Unity

Chapter 16

Time seemed to speed up at an exponential rate. Days quickly turned to weeks, which in turn turned into months. Six months went by quicker than I thought possible. Our days as commanders were filled with tests, strategy, commanding ships in simulator battles, and anything else Admiral Jones could think to challenge us with. At times I thought my head couldn't fit anything else. Along with learning what we needed to become successful commanders we spent countless hours performing exercises that were designed to build trust between the commanders. There were times when tempers flared and minor fights broke out, but under the Admiral's tutelage, we slowly bridged the gaps, and slowly respect formed. Respect slowly transformed into trust which planted seeds of friendship among our small group.

Time was the hardest commodity to acquire. I tried to spend time with my previous squadron, but many of them had moved on and formed friendships in their new squadrons. I decided it was best that they nurture these new relationships, instead of dwelling on old ones. Occasionally I would sit with one of them during mess or meet up in the gardens on a Sunday. Like me they were under a lot of stress to learn all they would need to know, so these occasions became more and more infrequent. I watched those around me transform from cadets into members of the Battle Fleet. I came to realize that I had changed too. I felt more confident in my abilities. Gone was the awkward teenager, and in his place a leader was emerging.

The time soon arrived that we were to receive our marching orders. With five months left until we graduated, we were starting to feel the beginnings of anxiety. Our orders would tell us what ship we were assigned to, as well as specific roles. In essence, it defined our futures. The announcement had been made that the orders would be sent out at 2100 hours today, I was in my quarters with the rest of the commanders. We were all anxiously watching the seconds tick by, willing time to go faster. The tension in the air was palpable as the appointed time drew near.

True to his word, Admiral Jones sent out everybody's orders to the tablets precisely when he said he would. I opened my email and waited to see my orders come in. Everybody else started cheering and talking about the ships they were assigned to. I waited several minutes, thinking my message may have been delayed. I tried restarted my tablet, thinking something was wrong with it. When it powered back on there was still nothing there.

Andrew ran over to my desk. "They gave me command of the Paladin!" he yelled excitedly. He then seemed to notice my confused expression. "What does your orders say?" He asked in a worried voice.

"I don't know yet," I replied, showing him my tablet.

"That's odd," he said. He did something on his tablet then looked back at mine. When the notification went off indicating I had a message I looked at it excitedly. I was just a message from Andrew with a bunch of random words.

"How did they ever let you in here if you can't even write a proper message?" I asked, fighting down the growing panic I felt inside.

"I was just trying to see if everything was working," He replied. Everyone else seemed to notice our confusion and started to gather around.

"What's all the fuss about?" asked Miyako as she stood next to me.

"I haven't received my orders yet," I replied.

Tamal spoke up, "There are only eight battleships you know. There are nine of us."

Nobody dared speak after that though Tamal received many glares for voicing the thought everyone else was thinking, but too tactful to say aloud. What if my assignment changed, or I somehow washed out? Daniel came to my rescue, "Why would they train one of us for six months, if they were just going to put them somewhere else? It doesn't make sense."