The Rise before the Fall

Chapter 7: Celebrate Like There Is No Tomorrow

In the mess hall the mugs of Ctarl Ctarl ale were being passed around but no one dared take so much as a sip until Lady Aisha arrived to make the first toast. Just then the mess hall doors swung open and Aisha came strutting in heading directly towards Striker, whom she knew would be the one passing out the ale. A cheer went up the moment she walked in; mugs raised high in salute of their beloved Captain.

She stopped next to Striker and turned to her crew, saying, "I heard there was a party in the mess hall but from the sound of things here, it seems more like a funeral."

This caused the crew to cheer even louder.

Aisha smiled widely, extending her hand to receive a mug of ale. Upon receiving it, she raised her mug high and the room went silent.

"To the best crew in the Fleet, bar none!"

"Yeah… Yeah!" The cheers went out.

Everyone began to drink including Aisha.

Halfway done with her mug, Aisha wiped her mouth with her sleeve and raised her mug again. Again the room went silent.

"And to Striker and Amery, the finest tactical officer and navigator in the destroy fleet, who once again brought the honor of Most Lethal Ship to the Al Tigaro Tigaro."

She raised her mug in their direction in salute. Both Striker and Amery smiled widely and bowed to their captain.

"To Striker and Amery!"

"Yeah… Striker… Amery… Yeah!" The cheer went up and more ale was consumed. The drinking and cheering continued for several minutes. Finally, Striker raised his mug high and screamed.

"A Toast!"

Talking and cheering continued. He tried again.

"A Toast!"

Slowly the noise died down.

"Thank you, thank you… A toast, to the finest captain in the Fleet and easily the best captain I've ever served under…"

Aisha interrupted, "I'm the only captain you've ever served under."

The crew burst into laughter.

Striker responded. "That's because all others besides Lady Aisha are dung, and I refuse to serve under shit!"

The cheer went up again. But Striker waved his hands in an attempt to quite everyone down again.

"Wait! Wait! As I was saying. To Lady Aisha the finest captain in the Fleet. Who will undoubtedly make the finest commodore in the Fleet as well! To Commodore Aisha!"

With that the room erupted in cheers, so loud that the very walls began to shake. The thunderous cheers of the crew continued for several minutes. Aisha, herself, was grinning ear to ear from the reaction to Striker's pronouncement. Finally, she waved her hands up and down in a gesture to get the crew to quiet down. They settled down to a low roar as she handed her mug back to Striker for a refill. Then putting on an animated look of sternness on her face, she said, "Now Striker, have you heard something I haven't? You know that we frown on spreading false rumors here in Space Fleet."

"Well, I'm the last to be spreading false rumors, Lady Aisha." Striker smiled.

Aisha gulped down another drink. Now, he peeked her curiosity.

"Okay, what have you heard?"

"Perhaps you should ask your Comms Officer." Striker answered coyly.

She turned to Tabral Cass Cass, her comms officer, who immediately went white as a sheet and gulped down a mouthful of ale, as his eyes grew as large as saucers.

"Hmm, well, it's just. Well, as Lady Aisha is aware, I've been in communications with Planetary Space Station Onas Onas, concerning our arrival. Well, the comms officer at the space station is my cousin Taver. Well, he told me that the whole space station is buzzing about our victory. He told me that the Emperor himself plans to attend the welcoming ceremony and present each captain with the Gold Star of Ctarl. And that the Order of Ctarl will be presented to the "brave and daring Captain who lead the attack." And that is a direct quote."

Striker jumped in saying, "and you know as well as everyone that every captain that has received the Order of Ctarl has immediately been promoted to Commodore, without exception."

She grin grew even wider. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see." She took another drink. "Meanwhile, I thought this was supposed to be a CELEBRATION!"

Cheers went up and the ale flowed freely.

After a couple hours, the captain spotted her first officer and called him over to her.

"Yes Lady Aisha?" Vistar inquired.

"Be sure the crew members currently on duty get relieved in a couple hours so they get a chance to celebrate too." She instructed him.

"Yes ma'am, I'll take care of it."

Assured all her crew would get a chance to celebrate their glorious victory, their captain went back to enjoying herself with her crew.

**********

Aisha's communicator rang for the ninth time as she lazily reached over from her bed to hit the speaker button.

"Yes, What is it?" She slurred out.

"Lady Aisha, we are 65 minutes from reaching Planetary Space Station Onas Onas. Communication from the Space Station informs us that we are all to be in full dress uniforms and in parade formation as we disembark." Her junior comms officer informed her.

The captain breathed deeply. "Okay, pass the word on to the rest of the crew. Everyone is to be ready to disembark after we're locked down at AirLock 1." She said, barely above a whisper, as she rubbed her temples.

"Very good Lady Aisha."

She reached over and pressed the speaker button to end communication.

'Personal note: Limit personal consumption of Ctarl Ctarl ale to under 50 mugs.' The Ctarl Ctarl pushed herself off her bed with shaky arms. She pulled open her nightstand drawer and grabbed the bottle of aspirin from inside. 'The one good thing that came out of the treat treaty with the Terrans.' She opened the bottle, tossed a hand full in her mouth and swallowed them down.

"Blah! Tastes like chalk." She tossed the bottle back into her drawer and headed to her bathroom.

She stripped off all her clothes and left them in a heap by the bathroom door. After relieving herself of the 160 some mugs of ale she had floating around in her, she dragged herself into the shower and turned the hot water on. Steam filled the shower instantly. She breathed in the moist air as the scalding water ran over her head, down her face and over the rest of her body. She grabbed the bar of soap and worked up a good lather all over. After rinsing off the soap she poured a handful of shampoo on top of her head and worked it in well. Then she poured another handful and carefully worked it in her long tightly woven braid. Normally, she would just undo the braid and wash it but there wasn't enough time for that right now.

She wasn't sure if it was the aspirin, the hot shower, the moist air or all three but by the time she stepped out of the shower Aisha's headache was gone. She stepped into the drier, which blasted hot air from every direction. Within seconds she was dry, even her hair. She walked over to the sink and picked up her brush, running it throw her hair with newfound vigor. When she was happy with the results, she set the brush down and headed out of the bathroom.

She went to her closet first and pulled out her dress uniform. It was similar to her field uniform except the hem of the skirt went down just above the knee and it had a jacket that buttoned high on the neck. It was also white with green trim, rather than green with white trim. She set the uniform on the bed and went to her dresser. Taking out a clean thong, she slipped them on immediately. She dug under her clothes in her underwear draw and pulled out a long rectangular box. She closed the drawer and walked over to the bed, setting the box down on it. Removing the jacket from the hanger, Aisha set it aside and retrieved the blouse. Putting it on carefully so as not to wrinkle it; she checked herself in the mirror. Next came, the skirt then the jacket, again she checked herself in the mirror to make sure the seams were even and straight. She adjusted the shoulders looking herself over once again.

"Perfect fit."

She smiled, then retrieved the box from the bed. Inside were five brilliant medals. No other active captain in the Fleet had more than three and Aisha was about to receive her sixth today.

She smiled with pride. "Not bad for a seventeen year old girl." She said jokingly, doing the best imitation of her nanny that she could.

One by one, she applied her medals to her uniform jacket, just above her left breast, taking special care to make sure they were all straight and evenly spaced. She looked over to her nightstand to check the chronometer when the communicator rang again. She sighed and walked over to it, pressing the speaker button.

"Yes, what is it?"

"We are just about to enter space dock Lady Aisha. Lock down should be completed in approximately ten minutes."

"Very good, have everyone assemble at AirLock 1 as soon as lockdown is completed."

She pressed the speaker button; then walked over to her closet again and grabbed her dress shoes, basic white pumps with a 15-centimeter heel.

She pulled out a rag she had in one of the shoes and gave them a quick buffing then tossed the rag into the closet. She slipped them on and checked herself in the mirror one last time. The only thing missing was her headband.

"Almost forgot."

She rushed over to her dresser pulled open the top drawer and retrieved her dress headband, white with gold trim. Going to the mirror again, she secured it just below her hairline.

"Perfect!" She smiled at her own reflection. Her gaze drifted to the epaulets on her jacket, captain's epaulets. She let herself fantasize for a moment.

"Commodore Aisha Clan Clan."

She liked the sound of it. But it wasn't much of a fantasy. If Tabral was right and she was to receive the Order of Ctarl then surely the rank of Commodore would have to follow. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"Okay Aisha, back to reality. Time to meet the grateful hordes."

She turned and exited her quarters, heading to AirLock 1.