Chapter 12

David and Jacky had been surprised to be called to Ian’s office mid-morning on Friday, the eighth of May.

They were even more surprised when they were introduced to a man called Major Anton James. He seemed rather young to be a Major, but who were they to quibble. He gave them both a strange look and then chuckled.

In his clipped British accent, which they later learnt was influenced by his Welsh ancestry, he said, “I should have guessed. I’ll be more than happy to take these two, Ian.”

Ian frowned. He wasn’t happy when he got the request to meet with this Major and told to sign over to him any of the men he wanted, as he had no idea who he was. A little digging also had him none the wiser.

He was told by his friend, who was now a Lieutenant Colonel, that Anton was on loan from the British War Office, and his Military file was stamped red. That meant that you needed a way higher clearance than his to look at it.

“These are my two finest Engineers,” Ian told Anton with a whine.

He was quite put out at losing David and Jacky. He had never worked out where Jacky had come from, but he was sure glad that they had found him. Between him and David, they seemed to be able to fix just about anything given to them.

Anton could sympathise with Ian as he was darn sure they were too. However, he had a top-secret mission, and he needed people just like these two to help him carry it out.

“What do you know about Commandos?” he asked the couple.

David and Jacky both blinked at him with wide eyes, and David replied, “Not much, Sir.

Anton chuckled again, “Many people believe you have to be super fit soldiers and dead-eye-dicks to be eligible. However, we also need specialists.”

“Your names came to me as people who excel at their specialities. In fact, I had trouble working out just what your specialities were because it seemed to be that you could fix anything you touch.”

Jax gulped. He was still in shock at finding another mage on this planet. David was equally so, as he also felt the presence of magic around the Major. Anton could see that they had been thrown by the fact he was a mage. He decided that Ian didn’t need to know any more.

“Please, go pack and go to the mess and get a feed. I’ll meet you there in about an hour,” Anton told Jacky and David.

David and Jacky both saluted and marched out of the office.

The couple didn’t say a thing until they were back in David’s room.

“What the fuck?” David swore as he paced between the beds.

Jacky had sat on his bed with his back to the wall. He shrugged, “Considering how your society works, it doesn’t surprise me that any mages that are here would work in secret.”

“I didn’t get the feeling that he means us any direct harm, but he knows that whatever it is he is going to ask us to do could bring harm our way.”

“He wants us because he knows what we are,” David almost shouted in fear as he stopped and faced Jacky.

“Yes, but like I said, I don’t think he wishes us harm. Did your bracelet get hot?” Jacky asked and gestured to David’s hand.

David looked at his wrist and then thought of his entity. It seemed calm, and he knew it would warn him if he was in danger, as Jacky had explained all that to him. He had loved playing with magic and soaked up everything that Jacky would teach him, even though it had only been a couple of weeks.