The Black Guardians: Book 4 in the Black Guard series, page 5
"The organization will officially be designated the Black Guardians. I will be the head of the group, and Commander Tadashi will be my second-in-command. You will be officially assigned to North Lake Station where you will be given quarters. The base where you will live and work is designated Sky Lake Station, a deception, since Sky Lake Station is not a naval station and has no lake. We will provide you a cover story. People are going to discover this new group, and we not only want to downplay its significance but intentionally mislead them.
"You are all promoted immediately to Lieutenant, Junior Grade. Your Guardian rank will be standard navy insignia. On the base, in work clothes, you will wear a silver star over a silver shark and no rank. Your dress uniform will be black with navy rank and a Guardian insignia: a great shark swimming between two crossed tridents.
"You have been given a two-week leave of absence. Your story should be that you are being officially assigned to a cruiser when you get back to duty on the Bridge. After your vacation, you will be given your new uniform. You cannot discuss anything you were told in this room. Jax's future could literally depend on the level of the Black Guardian’s security prior to the start of the war." Noam paused and looked around the room.
“Commander Tadashi?" Noam said, turning the discussion over to him.
"Welcome to the Black Guardians," Tadashi said as he moved to the front of the room. "I believe I have just witnessed two mind-boggling events: eight plebes interrupting an admiral for a meeting, and an admiral pleased with being interrupted. It gives me hope that we can succeed, because it is going to take Admiral Noam, you, and me working in total harmony to succeed. Admiral Noam will pick out one of his what if scenarios, and together we will create something our dedicated manufacturing plant can use to create a working model. You and I will then be responsible for testing and evaluating the prototype. If deemed operational, we will need to develop tentative tactics to be used in wartime, and someday, to lead functional units against Jax's enemies."
"Excellent," Noam said into the silence that followed. "I want each of you to clear your minds while on vacation."
11 - Reunion
Noam had secured a clothing allowance for each of us, as he did not want us in our Black Guardian uniforms since that could start unwanted speculation. He also gave us a three-month advance on our ensign salary. For me, that proved a significant amount when added to the credits I had left from my school allowance as I had spent little over the years. Tadashi had arranged transportation into Claraton, a medium-size town of around a quarter million people and several shopping malls, to shop for civilian clothes and anything else we might need. By the end of the day, I was exhausted.
Noam had us each assigned a shuttle to deliver us to the closest landing pad to our home and a scheduled time and date to return to North Lake Station. As I exited the shuttle and made my way out, I thought they had delivered me to the wrong landing pad. But when I looked back, the sign read Kinsal City. It was the right place, except nothing looked familiar. There were now houses where there had been empty space, stores where there had been old houses. Six years, I reminded myself. While I was growing up, the area had lots of large trees, and none of the houses were closer than fifty meters in any direction. Today, some of the houses were less than ten meters apart.
Relief flooded me when I finally saw our old Victorian-style house off in the distance. At least that hadn't changed. The house stood relatively isolated except for one house that was under construction some twenty meters away. I walked up the cement stairs onto a small wraparound porch and gaped at the door, realizing this wasn't my home anymore. I was a stranger, and a tear rolled down my cheek.
As I reached for the doorbell, the door burst open.
"Caitlin!" my mother cried, locking me in her loving embrace. That too felt strange as I stood as tall as her…maybe a centimeter taller. "You left a small child and have returned a beautiful woman." She held me at arm's length and scanned me before pulling me back into a hug. "Come in, and I will get you settled in your old room and get you something to drink. The men will be back in a couple of hours. Sean now works with your father at the Gordan furniture manufacturing facility and Neil is apprenticing as a carpenter." She took me upstairs to my old room and helped me unpack my suitcase. "Why no uniforms and so few clothes?"
"Me and seven of my friends – girls and boys I met at South Lake Station–have been promised our first or second choice assignments when we return because we have consistently been at the top of all our courses. Because our assignments will begin as soon as we return and our uniforms were not ready, they gave us an allowance to buy a few civilian clothes to wear for our vacation. They promised us three sets of uniforms will be ready when we return, and your daughter is now an officer."
"Are you happy, Caitlin?" my mother asked while watching me intently.
"Immensely." I laughed. "In a way, my choices were limited, but I feel like I was born to be in the navy and doing what I'm doing. Your third child has found Shangri-La."
Just then, the men of the house arrived home. My father passed me and kissed my mother, then looked back at me. "Eveleen, who…Caitlin?" He laughed as he swept me off the chair into a hug. "I hope you’re Caitlin, or my wife is going to be very mad with me."
"Yes, Dad, it's me," I said and hugged him back.
"I told you they would kick her out when they found out what we had unleashed on them," Neil said in a voice that had dropped an octave from six years ago.
When Dad put me down, Sean gave me a hug and held me at arm's length. "They must feed you well. You've grown and filled out…a lot."
"So, why no fancy uniform, sis?" Neil asked after a tight hug.
"I'm on vacation," I said, wanting to avoid a long explanation that would not be true.
"Your sister is now a naval officer," my mother interjected.
"Now the navy is really in trouble," Neil said and laughed. "What are you going to be doing?"
"I've been promised my first or second choices: working on the cruiser's Bridge or flying fighters."
"Fighters?" Neil asked, incredulous.
"Actually, you have a sister who is a qualified naval fighter pilot," I said in a lofty voice, "and I have the gold insignia to prove it." I searched in my purse for a minute, then held it up so everyone could see it before handing it to Neil. "There," I said, wishing I could have worn my new uniform with my ensign rank and the fighter pilot's gold pin. But Noam was right. It would have generated too many questions I could not explain truthfully, and lying would not have felt right.
"How fast do they go?" Neil asked while examining the insignia.
"Mach ten or so."
"How fast is that?"
"Our normal civilian transports fly around half the speed of sound, Mach zero point five. So, they could, with sufficient fuel, fly around the equator of Jax in roughly sixty-six hours. At the speed of sound, Mach one, it would take thirty-three hours, and at Mach ten, about three hours.”
That produced a variety of looks and sounds of disbelief and awe.
Just before dinner, Sean's fiancée, Aislin, arrived. She looked similar to me, a few centimeters taller, and three kilos heavier, with the same auburn hair but a shade darker, a smiling face, and eyes full of mischief.
"So, Sean, this is your adventurous sister who’s off wandering the galaxy in search of fame and glory," Aislin said with an ear-to-ear smile when I was introduced to her. I pulled her into a hug.
"Welcome to the Quinn family, Sister Aislin," I said, then whispered, "You captured a man with a good heart."
"Thank you, Sister Caitlin," Aislin said, then whispered in an equally conspiratorial tone, "I know. I will be your watchdog while you are gone."
At dinner and for the rest of the evening, I was updated on what had happened over the past six years and shared some of my naval school experiences.
I loved my family, and it was wonderful visiting with them, knowing their lives were good, but, in truth, I was excited to be returning to North Lake Station and joining my new command. Maybe my job in life was to keep my family safe from the evils that threatened Jax.
12 - Reporting for Duty
As I stood waiting for the shuttle, I reflected on the past two weeks. It had been great seeing Mom and Dad and my brothers, and I would do it as often as I could but realized they were moving on with their lives, as was I. Sean would soon be married and living in the new house my parents were having built for them, and Neil would follow in a year or two. The old days were gone and could not be relived. It’s time for a new life, I thought, shaking off my guilt at being excited to be going back. So excited, I was bouncing on the balls of my feet as the shuttle landed. A minute later, a warrant officer opened the hatch and looked at me bouncing in place.
"Am I to assume you are Ensign Quinn?" he asked, barely able to smother a laugh.
"Yes, Warrant Officer…Willsen," I said after checking his jacket for a name tag. "I'm off to get my first navy assignment."
"It appears to be the one you requested," he said with a smile.
"I don't know yet, but I was told it was one of my first two choices," I said as I boarded. I sat on the bench closest to the hatch and strapped myself in.
"What were those, Ensign Quinn, if you don't mind telling?" he said as he closed and secured the hatch.
"Bridge duty or fighter pilot." I grinned. "I earned my fighter pilot wings before graduating."
He gave me a double take. "Well, then, how would you like to sit with us up front? Maybe you would like to see how a shuttle works, although it's going to be a bit slower than a Jax fighter."
"Yes, please, Warrant Willsen. I would love that," I said, unbuckling myself and following him into the pilot's compartment.
"Warrant Boyant, I asked Ensign Quinn to join us up front as she informed me she has earned her fighter pilot's wings."
"Caitlin, if it doesn't violate too many regulations," I said.
They laughed. "Only a few minor ones that us pilots pretty much ignore. He's Edwin, and I'm Joe."
"How fast are the current Jax fighters flying?" Edwin asked as I strapped myself into the third seat, which I thought was normally for a weapons officer.
"I had it up to Mach ten, but I think they can go a little faster."
Both men laughed. "These shuttles are capable of Mach three, but that is only for emergencies. We usually fly them just under Mach one…" They took turns explaining the takeoff procedures, the various controls and gauges, handling characteristics, and finally landing procedures. I in turn talked about flying the new Javelin fighters.
"Thank you, gentlemen, that was the most fantastic shuttle ride I am ever likely to have," I said as I departed the shuttle.
Before I could wave goodbye, I heard someone shouting.
"Caitlin, over here!" Axelle stood waving near a navy shuttle like the one I had just disembarked. "You are the last arrival, and we are ready to depart."
When I entered, I found the first empty spot, slid in, and buckled up. As I did, Commander Tadashi spoke.
"Your lockers here at North Lake Station and your new uniforms have been transported to Sky Lake Station, plus a few accessories specifically designed for the Sky Lake climate. The station is much further north, just shy of the glaciers, in very mountainous country and far from civilization. It is freezing cold in the winter and surprisingly warm and wet in the summer, which lasts less than a month. The facilities are built into the mountain, so the weather is generally not a problem. Thanks to modern building technology, it will be difficult to imagine you are living inside a mountain. The facility was specifically designed for the Guardians, and you will have the honor of being the first Guardians to occupy it."
"Sir, how do you land a shuttle inside a mountain?" Hasli asked, looking a bit apprehensive.
"Easy. Just like we land shuttles on a cruiser," Tadashi said. "It's an impressive structure utilizing the newest military and civilian technology available. Sky has technology not yet available on our active duty cruisers. No expense has been spared, and our best engineers have been assigned here. Sky is an all-or-nothing gambit. So if you hear the term Jax Gambit in the future, you will know they are talking about Sky Lake Station and you."
As he talked, I could feel the shuttle slow, then appear to stop, and then a slight jolt as the shuttle touched the ground and the engines shut down.
"Welcome to Sky Lake Station," Tadashi said as the ramp opened, and I could see Admiral Noam standing next to a slender commander in her late thirties or early forties. She looked relaxed and friendly and had the medical insignia of a doctor.
"Welcome to Sky Lake," Noam said. "Doctor Shelden is the chief of Sky Lake's medical staff. She will also be your personnel manager and advisor if you have personal problems or concerns. Here at Sky, we will dispense with the normal navy pomp and ceremony but maintain the respect people's rank deserve. For example, no saluting unless you are called into someone's office. The first order of business will be to assign you quarters, and then a meeting to help you get acclimated.”
"Rex Clique, your attention, please,” she said with an amused expression. “Follow me, and I will give you a brief tour of your personal quarters area. This facility has three separate personnel quarters.” Shelden pointed to the left side of the shuttle bay at two steel sliding doors spanning at least forty meters in width and fifteen meters high. “Consider that direction south.” One of the giant doors had a normal door within it for a single individual to enter when the two doors were closed. "That is the entrance to the manufacturing and assembly area. Inside on the west wall is a tunnel, which leads to their personal quarters. The door on the west wall of the shuttle bay opens into a tunnel which leads to the cafeteria, staff quarters, medical facilities, recreation area, conference room, and several administration offices. The door on the north side opens into a tunnel that leads to your area."
With a wave, she started walking toward the north side. She touched a steel pad, and the steel door slid open. "The doors are steel in case of an explosion in the shuttle bay or manufacturing area," she said as we followed her into the tunnel, which resembled a normal hallway, even though the walls were solid stone. She stopped at a twenty-meter-long wall, which was one-meter-high stone and two-meter-high glass. "This is the Guardian's conference room," she said, and most of us smiled while a few of the boys gave a fist pump. Inside, we could see a conference table with cushioned chairs that could seat twenty and another ten, less comfortable chairs against the wall.
Shelden waved us on. The passage soon widened, and there were doors on either side with blank metal name tags. "The worker put whatever locker he was transporting into the first empty room he found. I will give you a couple of days to reorganize yourselves. The only difference in the rooms is where it's located in the hallway and the distance to the washrooms. When you are satisfied with your room selection, let me know, and we will have your nameplate engraved and your hand access plates activated."
At the end of the hallway, she pushed open two doors, which led to a large circular recreation area and a small kitchen. “I'll give you two hours to find the room that has your locker, get changed into work fatigues, wash and relieve yourselves, and assemble in the recreation room."
We began opening doors and shouting the name of the locker we found. Within ten minutes, we had all found the room with our lockers. I quickly opened my locker, hung up my dress uniform, and placed everything else in one of the cabinet drawers. I then dressed in my new work fatigues, which were solid black. The left sleeve had a single silver five-point star over a shark and a one-point-two-five-centimeter silver stripe. Looking into the small bathroom mirror, I saw a face smiling back at me. After brushing my hair, which was now over my ears, I felt like I was officially in the navy and made my way to the recreation room. There I found seven grinning faces, looking like they had won the lottery.
Several minutes later, Noam, and Tadashi entered, and the eight of us braced to attention, although no one had called attention.
"Perfect," Noam said. "Respect without the pomp. Normally, being in the recreation room wouldn't require you to take any notice of anyone entering; however, in this case, we are using the room for a meeting. Relax and find a place to sit." He waited until everyone sat.
Two minutes later, the door opened and Shelden entered followed by eight boys who looked to be about our ages. They were smiling when their eyes settled on us girls. "Perfect. Boys, finds seats," Noam said and waited. "These boys were selected from the previous graduating class but have had to wait until the facility was functional. They have chosen Black Falcons as a group name. The other group" – he waved in our direction – "has chosen the name Tyrannosaurus rex. For now, the Falcons and Rexes will constitute permanent teams. You will each be given the same problem to work on. Why? So that we get two different perspectives.
“Don't get confused. This is not a competition to see who is the best team. You are in a competition with our adversaries, and the future of Jax could depend on the results. Although you are allowed to co-mingle in the recreation room and off duty, you are ordered not to discuss your project with the other team. I don't want either group influenced by what the other group is working on. Consequently, discussing your group's project could result in you being expelled from the Guardians. In addition, there will be no pairing off while this project is in progress, and the second reason you could be expelled. There will be no exceptions. The future of Jax may well be determined by what you are able to accomplish over the next few years. We need your one hundred percent dedication. Not to mention, the cruiser you will help create, you will be taking to war."
He paused for a bite from a brownie and a drink of his kaffa as he surveyed us. "We are asking a lot of each of you, and much depends on your results. You are to be the Black Guard of the navy, the elite of the navy; therefore, we need your best and will tolerate no less." He again paused as he picked up a device off the table in front him and pointed to the monitors. "When I was considering the problem, I made several assumptions:
