Every Last Mother's Child

by William J. Carty, Jr

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  Once down on the academy, Jill felt out of place as she walked the grounds. She was checking up on the kids making sure things had gone right the night before. She was surprised at not only how there were quite a few enlisted men and officers from the militia and the marines now on the academy; but how they came to attention and saluted her as she passed them. Even more shocked when they held the salute until Jill passed or she acknowledged them. She stopped by the mess hall to get a cup of coco and ran into Sergeant Lucas.

  “Hello Colonel,” the man handed her the cup of coco.

  “Hi Sarge,” Jill took the cup, “This is weird.”

  “I know,” The man replied. He had seen how the officers and enlisted men were treating her.

  “Can you walk with me a bit?” Jill asked.

  “Sure,” The sergeant replied, “Tony! I’m going to be with Colonel Wilson for a bit. Those cookies will be out in a couple of minutes don’t let them burn!”

  “Sure thing Sarge!” the enlisted woman said.

  “Sarge how do I do this.” Jill asked, as still another junior officer passed her saluting. “I don’t know how to respond to these guys. Shouldn’t I be saluting them first?”

  “Colonel, some of them are reacting to the eagle on your shoulders.” The sergeant replied, “Remember we’ve been taught to salute the grade, as a measure of respect. You’ll get use to it.”

  “I don’t expect that to be anytime soon,” Jill commented, “But the other thing that is bothering me and since it was your idea I need to pick your brains.”

  “Oh?” the thirty year old sergeant responded, “Go ahead then.”

  “How do I get these kids to buy into this corps of cadets?” Jill asked.

  “Just ask them.” The sergeant answered.

  “I can just ask them?” Jill sounded astounded.

  “They are ready to follow you,” the sergeant returned. “A lot of the kids wondered where you were this morning.”

  “But how do I ask them?” Jill asked.

  The sergeant thought for a minute before speaking, “Send them a piece of mail. Personalize it with the help of the School Mistress so it is a personal email from you asking them to join the Queen’s Own Royal Corps of Cadets.”

  “I don’t want to con them into something,” Jill said.

  “Jill,” Jenny spoke up. She had been following quietly behind the two, “I think if you make the pitch they’ll come along. After all it is coming from one of their own.”

  “Okay,” Jill turned to the sergeant, “Thank you Sarge.”

  “Colonel,” Sergeant Lucas said, “Just be yourself. State your goal and just be yourself.”

  Jill went back to the administration building and wandered up to the office that Lady Hawthorne had taken over.

  “Oh there you are Jill.” Lady Hawthorne greeted her young friend. “I was about to send a search party for you. I had heard you were back.”

  “Just checking on things,” Jill said, “What did you need?”

  Delores looked at the young woman in front of her noticing that the slouch that Jill had was gone. It was as if putting on the uniform had changed her posture. “I was about to hold an assembly and announce the cadet corps.”

  “Let’s wait for that,” Jill said and told her what the sergeant suggested.

  “Make’s sense,” Lady Hawthorne said, “Get your presentation written up and we’ll get it delivered.”

  Several hours later, Jill stood before a desk with the Queen. She had stopped by to see how things were going and when told what Jill was about to do decided to help. On either side of the desk was the Royal Flag of the Court of Trena and a new flag displaying the insignia of the Corps of Cadets.

  “Hello,” The Queen spoke, “I hope you won’t mind our intrusion. Jill and I would like to ask you to be part of something to help you. This morning, I created The Queen’s Own Royal Corps of Cadets. After consultation with the Marshal, the crown attorney, and others we agree that the corps should be populated with you and your fellow young people who have been abandoned by your parents, or who are orphans. I have of this morning appointed Jillian Wilson as the first cadet commander of corps of cadets. Jill?”

  “Hello,” Jill began speaking, “Many of you know who I am. You saw me working with you and the adults yesterday as we began making things better for you. We have got a great start. I am here as the cadet commander to help you build on that start and to initiate the corps of cadets. My job is to work with kids between 12 and 18 who want to be part of the corps. By joining me in the corps of cadets we will be working to get you off world. As we get ready to leave our world, the Evacuation Command promises to use the older cadets around the planet to assist in evacuating our people. I hope that you will join me in this endeavor. Should you wish to join me report to the admin building and we’ll sign you into the corps. Should you be under twelve, or not want to join us we will work to get you off world and take care of you until your parents are found or you become an adult. I look forward to working with you as we help as my father says to get every last mother’s child off our world.”

  “I too, look forward to seeing all of you in my corps of cadets.” The Queen said, and finished, “Good Day. I will see you on Home.”

  “School Mistress, Please display that on all public terminals around the campus, and see that every kid gets a copy of that.” Jill said.

  “Done,” The AI said.

  “It sounded good,” Lady Hawthorne said, “I wonder how many we’ll get.”

  Less than fifteen minutes later the first of the kids were beginning to line up outside of the admin building. Jill watched in awe as the line got longer and longer. She turned to the Queen who was standing next to her, “This is awesome. I would have never thought these kids would buy into this.”

  “Me either Jill,” Aggie responded.

  “These kids want something to do.” Jenny said, “They see a lot of military helping people and so they want to be part of it.”

  “She’s right Jill,” Sally who was temporarily part of their detail injected. She was the only one on the team who had any education in child psychology, “They have been desperate for something, anything that will change their lives. This school is like jail. So you are giving them a chance to get out of jail. Many of these kids may only want something to do. Others will want to help if they can. You guys hit a cord. A good cord I think. Jenny do you think Mac would let me hang out here?”

  “I don’t know,” Jenny who was the senior agent knew what her young friend wanted to do. What she had been trained to do. “You are very good with Little Bear.” She used Abby’s code name, “The rest of us are good with her but you have her confidence. But I will see that anytime Tom is not available that you get on the detail. That’s the best I can do Sally.”

  “Okay,” Sally said though she didn’t know how she was going to balance being a protective agent and working with these kids.

  “Jill lets go down and meet the troops,” Aggie injected.

  Jill nodded and walked with the young queen down to the line of kids forming up to be in the corps. As they walked to the line of kids one of Lady Hawthorne’s staff who had been a marine before marrying her now missing noble husband called, “Attention on deck! Trena One aboard!”

  “As you were,” The Queen said. She had first heard that when she was not too much older than some of these kids when she first realized they were talking about her. Some of the kids knowing what to do came to a sort of attention, others looked bewildered. “Good afternoon!”

  A lot of the kids looked taken aback as here was their queen walking among them. The Queen dived into the line and began shaking hands. Even the youngest kid in the line, he couldn’t have been more than six or seven. Aggie knelt down to him.

  “Thank you for wanting to join.” The Queen said, “What’s your name?”

  “Tommy,” the kid said after an older kid prodded him, which wasn’t lost on the Queen.
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br />   “Well Tommy you are a bit young to be in this group,” the Queen said, “But when you are old enough I will personally make sure you get in.”

  The kid nodded and Aggie looked at the older kid who was almost a teenager. As she stood up she asked, “What’s your name.”

  “Mary Bollard,” the girl answered.

  “Welcome to the corps Cadet Bollard,” Aggie greeted the girl shaking her hand, “Tommy your brother?”

  “Yes,” The girl replied.

  “How did you get here?” Jill asked.

  “Oh mom died months ago,” The girl said, “the police said someone beat her to death. They brought us to Trenaport Family Services, and then they brought us here.”

  “Why do you want to be a cadet,” Jill asked.

  “You folks have tried to help me and my brother,” the girl answered, “I would like to pay it back if possible.”

  “I see,” Jill replied. “Well we’ll be happy to get you.”

  They worked the line for a while seeing the kids and talking with them. There were quite a few little kids.

  “I knew we had a lot of young kids but I didn’t know we had this many.” Lady Hawthorne said. “Well I knew I had seen them around the grounds; but I didn’t quite understand the impact.”

  “Neither did I,” Aggie said, “We have to make this work. These kids are our future.”

  “A big part of our future,” Lady Hawthorne commented.

  “Delores what do you need from me.” Aggie asked.

  “May I?” Sally said breaking more than a handful of rules of the protective detail. She was not to interrupt her principles’ conversations.

  “Yes,” The Queen said and she saw Jenny flinch. Aggie knew the rule but wasn’t about not to hear Sally McBride’s thoughts. She had personally reviewed everyone on the detail protecting the Marshal’s family. She hadn’t approved everyone on it but she had made sure that they all were top of the line people. So she knew of McBride’s past.

  “You need to get some grand mothers and fathers in with the little guys.” Sally offered, “They need someone who these kids can turn to without feeling they are in trouble. Especially for people like Mary who are going to be busy with the cadet corps. In other words they need a lap to crawl up into.”

  “That makes sense,” Aggie said, “What else?”

  “We need a cadre of officers and enlisted people to be the instructors at the academy,” Delores said, “The Gods know I am not military.”

  “I can’t spare any officers right now,” Aggie said, “Michael and Qoum will have my head if I assign anyone here. At least I think they will.”

  “Let me work with dad,” Jill said, “sometimes I can get what I want out of him!”

  All the women present smiled. But they also knew that as much as Jill could get what she wanted out of her father, they also knew that the Marshal was no easy push over. What no one expected was what actually did happen.