Chapter 51
(And it's a long one, to wrap up Book One of this tale!)
April 17, 1925 P.D.
Dorm #14, Second Deck Wardroom
Memo pad in hand, Matt arrived and saw that neither Rachel nor Angela were in their customary couch spots. From across the room, Max spoke.
"They're both resting after the exam they had today," he said and moved a bishop across a chess board.
Matt nodded and headed down the corridor to Rachel and Angela's room. Their door was closed and Robert sat in his chair in the corridor, perusing a fax viewer. "They requested rest until suppertime."
"Understandable."
That day, Rachel and Angela survived what was acknowledged as one of the three most difficult end-of-academy exams: fourth form advanced propulsion. The other two were fourth form tactics and fourth form computer programming.
The door opened and Rachel tiredly smiled at him, her eyes a bit red. He glanced over her shoulder and saw Angela sprawled out, sound asleep. Hipper hopped up on his shoulder.
"Sorry," he whispered.
"It's all right," she said, stepped out, and closed the door. "Let's go for a walk, it's a nice day out."
At the quadrangle, he let her see his viewer. She read the display and smiled brightly at him.
"I was fairly certain I would be accepted, but I wasn't 100% certain until I saw it," he said.
"Congratulations, you've worked hard for it," she said and squeezed his hand.
On his viewer was his letter congratulating his acceptance to Grayson University Medical School, to start October 5th, 1925 P.D.
"Then that means you'll be done with your middy cruise by then," she noted.
He nodded. "Since the Navy is paying for school, it's in these orders," he said and scrolled to the next page.
He was instructed that at the conclusion of his midshipman cruise, he would be transferred to the GSN Reserve as of October 5, 1925 P.D. to begin medical school.
"Well, that gives us an idea of the wedding date," she mused.
"On my part, yes. However, we have no idea about how long your cruise will last."
She sighed, ran her hands through her hair, and sat on a bench. "This is nerve wracking. Exams, wondering about my orders, being apart from you for who knows how long…"
He put an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, we talked about this. We knew that this was going to be the hardest part, right?"
She nodded.
"So for now, let's give our families some good news about a tentative wedding date," he said.
May 14, 1925 P.D.
Saganami Tactical Studies Complex, Lecture Hall #2
Rachel pressed her thumbprint against the End marker on the text viewer and sat back with a sigh. She glanced at the clock and rubbed her eyes.
Three hours!
She had just finished her last exam at the academy, fourth form tactics. She raised her hand and Captain Petersen gestured her to her desk. Rachel reached the desk and laid the viewer on the stack of them already there.
Captain Petersen held out her hand. "Congratulations."
Rachel returned the gesture. "Thank you, ma'am. It's been an honor."
The captain nodded in acknowledgment. "Enjoy the rest of your day."
Before she left the lecture hall, she saw Theresa, Max, and Diego still hunched over their viewers. Feeling peckish, she went to the dining hall to see if what food was laid out. Due to the varying schedules of the fourth forms, food was laid out throughout the final two weeks of classes, or they could snag a warmed ration pack and go on their way. She picked through the rations to find beef tips and mashed potatoes, then to the salad bar for Hipper. She left the dining hall to sit a while at one of the beach pavilions to clear her head, but it turned into a bittersweet reflection of her time on Manticore as the ocean breeze blew through her hair.
She would miss the warm and sunny beaches with powdery sand.
The winding, lush, garden paths at Bay House.
The pond situated in a patch of trees at Angela's home, where she learned to fish.
Manticore itself was what she would miss. Not the bustling cities, politics, or social issues, but what she saw from the cockpit of a pinnace, looking down on the planet below.
May 27th, 1925 P.D.
Casey Dining Hall
At breakfast, most of the fourth years had their memo boards in one hand, forks in the other. It was the day they would receive their orders for the midshipman cruises and aside from Last Call, the most anticipated day of their academy time. As she looked around, she saw relieved smiles and handshakes among friends as they read their messages.
"They're doing it in alphabetical order," Angela noted and swiped her toast through her egg yolk.
Diego's viewer flashed and he opened the e-note. "The Star Knight."
She saw Cadet Green (Alex) pump his fist and receive congratulations from his tablemates. Then another Cadet Green (Jim) read his message and left his table, leaving his tablemates to call out after him, "Come on Jim, it's not that bad!"
"I wonder what ship he got?" Matt asked and his viewer flashed, indicating that new mail had been received. He pressed his thumb to the scanner, opened the message, and let out a breath.
"The Imperator," he stated.
"No way," Rachel and Angela chorused and leaned over to look at his viewer. Sure enough, there were his orders for the HMS Imperator.
"That's like the ship, congratulations," Lew added.
Haist, Halloran, Huntley… they saw classmate after classmate receive their orders. Trent Hutchins, the most popular cadet at the academy and the year's top graduate, had a crowd around him when he opened his message. He let out a breath, sat back, and then hugged his fiancée. They continued their breakfasts, not in any real hurry. Classes were over and grades had been tallied. Rachel finished eighth overall, seventh among the engineering students, earning a cluster on her Naval Academy Achievement Medal for being among the top ten graduates. Her viewer flashed and Hipper patted the top of it. She opened the message and read it.
"From Admiral Sir Augustus Khumalo, Fifth Space Lord, Royal Manticoran Navy to Midshipwoman Rachel Mayhew, Grayson Space Navy, First Day, Sixth Month, Year Three Hundred Five After Landing: Madam, you are hereby directed and required to proceed aboard Her Majesty's Starship David Taylor, CS-Zero-One, to take upon yourself the duties and responsibilities of Midshipwoman in service of the Crown. Fail not in this charge at your peril. By order of Admiral The Earl Hamish Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty, Royal Manticoran Navy, for Her Majesty the Queen."
The closed the message and set the viewer down without a word.
"Not a carrier?" Matt asked.
Rachel shook her head and took a sip of coffee. "The David Taylor. I report on Monday, June 1st."
Theresa's viewer flashed and she took a breath before opening the e-note.
"I got the David Taylor too," she stated. "Let's look it up."
Angela gave her friend a light punch to the arm. "That's not so bad, you two got the same ship!"
She scrolled through her viewer for the Admiralty's roster of RMN ships and read the nomenclature, build, and characteristics for the David Taylor. "Hmm… it's a newer class of what they calla fast combat support vessel… it's twenty percent bigger than a Nike class battlecruiser and just as fast. It now has 30 percent more armament than a light cruiser and has eight LAC bays. The other ships of the class are the Charles Ward and David K. Brown, with two more under construction."
Lew got the Second Yeltsin, Max got the Nike, Zack got the Achilles, and Angela got the Imperator as well. Now she understood what Uncle Hamish said about being put out about his middy cruise assignment, feeling somewhat disappointed that Matt and Angela got the same fantastic ship. She glanced at Theresa, who was pleased with her orders, and her own disappointment faded. She would be going with a friend and then it occurred to her that Commander Wofford would be her engineering chief. Things were starting to look up.
May 29th, 1925 P.D.
Caparelli Memorial Auditorium
The morning of Last View, the graduates had a walk-through rehearsal of the ceremony. They would file into the auditorium by class ranking, not alphabetical as they expected, and stand in front of their seats. They were to stand at attention until the Commandant directed them to take their seats. A short film would be shown, the top ten graduates recognized, and then the Last View guest speaker would appear. The cadets didn't know who the speaker might be, and they wouldn't know until he or she appeared on the stage. She felt her chrono vibrate on her wrist, but whoever it was, she'd have to call them back. The deputy commandant came onto the stage and stood behind the lectern, which was being shined by a spacer.
"All right, take your seats," he said to the cadets and nodded to a petty officer at a control panel behind the stage. Buzzing and feedback was heard, and the commodore gestured for him to turn the mic off.
"We should have done this yesterday," he mumbled and waited while techs adjusted the settings and the chief nodded for the commodore to continue.
"Chief, how does it sound?"
The entire auditorium looked to the far northeast corner where a chief petty officer gave a thumbs-up.
"Good… now the music."
The first bars of the Saganami March played and the commodore nodded in satisfaction.
"Video?"
The lights in the auditorium dimmed and the screen behind him illuminated. A graphic of the Academy uniform patch appeared above the words Courage, Loyalty, Honor.
The graphic faded and a PMV medal appeared above the words The Tradition Lives.
The graphic faded and Congratulations Midshipmen and Midshipwomen, Class of 1925 appeared.
"Good, everything appears to be in order," the commodore said, tapped buttons on his memo pad, and addressed the cadets once more. "By now, all of you should have your orders, your belongings packed, dorms cleared for inspection, and accounts here at the Academy closed out. Family and friends should arrive no earlier than noon, and keep in mind that this auditorium can only hold 1000 people throughout the galleries. However, video screens will be arranged on the quadrangle for those outside, and the Last View will be broadcast on the HD networks for those unable to attend."
He cleared his throat. "In another welcome to the navy moment, for those of you who received orders for the Imperator, the departure date has been pushed out a couple of days. Expect new orders sometime today. Also, many of you are curious as to how long your cruises will last. The best I can tell you is three to four months, based on the ship and mission, barring any incidents."
He took his memo pad in hand and stepped away from the lectern. "Cadets, atten'hut!"
All 3,412 cadets jumped to their feet.
"Go get lunch and be lined at that hatch no later than 1330. Dismissed!"
#
At lunch, Rachel returned the call she missed.
"You're here?"
"Oh, okay."
"Sure, I'm on my way."
She ended the call and put the earbud on her pocket. "Dad is here and the commandant is giving him a tour of the academy. My moms and the kids are at the rec hall, with your family," she said, pointing her fork at Matt.
"All of them? Matt asked.
Rachel shrugged, stood, and picked up her tray to turn it in. As they left the dining hall, she paused and looked back.
"I just realized that that was our last meal here," she said and continued.
Matt met his family in the Academy rec hall, where his siblings were playing a rousing ping-pong game, cheered on by some first forms nearby. Rachel found her father and the commandant aside the large garden adjacent the hydroponics gallery.
"There she is," Ben said and gave her a hug. "Such a big day for you!"
She came to attention and saluted Admiral Pallas.
"At ease, Miss Mayhew. I was going to show your father the flight hangars."
"Certainly, sir."
At Kreskin Field, the admiral pointed out the Javelin hangar, where 30 of them were lined up neatly in their places. On their way to the second hangar, Benjamin pointed to an odd-looking object mounted on bricks of permacrete.
"What in the world is that?"
They walked closer and saw the mangled, burned mass of wrecked battle steel that used to be a Javelin. The ejection seat and parachute that she had deployed were encased in glass next to the display.
"That was the Javelin I was flying second year," Rachel replied.
"It's the best object lesson we can give the cadets," the admiral added.
"I should say so," Benjamin agreed.
Rachel looked at her chrono. "Dad, I've got to change into my dress uniform and form up."
"All right, sweetheart, I'll see you soon."
#
The cadets milled around the cordoned-off area outside of the auditorium until it was time to form up.
"You know, I look kinda plain next to you," Matt said, perusing Rachel's uniform. An achievement medal with an attached cluster and the Protector's Commendation Medal, small craft pilot wings, and a red sleeve stripe was placed above the four blue sleeve stripes at the end of her left sleeve.
A whistle was heard and Hutchin's voice was heard. "Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a Last View to sit! Let's go!"
They lined up and filed into the auditorium, to thunderous cheering and clapping of family and friends in the gallery. At her seat, she performed a smart left face and stood at attention. When all of them had filed in, the commandant appeared and marched across the stage. He stopped behind the lectern and paused to look at the cadets.
"Cadets, seats!"
They immediately sat, hands flat on top of their thighs, looking straight ahead.
"At ease."
He looked about the packed gallery and started his remarks.
"Families, friends, and distinguished guests, welcome to the Saganami Naval Academy on this fine afternoon. Four years ago, the cadets before you arrived for a rigorous and challenging course of study and training. We have done our very best to see to it that these young men and women enter the fleet as competent, educated, basically trained officers. These future tactical officers, engineers, physicians, and many others will be boarding their ships for their midshipman cruises. Give them your support and encouragement. To the officers here, they will soon be your ship mates. Continue to mentor them, to teach them, to be an example to them. Remember, you once sat here too."
The auditorium lighting dimmed and the video presentation started. The Saganami March was heard, and after the introductory graphics, photos and short video clips of their time at the academy were shown. Physical training at the climbing ropes, the Javelin simulators, cadets tending to the hydroponics gallery, images of them in rapt attention in various classes, the formal mess nights, Lew giving someone a hypo spray to the neck, and the final one; of Rachel, Angela, and Trent standing poolside with Master Sergeant Lane, soaking wet in their flight suits, helmets under their arms. The video ended and the lights returned to their brightness.
"Now, for today's guest speaker. When she requested to make today's remarks, I could scarcely decline the request. She needs no introduction, so I give you, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth."
Gasps of surprise were heard throughout the auditorium. The reigning King or Queen never gave Last View remarks. The last and only time it happened was for the first graduating class, back in 1509. When she stepped onto the stage, the cadets jumped to their feet. The admiral stepped aside until she arrived at the lectern, then he bowed his head.
"Your majesty."
"Admiral."
He did an about face and stood to the side of the stage, his hands clasped before him. She faced the cadets and smiled at them.
"Sit, so that I can talk to you," she said.
They did so, paying rapt attention to her next words.
"I realize that it's unusual to be here this afternoon, doing this. I usually watch it on the HD. However, I felt compelled to come and see you, to speak to you. Last September, a group of you went above and beyond what was expected of you. I see the red stripes on your sleeves as a symbol of my thanks. However, I feel the need to congratulate all of you on your achievement this day. No one told you to, and no one forced you to undertake this challenge, even during the crushing attacks of the past couple of years. And now you're here, ready to join the fleet. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your service. Thank you for serving in Our Navy."
She looked about the gallery. "In your Navy."
She looked at Rachel. "In your Navy."
She pointed to the cadet in the Alizon Navy uniform. "In your Navy."
She paused and gathered her thoughts to conclude her remarks. "May you serve with distinction, and you have Our best wishes for your continued success. The tradition lives."
The cadets jumped to their feet and chorused, "The tradition lives!"
The heroic Edward Saganami video was shown, and when it concluded, the commandant stepped to the podium. "To the class of 1925, dismissed!"
#
Be on the lookout for Book Two, where we continue Rachel's story, post-Academy. 😊