Tess Awakening
Authors: Andres Mann
Tags: #incest, #obsession, #strong american blonde heroine, #strong romantic elements, #military battles, #villain protagonist, #strong and moral men, #strong adult content
Valkyrie Awakening
Andres Mann
Books by Andres Mann
Tess Awakening
Tess Valkyrie
Tess - Valkyrie Awakening
: The
Complete Story
Tess - Valkyries United
: The
Abomination of Human Trafficking
Copyright © 2015 Andres Mann
All rights reserved. Except as permitted
under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication
may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or
stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written
permission of the publisher. This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.
Novel Green Publishing
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V 18
Cover Art
by Melanie
Michalak
Melancholie
To the real Tess, the inspiration for this
story
Chapter 2 – Betrayal and Retribution
Chapter 7 – Escape and Tragedy
Chapter 9 – Fight for Another Day
Chapter 16 – The Arrogance of Men
Chapter 17 – Spider to the Fly
Chapter 18 – Roots and Reflection
Chapter 21 – Getting to Know You
Chapter 24 – A House in the Country
Chapter 27 – Battle of the Flesh
Chapter 29 – Return to Baghdad
Chapter 32 – Secrets Best Kept
Chapter 36 – Back to the Living
Chapter 43 – Let Others Do Your Bidding
Chapter 45 – Duel on the Highway
Chapter 46 – Failure and Wrath
Chapter 48 – Return to the Living
Chapter 59 – Arrogance and Torment
Chapter 65 – Good for Business
Chapter 67 – Battle in the Sky
Chapter 72 – Lawyers are Happy
Chapter 76 – You Can’t Tell the Truth
Chapter 81 – Grief and Regrets
Preface
This book combines two previously published
novels:
Tess Awakening
and
Tess
Valkyrie
. Since the second novel is a sequel, this book
provides the full story of Tess’s confrontations with Amir.
This book is a work of fiction. Any
resemblance of the characters to real persons is entirely
coincidental.
Much of this story is based on contemporary
historical events that have taken place during the second Iraq War.
Information about real persons and public figures mentioned in this
book has been previously reported by generally accepted information
resources.
The opinions expressed in this work are
solely those of the author.
Chapter 1
“Are you Major Turner? Major Morgan
Turner?”
It was the same question Tess had heard
throughout her career in the United States Army. Reconciling her
name with her appearance left most people — especially men —
baffled. Morgan Theresa Turner, otherwise known as “Tess” by her
friends, was an Army brat. There had never been a girl born into
her family since the Civil War, and it was a foregone conclusion
that the firstborn would always be called Morgan. When the little
bundle of joy arrived, her father decided to keep the tradition
going, and bestowed the masculine name on the gorgeous little girl.
Her dad, a four-star General, was recently lured away from the Army
by a very lucrative position in the defense industry.
Well, the time for such trivia was long over.
She was reporting for duty at the airbase in Kuwait to participate
in the invasion of Iraq—the second Gulf War.
“Yes, Sergeant, I assure you that I am Major
Morgan Turner. My orders are correct and if you look at them, you
will see that I am assigned to this unit. I need to see Colonel
Reynolds. I am reporting for duty.”
The sergeant fumbled with the paperwork,
excused himself, and tapped on the CO’s office door, entering
without waiting for an invitation. “Sir, Major Turner is reporting
for duty.”
“Ah, yes! Let her in”. The sergeant shuffled
outside, conscious of his awkwardness, and invited Tess to enter
the boss’ lair. Tess stepped in and smartly saluted the superior
officer. Reynolds returned a perfunctory acknowledgment and smiled
warmly.
“Tess, my, you have grown up!”
“I should hope so, Sir,” she answered. “Last
time you saw me I was in high school!” The Colonel came around the
desk and grabbed a chair.
“Please, sit down! How is your dad?”
“Still raising hell and playing golf,” she
answered. “When I left him three days ago, he was bitterly
complaining that timing has robbed him of a chance to get in on the
action over here.”
The Colonel leaned against the desk and
laughed. “I told him that retiring was not such a good idea, even
for the megabucks that NTC is paying him. What we have going here
sounds far more interesting!” Colonel Reynolds and Morgan Turner,
Tess’s father, had been fast friends for many years. They had grown
together in the military until General Turner was offered the
presidency of a military contractor specializing in advanced
avionics. “Well, no matter” the Colonel continued, “I am really
glad you are here. We have a lot of dangerous work cut out for
us.
“Our mission is to deploy in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. Our brigade crossed the berm into Iraq a
couple of days ago, not only to launch devastating deep attacks,
but to protect the V Corps’ western flank.”
“Our troops are making excellent progress,
but they are moving so fast that their rear is left exposed. We
already had problems with enemy irregulars taking pot shots at our
supply lines. Our outfit has a dual role: we must provide air
support in advance of the Third Infantry to eliminate targets ahead
of them, and save enough ammo to target nuisances on the way back
to the base. I would like you to command three choppers to recon
the field fore and aft, to use a boating analogy. Your Black Hawks
have been equipped with rescue and medical evacuation equipment to
be used as necessary.”
Tess frowned. “Sir, I thought my job was to
participate in the offensive in a combat capacity.”
Reynolds smiled as if amused by the tantrum
of a pretty little girl. “Tess, I am sure you can do a good job of
that, but I need the best people I can get so I am able to put them
where they can do the most good. I don’t have to tell you that
recon and rescue are, in many ways, even more dangerous than direct
combat.”
Tess felt her pulse and temperature rise.
“Colonel, with due respect, I was trained as a combat aviator. I am
assigned as one of your squadron commanders. According to the
rules, I am to lead our units into battle and to safeguard you and
headquarters so that you can direct operations. I don’t need
babysitting. I am here to do a job.”
The CO looked at her in earnest. “Tess, I
know you have a great record, but you must put yourself in my
position. Besides promising your father that no harm will come to
you, I am in a difficult political situation here. I am sorry to
say, you are too good-looking and too visible for your own good. I
don’t want to explain to your dad and a hostile press that I have
allowed someone like you to get killed, hurt or even worse. I don’t
think that we are ready for that, equality theories aside. In any
case, you have an important job to do, with commensurate risks, if
that makes you feel better.”
Tess stayed at full attention in her chair,
but her mind was reeling. Dad rules again, and my gender is still a
source of bias that I was foolish enough to think I had
overcome.
“Colonel, in case you haven’t noticed from my
records, I am a Regular Army officer. My career depends on the
combat experience that I obtain in the field. I am not afraid of
facing combat, in fact, I seek it. Remember, I have been
intensively trained to perform such duty.”
The Colonel affected an avuncular posture and
grabbed Tess’s hands. “Tess, I know that, and I promise you will
get an opportunity to do what you need to enhance your career.
Let’s just take it one step at a time.”
Reynolds paused, and then assumed a
conciliatory position. “I know that you have worked hard, Tess. You
paid your dues. I am just asking you to do what I ask of you, and I
assure that when the time comes, you will get the chance to do
whatever you want. We have to stay flexible here. Just humor me.
Start recon, and let’s play it by ear. In the meantime, we have
troops to feed, take care of and motivate. Let’s go meet them,
Major!”
