Chapter 11

The following new characters appear in this chapter and others:

General McIntosh

Commander of Parthas Armed Forces, 5’-9’’ tall, about 180 pounds, mid-forties, short black hair

General Bearach McJunkin

Commander of Ground Forces, 5’-9’’ tall, about 180 pounds, mid-forties, short black hair

There was one more surprise in store for us before we left Ainalhai III. While Tiger Team was waiting for the last shuttle to take us up to the Baltic, who should arrive but Major Kanisha Ollennu with her field gear and luggage. She had a set of orders in her hand and was waving them at us. The orders assigned her to the First Mobile Headquarters Team as the Executive Officer. She also had a partial copy of the TO&E which now had an Executive Officer’s position listed on it. To say that we were surprised would be an understatement, we were shocked by this turn of events.

On the way up to the Baltic, the Colonel grilled the younger woman in the privacy afforded by the mostly empty shuttle, as we were the last members of the unit to board the Baltic with our Partners.

“Did your bosses or others in the Headquarters put you up to this?” the Colonel demanded in an upset voice.

“No sir, as a matter of fact, they were against my leaving, as I was the only one able to explain to them what you had done in the field. They still hadn’t caught on to what you were doing even when we were back at the Headquarters, and they had gone over all that had occurred. They just didn’t get it,” she told us.

“They didn’t realize that we had caught on to what they had done?” the Colonel asked in a better voice. “Team A-23 figured it out on their own that first night,” she added.

“No, not until I explained it, and that there were probably only two Teams doing all of the attacks. Of course, I didn’t mention my own slipping out of camp that night,” she told us, but had a question.

“How did you manage to do all of those attacks with only two teams?” she asked.

“We split the Teams up and also used just the Partners for some of the ‘attacks’. The Magic users also did some of the ‘attacks’,” the Colonel told her.

“That could have been dangerous,” Kanisha remarked.

“We always checked things out first and only went in far enough so we could be seen, and the alarm given,” the Colonel informed her, before changing the subject.

“If your bosses didn’t want you to leave, how is it that you are here now?” she asked.

“I went directly to Colonel Royal and pointed out that I was a field operative and not an office type. I also pointed out that the manpower people had neglected to include an Executive Officer (XO), or someone to assume command when you are absent. Of necessity, it would have been Cleve, but he was already wearing two hats, not to mention that he has two Tigers for Partners,” Kanisha told us.

“Yes, leaving out an Executive Officer was an oversight, but we were dealing with it. Still, when I went out with Tiger Team, there was a vacuum in the command structure. You could fill that or even go out with Tiger Team if I am tied up with something. You’ll need to cross-train with Sara to do that. Have you ever worked with Eagles?” the Colonel asked.

“No, my previous Partner was a Cougar,” Kanisha told us.

“We’ll see how you do with Sara during the trip,” the Colonel told her. Kanisha didn’t look comfortable hearing that last.

“You do realize, don’t you, that your organization is much larger than they originally envisioned it. They didn’t realize that you would need to operate 24/7 much of the time, or the additional support personnel that would require. There was talk at the Headquarters of reducing the number of envisioned Mobile Headquarters Teams by about half, to three at most. That was another reason that I wanted on your Team. Originally, I thought that I could wait and get on one of the Teams later, and possibly even command one, but if there were only three, my chances would be seriously reduced. That’s another reason why I’m here,” she finished.

“You figured that being on this Team would give you a shot at commanding one of the others,” I said having figured out why she was so anxious to be here.

“I figured it couldn’t hurt, and I was fed-up with being in the Headquarters. That is not the place for a field operative,” she told us.

“Maybe not, but eventually a number of field people are going to need to work there so they better understand the conditions we work under, and what we require in the way of support and additional personnel,” the Colonel pointed out to her.

On boarding the Baltic, we found that all was not as peaceful and orderly, as we had expected it to be. Even our Partners were less than happy when we arrived at the Partner holding area.

Susie was definitely unhappy about where her home had been placed. So was Clare. The Cougars were hiding in the back of their cage after detecting the Tigers displeasure. Sara was also unhappy with where the nest had been placed.

It seems that all of the cages and the nest had been placed randomly by the crew, as the advance team hadn’t been aware of possible problems with the placement of them. The only Partners not complaining were the Falcons, who were out of their cage and had taken up residence in a small cave on one wall. Jen had told Abby that they had started to build a small nest from the available materials.

We were eventually able to get all of the Partners settled down after getting a tug to move most of the cages. The nest was also relocated with Luther’s help, and Millie settled down in a small nest already available in the top of a tree. The Falcons were happy where they were, and their cage remained empty. We also worked out an exercise schedule for our four-footed Partners. It would be each Team’s responsibility to allow their Partners out during their allotted time. Of course, we all needed to adjust our PDUs and watches, if we had them, to the ship’s time.

We quickly learned that the cabins for our people had been allotted by rank, which wasn’t helpful for section cohesion. The poor cooks were at a complete loss as to what to do, especially after the first meal here. Sergeant Preetorius was beside himself at the lack of quality of the food served in our mess. Sergeant Rust came to see the Colonel about the matter on the second day we were there.

“Sir, Hershel is exceedingly upset about the poor quality of the food served here. Would it be all right to approach the Mess Steward of our mess to see if Hershel could do some of the cooking. He’ll never be able to stay away from the kitchen here until the quality of the food improves,” Sergeant Rust told her.

“Let me talk to the Navy people. It is their ship, after all,” the Colonel told her. Somehow, she managed to get permission for Preetorius to work in our mess kitchen, and the quality of the food immediately improved, although it hadn’t been that bad to begin with. It was just better now.

The trip to Parthas required 29 days in overdrive. This didn’t include the time required leaving Ainalhai III to reach the distance where the overdrive could be engaged, and traveling to Parthas after arriving in that system at the correct distance from the planet. We came out of overdrive at half a light minute from the planet, as they only had an ordinary civilian space-station above the planet, and not a heavily armed one like Ainalhai III.

During the trip, there were a number of mandatory classes for all of our personnel in addition to the briefing on ship’s procedures. We fit in cross-training where we could and had time. On the trip, Dr. Mellifont was unhappy with the limited amount of exercise for the Partners. There was little we could do about this, as the Navy wasn’t about to allow 3 Tigers and 2 Cougars to roam the passages of the ship, even under supervision.

Arriving at the space-station above Parthas was a bit of a shock. It was small and there were only 2 shuttles for the entire planet, and one of those was in maintenance at the time. The Baltic had 3 shuttles, but even so, it would require considerable time to unload all of our equipment, not to mention the Partners and their cages plus the nest. All of the Partners would be moved by their human Partner. Fortunately, the Falcons hadn’t produced any eggs or chicks while out of their cage as it was the wrong season for them.

The Colonel and part of the staff were met on the station by the leader of the Unity Advanced Team that had been sent out ahead of us to set things up. The leader of the Unity Team was a woman, and she didn’t appear to be very happy, as we approached her.

“Good day, Colonel. I’m Minister Warren-Adams of the advanced team. We have secured sufficient building space for your personnel, Partners, and equipment. You will be allowed to hire a few local nationals to assist you. Several representatives of the Parthas government will join us shortly,” she informed us in a no-nonsense voice.

As we had approached and surrounded her, at her insistence, I had noticed that all of the external noise of the station had disappeared, but we could still hear her voice. This reminded me of the devices those in the Navy had carried on Addison III. I hadn’t thought of them since the initial meeting with Admiral Rockler, but I needed to return my attention to the leader of the advance party, as she was still speaking.

“I have to tell you, Colonel, that I have seldom run into such obstinate, bullheaded, and backward people as those in charge here. Initially, they wouldn’t even talk to us or allow us down on the planet. They demanded that we produce the Special Operations Team instead.

“We were eventually allowed down on the planet but only after we convinced the hard headed bastards that you wouldn’t arrive until we had made the preparations for your stay, and they had signed a Status of Forces agreement, since there are NO Unity government entities here, not even an Ambassador.

“I wish you good luck, Colonel. You will need it. We will be leaving on the Baltic when it is ready to depart,” she finished just before several men in military type uniforms arrived, and the outside noise returned.

“This is General McIntosh, the Head of the Parthas Armed Forces, and General McJunkin, the Commander of Ground Forces. They will fill you in on what has been arranged, and what the current situation is here,” Minister Warren-Adams informed us, introducing the two men. I could see their armed guards who had stopped some 20 feet behind the Generals.

Both men were of medium height, say 5’-9’’ tall and about 180 pounds or so. They appeared to be in their mid forties. Both had short, thin, black hair.

“Well now, are you finally the ones who are going to rid us of these damned rebels?” the one with fewer stars on his uniform demanded in a strong voice.

“Easy now, Bearach. They’ve only just arrived. Give them a little time to get settled before you make demands on them,” the other man cautioned the first.

“Bah! they should be ready to go to work now,” the first replied.

“General McJunkin is anxious to take the offensive again against the rebels. All of our other attacks have ended in failure and the loss of men and valuable equipment,” the second man, who had to be General McIntosh, informed us.

“Due to a shortage of shuttles, we’ll be some time in moving the unit’s equipment and personnel down to the planet and establishing our headquarters. There will be plenty of time for you to brief us on the current situation and for us to familiarize ourselves with local conditions and the rebels’ disposition,” the Colonel told them.

“All you need to know is that they are on the flat lands and to send your Teams in to destroy them,” McJunkin told us in an angry voice.

“We aren’t here to destroy anyone. We are here to defeat those in rebellion, with as little blood shed as possible,” the Colonel informed him to angry looks from him.

“I’m afraid the only way you will be able to defeat them is to kill most if not all of them,” General McIntosh told us.

“At the insistence of Minister Warren-Adams, we have prepared a compound for you to occupy while here. It is not on one of our military installations, but is located in New Dublin, not far from the spaceport. It consists of a small hotel facility and a warehouse where you can keep your equipment, supplies, and Partners,” General McIntosh informed us following the previous conversation.

“When will the facility be ready for us to occupy it?” the Colonel asked.

“It is ready now,” the General assured us.

“Then, I would like to take my staff down to inspect the facility, so we can make plans for where things will be stored and where we can set up our Operations section. Is there a secure parking lot? We have several vehicles. We will also need to rent a crane in a few days and will require a construction company to do some interior and exterior work for us,” the Colonel informed him.

“You can go down to Parthas with us. I will arrange transportation for you to your facility,” General McIntosh informed us with a smile.

“Thank you. We will be a few minutes before we are ready to leave,” the Colonel told him.

“Are you not ready now?” General McJunkin demanded, looking at us with a frown. “What more do you need?” he added angrily.

“We’ll only be a few minutes,” the Colonel assured him, while I contacted Bob and Susie.

“All right, Bob. You can come out now and bring the others with you,” I sent to him.

Bob and those who had been waiting with him appeared a few seconds later from another corridor. Both Generals were shocked by the appearance of our Partners along with a couple of our people pushing a small dolly with the Eagles, our packs, weapons, and other things on it along with Corporal Dohla’s radio.

We each slipped into our backpacks, put on our helmets, and picked up our weapons. Dohla shrugged into his backpack with the radio and picked up his helmet. We each had rations and water in our backpacks as well as extra ammunition. We weren’t foolish enough to trust anyone from a planet that we hadn’t previously checked out ourselves.

Bob and Susie moved up beside me, and Sara and Samson took off from the dolly and landed on the outstretched arms of Luther and the Colonel, who had each donned the shoulder protectors and leather sleeves for their Partners to land on. Sergeant Platner, Sp/5 Fleming and Sp/4 Scammell returned to the Baltic with the now empty dolly.

“We’re ready to go,” the Colonel told the Generals, as Sara settled onto her shoulder.

The two Generals were staring at us with open mouths in shock, as were their guards.

“Are ... are you taking those animals with you?” General McJunkin asked on recovering.

“These are our Partners. They are all enhanced and have the same rights as other military personnel. It is an offense punishable by death to injure or kill a Partner,” I informed him.

“What of these others?” General McIntosh asked pointing to Captain Rodeo, Lt Hue, and Miranda.

“They don’t have Partners,” I told him, but purposely didn’t mention that Miranda supplied the Team with Magic. Let them assume that she was just another staff member. Corporal Dohla wasn’t mentioned, as the radio he carried was obvious.

“Follow us,” General McIntosh told us, and we followed the two Parthas Officers and their guards. The shuttle that we eventually boarded was decorated a bit gaudily, but there were signs of deterioration and a lack of maintenance, if one knew where to look.