Katie Kincaid Space Cadet

by Andrew van Aardvark

  “So, you re-joined your team, and you were all captured together?”

  “Not quite, sir,” Katie answered. “I saw them and was walking towards them when the searcher jeep appeared and swept them up.”

  “And you didn’t take the opportunity to escape?”

  Katie recounted what had happened. She was as brief as she could be and didn’t mention Andrew’s pointing. She felt queasy about the omission, but not as queasy as she did about the idea of accusing Andrew of actively selling her out. It was possible she was mistaken about what she thought she’d seen.

  The board didn’t appear entirely satisfied by her account, but moved on.

  “Do you believe you have what it takes to be a Space Force officer?” the Commandant asked.

  “Yes, sir!” Katie replied. “I’ve started off from behind and I’m younger than most of the other cadets, but I think I’m making it up. I’m improving every day.”

  Katie was forced to elaborate on that.

  When she was done, the Commandant had a further question. “Why do you want to be a Space Force officer?”

  “Because I want to make a positive difference in the world, sir,” Katie replied. “The Space Force is currently under appreciated, but already important to all of humanity. It’s only going to become more important as we move further into space.”

  Finally, they were done.

  Katie was dismissed.

  She’d done her best.

  She had no idea if it was enough.

  13: In Review

  Captain Karl Svenson enjoyed his job mostly, for all that it wasn’t an easy one.

  Sitting on boards like this one that was deciding the fate of Katie Kincaid was one part he did not enjoy.

  Nobody who wasn’t capable or motivated got accepted into the Space Force in the first place. Some people simply didn’t have what it took. They had to be weeded out both for their own good and that of the Space Force. Didn’t mean he enjoyed wrecking the hopes of talented, well-meaning young people who’d tried their best.

  Cadet Katie Kincaid had left the room only minutes before. Nothing he’d seen or heard from her had changed his opinion. The young woman wasn’t perfect. She, as she’d admitted herself, had some catching up to do. She had the potential and the drive to be an outstanding officer. Only now he had to convince his fellow board members of that.

  “Well, she’s not lacking in confidence,” a Lieutenant-Commander Smith opined. He was a ship’s commander noted for being a little slack in discipline but well liked by his subordinates.

  “But her judgment is suspect,” another Lieutenant-Commander named Radison said. Radison was more a scientist than a field commander. He’d done his time in scout ships, though. Reputed to be a wiz on sensors. The organization he belonged to was so hush-hush Svenson didn’t even know what it was called. He suspected it either spied on the Space Rats or was engaged in FTL research, maybe both. Svenson suspected Kincaid's marks in mathematics and physics had caught their attention. It meant Radison should be in favor of retaining the young woman.

  On the other hand, Radison didn’t seem to be overflowing with human sympathy. Also, Kincaid might be more useful to them as a civilian researcher than a Space Force officer. The twists and bends of spook minds were beyond Svenson’s ken.

  “I’m concerned that I’m not sure she was being completely honest with us,” the Commandant said. “There was some sort of conflict between her and Cunningham. I felt she was being evasive about it. Integrity and honesty are key values of a Space Force officer, and I know this has been made clear to her and all the other cadets. This point needs to be looked into.”

  Svenson stated the obvious. “We need to talk to Cadet Cunningham before making a decision.”

  His colleagues concurred.

  It was going to be interesting hearing what Cunningham had to say.

  As in, may you live in interesting times, interesting.

  * * *

  Tuesday afternoon on a lovely summer’s day and Andrew wouldn’t have minded being on the parade ground practicing with the other cadets for their graduation like he was supposed to be.

  Instead, he’d been called in front of the review board.

  Andrew wasn’t surprised. They weren’t going to flunk Admiral Schlossberg’s granddaughter without crossing all the “t”s and dotting all the “i”s. He wasn’t too worried either. Andrew had influential family too.

  Andrew marched into the re-purposed classroom the board was using, feeling fairly confident it’d all work out. “Cadet Cunningham reporting as ordered!” he announced, coming to attention.

  “At ease,” the Commandant said.

  Andrew stood at ease.

  “To start,” the Commandant said. “I want to be clear you’re not under review today. You’re here as a witness, although you should be aware that your testimony will go in your record. Also, this is not a civilian court. You do not have the right to remain silent and you can incriminate yourself. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  After that, it started off in an almost boring fashion. Mostly for the record he imagined, they had him state clearly who he was and what his prior contacts with Kincaid had been.

  “The main reason you’re here is because of several incidents involving Cadet Kincaid,” the Commandant finally said, getting to the core of the matter.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “First, how is it that she became separated from the rest of her team during the prisoner escape exercise?”

  “Cadet Kincaid went ahead alone to cross a clear area and appeared to have been captured, sir.”

  “And who’s idea was that?” a marine captain Andrew recognized as Kincaid’s coach asked.

  Andrew swallowed. McGinnis had been there too. Andrew could choose his facts, and he could present them as best as possible, but he couldn’t lie. “Mine, sir.”

  “The plan was yours?”

  “Yes, sir. Kincaid agreed to it.”

  “McGinnis too?”

  “Cadet McGinnis didn’t express an opinion.”

  “Was it your idea Kincaid should go first too?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  A Space Force Lieutenant-Commander wearing insignia indicating he was a ship’s captain spoke up. “Perhaps it would be best if Cadet Cunningham narrated the whole incident from the beginning in his own words.”

  The rest of the board concurred.

  It was the most excruciating story Andrew had ever told. Even carefully picked and presented the facts of the story didn’t make him look good.

  In the end, the board had only one question. “Did you circle back like you told Cadet McGinnis you would?”

  “Yes, sir, but it took a long time, more than an hour I think, and when we got close to the road, we heard a lot of traffic. We carefully poked our heads out of cover to try to see what had happened to Cadet Kincaid. We didn’t see her. We assumed she must have been captured. We retreated back into the woods before we ended up being captured ourselves.”

  The board members looked at each other. Andrew couldn’t tell what they were thinking.

  “Next,” the Commandant said. “You were present when Kincaid was captured?”

  “Yes, sir, though I was blind folded at the actual time of her capture.”

  “How is it that Kincaid wasn’t able to escape while the senior cadet member of the search team was busy securing you and Cadet McGinnis?” a Lieutenant-Commander wearing intelligence insignia asked.

  “I’m not sure, sir. I was busy being captured.” Andrew regretted the words immediately. They weren’t properly respectful.

  “We’ve talked to the senior cadet in question,” the Ship’s Captain said.

  “Sir?”

  “He said you were very helpful. That when he asked where the third member of your team was you pointed right to where she’d gone.”

  “Sir, the question surprised me. I answered without thinking.”

  That elicited a slight tightening
of the mouth from the Marine Captain, Kincaid’s coach. Andrew realized he was in hot water. His hands felt clammy. Andrew wished he dared wipe them dry on something.

  “You were Cadet Kincaid’s radioman during a defense of civilian infrastructure exercise she was commanding for?” the Commandant asked, changing the subject.

  “Yes, sir,” Andrew answered. He was relieved. Kincaid and him had been the only ones present for that. Still, he’d better stick close to the facts if he didn’t want to trip himself up.

  “At what point did Cadet Kincaid first call for reinforcements?”

  Andrew’s stomach turned. He wanted to say point blank she hadn’t. But that could be debated. Who knew what Kincaid would say? “I’m not sure, sir.”

  “You’re not sure?”

  “No, sir. She did make a comment at one point about maybe reinforcements being needed, but it wasn’t a properly formed clear order.”

  “And you didn’t think to ask for clarification?”

  “No, sir.”

  With that silence. Apparently they were all waiting for the Commandant to reach some sort of conclusion.

  “You were wise to be honest,” he said after a couple of very tense minutes for Andrew.

  “As I said earlier, the board isn’t here to judge you. I, however, retain all my normal authority and responsibility. If you had tried to lie, I would have referred you to a disciplinary board with a recommendation for dishonorable discharge.”

  “Sir!”

  “Given that the communications device you were carrying recorded the entire conversation between you and Kincaid, I have every confidence my recommendation would have been accepted.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Don’t thank me yet, Cadet Cunningham. It’s clear that on three different occasions that you went beyond having a covert hostility to Cadet Kincaid, and being unhelpful, to actively trying to sabotage her.”

  Andrew looked at the board members. He saw no trace of pity on their faces.

  “Any one of those incidents alone could have been dismissed as a temporary lapse in judgment or a mistake. Together they form a pattern. One of behavior not acceptable in a Space Force officer.”

  “Sir?”

  “Patience cadet. You have two choices. You are not on trial here. You have passed your BOTC. You can continue your career as if nothing happened, but if you do, I will put an annotation in your personnel records that will be visible to every commanding officer, promotion board, and posting officer you have for the rest of your career. You will be lucky to be assigned to counting snow boots somewhere above the Arctic Circle.”

  And Andrew thought his disgrace would become public, if not official. His family wouldn’t outright disown him, but they’d do their best to stuff him in the closet and forget him.

  “You understand, Cadet Cunningham?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Second, you think up a good reason for resigning from the Space Force and do so before noon tomorrow. Your records will be sealed and that will be the end of it. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’re dismissed.”

  * * *

  Captain Svenson looked over at the Commandant. Cunningham had just marched out, and the Commandant was showing the first traces of emotion for hours.

  He looked tired.

  “Well, sir,” Svenson said. “It is clear we wouldn’t have been reviewing Kincaid’s case at all if Cunningham hadn’t sabotaged her. She would have eked out a clear pass.”

  The Commandant looked at him and sighed.

  Lieutenant-Commander Smith voiced what they must all be thinking. “Also pretty clear the girl is a trouble magnet. Somehow poisonous to Space Force careers.”

  They all knew that prior to arriving at the Academy that she’d reported a scout ship crew for smuggling. It’d ended one career outright. It’d be a shadow over four others for however long they lasted. And now Cunningham, who for all his flaws had been one of their better candidates. Also, there’d be political fallout because of his family.

  “Does the Space Force choose its officers based on convenience now?” Svenson asked. “Is their most important attribute not rocking the boat and following routines well?”

  “Karl,” the Commandant said. “You know full well if it wasn’t for this girl’s background, we wouldn’t be giving her the benefit of the doubt. Sure, she’s outstanding in some ways, but it’s a requirement of our officers that they can work in teams. Both as members and leaders. She should have seen what Cunningham was doing and slapped him down. At the very least she should have come clean with us about it.”

  “But she was subjected to more than the usual culture shock on joining the Academy. She didn’t have to just adjust to military life she had to adjust to Earth and a whole different social circle,” Svenson argued.

  “True, and she was too young too. And not properly prepared academically,” the Commandant agreed. “I would like to know exactly who on the Admissions Board thought it was a good idea to issue her an invitation to the Academy last year and not in a year or two.”

  “Above our pay grade,” Smith commented.

  “Indeed,” Radison agreed.

  “Too true,” the Commandant said. “Do any of you have any observations pertinent to the case immediately at hand?”

  Nobody spoke up.

  “In any case, it is why we’re having this discussion at all,” the Commandant summed up. “Captain Svenson, am I correct to assume you vote to retain Cadet Kincaid and give her a pass for this course with no further conditions or annotations in her record?”

  “Yes, sir,” Svenson replied.

  “Kincaid gives off something of a radioactive glow,” Smith said, “but I believe in giving people a chance. I vote to retain her, to give her a course pass without conditions or qualifications.”

  Radison grimaced. “I’m not very happy with that ex-marine on Ceres who filled her head with dreams of being a regular Space Force officer. I think it’s a waste.”

  “Gee, thanks, tell us what you really think,” Smith retorted dryly. “Some of us think we do useful work.”

  “Different jobs require different qualifications,” Radison replied. Something of a concession coming from him. “Whatever. She needs to get it out of her system. I vote to retain her. Also that she be given an unconditional pass on the course.”

  “I’ll make it unanimous,” the Commandant said. “I hope we don’t live to regret this.”

  “Why we get paid the big bucks,” Radison said.

  “Amen,” Smith added.

  * * *

  Katie had spent her Tuesday afternoon waiting in her room. Katie could hear the sounds of her classmates drilling outside. Katie had been told to wait to be called back before the board. This didn’t seem like a good sign. If the board was going to pass her, they didn’t need to explain, did they?

  Time dragged. Contrary to her experience of the past year, Katie found it was possible to run out of cleaning and tidying to do.

  It was a relief when a senior cadet runner gave her a summons.

  Katie marched numbly over to the building the board was holding court in. Only habit kept her going.

  Katie pulled herself together when she was told to go in and present herself before the board. Katie marched in, head held high, and came smartly to attention.

  “At ease.”

  Katie changed position and relaxed slightly. You could pass out from being too tense. Katie could tell nothing from the board members’ expressions.

  The Commandant looked at her grimly and spoke. “Cadet Kincaid, the board feels you were less than candid in your testimony before us. Perhaps out of a misguided desire not to defame a fellow cadet. Regardless, we’re not pleased by that. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Also, your record shows weaknesses with regards to social and leadership skills. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Your academic results were a
cceptable, but not what we would have expected from the test scores that led to your being invited to Academy. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Regards your performance on the BOTC course we have reached the conclusion that although you were marginal, you would have passed without the need for review if you’d been fully and properly supported by all your fellow cadets.”

  “Sir?”

  “Congratulations, Cadet Kincaid, you have passed the BOTC course without any conditions. The Academy and Space Force will retain you. We decided to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

  Katie thought her legs might buckle, but she managed to remain upright. She didn’t know how to respond.

  “We’re not going to discuss what happened here with you. We expect you to also exercise discretion. This was a mess, Cadet Kincaid. In the future, we expect you to act decisively to prevent such messes. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. We also expect you to do better at being both candid and tactful in your reports to your superiors. It is part of the job of Space Force members, especially officers, to somehow manage to square that circle. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll work on it.”

  “See that you do. You have both potential and flaws, Cadet. We are trusting you’ll realize that potential and fix those flaws. Don’t disappoint us.”

  “I won’t, sir.”

  “Dismissed.”

  Katie came to attention. Did an about turn and marched out.

  It was over.

  She’d passed.

  14: On Reflection

  Katie wanted to cry for happiness. She didn’t. Future Space Force officers do not cry. They are composed and in full control of their emotions under all circumstances.

  Katie didn’t dance for glee either. Or laugh. And no matter how she felt, she couldn’t be floating several centimeters off of the ground.

  Katie did feel good.

  Katie’s future was her own again. Katie had passed BOTC, if barely, and she was sure she’d only do better at her future challenges.

  From what the board had said, she’d better. It was brutally clear that it wasn’t going to be clear sailing. Katie did need to up her game. All the same, whatever her weaknesses, and whatever challenges she faced in the future, she felt she’d cleared the greatest hurdle she was likely to face in her time at the Academy.