Katja Pt. 23

The children spent most of the morning playing with the cats, as they were all slightly upset they were going, but it wasn't going to be that long. Erin and Nemo had volunteered to stop over to check up on them, and that made them a little happier, as they liked Nemo and Erin.

It was finally time to go, so they all gave the feline members hugs, and headed out to the town to get lunch. Once they parked and went in, they grinned as they saw that a lot of the ones going had the same idea. Then once they all finished, they all headed over to the airfield to meet everyone.

Once they got over to the hanger, Erik parked on the side next to Tony and Areil, then they got all the bags out of the back. Then two of the shuttle crews wheeled over a couple of carts and loaded everything on them to bring them over to the shuttles. While they were doing that, they all walked into the hanger to meet all the others going and talked between themselves as they waited until they got everything loaded on the shuttles. Then one of the crewmen came in and told Uncle Geoff they were ready when they were and everyone all walked over to get on board.

Erik, Katja Tony and Areil grinned as the children were still so excited to be flying on the shuttles, and Geoff and Bryan still asked all kind of questions. Erik and Tony grinned as they explained things to them, with Tony doing most of the explaining. Once everyone was onboard, since the seats were arranged so there were six seats in each row, three on either side like a human airliner, Erik told Geoff to take the window seat, then Gesa sat in the middle seat, and he took the aisle. Then on the other side, it was Tony, then Brigitte, and Bryan; and the row in front of them was Katja and Aileen, then across from them, it was Areil and Kendra. Then Helen and Liam came back, and Helen grinned as she asked Areil if Liam could join them. Areil laughed as Kendra grinned, and she said sure. She got up and Liam moved over to the window seat, and Areil winked at Helen, then she sat back down.

It didn't take long to get everyone onboard and seated, then one of the crewmen closed the loading ramp. Erik and Tony grinned at each other, as both of their sons had big grins on their faces and were still asking them questions. The shuttle pilot finally said they had gotten clearance to take off, then they heard the hum the shuttles made as they turned on the propulsion units.

Erik looked over and saw that Gesa looked a little nervous as she hugged Geoff's arm, but Geoff had a grin a mile wide and he watched through the window. Erik reached over and took Gesa's hand free hand and she looked up at him and he smiled as he gently squeezed her hand. She grinned back at him and Erik thought she looked a little less nervous now.

Erik soon felt himself pushed down in his seat a little, and grinned as he saw that Geoff had his face plastered to the window looking out. Once they reached altitude, they transitioned to forward flight and they were off to Texas. Erik watched as Geoff looked over at Gesa and saw that he was holding her hand, then he leaned over and said something to her making her smile. Gesa looked up at Erik and smiled at him, so Erik winked at her and let go of her hand giving it a gentle pat as she turned back and hugged Geoff's arm a little more and laid her head on his shoulder.

Erik looked over to the other side and saw that Tony was doing the same with Brigitte, but she didn't seem as nervous as Gesa did. Tony winked at him and he soon released her hand and she hugged Bryan's arm like Gesa did to Geoff. Once they were in steady flight, he unhooked his seat belt and got up to check on Katja and Aileen. He grinned as he saw she had her face against the window like her brother. He stooped down and kissed Katja asking, "How is she?"

Katja grinned. "She's fine love, she hasn't moved from the window. How's your two?"

Erik smiled at her, "Our son is the same way, but Gesa was a little nervous until we took off." He smiled again, "But I held her hand and she was fine, and our other daughter was about the same."

Katja smiled and stroked his face, then kissed him. He stood and grinned at Areil as he saw that Kendra and Liam were the same as his. Areil winked at him, then he went back to sit down and smiled as he saw that his two had each got out a coloring book and were coloring together. Then he looked over and saw that Brigitte had gotten her tablet out, and her and Bryan had put on headphones and were watching one of the dragon movies he loaded up for her. Tony had a similar tablet and was reading, and seeing that everything was okay, he pulled his tablet out of his pack and started reading himself.

When they were about halfway to Texas, Geoff pulled out the two bottles of juice and the small bag of snacks his mom had put in his backpack, and shared them with Gesa. Then once done, they both went back to coloring and Erik smiled to himself as he watched them giggle figuring they were talking to each other as they colored.

He put his tablet in his pack and got back up to see how Katja and Aileen were doing. Katja grinned and as Aileen was in the window seat, she slid over and Erik sat down with her. He kissed her, then asked, "How's everything love?"

Katja took his hand in hers and she leaned against him, "Everything is good, she hasn't been able to tear herself away from the window except to have something to drink and snack on. How's yours?"

Erik smiled and lightly squeezed her hand, "They're fine, they broke out the coloring books, and Brigitte and Bryan are watching a movie."

They talked a little more, then Erik looked at his watch and seeing that they had about forty minutes before they got there, he kissed Katja and moved back to his seat. Once they landed, Helen had arranged for a shuttle bus to pick them up and would bring them all over to the hotel, then a little later they would drop off the car he'd rented. He had given Tony the info for the place he'd found and he decided to do the same thing he did.

Then tomorrow morning, they had to go over and check on things at the base for the landing, and while they were doing that, Katja, Ariel and the kids would sight-see a little. He wasn't sure if any one else was going with them yet, but he had looked up some info for her and found a couple places for them to visit while he was busy. Then once they where done at the base, they would come back and they'd go eat lunch. But once lunch was done, he had a meeting with Bill, Joseph and Uncle Geoff to talk about the dog and pony show making him the liaison.

Then the next day, the President and his people would land at the base using one of the presidents helicopters, while the governor of Texas and the mayor for the area the base was located at, would all show up mid-morning and were driving in. Once they all got there, they would proceed to officially make Erik the liaison, then about an hour or so afterwards, the two ships would land. Uncle Geoff had mentioned yesterday that once they landed and the furor was over, they would meet with them and the president in private for a quick talk before the president had to go back to DC.

After that was all over, they'd figure out dinner, either going someplace, or staying and eating at the hotel once they got back. Then the next day, Uncle Geoff, Bill, Joseph, Captain Augustus, Captain Julius, Commander Cruz, and Captain Akina from the Sweden landing site and himself would meet with the some of the people from both ships to talk about more things. He wasn't sure just yet who that would be besides the captains and their first officers, but he figured there would be a few others.

About a half hour later, the shuttle pilot said they'd be landing in twenty minutes and that everyone should prepare for landing. Everyone put everything away and they waited for the shuttle to land. Erik grinned as he saw Geoff was once again glued to the window and Gesa looked up at him and smiled. Erik smiled back and once again took her hand making Gesa smile a little more and they waited to land. Soon they heard the hum change and felt the shuttle going lower to land.

As they came in and hovered waiting to land, Erik looked out the window and saw that the main hanger was now clearly marked and he saw a few of the strobes outlining the grid blinking and soon the were on the ground. Then a few minutes later, the humming stopped as the pilot secured the engines, and the co-pilot smiled as he walked through the cabin to the back and lowered the ramp. He looked around and waved to the crewman from the other shuttle and the ones waiting, then came back in and told uncle Geoff they could disembark.

Uncle Geoff thanked him and everyone gathered up their things and they made there way down to the tarmac. Once they got off, Uncle Geoff saw Nicholas Marshal, Jeffrey Knight, Nigel and Jim Neville waiting on them and waved to them. They came over and greeted everyone and they were introduced to the others they didn't know.

Nicholas grinned as he greeted them, "Geoff, Erik, it's so good to see you again. How have you been?"

Geoff smiled, "Nicholas, it's wonderful to see you also. I've been good, let me introduce you to some of the others." Geoff introduced Victoria and his children, as did Erik. Then the others were introduced and they all talked a little.

Jim Neville smiled as he got a hug from Geoff, Bryan and the rest of the kids. Then Erik smiled as he introduced Aileen to him and Jim gaped as he saw her. This little girl was even prettier than Katja and the others and he grinned to himself, 'She's gonna be a heart-breaker when she gets older.'

Then Katja and Areil asked him how Evie and their children were and they all talked a bit more playing catch-up. Then Jeffrey Knight was introduced to Katja, Areil and the children as he hadn't met them before.

Uncle Geoff smiled as he asked Nigel and Nicholas if everything was ready for the landing. Nigel smiled back, "Well commander, it's as good as it's going to get until we find out everything."

Nicholas smiled and nodded, "All the things that were supposed to be done, were finished up a couple weeks ago, so we shouldn't have any problems. Also, the reception area is ready for when the president and his people get here, and there's also an advance team of the secret service here already and they've given us the okay. They were real happy with how Jim and Jeffery set up the security. Oh... and the people catering the food for the welcoming reception, contacted me and they're on schedule also, they told us they'll be setting up the tables, tents and things tomorrow afternoon, and bring the food later Sunday morning just before Erik becomes the liaison."

Geoff smiled and nodded, "Very good, do you know when Bill Sharp and Joseph are suppose to get here?"

Nigel opened his tablet, "They'll both be here sometime this afternoon, and said they'll meet you and Erik at the hotel. Oh... and Captain Augustus and Julius will be coming in with them. Captain Julius volunteered to pick them up, and bring them back afterwards." He looked at another page, "Then Commander Cruz, and Captain Akina should be landing in another hour or so, then tomorrow we'll all meet at the same conference room we used when we inspected the base at... 0900. Then we can all make a quick tour if you want, but we were ready for them anytime this week."

Geoff nodded once again. "Excellent. Are they here in orbit yet?"

Nigel nodded once again, "Yes sir, just like when ours landed, both ships are in orbit now and will be ready to land on Sunday as planned. Also, Nicholas, along with the leader of advance secret service people, have been in contact with the local air traffic controllers and they will be keeping this area clear starting early Saturday night and keep it that way until the president leaves."

Nigel smiled, "The only one cleared besides the ship's, is the president's helicopter."

Geoff smiled, "I don't know why I even asked. Good work to both of you, so I guess we can all go to the hotel for now and relax for the rest of the day."

Then Erik asked, "Uh... do either of you know when Georgi Sukos and his people will be getting here? I didn't hear before we left."

Nigel looked at his tablet once again, "They should be here sometime tomorrow Erik, along with the rest of the news people. But I heard they're all staying in another hotel along with the other news people."

Erik nodded, "Thanks Nigel. I appreciate it." He turned to uncle Geoff, "That'll make Aileen happy, she keeps asking me when she can see him."

Geoff laughed, "So does Aron, so I guess this means Anthony is no longer her favorite then?"

Erik grinned and shook his head, "Not really, Tony's family, that counts a little more with her."

They all laughed at that and then Geoff and Erik went to talk to the rest. As they walked, Geoff said to him, "Helen said the shuttle should be here soon, then we can head over."

Erik nodded once again. "Good, I need to relax before all this happens."

Geoff smiled, then asked, "Uh... is your other mate joining you?"

Erik grinned and nodded, "She should join us later after dinner. She figured there would be to many questions if she showed up sooner. She did tell us, that her, Bast, Briast, Horus and Anubis will be attending, but no one but a few will see them."

Geoff shook his head, "You know, this is always so amazing. I always believed in Mother Bast, but since we've been here, so much has changed. Sometimes it's hard to wrap your mind around it."

Erik nodded at that, but then secretly grinned to himself, 'Just wait until you find out just how much it has changed for you.' He grinned again as he heard a laugh inside his head.

"That's true... and even more so for me, I still can't believe what's happened in my life. Before you landed I was just a simple mechanic, and look at me now."

Then he smiled at uncle Geoff, "But... I'm also happier than I've ever been in my entire life, and things will get better, hopefully soon, and be even better."

Geoff looked at him and smiled as he nodded his understanding. "That's true, you've been more affected than most of us." He shook his head again, "But it certainly does boggle the mind at times."

Erik laughed as they walked over to where their mates were talking with Helen and Azlan. "Boggle the mind, doesn't even cover half of it. But I love it all, my mates, the kids and everything that goes with it."

Geoff smiled as he gave the one he still looked at like his first-born son, a one-armed hug.