Exodus Of The Phoenix

by Robert Stadnik

  “I received your grades for some of your classes already. Not bad, three A’s so far. Looks like you might have your best semester ever.”

  “I chalk it up to an easy semester,” quipped John almost instinctively, wanting to rile up the superintendent. “But then again all my semesters here have been pretty easy.” John knew that any insult about the Academy was an insult to the superintendent.

  “Yet you are ranked in the middle of your class. If the classes have been so easy I would think you would have earned straight A's and be at the top of the class. I would have hoped your roommate's academic habits would have rubbed off on you. She's ranked in the top five.”

  “Yeah, well, grades are nothing more than letters and I wouldn’t want to embarrass the Academy by pointing out how substandard the coursework really is.” When John wasn’t kicked out for the emergency drill stunt he pulled he knew he would never be expelled. He became bolder in his brash comments to Mortino.

  “You always have an answer for everything don’t you, cadet? Well, I guess after four years of sliding by you’ve become accustomed to getting away with things. All talk and no action.”

  John didn’t say anything. He just wanted to get this meeting over with so he could go have fun with the other cadets. Both individuals did the same song and dance each meeting and John was not interested in a repeat performance now, not when there was drinking to be done. Mortino could tell John was itching to leave.

  “Alright, Cadet Roberts,” said Mortino. “I’m sure you’re anxious to celebrate with your fellow classmates and I do believe I have something for you to celebrate.”

  “Huh?!” John was confused. His first thought was that he got a spring assignment with TERRA. But he knew Mortino would rather sacrifice his kids to the devil before letting that happen. Something was up and John grew suspicious.

  “I’m happy to inform you that you will be the first graduate from the Academy to be inducted into the newly formed TERRA Reserves.”

  “What the hell is that? I never heard of it,” said John in a perplexed tone. Mortino leaned further back in his chair with a grin on his face as he explained it to the cadet.

  “It’s a new branch of TERRA. Graduates who are placed in the reserves are on inactive status until such time they are called for service, primarily during warfare. It’ll provide you an opportunity to work in the civilian community.”

  “You got to be kidding. What dumbshit came up with such a stupid program?"

  "No cadet. I am quite serious."

  "Why the hell does TERRA need a reserve staff? It's too chickenshit to go to war with anyone to need a branch like that. It's ridiculous." John was quickly getting upset. In the back of his mind he was hoping this was some sort of practical joke Mortino was pulling.

  "Mind your tongue, cadet."

  "No one spends four years busting their asses to get placed on the sidelines.” John had the sinking feeling that Mortino was being sincere.

  “Well that’s the thing, isn’t it? You didn’t work hard in your studies. You just got by doing the minimum, wasting your talents and our time.”

  “Now wait a minute,” said John, who was beginning to fume. “I’m in the top half of the class.”

  “Which is unacceptable for a man of your abilities,” shot back Mortino. That was the closest he had ever come to giving John a compliment. “You’ve done nothing but taken for granted the opportunity given to you. Other students have sacrificed their personal lives to succeed while you’ve squandered your time here. There are others who are more deserving of a post in the fleet than you.”

  “Oh, I see,” John said as he stood up and leaned towards Mortino on the desk. “I’m being punished because I don’t salute the flag, know the fleet song by heart, and kiss your scrawny little ass. You were just waiting for the chance to sabotage my career.”

  “It takes more than intelligence to be a successful officer and you’re a perfect example. You mock everything TERRA stands for, what it represents. The only person who has sabotaged your career is you, cadet. You really think your antics these past few years have gone by unnoticed?”

  “Oh, I’m sure you documented every little misstep in my file,” said John. He knew his dream of serving on a capital ship was all but gone. “You just couldn’t wait to tell everyone what an insubordinate I am.”

  “Oh no, Mr. Roberts! You managed to pique the attention of the admiralty all on your own, something rarely accomplished by a student. They have concluded you are too much of a risk to be allowed to serve in the fleet.”

  John had heard enough. The decision had been made and no amount of pleading or ranting would change Mortino’s mind. Not that John would ever conceive of begging. Even a chance to work on a starship wasn’t worth swallowing his pride. He bolted for the door.

  “Cadet Roberts,” called Mortino as John opened the door. John turned and looked at the superintendent with piercing eyes. Mortino could see the hatred in them and for a brief moment thought the young man might succumb to his anger. “Do not look at this as a setback. A graduate of the Academy will have a choice of any job in the private sector. Perhaps you will have the opportunity to work on a civilian vessel for a shipping company.”

  That’s all it took. After four years of trying, Mortino had finally pushed the right buttons. John snapped. “You can take your fuckin’ reserves and shove it up your ass! And you can quote that on my transcripts!” He slammed the door as hard as he could and stomped down the hallway and through the lobby. He didn’t notice Sally standing there with an open mouth, not sure she actually heard the expletives that had just come out of John's mouth.

  “John,” she called, but he didn’t hear her. He tore through the campus grounds almost knocking aside several maintenance bots that had to scurry out of his way. John just wanted to get out of here. His only thought was to escape from here and hide himself away from the world. The pain welling up inside him was too much to bear and he wanted to numb that feeling. He never expected to get a quality assignment in the fleet, but to be railroaded from ever serving at all? He never saw it coming. As long as he could graduate from the Academy he thought there would always be a place for him somewhere in TERRA. How could he have been so wrong? John felt his entire life had been a waste, working towards a dream that would never be.

  Mortino watched John through the window of his office. Four years, it took four years but Mortino finally prevailed. He could not help by smile at his accomplishment.

  CHAPTER THREE

  New York was considered one of the premier cities to live on Earth. It was a hallmark of what had been accomplished by humans the past one hundred twenty years. As a highly regarded institution, TERRA had the option to establish its operations anywhere on Earth, Luna, or Mars. Ninety-five percent of the human population still lived on Earth so it made sense to establish the Academy there. Governors Island was the site chosen to build the Academy. The world's financial center had been relocated to Tokyo, so the area once called Wall Street had been converted to what was now known as Dorm Row. Cadets resided here while attending the Academy and it was the center of student life.

  A cadet's needs were paid for by TERRA; dorm apartments, living expenses, everything. TERRA took care of its own. Every year thousands of young men and women applied for entrance into the Academy for a shot of securing one of the admission slots, and the chances for acceptance were slim. After high school, applicants spent two years of intense physical and academic training to prove their worth to the admissions board. The lucky few accepted into the Academy made a lifelong commitment to serve in TERRA. No one ever retired. A TERRA officer was admired by the world and treated like a celebrity. Many would argue that they were regarded higher than even the president.

  Neon and Sirk’s were the two most popular hangouts for cadets to congregate. Neon was far more popular as it was located in the heart of Dorm Row. Students could be found at Neon day or night as it was the only establishment in Dorm Row open 24 hours a day. On
weekdays cadets would congregate in study groups while watching the latest news developments on the monitors. Fridays and Saturdays consisted of cadets drinking to forget about the rigors of the week's academic challenges. Sundays was all about drinking coffee and recovering from hangovers.

  This particular Friday Dorm Row was an explosion of festivities. The end of the semester meant the streets would be full of cadets letting loose after surviving a week of final exams. Cadets were either celebrating in the streets or hanging out the balconies of their dorms. It never failed for the entire area to be flooded by large crowds. Young people from all over New York flocked to Dorm Row at the end of semesters as it was well known that TERRA cadets could throw the best parties.

  Tonight Neon was filled to capacity with most students already intoxicated at various levels. Cadets crowded the bar and chatted incessantly with one another, telling tales of heart wrenching exams and all night study sessions. In the middle of the bar sat one lone individual who was oblivious to all the chatter around him. He was surrounded by his peers yet he refused to partake in the celebration, in complete solitude with his thoughts of despair. John had come straight to Neon from his meeting with Superintendent Mortino and did whatever he could to erase that encounter from his mind. In three hours John had consumed two screwdrivers, three apple martinis, two cosmopolitans, four Washington apples, and was now working on a cranberry vodka drink, which he finished with one gulp. It was a miracle had hadn’t thrown up yet.

  “Sammie,” sputtered Roberts, barely able to formulate coherent words at this point. “Another one.” He hit the empty glass on the bar. Any harder and the glass would have shattered.

  The petite young bartender walked over to John and grabbed the empty glass from his hand before he could drop it. “Forget it, John. You’re overdoing it. I don't need a case of alcohol poisoning tonight.”

  “Nonsense. Nonsense. Nonsenseses….non...” He smiled, as if he made a remarkable revelation about the word.

  “Something’s been riding your ass since you walked in. You only drink this much when someone or something has pissed you off. You flunk a class or something?”

  John pointed to his empty glass she was holding. “Fill ‘er up and I’ll tell ya all about how my future went kaput,...kaputo...”

  “Fine, but you’re getting water,” she said grabbing a new glass from the rack behind her. "And I swear you're out of here if you puke." John stuck his tongue out at her as she walked away. During his freshman year John incorrectly gauged how much alcohol he could put away. After getting up on the bar and spinning around he promptly tossed his cookies over everyone and everything around him, leaving a grotesque flower pattern. Sammie made him clean up the mess instead of her bot but swore the stench lingered for several weeks.

  “So whose future went kaput?” boomed a loud voice behind John. Billy clasped his hands on his friend's shoulders. With him was David, a close friend of both Billy and John.

  David’s father was an admiral in the fleet and word was that he was a force to be reckoned. The same could not be said of David. He was quiet, unassuming, and the frequent target of bullies. Despite being, well, a wimp David was honest and dependable. But his honesty tended to be a little too honest which got him into trouble.

  On one occasion Greg Jacobs started hassling David when he caught the meek young man staring at him in the student lounge. When Greg asked what he was looking at David replied that he wondered how someone with such an ugly and distorted face could have a knockout girlfriend. John was nearby and upon hearing those words instantly wanted to be friends with David and rescued him from a brutal beating. To keep Greg’s attention away from David for the rest of their freshman year John hacked into the grading system and failed Greg in base operations. The instructor never accepted paper, everything had to be on a DAT which made it easy for John to doctor up phony exams to support the F. Greg was so mad having to repeat the class he forgot all about David. To this day it’s still one of the very few stunts John pulled and wasn’t caught.

  John looked momentarily at his friends through his bloodshot eyes as they squeezed up to the bar on either side of him. “Hey,” was all he muttered.

  “Jeez, man. You could’ve waited for me before starting,” said Billy, looking at the drunken stupor that was his friend. “I told you we were going to be at Sirk’s.” He called over to Sammie. “How much has he had?”

  “Too much,” said the blond bartender. “You need to get him out of here. He's cut off.”

  “Bleh!” remarked David, getting a whiff of John's breath. “He smells like a drunk. Let’s get him outside for some fresh air.”

  “Phit!” was all John managed to sputter, sticking his tongue out at David. "You get blesh aired..."

  “Come on,” said Billy, turning his friend around and helping him stand up. David did what he could to keep John propped up.

  “I want another drink,” John said half-defiantly, but he was in no condition to offer any resistance.

  “We’ll get one at your place.” Billy and David headed out of the bar, towing their friend in between them. David looked over to Billy.

  “I guess the meeting with Mortino went well.”

  Luckily for the two sober cadets John’s apartment was only a block from Neon. They managed to get down half the block before John’s legs gave out and they had to carry him the remaining distance. As soon as they got him up two steps in front of his place John leaned over the railing and let loose.

  “Bleh!” Vomit spewed from John’s mouth onto the flowerbed in front of his apartment. Billy patted his drunken friend on the back as John leaned over the gate railing. David, too squeamish to watch his friend throw up, left Billy to handle getting John in the apartment. David had a legitimate excuse to leave as his father was flying in from Mars and his mother wanted the entire family home for his arrival.

  “I hate this,” John managed to blurt in between puke spewing from his mouth.

  “Yeah, yeah! But you’re so good at it,” said Billy. "And you're giving the plants plenty of protein."

  John struggled to lift himself off the railing. Billy helped him up as he tried to avoid smelling his friend’s now rancid breath.

  “Ok, up we go,” said Billy. They both slowly worked their way up the stairs to the door, Billy struggling to keep his friend upright. There were a couple of instances where John almost toppled over, but Billy was quick to balance him and prevent them both from falling over. They finally reached the door and Billy punched in the code on the keypad to unlock it. As soon as he heard the lock click he turned the knob and kicked opened the door with his foot. Billy's shoulder was starting to ache and he hurried to get John inside and off of him.

  TERRA apartments were spacious accommodations provided to students. When the old Wall Street area was selected as the location to house cadets all the buildings were torn down and the new dorms erected. Each apartment was identical in layout, so no one student had a better apartment. A large living area was the first room people entered from outside. Access to the balcony was made from the living room through the large sliding glass doors which provided a scenic view of the streets of Dorm Row. The kitchen was on the other side of the living room separated by a long breakfast bar. A hallway led to a pair of bedrooms, each with their own bathroom.

  Students were housed in pairs and stayed in the same apartment throughout their four year stint. The Academy had strict rules about students changing dorms, primarily to prevent students from moving in with friends. No one knew how the Academy paired students up, whether by some selection criteria or simply random. Although the apartments were furnished by TERA students could redecorate their new homes at their discretion. So over time each apartment looked radically different from one another.

  John’s apartment was bright and had a homely feel to it. The walls were a white cream color and potted plants were scattered throughout the apartment. John had a unique preference for cactus and had several of them in both the living r
oom and his bedroom. He wasn't much of a green thumb and had a knack for killing any plant he touched. Cacti were the only thing that seemed immune to his touch of death. It was the only contribution he made to change the apartment’s look. His roommate, Julie Olson, handled the rest of the redecorating responsibilities. She had spruced up the apartment with various paintings done by artists in her home state of Nebraska. Julie had a fondness for art and believed the best works were done by unknown artists struggling their way up in the art world. Redecorating an apartment was typically a bonding experience for new roommates to get to know one another better, but John and his roommate couldn't tolerate each other from day one, so they never partook in that activity.

  Julie was sitting in the recliner quietly reading a TERRA career manual on her DAT. The manual was distributed to the senior cadets in October and detailed all the possible career choices available. Julie, like the rest of the senior class, had already put her request in with the placement board. She enjoyed passing the time reading all the career descriptions offered in the fleet, even the ones she had no interest. TERRA offered a litany of job specialties to cater to the cadets' various interests. Julie's first pick was a career in bridge operations. It was one of most desirable career tracks cadets vied for as it typically led to a command position on a capital ship or support vessel. Julie was confident in obtaining a position on a capital ship as she was ranked fourth in her class and had recommendations from the entire Academy faculty.