Side Quest 12: School Daze

Canteen, Installation 83-RK, 1300hrs
Cpt. Jack Haddock

A pile of pamphlets and brochures is laid out on the table in front of me. One by one, I casually browse through them, taking in the contents, carefully considering my choices.

"Man, what is this stuff? Are they even trying to cook?" Setting her lunch try down, Astrid takes her seat opposite mine. Prodding at the lump of mashed… whatever it is, she gingerly scoops up a spoon of it, examining it for abnormalities.

"Why do you think I gave up eating here for lunch on Saturdays? Saturday surprise is exactly that – a surprise, and a nasty one at that," Ruffnut joins us, along with her brother, sitting just down the table. Instead of the food as provided by the canteen personnel, they've each got a pack of MRE rations, snuck out and stockpiled from our supply of army surplus. "I swear, these things taste much better than what they're offering today."

Leaning over to take a look at what is capturing my attention, Astrid notices the contents of the brochures. "Wow, I see you're taking this seriously, aren't you, Captain?"

"Well, you can say that," Looking up from the magazine, I glance around at the guys around me, before returning my attention to what I was contemplating.

Cambridge U? Massachusetts Institute of Tech? Or University of Tokyo?

Sighing deeply, I weigh the pros and cons in my mind. As an officer here, I was entitled to a scholarship for further education under my Dad's new scheme. A course of your choice, subsidized by up to 90% by the ATF, under the condition that you serve for another 10 years in the organization.

I didn't see myself leaving the company anyway, so I took it up. Plus I didn't see the harm in getting an extra degree.

"Seriously, I don't get it, Captain. It's not like you don't have a job already. That's what's the PhDs are for, right?" Tuffnut is skeptical of it; he and his sister never saw the point of continuing their education past their GCE 'A'-levels, ever since they joined us a few years ago.

"Well, serzhant, maybe some of us want to take time off and pursue their own interests for once, da?" Ilena just happened to pass by and overhear our conversation. "Ooh, Tokyo U? Interesting choice for furthering your education, eh Kapitan?"

"I don't know… It's a really tough choice. Each institution has their own specializations and courses, I really can't decide for sure." Replacing the brochure for Tokyo U back on the table, I flip open the thick guide to Universities across the world that I had acquired.

"Well, Jack, regarding this, you really should take your time, but note that the deadline for your choice isn't far away now." Astrid chides me on my indecision, herself picking up the Stanford brochure and browsing through it. She's given up on trying to eat lunch – the sight of it probably made her lose her appetite.

"Well, what about you, Astrid? What would you choose?" Maybe if I get some opinions from them, it might be easier for me to make a decision.

"Me? I chose Stanford. I'm studying a double degree under their new University home-study programme; law and mechanical engineering."

"… How the hell did you qualify?"

"Well, my 'A'-level grades were sufficiently good…"

"She got straight A-stars, in all nine subjects," Ruffnut interjects, cutting Astrid off and turning her a very deep shade of red. I'm sitting there, staring at a god.

As expected of Astrid.

"…Ilena?"

"I studied Medicine and Military Training at the Moskóvskiy Gosudárstvennyy Universitét, the Moscow State University – Medicine because it was interesting, and Military Training because I had to as part of the Spetsnaz." While the others stared, puzzled at her odd choice of courses, I suddenly feel dejected.

Sighing, I discover that while I'm in command of these two ladies, I'm still far below them in terms of academic qualifications. Returning to the University Guide, I realise the pressure is on me now, as an officer, to get something out of my life and actually learn something that I can apply to make myself a better commander.

Well, there's still a couple more weeks to go before the application deadline, and a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Harvard sounds interesting.