Every Last Mother's Child

by William J. Carty, Jr

  ###

  “So after Sergeant Mitchum told you to stop you continued?” Lady Hawthorne was holding her first Commandant’s Mast for Gene Perkins, Mitch’s assistant barracks chief.

  “Yes Lady Hawthorne,” the fourteen year old boy said.

  “Did you know why she wanted you to stop?” Lady Hawthorne asked.

  “Yes she said that writing on the walls was an honors violation.” The youngster said.

  “Why did you continue,” Delores asked. They had found that in the boys shower, in Mitch’s barracks that someone had written disrespectful things about Mitch.

  “I don’t know,” the kid said.

  “Gene,” Jill injected at this point it was supposed to be her show. “I know you have been disrespectful to Sergeant Mitchum for a while. And I know you feel that you should have retained your post as barracks chief. It was my decision to put Mitch in your place.”

  Jill looked at the boy who was barely a teenager. She wanted to see how he handled what she was saying. When he said nothing, she continued. “Gene, you have one opportunity to tell us why you did what you did. We expect you to tell us the truth and to be honest with us.”

  Lady Hawthorne sat watching Jill do her thing. She wanted to jump in; but Sergeant Green had taken her aside and told her that she had to let Jill do the job. Jill had to learn how to do this.

  “Okay Gene,” Jill said when the kid didn’t answer, “Here is the holo of what you did. It also shows that you were asked by Cadet Mitchum to stop and to clean up your mess. Which you did not do! Do you have anything to say now?”

  The holo from the School Mistress’ surveillance system played in the conference room. It showed the kid scrolling something on the wall and Mitchum asking that the kid stop and clean it up.

  “Is that you?” Jill asked.

  “Yes,” The kid said.

  “Now do you have anything to say?” Jill asked.

  “I don’t know why I did it. I thought it was unfair that Valerie took my job.” The kid said, “I had spent several days learning how to do the job and getting the kids to do what needed to be done. I thought it was unfair to turn it over to Mitch.”

  “Didn’t Mitch ask you to help her? To be her assistant,” Jill asked.

  The kid nodded.

  “And you fought her the entire way didn’t you.” Jill stated.

  “Yes,” Gene said.

  “From what Sergeant Mitchum has said she gave you every chance to work with her didn’t she.” Jill asked. The kid nodded. “Just so the record is clear Mitch did not report you. School Mistress did; but only after you failed to work with Mitch. Mitch tried to work with you without putting you on report. Are you aware of that?”

  “No I was not aware of that.” Gene said looking at his cadet sergeant.

  “She didn’t want you to have any demerits on your cadet record.” Jill said, “For that is what she is supposed to do. Her job is to train you to replace her, and to work with you so the whole squad can achieve their goals. As such she failed you also for not reporting to me the problems she was having so we wouldn’t be here today.” She looked at Mitch. She had already spoken to Mitch, and Mitch knew what was coming next. “You have failed Mitch and your cadets, and you both have failed me. As such you both have been given twenty demerits. Each! We will meet on the quad after evening mess, and we well walk off those twenty demerits. In full uniforms with riffle. We will march a perfect square around the quad twenty times.”

  “When you say we,” Gene said, “Does that mean you too? “

  “Yes! I failed to give you and Mitch the guidance you needed. So I am to blame for you not performing to my specifications.” Jill said. That got Millie Green’s attention. Never had she heard of the Cadet Commander walking punishment tours at the point on Earth, or other military academy because of their junior officer getting punished. That impressed her.

  Later that night when the three of them began their punishment tours Delores Hawthorne took the newly built reviewing stand and waited until the tours were done. Jill and Lady Hawthorne had set the first of many traditions in the short history of the academy. That when cadet officers drew punishment details, the Cadet Commander drew them also, and the commandant would stand on the reviewing stand until the detail was over. When Millie and Delores talked later that evening, Delores explained that she had failed Jill by not having given her the direction she needed. As time went on when Delores couldn’t stand on the reviewing stand Millie did. When she did she stood at attention until the tours were done.