Captain Jaggen's ejection ceremony was a sad affair, but not nearly as depressing as Davrial's. Adrianna's report explained everything, including the fact that she was the sole person who interfered with her captain's attempt to follow protocol.
She half-expected to be put away, or ejected alive, but she wasn't. After Bubby and Kadri were interrogated, the three of them were taken to an assembly hall where they stood in front of three stern-looking Legion judges.
"For your heroic action in the face of the enemy, we have decided to make you the new Captain of SD13. Let the record show that First Officer Adrianna Archa is now Captain Adrianna Archa. Bubbinger will be you First Officer."
Adrianna couldn't smile. Davrial was dead, and so was their captain. She was a bit disappointed when Kadri was only awarded a Medal of Valor, and even more disappointed when they were told that the proceedings were secret and would remain so.
The edge of Adrianna's ire was shaved off when another judge nominated Kadri for the Officer Academy. Due to her young age, she wouldn't be allowed to attend until she had two more years of experience. In the meantime, she would retain her position as sensor analyst on SD13.
They were given two new gunner recruits to man the turrets and allowed the whole SD program's engineering team to begin deconstructing and studying the Floskian destroyer they captured. 13 ended up being the recipient of the new tech created by using what the Floskian's had achieved and another mission was already in the planning.
Adrianna and Bubby waited until they were on leave. Only then did they display their emotion to each other. It was a heated affair, one they knew would last a lifetime, if only because they were both capable of restraint while on duty.
Off duty, however, restraint was barely an afterthought.
The End
Copyright 2016 by Michael Robb Mathias Jr. All Rights Reserved
Emerald Oceans - Star Dragon 13 Book Two, a "full length novel" of approximately 525 pages is available for pre-order now at all ebook retailers for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBooks.
or visit
www.stardragon13.com