November 23, 1923 P.D.
Rachel and her companions arrived at the Truman home in time for lunch. Angela and Zach were on the front patio with Athena and Mr. Truman. They waved when they left the car and Matt shook hands with Zach and Mr. Truman.
"Good to see you! Beverly should be just about finished with lunch," Mr. Truman said, and the group went inside.
"Do I smell olives and sausage?" Rachel asked and followed her nose to the kitchen.
"I know your birthday was earlier this week, and you're not one of my kids, but any kid that comes to this home gets a birthday soiree," Beverly said. "I've prepared a cake as well."
She removed a large olive and sausage pizza and a large pepperoni pizza from the warmer. Plates were passed around and everyone moved to the tables on the back veranda with pizza, cake, and drinks. Anthony and Beverly handed her a present.
"You didn't have to get me anything, but thank you," she replied, moved by the gesture.
"So, how are your classes?" Beverly asked.
"I suck at hydroponics," Rachel said.
"But you've got a flair for life support systems," Angela commented. "And I'm making it through astrogation just fine this year, no tutoring needed."
"Flight training?" Mr. Truman asked.
"We're doing well in the shuttle simulators," Angela said.
"Simulators are all well and good, but I can't wait to actually get into one," Rachel added.
"Didn't you fly a pinnace in Grayson orbit last summer?" Beverly asked.
"That was an accident and it was only for a few minutes," Rachel said and explained the incident with the pinnace the previous June. "Daddy was so mad!"
"How many people lost their jobs?" Matt asked.
"Fourteen," Rachel replied. "At least he's not going to the spaceport making random inspections in person anymore."
"He really did that?" Mr. Truman asked.
The room broke out in laughter. Rachel nodded and took a sip of her beer.
#
Later, Rachel was relaxing on the easy chair in Angela's room with her tablet, reading from a batch of ancient Greek mythology. Beverly had learned of her love of ancient Greek mythology and given her a data chip of stories, and she was absorbed in a tale of the Titans. She heard someone clearing their throat and looked up. Angela was at the doorway with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.
"I've never had that, but set me up," Rachel said
"Are you sure?" Angela asked.
"I'll just have a taste," Rachel replied.
Twenty minutes later, Matt and Zach looked up from their card game with Mr. Truman and Anthony when they heard giggling, sputtered words, and singing from Angela's room.
"Mamas don't let yer babies grow up to be spacers…" from Rachel.
"She usually sings better than that," Matt noted and set a card aside.
They heard a questioning bleek from the treecats and continued their game. Whispering and the closing of a door was heard. When the card game was over, Matt went to the bedroom door and knocked.
"Rachel? Angela?"
There was no answer, so he knocked and opened the door. When he saw that the girls weren't in the room, he returned to the living room. "They aren't in the bedroom."
Nate went to the bedroom and noted the open window. Clara went to the front veranda, and Noah went to the back porch. They met in the living room and Nate pinched the bridge of his nose. "They couldn't have gone far, and the cats are gone too."
#
Rachel and Angela stood on the bank of the Truman property pond and drunkenly contemplated the moonlight sparkling on the water.
"We should have brought fishing poles," Angela said.
"I wonder if fish like this," Rachel said and upended the bottle into the pond.
"Whiskey drinking fish?" Angela sputtered and the two giggled again.
"Hey, we can make poles!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Yeah, surely two stalwart engineering students such as ourselves can do that, right?" Angela asked.
A few minutes later, Rachel and Angela held two "fishing poles" comprised of branches and Rachel's shoestrings above the water. They sat on the bank, sang songs, and retold funny stories from the academy. Hipper and Athena crouched next to them, keeping watch over their people.
Armed with flashlights, Matt, Zach, Anthony, Mr. Truman, and Rachel's armsmen heard singing as they approached the pond.
"That's them," Zach said.
Hipper and Athena made an attentive appearance at the wood line. Hipper went back to the pond and Athena met the searchers. She patted Zach's leg and pointed to the pond.
"Yes, Hipper, we hear the off-key screeching," Matt said with a sigh.
When they got to the pond, the men burst out in laughter. Rachel and Angela were in the pond, holding tree branches. Rachel was also clutching a bottle.
"We're fishing!" Angela exclaimed and waved her branch.
Rachel squealed and twitched in the water. "Something touched my leg!"
"Catch it!" Angela demanded.
"I can't catch a fish with my hands," Rachel protested.
"Well, not with that attitude you won't," Angela chided, and then squealed when something touched her leg.
"Isn't the water cold?" Matt asked.
Rachel and Angela looked at each other and shrugged.
"It was at first," Rachel said.
"But we got used to it," Angela added.
"We can see that, but can you come back to the house now?" Zach requested.
Nate noticed the two shivering in the water. "M'lady, please come back to the house?"
"Oh… alright," Rachel said and took a step, but paused. "Ugh, my shoe is stuck in the muck."
"Hey, you rhymed, and you said you were bad at poetry," Angela said.
"M'lady?"
Rachel took a swig from the almost-empty bottle and swayed when she tugged her foot loose from the bottom of the pond. Unfortunately, when she swayed, she caught Angela on the side of her head with the bottle.
"Ow!"
Rachel dropped the bottle. "I'm so sorry!"
The men were twitching with laughter.
"What's so funny?" Angela asked as the two trudged through the water.
"Nothing, nothing at all," Zach said and reached for Angela when she slipped in the mud on the bank.
Back at the house, Clara helped the Rachel and Angela change into something to sleep in. She also held the bedroom garbage bin for Rachel to vomit. The two sprawled out on the bed and were asleep in minutes. Clara returned to the living room.
"They're sound asleep," she reported.
"I remember my first liquor-fueled blowout," Mr. Truman said.
"Yeah, I never did it again," Anthony added.
"I broke an arm," Beverly said.
"I remember that," Mr. Truman said with a wink.
They looked at Matt. "It involved a skateboard and the city center fountain. That's all I'm going to say about it."
#
Rachel squinted when she opened her eyes at the sunlight peeking through the drapes. She was curled up against Angela's back.
"Never again," she croaked.
Angela mumbled something unintelligible and shifted.
"Ugh, what did you eat?" Rachel grumbled.
"Huh?"
Rachel sat up and waved her hand. "Ugh, my face was right there."
Angela sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. "I can't help where your face is while asleep, and I also can't help natural body functions."
"This is one of the weirdest conversations we've ever had."
"And we've had some weird ones."
"I need some coffee."
"And a shower."
"Your hair looks weird."
"Do you really want to go there?"
#
Back at Jason Bay, Matt and Rachel sat on the back patio with sandwiches. He read the news while they ate.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
She nodded. "Those med tabs helped, thanks. I'll never drink liquor again. Lesson learned."
"It's a lesson a lot of us have learned, believe me. Why do you think you never see me drink alcohol?" he said.
"You?"
He nodded. "My brothers took me out for a last hurrah before I left for the academy."
She massaged her temples. "Mom would lecture me to no end for my liquor-fueled antics."
"Here's good news. Reverend Sullivan announced that the Church has contracted to lease a building in Landing City. With the hundred or so Graysons here on planet, plus four-hundred sixty-four Grayson cadets, the Church has seen a need for its members," he said.
"That's good news, we can attend when we're in town," she said.
His tablet sounded to indicate that he had an incoming message. He read the message and held up the tablet.
"Would you mind if I went back to the academy? Lieutenant Serrano said that a spot opened up at sick call from noon until eighteen-hundred."
"You make me feel like a slacker. I should be picking up some extra credit work," she said.
He chuckled. "You're what, fourteenth in our class—"
"Seventh."
"So that means that you're one of the least slacker-ish people I know."
"I'll go back too. Just give me a skinny minute to get my things."
December 13, 1923 P.D. Casey Dining Hall
At dinner, Rachel glumly pushed her food around her plate.
"Come on, fish Friday can't be that bad," she heard.
She looked up when the chair next to hers was pulled out and Matt sat with his tray of food.
"I didn't do well on my hydroponics exam, it'll bring my GPA down," she said.
"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think," he assured her.
"What's not as bad as you think?" Angela asked and joined them.
"My hydroponics exam," Rachel said.
Angela took a bite of fish, chewed, and swallowed. "You took the entire two hours for the exam, correct?"
"Because it was hard!" Rachel declared. "Parts of the exam had me wondering if I was even in the class at all!"
"You took the time to do the best you could, so it's not going to be as bad as you think. The cadet who ranks seventh in our class wouldn't bomb an exam," Angela concluded.
"And you thought I was fourteenth," Rachel mumbled to Matt.
Angela patted her hand. "Exam results will be back Monday, you'll see."
A group of Grayson cadets rushed to their table. Fred Hansen, a fourth form, handed Rachel his tablet.
"Since you know her best, I thought you'd like to see the news right away," he said.
Rachel looked at the tablet screen with Austin City Herald at the top and saw a photo of Honor Harrington, her husband, and their two children. She continued to the article dated December 10th.
"Steadholder and Retired Admiral Honor Harrington gave birth to a healthy daughter this morning at 9:32 a.m. at the Harrington Steading Hospital. In attendance were her husband, Manticoran First Lord of the Admiralty, Earl Hamish White Haven; Steadholder Mother Allison Harrington, and the treecats Nimitz and Samantha. The baby will be named at her baptism, this Sunday at Harrington Steading Cathedral. It is reported that Steadholder Harrington asked Reverend Sullivan to baptize the child, to which he wholeheartedly agreed."
Rachel gave Hansen back his tablet.
"This is wonderful news," Rachel said and realized that her hydroponics exam suddenly seemed inconsequential.
"The chaplain is holding a special thanksgiving and prayer meeting after supper. We're also going to make a congratulatory video to send to the Steadholder," Hansen said.
#
In their service uniforms, the Grayson cadets assembled in the auditorium for the thanksgiving and prayer meeting for Honor and her newborn daughter. After, a video unit was put in place and the cadets gathered for a wide angle shot and they all announced their congratulations. Then, the camera narrowed its view where Rachel was standing in front of the group, her hands clasped in front of her. The camera operator gave her thumbs up.
"Aunt Honor, from the entire Grayson cadet contingent, we offer our congratulations on your daughter's birth and upcoming baptism. We wish her all health, happiness, and long life; as well as the Tester's blessing."
The cadets echoed, "Tester bless you!"
The camera operator turned off the camera and nodded.
"That was all right, wasn't it?" Rachel asked the chaplain.
"I'm sure that the Steadholder will be touched by the message," the chaplain replied.
She wiped a tear from her cheek and Matt rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you all right?"
She nodded. "That was a happy tear."