"I'll escort them out," you say. "I need to get a report from my pilot anyway."
"Okay, Nubes," he says, "I'll sort things out here."
You exit to the tunnel, issuing orders for your squad to follow, escorting the prisoners outside. The main hangar is quiet now, clearly under firm Terran control, but you can just make out the distant sounds of battle somewhere in one of the tunnels. The regiment is pressing the attack, it seems.
Outside, as your eyes adjust to the daylight, you watch as a drop ship settles down in the narrow valley, the dust of landing blocked by the other three ships already in position. Your tactical display confirms that the center drop ship is yours. You have to step aside as a squad of engineers roll some heavy equipment past you into the rebel base, and all around you recognize the orderly, focused movements of a military organization on a mission. It doesn't take long for you to find the regimental sergeant major and hand over control of the prisoners. You tell your escorting squad to wait.
Crossing the rough ground, you zero in on the familiar, bulky form of your drop ship. You feel a warm sense of attachment to this scorched and battered tub, but you know that your attachment is far more for the pilot who flies it.
You run up the aft ramp.
The main compartment is empty, but you hear a familiar voice up ahead in the cockpit, speaking in that drawling cadence unique to pilots on the radio. A grin splits your features as you step forward into the cockpit.
"Jessica," you call out, "can you give a poor trooper a lift?"
She looks back over her shoulder, surprise melting into delight when she recognizes you. You reach out your hand and she grabs it with both of hers.
".," she says, "I've been searching for you for over a day!"
"Trust me, I wasn't trying to hide."
You give her a brief description of the events since she dropped your platoon on patrol. She shakes her head in amazement.
"Well, your timing is perfect," she says. "I just got new orders and I was hoping for some muscle to bring with me."
You look back to the aft ramp and see four troopers hustling up into the main compartment. One of them is a squad leader and she eyes you curiously.
"Are you in charge, sir?"
"Yes," you snap. "Take your seats."
You turn back to Halliday. Her hands are flying over her consoles and you hear the growing whine of the engines.
"Happy to help. Where are we going?"
"Command is concerned about rebel access to this base on the top of the mountain. They want me to do a low overflight and pinpoint the exact location of the tunnels. But if there are rebels sitting up there, I'm going to feel pretty vulnerable hovering low over their positions."
"Just another day at the office," you say, taking your seat in the cockpit. "Let's do it."
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