The man glared at them. He put his pen down and pulled his hand back.
“Keep both hands where we can see them!” Rachel ordered.
“Why would you do a thing like that?” Wendy asked.
“You’re making this up!” the man shot back.
Rachel placed her hand to her ear. “Your brother’s injuries didn’t keep him from fighting for the Swordsmen at the Battle at Homestead, did they?” Rachel smiled sweetly.
Wendy gently pulled her knife from its sheath.
“You’re delusional! I’ll have you committed!”
“I think not,” Faye Anne said as she strode through the door followed by two security officers.
“In your tenure at the Basic Training facility, you committed or reported as unsuitable for duty ten times as many Jews as non-Jews,” Faye Anne said. “That is especially interesting since they made up less than one percent of the total recruit population. You know, if you hadn’t called my friends in here today, you might have gotten away with it.”
The security officer stood behind the man’s desk and said, “Sir, please stand against the wall. Place your hands over your head and your feet apart. You have the right to remain silent.”
The other officer said, “Ladies, I will expect your reports of this incident on my desk by 1900 hours tomorrow. You are dismissed.”
Faye Anne turned to the others as soon as they were out of earshot. “When you called, I thought we were dealing with a garden variety big mouth security leak! Wow! A Swordsman agent in deep cover! You busted a Swordsman agent in deep cover!”
“We couldn’t have done it without you,” Wendy said meekly.
“Thanks, you did the tough part by recognizing him early enough to do something about it. Wow! Our parents are going to be so proud!”
Rachel’s speculated how many more such agents might be lurking about. Wendy wondered if there was any way to remedy the damage this man had done over the years.
ACADEMY - CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE CADETS AND THE MED STUDENTS gathered in Boston for Thanksgiving, but the hospital’s needs kept them from wandering too far. They spent much of the vacation reading stories to the patients in the children’s wing.
Faye Anne filed regular reports on suspicious activity to her father. The discovery of the Swordsman agent was handled in the secretive fashion common among intelligence services. He and his family disappeared. Every once in a while someone in one of Faye Anne’s reports would disappear and not return. She wondered if they left due to something she did or if they left on their own. While she believed she knew what was happening, she did not want to think about it.
The group stayed out of further trouble for the first semester of their third year at the Academy. During winter break, Rachel and Wendy flew to Savannah to meet Isaac and Joshua who pried themselves loose from the hospital for the holiday. Reuben flew to an undisclosed location to be with Suwanee who had requested leave from the diplomatic mission. The remainder of the crew drove to a nearby ski resort and spent their vacation playing in the snow.
Rachel found that when she disagreed with an instructor, discussing the issue in the privacy of their office produced better results than discussing it in class. Her military history instructor became especially accustomed to seeing her at the end of class each day. He actually seemed to enjoy the discussions and certainly did nothing to discourage her interest in his class.
The Swordsman secession negotiations stalled over the issues of repatriation of assets and personnel, distribution of refugees and the continued presence of the “underground railway” that left so many Swordsman males without suitable mates. The parties agreed to a half year hiatus during which the technical and accounting teams would hammer through the details. Greg and Avi went home to Eretz for a few months of much needed rest.
The spring semester passed without incident and spring break found the two couples meeting in Boston for a driving tour of Eastern New England. Isaac and Joshua did all the driving. Rachel’s reputation with land vehicles had preceded her. They indulged Rachel’s fascination with Naval history and stopped at every maritime museum they could find from New London to Provincetown to Bangor. The water was too cold for swimming, but they spent their time walking the coastline.
The six Jewish Cadets ended the spring term clustered around the borderline that marked the top ten percent of the class. None of them were in the top five percent, but none were far below the ten percent mark. All of the students in the top quarter of the class knew each other and had become very competitive. Some of this translated to the sports fields and the games became so intense that the instructors intervened to prevent injuries. The question that kept cropping up was how much of the aggressiveness was sports related and how much was a deliberate attempt to sideline future Federation officers. At one point or another, virtually all of the students in the top quarter of the class suffered some minor injury while engaged in an athletic activity.
The six sparring partners returned to Parris Island in time for summer training sessions. The summer at Parris Island passed quickly. Suwanee and Rachel’s team won handily in the war game exercise that ended the session. Rachel and Wendy met Joshua and Isaac in Atlanta for a few days before returning to Boston for the annual party. The party was even louder and more rambunctious than it had been the year before and except for some embarrassing collisions on the dance floor was without incident. Following the party, they traveled back to school.
Suwanee entered Officer Candidate School looking forward to the day when she and Reuben could be together without fear of impropriety.
However intensely they might have worked before, their fourth year at the Academy was the toughest. They struggled to maintain contact with people outside of school, but as the year progressed, correspondence became increasingly sporadic. The few messages that did pass between the couples carried a longing to be together again and a distinct fear that their respective careers would prevent them from doing so. Marriages among Space Force personnel were especially fragile.
Greg and Avi started preparations to attend the Academy graduation six months in advance. They made it plain to everyone concerned that they had no intention of missing the graduation and wherever the negotiations were, they could wait until they returned. Two years of development had improved the inertial compensator considerably, but it was still a miserable way to travel. There was heated debate as to whether the greater speed was worth the discomfort. Still, a sizable contingent planned on making the trip from Eretz to Earth. The inertial compensator reduced the round trip from almost a year to a month. Rose was determined to see her granddaughters graduate. The planned stop at New St. Louis and potential visit with Ellie Mae and Elvira deepened her resolve to deal with the inadequacies of the inertial compensator.
Admiral Sherman had returned to Eretz on the first anniversary of the Saturn Industries relocation. He and Levonah planned to make the trip with both their daughters. They knew that Rashi was especially anxious to see Esther and they had no intention of disappointing him. Esther had grown up in the years he had been gone. She was not the same little girl he had left behind. Only time would tell whether Rashi would love the new Esther as much as he loved the old one. For her part, Esther was unsure as to whether she wanted the life that being the wife of a Space Force engineer entailed.
Abraham and Sarah Abrams knew better than to leave Mimi behind. She was capable of taking one of the P I ships and traveling to Earth on her own if she desired. Given the motivation she would. Mimi had become difficult to handle, a spirited and impetuous teenager almost to the point of recklessness. Both Mimi and Esther had distinguished themselves in the work they had done receiving the Saturn Industries ship yard as it had arrived at New St Louis. They assisted the teams marshaling the arriving ships and ferrying the crews to the surface to rest and relax before making the jump to Homestead which was their final destination. Their clear thinking and flexibility had helped avert several collisions between th
e ships maneuvering in the confines of the vicinity of the spaceport.
Admiral Dankese had recommended Mimi and Esther for the Space Flight Academy, but they had declined. Neither was sure what they wanted to do with their lives, but they felt they had done enough space travel to satisfy their curiosity.
At spring break all the students elected to stay on campus and work on the research reports they needed to complete before the end of the term. As final exams loomed ahead, tensions increased to the point that everyone found keeping their own company safer than being around their friends.
As the end of the year approached, many of the Academy students were called for interviews with prospective commanders. Unlike the random assignment process of military legend, the Space Force Staff Allocation Division (SAD) had adopted a process for Academy graduates similar to that employed by the private engineering universities. Commanders with vacancies in their ranks were invited to the Academy to recruit and interview potential additions to their commands. They were allowed to request specific individuals. SAD generally granted the requests. Conflicts where more than one commander requested an individual were resolved unilaterally by SAD. Individuals not thus selected were assigned the old fashioned way. Faye Anne and David were actively recruited. Faye Anne was relentlessly pursued by the intelligence community and David by the Judge Advocate General’s office. While their recruitment was not as intense, Reuben and Rashi were approached by the space flight and weapons engineering research organizations. Wendy and Rachel received no requests for interview throughout the primary recruitment period. They feared receiving orders that held them at the Academy “Pending Assignment” to wait in suspended animation until some bureaucrat found places for them with units that did not want them.
The day after the last final exams, before the results were posted, Rachel was called to the chaplain’s office. The Rabbi greeted her warmly and ushered her into the conference room. The room’s sole occupant stood when she entered. Rachel paled when she read “Stonebridge” on the admiral’s name badge. She wondered at the medical insignia on his collar. She did not know that doctors could hold an Admiral’s rank.
“Lieutenant, please be seated.” His eyes followed hers to his nameplate, and he noted the sudden pallor.
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, I am that Stonebridge, however, my personal affiliations are closer to Mark’s than his father’s. How well do you remember my cousin Mark?”
“Very well sir. He was our religious leader on Homestead.”
“How could that be? You’re Jewish.”
“He did the best he could to understand all the religions represented on Homestead. He worked hard to make sure we were as observant as we could be under the circumstances. He did not have an easy job, sir. He took his responsibilities seriously and did well, sir.”
“He was an unhappy youth. I am glad he found his place. Lieutenant, what I am about to propose to you is a job no one else wants, but even if it were the subject of fierce competition, I am certain you are the best person to handle it. It will take creativity and a certain amount of willingness to bend the rules. I understand you are adept at both.”
“Sir, I don’t know whether to be complimented or insulted.”
“Neither. Just facts. Actually part of this is your fault, your idea, in a manner of speaking, so let me lay it out for you. We are pulling an old battleship out of retirement to outfit it as a hospital ship. The Space Force operates a dozen hospital ships. We’ve been refitting surplus warships as mobile hospitals since the Federation was founded. What’s unusual about this one is that we are leaving the battleship’s armament and weapons systems intact. It will serve as a tender for mobile medical facilities as well as a small fleet of warships. Our hospital ships are being attacked and we are being driven from systems where we need to provide humanitarian aid. We need to field a ship that can provide medical services and still defend itself.”
“Sir, with all due respect, why not send two ships, a hospital ship and a tender with pickets?”
“We did that. We need more firepower than the pickets can provide, which is why we are going back to the P I ships supplemented with light destroyers.”
“Sir, now I am confused. This sounds like a task force instead of a single ship.”
“Close, the battleship will serve as the hospital ship, flagship and tender for four pickets, four P I ships and two light destroyers. The whole package travels together as a single unit.”
“Where do I fit in this?”
“As commander.”
“Excuse me, sir, with all due respect, I’m only a Lieutenant. I do not qualify for command.”
“For now. As I said, no one of higher rank wanted the job. They wanted to fight pirates or Swordsmen. They have reward money in their eyes. No one wanted to take an antiquated warship into a hot spot and wait to be shot at. That, by the way, is the primary mission for this ship. It will respond to requests for assistance from local populations many of which could be under attack. Part of your job will be to assist a Federation team negotiate a peaceful end to the hostilities. By the time you get the ship space worthy, you will be a Captain and authorized to command such a vessel.”
“And in the interim?”
“Your time in grade for the Saturn operation does count.”
“What makes you think I’ll be willing to do this?”
“Rose. Your grandmother is a powerful woman. If I tell her what I need you to do, she’ll make you.” The Admiral grinned mischievously. “It’s a peace mission. I met Rose when your mother and I were at the Academy. She’s a force to be reckoned with. Are you interested?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
“Then, I’m interested.”
“Your orders will be issued tomorrow. Remember, women who follow the rules rarely make history. I expect you to make history. Be careful which rules you bend. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes, sir.”
Rachel and Admiral Stonebridge discussed the project for the next several hours. He provided Rachel a data module on the project which she downloaded to her computer. By the end of the session Rachel was excited about the opportunity and understood both why she needed to do this and why so few others wanted it. She requested to bring the rest of her “team” with her. Admiral Stonebridge promised to see what he could do, but was reluctant to promise results.
Much to everyone’s surprise, David, Faye Anne, Reuben and Rashi all qualified to graduate with honors. Due to the various disciplinary problems they had, neither Rachel nor Wendy could graduate with honors although their academic standing would have qualified them for honor status.
Greg had become uncomfortable flying unarmed ships so he convinced Admiral Sherman that they should take the two P I ships, Buddy and Daisy, with them. The passenger liner was fitted with two docking ports for the P I ships so the three ships could be linked together to make the journey. Twelve people, including David’s mother and brother made up the contingent from Eretz who squeezed into the passenger ship for the four week voyage to Earth via New St. Louis. The closest hotel accommodations to the Academy ere in Salt Lake so they chartered a bus and driver to ferry them to the graduation. They rented the social hall at the Jewish Temple in Salt Lake for the party after graduation.
The graduation ceremony was as boring as most graduations. The families arrived at the graduation less than an hour before the start of the ceremony, and the only way the cadets had of knowing that their parents had arrived was the text messages they received on their data assistants.
After the ceremony, the gang met the bus in the parking lot. Six graduates, six Marines including one freshly minted Second Lieutenant and twelve family members piled on for Salt Lake.
Esther and Rashi sat in the back of the bus. Reuben and Suwanee sat a few rows ahead of them. Most of the contingent from Eretz was still tired from the trip and napped for the drive to Salt Lake. Two young men, recently minted medical profession
als, currently resident of Boston, met the bus when it arrived at the temple. The timing of their final exams had prevented them from being at the ceremonies, but they were able to make the party.
The Academy’s Rabbi and his family joined the party, as did the remainder of the graduating Jewish Cadets and their families who Greg had asked the Rabbi to invite. By the time everyone arrived, two hundred people congregated in the Temple’s social hall.
Shortly after they entered the social hall, Reuben brought Suwanee to meet his mother. Suwanee stood tall, resplendent in her dress uniform with her fresh battle ribbons proudly displayed on her jacket. Some of the ribbons matched the ribbons Reuben displayed on his jacket. After Reuben made the introduction, Sarah looked at Suwanee for a moment before saying anything.
“Do you love him?” Sarah asked, almost misting over.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Please take good care of him. I don’t care what he thinks, he’s still such a big baby.”
“Yes, Ma’am. That’s why I love him.”
“Welcome to the family.”
She turned to Reuben as she gently took Suwanee’s hand, “I am sure there is something you can find to do. I need to talk privately with my future daughter-in-law.”
Reuben smiled, “Yes, Mom.” He turned and wandered toward his father who was in an animated lighthearted discussion with one of the other Cadet’s fathers. He shot a glance in his brother’s direction. Things did not look like they were going well with Esther. Reuben had not gone far when Esther pushed Rashi away and stormed out of the room with tears streaming down her face. Rashi ran after her desperately calling her name. This was not promising. Reuben sadly shook his head. Rashi could have had any of half a dozen women who had expressed interest in him, but he waited for Esther. Reuben wondered if he had waited in vain.
Isaac and Joshua collected Wendy and Rachel as soon as they could. They had exciting news, but the process of making the introductions followed by the scene between Rashi and Esther interrupted their announcement. The music “Mix-Master-General” further complicated things by cranking up the music so loud that conversations were impossible.
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