Chapter 13

The following new characters appear in this chapter and others:

Captain Roanoke

Commander of the Space Marines, 6’-0’’ tall, 190 pounds, 32 years old, short black hair, blue eyes

Hanson, Robert J.

Marine Staff Sergeant, 5’-10’’ tall, 165 pounds, 28 years old, very short brown hair, blue eyes.

Epps

Marine Corporal, 5’-11’’ tall, 160 pounds, 22 years old, short black hair, brown eyes

Gram

Marine Staff Sergeant, 5’-10’’ tall, 165 pounds, 30 years old, short blond hair, blue eyes

Lieutenant Norfolk

Marine First Platoon Leader, 5’-11’’ tall, 165 pounds, 25 years old, auburn hair, gray eyes

Lieutenant Newport

Marine Second Platoon Leader, 5’-10’’ tall, 168 pounds, 26 years old, black hair, brown eyes

We were about 5 minutes late leaving for the spaceport. The delay had been because of something amazing that had occurred.

As we exited the elevator from the second floor, Sergeant Dixon had just returned from resupplying Tiger Team’s vehicle with weapons, ammunition, and explosives. He was carrying Bob’s and Susie’s protective gear. I would need to put it on them, as Dixon had lost the ability to communicate with Partners when he had received a head wound and other wounds on an operation. It had been a terrible blow to him at the time, but he had held up, though you could see the desire and the haunted look in his eyes whenever he looked at one of the Team members and their Partner, as it was a bond that he could no longer share.

“The vehicle is ready to go, sir. I brought in Bob’s and Susie’s protective gear also,” he told me as we exited the elevator.

Eavan and Eachna had been the first ones off the elevator, as apparently they didn’t care for it. It was Eavan, the younger sister, who approached Dixon.

“You were wounded,” she said in a soft voice, after staring up at him for a number of seconds.

“Yes, I was wounded on a mission. It took the doctors quite some time to get me healed up and returned to duty,” he told her, as he stared down at the young girl.

“They did not heal you completely,” she said very quietly. Dixon stared down at her in disbelief on hearing this.

“No, they were unable to determine why I could no longer communicate with Partners. It has been a heavy burden to endure,” he told her.

“Bend down, so I may touch your head,” she told him, and he dropped to a knee, so they were eye to eye. Eavan reached out and touched his head with one hand while making a sign in the air with the other. She also said something in Gaelic that I didn’t understand.

“There, that’s better,” she said after a few seconds. Dixon had started sobbing and tears rolled down his face, as he stared at the small red haired girl. He finally regained control of himself after a number of seconds.

“Thank you,” he said in a choked up voice. “If there is anything that you ever need, anything, or anything that I could do for you, you only have to ask, and it will be yours. You have restored my life. No one has ever done more for me,” he said, as he hugged the young red head. He stood then and faced the rest of us, who had stopped to watch what was happening.

“I ... I can hear and talk to Partners again, and not just one or two, but all of the Partners here,” he told us in a choked up voice. “It’s a miracle!” he finished, as Susie moved up and licked Eavan and then Dixon.

“Strong Kit. Strong gift,” she sent to me with pride in her transmission.

“Yes,” Miranda agreed. “A very strong and amazing gift,” she added.

“Yes, an amazing gift,” the Colonel agreed. “But we still need to meet the Marines at the spaceport. We will discuss Sergeant Dixon’s renewed abilities and where he will fit into the organization when we return, and the Marines are settled. Let’s move, we don’t want to keep the Marines waiting. You know how they like to get in trouble,” she reminded us.

Dixon helped me get the protective gear on Bob and Susie. Susie especially seemed to like him and allowed him to put on all of her protective gear. Bob, on the other hand, was a bit indifferent to him.

Eachna and Eavan would stay here with the other Magic users. Miranda had told me in the conference room that their wards were like iron, they were so strong. Thanks to them, the wards now also covered the entire parking area. They dropped the wards, as our vehicle approached them, and then raised them again after we were well past them and the parking lot.

Despite our somewhat late start, the Marines hadn’t landed yet when we arrived at the spaceport. In fact, the runway hadn’t been cleared for their landing, as a number of Parthas Air Force planes were parked on the runway blocking their landing. There were also a number of planes that we could hear in the air near the runway. We heard the Marine Commander on the radio, as we entered the parking lot behind the control tower and the terminal building.

“This is Captain Roanoke, Unity Space Marines. You will clear the runway of obstructing aircraft in ten minutes, or one of the orbiting destroyers will take out everything on, around, or above it. This is the only warning you will receive,” we heard on our radios.

“I think it best that we remain in the vehicle until they land. Luther, bring up the cab’s armor,” the Colonel ordered, and Luther raised the armor on all of the windows.

The control tower had answered the Marines’ call during this, claiming that it was impossible to move the aircraft in that short a time. A new voice came on the radios then.

“This is the Heavy Cruiser Franklin,” the new voice said in reply to their transmission. “Admiral Stanfield sends: It is up to you, how many aircraft you want to lose. End transmission,” and the radio went dead.

Even where we were, we could hear a number of aircraft start their engines within seconds. At the end of ten minutes, it was very quiet. We had also heard a number of shuttles break the sound barrier as they circled the airfield.

“Let’s get out, but stay alert. There is no way to tell what they may have cooked up since their first plan didn’t work,” the Colonel told us after several minutes of silence. “Leave the armor up in the cab, Luther, just as a precaution,” she added, as we began to move. We all grabbed rifles, ammunition and grenades, as we exited the vehicle. Bob and Susie took the flanks on either side of us. I led and Luther brought up the rear with the Colonel and Miranda in the middle. Miranda had a ward around us.

We quickly moved from the parking lot and went around the control tower and the main spaceport building. There was no one in sight, and it was eerily quiet with just the wind to make any sound as it blew out of the east.

Shortly after we arrived in front of the buildings, there was the sound of forward thrusters breaking the speed of several shuttles, as they swooped down onto the runway and flared out. This was followed by the sound of brakes being applied as the thrusters were cut off. There were three of them in a triangular formation with one leading and the other two behind and off to each side of the leader. They all had their upper turrets out and were ready for any eventually. They rolled to a stop near the end of the somewhat short runway for shuttles their size.

These were Space Marine assault shuttles and not the smaller and more familiar commercial shuttles used by civilians and some Military units. The rear ramps came down on all three shuttles at the same time, and an armored assault vehicle drove out of each shuttle.

Since we were obviously the only people visible, and Military people at that, the three vehicles turned in our direction. After they had cleared the shuttles, those large vehicles started a complicated ballet of backing and turning, so they could take off in the same formation they had landed in. The assault vehicles reached us before the shuttles had finished their dance.

The three vehicles pulled up close to us in the same triangular formation the shuttles had landed in. A figure in full battle gear emerged from the lead vehicle and moved in our direction. The Colonel had moved forward to greet the new arrival, who stopped five feet from her and saluted.

“Captain Roanoke reporting with two platoons of Space Marines, sir,” he announced, as he raised the screen on his helmet.

“Welcome to Parthas, Captain. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Ferguson, Commander of the First Special Operations Mobile Headquarters Team. With me are Captain Jensen and Master Sergeants Luther and Miranda, along with two of our Partners, Bob and Susie,” the Colonel informed a very stunned looking Marine Captain.

“You’re the Team from Addison III!” he said in a very shocked voice.

“They never told us who we would be supporting, just that it was a new concept Team,” he told us on regaining his composure.

“Yes, we were the Special Operations Team on Addison III,” the Colonel acknowledged. “The Mobile Headquarters Team is a new concept to get more Special Operations officers into the field to gain experience, and also to provide the Operational Teams the support that they have been dependent on others for in the past. We have been here less than two weeks ourselves,” the Colonel told him, but her last words were drowned out by the roar of the shuttles taking off.

“Are these all of your men?” she asked when the noise had been reduced to a level that could be talked over.

“No sir. This is the first half. The other three shuttles will be landing shortly,” Roanoke told her.

“How many men have you brought with you?” she asked in a concerned voice.

“Each Platoon has three squads of 12 men each, plus there are the crews of their vehicles. Each vehicle has a three man crew, plus there are the Platoon Leaders and the Platoon Sergeants. I will be remaining to be the liaison to your headquarters There are also two Navy Corpsmen accompanying us” he told us.

“That would amount to 97 personnel and six vehicles. Things will be a little crowded with that many personnel. We have 45 personnel of our own,” the Colonel told him.

“We will be receiving rations, ammunition, and fuel on a weekly basis, or as needed, sir, if that helps some,” the Marine CO told us.

“That will help some,” the Colonel admitted, but she was still worried.

A short time later another three shuttles landed and discharged three more assault vehicles that moved to join the initial three, while the shuttles again did their dance before roaring off the runway to return to their ship. The original three had flown cover for them, just as they had for the first group.

We loaded back in our vehicle with Captain Roanoke and led the six Marine assault vehicles back to our headquarters. The streets, always full of traffic, were empty of vehicles, and pedestrians were absent on the return trip.

On reaching our headquarters, we received a shock. We were able to pull right into the parking area without stopping, as someone had thought to put a lookout on the roof of the hotel to alert the Magic users to our approach, so they could drop the wards to the parking area entrance. Captain Roanoke had stopped his six assault vehicles on the approach road until we figured out where everyone was going to park. As we exited our vehicle, Kanisha joined us with more news.

“We have another building,” she told us, to shocked looks from us.

“Another building?” the Colonel asked. “Where was it hiding?”

“It wasn’t hiding. The Parthas Army was using it to spy on us. When Eachna expanded the wards to better cover the parking area, it set off the Magic detection alarm in the building they were using, and they all bailed out ... in a hurry. The alarm made a real racket, one that even anyone without enhanced hearing couldn’t miss. I had the lookout on the roof already that Dixon had suggested, and he spotted them as they left. Natalie took Team A-31 to clear the building, and Eachna and Eavan went with them. They must have had at least two squads in there watching us 24/7. The place has room for, at least, sixty troops to set up in comfortably, and there is a parking area behind the building and adjacent to ours,” Kanisha informed us.