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her and noted the smile and excitement on her face. He guessed correctly that she was thinking of someone she was about to see once they were down. ‘Lucky bugger’ he thought to himself. ‘She’s one classy lady.’
    Aubrey turned to James and for a moment he feared she may have telepathically caught his thoughts.
    “Beautiful isn’t it?” asked Aubrey.
    “Yes…nothing like it. Do you reckon we’ll get some leave?”
    “I’m counting on it James.”
    James nodded his head and thought ‘I bet you are.’
    Back in the command centre Ivan received a hail from Admiral Phil Yomoto wanting to speak with Dave.
    “Sir it’s the Admiral” said Ivan.
    “Good afternoon Admiral” hailed Dave.
    “You too Dave. Everything is waiting for you at Tumos. I’ll be arriving there later this afternoon. We’ll talk then. You have that rogan on board?”
    “I do Sir.”
    “Good. I won’t say anymore now. I’ll see you later.”
    “Look forward to it Sir.”
    “Oh and by the way congrats to you and your crew for a magnificent job well done. You made us all proud.”
    “Thank you Sir.”
    As Dave terminated the call, he felt the first shudder as the atmosphere began to bite against the hull. He turned to Sgt Chad Preston and asked “Keep an eye on E deck Chad.”
    “On it already Sir. We’re doing fine so far.”
    “Gunter” hailed Dave.
    “Sir.”
    “I want you to come with me when we land and brief the ground staff on these wretched Life Support Systems and the other things that need fixing.”
    “Of course, Sir.”
    Dave selected a ship wide channel. “Crew of the Resolute we are coming into Tumos for refit. We should be arriving shortly. I won’t know how long this will take until the ground staff inspect and advise. I expect the refit will take some time and that we should be able to grant everyone some leave. But Admiral Yomoto is coming to see us this afternoon and he may have other plans.  In the interim we stay on board until further advised. The Admiral congratulates you all for a magnificent job well done.”
    Dave sat back in his chair as the craft slowed dramatically and the significant buffeting abated. He checked the status display and asked “Ivan can we have the shutters raised?”
    “Certainly.” The shutters were raised revealing a circular band of windows at the bottom of the dome on top of the command centre. The command centre was bathed in brilliant sunshine. For unaccustomed eyes it was dazzling at first. But they soon adjusted. The great southern ocean was below them. Bands of cloud swept over it. At their angle of descent Dave could make out the land mass ahead. It was the southern extremity of Artura the biggest of the continents.
    Dave looked around and saw everyone else in the command centre enthralled by the vista. This was a rare treat. Normally the shutters would be down to ensure cloaking was not compromised.
    Up forward James was focusing on his glide path. They were at 90K (90,000) metres and descending fast now. He switched to the ship wide channel. “Final descent everyone. Buckle up.” Without turning his head he said to Aubrey. “That goes for you to Maam.”
    Aubrey smiled. “Thanks James.” She returned and took her seat in the command centre. By the time she buckled up the altimeter read 40K. The red brown hills on the northern face of the Bali Kush were in front of them. The deathly Hollows facility was buried inside that face.
    A few minutes later James could see the runway. He eased off on the main thrusters and engaged the retros. He was still getting used to the controls, having landed the craft only twice before. He knew he was over the runway but was having to rely on the camera feeds to gauge the final descent. He tapped the vertical thrusters a little early and the craft, instead of settling regained altitude. He was annoyed at himself.
    But he waited patiently as gravity worked its magic and the craft descended again. This time he got it just right.