by Saxon Andrew
“Why?”
“Because I chose to confront her in front of the entire Brigade instead of talking with her in private. She and I lost everything in that moment, Tal. She’s refused to come anywhere near me since that moment. She avoids family gatherings if I’m going to be present. She never returns my calls and walked out of her graduation after she received her diploma to avoid hearing my commencement speech. I made a mistake, Tal. I let my anger rule my actions.”
“What happened afterwards, Duncan?”
“Well, her cover was blown, and everyone learned that she was my sister. Most of the upper classmen stopped harassing her in fear that their careers would be harmed. However, the officer that originally made her carry the egg showed up at the next marching drill and had an egg in spoon in hand. He ordered Katy to carry the egg again and this time she didn’t drop it. At the end, he took the egg and spoon from her and said, ‘Excellent job, Cadet Montana.’
Katy replied, ‘I’ve had plenty of practice, Sir.’
The officer laughed and said, ‘So you have.’ He turned, walked away, and the war was over.”
“Did the best thing happen from your actions, Duncan?”
“Tal, Katy was a cadet battalion commander her senior year; she could have been the brigade commander if she hadn’t been so stupid.”
“Duncan, if you hadn’t intervened, she could have been expelled. You may have done it crudely, but she’s on my ship and a highly ranked officer.”
“Tal, please take care of her. We have our differences, but I do love her…she’s my family.”
“I will, Duncan. Thank you for sharing this with me.” Duncan nodded, as his gaze went to his desk and Tal left his office.
Tal walked back to the training center thinking about Katy Montana. He readily saw that she was accustomed to using her rank to get the two-ensigns to carry out her orders without explanation. She was almost an exact opposite of her brother who ordinarily explained the reasoning behind his orders. They were just so different. Tal paused a moment and realized, so was Ka and her daughter. Well, maybe it would all work out. He discovered two-days later, that was not going to be the case.
• • •
Katy was observing the Coronado brothers operating their consoles when Indie walked up. They came to attention and Indie glared into Katy’s eyes and said, “Lieutenant, report to the conference room now!”
Katy was surprised at the easy-going Captain’s tone and instantly answered, “Yes, Sir!”
Tal heard Indie behind him and turned around. Something was going on. Tal said over his shoulder, “Captain Wolfe, a word, please.” Indie walked over, and Tal asked, “What’s going on?”
“Sir, I requested the files on the three-new-officers and there is an issue I need to discuss with Lt. Montana.”
“Care to tell me what it is?”
“Sir, here is her fleet file. I think it will explain my issues with her.” Indie held out the file and Tal took it. Indie turned and headed toward the conference room. Tal opened the file and started reading. After a few pages, his eyes flew open and he said, “Oh boy!”
Ka came over and asked, “What’s going on?”
Tal handed her the file, “Read this and tell me what you think Indie thinks about the contents.”
Ka began reading and, after a few moments, her eyes widened, “Oh crap!” Ka looked at Tal, “This will not work out?”
“Let’s see if you’re right, Ka. We’ll try to put the pieces together after this meeting.”
“I don’t think that’s possible, Tal.”
Tal sighed, “I have to try.” Ka continued reading and winced.
• • •
Indie entered the conference room and ordered, “Take a seat, Lieutenant!” Katy sat down and wondered what was going on. Indie looked at her and his expression showed an anger that was confusing to Katy. What had she done to cause it? She wondered.
“Lieutenant, I received your files from Fleet Records and I’ve been examining your history prior to your arrival on this ship.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I noticed that you hold several records in the Academy that caught my interest.”
“What records are those, Sir.”
“As a cadet company commander, you had the highest number of academy dropouts of any officer in academy history. The exit interviews of those cadets all had one thing in common.”
“What is that, Sir?” Katy asked.
“They all state that you berated, harassed, and showed them continuous callous behaviors. You were unrelenting in your attacks on them and broke their spirits and ambitions of being a naval officer. They dropped out and every one of them left the academy hating you and the service!”
“Sir, I went through the same treatment when I was an underclass cadet.”
Indie leaned across the table close to her face, “WHICH YOU BROUGHT ON YOURSELF BY RETALIATING AGAINST THE CADETS WHO ISSUED YOU ORDERS!!” Katy was silent, but her anger was starting to rise. Indie saw it and displayed a malevolent smile. “Did any of the cadets you harassed ever fail to follow your orders?”
Katy was startled by the question and she answered, “No, Sir.”
“Did you treat every cadet in your company the same way you treated those that dropped out?”
“No, Sir.”
“That makes you a bully, Lieutenant! And I abhor, hate, and despise bullies. You are nothing more than a sick Individual that revels in another’s pain!”
“But, Sir. I was taught at the academy that pushing those under my command made them better prepared to follow orders in the future.”
Indie moved back into his chair, “Then that should be a lesson you taught to everyone under your command, right?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You just stated that you didn’t treat everyone in your company the same. You targeted specific cadets and rode them unmercifully. That makes you a bully and I am going to treat you like you treated those poor cadets who were unfortunate enough to be assigned to your company! YOU GOT THAT!?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Now get out of my face! You’re dismissed!” Katy stood up and left the conference room. Indie watched her leave and fought to get his emotions under control.
Tal and Ka saw Katy exit the conference room and immediately realized something was terribly wrong. Katy left the simulated bridge and didn’t turn around. Tal looked at Ka and then reached for the communicator button on his console linking him to Katy’s communicator, “Lt. Montana.”
Katy had arrived at the front of the building and heard Tal, “Yes, Sir.”
“Report to the conference room!”
“Sir, I request a transfer from your vessel.”
“Request denied. Report to the conference room. That’s an order, Lieutenant!”
“Yes, Sir.”
Indie left the conference room and saw Tal and Ka headed toward it. His eyes narrowed, and Tal asked, “Captain, is it your mission to correct every past mistake any of those under your command have ever committed?”
“Uhhh…No, Sir.”
“Are you without sin, Captain? Should I delve into your college transcripts to decide how I’m going to treat you today?”
“But, Sir. You saw what she did!”
“Captain, I’m not interested in what anyone on this ship has done before they arrived here. I’m only concerned with what they are going to do moving forward! If you can’t get on board with that, then you’re not the person I thought you were. Did you enjoy bringing the Lieutenant down?” Indie’s expression turned serious. Tal’s eyes were angry as he asked, “Now who’s the bully? You’re even looking forward to making her pay for her prior sins and how do you think that is going to play out with the rest of my crew? You’re dismissed, Captain. I’m terribly disappointed in your behavior today.”
Tal abruptly turned and headed toward the conference room as Katy entered the room and refused to look toward Indie. Indie sighed and lowered his head. He went
to the scanning console and thought about what had happened. Mila saw his discomfort and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Indie shrugged, “I messed up.”
“How?”
“I tried to be something I’m not.” Mila started to ask another question and Indie held up his hand, “Please, I need a few moments.” Mila saw she should be quiet and she turned to her panel.
• • •
Katy entered the conference room and saw Tal nod toward a chair across a table from him. Katy noticed Ka enter behind the Admiral and move to a chair off to the side as she took her seat. Katy sat tall and stared straight ahead. “Lt. Montana, do you know that I would give my life for your brother?”
“WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH THIS…SIR?” Katy snarled angrily.
Tal ignored her question and continued calmly, “It wasn’t always that way, Lieutenant. On Earth when we went to assassinate Dr. Meier, I decided that I was going to kill him.” Katy’s brow furrowed, and her eyes closed slightly. “I deemed it in our best interests to eliminate him because he was getting too close to finding out that we were assassins, but Ka convinced me not to do it; she insisted that he was a good man and didn’t deserve it. At the time, I thought she was crazy. However, I did what she asked and held off doing it. Since that time, I’ve come to respect and, in my own way, come to love your brother. He is one of the finest men I’ve ever known.”
Katy took a deep breath and asked in a softer tone, “Sir, what does that have to do with Captain Indie’s behavior today?”
Tal threw Katy’s file on the table in front of her, “Lieutenant, I want you to look in your file and examine the ones that you harassed into dropping out of the academy and tell me what all of them have in common.” Katy’s eyebrows came down and Tal said, “That’s an order, Lieutenant.”
Katy picked up the file and began reading. It was the first time she had seen her personnel folder which included the exit interviews from those that dropped out. She was shocked at how much the dropouts hated her. She read it again and looked up at Tal, “Sir, I don’t see any commonality among them.”
Tal sighed softly, “Lieutenant, all of them were male, dark hair, green eyes, about six-foot to six-foot-two. Does that sound familiar?” Katy stared at Tal with her head tilted and shook it. Tal ordered, “Lieutenant, please describe your brother to me.”
Katy’s eyes were narrow and then they flew wide open. Ka interjected from the corner of the table, “Dark hair, green eyes, about six-feet-one inches tall.”
Tal kept his eyes on Katy and saw the sudden realization come over her. “You hated your brother so much that you went after anyone that looked like him. You turned your hatred for him on them and drove them out of the academy.”
Katy’s head fell into her hands, and she was shaking it hard, “I never…I didn’t realize…”
“I believe you, Lieutenant. But your hatred is misplaced, and you don’t realize that either. You’ve blinded yourself to it as well.” Katy looked up with tears on her face and Tal said, “Your hatred comes from the way he embarrassed you in front of the Academy Brigade.”
Katy nodded, “He should have talked to me in private, Sir!!”
“Wouldn’t have worked, Lieutenant!” Tal replied with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. Katy started shaking her head and Tal continued before she could speak, “Didn’t he try to convince you not to join the service?” Katy nodded slightly. “And what did you do?” Katy lowered her gaze. “You joined anyway. He’s tried to get you to do many things growing up and you ignored his suggestions to the point of having loud arguments. If he had met you in private, you would have seen him only as your older brother and would have been thinking only about your responses, without paying attention to what he was trying to tell you. It was only by confronting you in his position as Fleet Admiral that forced you to hear what he was saying. By confronting you in front of the brigade, you managed to hear him. Did you hear him?”
Katy nodded slightly and looked up, “I didn’t realize I was disobeying orders.”
Tal sighed heavily and shook his head slightly, “Katy, you were on the road to being expelled from the Academy and he stepped in and saved you. And for that, you returned his love by hating him and anyone that looked like him. You are here today because he embarrassed you on that day. If you can’t see that, then you’re a very little person with no brain. You don’t know your brother, and if you did, you’d realize he’d do anything to keep you safe. He doesn’t deserve your anger and ill will!”
There was a knock on the door and Tal looked up, “Yes!”
Indie stuck his head in the door and said, “May I have a word with Lieutenant Montana.” Tal nodded, and Indie stepped in. “Lieutenant, you didn’t deserve my anger and I want to apologize for my bad behavior and hope you’ll forgive me for my emotional outburst. I will treat you with respect and show you the same courtesies that everyone under my command receives. I am profoundly sorry and hope you’ll accept my apology.”
Katy raised her head and said in a soft voice, “Sir, I deserved every word you said earlier. Thank you for offering me another chance.” Indie looked from Katy to Tall, who waved his hand toward the door. Indie’s head tilted, and he turned toward the door; Tal nodded. He stepped out and Tal said, “As a teenager, Captain Wolfe was bullied every day he went to school. I do hope you accept his apology.”
Katy looked up at Tal, “Sir, is there anything that can be done for the cadets I caused to resign?”
“No, Lieutenant, there is not. None of them would now accept a position in the military and most of them left hating the service; you read their exit interviews. That’s on you, Lieutenant; we all have to learn to live with our mistakes. I do hope you learn from this revelation and comport yourself accordingly in the future.”
Katy lowered her eyes, “Yes, Sir,” she replied softly.
“You’re dismissed. Report to your training station.”
Katy stood up, saluted, and left the room. Tal noticed that she had lost the swagger in her steps. Once she was gone, Ka said from the corner, “You never cease to amaze me.”
Tal shrugged, “They’re both good people, Ka. You just have to try and help them find what’s inside them.”
Ka walked over, put her arms around Tal’s neck, and kissed him on the cheek, “That’s why I’m here today.” Ka left the room and Tal hoped that Indie and Katy would manage to get along with each other. If not, Katy would have to go; he couldn’t get by without Indie.
• • •
Katy managed to pull herself together and heard herself think, He should have talked to you in private! She lowered her head and shook it. That was pride rearing its ugly head again and she knew Duncan did what had to be done to get her attention. She straightened up and headed to the missile consoles. Indie was there, and he turned to her as she walked up, “Welcome, Lieutenant. Please join in and feel free to ask any questions.” She knew he despised her, but he was hiding it well. She heard him say to Ricardo, “Your monitor is different from the one you observed at Ka’s console. Only the red blips the computer assigns to the front missile launchers will appear on your monitor. They will have a number next to them Indicating which missile tube you should use to fire on them.”
Ricardo snapped his fingers, “Boy, that makes things a lot easier. But how do I program them without looking?”
“You have four buttons on your console. Buttons one and two are the portside launchers with one being above the second launcher. Three and four are the starboard side launchers with three being the upper launcher. Use your helmet to move the cursor to designate a target on your monitor and press the appropriate button. The computer will feed the data on the target to the missile and launch it. There may be an instance where the preferred missile tube no longer has any missiles. If that happens, designate the target with the cursor and press another button. Preferably a missile launcher next to the one chosen by the computer.”
Indie turned, “Jose, your panel operates the
same way, but you only have three missile launchers.”
“What happens if there are more than three targets, Sir.”
“I’ll discuss that after you complete the first-four simulations. Lt. Montana, why don’t you swap off with them in going through the simulations.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Indie walked toward the front three consoles and Ricardo smiled, “He is a good trainer.”
Katy nodded, “Yes, he is. Let’s get started and I’ll take the place of the first one to complete the first simulation, ok?”
Ricardo was surprised at Katy not just jumping in ahead of him but smiled and turned to his console.
Chapter Seven
Ka arrived in the simulation training room the next morning and looked around. She tilted her head and went to Tal’s chair, “Where is Katy.”
Tal looked up from his console, “She contacted me last night and asked for an emergency leave. I linked Indie in and he says she is ahead of schedule in completing her simulations and that she should be all right to take some time off. So, I granted her request.”
“What was the emergency?”
“I didn’t ask her, Ka. I didn’t sense it would be the right thing to do. We’ll find out when she gets back.” Ka nodded and walked over to her console. She pulled up a simulation and hoped Katy wasn’t resigning from the service. She pulled up the next simulation and started to work.
• • •
Six-days later, Tal received a call from Admiral Glennon, which turned into a lengthy thirty-minute conversation. He noticed Ka watching him and he motioned her over. “What’s going on?”
