In the Amazon jungle of Brazil near Manaus (local time: 3:04 PM)…
"Six, this is Tank."
"Go, Tank."
"We're here with a troop; inserted ourselves approximately one-K to the north of the airfield, right next to the entrance of that underground tunnel we found. Vixen is dismounted and moving in on the target now. She's off the net."
A nod. "Roger. Rainbow Six to Lucky Six."
"Lucky Six, go."
"We're moving in."
"Good hunting."
Hearing that, John Clark grinned. "Appreciated. Six to Two-Six."
"Two-Six. Go, Six."
"Move in. Do not engage until Vixen gives her signal."
"Roger that. Moving in."
John took a deep breath as he watched the computer screen now, which was being manned by a smirking Tim Noonan. It showed a perfect graphic representation of everything to within three kilometres of his current location, which was — ironically! — the very same damned place Rainbow had visited ten years back when they had to deal with John Brightling and his fellow eco-terrorists who had been hell-bent on unleashing an upgraded version of the deadly Ebola virus on the world in some mad hope of saving Earth from the ravages of man. Back then, after leaving Brightling and his friends to the mercies of the jungle, the U.S. Navy SEAL-turned-CIA black ops field spook-turned-commander of the "Men of Black" had believed that such would not happen again.
Famous last words.
A month ago, Avalonians now serving in local American police forces began getting a whiff of something new arising from Horizon Corporation, the company Brightling formed to serve as his corporate base to unleashing Ebola-Shiva on an unsuspecting humanity at the end of the Sydney Olympic Games. After some discrete investigations (and even more discrete mind-probing, which was totally inadmissible in court but damned effective none the less), that whiff turned into something very foul; a few of Brightling's "disciples" who had gone totally to ground after the original Shiva Project had been destroyed were trying again. Unfortunately, said eco-nuts proved to be LESS lucky than Brightling's many well-connected friends when it came to keeping things secret; when they had gone to get test subjects for their new version of Shiva, they targeted some Avalonian residents of Chicago and the suburbs when they were out cruising bars!
Bet these fools hadn't expected something like THAT! Rainbow Six mused to himself as he watched the members of Team Two — still led by his son-in-law Domingo Chavez — move in on the reconstructed building that had served as Horizon's backup headquarters for the Shiva Project. Said building, which had been pretty much destroyed ten years before, had been fully rebuilt and refurbished. Where the hell did these morons get the funding for THAT?! John wondered to himself. Something for the Bureau to sniff around and investigate when this is all over, he then added. C'mon, Kanako…!
"Two-Six to Six."
John tapped his headset. "Six."
"We're in position. Waiting for Viper."
"Sure taking her time," muttered Julio Vega.
"Cool it, Oso," came from the man all of Rainbow gladly called "Tank." "She's learned some new things since we worked with you guys full-time."
Morbid chuckles from the others of Domingo's team…
…which were cut off as the power generator suddenly went up in a very big BANG! As the people around John all automatically ducked as the shockwave of that blast echoed over the jungles around them, Tim grinned. "Now THAT'S a wake-up call!"
John laughed. "Getting movement!" Dieter Weber called from his position.
"Confirmed!" Edward Price added. "Damn! What the devil did she do?!"
John turned to the scanner unit. There, icons marking a good number of Rainbow's current targets were all scrambling downstairs to get to the main doors and head out into the open. Several remained still; tapping the screen to call up the detailed scan, Tim was quick to confirm that some sort of combination tear gas and sleeping gas agent had been pumped into their bodies. "She gassed them out," the FBI special agent, who had requested a second tour with Rainbow four years ago, reported.
"Very nasty of her," Paddy Connolly mused.
"Do you blame her?" Ettore Falcone asked.
"Not a damned…" John began, and then he perked. "Oh, shit! Keitarō?!"
"What, John?!"
"Several of them are trying to break through the underground tunnel we detected from orbit!" Rainbow Six barked out after seeing some icons moving right under where the members of Team Two were currently located. "They're yours!"
"Roger that, Six!"
"They're coming out now, John!" Domingo called.
"Put them down!"
"Roger that, Six! Two-Six to Team, engage, engage, engage!"
The shrieking sounds of C-25 particle rifles immediately filled the air, soon followed by shocked cries and pained grunts from people being stunned unconscious by the storm of semi-solid plasma bolts slamming into them; much that the members of Rainbow would have preferred to use their silenced MP-10s on this job, the orders from on high had been quite specific on that regard: live captures. Watching the panicking crowd of scientists, would-be soldiers and other "true believers" being mercilessly dropped by the main doors to the building, John frowned. "Pity Shiori couldn't get Lawgivers," he mused.
"Zephyrites won't export to anyone but the MIBs, Boss," Tim noted. "'Sides, Kaneko can take care of herself. Remember back in Brussels two years ago?"
Rainbow Six blinked, and then he nodded. "True…"
Approximately one kilometre north of the Horizon base…
"What the hell's going on here?!"
"Calm down, Stacey!" Ian Hall snapped as he stared at the half-dozen or so people now with him. Several were trying not to cough and vomit from the strange-smelling gas that had filled their rooms just as the primary generator had gone up; fortunately for them, they had been on the ground floor of the building close to the emergency exit when everything went crazy, so they got clear without much problems.
"Who's attacking us, Ian?" Gerry Norton pleaded.
"I don't know," the former Army Ranger stated. "Look, all of you who are trained, we'll wait until whatever's going on at the base dies down, then we'll try to sneak out into the jungle to get a better look at what's happening. Fortunately, the…"
Rapid footfalls from behind them. Everyone's head snapped around…
…as a bolt of energy slammed into Stacey Campbell's shoulder, causing her to cry out as she sank to the floor. People gaped as someone — female, dressed in a combat uniform with helmet and the usual gear that denoted a type of special forces soldier, running at a sprinter's pace — came towards them, her weapon discharging more of those strange bolts to hit Gerry in the head and knock down another of the group thanks to a blow to the thigh. "MOVE!" Ian screamed as he turned around — he was on a ladder that would take him to the surface — and threw open the door to the outside…
…only to have the muzzles of three weapons pointed right at his face.
"Drop your weapons, dirtbags!" a voice barked.
Ian gaped on seeing three smirking people — all women, dressed in helmets and CADPAT combat uniforms, low-visibility Canadian flags on their shoulders — standing in his way. As he tried to comprehend HOW it was possible for these people — What the hell are WOMEN doing here?! he wondered — to have detected this "undetectable" escape route from the facility, he then blinked as a strange moaning sound echoed from somewhere ahead of him. A look past the master corporal — he did remember that odd rank from his time in the Army when the 75th Ranger Regiment trained with members of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment at Fort Benning — then made him gape…
…as something that looked like a weird mixture of a stingray manta and an F/A-18 Hornet suddenly rose up from the canopy of trees behind the Canadians to HOVER in the air as easily as any helicopter or Harrier jump-jet, a whole litany of weapons under the front cowl aiming right now at Ian's face. As the former soldier tried to comprehend what the hell was going on here, the touch of something on the top of his head made him snap around to see ANOTHER soldier, also a woman, standing there, weapon in hand. "Do as the master corporal tells you, Mister Hall," she ordered.
Ian gaped as his body began to shudder, which was enough for one of the soldiers in front of him to reach over and yank the H&K G3 rifle he had out of his hand. He jerked, though he didn't resist as the soldier behind him shook her head. By then, steady footfalls from behind and below made him look down as the soldier that had chased his group out of the tunnel came up. Also a woman, she looked Japanese, with sergeant's rank — what the heck were WINGED CROSSED CAVALRY SABRES doing under the chevrons? — on her epaulette slip on, a pistol in hand that clearly wasn't any type of normal firearm. She also had what looked like some sort of breathing mask slung under her chin. A glance around revealed that only one other person — Stacey's best friend, Edna Grant — was still conscious; her hands were raised in surrender.
As silence fell over the scene, the sergeant — her cloth nametag read URASHIMA — then smirked. "Did you honestly expect the world would sit back and let you loons try this again?" she asked in nearly-flawless English. "Helen, call Admiral Clark and tell him we've got the people here secure. Ask if they need help."
"Roger that, Sergeant," the master corporal said as she tapped the headset under her helmet while one of the troopers reached in to pull Ian out before making him lie flat on his face on the ground beyond before moving to cuff him on the hands and feet with metal manacles that had been painted pitch black for low visibility purposes.
After Edna had been extracted and handcuffed, the other soldiers began to work pulling out all the stunned people in the tunnel. By then, the hovering aircraft had moved to land at a nearby clearing — two others just like it appearing as it moved to descend down to keep things safe — to allow its pilot to come out. This one — a man, also Japanese, with short-cut brown hair and dark brown eyes; he had a warrant officer's crown on his slip-on, also over the winged crossed sabres — came up to join the others. "«We can relax, Kanako,»" he said in Japanese. "«Ding and the others pass their thanks for using the gas on the people back at the building.»"
"«So what's John's plan for these twerps?»" Urashima Kanako asked.
Her husband Urashima Keitarō smiled. "«Being decided now.»"
In orbit over Brazil (local time: 4:29 PM; Ottawa/Washington time: 3:29 PM)…
"So these maniacs will no longer threaten the planet with their virus?"
"That's correct, General Enzo," Fujisaki Shiori stated as she relaxed in the chair set aside for her on the bridge of the assault space carrier H.M.C.S. Currie, one of five such ships in commission with the Canadian Forces at this time. A space-borne version of commando carriers used by larger navies on Earth, ships like Currie were designed to carry a full brigade of combat troops (with their equipment, weapons and vehicles) plus a wing of support aircraft (with the support gear needed for them) anywhere they were needed. While Canada's experience with amphibious warfare had been concentrated only around the invasions of Europe in World War Two, it had been quite easy to regain that experience thanks to the Avalonians, who had convinced the military hierarchy in Ottawa to allow special assault brigades to be formed and prepared in case rapid deployment of such forces were needed; the people of Earth were still some years away from preparing the large transport ships needed to move populations to other worlds.
"What will happen to the ones your regiment and the Rainbow team just captured?" the commander of the Brazilian Army asked from his offices in Brasilia.
"We won't feed them to the jungle as we did last time, General," John Clark stated as he walked up to stand beside Shiori. He was dressed in the woodland pattern of the Navy Working Uniform that had been recently instituted, his family name over his right breast pocket, the name of his old service over the left breast pocket — topped by the "Budweiser" he had earned years before when he was just John Terrence Kelly, "Snake" of the long-disbanded Third Special Operations Group in Vietnam — and his one-star rank (which had surprised some of his European co-workers as they saw him as a two-star equivalent commanding Rainbow) on his collar flaps. "We never guessed that some of the people that worked for Brightling had gone to ground when they bugged out of Kansas for Brazil after Dmitri Popov blew their cover ten years ago."
A nod. "An understandable mistake, Admiral Clark. Pay it no mind. I will have special forces — including combat engineers — sweep through the area as soon as possible to make sure that whatever is left there is wiped off the face of the map." The four-star general then smirked. "I assume this is to be kept totally quiet."
"It would be appreciated, sir," Shiori stated.
Another nod. "Very well. On behalf of the Federative Republic of Brazil, I personally thank the Armed Forces of the Dominion of Canada and the members of the NATO Multi-National Special Operations Group 'Rainbow' for their willingness to remove these animals from our soil without making noise and causing a world-wide panic. Hopefully, we'll soon develop our own capabilities so this won't be necessary anymore."
Shiori smiled as she stood, slipping on her gold beret as John put on his work cap, and then both saluted the elder officer. "General, it was our pleasure," the latter said.
He nodded before the link was cut off. Once that was done, both people relaxed. "Well, now comes the fun part," the lieutenant colonel in command of the 10th Saskatchewan Cavalry Regiment (Air) said as she gave Rainbow Six a knowing look.
John chuckled. "Well, if General Day gets upset, I'll talk to him."
"Appreciated," Shiori mused, and then she looked at Currie's captain, Commander Carl Mason. "Carl, I think we can move the ship back up to our NORMAL point of patrol."
A chuckle. "I'll get us up there nice a quite, Shi-…"
"Bridge, Radio!"
The officer of the watch standing nearby tapped a control. "Bridge."
"Secure message from Hereford. Colonel Stanley needs to talk to the Admiral."
"Understood," the OOW said before looking over. "Admiral?"
"Going down," John said as he walked off the bridge…
The chiefs and petty officers/warrants and sergeants mess…
"Yo, Tank!"
"Oso!" Keitarō yelped before he and Julio embraced. "Damn! Finally made sergeant-major, eh?!" he said as he noted the rank badges with the star between the chevrons and the rockers on the larger man's epaulette; like all of the people aboard Currie that weren't ship's company, everyone was in the combat uniform of their native service.
"Damn straight, Keitarō, but I still bow to this good gentleman," Julio said as he waved to Eddie Price, who had on the Arms of Dominion insignia marking him as a warrant officer class 1 in the British Army on his Number Eight combat dress.
"But I am pleased to say that whenever Julio goes back to Fort Bragg, he will make a fine command sergeant-major for Delta," Eddie said as he offered his hand, which Keitarō took as the others of Team Two rose from their seats to join them by the bar. "Congratulations on your promotion, Pilot Warrant Urashima. What squadron and troop?"
"Echo Squadron, Nineteen Troop; I'm the troop warrant," Keitarō said as he then took the hand of Dieter Weber, and then accepted the embrace and kisses from Ettore Falcone, who looked quite inconspicuous among the sea of camouflage in his normal Rainbow black assaulter's uniform since he — as a member of the Carabinieri, the national police force of Italy — wasn't allowed to wear any uniform of his homeland's army. "What are you still doing with this bunch, Big Bird? You went back to Sicily two years ago."
A casual shrug. "Unfortunately, the Mafia still have very long memories about what I did in Palermo before I was posted the first time to Rainbow," Ettore said with a casual shrug of his shoulders as Keitarō shook Paddy's hand. "Besides, thanks to all the new changes in the Group, my wife and son has come to better like life in Britain, so we have more than enough reason to remain at Hereford for the time being."
"Well, I hope you don't stay there forever," Keitarō mused as the mess door opened to reveal Kanako, who was escorting Domingo; as a major wearing the insignia of his old Army unit, the 17th Infantry Regiment, he had to be welcomed into the mess as officers (even the "simulated" ones like himself and his father-in-law) never came in a place like this without being invited by one of the members of the mess. "Kanako and I had more than enough reasons to walk away from Japan. There's no reason a bunch of selfish Mafiosi should keep you and your family away from your hometown."
"What's this?!" Kanako demanded as she came up to join them, accepting Ettore's embrace and kisses before she moved to greet the others in Team Two.
"Ettore was just telling your husband about his problems with the Mafia in Sicily," Dieter said as he and Kanako embraced. "They still are mad at him."
"But not for long, Dieter," Ettore stated. "The father of two of the men I killed is losing his influence and power within that particular family. No doubt, he'll either be eliminated or betrayed by his rivals, so we might go back home soon."
"I hope so," Kanako stated as she and Julio hugged. "You don't want Gabriele-chan to always talk Italian with an English accent."
"And what's the bloody matter with an English accent?!" Paddy demanded.
Laughter filled the room. "Congratulations, Keitarō," Domingo said after he obtained a bottle of Labatt Blue from the bartender, shaking his old subordinate's hand before he accepted Kanako's hug and kiss on the cheek. "So when's your turn, Kanako?"
"Well, I might be up for promotion in the next go-around, but I don't care," Kanako said as everyone moved to relax at the table they had been occupying. "I'm doing a job I love, commanding and training good people and my husband and I are living our lives as we want to live them. We won't start a family yet…"
"But it IS in the plans," Keitarō finished for her.
Everyone laughed. "Make sure we get the pictures!" Julio said…
…as a soft chime echoed through the room. "Permission to enter the mess?" a familiar male voice echoed over the loudspeakers.
"Chief?!" Keitarō called out to the senior of Currie's crew present.
"Your commander, Major Chavez?" the chief petty officer 2nd class asked Domingo.
"Yes, Chief."
A nod. "I'll sign him in."
"Thanks, Chief," the major stated as he walked over to open the door and welcome John into the room, and then he headed over to sign the guestbook for Rainbow Six.
Kanako looked over, her dark brown eyes narrowing as she quickly sensed the unease deep within the former SEAL's heart. "John, are you alright?" she asked.
John nodded his thanks to the chief who had welcomed him in, and then he came over to join his friends. "Alastair just got a call from the Colombians," he announced before he turned to look at Domingo and Julio. "They just found the guys from Team Knife."
Both former Army light infantry soldiers paled. "All of them, Jefe?" Julio asked as he felt tears suddenly swell in his eyes.
A nod. "All of them, Oso."
Domingo blinked, and then he shakily nodded. Suddenly, hands appeared in their group, both holding bottles of beer. "Here you go," the regimental sergeant-major of the 10th Saskatchewan Cavalry, Pilot Chief Warrant Officer Catharine Jenkins, said with a smile.
John smirked as he took one; Kanako had the other one. "You people are wonderful, you know that, Cathy?" the former said as he smiled at the grinning woman.
"We have to be, John," the RSM stated before turning away.
Everyone then exchanged looks before Keitarō raised his bottle. "Absent friends."
"Absent friends. Kampai!" Kanako called out.
"Prost!" Dieter echoed her in German.
"Cin Cin!" came from Ettore.
"Cheers!" the others called out in English as bottles were hoisted.
As they drank, Keitarō and Kanako exchanged looks…
United States Joint Operations Space Command Base Arlington, two years ago…
"So what the heck's this all about, Mister C?" Domingo demanded as he moved to slip on his newly-issued Army green dress jacket over his shoulders.
"You have got me, Ding," John stated as he turned to model himself in front of the mirror in the private change room that had been provided for them by a smiling Navy yeoman — an Avalonian, Urashima Kanako had gladly whispered to Rainbow Six and Rainbow Two-Six before she had gone off to change herself — where uniforms had been placed for them and the other American Rainbow members for them to don. "At least they got all the medals right," he noted as he gazed on his "salad bowl" of decorations, topped (of course) by the Budweiser that marked him as a qualified SEAL.
"And they shined the boots nicely, Jefe," Julio said as he came up, smiling as he looked at himself in the mirror before he blinked, and then he turned around to gaze at his superior's medals. "Damn! Navy Cross, Silver AND Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts…?!" He then laughed. "You sure were busy back in 'Nam, sir!"
"Well, like I told you two back when we first met long time ago, Oso, I was a Ninja before it became fashionable," John stated with a playful wink, which made his son-in-law and his best friend both laugh. "All set back there, guys?!" he then called out.
"Very much so, Mister Clark," Master Chief Petty Officer Michael Chin said as the other American members of Rainbow walked over to join them. "However, sir…?"
"Problem, Master Chief?"
"You, sir, are out of uniform," the only active SEAL now serving in Rainbow stated as he indicated the lone broad gold stripe on John's jacket cuffs. "You're supposed to be a TWO-STAR flag officer. That's Rear Admiral Upper Half, not Lower Half!"
John chuckled. "When they told me about the uniforms, I told them right then and there that I wanted to be what I've always felt I should be when we formed this outfit."
"Good point about that, sir," Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Carter, who was Rainbow's chief pilot, stated with a nod. A former Night Stalker from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment in Kentucky, he had been posted to Rainbow two years before. "Still, I have to confess, I somewhat doubted your qualifications at first when I joined this outfit. I am pleased to say I am glad I was proven wrong in the end."
Both men shook hands, and then they perked as a knock echoed from the door, it then opening to reveal Alastair Stanley, now in the dress uniform of a colonel in the British Army, wearing the tan beret of the Special Air Service despite his hat badge being the crown-and-lion insignia only worn by those of his rank. He nodded in appreciation at the well-dressed American personnel, and then blinked. "John…"
"Forget it, Alastair," John said. "Are we all ready?"
"Everyone save the Urashimas are already in the landing area," Alastair stated. "They had to contact CANSOFCOM headquarters to inform General Day about this."
"Why?" Domingo asked.
A shrug. "I have utterly no idea, Ding."
"Well, if they have problems, I'll call Dwyer Hill," John said. "Let's go, guys."
Everyone filed out of the change room and — thanks to the same yeoman who had guided them here — made their way through the observation lounge to the landing area, where a ship — clearly a frigate — was now docked. As the basin was always in vacuum and the aft part of the hull was hidden from view, Rainbow Six couldn't see which nation it hailed from (the paint job on the exposed parts of the hull was a little too bluish to be proper U.S. Navy grey). USJOSCB Arlington — nicknamed the "Space Pentagon" — was the central command base for all of America's efforts in supporting the Earth Defence Force. Watching the people walk past them, John could only nod, immediately returning the offered salutes by passing lower-ranked personnel despite his NEVER having reached flag rank in the Navy. Noting the amount of women present, he could only nod. While he had been shaken a little when he learned of the Avalonians, he had found it easier to accept than most people; he was friends with Colonel Jack O'Neill, a USAF special operations officer currently involved with something VERY interesting — his words — out in Colorado (though John didn't know exactly what and knew better not to ask).
Entering the landing area, he then stopped before gaping. "Jack?!"
"Attention on deck!" Mike Chin then barked out.
Everyone there immediately gave the former President of the United States smart salutes. "Hello, everyone," Jack Ryan said as he and his wife came up to join them. Also present were their reduced Secret Service detail (which would be with them for life despite Jack having left office years ago). "John, you're out of uniform."
A sigh. "Mister President, with all due respect, you are NOT my Commander-in-Chief anymore, so you can't complain!" John scolded, though he was quick to wink at his old friend before he accepted Cathy's embrace. "What's going on here, anyway?"
"I'm not too sure," Jack stated, and then he looked over. "Look who else is here."
John looked, and then he gaped. "Judge! Bob! What are you…?!"
"We're as clueless about this as you are, John," Judge Arthur Moore stated as he and Robert Ritter walked up to shake their former subordinate's hand. "Still, the uniform looks pretty damned sharp, Admiral Clark. Pity Jim isn't here to see this."
"He's here in spirit," John stated as the image of the man who had recruited him into CIA all those years ago — the man who had also headhunted Jack Ryan to become one of the Agency's brightest analysis — flashed through his mind.
Nods all around, and then people perked on hearing footfalls approaching from the observation lounge. "Sorry we were delayed, sir," a familiar voice called out.
All of Rainbow turned…
…and then blinked in surprise as the two chronologically youngest members of the current roster came up. Both were in proper Canadian Forces rifle green uniforms, but there were some shocking surprises for all those who were familiar with how the soldiers of the Great White North normally dressed. The pilot's wings on Urashima Keitarō's and Urashima Kanako's left breasts, both over the ribbon of the just-recently awarded Canadian Forces Decoration (they had joined the military thirteen years before; the CDs had come in last year, shortly after their arrival in Hereford). The winged crossed cavalry sabres exactly one centimetre below the bottom tip of their sergeant's chevrons. And the buff gold berets on their heads, bearing a slender hat badge that was composed of a thick Roman number "X" with the Queen's Crown and a scroll motto underneath it, backed by a shield bearing three wheat garbs. No formation patches were on their arms, though they bore American Ranger and Special Forces tabs on their left arms; that much, John knew about the couple. And, of course, the red diamond command badge of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command close to their nametags.
But gold berets…?
"My dear God…"
Eyes locked on Simon Carter. "What?" Domingo asked.
The colonel smiled, and then he walked over to stand before stopping before Keitarō and Kanako, who halted and saluted him. Looking on the young couple — it had taken the commander of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command a lot to persuade Rainbow Six to accept them both even if Kanako was an Avalonian (she was one of the first native-born Terrans to become such three years before) and Keitarô was one of the first male Terrans to be enhanced with Avalonian DNA, but it had been worth it; especially after "Tank" (Keitarō) and "Viper" (Kanako) had proven themselves on their first mission out after coming to England — John was quick to see the apologetic looks on their faces. Knowing how honest both people were with their co-workers, he realised that whatever forced them to keep their true backgrounds secret had galled them both.
"Pilot Sergeant Urashima, Pilot Sergeant Urashima," Simon then stated with a clear voice, "The fame of your regiment has preceded you both."
He shook each of their hands. "Thank you, Colonel Carter," Keitarō stated before he waved to his wings. "We both apologise for not telling you this, but we're not rotor-qualified."
"Arrows and Starfires," Kanako added. "But when the regiments are brought openly on strength, we'll probably be flying something different. I can also say in return that when the Regiment is officially made part of the Regular Force order of battle, a Bond of Friendship will be formed with your own regiment, Colonel."
Simon nodded. "'Pilot Sergeant?'" Cathy Ryan asked.
"The Royal Canadian Corps of Air Cavalry, Doctor Ryan," Eddie Price explained. "Most likely, considering the rather silly and stupid way they do things these days in Canada, it will be addressed as the 'Air Cavalry Branch.' They were the Army close support air forces in World War Two. The whole lot was disbanded when their…"
A loud noise turned everyone's attention to the closed hatch at the one end of the landing area. As people looked, the hatchway rolled aside, revealing a very smart-dressed woman in the army of National Army of Colombia, the two stars of a lieutenant on her rank insignia. She marched out, and then moved to halt before Jack Ryan, and then she saluted him. "President Ryan?" she said in accented English.
Jack returned her salute. "Yes?"
"Teniente Isabella Urbaneja y Vázquez, Señor Presidente," she stated with a nod as she lowered her arm. "Seventh Mountain Infantry Battalion of the Colombian Army."
Hearing that, John, Domingo and Julio all gaped while wide-eyed looks crossed the faces of the two retired CIA officers nearby. "What is this about?" Jack then asked.
Isabella stood at ease. "Many years ago, a horrible incident in Bogotá made one of your predecessors send volunteer soldiers of the United States Army into our country to seek retribution for the murder of not only your country's ambassador to Colombia, but also the Director of your Federal Bureau of Investigations. While we will not argue the ethics of such a thing as you resolved it with our President during your first term in office, we felt it was simply unjust to leave the brave sons of America to enjoy their eternal rest in the soil of Colombia." She waved to the opened gangway. "We have located some of them and have now come to return them to their homeland."
Jack blinked, and then he nodded in sober understanding. While all the details of that insane operation were still top secret to the average American, a CIA leak had caused some details to come out thanks to people who had not felt him the right sort to be the Commander-in-Chief. No doubt, the Avalonians — of which he was sure the young and pretty Lieutenant Urbaneja was one — had learned of this through their own means and had moved to do something to bringing true and final closure to that incident. Especially for the three men in Rainbow who had been there when it had all gone down. "On behalf of the citizens of the United States of America, Lieutenant, I thank you and the people of the Republic of Colombia for bringing our lost sons home to us," he said.
A nod, and then Isabella did an about-face, barking out a command in Spanish. Hearing that, John turned to Alastair. "Form ranks, Colonel," he ordered.
A curt nod; the second-in-command of Rainbow, though he had not been briefed about what exactly had happened when John Clark had first met his future son-in-law, it was all too easy for him to understand. "Aye-aye, Admiral Clarke."
The members of Rainbow had already moved into formations, with Team One under Peter Covington forming the right of the line and Team Two under Domingo Chavez forming to their left. Once that was done, Isabella turned to John. "Contralmirante, do you have a bugler with you?" she then asked with a polite smile.
A shake of the head. "Sadly, we don't, Teniente."
"With your permission?"
"Please."
The lieutenant turned and shouted a command. A moment later, a male Navy petty officer first class marched out, a bugle in hand. Taking his place by the airlock to the right, he stood to attention, his instrument at the ready when he was needed. Isabella then nodded to someone unseen aboard the frigate docked there. Footfalls echoed from the gangway as sailors in dress blues came out, each pair — there were six pairs in all — wheeling out skeletal framed biers to set them in line of review, the wheels locked in place to ensure they didn't roll when caskets were placed on them. Once that was done, the sailors moved to form a line to the left of the gangway.
Isabella nodded again. Footsteps then heralded the arrival of six groups of nine soldiers — all female, the onlookers quickly saw — with a sergeant in command, the eight pallbearers carrying a casket with the Stars and Stripes draped over them. As the first one arrived, John snapped to attention. "Rainbow, ATTEN-TION!" After they snapped into place, he called out, "To our fallen comrades, SALUTE!"
Everyone in uniform — as well as Jack Ryan — did that as the civilians all placed their right hands over their hearts. Silence then fell as the first group positioned their charge on the bier to Jack's far right, and then they lowered them onto the bier. As the soldiers then stood to attention, the next group then arrived. Four more times this was repeated. The arms raised in salute remained in place, none of the people paying respects moving even if the arms of some began to strain. Finally, the last fallen soldier of Operation Showboat/Reciprocity was brought in and placed on a bier.
Isabella nodded. The bugler raised his instrument to his lips and began playing Taps as the pallbearers — they were bare-headed — bowed their heads…
"Will you be there?" Domingo asked.
Keitarō and Kanako both nodded. "Of course," the former said as we…
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(Posted Sun, 06 Feb 2011 15:19)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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