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.
I dropped my mostly uneaten lunch off and headed for Admiral Jones' office. As I stepped in, I noticed that his office was full of people. All the Academy's various department heads were present. There were several high-ranking officials in here as well. Once Admiral Jones recognized I had entered the room, he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and said, "I just received some exciting news." He paused for a moment to let the anticipation build. "The Construction of the Unity is far enough along that we can bring it here and start performing some hands-on training."
I raised my hand and said, "I thought it wasn't supposed to be completed for another month."
"It isn't," he replied, I could see a partial eyebrow cocked at my raised hand. "The basic systems are running, and the final stages of construction can be completed outside of the shipyard. The ship will arrive tomorrow. We'll start relocating necessary crew members next week. My goal is to have a solid two weeks of training with all crews on board. This information is to remain private until we can announce tonight. A general meeting will be called, and all the details will be given." He then excused the trainers but asked the military dignitaries and me to stay.
Once the room had cleared one of the dignitaries handed Admiral Jones a tablet that was marked classified and said, "This is the first official mission for the Unity."
Admiral Jones went through the complex authentication protocols to unlock the device and started reading the brief. "You want us to ship out the day after graduation?" He asked.
"We have been anxiously awaiting the completion of the fleet to carry out this mission," he responded. "It is of the upmost urgency."
"Well, at least it will give us the chance to run exercises and do a proper shakedown," Admiral Jones said quietly as he continued to read. After a minute or two he looked up and excused everyone but me. "What do you think?" He asked as he handed me the tablet.
I quickly read the mission briefing. The mission seemed simple enough. Our task was to transport a large load of Galactum and a scientist to a secret research facility hidden in the asteroid belt. Under the section detailing potential threats, Chaos was listed. There was an indication that they would be aware of this mission and would try to intercept the Unity.
"It sounds simple enough," I said as I handed back the tablet.
"What do you think about the other news?" Admiral Jones asked.
"I can't wait to step on board the Unity," I answered candidly. I couldn't help but feel a sense of euphoria at the thought. "I can't wait to see everyone's reaction to the news."
"I'm glad," he said looking up from the tablet. "You're going to be the one telling them."
"Very funny," I shot back.
"For once I'm not joking," he replied. "You have three hours to produce the schedule for the next month and present it to me. I'll review and tell you what changes to make. You might want to work on what you are going to say as well. Meanwhile, I must take care of this." He waived the tablet in the air. "Good luck Commander Ryan."
I could feel myself start to panic as I made my way to my office. I started with transferring personnel to the Unity. It seemed simple enough. The first aboard would be filling critical roles. Non-essential personnel, like the marines, would be last. I had to coordinate with supplies and equipment being loaded as well.
Next came scheduling the training. The first day was going to be focused on familiarizing all crew on their stations. It was designed to test the auxiliary positions more than the bridge crew. It would be one of many such exercises planned of the next several months to assist in preparing for a true emergency. There was only so much a simulator can do. The next day was for the bridge crews to get some actual flying under their belts. The plan was to start adding additional ships as they were completed, so by the time the month was over, the entire fleet would be performing exercises. I kept the individual mission parameters vague as I figured there was time later to work out the finer details. I sent the plans off to Admiral Jones and started writing a script for the meeting.
Thirty minutes later, Admiral Jones sent back my schedule and had modified it slightly. It was fundamentally the same; he just added a few improvements. There was nothing left to do but wait.
A half hour before the meeting there was a knock on my door. Admiral Jones stepped in. "Are you ready?" He asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be," I answered.
We walked in silence to the amphitheater. Once we arrived, we sat down behind the stage and went through everything that was going to happen. Admiral Jones was going to welcome everyone and then hand the short meeting over to me. He would conclude with a few remarks, and that would be it.
When it came time for us to take our places on the stage everybody quieted down quicker than usual. It was the first time I had been on the stage. It was hard for me to keep a straight face, thinking about the news I was going to deliver. My face must have betrayed some of my excitement because it was catching and spreading like wildfire. Admiral Jones walked to the front, clipped on his lapel microphone, and started talking.
"Welcome everybody. I apologize for the short notice, but we have received news that I thought would be best delivered in person. Regularly scheduled training will continue at the end of this meeting. It should be brief, so if we could have your undivided attention, it would be most appreciated. I've given the honor of delivering this news to Commander Ryan. He'll take over from here."
I activated my microphone and took Admiral Jones' place. I used my tablet to activate the giant screens behind me. I displayed a picture of our beautiful planet Earth. I took my time to look over the crowd before I began. The tension in the room was palpable.
I took a deep breath and said, "What you see displayed behind me is our home. No matter what background or nation you hail from, this will always be home. Our home is the single most important thing that binds us together. What we have accomplished over the past year has never been done before. We have taken people from around the globe and grouped them up with others, who, decades ago, would have been their mortal enemies. Instead of hatred, feelings of friendship and camaraderie have been built. Instead of violence we have peace. Instead of chaos, we have unity."
"The flagship of our great fleet has been aptly named. We are to be the examples to the rest of humanity that peace is possible. We are here for them to look up to us, both literally and metaphorically. That is the purpose of the Unity." I changed the picture displayed to that of the Unity. The picture was taken just after the ship left its dock less than an hour earlier. "This is the most recent picture we have of our home away from home. It is currently on its way from the shipyard to the Academy." I paused to let this sink in. "Many of the internal systems are still being assembled, but most of that is secondary or non-critical systems. Starting next week, we will be relocating personnel from the Academy to the Unity. This is really happening."
I changed the overhead display to show the schedule I had created. The schedule showed when each group was to be relocated. I pointed to the display and said, "As you can see, we have a short timetable to get everyone on board. The final two weeks of your training will be spent as a complete fleet. It will be the largest space exercise ever performed. We need everybody at their best as there will be eight hundred fifty-nine ships out there with a crew compliment of just over five thousand. This does not include trainers that will be in the command ships. I expect you to stay focused and perform to the degree befitting Battle Fleet. We are the pioneers leading the way. What we do now will set the standard for years to come. The displayed schedule, as well as new training schedules will be transmitted to you after the conclusion of this meeting. This is the culmination of what we have dedicated the last year trying to achieve. Once training has concluded, we will all be sworn into Earth's Battle Fleet. Let's show the world what the Battle Fleet is capable of."
The applause and roar of the crowd was deafening. There was an incredible amount of energy in the room. It took several minutes for Admiral Jones' stern glare to calm the crowd. He dismissed everyone back to their assigned duties. Admiral Jones and I headed back to our offices to finalize training plans as well as create a plan for our first mission.