MARSHAL BOOK 4

MARSHAL BOOK 4 ROCKET GIRL CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 LET’S GO HOME 2 NOT YOUR AVERAGE OPERATION 3 HEATHER’S SECRET MISSION 4 A HEROES WORK IS NEVER DONE 5 BETRAYED 6 DID SHE? WILL SHE? 7 SHAKEDOWN SHENANIGANS 8 HENRY’S HEADACHE GETS WORSE 9 THE CHASE IS ON 10 DONNYBROOK AT HQ 11 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GENEVA (THAT NEVER HAPPENED) 12 GETTING IN YOUR HEAD 13 OUT OF BUSINESS 14 MARSHAL GETS TO SECOND BASE 15 POST CONFLICT DISORDER 16 BOZOS FLYING CIRCUS CHAPTER ONE LET’S GO HOME The air was thick with the smell of sulfur. Glowing orange and yellow globs bubbled and percolated up and hissed through the black sky, exploding in a ball of steam as they crashed into the cold Arctic waters. The Arctic air reverberated with the sound of explosions coming from deep down in the earth. The volcano erupted, sending flaming balls coursing through the jet black sky over Greenland. Some of the fire balls landed in the sea with a great splash and explosion of steam. The water angrily boiled as the lava cooled and solidified, while other fire balls came crashing down on, and around, the small coastal village of Upernavilk. It was really quite beautiful, even awe inspiring, when viewed at a relatively safe range from the back of a ship. That would not have been Marshal’s opinion if you had asked him several hours earlier as he battled to save the small village from the erupting volcano. Now he was alone, resting on the railing of the fantail of the USS Land. He used the optical device the crewman had loaned him to see the fate of the village. The trench he had dug was diverting the lava flow, and only a few of the buildings on the edge of town were burning. The volcano was still erupting. The village was silhouetted by a neon orange river of lava that was going around the outskirts of the town. There was a C 130 Hercules, stranded on a gravel runway on the edge of town. One of the lava bombs crashed down on the large cargo plane, breaking its back, sending burning skeletal remains summersaulting into the air. A cloud of smoke and ash completely blocked out the moon and stars. The only source of light, other than the reflected radiance of the volcano, were the lights on the merchant ship Carpathia II, standing about a mile off while the view was being recorded by a TV news crew. There were over eight hundred survivors on the Carpathia, and a couple hundred more on the Land. Marshal paused to reflect on the day. All in all, not a bad day, he thought before his splitting headache, refocused his thoughts to the here and now. The headache being the result of being hit in the head by one of those volcanic projectiles. He turned away, put the binoculars down, and loosened his high collar. He took a towel and used it to dry his hair. As he does, he noticed a whirring sound and the rush of air. He turned to see a vortex forming in the air just beyond the railings. Inside the vortex, a figure starts to take shape. A blue woman comes into view. She is dressed like he is, in a federation constabulary uniform. She is reaching out to him, calling out, “Marshal, save me!” In disbelief, he reached out to his deputy Dru. She was just out of reach. He stretched out, climbing out on the railings. A half inch separated their fingertips when the railing fails and Marshal went tumbling down. He found himself hanging on with one hand, dangling forty feet over the churning water. He started to climb up. The alarming sound of metal bending, signaled that the railing was threatened to completely give way. Dru was unable to reach him and was forced to watch, helpless, unable to give assistance. She called out, “SAVE YOURSELF! This isn’t working. Get help and I’ll return.” The vortex closed around her and the wind died down.