Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price (6 page)

“Not at all.  You kids are on your own.  Wherever you’re assigned and whatever happens with your military careers will be your own doing.  I’m not intervening, and you won’t get any special treatment.”

“Well, I’m just glad it turned out the way it did.  For a while, I was afraid they were going to make me a fighter pilot,” Lunnie said.

“You’re joking,” Kala said in amazement.  “After all the trouble we had teaching you to fly?”

“Seriously,” Lunnie exclaimed.  “I really enjoyed flying the simulators and later the real fighters.  It was fun and I kept getting better and better at it.  I was pretty good with targeting too.  But I actually find the science stuff more enjoyable.

“Dad, will you be speaking at Reide’s graduation tomorrow?”

“No.  I was asked by the base commander if I would, but I declined.  I hadn’t spoken at any of the prior graduations and I think it would look bad if I did so now when my son is graduating.  Admiral Windangar will be giving the address.  The three of us will be seated in the front row in the dignitary section.”

“I’m not a dignitary.  Why am I seated there?” asked Lunnie.

“Well, the commander feels it would be in the best interest of the Federation to be seen as a family unit.  The ceremony will be covered by the news and our presence together in military uniforms will bolster patriotic feelings, especially when they see that every member of the First Citizen Rear Admiral’s privileged family is doing their part and not shirking their duty.”

“Do you think that the commander is right?” asked Lunnie.

“Lunnie, at this point it’s not a matter of right and wrong; it's a matter of defeating the Brotherhood before they enslave us all.  I don’t like being treated like a dignitary either, but that’s how it is.”

Lunnie nodded and then asked abruptly, “So what do you think about Reide bringing his girlfriend to stay at the estate this weekend?”

“WHAT?” exclaimed Both Kala and I at the same time.

“Reide has a girlfriend?” asked Kala.

“Well, yes.  Didn’t he tell you?  He contacted me two days ago, saying he was bringing her home to meet you this weekend.”

“He told you this?  Our Reide… your brother…?” Kala asked in amazement.

“Hm… I guess he didn’t tell you.  Oops!  Do me a favor, please?  Act surprised when he does say something.  Otherwise he’ll kill me.”

Kala and I stared at each other with our mouths open.

“Have you guys eaten?  I’m starved,” Lunnie said abruptly changing the subject.

Kala and I couldn’t help but laugh.  “Your father and I have just returned from dining at TEZU LAGONG.  I don’t think either of us will feel like eating the rest of the evening, but I’m sure Piebar will be happy to see to it that you have a good meal.”

“The food at the base is alright, but not great.  I would really enjoy a freshly prepared meal with organic ingredients instead of something out of a synthesizer,” said Lunnie.

“So tell us more about Reide’s girlfriend,” Kala said.

“I really don’t know anything about her except that she was in the JAC with Reide,” explained Lunnie.

“How long have they been seeing each other?”

“How should I know?” Lunnie asked.  “I only learned about her three days ago when Reide contacted me and asked if I thought it would be okay for him to bring her home.”

“Didn’t he tell you
anything
about her?” pressed Kala.

“I think he said her name is Lyanna or Lymana… something like that.  Look, mom and dad, I’m really hungry.  Do you mind if I go find Piebar?"

“Oh, sure,” said Kala.  “I’ll come and sit with you and you can tell me all about your experiences in boot camp.”

“Wait a minute,” I said.  “Before the two of you run off, I just want to know one thing.  You’re not bringing a boy home this weekend, are you?”

“What?!” exclaimed Lunnie.  “Dad, you know it’s forbidden to date anyone in boot camp.”

Kala huffed and looked at me with one of those expressions that told me my question was not appreciated.  She took Lunnie by the arm as she turned away.  “Come on, Lunnie, let’s go get you something to eat before your dad starts thinking up names for the imaginary grandchildren you’re going to give him with the bondmate he’s invented for you.”

Lunnie gave a short giggle as she left with Kala, who turned to look back at me just long enough to give me a wink and that universal taunt of sticking out her tongue.

The next morning, Kala, Lunnie and I assembled at the Cantolla Gate Transfer hub on the estate where we would initiate our route to the military base on Plosaxen.  I had an unexpected sense of pride, standing together with Lunnie and Kala, all of us in our formal military uniforms.  Although Kala was no longer on active duty, she was still technically in the service and now held the rank of captain.  The formal uniform of a rear admiral was solid white, essentially the same as the normal duty uniform.  The duty uniform of a captain was dark green, but the uniform Kala wore on this day was also white with green piping to indicate her rank.  Since Lunnie was newly out of boot camp and simply a private, or first-level trooper, her formal uniform was charcoal gray with eight thin black stripes encircling the chest that designated her rank.  In the Federation military lower ranks were indicated by more stripes.  As rank increased, the number of stripes decreased.  The uniform remained gray in color until one reached the rank of commander, at which point the normal duty uniform became red and the formal uniform became white with red piping.  Only persons with a rank of admiral wore formal whites as at all times.

It was strange to see Lunnie snap to attention as we encountered senior officers on our way through the gate system to the base.  I was impressed with her form and stature and it was hard to believe that my little girl had grown up into the trooper who stood beside me.  It was difficult to keep from grinning ear to ear and beam with pride with every stop we made along the way.  While it may not have been apparent to the troopers we encountered in transition, it was evident to Kala.  More than once she looked at me and smiled with a knowing grin.  After we’d passed through the last gate and arrived at Plosaxen we entered the transport that would drive us to the ceremony site inside the base grounds.  Kala waited until we were underway and Lunnie was engrossed with the passing scenery before she whispered, “Tib, I think you're about to burst with pride over Lunnie.  If you're impressed as much with Reide today, you just may pass out.”

Her comment jerked me back to reality.  Though I was proud of my children for their achievements, I also had trepidations.  My son and daughter had now joined Kala and me in the formal ranks of the military, for good or for ill.

The layout for the ceremony was straightforward.  The several thousand people filled the bleacher-like seating that lined one side of the parade grounds.  Kala, Lunnie and I took our prominent place among other military officers and Federation dignitaries who were there to celebrate graduating family members.  Behind us and to the side of the dignitary seating area were other relatives and friends of the graduating cadets.

A thunderous boom heralded the commencement of the ceremony, as Federation drummers began to play and move into formation at the end of the stadium field.  At first, the drums triggered pang of sadness in my chest that made me swallow hard; I couldn’t help but be reminded of the massive funeral services where I had said goodbye to too many friends and soldiers.  But then I realized the rhythm carried a more exuberant mood than the intense funerary drumming.  This was a drum beat composed for marching and for conveying a sense of strength and power.  The audience turned toward the drummers, who began to divide their formation in the middle, through which the cadets began to enter in well-defined ranks and proceed to the center of the grounds.  More than one thousand cadets marched in rows of twenty, turning their head to salute as they paraded past the dignitaries and military personnel.  I was quite taken with these first few moments of the ceremony and it wasn’t until I saw Lunnie and Kala rise from their chairs that I realized it was part of the protocol for all military personnel to stand at attention and salute back.  As head of the military, I should have known this, but the truth was I didn’t.  My indoctrination into the Federation military bypassed the usual steps where I would have learned this kind of decorum.

I quickly rose to my feet and held a salute.  I kept trying to locate Reide, but I must confess I didn’t see him in the assembly that passed before us.  After all the cadets had filed by, they split off, still in rows of twenty, and lined up into multiple columns in front of the rostrum, where the commander and senior officers of the base stood in front of their seats.  Once the cadets were in their final formation before the rostrum, one of the officers on the stage stepped forward and shouted out an order, after which the cadets stood at a parade rest position.

“Where’s Reide?” I asked Kala out of the side of my mouth.

“You didn’t see him?” asked Kala in disbelief.

“No.  I was looking, but I didn’t see him anywhere.  Did you?

“Yes.  He was the second person in the very first row.  How could you have missed him?”

I didn’t say anything, as Base Commander Ircart stepped forward to speak.  I was glad, as it gave me an excuse to not answer Kala.  I squinted and tried to scan the vast assembly of cadets to see just where Reide was now, but I still couldn’t spot him.  I sighed and decided to listen to what the commander was saying just as he introduced Admiral Windangar.

The content of the admiral’s speech was relatively routine.  He conveyed rather blandly the need for additional troopers, the valiant efforts of the military in fighting off the enemy, blah, blah, blah… the honorable sacrifice of the men and women, blah, blah, blah… preserve and protect, blah, blah, blah… the Federation.  So I tuned out and began searching again across the thousands of cadets standing in front of me, wondering which one was Reide.  From where I sat, all I could now see was the backside of a thousand heads, which didn’t tell me much.  Finding him seemed hopeless.  Finally, Windangar ended his speech and mild foot stomping followed, while he took his seat and Commander Ircart returned to the podium to introduce the next speaker.

“When the candidates enroll as cadets and arrive at the base, one of their first assignments is to write an essay explaining their reasons for joining the Junior Auxiliary Corp.  We see a broad range of responses from the new cadets, such as
I always wanted to be a trooper
;
My dad made me do it
;
I’ll get to travel
; and even
I was given a choice: join the JAC or go into a juvenile detention program
.”

There was a chuckle from some of the audience at this last example; but I didn’t laugh, because I knew in some cases this was true.

“With each graduation class, these essays are reviewed by the officers and instructors of the JAC and a single response is chosen that best exemplifies the reason the Junior Auxiliary Corp exists.  As part of the graduation ceremony tradition, that essay is read before the assembly by the cadet who wrote it.

“Sometimes the selection of an essay can be a difficult process; however, that was not the case this year.  The decision was swift and unanimous.  This year’s composition was exceptional in every way, not only because it embodies the purpose and values of the JAC program, but also because the young man who wrote the essay is outstanding in every sense of the word.

“Cadet Renwalt!  Attention!  Report to the podium to read your essay!”

A jolt of electricity shot through my body.  I nearly leaped to my feet.  I heard Kala gasp beside me as she grabbed my arm and squeezed it, and from the other side of Kala I heard Lunnie whisper, “I knew it would be him!”

I saw Reide step forward from the ranks and march to the stage, where he saluted the commander and was handed an actual paper document.  The commander said something to Reide we couldn’t hear and then stepped back and took his seat, leaving Reide alone at the podium.

“Tib, did Reide know in advance his essay had been selected?” asked Kala.

“I have no idea.  I don’t think so.  I really don’t know,” I answered.

“Why I joined the Federation Junior Auxiliary Corp,” Reide began, as he glanced briefly at the mass of cadets and civilians before him.  “All my life, with the exception of a brief period after I was born when my family was stranded on Desolation, I have lived an extraordinary life of luxury, privilege and wealth beyond what most people could ever comprehend.  Everything imaginable that anyone could desire has been available to me.  Servants have catered to my needs.  I have enjoyed the finest foods, grown up on the most fantastic estate and had the most elegant space yacht imaginable at my family’s disposal to fly throughout the galaxy.  I have met celebrities, government leaders and their families, and dignitaries from worlds located in every sector of the Federation… and I took it all for granted.

“More than all of this, I have, without a doubt, the two greatest parents in the universe and I happen to know the Federation agrees, because they are your First Citizens.  So, in light of this deeply enriched life and incredible privilege, why should I want to join the Junior Auxiliary Corp?

“To be honest, I never gave it a thought until recently.  My father, who you know as First Citizen Admiral Tibby, has been in the military ever since I can remember.  In spite of the demands placed upon him during his history with the Federation’s military forces, he has been the greatest dad a boy could ask for.  However, I would have really been delighted if he’d had more time, not just for me, but for my entire family.  You see, my dad is away from us much of the time, dealing with matters relating especially to the war with the Brotherhood.  When he
is
at home, it’s usually for a quick meal and, if we’re lucky, some conversation, and then a brief sleep.  After that he’s gone again, answering to the call of duty.  So, to be honest, I was not always enamored with the military, nor did I have a positive impression of military life.