Unity

Chapter 18

Time passed more quickly than ever, and with each passing week more ships were completed. My morning ritual consisted of heavy doses of reports and memos to read with a sprinkling of disciplinary issues to take care of. The highlight of my morning was the daily status reports on the Unity's construction. I drank in every detail and attempted to memorize all the sparse details of the ship I could. If this ship was to be my home and my command, I wanted to know every detail about it. The influx of ships meant that we could field more personnel during our exercises than ever. Groups of ships would go head-to-head with simulated weapons only. The simulators were slaved into this battle to provide additional support and complexity. The ability to link the simulators with the fighters and the mobile command ships provided for some very realistic training. Every maneuver was instantly transmitted, and with the weapons system tied in, it allowed the trainers controlling the fight to simulate hits and disable ships when needed. It was an upgrade from the training the simulators could provide alone.

Often the missions would include Admiral Jones and me directing opposing forces. I was amazed at how fast he caught on to my tricks. I learned many new tricks from him as well. I was proud of the fact that we were about equally matched. As time went on, the novelty of being treated as the XO wore off. It became second nature to return salutes and formal greetings. I allocated myself an hour a week in which I would do some recreational activity, besides the still mandatory PT. Once or twice, I managed to meet up with Jen in the gardens at the top of the space station, or one of the other members of my original squadron. I missed feeling close to people, and these interactions, as difficult as they were with the gap in rank that existed, worked to stave off the loneliness.

My new duties as Vice Admiral did not allow for much rest. I had learned the layout of the space station quite well as I traveled to various areas on different assignments. My days also started to fill with meetings and talking to important military people. I was even present for a video meeting with The Council. Admiral Jones gave me strict instructions on not to speak and was hardly even acknowledged by the members of the Council. That was fine with me. It meant I didn't have to worry about saying something stupid in front of the leaders of the planet.

After one particularly frustrating day, I decided to eat in the mess hall with somebody I knew. I needed to feel some sort of familiarity, or I was going to lose it. I received many strange looks as I got in line for food like everybody else. Several people offered me a place at the front of the line, which I politely refused. Once I had my food, I walked over to the table and sat next to Andrew.

"Hey Andrew," I said as I started eating. His fork was halfway to his mouth, frozen in midair. "Are you OK?" I asked.

He came to his senses, set down his fork and asked, "What are you doing here? Don't they bring your mess to you in your quarters?"

"I didn't feel like eating alone," I answered. "I miss normal human interaction."

"What do you mean? Every time I see you, you are busy talking to somebody." As he said this, the table started to fill up. Most of them didn't recognize me or look my way. Those who were sitting next to me recognized me as they sat down, and immediately started to stand back up to salute.

"Stand down soldiers" I said with a smile. They quickly took their seats, still unsure what to do. I turned back to Andrew and before I could resume our conversation, my tablet informed me that I had an urgent message. "Every message is urgent these days" I said as I opened the message.

"What is it?" Asked Andrew

"I'm not sure. Apparently, I need to meet with Admiral Jones right now." I got up with a sigh. "It was nice to see you, even if it was for a few minutes." I said as I departed.