Dale Brown - Dreamland

He didn’t really want her to take necessary ones either, he thought.

“I’ve had some good news about Dreamland – and Whiplash – in the last half hour,” Bastian said quickly, hoping she wouldn’t see the concern in his face. “We’ve god funding. We’re definitely in the budget. And Whiplash is going to be up-rated to active squadron status.”

“What exactly does that mean?” asked Freah.

“Whiplash is going to make use of Dreamland technology, working with some of the advanced systems,” said Bastian. “In much the same way you did in Somalia and Libya. Only, we’re going to plan for it from now on. There are a few details to work out,” he added. “Well, a hell of a lot of details. But we have a green light, and serious support at the command level. And beyond.”

“Congratulations,” said Freah.

“You guys get all the credit,” said Dog. “So listen, since you’re all in Greece, and since it’ll be a few days before your plane is ready to leave anyway, I suppose a few days’ R&R would be in order. I hear there are some nice ruins to inspect.”

“I’ve had my fill in ruins,” said Freah. “I’m up for the beaches.”

“Me too,” said Bree.

“Personally, I like ruins,” said Jeff, rolling forward. “But the only sight I feel like seeing for a while is a nice thick mattress.”

Breanna put her hand down to his shoulders. It was nice seeing people so committed to each other, Bastian thought. Good that they could survive all the adversity they’d seen.

And wouldn’t Gleason look good in a bathing suit?

“My satellite time is almost over,” said Dog. “If you need anything, you know where to get me.”

“The hell with that,” said Freah. “We’ll just get hold of Sergeant Gibbs.”

“Dreamland Command, signing off,” said Dog.