, and went back upstairs to get his wife. "Where's Harrigan's lady?" she asked her husband "She's not in the guest room..." Her husband just raised his eyebrows and gestured for her to follow him downstairs – quietly.
Mrs Franklin couldn't help but smile at the sight that confronted her in her lounge room. Talannah had unconsciously snuggled up a little closer, and Harrigan's arms had moved to hold her there. She looked up at her husband with a smile, remembering back to the time just before they were married all those years ago. "Should we just leave them there?" she whispered "They look so comfortable, so peaceful, there". "Put the kettle on, love" General Franklin asked her "We'll wake them when it's boiled". A minute or two later, the kettle had barely started to whistle when Harrigan jerked awake. "Where in hezmana..." he remarked in Scarran, reaching for his Viper. "You're in my living room, Harrigan" General Franklin laughed "You won't need the gun – we're not at war in here".
Harrigan looked around, assuring himself that things were exactly as the General had said, then safed the Viper and put it back down. "What was he saying, dear?" Mrs Franklin asked her husband quizzically "I couldn't understand a word". "He was just wondering where he was" General Franklin explained "But he was speaking in Talannah's language, I think. I can only understand it because they gave me a little something to help with that". "Come on, Talannah..." Harrigan whispered in her ear, nudging her insistently. She snapped round with a snarl on her face, but that soon turned to a sleepy smile when she saw Harrigan. "I suppose we'd better get up then, John..." Talannah said reluctantly, with a yawn.
"Better had, love" Harrigan replied, looking over to see Mrs Franklin preparing a cooked breakfast. "Get your uniform on – breakfast will be ready when you're done"
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Fifteen minutes later, when Talannah finally made an appearance, Harrigan was tucking into a huge plate of ham, eggs, and hash browns.
"Come on, dear!" he said happily between mouthfuls "Mrs Franklin's a really good cook – you'll love what she's done with breakfast!" Talannah sat down a little further along the kitchen counter and started a little more sedately on hers. "Very good, Mrs Franklin" Talannah said "We don't have any meat quite like this back in the Uncharted Territories. I'm sure John will want to take some back with us".
"Thnak you" Mrs Franklin replied, rather unsure of exactly how to deal with people so obviously non-human "I'll need to borrow you today, Koronna and Keyah as well, so we can manage a fitting for your dresses. I'll get a couple of the other wives on base to help out – it's too big a job just for me".
Meanwhile, General Franklin was going through his plans with Harrigan. "You're going to have to talk with that Israeli today, Harrigan – he's probably found out you're here by now". Harrigan shrugged, saying "Fine by me, sir. At least I know where I stand with military people – it's that loony-tunes girlfriend of my old corporal I'd rather avoid". "I hear you, Harrigan" General Franklin replied wearily "We can bar reporters from the base – but can't really get away with doing the same for her as far as this goes, as she does classify as the dependant of a dead serviceman. She IS entitled to know what happened".
Over in the VIP quarters, Captain Kran was awakened by a ferocious banging on the door of his room. After growling nastily in Scarran, he slipped his shorts on, grabbed his Viper, and opened the door Troll was very surprised to see Captain Kran out of uniform, but recovered enough to say "Captain Kran? Captain Lazarus wondered if you'd like a tour around the base. Since you haven't had breakfast, our first stop had better be the IASA cafeteria – it's better than our military one". Kran went back inside for his comm, calling the others to tell them to get ready. "About twenty minutes" he told an expectant Troll "Then we'll be ready enough".
Trannak was up and about already, deciding he'd like the opportunity for a quick look around on his own. He'd decided to chance not wearing his helmet – some people may be frightened by my appearance, he thought to himself as he slipped out of the VIP quarters through the back door, but I don't like the closed-in feeling that helmets give. He was half way to the Captain Lazarus' barracks when Captain Kran's call came through. "I'm out having a look already, Captain" Trannak told him "I'm stopping at Captain Lazarus' barracks first to pick up someone to show me around and make sure I don't get lost. I've got Tovak with me as well – the others are still with you".
Kran growled at Trannak's jumping the gun. "Too used to operating on his own, that's his trouble" Kran muttered during his morning shower "I'll have a word with Talannah about that later, after the wedding".
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A little more than the predicted twenty minutes later, the rest of the team walked out to meet Troll again. "Where's Trannak?" Koronna asked quizzically "Tovak as well. Are they still in bed?"
She took a few more seconds to think about it, then added "Probably not, now that I come to think about it. Trannak always did have the preference for sneaking off on his own – I'm just a little surprised if he chose to take Tovak with him". "You are indeed correct, Koronna" Kran replied "He's taken Tovak and gone off on his own. He's got his comms with him – and said he was stopping off at the barracks first". "So I might well have passed them on the way" Troll added "I'm surprised I didn't see them". Koronna laughed, adding "I'd be very surprised if you did. He earnt his nickname - 'Snake' - for being so quiet nobody heard his footsteps. He's a very good skulker".
"I'll deal with that later" Kran decided "Come on, you lot – we'd batter make a short stop at General Franklin's house and ask Harrigan exactly what supplies he needs. Troll – lead the way". The group jogged off down the road towards the housing for married officers, when a few minutes into the trip Kran decided to pick up the pace. "Move it, move it – move, move, MOVE!" he yelled happily. Ryalla passed over the training whip she carried, and Kran gave it an experimental crack over their heads. Troll drew breath to ask what was going on, but Kran screamed "Did I ask for your opinion?! You're with Scarrans – you'd better learn to keep up! Shor's doing it – why can't you? Too much, is it?"
Kran flicked the whip just over Troll's head. "General Franklin's quarters, soldier!" he barked "Quick smart! Jump to it!" The crack of the whip immediately galvanised Troll into action – he took off at a sprint, and didn't even think of slowing down until they were barely ten metres from the front door of the General's house. "We aren't there yet, human!" Kran shouted in his ear "Get moving!"
Troll didn't bother groaning – he needed all his energy to move. The group ran up to the General's door, where Kran rang the doorbell and Troll folded up in a lump on the edge of the flower bed, puffing and wheezing and bringing up his meagre breakfast all over the plants. "What's up, Captain?" Harrigan asked when he came to the door. Then he looked down to see Troll looking very queasy indeed, kneeling on the grass. "And just what have you been doing to him?" Harrigan added with a slight smirk.
"Used the opportunity for a short training run" the Captain reported, flicking the whip experimentally "The old methods are the best methods. Don't know what we're going to do with this one – as soon as we reached this house, he just folded up on the grass". Harrigan burst out laughing, which didn't help Troll's ego one bit. "He's not with us yet, if ever at all!" Harrigan said to his Captain "If we're going to do any recruitment here, we'll deal with it after the wedding. Anyway, what can I help you with?"
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"I thought I'd start getting some supplies in" Kran explained "I expect you'll want some food and drink from this planet to take back with us. Maybe some other things as well". "Right enough, Captain" Harrigan said "I told Crichton I'd get some steak and other stuff for him – Rygel will want as much chocolate and other confectionery as we can grab for him as well. But he's not getting all of it – we get first dibs on whatever's going".
Harrigan got a pen and notepad from beside General Franklin's phone and scrawled a fairly long list of what was needed. "Troll?" he called "Troll – get up!" "No more running, please!" Troll pleaded, staggereing to his feet "We're just off a mission – I need some rest!" "I've got a different job for you now" Harrigan told him, laying one giant hand on his shoulder "I want you to take my guys out to get hold of the things on this list. As much as you can find. Don't worry – we'll tell them to send the bill to the White House and TR Holt. He can pay for it instead. How does that sound?"
A smile slowly worked across Troll's rather strained face at the prospect of what the President would do to Holt after he got the bill. "Right on, Harrigan!" he replied with enthusiasm "Request permission to stop by the IASA cafeteria first though, sir?" "Not a bad idea" Harrigan replied, rubbing his hands with glee "I'm still hungry – I think I'll join you!"
"Bye ladies!" he called as he went outside "Don't get into trouble while I'm gone, will you?" A loud Scarran "Hmph!" and Talannah ran up to the door to give him a piece of her mind. "Don't you go on about trouble, John!" she berated him "You're more likely to find it out there than I am in here!" Harrigan silenced her with a kiss, holding it until her annoyance had dissolved into desire. "Don't worry about me" she told him, in a much quieter and happier tone once they had pulled apart "I'll be just fine. Leave Koronna here, though – I'll need her for a while".
Harrigan waved Koronna inside, before turning back to Captain Kran. "Let's get this show on the road!" he yelled "I haven't been to the IASA cafeteria in almost two Earth years! Time to check up on them, I think. Follow me, people!" Harrigan took off at top speed. "Not again..." Troll groaned, but got up and ran anyway. "Faster!!" Kran ordered him. "B...Bett...Better s-stop off..." Troll spluttered "At the ba...ba...barracks. Pick up the oth...others". "A volunteer to show us the way!" Kran congratulated him "Get up the front and show us where it is, then!". "Me and my big mouth..." Troll muttered, before running up ahead. Harrigan and his people followed close behind, Karroch asking "Don't you already know the way, sir?" "Oh, yes" replied Harrigan "But our Captain's having so much fun – let's not spoil it for him! And there's no need to let Troll know either". "I'd better get up front with father" Karroch explained "Or I'll never hear the end of it". "Go to it, then!" Harrigan urged, and Karroch shot off to join the Captain.
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Two other officer's wives had just turned up at General Franklin's house. The General had left for the cafeteria by car – he definitely wasn't up to a run, especially at Scarran speed. So Mrs Franklin, Talannah, Koronna, and Keyah had the house to themselves. "Hello, Mrs Franklin!" the two ladies greeted her. "Pam, Amy – good to see you again" Mrs Franklin replied "I've asked you here to help prepare dresses for a bride and bridesmaids, we've got a military wedding coming up on Sunday". The two women went to go in, but Mrs Franklin held them back for a moment . "Just one word of warning..." she explained "There's something quite different about this one..."
The first thing they saw when they entered the living room was Koronna getting another cup of tea. Pam screamed at the top of her voice, and tried to run away – while Amy just backed up against the wall, gibbering with fright. "Don't worry, they won't eat you" Keyah said. Unfortunately, she said this while still perched on the ceiling – which only made the ladies even more frightened. Keyah noticed this and dropped to the floor. "It took me that way, too" Mrs Franklin explained sheepishly "But you get used to them quicker than you think. They came back with Harrigan yesterday". "Harrigan's back?" Pam exlaimed in shock "Not again! I still remember when he doped up the punch before that business with the shuttle about a year and a half ago, it took me four days to get back to normal!"
"Now, Pam" Mrs Franklin chided "It was never proved Harrigan was responsible for that". Mrs Franklin thought he was, though – she remembered fleeting glimpses of a familiar face in an unfamiliar uniform across the dance floor. "Only because the MPs won't talk" Amy added "Though the enlisted MPs don't like Harrigan, they won't move against him unless ordered to – him and Lazarus often sharpened their skills on them, which hasn't changed since he left. The amount of times they've found MPs bound, gagged, and stripped of their uniforms is too many to count!"
"Quieten down – both of you!" snapped Mrs Franklin "We can gossip later. We've got some measuring and fitting to do". "W...which one of you is the lucky lady?" Amy asked fearfully. Please don't let it be that big one! she gibbered inside her own head, I don't want to get nearer to her! Talannah raised her hand, saying "That would be me – Amy, yes?" "T...That's right" she replied "You speak good English for a...well...al..."
"I wouldn't say that" Keyah cautioned "Most of us react quite in definitively nasty way to that word. Especially people of Talannah's species". Pam started again with "You speak good English for a...non-human". "Better" Talannah replied "Yes, I do. Except for Keyah here, I have the best aptitude for languages, even though it's not a skill I use often". Talannah unstrapped her swords and Viper, handing these to Koronna, who laid them on the sofa in easy reach. "Well, let's get started then..." Pam decided, determined to go on better than she'd started.
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Harrigan and the team pulled up outside the barracks, where Harrigan yelled "GET OUT HERE, THE LOT OF YOU!!" at the top of his voice. Thankfully, Captain Lazarus and the team were already up and about – but Harrigan's bellowing still started them severely, making Lazarus drop his pen on the floor. "Harrigan..." he growled, before walking into the ready room where the those of his unit who were still able-bodied after the North Korean mission were relaxing. "Come on, you lot" Captain Lazarus said "We'd better get out there before Harrigan's shouting wakes up the whole base".
"Five minutes later, Captain Lazarus and his squad walked outside. "Good! Very good!" Hrrigan said happily "First and most important – food. Commandeer a couple of long tables in the cafeteria for us, Ghost – we'll be along shortly. Jane – you go along with him". The two soldiers nodded, and ran off towards the cafeteria. "Harrigan" Captain Lazarus reminded him "I AM still Captain of this unit! IF you don't mind, tell me what you're doing BEFORE you give any orders. Please?" "Just for you, Captain" Harrigan replied cheerily "But after we get something to eat. Despite Mrs Franklin's excellent breakfast, I'm still hungry".
Ghost and Jane ran straight inside the cafeteria, immediately sequestering two of the biggest tables for themselves. This upset a few of the MPs on the morning duty roster, who were summarily ignored as the pair of them pushed the MPs away. "Lazarus' boys at it again" one said, omitting any mention of Jane in a calculated insult "Anyone would think that Harrigan was back, they way these two moved!" Jane grinned at Ghost, who had a grin of his own plastered over his face by now. "Harrigan's gone" the second one told his colleague "Long gone. Probably in Leavenworth, if there's any justice round here". He was about to go on, but the sound of heavy footsetps alerted the first MP before he could get going. "Er..." he started, but got no further before Harrigan kicked the doors open. He didn't kick too hard – the doors only broke their hinges and fell to the floor, they weren't hurled across the room.
Harrigan's people and Lazarus' squad ran inside and made a beeline for the tables that Ghost and Jane had set aside. The sight of the Scarrans caused much comment, and not a little distaste and hostility, until Captain Kran growled at everyone – after which they immediately turned back to their food and conversation, making a deliberate effort to avoid these nasty-looking visitors. Harrigan looked at the MPs, saying "Weren't you the two I tied up in the guard hut before I left?" "Aaaah!" one yelled "It's Harrigan!" "That doesn't look even remotely like him!" his comrade said, grabbing him by the shoulder "He's about a foot taller and who-knows-how-much heavier". "Look at the face, then" the first one excalimed "Then tell me I'm wrong!" He took one look at Harrigan's face – the grin he saw there told him everything he needed to know. The two of them ran as fast as they could back to the guard hut at the main entrance without stopping.
"Not a bad turn of speed" Kran said, watching them leave "Almost Scarran level, I'd say". "Let's eat!" Harrigan said, leading them up to the counter. There he stayed true to his old character by heaping his plate high with sausages, bacon, tomatoes, and eggs before going back to the table.
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One hour, and five helpings, later, Harrigan finally decided he'd had enough. "That's Harrigan, alright" the kitchen staff said to each other, relieved that they could stop at last "His appetite's grown even bigger than the rest of him – and those strange looking ...people..." they said uneasily, looking at the Scarrans "that he's got with him aren't that far behind".
"Hellbolt, take Karroch back to the Cry Havoc in the Stryker and get a cargo shuttle readt for each of you" Harrigan ordered him as they walked outside "You can fly, Karroch, can't you?" "A bit, yes..." Karrroch responded, a bit surprised "On smaller craft..."
The recon specialist cut in, saying "I can fly shuttles like that well enough, sir" in his usual whisper "I'm a good, if unimaginative, flyer". "OK" Harrigan decided "Go back with Hellbolt, get a shuttle ready each, and wait for our signal. When you get it, follow it down – there'll be cargo waiting for you".
Trannak and Tovak decided not to bother Captain Lazarus in the end, and wandered around the base, taking in the sight of human soldiers and civilian personnel going about their duties. Most of those they met moved away from them as they approached, giving them a wide berth as they walked around the base. Tovak looked a little annoyed, after about the fifteenth "Ugh..." and "Who – what – are they?" from bystanders. "You'd think to hear them" he remarked to Trannak "that they think we're here to take over their planet and kill everyone". "That's probably true" Trannak responded quietly "Remember what the Commander said before we got there – these people have not made first contact yet, and are notoriously xenophobic even amongst their own species. Captain Lazarus and his team have proved to be the exception rather than the rule".
When they reached the main runway, they found one Air Force sergeant standing on the tarmac, yelling at the C-130 that had just taken off. "What's up?" Trannak asked him. "Damn herky was a special flight out of here for P-cola" the sergeant moaned, too deep in his own misery to notice who was talking to him "I was supposed to be on it! Now I'll be several days late transferring in, and the Captain will have my ass! I'm screwed!" "Where and what is this 'P-cola' you speak of?" Trannak asked him, mystified. "Pensacola AFB, air force spec-ops and testing base. What kind of..." the sergeant said while turning round. Then he saw two six-and-a-half-foot-plus tall Scarrans looking back at him. "Ohhh...mummy..." he stuttered, looking up at Trannak and Tovak, while backing away slowly. Tovak laid one hand on the man's shoulder, stopping his exit. "We're not going to hurt you" he said "We might even be able to help you". "Unless you've got your own plane" the sergeant said back to them gloomily "There's not much chance of that".
Trannak just grinned, saying "I've got something even better. If you can get a map and navigate for me, we can get you to where you need to go before that retrograde prop-job gets even half way there". "Really?" the sergeant said. Trannak just nodded..
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Fear of officerial retribution warred with fear of these unusually large and strange looking newcomers in the sergeant's mind – and won. "Don't leave without me!" he yelled, running over to the control tower. After a brief, but spirited, argument with the officer in charge, the sergeant ran back out and over to Trannak. "Right, then" he said anxiously "Where's this plane of yours? Let's get going ASAP!"
Trannak walked back towards his Raider in the parking lot, while Tovak waved the sergeant on with them. "Come on, it's over here" he encouraged the sergeant. The sergeant was rather wary, after all he didn't recognise these 'people' and they weren't wearing any military uniform he knew of – what if they were going to mug him or kill him? The sergeant followed at a short distance, recognising Captain Lazarus' barracks. "I don't know where you're from, buddy" the sergeant warned Trannak and Tovak "But this is the spec-ops barracks. They don't like us regulars straying into their territory". "Don't worry about THAT" Trannak said with a laugh "They know about us – you won't get killed or anything!"
The three of them walked into the parking lot, and the sergeant was confronted by the smooth flat black hull of the Harbringer and the boxy lump of Trannak's modified Raider. The sergeant just stood there staring at the Harbringer, looking it over carefully. "We're not taking that one" Trannak told him, urging the sergeant over to the Raider "In here". Tovak led him up to the bridge and showed him to the spare jumpseat on the bridge, while Trannak started the engines and performed the preflight checks. "Everything check out on your side, Tovak?" Trannak asked. Tovak nodded.
After getting a position fix from the Cry Havoc in orbit, Trannak called their passenger over. "Here's the map" Trannak told him, pointing to one particular screen "Your GPS system tells me that we're here". He pointed out Canaveral AFB on the screen. The sergeant checked his own map and nodded, replying "Confirmed. Same as this map says it should be. You got a good fix there". "That's good" Tovak told him "Now where are we going?" The sergeant pointed out another location further around the US south-east coast, saying "There. Pensacola AFB. The maintenance wing for Apache gunships. I'll guide you in visually once we're close to the airbase itself".
Trannak lifted up slowly feeding the thrust in gently until the Raider was clear of the buildings. Then he locked in a course to the coordinates given to him off the sergeant's map. "Just lay back and enjoy the ride" Trannak told him "We'll overhaul that plane in no time – it's not that quick, is it?".
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Though the dress fittings were going better than Mrs Franklin had hoped, the current stumbling block involved trying to find a colour that suited both of the wildly different bridesmaids. Koronna's skin was a pale blue-grey colour, while Keyah's was a faint orange – few colours went well with both, and this was putting tempers on edge with the Scarrans.
The choices were eventually narrowed down as far as navy blue or peach. Black would have done the job well – but was rejected by both Talannah and Koronna as being too much like Peacekeeper uniforms. Eventually, they decided on navy blue – it looked good on Koronna, and excellent on Keyah.
"At least we've got that settled" Pam said with relief "I thought we'd never get to the end of it". Amy was mulling over what style to make the dresses in. No way am I going to risk an off-the-shoulder dress on that big one! she said emphatically to herself, people will laugh at her – and she'll probably kill me for that before the laughter's died away. A design she'd seen on the internet flashed through her mind – perfect! She took Pam and Mrs Franklin aside and rapidly explained her ideas to them. After ten minutes of being harangued, they finally agreed that this would be the best, and probably only, choice they'd be able to come up with before the Second Coming, so Mrs Franklin got on the phone to the company in question to place the order – hopefully they'd believe the measurements they were given.
Harrigan and his entourage had just left the cafeteria when the General said "Remember that Israeli Colonel, Harrigan? He's probably bouncing off the walls after you didn't see him yesterday". "Oh, yes..." Harrigan said in surprise "I remember now. I suspect that UFO-nut corporal's girlfriend will be close by, unfortunately – but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it". The General turned to walk to his office, but Harrigan redirected him towards Shor's car. Waving Captain Lazarus in to join the General, Harrigan said "You two can ride in there. I'll walk with the troops". Immediately afterwards, Harrigan barked out "GENERAL'S OFFICE! MOVE!" in both English and Scarran, before turning back to General Franklin and saying "We'll follow you in, General".
General Franklin leaned over to give Shor some directions. He nodded, and moved out slowly so the rest of the people could keep up, the sound of Kran's booming voice instilling a little extra motivation clearly audible behind them. "Reminds me of my drill instructor in OCS" Captain Lazarus muttered, leaning back into the seat. "I'm not sure how well Harrigan will re-integrate into the military now" the General said uneasily "He's so totally different than anyone else...". "I don't think he's going to BE staying, sir" Captain Lazarus enlightened him. "You sure?" the General replied in surprise. "Yes, sir. I am" Captain Lazarus replied "I think he'll just be here for a short stopover – the wedding, plus a bit of restocking their supplies – then they'll be gone".
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"I hate to say this" General Franklin went on "but it's probably just as well. Holt's probably got back to the President by now on Harrrigan's presence – so that means our old friend Senator Beasely will find out before long". "I'm pretty sure he was responsible for getting us such bad intel, sir" Captain Lazarus said harshly "I'll...". "Be careful, Captain" General Franklin interrupted "He's too well connected to move against with bad or non-existent evidence. Just make sure you've got everything lined up if you do make any move against him". "I will, sir" Captain Lazarus replied. The an idea occurred to him, which he passed on to the General "Harrigan may be able to help there. That ship of his has probably got the best computer setup anywhere around here – we'll hack into SOC HQ from up there and find out what's what. No way their machines can stop that happening". The General scribbled down the external access telephone number for the SOC computer net and passed it over, along with a strong urging to keep his head down. Captain Lazarus leaned back into the seat, muttering to himself over possible courses of action.
"Here we are, Shor!" General Franklin exclaimed a few minutes later "Pull up!" Shor slid his car into a spare parking spot back-first, then him and Ryalla got out to open the doors for their passengers. Less than a minute later, Harrigan and the rest of his unit, along with Capatain Lazarus' people, turned up as well. Harrigan flicked his left hand forward, and his team followed him inside. Captain Lazarus split his team in two – half to guard Harrigan's landing zone (those assigned this duty groaned – they'd have to run all the way back to where they'd started) and the other half to stay out here with Shor's car. The Captain himself followed Harrigan and General Franklin inside.
A short, but tough-looking officer in an Israeli army uniform heard them coming and stood up to meet them. "General Franklin" he said "Perhaps now someone can shed some light on what happened to our missing comm officer. She was involved with several ongoing sensitive projects – both the project personnel and her family want to know what the hell's going on!"
"Colonel, I'd like you to meet..." General Franklin started, but the Israeli cut him off with "I'm not interested in meeting little green men from outer space. I want to meet the Commanding Officer of the mission my Captain was on". Apart from a few angry expressions, the Scarrans controlled themselves surprisingly well – though Kran let slip a nasty growl and Shor had to restrain Ryalla from kicking the Israeli in the groin.
"I would appreciate it, Colonel" Harrigan interjected softly "if you would not use such disgusting language in refernce to my people. It would get someone court-martialled if they harassed you for your ethnic origins – my team should receive the same respect. Get me?" "Who are you?" the Colonel responded, looking up at Harrigan's massive seven and a half foot frame, almost two feet taller than him. "He is War Commander Harrigan" Captain Kran growled at the Israeli officer. The Colonel instinctively reached for his pistol, until he realised this wasn't the best thing to do.
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"He was the one who commanded the mission your comrade was on" Captain Kran went on "So you need to speak to him". The Israeli waved Harrigan to a seat, and went to sit down himself until he realised Harrigan hadn't moved. "Not going to sit, Lieutenant Harrigan?" the Colonel replied. "You would not treat a general officer in your own military this way, would you Colonel?" Kran asked pointedly. "Of course not" the Colonel replied irritably "but he's not...is he?"
"The rank of War Comander in the old time was held by our king's chief military advisor" Kran told him. "Like our Joint Chiefs" Captain Lazarus added "So technically Harrigan outranks General Franklin". The Colonel stared goggle-eyed in surprise, while Harrigan waved it off. "Just call me Commander, if you must" Harrigan replied, slightly embarrassed. "Very well, Commander" the Israeli replied bluntly, picking up the volume as he went "Perhaps you can cut through all the red tape the US government seems to be throwing in my way. My government, my organisation, and myself are anxious to find out the fate of our comm officer, AND NO ONE HERE SEEMS WILLING TO TELL ME ANYTHING!!"
Harrigan looked back at the Israeli steadily. "Very well, Colonel. Truth you came seeking – truth you shall have. You at least can be trusted to keep your wakket hole shut" he said "Captain Lazarus? If you could secure this room and make sure no one other than us is listening, please...". Lazarus got up, saying "OK, Harrigan. I've a feeling in my water that the news isn't going to be quite what we'd hoped for...".
When the Captain went to shut the doors to the General's office, he saw a youngish lady, accompanied by a similarly-aged group of young people arguing with the General's aide. What was even less welcome was the sight of a man he recognised from the previous day as TR Holt, leaning against the wall on the other side of the room with a mildly amused look on his face. Though he didn't have his Secret Service escorts with him, the Captain saw, he knew they wouldn't be too far away.
Harrigan won't like this one bit...he thought as he shut and locked the doors. The young men and women heard the doors locking and tried to rush past the aide, but he called two MPs from the outer admin area and had the whole group ejected. TR Holt just sat on the visitor's couch, where one of the Secret Service agents came in to sit beside him. Holt's left eyebrow raised in enquiry, to which the agent nodded and pointed in the general direction of the office.
Inside, Harrigan started the proceedings. "OK, people. The subject of this briefing is the whereabouts of a military officer. Its nature is classified. The room is secure, as of...now" he said, pressing a small button on his antisurveillance unit. "Before you start, Harrigan" Captain Lazarus started "You should know that there's a bunch of scruffy radicals out there bugging the General's aide. That turd on the shoe of my unit, TR Holt, is out there looking far too pleased with himself – probably him who got those freaks inside base security as well".
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Outside, the agents even now aiming a parabolic microphone and listening to a couple of listening devices yanked off their headphones in pain at the incessant squealing and threw them on the floor of their car. The one unfortunate enough to be in charge barely managed to find a clear frequency to get a comm call through to TR Holt and tell him what happened.
"What?" he hissed, trying to keep his voice down so that pen-pushing Captain couldn't hear him "What do you mean you can't get anything?! I thought you had the best equipment this country's got! You do remember where the 'on' switch is, don't you?"
The agents on the other end of the call exchanged mutual looks of disgusted embarrassment at their principal's actions, then the senior of the two replied "Eavesdropping is more of an art than a science, Mr Holt, as you would appreciate if you'd ever had to do it yourself. Yes, we do have good equipment – which we know how to use. But even the best equipment can be countered if you know how – and whoever's in there knows how. We won't get diddly-squat through that jamming". "Then get in close" Holt ordered them. The quality of these two agents is obviously lower than I'd been led to believe, he fumed – I was told they were two of the best surveillance operatives in the Service! "And use you own ears! Report in every half-hour. Now get on with it – the Senator expects a full report from you two when we get back to Washington".
However, their efforts hadn't passed completely unnoticed. Ghost had secreted himself across the street behind a bush – while that drew a few mystified looks from some of the passing MPs, none of the Secret Service agaents saw anything. He tried getting a call directly through to Captain Lazarus , but the incessant squealing and howling from Harrigan's antisurveillance unit swiftly made him seek an alternative. "Jane" he told her "Get back to Captain Lazarus' office, get on the desk intercom to the General's office, and tell them what we're seeing. He needs to know there's a little birdie and his friend crouched outside his window".
Jane immediately ran off as fast as she could manage to the barracks. Straight-arming the door open, she ran straight through to the Captain's office, where she flicked the desk intercom to the correct channel and preessed the 'talk' button.
General Franklin noticed his intercom buzzing. "It had betteer be good!" he barked, pressing the button on his own end. "Yes, General" Jane replied "It is, sir. Could I speaak to Captain Lazarus, please?" "Captain, for you" he called over to Captain Lazarus "It's Jane – probably from your office". Lazarus wondered what she was doing there – after all, she was supposed to be outside with Ghost. "What's up?" he asked "And why couldn't you just use your radio?"
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"I tried, sir" she explained "But we couldn't get through". Captain Lazarus smacked himself on the head for his forgetfulness, he should have remembered that Harrigan's little toy would block his squad's radio net as well. "Now you're through to me, what's up?" he asked. "You've got visitors, sir" she revealed "Two gomers in grey suits scrunched up outside the office window. Probably trying to listen in".
"General, we got someone outside trying to stick his nose into our business" Captain Lazarus reported, stopping Harrigan before he could get going. "Shor! Ryalla!" Harrigan called over his own comm, flicking the antisurveillance unit off momentarily so he could get through. "Sir?" they responded, a little flushed. "Get your clothes back on, the pair of you – got a job for you" Harrigan ordered them. "We hadn't gone that far, sir..." Shor pleaded, while Ryalla pulled up the zip on her uniform and refastened the buttons on his shirt. "Whatever..." Harrigan responded brusquely "Now get over to where Ghost is hiding – we've got hostiles listening in. Tell Ghost you're to give them the full treatment – he'll know what I mean". "Full treatment – copy that" replied Ryalla.
Peeking out of the car window, she could just see the two Secret Service agents crouched in the ornamental flower beds outside the office window, then looked across the street where she could barely see Ghost in his ghillie suit hiding behind a bush. Waving Shor in behind her, the pair of them scuttled across to Ghost's position. A minute or so later, a rather out of breath Jane turned up after running flat-out all the way from the barracks. "Got through eventually" she reported. "We know" Ryalla replied "The Commander just sent us over here with orders to give those two, and I quote, 'the full treatment'. Whatever that means".
Jane laughed out loud, with Ghost joining in. "We haven't done anything like that for almost two weeks!" Ghost grinned "I'm sure the MPs will find this just as funny as we will – for once, it's not happening to them!" Ghost checked he and Jane had plenty of black electrical tape and the small group snuck slowly up behind the two unsuspecting agents. Jane and Ghost reached for blackjacks, but Shor stopped them, explaining "Ryalla can do this – she's really good. Just sit back and watch her work – you find something new to appreciate each time you see it". Ryalla smiled, gave Shor a quick squeeze in gratitude, then cracked her knuckles and moved in.
Ryalla's stealth-work was good – good enough that the agents, who were engrossed in their work, didn't catch on until the iron grip of Ryalla's left fist yanked one away from the windowsill so she could punch his lights out with the other one. Her small (well – small for a Scarran), hard Scarran fist impacted square on his nose, breaking it and mashing the remains half-over his face before knocking him down. The second agent actually managed to throw a punch himself. Ryalla was glad of the challenge – though it wasn't much of one – so she blocked the agent's blow with her left arm, and planted her right boot straight in the agent's gut, which made him collapse in a lump on the ground and bring up his breakfast on the grass. An elbow to the back of the head soon sent him to join his accomplice.
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Though Jane obviously approved of Ryalla's method of problem-solving, Ghost said "I think she's enjoying that a bit too much!" with a bit of a queasy tone. Shor laughed, replying "That's just Scarrans for you – at least these Scarrans! They all seem to enjoy getting stuck in like that, it's perfectly normal. What next?"
"Strip them down to their underwear" Ghost replied, producing the tape "Then we'll tape 'em to that handily situated lamp-post and wait for the MPs to find them". They spent the next few minutes cutting the suits off the comatose and bleeding Secret Service agents, before using up both reels of tape to secure them upright to the metal pole of the lamp-post before stepping back to admire their handiwork. "Just perfect" Jane replied "Possibly a world-class performance from you, Ryalla. Now we'd better tell the Commander that our little problem has been solved".
Harrigan turned at the sound of a rapid bam-bam on the window. Opening it quickly, he saw Ghost outside, who pointed over to the lamp-post where the two agents were just beginning to come round. "Very good! Mission accomplished, people!" Harrigan complimented them happily. "The woman you sent..." Ghost said, looking warily over at Ryalla "...seemed to be enjoying herself quite a lot when she belted those agents. Broke one guy's nose into bloody pieces". "He's not dead is he, Ryalla?" asked Harrigan. "No, sir" she replied "though once the pain kicks in, he'll probably wish he was". "That's good enough for me" Harrigan replied with a nod in Ryalla's direction "Ryalla – it's good you're learning the distinction between knocking someone down and knocking them out". She stood up a little straighter at Harrigan's praise, to which Shor responded by whispering a few words to her and planting a long, lingering, kiss on her lips. Ryalla gave back as good as she got, leading Shor back to his car. "Those two..." Harrigan laughed, before turning back to Ghost and Jane "Very good. Don't bother calling anyone about it – the MPs will spread the word soon enough on their own".
Ghost and Jane nodded, walking oveer to the nearest drink machine to get a Coke while Harrigan closed the window and got back to business. Flicking the antisurveillance unit back on, he said "I'm afraid the news, Colonel, is not good". The Colonel turned, leaning forward, saying "Yes? How bad? Is Mary hurt – badly hurt?" Harrigan shook his head, adding "No, Colonel, she's dead". "What?!" he replied, stunned. This was one possibility he'd obviously not been advised on. "How?" he replied hoarsely, not altogether sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"We...my crew and I...were taken to a military research lab as experimental subjects" Harrigan explained grimly, deliberately leaving out the details "Mary's body rejected the experimental procedures they performed upon her. She died on that base, before I managed to escape and free her".
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"Wh..." the Israeli started to say, before Harrigan shut him down. "You do not need to know, Colonel, what the nature of the experiments were" he explained slowly and clearly "Even General Franklin doesn't know. Hell will freeze over before Holt and his NSA cronies find out. So your ignorance does not place you in the minority".
Though he said "Very well, Commander" his mind was already working at top speed. Experimental procedures...he thought...Harrigan's still alive...and looking about as far from human as he could get in something upright and walking. Something just clicked in the Colonel's brain, who just stared in in a mixture of awe and horror at Harrigan, his mouth opening and shutting - but no sound coming out. "So, you've figured it out, Colonel" Harrigan said, leaning down to look him in the eye "Do not tell anyone else – NO-ONE! Not your superiors in the Army or Mossad, not your fellow division heads, certainly not any politicians or diplomats – or I'll hunt you down. Captain Kran over there...", Harrigan pointed out where the seven-foot-two Scarran was watching them, "...well, he's been over a week without killing anything. You wouldn't want that first thing to be you, would you?"
Harrigan lightened up a bit then, adding "My crew at the time, including Mary, stood together and fought off many times our number of the enemy before we were finally overwhelmed. You can be justifiably proud of her, Colonel – I am". The colonel put Harrigan's threats behind him for now, standing a little taller and saying "Thank you Commander. Though it is sad to know Mary will not return, I am glad she was a credit to her service and her nation in those final hours. I'll get my pilot back out of wherever he's stashed himself and head back to Washington to make my report".
Mrs Franklin was on the phone trying to convince the dressmaking company this wasn't a joke. "No, miss, I'm not trying to put one over on you – those measurements are accurate...you want to speak to the model for the dress, do you?" She turned to Koronna, saying "The woman on the other end doesn't believe you're real. Perhaps you can talk to her and convince her she's wrong". Koronna looked a little anxious – her English was a little fractured – but took the phone handset and said "Hel-lo?"
"You're the one of implausible girth we're supposed to be making this dress for?" the dressmaker replied, surprised to hear a tone of voice she hadn't heard before. "Yes, that's right" Koronna explained, slightly angered by the description but keeping it under control. "And these measurements we've been given are accurate?" the dressmaker asked incredulously, to which Koronna replied "If they're the same ones Mrs Franklin has here, then yes – they are. How about the other one – no problems there, are there?". She clearly implied that there had better not be.
"No, none at all" came the response a few seconds later "She's a standard size, we'll have something in stock we can send for her right away. But it'll take a day or two to custom make something to fit you". "Get it over to Canaveral AFB by Saturday" Mrs Franklin ordered. "It'll take days for the UPS postal service to get it that far!" she exclaimed. Keyah signalled that they could fly over to pick it up if they knew exactly where to go. The lady on the other end of the line sent one of the junior office workers – who had a portable GPS in her car – out to the car park to get a reading, which she then passed on.
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"Not a problem" Talannah reported "I'll take the Harbringer over there to pick it up tomorrow". Pam looked up at the wall clock, remarking "It's time for lunch. Since we don't have the food to feed all of us here, perhaps we should chance the IASA cafeteria. I don't usually like going there – but at least it's better than the Officers Club". After putting the phone down, Talannah got up from where she was sitting, putting her comm and weapons back on, before saying "Then we can walk over to the General's office, Mrs Franklin. We'll pick up John and the rest of the team and go and get some welcome refreshment".
Tovak and Trannak had put their time at Pensacola to good use. The sergeant they took down there turned out to be quite well known amongst the engineering troops – so the two Scarrans ended up with the full tour. Whenn the sergeant had gone back to his duties, Tovak pointed over to where the Apache spares were – they saw quite a few of those multi-barrel guns like those on the rotorcraft around here. A bit further along were perhaps half a dozen even bigger gatling guns – Trannak recognised them as the same as the one on the plane the sergeant called the "Warthog".
Trannak held up three fingers, then while Tovak busied himself with hauling the right number of guns over to the Raider's aft loading ramp he walked over to the other guns. Definitely bigger than Tovak's choice, he saw – I wonder what they're for? "Oh well" he muttered to himself "We'll find that out when we use them. Just two of these – we can take these back up to the Cry Havoc and look at them later". It took all of Trannak's considerable Scarran strength to lift it on to the trolley, but he managed it eventually, after which he pushed the trolley slowly over to join his comrade.
"Better find some ammunition as well – we'll need lots of that" Trannak told Tovak as the pair of them loaded their booty on board. The Raider would be quite heavily loaded once the ammunition was on board, at least bulk-wise – but not oveer its limits. Half an hour later, Tovak dropped the last of the 30mm ammunition for the GAU-8's onto the Raider's cargo bay floor. The commanding officer here wouldn't like finding that half his ammunition stores and five spare cannon, along with the relevant tech orders, had just disappeared into thin air – so I'd better get out of here before he finds out it was us.
"Time to go, Tovak!" he called in Scarran. Tovak looked round sharply, saying "Not a microt too soon, either" as he rushed up to join Trannak on the bridge. As Tovak sat down in the copilot's chair, he flipped the switch to close the drophatch and told Trannak that a scout vehicle was heading their way. "One of those that our sergeant called a 'hummer'. It had a missile of some kind on it". That was all the excuse Trannak needed – as soon as Tovak had clicked his harness shut, he lifted off as fast as seemed safe to do while loaded. Thankfully, none of the cargo shifted – they'd used a considerable portion of the area's tie-downs to ensure this was the case.
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By the time Harrigan was in conference with the Israeli and General Franklin, Tovak, Trannak, Hellbolt and the recon specialist had unloaded the newly liberated equipment. Trannak and Tovak (and half the flight deck's complement of DRDs) were in fact now busy shoehorning the three of the smaller 20mm gatling guns into Trannak's Raider; two had been fitted one to each side under the stubby wings and the last one was being fitted under the nose at that exact moment. Tovak ordered the DRD to connect the last fire-control data cable into place and weld the final cover back on.
The four of them collapsed onto the flight deck floor by the Raider, huffing and puffing. "Ne...neee...need to g..get cleaned u...up..." huffed a completely exhausted Hellbolt "Then get some tea and food down me. I'm knackered". The group had just reached the shower room by the front crew quarters when Trannak's comm bleeped. "Call coming in over the human's cell-phone net" reported Leasa "For you, Trannak". Trannnak told her to put it through while he waved the others in.
"Yes?" Trannak asked. "Lieutenant Dante" came the reply "You asked me to locate those food supplies for you?" "So I did" replied Trannak "Have you found the quantities we need?" Dante leafed through his notes until he found the bit of paper he sought, then said "There are perhaps four locations around here that you'll need to go to" Dante told him "I've managed to plot them all on my map, but you'll need a ship bigger than those ones you came here in". "Give us half an arn to get presentable, Lieutenant" Trannak said hurriedly "Then we'll be down at the launch site with a cargo shuttle to pick you up. Frelling thing's too big to fit in the parking lot". Dante said he'd be there, so Trannak cut the call and rushed in to clean all the grease, oil, ad associated technical goo off him and his uniform.
Harrigan, General Franklin, and the rest of the team had exited through the office window while the General's aide was trying to keep the corporal's girlfriend and her friends at bay. They walked over to where Ghost, Jane, Shor, and Ryalla were relaxing with cold cans of Coke; the soft drink machine having had its door pulled off the hinges by Ryalla – then dumped on the grass so they could get at the drinks inside without paying.
"What HAVE you lot been doing?!" asked the General when he saw what they were drinking. Then he saw the wrecked drink machine further down the street, and just stood there, head in his hands. "Oh deaar, oh dear!" he lamented "Don't tell me, just don't – I don't think I can take it right now! Let's get back to my house before you vandalise anything else". Shor and Ryalla got back into Shor's car and started it up again, then General Franklin and Captain Lazarus got in the back seats. "Reckon you can get back to the General's house without getting lost?" Captain Lazarus asked Shor. "Shor won't get lost" Ryalla assured the two of them emphatically, nodding to emphasise her words "He's as good in this car as I am at hitting people". A quiet "Thanks, Ry, love. But I'm not THAT good yet" and the car moved off sedately for the General's house, Harrigan and the troops following behind. About two hundred metres later, the UFO crackpots realised they'd been had and boiled out of the administration building after them – but they were too far away to catch up now.
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Troll turned to the group of younger radical UFO-ers, making several very rude-sounding noises, before grinning and running to catch up with the others. "You know, Troll..." Harrigan said slowly "I'm beginning to like you. You aren't too different from the way I was when I first came here. Let's just hope you don't pick up some of my bad habits from those days".
It took a little while longer than it could have, as Harrigan had ordered a more sedate pace for the return trip, but ten minutes later they all arrived outside General Franklin's house again. While Harrigan and Talannah had another joyful reunion - with Harrigan getting a number of astonised looks when he threw Talannah several metres up into the air before catching her again – the rest of the troops caught up on the events of the past few hours.
Shor was in the middle of describing their exit from General Franklin's office to Keyah – "...so then we all climbed out of the office window, even Captain Kran managed it without breaking anything, and I drove off back here with Ryalla, the General, and the Commander. Troll over there...(Shor pointed him out to Keyah)...he stopped for a few microts to make some rather odd-sounding noises – 'blowing raspberries' I think he called them – at our pursuers. They screamed and shouted a bit, but couldn't stand the pace, so they frelled off somewhere else to rest". Troll grinned sheepishly at Keyah – who arched her left eyebrow in an expression clearly saying 'Oh what a silly, silly man...'. Troll cringed a little, but he'd seen that Keyah travelled well-armed, so he didn't say anything smart back again.
Harrigan and Talannah had finished their little acrobatic welcome, and sat in the lounge room discussing the events of the day. "Colonel from one of my first crew's place came over to ask what the frell was going on" he told her "Seemed to be very annoyed that no one was telling him anything – probably just used the 'we can neither confirm nor deny' dren they always use. But I suppose they'd believe the truth even less – 'We don't have a clue' isn't exactly good for Air Force PR, after all". Talannah explained all the problems they had in getting the dressmaker's shop to belive that Koronna was real and as big as the measurements said she was. "That took almost an arn all on its own" Talannah groused "But Keyah was fine –they've got something in stock already that will fit. Koronna's should be finished by mid-tomorrow, they'll have to make something up from scratch. If you don't mind, dear...I'd like to take the Harbr-"
She was interrupted when Harrigan's comm beeped at him, drawing his attention away. "Trannak here" came the voice on the other end "Lieutenant Dante got back to me half an arn ago with the places we need to go to get all that food you want". Talannah, listening in, was a little put out that her speech was interrupted, but this was countered well enough by this news. "Good – so what's next?" Harrigan prompted. "We'll leave the Stryker up here" Trannak explained "I'll bring the others down on a cargo shuttle and start the airlift right now". "Do the first part tomorrow and Saturday, before the wedding" Harrigan told him "But get that cargo hauler down here anyway. If you don't mind, you can take the ladies to pick up their dresses – they'll give you the coordinates before you leave".
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"Copy that, sir" Trannak acknowledged "On the way soonest. We'll be at the launch site – we're too big for the parking lot".
"So who interrupted us this time?" Talannah said archly "It'd better be good!" "It's Trannak, love – he said he's on his way down in a cargo hauler to start the airlift. I told him he could be your chauffer for tomorrow as well". Talannah was a little disappointed – she'd hoped for the chance to fly the Harbringer herself – but at least this way she wouldn't get stressed out by the flying and start snapping at people.
Commandeering a pair of deuce-and-a-half trucks from the quartermaster's stores, Harrigan's and Lazarus' resspective teams moved out to meeet the cargo hauler as it came down, causing a huge shadow as it settled to the concrete. It turned out not to be a regular small freighter, but a fully-equipped assasult lander – the Raider's bigger brother. After ten different variations on 'what the hell is this thing?' from Lazarus' team, Harrigaan brought the group to order. "Yes, I know it's unusual" Harrigan told them, quietening them down "I haven't seen one of these before either. But if Trannak reckons it's got the cargo capacity that we need, then we use it. Talannah – if you could bring the Harbringer out here, we'll secure this location as our new LZ until after the wedding".
"For now" he continued "We'll stay here until Talannah returns with the Harbringer – then we'll get something to eat and geet some sleep. Tomorrow, you ladies will be going with Trannak, Tovak, the recon specialist and Hellbolt; they'll take you to fetch your dresses and get as much of the food supplies during the ccourse of the day. Trannak – first run will come back here to drop the ladies off, then you go topside; further runs can be more direct". "As you say, Commander" Trannak's deep voice came back at him. "Now that's over and done with – the most important task of the hour. Food! Let's get something to eat. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry".
The final two days blurred into a tangle of rocket fuel, anticipation, and nervous excitement – both with Talannah and her bridal party and the men of the unit. Wedding rings were a little hard to come by; but after three jewellers said no, Harrigan lost his temper a bit and started crackling all over – rings of suitable size were then produced with startling rapidity, though Harrigan did remember enough decorum to leave payment in gold on the counter before they left (the shop staff refused to come out and get it until well after he'd left, however).
While Trannak's small squad were going non-stop between various food wholesalers and the Cry Havoc's refrigeration stores, Harrigan and Talannah's respective wedding parties spent all of Saturday going through wedding rehersals with Chaplin Larris. He still didn't much like the idea of being around non-humans at all; and was seriously looking forward to the time when they'd be out of his hair for good.
Saturday evening came around more quickly than either of them realised. "Tomorrow..." Harrigaan said toTalannah before turning in for the nigh, too choked up with emotion and excitement to say anything else. Talannah gave him one last hug for the day, replied "Yes, love. I can hardly wait myself".
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