by Saxon Andrew
“It appears Katy went to see Admiral Glennon on the first day of her leave. She’s due back tomorrow and I want you with me when I confront her.”
“Is something wrong, Tal?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll also want Indie present when we meet with her.” Ka saw his concern and went back to her console. Thank the stars she, Mila, and Indie were now operating smoothly in the simulations; they were getting to be more difficult and progress was coming at a very slow pace.
• • •
When Katy walked on the bridge the next morning and Tal stopped what he was doing, “Lt. Montana, report to the conference room.”
Katy nodded, “Yes, Sir.”
Tal turned to Ka and Indie, “Both of you come with me to the conference room.” Tal stood up and Indie looked at Ka, who could only shrug, before they followed Tal to the meeting.
Tal saw Katy standing at attention in front of the table, as he entered the conference room. “Lieutenant, take a seat.” Tal walked around to the other side of the table and directed Ka and Indie to sit next to him. They sat down, and noticed Katy was sitting rigidly erect in her chair with her eyes focused straight ahead. Tal looked into her face and, after a moment of silence, began, “Lt. Montana, I received a call from Admiral Glennon yesterday about a visit you made to the academy the first day of your leave.”
Katy continued to stare straight ahead and replied, “Yes, Sir.”
“He told me that you were there for three hours. Is that correct?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You took a week off from very important training for an emergency, Lieutenant. You only spent three-hours with Admiral Glennon. Just what did you do the rest of the time?!”
“Sir, I visited every cadet that I harassed into dropping out of the academy.”
Tal’s head went back slightly, as he noticed Ka and Indie were also surprised by the answer. “How did that go, Lieutenant?”
“Not very well, Sir.”
Tal kept his eyes on her and persisted, “Go on.”
“Most all of them were surprised to see me and the hatred they felt for me was immediately evident. A couple of them drew back a fist to hit me but managed to regain control before they did.”
“And?”
Katy took a deep breath before continuing, “I told them that I was there to apologize for my behavior toward them and that what I had done was totally unacceptable. I told them that sorry was too little too late, but I felt I had to tell them.”
“What did they say?” Ka spoke up.
Katy turned her eyes to Ka, “They cursed me and told me that the Academy sending me to apologize was a waste of time and that I should leave before I got hurt.” Ka was silent, and Katy continued, “I told them that the Academy didn’t send me. I told them that I recently discovered that I had targeted them for harassment because they looked like my older brother, whom I hated with every part of my being. I insisted they didn’t deserve the way I treated them and that I wasn’t aware at the time that I was doing it.”
“What was their response to that?” Indie asked.
Katy turned her eyes to him, “Every one of them asked how I could have possibly hated my brother that much to cause the hell I put them through. I told them that before they entered the Academy, my older brother reviewed the Brigade and then called me up to the reviewing stand, where he dressed me down in front of the entire Brigade. I told them I believed he should have done it in private instead of embarrassing me in front of every cadet in the academy. I hated him for doing that.”
Tal nodded, “Go on.”
“At that point, I told them that I had gone to Admiral Glennon and explained that they were horribly mistreated by me and that they didn’t deserve it. I asked if he would accept them back in the Academy with full credit for the work they had done. He agreed and told me that any of them who chose to come back would start at the next year’s level and would be given full credit for their first year.” Katy paused and lowered her gaze, “I told them that what they experienced at the Academy was not what was normal. That I was the problem and that all the other cadet commanders were good people and they could count on being treated fairly with respect if they chose to go back. I apologized again and left to go to the next cadet I terrorized.”
“Did you see all of them, Lieutenant?” Ka asked.
Katy was silent, and Tal saw her eyes moisten as she fought for control. He waited, and she finally managed to say, “All but two, Sir.”
“You couldn’t find them?” Ka prodded.
Katy took a deep breath and said softly, “I caused twenty-five cadets to drop out; I apologized to twenty-four of them. I discovered when I arrived at the final cadet’s house that he committed suicide three-months after he dropped out. His death is on my hands.”
Tal fixed his eyes on Katy and said, “You’re right. I could sit here and try to tell you there were other external factors that caused it but you and I both know it was your behavior that pushed him to do it. The lesson in this, Lieutenant, is that most officers don’t understand the power they wield over the people under their command. Their self-esteem and sense of value comes directly from how the one commanding them treats them. I trust you will never forget this.” Katy’s tears were flowing, as she nodded unable to speak.
“Who is the other one you missed?” Indie asked.
Katy turned to him, “I saved my brother for last.” Katy turned back to Tal, “With your permission, Sir. I request to go and speak with him now.”
Tal nodded slowly, “Permission granted, Lieutenant. However, before you leave…” Katy had stood up, but she stopped and kept her eyes on Tal. “Admiral Glennon told me in our conversation yesterday that all twenty-four of the cadets you visited have requested to be readmitted to the Academy. Admiral Glennon has accepted their request and they will enter this session as sophomores.”
Katy’s tears fell in earnest, as she lowered her head, “Thank you for sharing that with me, Sir.”
“You’re dismissed,” Tal said in a soft voice. Katy did an about face and left the conference room.
Indie watched her leave and said, “I totally misjudged her. I was out of line to have confronted her the way I did.”
Tal turned quickly to him, “NO YOU WEREN’T!” Tal’s tone surprised Indie. “It was your confrontation that started her on the road to redemption and to exorcise the demons inside her. Without it, she wouldn’t be where she is now. It was necessary and do not beat yourself up over it.”
Indie nodded, “Sir, I honestly don’t know if I would have had the courage to confront those cadets.”
Tal smiled slightly, “There’s a lot of her brother in her, Indie.”
Indie nodded, “I gained from this experience as well; I learned that one should never become the thing they hate the most, Sir.”
Tal smile grew slightly, “And that’s a lesson I hope you never forget, Indie.”
“I won’t, Sir.”
“You need to go and continue your training schedule, Captain.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Indie walked out of the conference room as Tal sighed, “I hope Duncan will forgive Katy. She’s treated him so badly.”
“He will,” Ka responded.
Tal turned to her, “How do you know that?”
“Because she’s family, Tal. And you never stop loving those in your family.”
Tal kept his eyes on Ka, then stood up. He went to her chair and went down on a knee, “Ka, are you willing to be a part of my family?”
Ka jumped up so fast the chair under her was shoved away. She went to her knees in front of Tal and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled herself tightly against him and said in his ear, “There is nothing in this universe I want more than to do exactly that!” Tal’s tears started right after Ka’s and he held on to her as they lost track of time in each other’s arms.
• • •
They eventually allowed their guilt to force them to go back to work. Ka went
to her console and sat there a moment before activating her subvocal module. “Children,” she said in her throat. The subvocal module vibrated slightly and she said, “Jee, Jan, do you have a moment?”
Jan immediately responded, “I always have a moment for you, Mom.”
Jee replied a moment later, “I do as well; what’s up?”
“Tal has asked me to marry him and I’ve accepted. We were wondering if you will be the maid-of-honor, Jan, and if you will be the best-man, Jee?” Ka waited, but only heard silence. “Are you still there?”
Jan was the first to speak, “Sorry, I was screaming at the top of my voice and the module didn’t pick it up. I would be greatly honored to be your maid-of-honor!”
“Sorry, I was yelling as well,” Jee responded. “I’m down for it, Mom. Congratulations! This is outstanding news!!”
“When, Mom?! When is the wedding?!” Jan interrupted.
“We’re going to ask Admiral Montana to perform the ceremony on the day after training ends. We’ll keep you informed and my heart is overflowing at your reactions. Thank you both.”
Ka ended the contact, glanced toward Tal, and saw the concern on his face. She smiled and gave him a thumb’s up. Tal’s smile was instant, and he turned back to his console. Life was…so much better now!
• • •
Katy arrived back from Duncan’s office and it was clear that things had gone well. She was smiling and seemed to have a happy glow around her. Tal noticed that the stiffness in her posture was gone.
Seven hours later, Indie stood up and looked around the room, “I’d like everyone’s attention, please.” Everyone paused their simulations as the room became silent. “I know the training schedule calls for you to work on these simulations for another week, however, I don’t think continuing to do simulations alone is going to help much. Tomorrow morning, you will start the first simulation where everyone is involved in mastering it. Lt. Montana, you will be operating the sensor panel integrating your board with Captain Anand and Commodore Albritton. The missile operators will be active in this simulation as well and all of you will have to work together to survive the simulation. I will be observing what’s happening and will offer suggestions where needed. Indie saw he had everyone’s undivided attention. “So far, you have not put everything together and this will be your first opportunity to perform as a crew. This will be the hardest simulation to date and all of you need to go home and get some rest. You’ll have an hour from eight to nine AM to practice before the group simulation starts at nine. Do you have any questions?”
Tal listened to Indie and spoke up, “Captain, I would appreciate it if you would order the crew to use their voices instead of using their subvocal modules. I’d like to hear what’s happening.”
Indie turned to Tal, “Sir, the crew has been practicing using their subvocal modules and changing from them might cause issues,” Indie pushed back.
“But I want to hear what’s going on, Captain!”
Ka cleared her throat and both Tal and Indie turned to her. Ka smiled, “Admiral, if I’m not mistaken, you also have a subvocal module. Why don’t you just turn on the ship’s frequency and listen in from it?”
Tal stared at her and Indie rolled his eyes, “I should have thought of that.”
Tal shrugged, “You know how it is, Captain?”
“What is that, Sir?” Indie asked.
“How great minds think alike.” Everyone laughed, and Tal looked over at Ka, “That is an excellent suggestion, Commodore. Thanks for straightening us out.”
Ka smiled mischievously, “Glad to do it, Sir.”
Tal stood up, “Everyone go home and get some rest. You’re going to need it.”
Indie turned to leave, and Tal stopped him, “Indie, how do you think the crew will do in the morning.”
“Sir, it’s not going to be pretty?”
“Why?”
“Sir, the simulation is close to impossible. It took four of our best computers working on it to finally win. They failed at least twenty-times before they figured it out.”
“Why would you develop a simulation that can’t be won, Indie?”
“The crew will learn from the effort, Sir. This simulation will pit the crew against overwhelming odds and the longer they learn to survive, the better they will be able to handle any possible threat they encounter.”
Tal’s expression became dour, “Indie, a no-win situation doesn’t build confidence. It could cause them to start mistrusting each other.”
“Sir, we’ll be tracking the longest survival time of every ship and post the rankings. That should allow them to see how good they are in comparison to the other crews.”
“Who came up with this idea, Indie?”
“A team of military psychologists, Sir.”
“Have any of them served on a warship?” Indie stared at Tal and then shook his head. “And you agree with their findings?”
“Sir, my opinion had no part in the development of the simulation.”
“You didn’t answer my question, Captain!”
“Sir, I think it’s garbage but it’s what we’re stuck with.”
Tal was clearly angry, as he said, “My crew will be the only one to go through this particular simulation. I’m going to have a discussion with Admiral Montana about this after I get my crew’s results tomorrow.”
“Yes, Sir, Admiral.”
“You’re dismissed, Indie. I’ll see you in the morning.”
• • •
“Mila!”
Mila turned to Katy as she stood up, “Yes.”
“Do you have a few minutes before you leave to take a look at something.”
Mila sat back down, “What do you have in mind?”
“The last simulation we completed was a monster in finding a way out of a large enemy attack formation. I’ve been playing around with the scanner today and I’ve discovered something that might be useful.”
Mila cocked her head, “Go on.”
“I can program the computer to find the optimum route through an enemy formation along with two other less optimum routes.”
“You’re kidding me?!” Mila excitedly responded.
“No, I’m not, Mila,” Katy answered. “If you fly the ship on the optimum route and it changes, then the route will automatically be updated, and a new route will appear.”
“Show me,” Mila came over and looked over Katy’s shoulder.
Katy inserted a chip into the scanner console and watched it download. She looked up at Mila, “I’m linking to your console and let’s start the last simulation.” Mila nodded, went to her chair, and downloaded the simulation. Katy saw the download complete and turned to Mila, “Ready?” Mila nodded, and Katy started the simulation. Mila suddenly saw a green track running through the monitor with a white and yellow track moving in other directions. “Follow the green-track, Mila!” Katy instructed.
Mila kept her eyes on the green line and moved the ship over it on her monitor. Suddenly, the line veered left and she instantly changed course. Over the next ten-minutes, the green line changed direction numerous times, but she managed to stay on top of it. Ten-minutes later, she moved the ship away from the enemy formation. “This is amazing, Katy!”
“Does it help you?”
“Yes! This makes all the difference in the world. I avoided all the heavy concentrations of enemy warships following that green track.”
“There’s one thing you need to know, Mila. If the green track suddenly disappears, then look for the white track and get on it instantly. That means enemy ships have moved in ahead of your course. Follow the white track and if it disappears look for the yellow track. The white and yellow tracks are designed to move you out of immediate trouble until the computer can determine another green course for you to follow.”
Mila nodded, “Got it. Thanks, Katy. I imagine Indie is going to have a monster simulation in the morning.”
“I wish we had more time to work with this, but I just figur
ed it out earlier today.”
Mila smiled, “We’ll do it on the fly, Katy. See you in the morning.” Mila walked off the bridge with Katy following her a few minutes later.
Katy knew her life had changed since being assigned to the Zak’s Jil. She no longer needed to compete against Duncan to prove she was as good as he is. That need is what led her into all the trouble she caused. It was Tal, Ka, and Indie that got her to see the delusion she was living in and she owed them more than she could ever repay. Perhaps she could make it up to them in some small way by striving to be the best coverage officer possible. She no longer felt the demons inside her. Knowing the one’s she harassed were going back to the academy also gave her some peace. Barrett Kellogg’s death would always be a burden that she would carry…but she would never make the same mistake again. She prayed she could make up for it.
Chapter Eight
The crew was at their stations practicing when Indie announced loudly, “Stop what you’re doing and shut down your simulations!” The crew shut down their consoles and turned to face him. “It’s seven minutes until nine and at five-minutes before nine I am going to enter the crew simulation into your consoles. You will have five minutes to study your monitors to find the enemy’s positions around you and at exactly nine the simulation will begin.”
The crew stared at their monitors and suddenly, the images appeared. Ka immediately shouted, “YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!” Tal stared at the main monitor at the front of the ship and understood Ka’s remark. The ship was surrounded, and hundreds of other warships were moving in at high-speed.”
Indie said in a neutral tone, “Do your best.”
“DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS?!” Ka shouted in an angry voice?
Tal interrupted her, “Commodore stop wasting time complaining and decide how you’re going to handle this!”
Ka rapidly perused her monitor and shouted, “MISSILES FREE! HELP ME OUT, AMIGOS!”
“We’ve got your back, Sir!” Ricardo shouted back. No one on the crew took their eyes off their monitors and then, everything went into motion.
• • •
Mila saw the green track appear and she went to full speed following it. It suddenly disappeared, and she veered the ship violently to the white track. The green track reappeared an instant later and she instantly went vertical to stay on top of it.
