Chapter 11

To: Col & Col Scarlett
From: Adm W. Schirra
Re: Current Assignment

1. At 1400 GMT the subject struck again, this time a container ship called the Eustice Fitzsimmons was hit, 15 killed. This is being kept classified by NCIS.

2. I will arrange alternate transportation, continue on with the assignment as planned.

3. What is a woobie? My namesake wants one.

Pandora tapped out a message to her father that read, ‘A woobie is the stuffed dog he sleeps with.’ When her father reads that, he will know she got his message. Alan put the message back in the envelope and asked Special Agent Troy to destroy the message. After shredding the message, Special Agent Troy said, “How can we help you?”

“To sum up, I request an NCIS investigation into Gunnery Sergeant Rayce Bannon and his actions on my landing.” Alan handed the NCIS investigators a thumb drive. “This is the cockpit view and audio of our landing with wounded aboard. The pilot is out of action, and he knows that ... but see? He lined up on the pilot’s side of the hangar near the emergency exit. I can barely see him over the nose of that ship and he refused to move.”

“He’s got you lined up far right of the center line,” said the chief investigator as he squinted at the monitor, “but he’s signaling you to move farther to the right.”

“Yes, I would have hit the hangar door and possibly have killed everyone on board ... he had the perfect excuse, a blinded pilot and a cabin full of non-fliers. My name was kept off the schedule so he shouldn’t have known I was aboard, so my landing must have been a genuine surprise.” They watched some more of the sequence, then Alan said, “You can see where the second marshaller came out and I could see him, but Sergeant Bannon moved over to my side of the plane, ordered the second marshaller out of the hangar and returned to the wrong side.”

“Because you couldn’t see you turned around and backed it in?” asked the astonished investigator. “Isn’t that harder to do?”

“No, it’s super easy, barely an inconvenience. I can’t use proximity radar when nosing into a hangar because the nose radar will toast everything, but the rear radar is very low powered. It’s quite easy, it’s my favorite bit of that ship. He also had the emergency response team on the wrong side of the hangar so I put the injured pilot on their side so they could get to him without crawling around the aircraft.”

“What makes you think he was trying to kill you and wasn’t just incompetent?” asked the lieutenant.

“We had two previous attempts on our lives, we were hit by a laser, our eastern buddies launched two SSM-127 missiles at us and now this. I don’t believe in coincidence.”

“You think the eastern block is out to get you too?”

“Every time I take off from earth they send me off with an SSM-127 or two. Don’t forget who took their biggest station away from them.” Pandora waved coyly when he said that. “They blame us,” continued Alan.

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Camp Schmitt August 7, 2161 Camp Commander’s Office

“Sir, Colonel Scarlett,” said Yeoman Dorn as he opened the door to the sumptuous office and led Alan into the office alone. The general’s yeoman was huge, easily six foot eight and a solid 280 pounds, all muscle. Even his smile was terrifying. He looked like he was planning to eat you. Alan stood at the Camp Schmitt commander’s desk and held a salute.

“Sir, Colonel Scarlett reports.”

The commander, General Derek Quest, returned the salute and smiled. “Alan! How are Pandora and the kids doing? Anna and Wally, right?”

“Yes sir, and Gerry, he was born six months ago.”

“And Pandora? How is she taking to motherhood and the domestic life?”

“Well, including me she has four kids to take care of, along with a fighter squadron’s administration, so she’s busy.”

“How’s life on earth?” asked General Quest as Alan sat down.