Chapter 13 The War of the World Ends
After arriving on the battleship, the boys were told to split into two groups. Jack, Roger, Sam, Eric, and Ralph stayed on the battleship and the rest of the boys left on another ship. The boys were told that the children had finished being evacuated from England almost a year ago and that the war was going badly for the English and their allies, Ralph was also told that his mother had died about a month ago from the measles. Soon the boys were dropped off at the most prestigious naval academy in all of Great Britain and its territories for training. The academy was on a small island off the coast of England. There was a small town next to the academy that had all the essentials required to support a navy base including many different bars. Ralph wondered why they came here when he expected to receive standard navy soldier training. They were told that the training would be done in a sets of five and that they were the fire set. They were also told that the training would last six years and that most of the training would be theoretical because the best in the class was to become a captain in the navy and the rest were going to be his assistants on his ship. They were told that it was quite possible that they would all eventually become commanders or admirals in the navy.
During the main part of the technical training, Jack, Roger, Sam, Eric, and Ralph were able spend a lot of time in the town on the island. After two years of the training passed, Jack, Sam, and Roger all found girls in the town who they liked, and started courting them. The girls changed Jack's and Roger's personality to be more gentle over the next two years.
After four years have passed, the boys were introduced to the cannon expert and taught how to fire cannons. The first day of cannon firing was dark and stormy. During the first run firing the cannon, Roger's job was to light the fuse and Sam's job was to put the cannonball in. However, Jack and Roger were fooling around and Roger accidentally lit the fuse while Sam was standing in front of the cannon. The cannonball blasted Sam's head off and his body fell in the water. His body was devoured by sharks as Eric and the other boys watched. The cannon expert then said that they were done with cannons for the day and that Jack and Roger would have a tribunal to determine if they should be punished for negligence in safety. Jack and Roger went to one of the bars in the town next to the naval academy and drank so much beer that they passed out in the bar, they returned to the academy one day after the tragedy.
Ralph took Eric to the admiral's office because Eric was very upset about his twin brother dying. When they knocked on the admiral's door, he told them to enter. Inside the room was the most beautiful girl Eric and Ralph had ever seen, she had dark red eyes and brown hair with some streaks of blond. She said sorry that you have to hear this today to Ralph. Then the admiral said that she was his niece and that her name was Zara and that she brought news from the mainland that was very important for Ralph to hear. He first apologized to Eric for the unfortunate accident that resulted in Sam's death and told him that his younger brother, who was the girl's father, had a twin sister who died around the same age as Sam and Eric are. He said that he and his brother felt the pain Eric must be going through, He also told Eric that they would not add another cadet to their set. He then informed Ralph that his father had been killed by an unknown assassin. He said that his brother is coming take charge of the school while he filled in Ralph's father's position for as long as it took parliament to appoint someone to Ralph's fathers position in the navy. He said that his brother would arrive in two days and that he would leave the day after his brother arrived. He told them that their classes would be canceled until his brother felt that Eric and Ralph were able to cope with the deaths that happened.
The boys then went to the mess hall for dinner. Ralph was surprised to find that all the people were talking about an assassination of the commander-in-chief and the fact that their admiral was chosen to fill in for the dead commander-in-chief. He was approached by the other trainees who saw him to offer their condolences for the death of his father. He was surprised when the announcement was given that Ralph's father, the commander-in-chief had been assassinated and that the admiral was to become the acting commander-in-chief. Ralph was quite surprised to find out that his dad had become commander-in-chief and finally understood why they had come to the most prestigious navy school in all of Great Britain and its territories. It was because his dad had been the head honcho of all the navy. Eric was amazed when he realized that that meant that Ralph was the son of one of the most important people in all of Great Britain and its territories.
There were two memorial services on the day when the new admiral to be in charge of the school arrived. The first service was for Sam and all that was said was that he was a brave boy who could have had a great future in the navy ahead of him. Eric tried to say some words in remembrance of his brother but was unable to say anything understandable. Ralph then said that Sam was a boy who was excellent at adapting to his surroundings and a great friend who would be missed. After Ralph was done speaking, Roger and Jack apologized to Eric and all of Sam's friends for their fooling around that killed Sam. Their girlfriends were at the memorial service. Ralph told them that he was quite impressed by the fact that they were able to make it so Jack was actually sorry for accidentally killing Sam and that Roger at least understood that he did something tragic and unfortunate so that he tried to make Eric feel better.
Next was the memorial service for Ralph's father Christopher. The old admiral said that Christopher was a true friend. The new admiral said that he was the best navy commander for the war and that his strategic mind was able to make many plans that led to victories that seemed impossible. Zara then said that Christopher and his wife helped take care of her after her mother died from smallpox while her dad was on a ship at sea. After Zara finished, Ralph said that he did not know his father very well because of the evacuation and crashing on the island but he remembered how kind his father was when teaching him to swim and do everything else his dad taught him to do. He also said that he remembered his dad always helping their neighbors when his dad was home.
After the memorial services it was announced that there would be no classes for the next five days. The new admiral gave Ralph some money and said it was part of his father's pension that would be given to him. left after the memorial services. Zara then asked Ralph if he wanted to talk to her about his father and how he treated her when they were watching her so that Ralph could know more about his dad. He said that he would like to and they agreed to meet in the Draco's Lair for lunch tomorrow.
Jack and Roger were told that the the tribunal would meet on the third day of the five day-break. After being told this, they went into town with their girlfriends and were not seen again until the day of the tribunal.
Ralph and Zara met in the Draco's Lair the next day. They spent several hours talking about what Zara experienced living in Ralph's father's house. When they were done talking Ralph asked for the bill. Zara tried to pay for the' cost of her food but Ralph would not let her. She finally conceded and let him pay for all the food. However she insisted on buying them pies from the market for desert and he let her.
After Ralph returned to the academy, he was summoned to the admiral's office. The admiral told him that a portion of his father's pension would be given to him once a month and that he could use it on whatever he wished. The admiral advised him to save most of the pension for when he needed the money. The admiral also told him that he was doing very well according to his grades and that he appeared to have the natural gift of strategy that his father had.
The next day Ralph took Eric to Eric's favorite Restaurant on the island and offered to pay for the food. He and Eric both understood each others pain because they both were experiencing similar pain. Eric told Ralph that he wanted to find a girl like Jack's and Roger's because their girlfriends always seem to make them happier. He also wishes Ralph luck with Zara. Ralph asks him what he means. Thoughtfully, Eric simply says you know that you like her so I am wishing you luck with her. Ralph replies that he has no intention of getting involved with any girl until after the war is over or until it is small enough that he thinks it is safe to raise children. Eric said "that is very sensible but I do not think it is the best idea."
Jack and Roger were heading to the academy for the tribunal, when they saw Zara and Ralph talking at one of the piers. After arriving at the academy, Jack and Roger talked to Eric to see what he thought of Ralph's constant denial of falling in love with Zara. Eric informs them that he thought the sooner Ralph admitted to himself that he likes her the better. He also says that he thinks Zara likes Ralph but Ralph is too nervous to risk upsetting the admiral. Jack then tells Eric to go to the west pier tomorrow at three P. M. to meet a girl their girlfriends think he will like.
The tribunal delivers the verdict that Jack and Roger are guilty of careless conduct resulting in harm or death to another cadet. They are told that the sentence means that they will be unable to advance past second-command of a ship unless the captain is unfit for duty and that they will only be in command of the ship until a new captain is appointed by the admiral of that fleet. Finally they are told that being summoned to the tribunal again and found guilty of anything else will result in their expulsion from the military.
One year later Jack, Roger, and Eric are all married to their girlfriends. Meanwhile Ralph is finally dating Zara with the permission of her father, the admiral. The admiral also tells them that they are the highest rated set ever in the school and to keep up the good work.
Right before the graduation ceremony, Ralph and Zara are married. During the graduation ceremony Ralph, Eric, Jack, and Roger are then told that they have the highest average score of any set ever to graduate from the academy. They are also told that Ralph has the highest score of individual who ever graduated from the academy and Eric has the third-highest score of any individual who ever graduated from the academy. Ralph is told that his father had the second-highest score. Ralph and Eric became captains of two different ships in the same fleet. Jack and Roger become second-in-command to two boys who graduated on that day.
Five years later Ralph and Eric become the only captains to share the admiral position of a fleet between them. However Ralph and Eric were very sad when they learned that Jack's ship went down and that there were no survivors. They were the only fleet who never lost a ship for the next fifteen years. Ralph then became commander-in-chief of the navy and Eric became his second-in-command. The English and their allies won the war in the next five years due to Ralph's and Eric's guidance in the war effort. After the war was over, Ralph and Eric were given the highest military medals possible from Great Britain and all of its allies in the war. Eric dedicated his medals to the memory of his twin brother Sam and Ralph dedicated his medals to his dad and to Jack who he said helped him understand how you need different styles of leadership to accomplish different things.