Chapter 21 – All New
They were all in General Jackson's room talking amongst themselves when a messenger came rushing in. "Sir, Headquarters has just finished their final analysis on the Dimensional Shift surrounding Fretica. The time at which inter-dimensional transport will be safe is exactly 1100 hours tomorrow. That said, I have something much more urgent! I have also another message with a red seal priority and a 2nd class secrecy level! If you would." The messenger handed the General some sort of reading tablet. At the mention of the priority, all the other TSAB affiliated in the room instantly turned to Jackson who had started to read over it. As described by John, that level of message wasn't sent every day, meaning it was incredibly important when Sarah asked her father, "What is these class and priority things about. Is it important." John, "In this case yes. A red seal priority means that the someone who sent it is higher than the recipient as well as being from a high commander or higher, and while normally that isn't anything special in and of itself, since it was sent to a general, the person who sent this must be higher than a general rank and unless it was sent by the council, that message would be from Supreme General Commander Saito Yui. That rank is as high as a normal mage can get without being chosen for the special elite Z unit who are outside the general command structure or becoming one of the member's of the Supreme Council, the TSAB's highest ruling authority. It is a very prestigious rank. The Supreme General Commander is the one who gives the orders and assignments out for the Generals and thus by proxy the rest of the TSAB in general. He also has the power to command anyone of lower ranks completely at his own discretion as well. As such, anything sent by him is automatically given the red seal priority as to get it to the recipient as soon as possible so they can reply quickly to keep things efficient throughout the entire T.S.A.B. Also, second-class secrecy level is basically a rule to whom the contents of the message can be revealed. A 2nd class secrecy level means that only the recipient and those otherwise directly related to the contents of the message can be told." Sarah, "So this is a very important message then." John, "Yes indeed, its not something that I've seen all that often, even at my rank."
Jackson read through the message with a shocked face. There was also sadness there as well. When he finished, he turned to everyone, "I have good news and bad news. As the good news would sound weird without the bad news, I'll start at the low end. Unfortunately, while on duty to try and track the source of a Lost Logia somewhere in Mid-Childa's general dimensional quadrant, something struck General Ferro's private ship, destroying it almost completely, which explains why its been impossible to get ahold of him, and apparently the contents of the mission were compartmentalized due to the mission's sensitive nature, which is why we weren't notified as events unfolded, not even John who is his second in command. Luckily, all of the crew managed to escape, including the general but not unharmed. Something or someone had entered the ship and started to attack the crew. None were exempt from the attack, including the General unfortunately. The strange thing was that it didn't kill any of them, but it took their most important part of them as mages, a part of their Linker Cores."
Lee turned to Lance who was next to him, "Linker Core?" Lance, "Ah, I keep on forgetting you're new to the whole mage thing. A Linker Core is a sort of special organ inside all mages that is responsible for storing, controlling and ultimately generating mana within you and thus what enables you to ultimately have and use magic. You could consider it the piece of you that makes you a mage for most purposes. That said, even with all the advanced technology of the TSAB, how it exactly functions at its core is still not fully understood." Jackson waited for Lance's description to complete before continuing, "According to examinations, most of the crew's members will be able to heal their Linker Cores, as they are for the most part still on the younger side, and as such have a better ability to heal their Linker Cores. Unfortunately though, General Ferro was the oldest of all the current generals at 87 years old and won't be so lucky. Though our best medical professionals have started reviewing his condition, it has been determined that the damage is too sever, his Linker Core to damaged to expect it to be able to heal to the level required to carry out his normal duties. As such, he has been forced to resign as an active TSAB member, and given his age has decided that now would be a good time to go into general retirement rather than be stuck at a desk job. This of course leaves the T.S.A.B vulnerable, as there is now one less General in the ranks."
Everyone looked shocked and confused at once. Some of them hadn't got parts of it, but the atmosphere that the generals and other TSAB people in the room were giving off was enough to tell that something grave and unprecedented had just occurred. Grayson, "Well that explains a good deal. I wouldn't have normally been sent to the Asura's aid yesterday given that it was under General Ferro's jurisdiction, so I had a feeling something was amiss when I was asked to go, even more so when my staff couldn't get ahold of him, but I never imagined something like this." Lindy, "I don't think anyone could have predicted something like this." John himself was quiet for a few moments. It was clear that this news was hard for him to process. Though the newer mages and other non TSAB present didn't know the exact nature of the relationship between John and his General, it was easy enough to tell that it must be something significant given John's reaction. Finally though, John gave a large sigh, "He was a good mage, and a better friend, and the best mentor I could have asked for. I owe him a great deal, more than I could ever repay. He even made sure after I was promoted to Captain Commander that I could still maintain my life on Earth with my family as much as he could do so. I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am now if it hadn't been for him." The generals and John all sat in silence in respect for the General's duty and commitment, John especially looked a bit grim. The gloomy air was so thick that they all felt ill.
After almost 5 minutes, Lee couldn't take anymore. He spoke up, "Well, you said there was some good news, right?" Jackson and the rest looked up at this. Jackson trying to shake off the gloom, "Ah yes, there is a bit of a silver lining, if you can call it that under the circumstances. As I said before, The T.S.A.B is weakened greatly by the absence of a general. Due to this, the Supreme Council always immediately fills the position as soon as possible. As such, one of their continuing duties it that, they keep tabs on all SSS or higher mages who have both the ability, countenance, relevant skills and experience necessary to fill such a position, and so the Supreme Council already have determined who will be General Ferro's replacement, though it has not yet been publicly announced." All the other Generals looked at him, Lindy, "So who is it already?" John though didn't need Jackson to answer. The message had been sent to Jackson, in other words not John directly, and given that John was currently the highest-ranking mage of his section, there could only be one reason for that. Promotions of this magnitude were always handed out directly by those of higher rank no matter the circumstance, to ensure that there was no possibility for incorrect communication or intentional subterfuge.
John though just took a deep breath, "Suspense isn't really your strong suit Jack. I'm pretty sure I know what the message says. There's after all only one reason it would be sent to another General as opposed to me in this scenario." Jackson, "Well its kind of a heavy moment, sue me for trying to make it more dramatic. But yeah, they tagged you for Ferro's replacement. I mean it only makes sense, you are the current number 2 of Section 5 and have the experience and abilities required for being a general, not to mention that its common knowledge that Ferro himself has apparently been advocating for you to replace him for years, but the Council continued to ask for his sustained service due to his name recognition and acknowledged skills and leadership. It would have honestly been pretty hard to offer it to anyone but you, but since its technically required of me, I have to state it." Jackson suddenly cleared his throat, "Johnathan Cross, Captain Commander of Section 5 of the TSAB, it is my duty to inform you that you have just received a 1 rank promotion to General of Section 5, effective immediately."
Everyone turned to look at John, who currently had an unreadable expression on his face, but they could hardly blame him. For one, it was clear that he must be immensely conflicted given the situation out of which he was getting this promotion. General Ferro clearly meant a great deal to him, and so to get this position because his friend, mentor and superior had been forced out due to injury on the job couldn't have been a good feeling, but on the other hand, this was also supposed to be one of the ultimate ambitions of most who joined the TSAB, and in that sense they suspected that part of him wanted to be happy about it as well, but the circumstances probably got in the way of that. Lindy though just walked over to John, "Look, we all know how Ferro felt about you. Honestly without the council's pressure and your own insistence, he would have handed you the job years ago, everyone knows it. And look at the bright side, Ferro's alive, and apparently outside the linker core damage, is expected to make a full recovery. I can guarantee you that when you see him, he's probably going to be glad more than anything that he finally got to give you the job, so just be happy about it." It took John a moment to process it, but slowly he donned a small smile, "You are right, of course, and I am happy, truly."
Everyone looked at him, he no longer looked as upset a frustrated as he had been since getting the news. Jackson also sat down next to him, "And think of it this way ol' best buddy of mine. With this, we finally kept our crazy promise from way back at graduation." John, "I guess you're right, though honestly at the time as cool as it was, I would have never believed we would actually be able to keep it, so I guess that's something to celebrate if nothing else…"At the word "promise," everyone looked confused, so Lindy explained it to them, "A long time ago as you all know, John, Jack, and I were good friends in the training academy. We worked hard there and graduated, all with high marks, and right after graduation, we made a promise to each other. The promise was that one-day, we would both be able to look each other in the face as equals from the top of the TSAB, even though it was somewhat a joke at the time, though after Jack made General first, we all honestly thought that maybe we could, and so with John's promotion, we've finally completed our trifecta." After it was all done, everyone went over to congratulate John on his promotion. John secretly to himself was very happy, as he could admit to himself that outside the circumstances that lead to it, it was one of his biggest dreams that had just come true. Though he was sad about the circumstances of his promotion, even if he understood that events like this were part and parcel with the job of being in the TSAB, so one could only learn to look on the brighter side when the opportunity arose. Thus he knew that he would have to settle for the fact that besides the weakened magical prowess, Ferro was expected to make a perfect recovery physically, and keep that as solice.
When they were done with the congratulations and the rest Jackson went ahead with what else came with this promotion. "So now for the particulars. Now given the abruptness of the situation, there isn't going to be any particularly formal full colors ceremony and parade or nothing, but you do have to go to the traditional party made up of Generals, their adjacent Captain Commander and a few members of the council. The event will be somewhat informal, but you will have to bring your family. Also as customary, the banquet will be held on the new general's home world so the party will be held on Earth, though exact details are yet to be announced. Besides your family, you are allowed to invite up to 5 other people, though given that we're doing this on Earth, they should be people who already know about the TSAB obviously. They'll send you the exact details though soon. Also, though the official public announcement to all mages about this isn't going to be until the banquet, all the current Generals and their adjacent captain commander's will be alerted and thus should know about it by now, with my announcing this to those present most likely being a bit later than the others due to our previous block in communications. Also, despite the public announcement not being until your promotion party, you officially have assumed your position as General the second that I officially relayed that to you, so you are still expected to perform your new duties immediately."
John just took a deep breath, it was a lot to take in, but he knew that the TSAB hated procrastination, and it came with the territory, "Very well. That said, besides the obvious mountains of paperwork and tedium I know are about to be sent my way, from one general to another, what should I expect?" Jack, "Well first the obvious, you need to select your own replacement. Once you move up the latter, that leaves your own vacancy for Captain Commander, and as head of your section, filling that position falls on you. As for the qualifications, I'm sure you know them quite well. If you want someone from your own section, you can simply choose anyone from your section with at least an SS rank who has completed advanced leadership training and held an officer role of Lieutenant rank or higher for at least 5 years, else you will have to submit the choice to the council for review if you want someone reassigned or else you believe that there is a candidate that doesn't meet the previous conditions but you feel is qualified regardless. In addition, for you specifically, I've been alerted that you'll also need to be fitted out with a private ship given the condition of your current one, since while they made it operational, it's apparently been decided that it will ultimately be decomissioned soon. Also, unless there is is an issue, you have the option of maintaining your current crew for your private direct crew, honerary Generals Guards, which knowing you I'm assuming you will do." John, "Of course, my crew's like my second family." Jackson, "As I thought. Also, as is customary, no one in your section has yet been alerted to this new status quo. That honor falls squarely upon you, and you are expected to do it as soon as you are able. That is classically the first assignment given out to new Generals. That said, communications are still a bit too spoty for that kind of thing and you cannot get back to your ship until tomorrow so you will just have to do it then. Beyond all that, I'll be honest that its mostly a 'by the seat of your pants' kind of job, so have fun with that…"
After that, they all went to do various things. Lee asked Sora to spar with him in magic. Since he had devoted a lot of time to his sword studies, he hadn't been getting in much mage practice so they went back out to the training field to spar. Surprisingly, they were no longer as tired from the day's earlier training. As for the Kaiten kids, they had asked their older brother to teach them something cool. That said, Garret admitted that he didn't really have any experience in the teaching department, but luckily Lance and Nanoha decided to go and help, thinking it would be fun, and besides after having basically taught Lee, Chrono, Sakura, Sarah and Sora almost everything all of them knew about magic, they felt that they must have some teaching skills given how strong all of them were. Chrono and Sakura, getting into the mood decided, even though they were slightly tired, to also do a mock battle like Lee and Sora. Sarah though went and worked on her Ki training some more in the mean time after getting some meditation tips from her father that he said should help, and frankly were the general first steps when learning to harness Ki, since as he explained before, despite its physical abilities, Ki was somewhat psionic in nature, meaning that mental fortitude was probably the most important thing when it came to enhancing it. The Generals, now including John, were remaining in Jackson's room. John had asked them to tell him about certain things that a new general would need to know, and they were all more then happy to oblige him, especially since another situation where John would have the undivided attention of a full quarter of all active Generals in the TSAB was probably never going to happen again, only existing in the first place due to their unique situation, and he wasn't about to let that opportunity pass him by. In that way, the rest of the day passed in the blink of an eye.
When they woke up the next morning, it was 9 o'clock. They all ate breakfast together as it was their last day on Fretica. During breakfast, a message for the new general came with the details for his promotion party, which was to take place exactly one week from today at 6 pm at the Fraise De Grand, an extremely fancy two-star Michelin restaurant in the middle of lower Tokyo that Lee had only been to once when he was younger for his uncle Will's 2nd wedding. Chrono and Sakura on the other hand had been there many times (remember, both of their families are very rich). John originally though that it was more formal than he would have chosen, but Jackson had told him the previous evening that when he had said informal, he should have said less formal. There had to be some amount of pomp and circumstance for a general's promotion party after all.
There was something else in the message as well. It was his first mission assignment from the Supreme General Commander, though the subject of said mission was quite a surprise. It was a Lost Logia Mission, on Earth, for some objects that they were all by now well aquainted with. John, "So they did know about it." Lee looked confused, "What do you mean?" John, "I was wondering for a while if the T.S.A.B. even knew about you and your friends collecting those Saren Stone things given how dangerous they appear to be. Believe it or not, those stones have just been re-classified as Class 2 Lost Logia now, and that's not a small designation I can assure you. I can only assume though that until now they thought that as they weren't causing much damage thanks to you all. Thus, since Earth is also technically a non-administered planet, they decideded to basically leave it to the locals, in this case you guys, who were for the most part natively from that planet. They sometimes do that as to not waste their resources. As massive as the TSAB is, in truth we are actually chronically understaffed. There aren't enough personnel to go around rescuing every cat stuck in a tree and all that, and while you guys weren't having any trouble keeping them under wraps, they probably didn't see a need to interfere and would probably have just come at the end to collect them up peacefully for safe keeping. That said, my last report about a second party being interested in them might have been a tipping point, especially since my last report included a full analysis of one of the manifestations, which rightly made them think that this was too big a problem to leave unattended with children at this point, no offense, albeit immensely powerful and resourceful children. Also in truth, at the time when they decided the TSAB didn't need to interfere, they were almost assuredly classified as a class three Lost Logia, which are of much lesser concern, and truthfully it only would have been that high because of what happened to Artorius Scrya, Lance's father, combined with a new adversary coming after it, else they might have been even lower on the priority list."
Sarah, "So what exactly are Lost Logia anyway? Lance and Nanoha have told us they are relics from some lost, advanced civilization, but that doesn't really explain a lot. So can you tell us something?" Grayson was the one to answer, "Very well then, I will tell you the story. It's basically a children's tale that everyone's heard a thousand times except that some parts of it have been mostly verified. It starts off with an ancient magical civilization by the name of Alhazard. This civilization is thought to have existed more than a 100,000 years ago by current records. It is said that at the beginning, it was a normal planet that evolved like a normal planet into a regular society. But for some reason, this civilization went farther into evolution and scientific achievement unlike any other planet before or since. It evolved both physically and scientifically beyond what we could possibly imagine. But it is said that it took this advancement too far, evolving too much and they ended up destroying themselves and creating the largest Dimensional Dislocation in all of our recorded history. The planet, the universe it was supposedly in, and the dimensions surrounding it either got twisted beyond recognition or ceased to exist entirely, no one has ever been able to say decisively. But many fragments of their achievements, their technologies, and even the physical remnants and structures of their civilization somehow survived and were scattered throughout all of the dimensions. There are those that found them and tried to learn from them. Most of these objects are generally harmless and some even beneficial, but there are some that are very dangerous, like those Saren Stones probably, which are given a danger notice and classified on a scale of 5 to 1, with 5 being harmless and 1 being immensely dangerous. Anything with a class 3 to class 1 danger notice has been labeled too dangerous to be loose so the T.S.A.B usually collects them and seals them away from society. That having been said, if a situation arrises and a third party is deemed capable of taking care of it, like in your case until now, they will let them do so, and then either confiscate or confirm proper containement or disposal of the target object in question. In your case, they most likely had the Saren Stones labeled as a class 4 or 3 which can still be dangerous but usually not life threatening and only if used improperly. But it seems the higher ups after getting more specific intel, changed that designation to class 2 and have decided that they are too dangerous so now John's in charge of collecting them, likely because it is his homeworld in addition to being the new General for Section 5, whose designation includes the handling and confiscation of such objects."
Lee, "Class 2? These things have almost killed us and they're only class 2?" John, "Don't take that lightly, very few items are ever given a level 2 or higher classification classification. In order, anything in class 5 is considered relatively benign, and of no immediate danger to the general public and even beneficial in many cases. Class 4 is still pretty benign but could potentially be mildly dangerous is misused. I tend to think of class 5 as a kitchen knife and class 4 as a sword if that put thinks into perspective. That said, like a kitchen knife and a sword, they are considered not a huge priority unless causing immediate harm since they should only be dangerous is mishandled. That said, anything higher is considered to be too dangerous to leave alone under any circumstance. Class 3 is what the vast majority of dangerous lost logia fall under for one reason or another. They have had a lot of sub divisions I won't go into right now for the sake of brevity, but the general gist is that they dangerous objects that either are too complicated to be used as intended by most people or a high potential for misuse, or else just dangerous if left alone or any number of other things that would make an object not safe for normal people. I should mention that there are class 3 lost logia that are deemed to be safe enough to not confiscate if they have some sort of practical purpose or research potential, but all those lost logia of class 3 or higher are heavily regulated regardless as Class 3 is a designation given to objects that pose a significant threat to people and property. For all intensive purposes, if class 5 is a kitchen knife, class 4 is a sword, and class 3 would be more along the lines of dynamite, which can have a practical purpose but is incredibly dangerous regardless. But then you get to class 2. Following the previous comparisons of a kitchen knife, a sword and a tank, then class 2 by comparison would be an atomic bomb."
The earth-based members at the table looked shocked. As a proper Japanese citizen, you didn't call something a nuclear weapon lightly, and both being from Earth and having family in Japan, they knew that General Grayson knew that. John, "Class 2 are considered incredibly dangerous and thus are collected up and either destroyed or locked away by the TSAB, being too powerful or dangerous for anyone to have. Thus while lower ranked squads are dispatched for level three's and lower, level two's require elite forces, and given that just one of those stones is now classified at class 2 in and of itself, and there are 26 from what Lance has told me, they believe it important enough to send a general, and frankly I think it's a wise move." Sarah, "But what about class 1 then?" John, "Well that's a special category. In short form, they are objects that pose threats to, at minimum, an entire planet, though there are some that go well beyond even that. I would give you another analogy, but there is no current earth equivalent to a class 1 Lost Logia. Of course, such objects are incredibly rare, even in the vast multi-dimension universe the TSAB operates in, so you need not worry about them for now." They all listened with intrigue as they ate breakfast.
After breakfast, they went and got their things ready (not that they had a lot). When they were ready, they said their goodbyes to the remaining Generals Grayson, Lindy, and Jackson. Although, it wasn't for too long as they would all see them again in a week at John's party for his promotion to General. It turned out that the Kaiten's would be at the party as well as each General was aloud to invite 5 guests and Jackson gave Grayson one of his so that all of the Kaiten's could come. Apparently, the wives of general's were already counted as guests without invitations so Jackson, with only one 7 year old daughter (he may look young, but remember that Jackson is around the same age as John) didn't need most of his invitations, since his daughter would get the invitation that would have gone to his spouse if he still had one. Apparently, Jackson's first wife divorced him almost immediately after his daughter was born and left without a word never to be heard from again. John mentioned that he always thought that marriage was a mistake, doomed to fail if for no other reason than always had a feeling that Jackson and Lindy would somehow end up together given how close they were despite protests from both of them, a belief that he still held to this day, especially since for some reason Jackson's daughter and Lindy also got along famously.
They said their farewells, and in short order were transported onto the Asura. Originally, Sakura had offered to make another portal to get them home, but they ended up taling the ASURA home because of what John had to tell his crew. When they appeared in the teleportation room, Amy was waiting for them, "Where have you been, this ship has been in a state of chaos since news of the attack yesterday on the General and we don't know anything else, and on top of that the ASURA still has quite a few problems in need of fixing even after they got it back in operation. Some of the mechanics said that we would ultimately would need to give us a new ship, and with all this stuff surrounding the General, many of us are worried about being reassigned and moved in the inevitable shuffle, but no one from the other divisions is willing to tell us anything, so can you?"
John, "Don't worry, I plan to do so in short order, and I can promise you that there isn't much to be worried about on the assingment front. For now, can you gather everyone in the main hall?" Amy nodded in understanding, after which she left to do just that. John while the rest of them headed for John's on-ship quarters, which was more like a large apartment than anything, figuring that they could at least wait in the comfort of his large living room while Amy saw to getting the crew gathered.
John told them all that they could either stay or come with him to make the announcement. Most of them decided to attend, as it was a big moment for both the TSAB and John, but the Kaiten's decided to stay in the room, feeling like foreigners in a distant country, and so felt a little intrusive. Thus when it was time, the Cross family and company followed as John went to what he called the Main Hall, which was normally the cafeteria. That said when they entered, they couldn't believe their eyes, it was a set up like a huge concert like auditorium. John said, "It's for music nights or just when we need to gather ect… This ship is designed for long term assignments, so these kinds of spaces are needed, though this room can be used for any number of things." The newer mages noted that the room was huge, much bigger than they could justify physically given that they had seen the exterior of the ship. John explained that the space in here was enlarged by magic so it was actually smaller on the outside than on the inside, and included something he called a modular system that automatically set up basic décor and furniture in the room for different purposes, ranging from the auditorium it was now to a storage facility to a banquet hall for special events and even a multi-utility sports field kind of area, as well as its normal configuration as the mess hall. But moving on from that, he told them to sit right in front in the seats next to two seats he said were usually reserved for himself and his second (Amy).
In less than 10 minutes from their own arrival, almost every seat was filled, all eyes on the podium up front. All the crew was they're waiting for what was to come. When everyone got situated, John spoke, "Ah hem, excuse me, I apologize for uprooting everyone's day, but obviously a lot of buzz and scuttlebutt has undoubtedly been flying around the last few days that I have been unable to be here, so I am taking this time to address everyone, not just those on my ship, but to the rest of our Section who should be watching this broadcast. I have bad news and good news and some other news after that. First off, I regret to inform you that as you all know, an unknown attacked our sections' General Ferro and his ship a few days ago, leaving the crew and the General hurt and the ship in ruins. Details are forthcoming and as soon as CSI does their workup I will share more information. Now from all reports, the good news is that all members of General Ferro's crew, including him, made it out alive. That said, yesterday I was informed that due to injuries sustained in the assault, General Ferro has been forced to give up his position as an active member of the TSAB, including his post as General and has decided to take this moment to declare his full retirement from the TSAB." Everyone looked around and then the muttering began. It was clear that at least some of those present had assumed that this might be the case, especially since after hearing about the incident with their General, news had been scarce, which generally didn't mean anything good.
"SO," John started again, "Because of this there are obviously major changes coming to our Section. And they are not necessarily bad. The council has decided the new General already and-." John was suddenly cut off as before he could even say anything, his entire crew had suddenly stood up, smiling, as they started clapping loudly. John, "Um, I haven't said anything yet?" Amy though who was at the front just smiled at him, "Like they would choose anyone but you. The General's been trying to give you his job for years." Another crewmember, "Besides, if they didn't give it to you the whole of Section 5 is going to riot." There was a constant stream of agreement from the crew. John for his part was clearly overwhelmed by the show of support and loyalty of his crew beyond words. Over to the side, Lee and company didn't know how to react, but it was clear that John's crew were quite devoted to him. They could only imagine the adventures and trials they had all gone through though to have that strong a support for John, and from their comments, there must have been countless other's that felt the same. Especially for Lee Sora and Sarah, it was quite an experience. Over the last few days, they had learned that there was a whole other part of their father's life that they had not known about, a major part, but this display more than anything was driving home how much they hadn't known, that they were soon to learn.
Eventually though, John motioned for them to settle down, "Your support honors me beyond words, truly. But as it is, these things must be said clearly and directly, so allow me to give you, my crew, and those watching from afar from every division and squad that Section 5 encompasses that I, Johnathan Cross, have officially assumed the position of General of Section 5, effective immediately." Before John could say much else, there was another round of applause, but John quieted it immediately, "Okay, we get it, I'm a great guy yada yada etcetera etcetera. In any case, you all know me, I'm not much for the pomp and formalities and everything, so let me just get to the rest of the announcements. The most pressing is, as I am the new General, the position of Captain Commander obviously becomes vacant, and thus with my new role comes the task of filling it. Thus after careful consideration, I have decided the position shall go to Major Captain Adjacent Amy Rose."
Amy had a look of complete, utter confusion on her face even as a spotlight coming from who knows where suddenly moved to cover her. Barely able to comprehend what was happening, it was all she could do to blush so hard that her face resembled a tomato, not sure how to react to this, to her knowledge at least, completely out of left field announcement and major promotion. That said, it was clear that none of the crew present seemed to have any problem with it, as Amy suddenly found herself the recipient of her own round of deafening applause, simply bowing to the rest of the crew in gratitude.
John though had to finish up or they would be here all day, and so one last time, he motioned for silence, "Yes, it is all so very exciting. That said, obviously now that I have chosen the new Captain Commander, again, we have an open position. It's like the domino effect. Fill one, empty another. As for the new opening that Amy has vacated, I'm leaving that as Amy's job to decide, so be excited for that news coming shortly. Now, for my final announcement, as I am a General, as is tradition, I am allowed to assign my previous Crew, or you guys as I should say, as my private crew, a general's honor guard. As I was alerted, as part of this change, we will be moving into the brand-new ship, the proto-type ARTEMIS, in three days. It is supposed to be state of the art so I hope you don't mind too much, especially since as fateful as she's been, the ASURA as you all know is already on its last legs and is soon to be decomissioned. In any case it would be wise for you to start packing your things soon to move over, which will be in the next couple of days. That is all, and I thank you for your time and support." He stepped down from the podium and everyone started to file out. That said, before she could leave, John caught up to his new Captain Commander, "Amy, could you come to my office after this." She simply nodded, still blushing and a bit dazed at the current turn of events, simply following him out as he left. John told his kids that he had a spot of buisness to take care of and that they could explore the ship or go back to his private quarters until then.
The group decided to look around the ship given that despite everything else, the concept of space travel was still new and exciting to the vast majority of them. Meanwhile, John led Amy to what was his office, or at least was his office as he clearly spelled out for her, "Okay, as this is now technically your office, I think you should sit at the desk." Amy blushed and said, "No, that's okay, I like the couch better." He decided not to argue, seeing as she was the true commander of this ship at the time anyway. "Well then. First I wish to apologize for blind siding you with the promotion, but we are under a deadline and it only felt right to choose you." Amy, "No, that's alright, and yes I'm surprised, but more than anything I'm honored." John smiled, "Good, I wouldn't have it any other way, and before you can get any doubts in your head, while I admit that I favored you over the other candidates on a personal level given how long we've worked together, that was not a consideration in this choice. Despite your younger age, you are more than qualified for the position, frankly moreso than any of the other candidates I was willing to consider. That said, now that that's done, your previous position as a Commander Adjacent is vacant, and given that we are one of the smaller sections, its important that it gets filled quickly. Unlike Section 1 that has over 50 Commander Adjacents, Section 5 generally only maintains a dozen or so, and so the loss of 1 is a much greater gap in our command structure, and as I said I'm leaving the decision of filling this vacancy to you. That said, we are in a bit of a cruchtime here, so do you already have someone in mind you would like to nominate?"
Amy had to think about it for a good few minutes, but in truth she did already have someone in mind, the person who most likely helped her out the most in their current crew outside John himself, "Yes as a matter of fact. I think Rodger would be the good choice, if you agree." Amy waited for a moment, but was surprised that John didn't give her any acknowledgement or affirmation, and in fact seemed to be a bit fustrated, but finally answered her, "Amy, I don't think you quite get how this works, but it is imporatant for your future as my 2nd so I'll state it again. This decision is entirely your call. I am not asking for an opinion or a recommendation, I am asking for a choice. Whoever you chose I will nominate to become the one to take your place, regardless of what I think. So, having said that, do you want to chose Rodger." Amy had to pause again, with the realization of her current position hitting her like a truck once again, but even then, she was sure, "Yes, I choose Commander Rodger."
John looked passive for a moment, Amy not quite sure if she had done something wrong or didn't choose who John expected, but then John gave her his classic grin, "Very dood then, with your choice, that matter is now settled. Now for the second part and again, I'm letting this be your choice entirely. Do you want to come with this crew and be on my personal staffed ship as your based position, or do you want to remain with the Asura and captain it on your own with Ferro's crew, who will be reassigned to this ship when we move to the new one, or whatever one they give you after the ASURA is decomissioned. I want to point out that neither is a bad choice. I would obviously love for you to come with me, as you have been invaluable to me and the crew since I first picked you up when I was but a Captain. That said, at the same time, managing your own ship and crew and taking on your own assingments and goals could also be an important experience for you, as it was for me. I admit that when given that similar option, I chose to lead my own crew instead of going with General Ferro to his ship, and while I'm sure I might have missed some experiences, I've never regretted that decision and it could very well be that I am where I am today because I veered off on my own. That said, for this, I don't need an answer this second. You have some time so you don't need to decide right now but I will need it by-," Amy interrupted him mid-sentence, "I already know. It isn't a hard decision to make. In your case, it probably made sense since you had been promoted from outside Farro's regular crew from what you told me, and you had wanted to keep going on with your old crew, which was what lead you to not go with him I'm sure. Thus, by that logic, if all my friends and comrades that I've worked with for years are going with you, then so am I, but on one condition." "Condition?" said John, confused. Amy smiled and did a mock salute, "I still get to call you Cap-i-tan!" John relaxed and sighed, "Okay, but not in public, ok?" "Ok cap-i-tan sir." She was about to walk out when John flagged her down, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot to give you this." He pulled out two envelopes. "One is the invitation to my New General's party and the other is the promotion salary bonus you get for going up two ranks. Why not get something for the party." She blushed a little more and left the room.
John went back to his room where everyone was waiting for him. "Okay all, I think it's about time for us to be heading off, as I've gotten word that we're within transport range of Earth. I was just told that we are within the teleport range for this ship. I wish we could just teleport ourselves back home but it is impossible from inside any T.S.A.B. vessel, or the Dimensional Sea for that matter." And with that, they headed for the teleport room where Rodger was waiting to activate the teleporter. John though, knowing he didn't know yet walked up to him, "And before I go, I owe you Rodger my congratulations!" Rodger looked confused. John continued, "I guess Amy hasn't got a chance to tell you, but since I'm here I guess I get the honor since time is of the essence. She chose you to fill her spot so now you're Commander Adjacent Rodger. And to celebrate, here" he handed him an envelope, "This is a formal invitation to my party." Rodger didn't know what to say, but it was clear he was overwhelmed with positive emotion. He always wanted to command his own ship and right her he was being given the chance, "Thank you General Cross sir." John, "Trust me, Amy made the right choice, you deserve it, and in her shoes I would have made the same decision. Now all the details have to be hashed out, but effectively, as of this moment, the ASURA's yours, or whatever ship you end up with since as I've been told, this old girl is finally being retired. I'll have more details soon, but for now, enjoy it." Rodger could barely contain his happiness, but in a professional manner, he suddenly saluted his new General, "Thank you, truly, General Cross sir." John gave him a wave as Rodger, for what was likely the last time in his career, did his job as the ships Head of Security and teleported them down on pretty much the exact same spot they started this entire ordeal.
"Okay, we made it. Now wasn't that fun," John said in a mock tone, before remembering his last prmise. He turned to the younger group, "Oh yeah, I said that you three," he pointed at Nanoha (with Lance as a ferret), Sakura and Chrono, "would be home almost 30 minutes ago, so you better hurry home. Just remember, if they ask, you were at Lee's cousins' house and say you had a good time." Sakura and Chrono knew how punctual their parents were so Sakura grabbed Nanoha's hand and teleported straight behind her house's gate where no one would see while Chrono did the same to his house. John, "Okay then, as for the rest of us lets head back, shall we? I miss my couch." They walked with the Kaiten's as they lived right down the block from each other. When they got back to their general neighborhood, they said bye and went into their respective dwellings.
Lee though was blindsided when he entered his own house as his mother almost squeezed him to death in a hug, "Lee, are you alright, nothing hurts right? You're all better, good. When your father called, he said you were in bed from working too hard and I was soooooo worried that you'd hurt yourself." Lee who was almost smothered by his mother, "All good mom, see." They all entered the house when their mother turned to them, "Oh yeah, by the way you two," he looked at Lee and Sarah, "Your next year preporatory homework arrived in the mail yesterday for your new schools, there is quite a bit, they needed boxes to send it so you might want to get started, okay." Lee and Sarah looked at the rather large boxes of homework. They both were thinking the same thing, "I think I would rather fight all the Saren stones 5 times over than do this."
Knowing that they would never find enough time to finish it otherwise, they decided to start on their homework with their free time. Sora, who was in college didn't currently have homework so he decided to take pity on his younger siblings and said that he would help. They both sighed in very minor relief. More Lee than Sarah because Sarah was extremely smart but the sheer volume of the homework was enough to give the even such an academically inclined person a headache trying to do it all. That said, what Lee liked most about Sora's brand of help was that he was a bit of a perfectionist. As such, when he said he would help you, it really meant that he would do it for you as he was one of those "my way is the best way," type people, and Lee felt no need to argue. And with Sora's help, they got a reasonable chunk of it done by dinner (A HUGE achievement considering how much they had gotten.)
Dinner that night started quiet, they were about to put Sarah's plan into action, with the younger girl herself simply saying to leave it to her.. She was waiting for her mother to pause for a second because she was the type of person who would probably choke on their food from this type of news. Thus when she paused to put more rice on her plate, Sarah took her moment, "You know Mom, something really surprising happened while we were away." Mary looked at Sarah, "Really, what?" "Well, while we were at the testing place, a chain of events happened throughout the T.S.A.B. that led to the retirement of a general." Mary turned to her husband, "Really?" John, "Yeah, and you've met him before. Remember when I introduced you to my boss?" Mary, "Oh yes, that nice older man Mr. Ferro, right? Is he okay?" John, "He will be, but due to an injury on his last mission, he's had to step down as General." Mary, "Oh, that's too bad. You really liked him, didn't you." John, "Immensely, and I'll miss him." Sarah, "But its not all bad news. They already chose Daddy as the new General."
At this, Mary dropped her fork, immediately getting up and gave their father a big hug and a kiss, "Why didn't you say anything, a General, that's big, that's really big. It is big, right?" John, "Sort of yeah." This continued on for about 5 minutes. Though they had been married for almost 23 years now, they still acted like newlyweds sometimes, both to the happiness and sometimes embarassment of theif children. John, "Yes, apparently everyone knew that the General wanted me to take over for him for years, and with this I've kind of lost my excuse to put it off. But you should know that there's going to be a party next Friday in celebration of it. All the General's and their Adjacents will be there and some other higher ups from the Council among a bunch of other really important people, so we may have to doll ourselves up a bit." Their mother then started to say stuff like what she was going to wear and if they should get Lee a new suit and Sarah a new dress and so on and so forth for the rest of the meal.
When dinner ended, Lee went to his room. He decided to get a bit of fresh air and decided to step out onto the small deck off his room. The rest of his family was already in their rooms. Thus, he was surprised when, out of nowhere, he felt someone reach out to him telepathically, "Please, don't be frightened." Lee quickly looked around, trying to find the source of the telepathic transmission, able to tell that it was close when a girl with long blond hair tied into two long trails appeared out of nowhere on the deck with him. Lee recognized her instantly, even though it had been a bit, "Fate Tesstorosa!" He jumped back and half-released Haruno as a sword, "What are you doing here?" Fate put up her hands in a defensive manner, "Please, I didn't come here to fight you."
Lee didn't know how to react, but somehow could feel the honesty of her words, and so against his more ration judgement deactivated Haruno, who changed back into a marble around his neck, "So what did you come for then, I hope it isn't to ask for the stones because the answer is already no." Fate though just shook her head, "Don't worry, I couldn't if I wanted to. They can't be given even if you want to, and with that they can't be stolen either. I just need to ask you something, as someone whose also in this fight." Lee kept on feeling more and more relaxed but kept his guard up, "Okay, shoot." Fate, "If you do something bad to do something good, is that wrong?"
Lee honestly had to think for a bit, not expecting such a deep existential question, "I-I really don't know the answer to that one. Why do you ask?" Fate looked at him. Lee could really see quite a bit of sadness in her eyes. Fate, "I will tell you this. I am not collecting the Saren Stones for myself nor do I know what the person who I am doing it for wants with them. All I know is that I would do anything to make this person happy, and if these stones will make her happy, then I will get every last one of them, no matter what or who stands in my way." Lee though was stuck in thought for a bit longer before he finally gave Fate his reply, "Well, I don't think this is the best answer to your question but if I had to give you an answer now, it would be that something good shouldn't require you to do something bad first, otherwise, the good deed is sort of canceled out by the bad one, making it like it never happened, at least karmically." Fate pondered Lee's word for a moment before nodding to him, "Thanks," and with that, she disappeared. Lee for his part couldn't really fully comprehend the short but deep interaction that he had just had, and so did the only thing he could think of and went back inside, laying on his bed for a while, thinking about what Fate had said. He pondered the answer he had given to her question, and continued to wonder if it was the right one.
Authors Note:
I'll be honest, in terms of editing, this was by far the largest job I did compared to the original version. Almost the entire chapter was rewritten in some way, even if the general pattern of events remains the same. I admit that I was much younger when I originally wrote it, and with that, I was impatient. The original basically went, without any emotional weight or consequence, that John's general was attacked, forced to retire, and so John got a promotion that he was overjoyed about, and then basically went ona comedic streak explaining it to his crew and the rest of Section 5 since John's character design was supposed to be mostly light hearted and easy going. That said, when I went about redoing this story, I realized that this was not the situation for that. This was supposed to be a dark moment, one where one of the most important people in the entire TSAB, and someone who John, as his second in command, must have worked closely with for a very long time, should feel a profound sadness and upset at the situation. Thus, the chapter was tone shifted immensely to reflect that. Of course, John is supposed to be happy about it, and he is in this chapter, accepting the role grasciously, but not to the same rediculous extent that I had him do so originally (I literally had him shout with joy, which looking back on it was kinda inappropriate under the circumstances.) I also had to rewrite the entire scene where he revealed his promotion to his crew and Section 5 at large to reflect the tone change, shifting the jovial parts from John, who at this point still had some mixed feelings on it, to his crew. This also allowed me to add a small scene where John's children could come to appreciate this other part of their father's life a bit more, and to give it proper emotional weight. I hope I did a good job in this regard, as I feel that while not perfect, this version is infinitely better than the original.
As for why I made John a General in the first place, its purely to allow me to drag the TSAB into the story easier. Of course, given the extraordinarily high rank that I've made the totally made-up rank of Captain Commander, I could have probably still achieved this, but I felt that I needed to put John at this higher level in order to have his influences on this plot line carry more gravitas if you will, and it sets up future points quite nicely. If you want to know what those are, then feel free to find out soon…
