Terra Squad: The Adventure Begins
by Vickie Boyd


I stood at the bottom of the ramp, taking one last look at the place I had  
finally called home. It was hard to leave the comfort of a place I'd lived 
for two and a half years, but bigger and better things awaited down in 
Mendellia.

Leia, our nearly two year old beagle, put her paws on my thigh, stretching 
herself. Her tail wagged as if to say "let's go, Mom!" I smiled down and 
scratched the top of her head. "You're going to love the castle. Lots to 
get into."

She looked at me with those big puppy eyes and almost smiled. We turned and 
went up into the shuttle. I hit the switch to close the hatch and moved 
towards the cockpit.

Rich sat in the copilot seat looking rather comfortable. Like he was meant 
to be there. "Are you ready," he asked.

"Yes. I hope we got everything." I sat down in the pilot seat and the dog 
promptly jumped into my lap. Leaning past her, I began the startup 
sequence.

"We can always come back," he smiled.

"I know," I replied softly trying to keep busy so I wouldn't think about it 
anymore. "Thayer said that he'd have a place set up for the ferrets when we 
get there. Before his father passed away, they owned ferrets to keep the 
castle free of rodents."

"Cool." He punched the coordinates for Mendellia into the nav computer. I 
knew the way, but it always helped to be accuate.

Gently, I lifted the shuttle from the ground and rose above into the late 
night sky. As always, the view took my breath away. I began to wonder if 
this is how it looked flying over Naboo or Corellia or even Coruscant. 
Somehow I knew it was. I was sure my twin had seen them already.



It took several hours, but we arrived in Mendellia during the early morning 
hours. Josh, the psycho boy, met us at the landing pad. "You made good 
time," he said with a smile. His southern accent was less than normal, but 
it was still there.

"Cloaking devices are nice," I replied with a grin. "Was Thayer able to 
find us a house?"

He chuckled. "You're talking about Thayer. What do you think."

I laughed. "On the side of the castle as the kitchen so that Rich has easy 
access."

"Wow, you're pretty smart in your old age." Josh grinned from ear to ear.

"Ha, ha." I playfully punched him in the shoulder. It was good that we got 
along. Especially now since we would be able to train together.



The house was WAY beyond my exepctations. I had figured it would be a small 
staff house. Instead it was a huge two-story home. There was a room Thayer 
had set up with several cages and tunnels running all over. "The ferrets 
are going to love this," I exclaimed as I entered.

Rich entered with the travel cage and put the ferrets in their new 
environment. Corran and Loki immediately started going through the tunnels. 
"It pays to know the king," Rich said with a chuckle.

Leia was running through every room, sniffing out the entire house. Several 
people had offered to help us unload the shuttle and take our things to the 
house.

After we finished, Rich broke in his new kitchen by making spaghetti. 
Luckily the cupboards were stocked with everything he needed. "I have to 
thank Thayer personally. This place is incredible."

"I'm sure you'll see him at breakfast," Josh said. "Speaking of which, 
what's on the menu?"

I laughed. "Is that all you think about? Food?"

"Hey, I'm a growing boy."

Rich and the others laughed as well. "To answer your question, Josh," he 
said. "I have no idea. I'll decide when I get up."

I picked up my glass and raised it high. "I propose a toast. To Mendellia. 
May her leader be strong and her people stronger."

A chorus of "hear, hear" echoed my statement. Yes, Mendellia was going to 
be a strong country.