by Jim Laughter
“Hi, Delmar,” Agnes said. “Dad and I are here.” He felt the touch of a familiar hand on his shoulder and figured it was Mr. Hassel. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t.
“Don’t try to talk, son,” Mr. Hassel said. “The doctor said you need to rest. We’ll be back tomorrow when you’re more awake.”
Delmar wanted to say how much he loved them but couldn’t figure out how to use his mouth. He felt the touch of Agnes’ hand on his cheek and someone gave him another shot. He drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
Delmar’s recovery progressed rapidly. He was soon able to get about in a wheelchair and visit the other patients. While visiting D.I. Buckner, he learned that eleven of his fellow trainees had perished in the Red-tail attack. The rest of the injured and wounded were recovering and most would be out of the hospital within the week.
He also visited D.I.A. Stoddard who told him that the graduation ceremony had been delayed at the request of the unit. They wanted to graduate with all of their surviving members present. A few of his buddies, including Stan, came to visit and presented him with a black armband embossed with the number eleven and their flight number. Delmar proudly wore it and noticed that Buckner and Stoddard wore bands as well.
A month passed and Delmar was able to leave the hospital proper for a convalescent facility. Except for a hip injury that kept him confined to the wheelchair, he had fully recovered.
The Hassels and his unit friends came to visit regularly and kept him posted on what was happening. Shortly after entering the facility, the unit had a memorial service for their fallen friends. Delmar was able to be present while the unit mourned their loss.
After the service, D.I. Buckner and D.I.A. Stoddard came to visit Delmar. They inquired about his condition and how he felt about attending graduation in the chair. He was disappointed not to be able to march with his squad, but did not want to delay the rest of his unit.
Finally, they agreed on how to handle the situation. Buckner said some of Delmar’s flight mates would be over early on graduation day to help him get ready.
Graduation day arrived a week later. As promised, two men from his flight, TT Thomas Bigga and TT Marlon Hadde showed up to help Delmar slip an oversized pair of pants over the casts. He was glad for the help. His regular dress jacket fit without any serious modification. After helping him with his boots, Bigga pushed Delmar’s chair out of the facility while Hadde held the doors.
Going up the walkway toward the parade ground, Delmar noticed that there seemed to be an unusual number of people headed there as well. He had attended several graduation ceremonies while stationed at Freewater, and he knew these ceremonies were usually only attended by the families of the graduates. I wonder what’s going on?
As they approached the parade ground, Delmar saw that the stands were nearly full to capacity, and that many of the training units currently on base were at parade-rest nearby. He looked from Bigga to Hadde but their expressions never changed.
“Big’un,” Delmar asked. “What’s going on here?” Bigga didn’t answer, he just shrugged his shoulders.
Big’un wheeled Delmar into a hanger where his flight was forming up. D.I. Buckner was there, although he still moved stiffly. D.I.A. Stoddard was also present and was using a cane to steady himself. His casts had only recently come off and the wobbly instructor had visited Delmar a few days earlier. He suspected that the cane would disappear when it came time to march.
Stan walked over to Delmar. He looked resplendent in his dress uniform in spite of the full cast on his left arm. Delmar knew that Stan had received several shrapnel wounds when the enemy destroyed the makeshift transmitter. The doctors rebuilt the bones in his left arm from the shattered remains left by the slivers of metal that had riddled him. Stan told him that the cast would come off in another two or three weeks.
D.I. Buckner called the unit to form up and that’s when it really hit Delmar that eleven of his friends would not be there to graduate. Eleven black ribbons, each embossed with the name of one of the fallen, hung from the unit standard. All of the graduates wore black armbands embossed with the number eleven and edged in white to contrast it against their black uniforms. Delmar found his sense of elation about graduating tempered by grief they all shared.
D.I. Buckner addressed them.
“All right, trainees. That’s the last time I’ll ever address you as such,” he said. A quiet murmur of cheer ran through their ranks.
“Today you graduate and become full troopers, and I want to tell you before all the hoopla that you guys made D.I.A. Stoddard and I very proud. There’s quite a crowd out there, so step lively and with pride. You’ve earned it. I want Eagleman and Shane in the front rank behind the standard bearer along with Eagleman’s rather large friend there.” He indicated Thomas Bigga pushing Delmar’s wheelchair.
Delmar, Stan, and Big’un moved to their assigned places while the ranks reformed.
“Remember now. We will march out and stop on my command. We will then salute the reviewing stand and I will call you to open ranks. Ranks not under inspection will stand at parade rest and will come to attention at my command. The reviewing officers will then inspect you. From that point on, listen closely for my commands, as I understand there may be some added ceremonies. Afterwards, we will pass-in-review and then be dismissed to the reception hall behind the reviewing stands. Are there any questions?”
No one said a word.
“Standard bearer, remember what I told you to do when we open ranks for inspection,” Buckner added. The standard-bearer acknowledged Buckner’s instruction.
They could hear the Galactic Axia anthem begin to play outside. From the corner of his eye, Delmar saw D.I.A. Stoddard toss his cane into a corner and take his position at the right rear corner of the unit. Delmar also noticed that two of the strongest men in his unit were behind and beside their assistant drill instructor. Buckner called the unit to attention and gave the forward march order as the doors leading to the parade ground swung open.
They marched onto the parade grounds and Delmar was amazed at the size of the crowd in the stands. As they marched around the perimeter of the field, he counted twenty-four training squadrons formed up in the center of the grounds. He still could not figure out why they were getting such a reception until they came to a halt in front of the reviewing stand.
When Buckner called them to salute, Delmar saw who the reviewing officers were—Empress Ane-of-Axia and Captain Mophesto, her Consort. He’d heard on the news that she was making one of her Grand Tours but never expected to even see her, much less this!
The empress was dressed in a gray uniform similar to the ones worn by the Ladies of the Fleet. Her husband was dressed in Mican blue and wore a sash denoting his place as Consort. Both wore Spacer Plates, which indicated to Delmar that they qualified in other areas besides being royalty. They returned the salute of the unit, their right arms horizontal across their chests with palms down.
When the empress and her consort came down from the reviewing stand, the standard-bearer knelt on one knee and lowered the standard. The empress removed her hair ribbon and tied it around the standard pole beneath the eleven black ribbons.
Just as she finished, Delmar saw her gently stroke the black ribbons with the tips of her fingers. He thought he saw a tear trickle down her cheek. She turned to Buckner and he ordered the flight to open ranks for inspection. Stoddard ordered the rear three echelons to parade rest while Buckner joined the empress and her husband as they prepared to inspect the first rank.
Stopping in front of each graduating trooper, D.I. Buckner introduced him to the reviewing officers. Delmar was glad to see that Empress Ane and Mophesto seemed pleased with the inspection. After completing their examination, they both spoke to the new trooper and then moved on to the next.
Delmar also noticed that their comments amplified through a loud speaker for those in the stands. It wasn’t often that a flight with actual combat experience and casualties graduat
ed at Freewater.
The royal couple soon came to Stan, who was standing next to Delmar. Again, they approved of his appearance. The empress then took a case from an aide that magically appeared behind her. She removed a glistening commendation medal and pinned it to Stan’s uniform. She then smiled at him, produced a pen, and signed his cast. Stan looked so proud he could burst.
Next, they stood in front of Delmar. He tried to stand but Mophesto put his hand on Delmar’s shoulder and pushed him gently back down into his wheelchair. His heart stopped while they inspected him and his chair. He could hear them murmur their approval, and when they returned to the front, Delmar saw what looked like a miniature video camera hanging by a ribbon from the Empress’s neck.
Again, the aide appeared and handed a box to the empress. Opening it, she removed a commendation medal along with a second medal with a small eight-pointed star. She pinned the second medal to his uniform and announced that it was for exceptional bravery in the rescuing of the transport crew.
Delmar was dumbfounded. The empress then looked him in the eye and spoke quietly to him. “Delmar, you sure caused me a lot of paperwork.” He didn’t know how to respond. The empress continued. “You will go far, Delmar. And remember, we have our eye on you.”
Delmar murmured a thank you and heard a double-click from the video box hanging from the empress’ neck. The empress smiled when she realized that Delmar had heard it and looked up at her husband. Mophesto looked at Delmar and gave him a knowing wink.
“Mary says hello,” he said. Delmar did not know who Mary was, but nodded his acknowledgement to the royal consort.
The rest of the inspection went by course as the reviewing party inspected and addressed each graduate. Delmar heard several other friends receive medals, along with both Stoddard and Buckner. For taking command of the deadly situation on the planet, Stoddard received an on-the-spot promotion to trooper-first and full drill instructor. It took a lot of effort to keep from cheering.
The empress and her husband returned to the front and Buckner again called for the lowering of the standard. As it came down in front of her, the empress attached a unit citation to the flag. She then returned to the reviewing stand.
D.I. Buckner called Flight 775 to attention and ordered them to pass in review. With pride, the graduates strode forward past the stand while the Galactic Axia Anthem played and the crowd cheered.
Once they had returned to their starting place, Buckner called them to parade rest. He stood there beaming at them and finally found his voice. “I’m proud to address you as troopers!” he said with choked emotion. “Dismissed.”
Flight 775 broke up with a cheer and surrounded the two drill instructors. Several minutes later, they followed the rapidly disappearing crowd toward the reception hall.
Epilogue
A month later, Delmar and Stan were released from their casts. Robert and Agnes returned to Erdinata a few days after the graduation ceremony. They had managed to meet the empress before the graduation and personally expressed their thanks for her intervention in Delmar’s custody case.
At first, Delmar and Stan both had difficulty retraining limbs long immobilized by inactivity. They managed to arrange the same therapy time and motivated each other in their drive to recover.
When the therapist finally released them, they reported to the duty office on the base. Passing the training area, they saw both Buckner and Stoddard drilling new training flights.
They reported in at the duty office and the trooper on duty handed each of them their assignment envelopes. Waiting until they were outside, they eagerly tore the envelopes open and removed the assignment sheets.
Trooper Delmar Eagleman,
You are ordered to report to the travel office for three weeks leave to Erdinata, where you will report to Major (Ret.) Robert Hassel. Upon completion of your leave, you will report for extended computer studies at the Mica Training Institute.
Major G. Gizdavich
Commander
Freewater Training Center
Delmar looked up at Stan to see his friend staring at him. “Here, read this,” Stan said and traded assignment sheets with Delmar. He read the sheet and saw that it was identical to his own, except for granting unspecified leave.
“But why don’t they send you to see your family?” Delmar asked.
“Because I don’t have a family,” Stan replied. “I’ve been an orphan for many years.”
Delmar looked at his friend and then at a familiar old pocket watch. He slung his arm around Stan’s shoulder.
“Come on,” he said as he pushed Stan toward the travel office. “I’ve got a family for you!”
Books of the Galactic Axia
Adventure Series
1. Escape to Destiny
Kindle
2. The Horicon Experience
Kindle
3. Space Trader
Kindle
4. First Contact
Kindle
Ghost Series
1. Ghost in the Dark
Coming soon
2. The Blue Ghost
Coming soon
Other books by Jim Laughter
From Victim to Hero:
The Untold Story of Steven Stayner
(True story of the Steven Stayner kidnapping)
Kindle – Nook
The Apostle Murders
(A psychological thriller)
Kindle – Nook - Kobo
Polar City Red
(Climate fiction)
Kindle
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http://www.jimlaughter.com