The air force chaplain that the secretary of defence had sent looked around the interior of the Reaper as it flew, but didn't seem too uptight by actually flying, Harrigan decided.
"We don't have first class" Harrigan told him, trying to lighten the mood "Just this. One size pisses off all".
The chaplain took a deep breath before telling him "It's mostly just being around real non-humans. The flying I can handle, even like this where there's no windows".
"We have not seen many humans, did you know that?" Caseya replied "We have only seen a small number of your people, all of whom are from this sector" before naming each of the humans she knew (though she did not list their jobs or area of responsibility).
"You can tell the difference between male and female, then" he replied "Other basic things too. Dunno what else you know about peop-well, humans".
"I am not a doctor" Caseya replied, shaking her head "Those who are have scanned and tested all aboard our ship and know medical things about humans. We know comparatively little about your culture - but perhaps we will learn a few things in that area while we are here".
When Jack nodded to him, the chaplain explained about there being no one unifying culture but many separate ones - Caseya found this tremendously interesting and asked many questions about every culture she was told about as the flight went on.
"Who's that?" a woman asked her husband, pointing outside their house.
"Don't know, love" he replied "Do you think our son's aboard that thing?"
She smiled before saying "It would be good to see him again... he's been away on duty for so many years now without so much as one call after a training run".
"Stay inside" the man told the younger children when he saw Harrigan, General Jack Crichton, General Trannak, and the chaplain step out "Whoever they are, they look important... best we leave them alone unless they come an' talk to us. Go back to your momma or Dad".
The man watched as the biggest of the recent arrivals looked along the road, then pointed towards his own mailbox - after which all of them started walking right towards his own house.
"I'll go see them" he told his wife and children "Son, get your own family and your sister's out back a way - looks like those guys are comin' to us. I don't think they're gonna hurt anyone, but better safe than sorry".
He listened to his more distant family members arguing as they headed out to the back yard, after which he grumbled and nodded to his wife before getting a pistol from a small safe in his bedroom and heading to the front door.
The chaplain knocked three times almost the second he got there, so the pistol went inside his jeans' waistband over his right hip while he opened the door with his left hand.
"Sir?" the chaplain asked "Are you the father or a more distant relation of-" before giving Ghost's full name.
"He's my oldest son" the man replied, surprised "What's happened? Is he OK? He get called off on more of that...what d'you call it... classified training shit or some such?"
"Can we come inside?" Harrigan asked "I'd rather not talk out here where everyone can hear".
"Lounge room" he decided "You sir, the big one - be careful, keep your head down, I only got one ceiling here an' don't want a hole the size of your head in it" before leading the way.
His wife came in and got drinks for them all - after they had all settled a little, he asked "So what brings you here to my house? One of you's wearing Air Force uniform - is this something to do with my son? Has he been court-martialled or something?"
"Nothing like that" the chaplain assured the two of them, before urging them both to sit.
Harrigan identified himself once they did.
"Your name I remember" he said "Our son told us a few stories about you - not sure I want to know which of them were just stories an' which were real, to be honest! Are you my son's CO? Maybe you can tell me what's going on?"
"Sir, ma'am..." Harrigan announced sadly "I must regretfully inform you that your son was killed in action. He did far more than I thought I could ever ask of him, performed way above and beyond the call of duty - he was not afraid to risk himself in order to save others, both his fellow soldiers and local civilians".
"Killed?" Ghost's mother asked, surprised and with tears starting to fall down her cheeks "If I may ask... how? Why him? Why our son?"
"He was holding the position assigned to him" Trannak explained "The others holding that position before him had to be moved - and he was the only one free we could put there at that time. The risks were explained to him, yet he still agreed to holding that position until a more substantial force could be deployed to relieve him".
Ghost's mother and father cried over the loss of their son for some time.
"I really hope the loss of our son got you what you needed..." Ghost's mother said "I hope whatever a-rab he got sent after got what was coming to him".
"Neither your son nor his unit where anywhere near the sectors of this world noted as being Arab-controlled" Trannak explained.
"Your guys off huntin' Islamic State somewhere else, then?" Ghost's father guessed next.
"I don't even know who this 'Islamic State' group are" Trannak admitted.
Ghost's father looked up with surprise and asked "What rock have you been hiding under?"
"Well..." Harrigan replied "That's where it all gets rather complicated" before nodding to Ghost's mother and adding "Yes, you've been told the truth... just not all of it. Not sure if you'll be able to get your heads around the rest... but I'll tell you if you want to hear it".
"This isn't just some weird shit cooked up by air force PR to avoid giving a truthful explanation about new stuff you been testing on people?" Ghost's father asked after Harrigan had stopped talking.
"Pure unvarnished truth" Harrigan replied.
"Sectors..." Ghost's father murmured, thinking aloud "All that damn racket the dog's been makin'... will someone go an' shut the dog up?!" before looking at both Harrigan and Trannak for a minute or two before just gaping at Trannak and adding "Your accent... all that damn barking from our dog... are you an al-".
"I am not human, yes" Trannak interrupted "To be honest I am surprised your domestic animal can smell enough of me, even at this close range, to bring on a reaction of any kind. To be more specific... I was your son's commanding General"
Jack took over from there, telling them what Harrigan's intentions were.
"You'll be taken care of" Harrigan assured them "We'll provide transport for your family to Arlington and back when the time comes. There'll likely be a bit of a get-together afterwards... but you won't have to pay a cent for that, we'll take care of that as well. Not too many people, one or two from where we were before we went off Earth if I can track them down... maybe a few of my people from where I am now, those that can speak English best and know how to relate to humans..."
"How long has he been spouting that drivel now?" the pilot of the C-130 shouted back, a long way from Ghost's family house and to the approximate north-east "You give him the wrong meds or somethin' ?"
"My patient..." the doctor corrected "...is... singing, from what I can tell. Just because neither you nor I can understand the language doesn't make him mad. It's odd, I'll grant you that - but since I can't speak any language apart from English I can't tell you what he's saying".
"We're not far out now, sir" the copilot said over the radio "The prisoner's well enough to sing very loudly in some weird language none of us can understand, so none of us know if he's swearing at us or describing how he wants to kill us or just saying how he enjoys the winter breeze".
"I'll get another doc and a head-shrinker out to look at him once you land" a voice replied, before a voice came from the cargo hold loud enough to be picked up by the copilot's headset mic.
"Yeah, he's doing it again..." the copilot told his commander.
The transmissions were picked up by the Cry Havoc as well.
"I would not have attached much importance to it, Sub-Commander" the Charrid on comm duty said "but among the voice chatter in the human language I heard loud singing... in your language. The royal anthem, or close to it".
"Trace it!" Talannah ordered "We only have the War Commander and his diplomatic delegation officially landed... I need to know if someone's made an unsanctioned drop or if this is something else".
They had to wait until another transmission was made, and furthermore one that was sufficiently clear to track - but one did, and it was traced within half a momen.
"Target sector listed in archive as 'Norway' " the Charrid said "To be more precise... in a moving airborne vehicle, which appears to be on a direct course to a military facility".
Talannah called the hammond flight deck to see who was on standby alert - and saw Feltano and Sherenka on-screen, not far behind the deck officer.
"We will go, aunt Sub-Commander!" Sherenka called, loudly enough to be heard "Is the person singing in the Scarran language well? Can we retrieve them by diplomacy or by force?"
"They are in an aircraft, you two..." Talannah snapped "heading for a military facility... and you two are not officially of age to be deployed on combat missions unless we are under General Alert Three or higher!"
"We are here and we are ready, aunt Sub-Commander" Feltano replied, nodding "Others here are busy with their duties. Only we are not. I have achieved high ratings with piloting small craft and with reconnaisance, while Sherenka has achieved high ratings with medical skills. While an experienced veteran to supervise would be helpful, their presence would not be required to achieve success".
Talannah's facial expression hardened before she snapped "Do not undermine authority like that again, Feltano! Your skills may well be improving but you do not have rank enough, nor experience, to make command decisions, even less so to even think you can advise me!"
"I will not" Feltano replied, bowing slightly in the manner of the Kalish people "I would still wish to recommend myself and Sherenka for positions best suited to our skills on a retrieval mission, should one be required".
"Better..." Talannah replied, a little more calmly "Wait".
"I will come with you, Sherenka" Urana insisted, when Talannah spliced her into the transmission "No! No arguments, not today! I am both a skilled medical practitioner and your mother! I will collect two Bloodstars before coming to collect you on the hammond flight deck!" before discomming and calling Talannah.
"Yes, Sub-Commander..." Urana said "I will go and supervise the young ones, and I will take two additional Bloodstars with us in case we meet with opposition".
"Feltano has probationary small craft certification..." Talannah told her "so while he can fly well, he is not permitted to fly as pilot in command. Watch him, assess him, report back to me after you return".
"Mr President..." the Secretary of Defence called, in the White House "The Air Force chaplain you sent with General Jack Crichton just called in" before passing on the chaplain's report.
"Good" President Diesel said, once he'd heard the chaplain's report "Harrigan doesn't consider it beneath him to show a little care, he hasn't forgotten which people got him where he is now. I'll go along with what he's put forward so far, since it shows him taking care of the family and showing concern for humans - maybe it'll help direct public opinion more positively about the arrival of non-humans as well".
"Get your personal equipment, both of you" Urana told her daughter and Feltano as soon as she arrived "Trooper First Class Rustuk will come with us, since Feltano is most skilled with Reapers and those craft only have four seats on the bridge. I will command this mission, although Feltano will be our primary pilot".
"Come this way" Feltano urged the small group, only smiling a little "The Reaper I have used up until now is in this direction. Unless techs have decided otherwise since I was aboard it last, it is in good condition and ready to fly".
Urana watched Feltano lead the small group to the Reaper he knew best, while Sherenka rumbled softly as she watched him.
"Those two make a good pair on and off the field, I think" Rustuk whispered, also watching "Their skills complement each other, and they try to help each other improve from what I read of the performance reports".
Urana smiled and nodded.
"That's true enough, Rustuk" she replied "They both push their luck a little too far in other areas... even more, at times, than Troll and I did".
"They're going to make an announcement soon?" Rustuk asked, grinning a bit "Can't be done on their own till Sherenka turns 18, of course - but Feltano's part-Kalish, so be prepared for him to start asking before long".
Urana laughed at that, which got both younger adults turning to face her until she waved them on.
"I'm sure they're just deciding whether to ask for parental consent now or wait until they can proceed without it, mister" Urana told Rustuk "To be honest, I'm not too worried... Feltano treats Sherenka well, he shows he cares about her in training and out of it...".
"Looks like we're here" Rustuk interrupted "Sherenka's getting the hatch open on that Reaper up ahead".
Once Sherenka had opened the hatch, everyone went aboard. Feltano immediately sat in the main pilot's chair and started powering up the ship from memory, which Urana was pleased to see - so she and Rustuk belted themselves in on the two rear seats as soon as Rustuk had sealed the hatch again.
"Bridge, Sherenka..." Sherenka called over the comm "Requesting takeoff clearance for retrieval mission" before listing the names and ranks of everyone aboard.
"Containment field is on..." Talannah replied "doors are opening... and you're cleared to proceed" before she added "Feltano, Sherenka... Urana has command of this retrieval mission. The pair of you are still new troopers, despite your skills - Urana and Rustuk will be reporting to me on your performance when you all return".
"We understand, aunt Sub-Commander" Feltano replied as the Reaper lifted off the deck "I will do my very best to keep everyone safe while flying, and I know Sherenka will do the same should the one we are to retrieve require medical care as well".
Talannah said nothing, but did smile as she simply gave a double-click on the comm to acknowledge receiving his call before discomming.
Urana watched while Feltano guided the Reaper into atmosphere, giving only one or two instructions during the transition.
"Sherenka..." Feltano called once they were in atmosphere "Get me a course to the target location... and scan the frequencies noted as being those where we heard the singing in Old Scarran. We should be prepared to get a more accurate location fix on our target since we are close to flying over the coast of the sector identified as 'Norway' where the signals were heard before".
"In progress, my Feltano..." Sherenka replied before rumbling softly "Mother... if you could show me how to get a data link with the bridge on the Cry Havoc so we can triangulate the transmissions when they come, please...".
Urana did so just before Feltano called "Contact! Not clear, but I hear singing on known frequencies!"
"Can''t he just SHUT UP for a while?!" the copilot of the C-130 shouted back towards the cargo area. The man in the rear grinned at the doctor before bellowing back at the copilot in the same language he was singing in earlier - which only made the situation worse, though the man didn't seem to mind and just started singing again until the doctor passed him a couple of MREs. The man muttered something the doctor couldn't translate but had no trouble understanding, after which he opened the MREs and ate every last crumb anyway.
"Target in sight..." Sherenka called, getting Lazarus' head turning toward the comm desk "Vehicle appears to be a small transport aircraft with four engines. Heat traces from our sensors show six humans aboard".
"Pilot, copilot..." Lazarus replied "Guy who was singin'... not sure about the rest. Might be other soldiers going the same way, might be MPs. Military Law Command. You won't know till you get aboard".
"Should I force it to land, General Lazarus?" Feltano asked "Or should we try negotiation first?"
"Get closer, mister" Lazarus replied "Use you surveillance gear to get a better idea of what's happening inside. Dunno if you can connect to their internal comms, but you might want to do that if it gets you what you need sooner".
Feltano sent video back to the Havoc, which got Lazarus calling "Looks like a C-130, you two - that's a smallish transport plane, not a fighter. It's not armed. Be real careful if you give it a warning shot, it's not armoured - one hit from your blastguns and it's going splat on the ground along with everyone in it".
"I hear you, General Lazarus" Feltano confirmed, nodding "I will be careful".
Sherenka needed instruction from Urana about operating the surveillance gear... but she did get clear audio from inside the C-130 which she sent back to the Havoc, and this confirmed the presence of a man aboard that spoke Old Scarran fluently.
"Contact the pilot" Talannah decided "I don't know how or why there's someone here who can speak Old Scarran... but there is, and we need to talk to them. Don't take no for an answer. If you have to, inflict enough damage that it forces the craft to land without destroying it".
Since the Reaper was a stealth vessel, it didn't show up on the C-130s radar - which Feltano was pleased to see.
"Good, the man speaking Old Scarran appears to be well" Feltano said quietly as he concentrated on keeping formation with the C-130.
"Injured" Sherenka added "Human words spoken by another man aboard suggest at least one of the other personnel has medical skills and that our target is at least slightly injured. Mother, you know humans medically better than I do... we will need you to examine our target once we retrieve them, they may need to go to a sick bay".
Feltano smiled as he heard Sherenka talk, and the next time he heard Old Scarran speech he replied "Your words have been heard. The Kingdom is here, and answers your call. Can you take control of that vehicle and land it?"
After a very loud and happy bellow, then man shouted back "I CAN'T DO THAT, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FLY C-130s! I AM ABOUT HALF WAY DOWN THE FUSELAGE - SO JUST PUT A SHOT OR TWO INTO THE ENGINES UNTIL WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO LAND!" just loud enough to be heard on both the C-130s radio and the surveillance from the Reaper.
"Lowest setting" Lazarus told Feltano when he commed in for orders "Any more than a couple of shots will likely rip the wing right off, so try not to do that".
The C-130's copilot called back to his own CO for orders.
"Someone's caught up with you?" came the surprised reply "They're speaking the same stuff he was singing in earlier? Shit, I'll try and get a team out to come get you! Just try and stall them a bit longer if you can".
"Reinforcements are being sent" Feltano told the others aboard the Reaper "We must move faster than I think any of us would like. I will try and cause crippling but not fatal damage to that craft so it is forced to land. You should be ready to retrieve the one who speaks Old Scarran as soon as possible".
"Sherenka, you'll be going in with Rustuk for that" Urana decided "The primary mission is to retrieve our target - but I expect you to protect the target and yourselves should any soldiers attack you".
Urana got on the comm to Troll.
"Gotta force down a Herky?" he asked when Urana explained the situation to him "Easiest way to do that without too much chance of killing people would be to put a burst in an engine - you can fly a Herky minus one engine or even two, but not for too long, so a cautious crew will try and find a safe spot to set down".
Once this was passed on to Feltano, he guided the Reaper around so he could get a clear view under the hammond wing and got on the comm.
"To the pilot of the C-130 ahead of me..." Feltano called in clear if accented English "You have a target of interest to me aboard. You will land your aircraft now so he can be retrieved".
"No" the pilot replied clearly and firmly "We won't. We're due back at base to deliver a soldier for court-martial, and we're going to do that. Whatever you might think".
Feltaano put a burst past the hammond cockpit window, then asked again more firmly.
"Sir, we've been fired upon!" the copilot told his CO "Warning shot, yes - but a bit too close for comfort. Whoever it is wants the prisoner and won't take no for an answer!"
"We got no fighters here, mister - it's an Army base, not Air Force" came the response "XO only just managed to find helicopter pilots here who were still sober - we'll be airborne before long. Just hold on a few more".
"Last warning..." Feltano called, growling a bit "Land your aircraft safely... or I will fire more accurately until it sustains enough damage to force an emergency landing!"
Loud encouragement in Old Scarran followed, after which the combat medic in the cargo area was told "Strap in, this is going to get rough. Strap me in, too - I can't do that myself, not in cast and bandages like this" by his patient.
The combat medic did so, getting odd looks from the two MPs aboard - one of who told the pilot what was happening.
"Doc's strapping him down" the pilot told his copilot "Looks like he thinks we're going to get filleted. I'll start evasive manoevres, but make sure you know where your chute is just in case that's not enough".
"They are not complying, aunt Urana" Feltano called.
"They are trying to gain time for troops to find them and rescue them" Urana reminded him "Their comm messages revealed that they don't have aircraft to attack us with where they are based - so they will send infantry to try and secure the area before retrieving them on the ground".
"We must accelerate the situation" Feltano decided "Giving us enough time to retrieve the man we came for and leave in good order".
"Correct" Urana confirmed "The pilot of that aircraft is conducting evasive manoevres to try and stop you from shooting it down... so fly closer. Fire short bursts until a hit on a critical area is achieved that will force the pilot to land".
"They haven't hit us yet..." the C-130s copilot told their commander "but we've dodged two bursts of gunfire already. Whoever they are, they're serious about taking our prisoner".
"We're getting closer" a different voice said "Once we're within ten kilometres, just find a road or anything that'll take you and land. We'll be able to catch up by then".
Feltano fired three more short bursts... and the last one hit an engine under the right wing, blowing most of it right off the aircraft and lighting up numerous warning lights on the consoles.
"Shit, shit, shit!" the pilot shouted "Fire in number three, not getting a good response from the ailerons on right wing, not gonna be able to hold it up for long!"
Both the pilot and copilot flicked switched and checked consoles, then the copilot looked out of their window.
"Number three engine's gone" he reported "Great big chunks of it missing and what's left was on fire until a minute ago. Looks like they caused enough damage to weaken the wing, think I'm hearing creaking through the skin".
"We're going to have to set down, sir" the pilot told his commander "That or crash. No choices left now".
After a few grumbles from the other end of the line, their commander decided "Do it. Set down wherever you can, Leave your comms on so we can trace it, activate the beacon in your flight recorder... anything that'll help us find you".
"It looks like they are proceeding to land" Feltano told Urana "The hammond wing appears to have been damaged, not just the engine... so you and Sherenka may need to provide more medical care than we had previously hoped".
"Let's hope not" Urana replied "So far their pilot's handling things well enough, there doesn't appear to have been any issues beyond those which we inflicted on them".
"There looks to be a hard-surface road" Sherenka announced, pointing to a spot on her HUD "There are vehicles on it... but transmissions are being made from the target aircraft to others on the ground, so perhaps some of those below are local Emergency Services or police clearing a safe landing zone".
As it turned out, there wasn't any police on the road at the time, but the sight of a rapidly-descending C-130 with considerable damage cleared the road quickly, although it also caused a few traffic accidents as well.
The C-130 landed hard and unevenly, breaking one set of landing gear and nearly destroying the other engine under the right wing until the pilots brought their crippled aircraft under as much control as they could.
"Everyone still alive?" the copilot called, barely able to stand up "We're going to have enemies on our doorstep before long, so you two MPs are going to have to deal with that until our rescue party arrives".
Once Sherenka identified the crash site, Feltano brought the Reaper in around the hammond side of the C-130.
"There looks to be a hatch on that side" Feltano told Urana "Should we enter there?"
"There's a ramp at the back" Urana replied "That hatch will barely admit one person at a time - if Sherenka and Rustuk go in together via the ramp, they can support each other".
"Thirty microts..." Feltano called, getting both Sherenka and Rustuk on their feet and standing by the treblin hatch "Fifteen... ten... five, four, three, two, one!"
As soon as Feltano opened the hatch remotely, Sherenka and Rustuk jumped the short distance to the ground while Feltano landed more cautiously. Since the drop ramp on the C-130 was still closed, Sherenka had to burn a hole in it with her guns big enough for her and Rustuk to enter by - which was met by bursts of rifle fire from the two MPs inside. Sherenka took a few hits before putting a burst through that MP, while the other decided getting killed wasn't something he wanted happening to him and raised his hands.
Rustuk put him to sleep with the stasis barrel on his pulse pistol before cuffing his wrists and legs, then heading forward to do the same with the pilots.
The command pilot was still updating their commander on events - the copilot tried going for his pistol, but froze when he saw Rustuk pointing his own at him.
"Better..." Rustuk said in heavily-accented English "Sit. Don't move", after which both of them were put to sleep and cuffed as well.
The man on the stretcher smiled proudly and rumbled when both Rustuk and Sherenka came over to him.
"Only the oldest records speak of people of the strong ones looking like you" he told Rustuk "Until you arrived none of us have ever seen one... those who show the signs of blood of the strong ones here have smoother skin with less obvious scaling" before he waved a hand for the medic to unstrap him.
"If our other records are correct..." he announced "then... Trooper Third Class Karl Torvald reporting. I would stand and salute... but I am not in the best of health right now".
"The proper name for our people is Scarrans" Sherenka corrected him, though she did smile a little "While our king has been deposed, the kingdom is still strong if now underground".
"I volunteer myself to help change this!" Karl Torvald replied, loudly and emphatically in Old Scarran "I may not be able to go out in the first wave... but once doctors certify me fit for duty again I will be both ready and willing to fight!"
"Stay a little calmer, at least..." the medic sighed, before turning to Rustuk and saying "I don't know who you are and quite frankly I don't care... but my patient here needs medical care, which he can't get in a combat zone!"
"That's why I'm here" Sherenka added, turning to face him "We will take him with us to our craft, and then we will fly back to our ship, and then Karl Torvald will receive medical care. You will stay here" before motioning for Rustuk to lift his end of the stretcher.
As soon as he heard Sherenka shout "All OK!", Feltano shut and sealed the hatch remotely, before activating the cloaking shield and flying off more sedately until Urana told him the stretcher had been secured.
"Returning to the Havoc" Feltano announced "For the newcomer... this may feel a little odd to you, but you will be well".
"Copy successful retrieval" Lazarus replied when Sherenka called in "Get your eemas back up here. Urana, your mother's been notified, she'll join you on the hammond flight deck when you land".
Urana scanned and tested Karl Torvald with the portable instruments in her medical bag as much as she could, nodding when he added his own account of events at several points as well.
A large number of student medical staff, many of whom were Kalish, were also on the hammond flight deck when Feltano's Reaper landed. Once the Reaper's rear entry had been opened, Rustuk and Sherenka carried the stretcher down to the flight deck - where Moratha came forward to see for herself, surrounded by whichever student doctors could keep up.
"Is this another human?" one Charrid asked, looking at Karl Torvald "He looks mostly Scarran! Only his hair does not!"
"The hair looks human" several Kalish replied in agreement "What colour is it? How long is it? Does the man have distinctive skin or tattoos? Does he need emergency treatment right here and now?"
"He doesn't need emergency treatment" Moratha told them "It looks like a human doctor has seen to his more basic needs before the retrieval team found him. I'll decide what else needs to be done once I get him to the main sick bay".
"So that species-traitor is back?" Senator Beasely asked someone he knew at Langley.
"That big-ass space ship's here if that's what you mean, Senator" came the reply "Right up in geo-stationary orbit over the Cape, if I remember correctly".
"Have they talked to anyone yet?" Senator Beasely asked.
"White House" his contact replied, grinning when the Senator grumbled under his breath "No one here knows how they got there without being found, but they did - chatter from State says their supreme leader brought a diplomatic delegation to make official contact".
"Shit!" Senator Beasely snapped, briefly losing control of his emotions "He's got a head start, he's taken the initiative and getting us reacting to him - in short, making us do this his way. That won't do. If he wants America's help with anything, even if he wants landing rights, we'd better get something worthwhile in return. We got nothing when Crichton junior came back last time!"
Nrakal made sure he was there when Karl Torvald's stretcher was brought to the main sick bay as well - Karl heard his Old Scarran questions to the other doctors and promptly replied in the same language whenever he knew what Nrakal wanted to know.
"Very interesting..." Nrakal said, leaning closer to examine him "More hair than most Scarrans... above average physical size... skin and ridging suggest high-caste bloodline..." before testing his mental functioning for evidence of mentalism, then drawing blood for testing.
"Genetic markers for mentalism are not present in this patient, doctor" Amara announced "Blood and geneprint scans as almost 93% Scarran , with just enough human bloodline present to give him hair and perhaps a few human personality traits".
"His injuries, Amara?" Nrakal asked "We can decide what his ancestry is once we're sure he won't die from his injuries".
"He will not die, Doctor" Amara assured Nrakal "From the accounts of aunt Urana, Sherenka, and Feltano it appears human surgical staff provided emergency care - enough for him to travel, since he was retrieved from a flying vehicle. Should you not wish other doctors to see to his needs, I can heal him with mentalism in only a short time".
"We will scan him fully for the archives" Nrakal decided "Why he is here on the human world and yet still scans as mostly Scarran genetically I don't know, but we should scan his body and his mind - perhaps then we might find out why".
Karl Torvald muttered a bit in Old Scarran while he was scanned with every machine in the sick bay, though he laughed a bit when the results were discussed by the student doctors in the room.
They don't know why my body and blood register as body and blood of the strong ones, of the Scarran people he thought with amusement Once they stop poking and testing me, perhaps I should tell them... even though the orange-skinned ones will likely bombard me with questions about every tiny thing. Perhaps someone will tell me what kind of people they are, and the ones with greenish skin as well.
He twitched when he felt the edge of Amara's mind as she started to scan his mind - and promptly hardened his will to defend himself.
"You have a strong will" Amara told him, nodding "You are not trained, but while you are not a mentalist you have a strong mind if not a trained one and reacted surprisingly well against what you thought might be hostile mentalism. It was not hostile, of course - that was me. I am required to find out how much like a Scarran your mind is, just as we are already doing for your body".
"What does my reaction tell you about that, then?" Karl asked, turning to look Amara right in the eye "How ...Scarran... is that?"
"Your initial reaction was as I expected a Scarran's to be, you are correct" Amara confirmed for him "Your more measured response just then was closer to what our archive would suggest a human's would be".
Troll came into the sick bay with Urana, who told her husband "Stay clear of the doctors, mister... but see for yourself, if you must".
"Looks like every other high-caste Scarran I ever did see, love" he told Urana "Never saw one of yours with that kinda blondish-brown hair though. Where'd we get him from, eastern border?"
Sherenka explained to her father about the retrieval mission, which got Troll grinning and leaning over to see for himself.
"You are a ranked soldier?" Karl Torvald asked in Old Scarran "Perhaps your leaders are sceptical about me and my origins and my motivations, and you are here to question me?"
"That's my daughter helping fix you up, mister" pointing to Sherenka "Just came by to see you, since you're new around here - and check up on her, of course".
Karl laughed, after which he asked which world in the Kingdom he was from.
"None of them, mister - I'm human" Troll replied, grinning "Yeah, I know I don't look it any more... all the extra bits got added later. Big man H got his good stuff first of anyone, I got that plus a few extra new bits on top - he'll have to tell you the rest. I'm sure you'd like it, it's pretty awesome and a lot of fun - ask the doc about it once you're up an' about, he an' the big man will decide what they got that suits you...".
"TROLL!" Urana barked at her husband "That's classified! Those things are to be applied to full members of the Irregulars only unless the War Commander says otherwise!"
"Come on..." Troll replied "It's not like I'm telling him how to give the good stuff to others, even if I actually knew..." before he grinned at Karl again and asked "So... tell us a bit about yourself, mister...".
Karl proudly gave as full and detailed an account of his family history and the presence in it of Scarrans as he could over the next arn.
They are pleased I can tell them all this in their language, too he could tell easily If that grinning American is right, they have special technology to improve the body of a soldier for combat - I don't know if they'll give me the best of that, but if they are proud that I and those like me have kept the traditions and history of their people alive on Earth then I might be able to get a few of the more interesting things for myself. Do they have anything that might help me destroy enemy armour? How strong is the armour that American has - can it stop rounds from the main gun of a tank, or missiles from RPGs or Javelins or Kornets? Crew-served weapons like fifty-cal machine guns and automatic grenade launchers? Or just small arms?
Nrakal smiled briefly when Amara passed on Karl's thoughts to him.
~It is a promising start~ he told Amara ~But since this man is not a member of the Irregulars at this time, only the War Commander can authorise application of the change to him~.
~He seems to be a good choice for applying the technology gained when you examined the Kalish, Reganto Retti, after retrieving my grandpa and grandma and uncle Devin from Kalian~ Amara suggested ~That man of mother's people had small plasma projectors in his body, doctor. I do not know if you can replicate this technology - but if you can perhaps it would, backed by the far superior energy-generating capacity of the changed body, be useful for attacking armoured vehicles as this man seems to be trained to do~
~The theory is good caution~ Nrakal replied ~...but, to be honest, I don't know if it's suitable for application to a living subject at this stage~
Amara thought about this for a few momens, after which she said ~With your permission... and that of the War Commander... perhaps this could be explained to the potential subject, Doctor? Since he grew up with humans, whether he is genetically of that species or not, perhaps his interest in what the change can let him do and his pride in your people will convince him to volunteer anyway?~
"War Commander... Troll... Amara... come with me" Nrakal decided, calling out to the three of them, after which he led them inside the secure area where the tanks were and sealed the doors.
"Well..." Harrigan said, once Nrakal stopped talking "This'd be the first time after my own tank time that big stuff gets put on someone when they're not a member here, nor fully aware of what the risks are. If you really think it's worth the risk of him having a catastrophic mental or physical reaction then you're going to tell him every last nasty detail - before you put him in a tank, too".
Troll whispered rapidly to Harrigan, who passed on what he heard to Nrakal.
"If you think you can explain the additions of the change to him..." Nrakal told Troll "in a way he will understand ... and possibly enjoy, from what little I know of humans, especially yourself... then I will give cautious approval, though I will be standing right beside you in case I need to correct wild exaggerations or outright lies!"
"Knew you'd see it my way, big man doctor" Troll replied, grinning "Might need Sturk or Rekketh on hand if he wants to see it on a real person an' I can't show him... but it's lookin' good so far..."
"So..." Karl Torvald asked, when he saw Nrakal and the others coming back towards him "How long am I going to be stuck in this surgical facility? When I can I return to my place in the Norwegian army - or a similar one with the Kingdom - and fight?"
"Not as long as it might do with a human doctor" Nrakal replied, only a little smug "but probably longer than you would prefer. A number of ...reconstructive surgery... options might be made available, but our War Commander must give final approval".
Harrigan smiled when Karl Torvald saluted as best he could, nodding and saying "As you were, mister... looks like we got our work cut out putting you back together, but it might just be worth making you a little better than when you got here as well...".
Karl promptly repeated his earlier account of how his ancestors came to make contact with Scarrans, adding a few high points of how specific ancestors of his had fared in battle, before giving a brief overview once more of the current situation where he lived.
"Looks like someone's gonna be making a trip to your stomping ground sometime soon, then" Harrigan decided "Can't be me, I got stuff to do seeing to other things - but we'll send someone good".
Karl bowed his head briefly when Harrigan mentioned Ghost's funeral, after which he asked "So do I make the grade? Can I have some of these special things the over-excited man there keeps telling me about? Can any of them help me do what I do best - hunting down enemy armour - or help me fighting superior numbers with blades and mauls and my bare hands?"
Harrigan didn't spot the grin on Troll's face before he started talking, so they all had to put up with Troll's slightly exaggerated explanation and personal opinion of everything he knew about the change and what he could do with it for the next half arn - it didn't help when Karl started grinning as well, since that only encouraged Troll to keep going.
"The plasma weapons are still extremely experimental..." Nrakal reminded the pair of them, growling only a little under his breath "... as is the flight abilit- oh dear, you hadn't told him about that, had you...".
Troll grinned even more and explained about that as well.
"THAT'S WHAT I WANT!" Karl bellowed happily in Old Scarran "THE STRONGEST MUSCLE AND BONE! THE THICKEST ARMOUR! HEAVY CANNON! ELECTRICAL PROJECTION AND FLAMING BREATH FOR ANYTHING THAT'S STILL MOVING AFTER THAT!"
"Quieten down..." Moratha ordered "before your overexcitement does you even more harm than you've already done to yourself!
"I DON'T MIND THAT IT'S EXPERIMENTAL!" he bellowed, ignoring Moratha for now "HOW ELSE ARE WE GOING TO FIND OUT HOW WELL IT WORKS UNLESS YOU TRY IT WITH SOMEONE!"
"Well...for what it's worth..." Harrigan told Nrakal "you got a volunteer. It's occasionally a concern when people volunteer for stuff... but since he won't shut up about it, and I'm more than slightly curious how this'll go anyway, then I'm leaving it up to you".
"He volunteered extremely loudly and emphatically" Nrakal agreed "For all that I have concerns of my own... he volunteered of his own free will, and I'm usually willing to take 'Yes' for an answer, as you know...".
"Get a list of what you need then, doc..." Harrigan replied, laughing "...ASAP! Looks like we're doing this the human way an' pressing the big red button to see what happens!" before he quietened down and scratched his chin in thought for a momen or so, then added "Karl here's a big guy to start with... and if that stuff makes him as big as I'm starting to think it will... you'll need to rig up a larger tank somehow. We got what we need for that?"
"All we need is a container that can be completely sealed..." Nrakal replied "...and which, to ease the subject's state of mind, should have at least a transparent covering so they can see people waiting to help them when they wake up after their change has been completed".
"I'll get Tovak to get his boys an' girls hunting that stuff down, then" Harrigan replied "Or you can call him yourself if you'd rather, once you got a good idea what you'll actually need".
"I'll do that" Nrakal confirmed "You still have diplomatic negotiations for a number of topics to conduct with the leader of your home sector".
"Yeah" Harrigan sighed "Most to it's gonna be Ghost's funeral... dealing with his family's the easy part, but we gotta get a few Air Force guys for the honour guard and to carry the coffin. Finding guys that served with us in one-SO is going to be tricky, but if I have to I'll screech in the Secretary of Defence's ear non-stop till he finds them for me".
"I'm heading dirtside again, you lot" Harrigan told Crichton "Since my first port of call's the White House you can come and see your Dad since he's likely to be there, Mr C - not sure who else from your lot you'll want to bring along, just make sure they know how to behave around the President and we'll all be fine".
"Most of the girls are fine on Moya, to be honest" Crichton replied "Even Aeryn doesn't much feel like moving this time. I'll bring Sikozu an' Big D, that'll do - some of the Secret Service should remember them from last time we were here".
"Yeah, might be better to keep a landing party small and simple for now" Harrigan agreed "I'll make sure to slip your lot a bunch of stuff in among our own resupply, we can move that over from one flight deck or other once it's all done".
Tovak had techs searching through all the storehouses they could find for two days before they found everything on Nrakal's list. A very young Charrid was ecstatic when they found the last thing on the list with their father, and their excitement got Kalish children rushing over to hug them and praise them - which, since the family was not born into the Kingdom, the child found amazing if a little frightening at first.
"It's unusual even now" he told his son "But from what we were told they're just glad you found what we're looking for. You know Kalish can get a bit excitable about things like that".
"Is nice, father" his son replied "Kalish like us. They not think we bad cause we Charrid. They think we friends".
The young boy made a good salute for someone his age when Tovak came to see for himself. Tovak smiled and nodded, looked at what the boy had found, then ordered "Pack it all up, move it out! I'm not too sure where the doc wants to set this up... so call main sick bay and coordinate with Doctors Nrakal or Moratha!"
"I hear you, Chief Engineer" Nrakal told Tovak when he called to update him "I can put the improvised tank on the service platform by the entry from their to my sick bay. Plenty of room".
"They'll likely be coming up that way in any case" Tovak replied "They're pretty sure you'd want it in there with you, just not where exactly - putting it on the service transport platform means you'll need to put a security wall around it and seal it off, but that won't be a problem".
"We hear you, doctor" the Charrid father replied when Nrakal called back to tell him the plan "I have several Kalish and a few of my own people with me to do the work. My wife is busy working, so I have our son with me - so I'll be supervising".
Nrakal walked out onto the service transport platform behind the main sick bay and waited. Not too much time passed before he heard the sounds of a cargo platform moving his way, and only a few momens passed after that before the the first of two cars arrived.
"Good, we have detailed plans" the man said when Nrakal sent them to his PDA - he promptly sent them to every worker with him, then called "Right up by the entry here, everyone - the wall forms one side of the tank! Looks like those of you with electrical ratings will need to splice the feed for the tank in after you pull off a panel or two - do what you need to, but no one isolates anything around here without getting word from Chief Surgeon Nrakal that it's safe to do so!"
Harrigan called for an assault lander to take the larger group down to the White House, which caused a minor stir among some of the Secret Service agents until they saw Harrigan emerging from it along with Trannak, Crichton, Sikozu, D'argo, and two more skulkers.
"Good, you're back" Jack called, before greeting his son.
"Yeah, nice to be back for a bit, Dad!" Crichton replied, laughing "Nice to get a meal or two that's American food I grew up with, to be honest - I've eaten anything and everything out there, but it's nice to know I can get a good steak here, or some ribs, maybe some seafood I can recognise too. There's seafood out there you'd not believe, Dad".
"Scarran MREs are better" Harrigan replied within hearing range of several ex-Army members of the Secret Service "Bit weird till you get used to them, but food cubes are better than whatever they put in the pound cake in the MREs we got in the Air Force, and the drink issued for combat units won't give you the shits either".
"Those three are known" the first agent they saw told the other three with him "The human's American anyway, and the other two were with him when he came through last time his lot were here. Think Holt was in charge of that".
"Yeah, he was" Crichton replied "He still around? I'm sure we'll run across him if he is".
"Holt's still where he used to be" the agent confirmed "We've been told what the big one's here for... Holt's been told, he'll be at the event itself even if he doesn't turn up here".
As it turned out, TR Holt had just arrived in the Oval Office by another route.
"General Crichton..." he announced "Commander Crichton..." before turning to D'argo and Sikozu and saying "I remember your faces if not your names, you two...", then turning to face Harrigan and adding "You I remember as well... I don't think I met your comrades here before...".
"The General here was there" Harrigan replied, nodding towards Trannak but not naming him "The other two are new".
"They look like the General" TR Holt replied "They are the same species and subtype, from what I can tell".
"They are" Trannak confirmed "I expect when Commander Crichton was here before he gave you data that would let you identify the major species where we come from. It's good to see you read it and memorised it".
TR Holt just nodded.
"We have locations on most of the members of your old unit that are still alive" an Air Force officer told Harrigan while TR Holt watched and listened "Since some of them are still in the Air Force, we've had them called back to a secure location not far from Arlington so they'll be there when they're needed".
Harrigan looked over the list presented to him and, to the Air Force officer's mild annoyance, copied the contact details of quite a few of them to his own PDA before listing who he wanted made available.
"Best time looks to be in a couple of weeks" TR Holt suggested "That way I can see to it security is in place and the only media there will be ones that have been properly cleared and know the rules".
"No fekking press" Harrigan replied, chopping down with his treblin hand "Not one! This is a funeral, not a media circus! If we can't avoid it, I'll get the General here to deal with it - after the funeral's over and the family have been moved away safely!"
TR Holt nodded and smiled briefly before making a few calls of his own.
"Thank you..." Ghost's mother said when Harrigan called at their house again "Especially for seeing that media are kept away. We just want to see our son laid to rest peacefully, we don't need reporters getting in our way".
"Air Force will be putting guys on security" Harrigan explained "but I'll have a few of my own out there as well. We'll have four former members of the unit plus the General and his Command Specialist carrying the coffin. We can't find the chaplain we knew back when I was here right now, but the Air Force is sending over the most senior one in their service to do all the religious stuff. Once everything's done, we'll fly you down to the Cape - the officers' club knows we're coming, we'll have the place to ourselves for a few hours so everyone can unwind. If you want, we'll see about getting you up to the ship for a brief tour if you like".
"If you don't mind us bringing a few other family members, sir..." Ghost's father replied "then that'll be good. A few of the family's staying with us right now. We'll make sure the kids don't go running around".
Harrigan explained the precautions taken with visitors, which Ghost's parents agreed with even though they thought the security a little tight.
Karl Torvald watched with interest as the construction of his tank continued.
"We are just making the final connectivity checks" one Kalish said when Karl asked what was going on "Once this is done, I expect doctors will come for you and see to it that you are placed in the tank and whatever procedures that are being applied to you are applied safely".
"You speak the same language I speak" Karl asked with interest - all the Kalish smiled, while one of them explained about their species' natural talent with languages and their good memories.
"Come here, come here..." Troll called to Karl, waving him back inside the sick bay "Just getting all the stuff rigged up so we can settle on what we're going to give you... come on, we'll run you through it all...".
"OK, just so you know..." Troll announced "this is all seriously classified. No one talks with anyone outside the room about this or Big Man Harrigan's likely to do very bad things to you at length", after which he grinned and added "Now that's behind us... down to the good stuff! What you're gonna get, Mr Karl, is what we here call the change. Some of the stuff's common with anyone who gets it, and some stuff's custom".
It took nearly an arn to explain the basic capabilites of the change to both Doctor Nrakal's and Karl Torvald's satisfaction.
"Lookin' good already, isn't it?" Troll asked Karl Torvald "You'll love this, I know it. That's just the basic stuff... where it gets really awesome is some of the custom stuff we can add to your offensive and defensive personal package. Since covert's not something you want... we're starting with this...", after which he detailed the modifications Sturk already had, although he finished with "We're not adding those darts for you, mister - mostly cause we'd rather not add a load of stuff for multiple weapons in your arms and make things more complicated than we need to, specially when I doubt you'll need them anyway".
"What about other weapons?" Karl Torvald asked next "You said before, several times, that you have these - and I asked about anti-armour weapons. Will I be getting those?"
"Yeah, I got a couple of big auto-pulsers" Troll confirmed, nodding "People usually get stuff that suits their personality or existing skills - when I was in the Air Force I carried the machine gun when I was on the ground, so I got auto-pulsers. Since you use bigger boom-boom, the doc's decided to release some of the new stuff for you. There's a number of ways we can do this, but I say we go full awesome an' use four... here and here, in your arms; then here and here, in your shoulders. That way if you gotta carry stuff you can still lay down serious firepower if you need to".
"Why that hiding shield?" Karl asked "I haven't worked like that before. I find a good spot and wait, or I stay mobile with my loader, or I support a squad".
"Precautionary, really" Nrakal said, and Troll added "One of those things you'll find it's better to have even if you don't need it, rather than find out you need it and don't have one. I don't use mine a lot... but I'm still glad I got it".
Karl thought about that, then nodded and said "I doubt I'll really need it... but I understand your reasoning, mister Troll. Some things are good to have just in case of emergencies".
"This is what you're getting before anyone else" Troll said with a grin "Serious plas cannons. To be honest, we don't know exactly how well they'll work... but we're pretty sure they'll work as expected. Extremely experimental. You're gonna be the unit lab rat for this one".
"The theory is good" Nrakal added, glaring at Troll for his language concerning the weapons "It should not harm your health beyond acceptable standards when these changes are applied, even less so when they are used - but none of us know how well the cannon will work. After you emerge from this tank, you will need to be tested extensively to establish tolerances and so information is available for others who come after you".
"Think that means we take you somewhere isolated..." Troll added "to shoot things and blow stuff up for a while".
"Lab rat item number two..." Troll added after a few microts to catch his breath "Something I know you'll like ... I know I do. Remember Star Wars? How the ships had those deflector shield things? Once you get out of the tank, so will you. Safety interlock between that and the cloaking, you can't run both at once - partly energy drain, mostly that even if you're cloaked the shield makes you detectable".
"I should make contact with my family" Karl Torvald replied "They knew I was returning to Norway for court-martial... but I am now overdue for that, so they will be concerned. They should also know that they too are part of the Kingdom, and that the rest of the Kingdom is proud of them for keeping the memory of our people and our language alive".
"Pick one" Lazarus told him "One person you can trust to only tell people what they actually need to know. I'd suggest only telling them the Kingdom is real and we're here... plus that you're hospitalised for reconstructive surgery. Since I expect they've been told you got sent back injured that'll fit with what's actaully happened. We'll deal with all the details when we take you down there after your change and after you get medical clearance".
Harrigan walked over with some papers.
"Not that you'll really need these, mister..." he explained, after which he smiled and added "But since your genetic ident classified you as Scarran, we got a standard civilian passport, normal Hierarchy civilian ident, and military ident as well - the civilian one's an official Hierarchy one as well, not a Kingdom one, so you can go on passenger liners an' stuff inside Scarran space without tripping any red flags. Military ident has the rank you said you had on it - doc thinks you're best suited to Bloodstars by your personality, so that's why the emblem has a red star on it".
Karl Torvald looked at his new papers, then smiled and rumbled softly and proudly - the Scarrans around him nodded and smiled, glad to hear him rumble as they did, after which they sang the royal anthem. Karl himself was particularly pleased to be able to sing that among other Scarrans and said so afterwards - Altur rumbled a little more loudly as he came forward, saying "I could tell, mister Torvald... in case no one told you, I am a mentalist. Your surface thoughts and feelings have the familiar texture of Scarran thoughts. I can read them clearly".
"We do not know that word" Karl replied "Our records describe various unusual capabilities, if not as exactly as you just did - they describe effects, they name some people noted as using these abilities. Little hard data".
Harrigan commed the bridge, telling Keyah "Splice us into the Norwegian phone system - Karl will pass on the phone number, so just hook us up when you get it".
The phone rang at the bar in a smaller city not far from Norway's north-west coast.
"Kingdom Hotel..." a voice replied "Can I help you?"
"Mister Olak!" Karl's loud voice boomed "Good, you are there - we found you! Are any of my family there? Is father or grandfather there?"
A quiet rumbling came up the line, after which Olak said "Good, you are alive and well... you are well, aren't you? We were told you were injured as well as that you were being returned to Norway for court-martial".
"I am with people of the strong ones, Olak" Karl replied proudly "I am told the proper name for their people is Scarrans. Other species allied with them are here also".
The line went quiet while Olak thought about this news, after which he asked "Should any people of the strong ones, these Scarrans, be present... I should like to speak with you. We have only our old records and family accounts to rely on to prove the existence of your people. Some of our people down here have non-human traits which I assume are strong evidence of your bloodlines... these have manifested in Karl Torvald more so than most, to be honest".
"Chief Surgeon Nrakal" Doctor Nrakal announced, identifying himself "Your friend is well... but he must still go through reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation for approximately twelve of your weeks".
"I can understand your language, Chief Surgeon... " Olak told Nrakal "You do not have to speak English unless you want to".
Nrakal gave a brief overview of the Irregulars' plans for their time on Earth, though he added "We will send people to make official contact with you also, I'm sure - just not right away".
"Grandson!" a voice called loudly, interrupting Olak's own "It's good to hear you're alive! From what Olak's been saying, you're with people of the strong ones! What are they like? Can they understand your speech in their language or has it changed too much?"
"Both kinds of their people are here, grandfather" Karl explained "Not one of us has seen a real low-caste Scarran before... yet there are thousands here on this ship with me. Straight-bloodline ones more like some of us too - ones which the doctor says are called high-caste".
"Good, good" his grandfather replied "We've been having more trouble again, same bunch as last time - they're still trying to build a McDonald's on top of the First Landing sight, despite its cultural importance to us and that building where they want to will likely cause a cave-in before too long. Patrols in the caves have turned back both tourists and surveyors".
"Has it come to the courts yet?" Karl asked.
"Not yet" his grandfather replied, growling quietly "though company lawyers have certainly tried. Our own friends locally have been keeping them at bay for now, but I hear they're trying to get a court order from the highest court in the country as well as lobby every MP they can reach. We're making plans to defend the site if we need to, but you know how thinly stretched our soldiers will be".
"Delay them until I'm certified healthy again..." Karl promised his grandfather "and I'll bring Kingdom troops from this ship to defend the site! I don't care how good the army is, they'll not be able to break our lines when we've got Scarrans with us!"
"That odd young man the American sent is doing well" his grandfather added "He's got a bad accent, but he's speaking the ...Scarran, yes... Scarran language at a rough conversational level now. He's been training with the soldiers, and while he's not the best student with a sword or axe he's above average with guns".
"The War Commander, our leader here..." Karl explained "has made contact with that American, it seems - he holds a position of power in their government, which was likely how he came to find out about me in the first place. I hear his son and his son's wife are with us on the ship".
"The young man is their son, Karl!" his grandfather revealed "They will be pleased to see him! I hope they will be pleased to see his combat skills have improved as well... he is good with normal academic skills, he can drive cars, we were going to see if he was good enough to be admitted into the army where you could watch him - but now that might not be necessary".
Karl looked over his shoulder, listened, then told his grandfather "The Chief Surgeon tells me his team is ready to start my reconstructive surgery, grandfather - I will make contact with you as soon as I am certified healthy again".
"OK, ok..." Harrigan called as soon as he'd sat down in the command chair and waved for the duty comm officer to put the call through "I'm here. What's up?"
"War Commander..." the Secretary of Defence replied "Arrangements have been made at Arlington. Air Force personnel have been made available for the funeral... band, guard duty, twenty one gun salute, a few other things. How many of your personnel should we make allowances for at the event itself?"
"General Trannak and Sar-Major Juroch will be the two out front carrying the coffin" Harrigan replied, identifying people with their human-equivalent ranks "with Air Force personnel, former one-SO if they're available, filling the other four positions. There'll be a few, a squad or two most likely, providing close security around the procession. We'll have fighters airborne over Arlington... and when the procession reaches the grave site, some of those will fly 'missing man' formation over everyone" - after the Secretary had written all that down, Harrigan added "My guys will be in full combat gear, not dress uniform - we don't have dress uniform here in any case, but where we're all from now it's a show of respect to a deceased soldier if we come along properly equipped".
"Noted" came the reply, though Harrigan knew he'd be telling everyone else around him about that unexpected turn of events "Once all US personnel involved are ready, we'll call you and rehearse everything at Arlington itself - just so your soldiers and US soldiers know what to expect from each other".
"There are monitor cameras there, there, and there" Doctor Nrakal told Karl Torvald, beside the big tank "We can see you at all times. The tank will send medical data about you to me inside the sick bay as well, of course - but periodically one or more doctors will come back here to check on you personally as well".
"Thank you once again" Karl replied "for agreeing to give me these new things. While I have been in hospitals a few times, I don't like it - so if everyone's ready to get started, I suggest we do this now".
Nrakal promptly anaesthetised him, then called for Scarrans to put him in the tank while a Kalish saw to filling it to the correct pre-change level. Several other medical staff saw to inserting the nutrient needles and waste removal systems.
"Note time and day for medical log..." Nrakal called, and once this had been done he added "Experimental stage-3 change, details in medical archive, about to commence on subject Karl Erik Torvald, Trooper Third Class, Bloodstar Corps" before waving for Amara to press the buttons to start the process.
Amara did this, calling "Positive confirmation, Chief Surgeon, on successful commencement of experimental stage 3 change on subject Karl Torvald!" once the green button lights were on and steady.
"Looks like the president's ordered the very best for the funeral" Beasely Senior told a few people he could trust, well away from any military facilities "I can't go, that Harrigan will recognise me right away - but I want at least one of you watching everything that goes on. We need to know if any of the former US servicemen known to be with Harrigan are there, we need to know everything we can find out about these ... non-human... allies of theirs since I'm sure some of them will be there as well. While that's going on I'll talk to a few people I know who might be able to get us a non-human to study, though we'll have to use a black site for that since we can hardly do that kind of examination at Langley".
"Yeah, I know a few boys we can use" one of the others with him replied, nodding "They've come through for us before, both here and overseas. We just gotta send in a small crew to get the site ready to go, then we're good".
"If you're thinking of the same people I am..." Beasely said, turning to face the speaker "and I'm fairly sure you are... then you can go find them and tell them what's what. Don't tell them any fine details, just that we'll be needing a hostile extraction and we'll advise them on where to take the target once they have them. Usual contact details should be fine".
A week later, an Air Force officer at Arlington looked up to see four aircraft she couldn't identify come to a hover and deploy a number of soldiers.
Ah, it's them she decided, checking photos on a small tablet against the faces she could see Bad pics from White House surveillance doesn't really do them justice, they look weird and frightening. Secret Service says the biggest one's former Air Force himself, which means there's at least one American there.
"You would be War Commander Harrigan, sir?" she called once Harrigan got a bit closer "These are some of your ...soldiers?"
"General Trannak..." Harrigan replied, pointing to Trannak first before doing the same to the others and giving name and rank, then nodding and finishing with "...and I'm Harrigan, yes".
"The Air Force personnel, sir..." she continued "have been drilling for this for the past few days. SecDef passed on the brief plan you gave him, but none of us know if you want to do anything ... well, from out there".
"Next to nothing" Harrigan replied, which got a sigh of relief "Only change will be carrying the coffin to the grave site... on the way, Air Force band will be playing the American national anthem; when we lower the coffin a few of mine will sing our royal anthem. Ghost started his service as an American, so we start with that; he finished it as a member of the Kingdom, so we finish with that. After the twenty one gun salute, I'll get pilots flying 'missing man' formation at low altitude over the grave site. After the family are presented with the American flag, the General will do the same with the Kingdom flag as well. Air Force chaplain handles the religious bit".
The NCO from tactical command conferred with the Air Force over the route of the procession, then nodded before passing this on to his own troops.
"We'll be just out of sight of the procession itself..." he told them "but close enough to respond if needed. The local humans will be handling outer security and providing the support staff necessary for the ceremony. We'll have Reapers in the air for that and for surveillance, one mark 3 to coordinate it all".
Trannak continued to supervise the rehearsal, while Harrigan called one of the Reapers down to collect him.
"Ah, Jane, it's you" he said when he saw the pilot "Good. Get us down to where Ghost's family lives, they'll be expecting us. Bit of a family gathering there right now, but there should be enough space for everyone in the back even though it's likely going to be a bit tight".
"On it" Jane replied, tapping out a few commands on a panel - then entering the course on the HUD.
Not too much later, Ghost's father got a phone call and walked outside in time to see the Reaper making a fairly sedate landing as close to his house as he could get.
"This way, everyone" Harrigan called, smiling when he saw the younger children "Not a lot of room, I'm afraid - but the flight will be quick".
The cargo bay benches were very tightly packed, though once everyone was made aware that children could sit safely on the deck as long as they didn't run around too much it got better.
"Best safe speed, Jane" Harrigan called "Put on external view in the back, too - the kids will love that".
They did, too - enough that their parents took a while to calm them down again, and by then Jane called "Final approach, we're coming in!"
"No jumping out with me" Harrigan told the older children "Normal people like you can't handle a twenty foot drop like I can, you'd hurt yourself badly" before leaping out of the open drop ramp, after which the Reaper came down the rest of the way and landed. They were met by a few of the Irregulars, plus the AIr Force chaplain conducting the funeral service itself - the chaplain saw to it they were shown to their seating, while the Irregulars went to their positions and Harrigan walked back to the cemetery's main gate.
"Sitrep?" he asked the Air Force soldiers on duty there.
"Just got word, sir..." one replied "that SecDef and a couple of others are nearly here".
"POTUS as well?" Harrigan asked.
"POTUS too" the other soldier confirmed "Scuttlebutt says his chief of staff wanted him to stay at the White House and just send someone to represent him, but he decided to come anyway. General Crichton, from IASA I think, did persuade him to leave the Secret Service at home and bring Marines instead - don't know why".
"Big Man Crichton Senior knows we don't like political enforcement" Harrigan told them "and that's how law and convention out there would classify Secret Service. We don't always like all soldiers either, but we do show a little respect".
A little later, Harrigan's come came to life.
"Marine One's comin' close, Harrigan" Jane called "One more Blackhawk with it, so probably a few extra Marines in there".
"POTUS can set down where he likes as long as the chopper doesn't get in the way, Jane" Harrigan replied "Stay alongside, cover his landing - and whoever's in that other one as well".
"Copy that" Jane replied, after which the comm went silent again.
"Get word to your lot" Harrigan told the nearest soldiers "POTUS is making his landing... so everything had better be ready".
None of the soldiers nearby looked at him, but one of those on gate duty got on his radio and passed the news along.
Harrigan strode over to Marine One as its pilot tried landing as carefully as they could some distance away. The Marines inside the helicopter didn't like seeing an unidentified armed man coming towards them and their charge, which got rifles raised until President Diesel called "No need for that" and motioned for them to lower their guns.
"The President seems to like you..." a Marine officer said warily "so for now, so do we" before signalling for his Marines to form up around the President.
"General..." Harrigan called once he saw Jack Crichton emerge from the Blackhawk as well "Good to see you here too. Did you bring any government guys with you, or just Marines?"
"SecState, SecDef, and TR Holt" Jack Crichton replied "in the other Blackhawk, plus a few more Marines".
"OK, make sure everyone gets where they're supposed to be" Harrigan decided "As far as I'm concerned, and until POTUS says otherwise, you're in charge of the human side of the proceedings. Seating plan I saw puts the presidential delegation on the opposite side of the road from Ghost's family, so it should be easy to get everyone squared away".
"TR Holt's here, General" Harrigan told Trannak "Officially he's NSA, but I expect he's representing the intel community generally today. Make sure people watch him... but no one talks to him except you or me".
"Already in progress" Trannak replied "Juroch identified him the microt he stepped out of that rotorcraft and Jane confirmed it once he sent pictures. The other two in formal wear are also important people in the government of this sector?"
Once Trannak explained who the secretaries of defence and state were, Trannak nodded.
Trannak walked back down a different roadway until he found Juroch and four other Air Force soldiers.
"We're all one-SO vets, General" one of them told Trannak, nodding "Glad we could be here to help our old friend one last time".
"As I'm sure you have already been told" Trannak replied, after nodding his thanks "you humans will assume the rearmost four positions, while Command Specialist Juroch and myself will assume the two forward positions. We know you are shorter than Scarrans... so my Command Specialist and I will not force you to carry the coffin at a Scarran's shoulder height. Two of my soldiers will keep formation on each side of the coffin, with two more on rear guard".
"Security units..." Juroch called softly over the comm "Anything to report?"
"The human identified as TR Holt, Master..." a Kalish voice replied "is looking with interest at all Irregulars' personnel that he can see. He seems familiar enough with Kalish people that he may have seen us before".
"He has" Juroch replied, smiling just a little as the Kalish addressed him by his Art rank "He has seen the female of your people, still aboard the Havoc, named Sikozu Shanu before. I do not believe the other two leading political officials have seen any species of people other than their own anywhere but in the archives of Crichton's previous visit".
"Do you have further orders, Master?" the Kalish asked.
"Continue to observe and report" Juroch replied "whenever you see interesting or important things. If I do not answer your call, the General will do so".
"Opinions?" President Diesel whispered.
"They treat humans like real people" the secretary of state whispered back "which, to be honest, was my biggest concern. They look to be treating the family well, none of the kids or young adults look to be freaking out around them despite the fact they're not human".
"I'm thinking they sent some of their best down today" the secretary of defence added "Or at least people they can trust to be respectful. Everyone looks to be concentrating on their jobs - security's way tighter than what I'd have ordered, to be honest. One of their greenish wrinkly guys nearly shot a reporter trying to gain entry until an Air Force PR guy told them to leave".
"There's been a few times..." President Diesel sighed "when I'd have liked to do that... but if the family of the deceased agrees, maybe those non-humans will have footage we can release".
"Everyone is ready" the Air Force chaplain announced "We are clear to proceed".
"Copy that" Trannak replied, after which he turned to face the human soldiers with him and nodded. Everyone lifted the coffin slowly and carefully as they had practiced, after which the skulkers escorting them moved into position and one called "In transit" over both Air Force and Irregulars frequencies.
Once the Air Force officer in charge of the musicians saw Juroch's green face, he nodded and got the band playing the star-spangled banner.
As soon as Air Force soldiers saw the procession approaching and heard their national anthem being played, the chaplain ordered everyone to stand. The Air Force soldiers stood to attention until they saw the Irregulars close by stay holding their rifles at low-ready, after which their senior NCO nodded and they did the same.
TR Holt looked around as much as he felt safe to do so.
Well, this is interesting he decided These aliens are showing real respect to a human... I'd not have thought they would consider one of us their equals, soldier or not, but they respect the memory of their fallen comrade despite the fact he isn't their species or one widely known to them. I'll need to move much more carefully trying to gain useful information or technology from them.
When the younger Crichton came before, he brought civilians of several species with him - who we could push a little further. The only soldier he had with him was his wife, and she could only tell us about the Sebacean military, their so-called "Peacekeepers".
Perhaps now we might learn more about the other powers and nations beyond Earth - I know Beasely will want to get his grubby little hands on that information too, but if he tries finding out in his usual bull-in-a-china-shop way then we'll learn nothing and he'll become the second American to get killed by aliens.
Once the coffin was laid down in front of the grave, the chaplain took over and led the service. Few of the Irregulars had any clue as to what was happening, but the few who knew about humans or were humans themselves explained a little where necessary.
Beasely Senior put the phone handset down and turned to his colleagues.
"Everyone's at Arlington" he told them "Since POTUS is there as well, we'll have to scratch Plan A and just watch until a target of opportunity presents itself".
"We don't mind waiting" one man said, neatly dressed but clearly uncomfortable in formal wear "We got the retainer, so we're good to stay on standby for a month with that. Just get us the intel we need to make the snatch and we'll hold up our end of the contract".
"I've got sources in State keeping their ears to the ground on that" Beasely replied, nodding "Once I get it, I'll pass it on".
When the chaplain nodded to the skulkers standing around the coffin, Trannak turned to face Dern and nodded - and the Scarrans with him started singing the Scarran royal anthem loudly and clearly while the skulkers lowered the coffin slowly into the ground. All the Irregulars stood with their heads bowed for several microts, after which both Irregulars and humans looked back up to witness President Diesel handing over the flag to Ghost's family.
What no one expected, except for the few Air Force soldiers who'd been involved with the rehearsals, was Trannak and Juroch folding a Kingdom flag before Trannak walked forward and presented it to Ghost's father, saying "With thanks from another grateful nation...".
Despite being astonished, the Air Force soldiers made the twenty one gun salute without mistakes, after which the sounds of engines in their air let everyone know aircraft were coming their way. The sole Stryker 3 in the air at the time led the formation, with the rest being made up of Reapers and the gap signifying Ghost's absence being just to treblin and behind the Stryker 3.
"We'll be having a get-together for the family" Harrigan told the few former members of one-SO who'd been present "but if any of you want to come we can get you there too".
"Thanks for offering, sir..." one replied "I know it's not military flying, but my airline's depending on me to get passengers from Pittsburgh to Dallas for a while".
" 'Spect the pay's better" Harrigan replied, grinning "Less chance of getting shot at, too".
"Not for lack of trying" he replied grimly "We've stopped several attempted hijackings an' bombings while you've been gone... an' those are just the ones I heard of. To be honest I think that's why I've been able to name my price these past years - big bosses like the idea of having a military-trained pilot on board who won't lose his shit at the first sign of trouble".
"I got the wife and kids close by" another of them said "If you got room, we can come".
"I'll get that big one you saw earlier to come get us, then" Harrigan replied "You know, that one that lead missing-man?"
"Kids will love that!" he laughed "Their mother's going to be a bit freaked out about there being... well, non-humans... aboard, maybe the younger two as well, but we should be good".
"My girl's here" one more said "Out in town right now, but if there's transport just say the word and I'll get her to drop everything and get back here".
"The mark 3 can't land in here without squashing stuff" Harrigan replied "Should be just enough room to come to a low hover just above ground level - but that'll mean kids will have to climb up onto the drop ramp or have you lift 'em".
"Do it" Harrigan decided "Get everyone back here within half an arn and we'll head back to the Cape with Ghost's family".
While phone calls were being made, Harrigan got on his own comm and told the pilot on the Stryker 3 "I'm going to need a very tight and careful landing... we're taking a few former one-SO guys an' their families back with us, as well as Ghost's family, to the Cape".
"Not a problem, Harrigan" Lazarus replied "Who we got?"
"To be honest I forgot their callsigns, mister" Harrigan laughed "I recognise their faces, but that's about it".
"Still can't do real tight landings that well yet..." Lazarus muttered as he held the mark-3 steady barely three feet above the ground "Caseya's better than me at this, at least with big ships...".
"Looks like we got people coming, you won't need to hold it for long!" Harrigan replied, after which he turned his head and called "OVER HERE, AND BE QUICK ABOUT IT!"
Harrigan gently helped Ghost's family aboard himself - the man with children heaved himself onto the edge of the drop ramp without too much difficulty before helping his wife aboard and calling "Girls, one at a time!" and leaning over the edge to lift his children. The youngest one was a little frightened, though eventually someone walked over to help - once her father nodded, she let them lift her up to where her father could take her aboard himself. The older girl and the one boy climbed onto the drop ramp themselves.
"Would you like to tell our pilot everyone is aboard and we can start flying now?" Harrigan asked the youngest girl, who still looked frightened.
She nodded, eventually being convinced by her mother to reveal her name.
"Press this button..." Harrigan encouraged her "and call 'All OK' in a clear loud voice. Our pilot can understand you".
"A..." she stuttered "All... all OK".
"Copy that, little miss" Lazarus called "Sit down with your Dad... we'll go in a couple of minutes...", which proved to be just long enough for the other man's girlfriend to arrive and climb aboard through the hammond hatch.
"Everyone, just stay seated" Harrigan announced "Seating isn't much down here... you can strap in if you like, at least you adults and older kids can, but you don't strictly need to. Once everyone's ready, we'll head down to Canaveral AFB - we can relax and wind down there, there's food and drink laid on, for an hour or two".
One of the Air Force soldiers watched the Stryker 3 leave, after which she made a phone call.
"I hear you" a voice, clearly masked, replied "Last time they operated out of Canaveral... so they're probably going there, at least for now. Get back to your post before someone finds you" before hanging up.
