Cadets

by Edward Miller

  Ryan was about to comment when the loudspeaker blared with the sound of the bosun’s whistle.

  “Attention, all cadets. This is Admiral Williamson. All cadets and instructors are to report to the main auditorium at thirteen hundred hours. This is a must-attend event. No excuses for any reason. That is all.”

  “Okay,” said Tanner. “So we had an announcement to announce the announcement to tell us to go to the auditorium for an announcement. When the hell are they going to tell us something?”

  Looking at his watch, Ryan said, “I don’t know, but that’s an hour and thirty-five minutes from now. We better get showered and get moving.”

  Ryan left with Paul and Tanner to head to the showers. Then it was back to their quarters to dump their things.

  An hour and a half later, they were sitting side by side in the main auditorium. The admiral walked onto the stage and stood in front of all 2,250 cadets, as well as the 250 academy personnel. From the look on his face, Ryan knew it wasn’t good news. Their families had been close since Ryan was a kid. He remembered seeing that look on the admiral’s face only two other times: once when he was seven years old and Amanda’s grandmother had died, and the other time at his mother’s funeral. He scanned the crowd, looking for Amanda. She was sitting with her friends a few rows ahead of him. The admiral started to speak.

  “My fellow officers and cadets, I’ve just received news from Fleet Admiral Thompson that what appears to be a fleet of extraterrestrial vessels are in fact headed toward Earth. Approximately fifty of them. We have a video from the long-range scanning outpost on Pluto that shows them quite clearly. If you’ll watch the screen . . .” The admiral activated the view screen and played the video.

  Ryan’s eyes were glued to the large view screen. He was mesmerized by the video. Even though the images were crystal clear, his mind couldn’t fully grasp what he was seeing. There were a few gasps and cries of disbelief from the other cadets. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, as the admiral shut off the video and continued.

  “The president and the Global Committee have ordered the fleet to intercept and attempt to communicate with the inhabitants of these ships. Our orders are to recall all active officers to Earth immediately. For security reasons, everyone’s orders have been sent to your quarters. The academy will be on a full level one alert. All cadets will start preparing our training ships for active combat readiness in the event they’re needed by the fleet.”

  Everyone started whispering, and the admiral held up his hand.

  “I am sure all of you have many questions. I do not have answers for you at this time. What I do have is the procedure that all of us will follow to the letter. As soon as I dismiss you, go to your rooms and check the transmissions I’ve sent you for your status and assignments. I will be remaining on the base to coordinate all efforts and keep you informed. That is all. Dismissed.”

  Ryan stood up and made his way toward the admiral. The possibility—even likelihood—that his family could be in grave danger hit him hard. While he had his issues with his father, he didn’t want him to die, plus he had two older brothers serving in the fleet and was worried about them as well. He wasn’t ready to talk to his father, but maybe there was another way. Knowing he’d need a secure transmission to send any kind of message, he approached the admiral. “Sir, is it possible I can contact my brothers? I haven’t heard from them in weeks.”

  Williamson nodded. “Thompson, give me an hour and meet me in my office. Any message you send will take a few hours to get there and may miss them entirely. I assume you do know that.”

  Ryan looked at the admiral. “Yes, sir, I know. I just want to try, so I can wish them luck.”

  “Then I’ll see you in an hour. Oh, and I almost forgot, there’s a communication on your computer from your father.”

  Ryan’s face dropped at the mention of his father. Just what he was hoping to avoid. He was watching the admiral walk away when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Amanda. From the look of worry on her face, he gathered she’d heard his conversation with her father.

  “Your family,” she said. “Don’t worry, Ryan, they know how to take care of themselves.”

  He looked into her green eyes and knew she was sincere. But all he could think about was her father’s reprimand the day before about following rules.

  “I’ll tell you one thing,” he said. “If they do run into any trouble, you can bet I’m not sitting here on my hands doing nothing about it.”

  “Come on, Ryan,” she said. “There’s nothing we can do. Think about what you’re saying. We have to keep our heads here.”

  He wanted to say something to her. Maybe even have a real conversation for once. But he couldn’t let her in again. So instead, he just nodded.

  He thought back to when she kept trying to pacify him after his mother’s death. The more she tried to tell him everything was okay, the angrier he got. It wasn’t okay. It would never be. And maybe inside, he was afraid of losing her too, or anyone else he loved. It just seemed like the safest thing to do was pull away completely, backwards as that seemed. But if getting past the memories of those times meant cutting Amanda out of his life, that’s what had to be done. He regretted that decision since then, but now it was too late. Now, for the first time in Earth’s history, the very real possibility of intergalactic war was looming. And he never felt so alone. The sad part was, Amanda probably felt the same.

  He shook the morbid thoughts out of his head and decided it was time to get to his room and find out what his orders were. He made his way to his quarters, where Tanner and Paul were waiting. He walked silently to his desk and took his Slider out of his holster. What a wonder of technology. He was still baffled how it worked. The device was a combination computer, holograph movie viewer, and mobile communicator, and could shrink small enough to fit in your pocket or be worn on your wrist, or be stretched into almost any size, up to about a 19” monitor. He remembered reading about the old days when people had separate computers, televisions, and telephones. Now even children have their Sliders with them wherever they go. Through the wonders of satellite, he could even use it to peer down at his old house on Earth and see what his neighbors were up to.

  He brought up the admiral’s transmission and let the Slider read his face as he spoke the standard decryption code. Then the orders came up on the monitor. He stretched the Slider to a larger size so he could see it better. Reading his assignment, he was surprised that the admiral had put him in command of the crew that was to overhaul the UEDF Nimitz. And this was the real Nimitz this time, not just a simulation. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said. “I guess the admiral does believe in me. It looks like I’m in command of the Nimitz.”

  Tanner smiled, “Guess who’s your second officer as well as weapons officer.”

  On the other side of the room, Paul looked disappointed. “The Nimitz? Guys, she’s been retired for ten years! Add fifteen years of service, and that makes her twenty-five years old. Other than the lame test flights we take on these old buckets, they’ve been neglected forever. Do you have any idea how hard it’s going to be to get those engines running again? It’s a good thing I’m going to be there to do it.”

  Tanner broke into laughter. “You mean you’re on it too? Hey, Ry, it looks like we’re all on the same ship!”

  Ryan wasn’t in a laughing mood, but gave a half-hearted smile. It appeared that Tanner had caught on. “Why the sour look, Ry? You have command of an amazingly cool ship, and we’re all on it together. It’ll be one big happy—”

  “Happy?” said Ryan. “Take a look at who our first officer is.”

  “I saw,” said Tanner. “Ry, you have to get over this Amanda thing. It’ll work out. Besides, there are worse execs to look at.”

  “That’s not the point,” said Ryan. “There’s more to it. There’s tension between us as it is. And then when you consider we have completely opposite views on just about everything . . .”

  “Dude,” sai
d Tanner, “I think he did it to try and make both of you better,” said Tanner.

  Paul put his hand up. “Maybe this isn’t—”

  “No, he has to hear this,” said Tanner. “Ry, I’m not that stupid. Everyone knows you guys are the top two cadets. Both of you are great officer material. Maybe he thinks the two of you together are better than each of you apart. Making up for each other’s weaknesses and all that.”

  “And she does look a hell of a lot better than you,” said Paul, apparently trying to lighten the mood.

  “Hey, I’ll be the comic relief around here,” said Tanner to Paul.

  “You guys really don’t get it,” said Ryan. “I say left, she says right. And we have more baggage than a family of ten on vacation. How is that a good thing for any kind of mission?”

  “Ry, it’s just an overhaul job,” said Tanner.

  “Any . . . kind . . . of mission,” repeated Ryan. “Anyway, I don’t want to be part of a psychology test while our fearless admiral plays head games. It’s not good for us, and it’s not even good for Amanda. Do you think she wants to be second in command to me? I can answer that. No, she doesn’t. I’m gonna set this straight once and for all.”

  “So what’s your plan?” said Tanner.

  “I’m going to have a little talk with the admiral,” he said.

  Tanner and Paul looked at each other. “Not your best idea, Ryan,” said Tanner.

  Ryan was done talking for now. He left them standing there with dumbfounded expressions and headed to the admiral’s office.

  Chapter 7

  Executive Officer

  Amanda was still in a state of shock. Thinking about the possibility of mankind meeting another species is one thing, but being faced with the reality of it was quite another. There were so many ways this could be headed. The entire academy was abuzz with the news. Some people were excited, others were scared, and some were in denial. Amanda found herself somewhere between curious and terrified.

  She opened her jewelry box and dug through it, looking for an old amulet necklace she was pretty sure was still in there. It was a family heirloom passed down from her great-great-grandfather. Apparently, it was supposed to protect the wearer and her family in times of danger. At least that was what she’d been told when she was thirteen. She kept it purely as a good luck charm, but considering all that was going on, she figured it couldn’t hurt to put it on.

  As she was struggling with the catch, Jill walked into the room and was staring at the necklace with her mouth open.

  “What on earth is that you’re wearing?” she said. “It’s hideous.”

  “I’m not wearing it as a fashion statement. It’s a good luck charm, which I figure we can use some of.”

  “Well it better be good for something,” said Jill. “Where did you find it? Dracula’s castle?”

  “Close. My dad’s side of the family has owned it for a zillion generations. Well, more like two centuries. My mom gave it to me as a gift when I turned thirteen.”

  “I hope you got a TV with it, too. I mean, that is kind of cool though. The only thing my family passed down was neurotic anxiety.”

  Amanda laughed while Jill studied the face of the amulet closer.

  “It’s unique, I’ll give it that,” said Jill. “Is it gold?”

  “Would you believe one hundred percent pure platinum?”

  “Okay, now I love it.”

  “Seriously, it is. My great-great-grandfather told the family it was from ancient times, like thousands of years ago. He said it belonged to the lost tribe, whoever they were.”

  “Please tell me that you don’t really believe that,” said Jill. “Plus, how can there be the lost tribe? There’s probably thousands of lost tribes. And second, what were they doing with platinum necklaces?”

  “Considering all that’s going on,” said Amanda, “I’ll believe anything.”

  Jill took the amulet in her hands and looked down at it. “There’s some kind of weird crest. And the gemstones around it are in a totally haphazard pattern. It looks like it was designed by Salvador Dali. Either that or a blind jeweler.”

  “I know,” said Amanda. “I tried looking the crest up in all the history and anthropology programs and couldn’t find anything. But if it’s said to bring good luck, I’m all for wearing it.”

  “Suit yourself,” said Jill. “I doubt it’ll do anything against any alien invaders. Do you think they’ll stop and say, ‘Oh wait! They have the all-powerful necklace! Let’s turn back!’? I think you may have watched too many science fiction movies, girl, seriously.”

  Amanda laughed. “Well it’s no worse than anything else we have to throw at them.”

  “You got me there,” said Jill. “Anyway, I came here to see what ship you’re on. I’m on the Nimitz. So is Nicole. Please tell me you’re commanding that ship.”

  Amanda was so sidetracked thinking about the aliens that she almost forgot she hadn’t checked her orders yet.

  “Let’s find out,” she said. She brought up the file on her Slider, and her mouth dropped. “Are you kidding me? This has got to be a mistake. There’s no way I’m going to do this.”

  Jill looked at her. “What’s wrong? You’re not on our ship?”

  Amanda closed up her Slider. “Yes, I’m on the ship—as the executive officer. Ryan’s the captain. I can’t do this.”

  “Relax,” said Jill. “It’ll all work out.”

  “I can’t do this again, Jill. Not only does he not want me there, but how am I supposed to compete with him while I’m serving as his assistant? This is my dad’s doing. First he talks me into going for command when he knew I wanted to be an engineer. Then he does everything in his power to knock me down.”

  “Mandy, I’m sure it’s not like that.”

  “It’s exactly like that, and I’m going to call him on it.”

  She marched out the door, leaving Jill standing there.

  As Amanda stormed into the entrance area to her father’s office, Lieutenant Rhimes saw the look on her face and didn’t even attempt to stop her. Hitting the intercom, she called out, “Admiral, red alert. Your daughter is on her way in, and considering the look on her face, I’d say she’s seen her orders, sir.”

  Amanda entered her father’s office, immediately came around to the side of his desk and threw her Slider with his orders down in front of him. “Seriously? Is this some type of sick joke? Because if it is, I’m not getting the punch line. I’ve worked hard to get where I am. All of you tried to talk me out of joining the fleet because I was the only girl in the family! Mom, you, and both my brothers. Then, after I finally signed up for the academy, I decided I wanted to be an engineer. But no, you said. Take command training. At least in command training you have room to advance. Your words, Father, not mine. Then, after I’ve worked my butt off to prove I’m just as good—no, in fact better than either of my brothers—you do this to me?”

  She paused to take a breath and then noticed her father was sitting there calmly, as if he were listening to a concerto. Finally, he glanced up at her.

  “Are you done? Feeling better now? Did you get it all out of your system?”

  “No,” she said. “I want answers. I’m one of the top two cadets in the class and Ryan gets his own command and I don’t? And I’m under him?”

  “You’re both where I need you to be. Listen, Amanda. I may be your father, but I’m also your commanding officer, and you’re crossing a line you don’t want to cross.”

  The admiral stood up and moved closer to her just as the intercom beeped. “You’ll never guess who just walked into here looking to talk to you, Admiral,” said Lieutenant Rhimes. “It’s the other half of your master plan.”

  “Well, isn’t this a glorious day of surprises,” he said. “Send him in.”

  Amanda couldn’t believe her father was going to try to explain this with the both of them the room.

  Ryan walked in and his mouth dropped. He obviously wasn’t expecting her to be th
ere either.

  “Well, now,” said her father. “It’s so nice of the two of you to come here to see me today. I believe you may disagree with your posting, am I right?”

  Amanda knew better and said nothing.

  Ryan, just as she suspected he would, spoke out. “Sir. I must pro—”

  The admiral held up his hand. “Not now, Thompson. Obviously you’re gravely misinformed. This isn’t a democracy. This is the military. You obey your orders or wash out. That goes for the both of you. And it case I’m not being clear enough, let me spell it out. Neither of you have to like each other. In fact, you can despise one another on your personal time. But I have you together for a reason, and that reason need only be known to me.”

  He paused briefly and slowly looked at each of them. “Listen, you two are the best damn cadets we have. Yes, you’re about as different as a cat’s tooth and a rat’s ass, but you’re both well trained, and both of you scored through the roof in your combined training exercises. But the fact is, you’re stronger together than you are apart.”

  “That’s a matter of opinion, sir,” said Ryan.

  “Damn right, Thompson. And lest we forget, my opinion is the only one that counts on this base. I’d suggest that you come to terms with that.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Ryan. Amanda wasn’t quite ready to acquiesce so easily. She still felt double-crossed.

  “And I suppose you think it’s wise to put your ‘two best cadets’”—she made quotation marks with her hands—“on the same ship? I mean what if we have to engage in an emergency mission?”

  “As if they’d let us go anywhere,” said Ryan. “On the Nimitz, no less.”

  “In case you two have failed to notice,” said Williamson, “humanity is about to either make a first contact with a benevolent alien race, or enter an intergalactic war with monsters out to kill us. Now your job is to get those ships ready. Are you in or out? Because I sure as hell can’t risk anyone letting one-upmanship or personal feelings get in the way of our mission in a crisis situation. And that goes for my best friend’s son . . . and my daughter. So, what will it be?”