Project Boussh: Epilogue: The Last Marbles by scifantasy Sci knew they were coming, he had spoken with them before, and he had even made a promise to them--which he had fulfilled--but it was still a bit of a shock when Admiral Ackbar and General Cracken showed up. The reaction was hilarious-- every New Republic Military Forces officer or enlisted sapient froze, and some were in mid-dance or mid-gesture. Corran was dancing a Corellian dance with Mirax, and he was twirling her in mid-air--they looked like a Greek statue. Even the music--run by Gate, as Whistler had still been preparing the next year of Corran's "things to keep me occupied in hyperspace in my X-Wing," the first round of Sci's book loans--had instantly shut off. The entire room went silent and still. Cracken looked at Ackbar, and Sci smiled inwardly. He could see it coming... "At ease," ordered Ackbar. The entire room exhaled. Corran barely avoided dropping Mirax. Wes fell to the floor--he had been participating in the Ewok dancing, and was severely off-balance. Cracken walked to the center of the floor, looked at Sci, and took on his most official tone. "Well, it looks like you managed to keep your promise to me." Sci nodded. "Since the New Republic has now taken a vested interest in affairs on Terra, it is normally appropriate to put a contingent of troops or an Intel unit here. However,since there is already a military unit--of sorts--onplanet, it seems far easier to simply declare a new detached Intelligence unit, operating out of the only country to have official ties to the New Republic. With the permission of all the people in question--" Nods from the Terrans. "--I hereby declare Terra Group to be an official Intelligence squadron, assigned to Terra." He paused to let the cheers die down. "As you are now official New Republic personnel, you should have official New Republic ranks. Therefore, we are commissioning all of you. Sci, you are a Major in the New Republic Intelligence Forces; your squad leaders, Ms. Henscheid, Mr. Nolan, and Jedi Boyd, are captains; and your remaining personnel are Lieutenants. Even you, McEwok. To go along with your Imperial Commander rank, and your Alpha Blue rank, you have an NRI rank." Face snorted and quoted himself. "Maybe he can build a little fort out of them." There was assorted chuckling. "I would love to stay and participate in your celebration, but I need to work out some of the details of your operation with your leaders. If you would please excuse me." He, Ackbar, Sci, Face, Wedge, and Thayer were out the door before anyone could blink. Vickie turned to Elassar. "Hey, I outrank you!" --------- Sci, Cracken, Ackbar, Thayer and the New Republic squad commanders sat down in a small conference room not far from the party. Sci, Face, and Wedge were in hysterics. "Did you see their faces?" asked Sci breathlessly. "Never mind them, Sci," gasped Face. "You were shocked!" The laughter subsided, however, under General Cracken's look. "Sci," he began, "under the circumstances, it will be difficult to work out the details of how Terra Group will function, seeing as you all can't vanish from the face of the planet. We intend for you to continue your normal lives, responding to our call as needed." Sci nodded. "That, however, leaves us in the position of needing to automate some of the functions of your base below the High Palace here." Sci interrupted him. "Actually, we do have Sharon, who's now the Ambassador to the New Republic from Terra, and we have another possibility. Josh Cochran is considered a wanted fugitive in the United States, but I get the feeling that if he were no longer a US citizen the issue would vanish quickly." Cracken gestured for him to continue. "So, if he were no longer a US citizen, he would need somewhere else to live, and since one of the ways to give up US citizenship is to accept a position in a foreign government..." Thayer laughed. "We give him a job in Mendellia, with some official title that means he runs your little Bat-Cave, and solve all his problems at once!" Sci quickly explained to the offworlders what a "Bat-Cave" was, and everybody nodded. Cracken tapped his comlink. "Please find Lieutenant Cochran and bring him here." --------- The offer took only a few minutes to outline, and about the same time to get an agreement. Cracken took up the lecture again. "We have a construction team on Luna at the moment, building an underground comm monitor/relay station, fully slave-rigged, on the far side. It is habitable, but you would only need to live there in emergencies. As for your staff..." He waved his hand and the door opened. Sci and Josh groaned, in major thirds, as a copper-colored droid entered the room. "Hello," it said, in a female voice, "I am Z-3PO, Zee for short, human-cyborg relations--" Sci found himself mentally reciting the same speech. "--and regulations with a military speciality. I am fluent in over six million languages and am familiar with an equivalent number of current and historical military doctrines, regulations, honor codes, and protocols." Cracken held up a hand to forestall the chuckling Sci and Josh were not quite able to keep under their breaths. "Zee will serve as your military liason, as much as Sharon is your diplomatic liason. It is far too much to assume that you will treat her as a superior, and probably possible but unlikely that you will treat her as an equal, but I hope that you will at least listen to her when she relays orders from us." Sci and Josh nodded. "As for equipment..." Ackbar handed a datapad to Sci. Sci read from the pad. "The surviving TIEs flown by your pilots, Lord Thayer, are given to the Mendellian Air Force with compliments and thanks. The four X-Wings given to Terra Group likewise, as well as a two-seat trainer ship. A few more modified R7 droids--" Josh sighed softly. "--and the regular assortment of smaller assistant droids. And..." He dropped the pad and looked up at the commanders. "A detachment of pre-Clone Wars vintage battle droids, retrofitted with stun blasters and modern motivator technology?" Cracken nodded. "It occurred to us that you might need a security force, and this once might serve to be somewhat camoflagued. Under the right circumstances." Sci shook his head and picked up the datapad again. "And recommendations to find agents to replace the ones lost or leaving." He gave the datapad back to Ackbar, who pocketed it. Then he stood up. "If there's nothing else, General, Admiral, thank you for your help. I'll round up my team and give them the news."