Chapter 2

The following characters return from the previous stories:

Admiral “Hard Rock” Rockler

Formerly Commander of Task-force 6, short tempered, 6’-0’’ tall, 190 pounds, 60 plus years old, iron gray hair, intense blue eyes

The following new character appears:

General O’Gallagher

Commander of Special Operations, 6’-1’’ tall, 185 pounds, 52 years old, reddish blond hair, gray eyes, fully enhanced

We said nothing until we were well away from the Headquarters building. Even then, we only smiled until we were several miles away from where there were mikes and cameras to hear or record what we said or did. We eventually stopped in a small deserted park. Lucy cast a ward and a silence spell around us.

“I can’t believe that they didn’t ask anything about the shell or the spell that was used to cast it,” she said in a surprised voice.

“Yes, we had been so worried about that. I wonder why they didn’t ask about it?” Joel said.

“They seemed to be more interested in how we interacted with the Parthas Military and that Representative Humphreys. They completely missed the most important aspect of the mission,” Trish told us.

“That may have been because they were following instructions from the Unity Government. If they had been from the Navy, they would have been a lot more interested in the Shell,” I told them.

“Yes, that seems reasonable,” Trish agreed after several seconds of thought. “There may be more questions later, but they may not be of an official nature. For now, let’s get back to the unit. We’ll need to unpack and inspect everything to be sure that it is in good condition and make any repairs that are necessary, or order new items to replace them. Let us hope that Sergeant Two Bears still has her contacts here. There is no way to tell when they will have a new mission for us, or what, or where it will be,” Trish told us. Lucy canceled the ward and the silence spell before we continued on our way to our headquarters building.

It was good to be outside and moving with nothing hanging over our heads or any threat from an enemy. We really enjoyed the remainder of our walk to the unit. Arriving there, we found the usual noise and confusion of a unit returning from a deployment. There were trucks arriving all of the time to unload our equipment and supplies. The cages and the nest had arrived as well as some of our office equipment. Our Partners detected our approach and all of them hurried out to greet us.

Bob and Susie rushed up to me, and both sniffed me for a number of seconds to determine if I was all right, before they each rubbed up against me, but one at a time.

“Have problem?” Susie sent to me, as Bob rubbed up against my right side.

“No problem now, maybe later. Good now,” I sent to both of them.

At the same time, Samson and Sara were flying around Joel and Trish with similar questions. They didn’t try to land, as neither Human Partners had their leather sleeve or shoulder perch on for them to land on. The other Partners on Teams A-23 and A-31 had also detected our arrival and set up a welcoming roar or screech to acknowledge our return They were all aware that we were under investigation and had worried just as the rest of those in the unit had. All work stopped for a short time to welcome us back. Kanisha had called everyone to attention as we stepped into the warehouse.

“At ease, carry on,” the Colonel gave, but no one returned to work, as they were all anxious to hear what had happened.

“Are you back for duty, sir?” Kanisha asked.

“Yes, we’re back for duty, at least for a time. There were a lot of questions that we had to answer, but those at Special Operations Headquarters seemed satisfied with our answers, for now. They are sending a copy of the inquiries to Unity Government Headquarters. We will see what happens,” the Colonel told her. “In the meantime, let’s do our best to get everything returned to a reasonable semblance of order. Once that is accomplished, we will see about time off for everyone, but not all of us at the same time,” she continued. There were cheers from those present on hearing this.

It required six days to get everything unloaded from the Baltic, and several more to get it all stored correctly. In that time, we had managed to reestablish our working sections so that we were operational. Nothing had come in from our headquarters in that time.

The evening of the first night back, Kanisha cornered the four of us and had questions.

“I know what you told the unit, but just how bad was this ‘interview’ that you underwent?” she wanted to know.

“There were a lot of questions about how we interacted with the Parthas Military and Government, and about the Unity Representative. There was little to nothing about anything that really mattered, like our relations with the first colonists and their new Government. They also didn’t go into the Shell or the how and why of it. That may come later,” Trish told her Executive Officer.

“And they believed what you told them?” Kanisha asked, clearly not believing that they had.

“Oh hell no, they put Trish under the Truth spell and went over most of it again, but couldn’t find any holes in her story. The rest of us were waiting for our turn in the chair, but Colonel Royal sent us all on our way when they finished with Trish,” I told her.

“Is it just me, or does their line of questioning seem a little strange to the rest of you?” Kanisha asked, on hearing what I told her.

“Yes, those weren’t questions from the Navy or even Special Operations. They were more likely from those in the Unity Government. We’ll need to see what else happens,” Trish told her before we broke up for the night.

Over the next ten days, we managed to return the building to that of a functional unit. All of the sections were set up, the bulk of our equipment was gone over, and those items in need of repair or replacement were taken care of. Sergeant Bell returned to the Power Unit Repair Section where he was assigned. He had taken our power units with him to be checked out and serviced. Sergeant Two Bears and Captain Rodeo had reestablished their connections in the supply system, so that needed items soon began to flow into the unit.

The command group, in the meantime, were discussing how many personnel could be released at one time on leave and still have a functional unit. That is, we were discussing it, when we actually had time to get together, after the other things that we needed to accomplish each day.

Since most of our sections were set up to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, there were sufficient personnel available to release about half of each section at a time. Since we expected to be here for a time due to other inquiries that we believed would be occurring shortly, we allowed those on leave to be gone for ten days at a time. If we remained here long enough, and if we were still in charge of the unit, we would allow additional leave for those desiring it, after everyone had some time off.

Of course, those of us on Tiger Team didn’t expect to get any time off, as we would need to be available for whatever Boards of Inquiry were coming. Trish insisted that Kanisha take time off with the first group in case she was needed here later to take Command of the unit, at least temporarily.

We had been back about three weeks before we were notified that we, that is Tiger Team less our Partners, were to appear before a Board of Inquiry at Special Operations Headquarters tomorrow. The scuttlebutt was that several Admirals had arrived in the last few days.

“Here we go again,” the Colonel said in a tired voice when we four met in her office that afternoon. “Does everyone remember our story?” she asked next.

“Yes,” we all answered and went over the facts again, after Lucy had cast a silence spell around us plus another one to disable any listening devices in the area. Trish slept very lightly that night, but we still slept together in her room.

In the morning, we all donned our best uniforms after feeding our Partners and proceeded to the Special Operations Headquarters building. At 0900 hrs., we were at the conference room where the Board of Inquiry was being held. A major outside of the room saw us coming and knocked on the door.

“Report to the Officer in Charge of the Board,” he told us when we reached him. Trish knocked, and we were told to enter.

On opening the door, we saw the same type of table as the previous Board had used, but with five Officers sitting behind it. There were three Admirals in the center of the table plus Colonel Royal and General O’Gallagher, the Commander of Special Operations, sitting on the ends of the Board.

“Looks like our shit is in the wind,” Luther sent to me on seeing those waiting for us. I could see that the Colonel and the General winced, as they had heard the remark since both of them are enhanced. The Admirals hadn’t heard it as they aren’t.

The Colonel marched up to the table and stopped three feet in front of it before saluting. We three were right behind her.

“Sir, Tiger Team reports to the President of the Board of Inquiry,” she stated. To my surprise and probably hers, I recognized the Admiral sitting at the center of the table. It was Admiral ‘Hard Rock’ Rockler. He returned her salute slowly while staring at her in recognition also.

“Stand at parade rest,” he ordered after dropping his salute. He proceeded right to business then, not saying anything about recognizing us.

“You are here to answer questions about what occurred on the planet Parthas, and why the Navy’s operation there was a complete failure,” he informed us.

“Exactly what did occur there?” the Admiral on his right demanded immediately following that.

“A lot occurred there, sir. It was all in our report. Do you have a specific event in mind, or do you wish to hear about everything that occurred from our arrival to our departure?” the Colonel asked.

“We want to know specifically what occurred after the Marines accompanying you to the meeting with the rebel leaders departed, and how that shell appeared around the planet,” the Admiral told her and us. I didn’t recognize him even seeing his name tag. “We have already interviewed the Marines,” he added. I felt sorry for Hanson and his people. The interview probably hadn’t been all that nice.

“Following the Marines’ departure, we adjourned to the Assembly Hall with the Clan Leaders and the Elders. W ... I was allowed to address them prior to the start of their regular business meeting. I explained why we were there, and what we hoped to accomplish. This greatly upset them, and there was talk of fighting to the last man and defenses. During the talk about defenses, one of the Elders announced that he had knowledge of a strong defensive spell.

“After some debate, it was eventually decided to go outside and try the spell out,” the Colonel told them before going on to explain the results of the spell being cast. The Admirals asked pretty much the same questions that had been asked by the previous board, but they did not ask about the Unity Representative.

“You claim that you were unaware of the presence of Admiral Patton and his fleet, and that you were only told about his reputation. Why do you think that this ‘Entity’ created the shell around the planet?” the Admiral to the left of Admiral Rockler demanded.

“To protect the planet, sir. Even with just Task-force Franklin and Task-force de Gualle there, they could have created a lot of destruction on the planet,” the Colonel told him.

“And you believe all of this malarkey about the ‘Entity’?” the first Admiral demanded.

“We were there when the Initial pillar appeared. Even the Speaker and several powerful Elders were unable to affect the pillar with their Magic. Also, a smaller secondary one appeared at our compound several times to inform us of things,” the Colonel told him.

“Are we ready? Has everyone asked their questions?” Admiral Rockler asked following that, and a Navy Lieutenant Commander rose from his seat. Sergeant Major O’Cionaoith rose with him. They had been sitting off to the side all of this time.