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“Second of the Second, and crew of the MCS Takagahara, I want to commend you on the mission you accomplished here,” Assistant Vice-counsel said. “I’m proud of what we’ve been able to get done, and so should you be.”
The entire battalion was in formation, standing tall, something, with the confined spaces on Enceladus, that was extremely rare. A company-size formation made up of the Takagahara’s crew was formed up alongside them. The hot, dry wind blew across the desert, making the colors blow, battle streamers whipping like writhing snakes. Newsdrones shifted in the wind as they tried to keep steady. This was big news, and the news distributors were out in force.
It boggled Rev’s mind that first with Earth, and now on Cat Scratch, this little ole’ boy from the backwoods New Hope had been seen by trillions of other human beings. The images may not have been close enough to actually recognize him, but still . . .
“We came to Cat Scratch with one mission, and that was to keep the peace. We did that, even at a heavy price. Two of you made the ultimate sacrifice.” She turned to the representatives of the Scratchers, Evvo, and various others with stakes in the game who were sitting in hastily erected bleachers.
“Now, I charge you who are finalizing the peace to ensure that those sacrifices were not in vain. We defeated an existential threat to humankind not a year ago. We owe it to the billions lost in that war to make sure that for humanity, it is not business as usual, with petty bickering and conflict. It is up to all of us to usher in an era of peace and prosperity.”
She turned back to the battalion arrayed in front of her. “But that’s for another speech. Pardon an old bureaucrat if I can’t help pushing cooperation. This is to honor you, those who arrived at a moment’s notice to put yourself in harm’s way. Troopers and sailors from fifty-two nations and holdings. From the small like Huntington’s Station and Weijan, with one trooper each, to the large like the Manifest Destiny Sphere, the Hégémonie, and the Perseus Union, and every one in between. This wasn’t an us versus them. This was an us for us. For humanity.
“From a personal standpoint, I want to thank you. I wish I could step down and shake each of your hands, but with this wind and heat, I’m afraid my old bones couldn’t take it.”
Right. I think you can take pretty much whatever the galaxy throws at you, ma’am. You are a force of nature.
“But rest assured that you all have my most sincere gratitude. My team and I could not have achieved what we did without your presence. Humankind owes you a debt of gratitude.
“Colonel Semes and Commander Miamoto, if you will, please?”
In unison, the battalion commanding officer and the CO of the Takagahara marched forward, converging on Ms. Borgia. They stopped flanking her, then performed an about-face.
An aide carrying a box stepped forward, stopping directly behind the assistant vice-counsel. At an unseen command, they all marched forward, stopping front of the honor guard, with Ms. Borgia centered on the battalion colors. PFC Delbert, from Golf Company, who’d made Huntington Station proud with her actions, lowered the battalion colors until the flag pole was at a forty-five-degree angle to the ground.
The aide raised the polished ebony box toward the assistant vice-counsel, and she took out a gold star. The wind was whipping the battle streamers, but she reached out and unerringly snagged the CoH expeditionary streamer.
The Second of the Second had been around a long time, earning their first Expeditionary Streamer shortly after the formation of the Congress of Humanity centuries before, so the star joined the others, each indicating a new mission. She snapped it into place, then let go, letting the wind take over. PFC Delbert raised the colors back into position.
Only being a little out of step, the four moved to the Takagahara’s colors. Unlike the battalion, the ship was not formally part of the Home Guard. It was attached for three years, just like the individual troopers in the brigades. While the ship had several streamers, those were Hégémonie, not Congress of Humanity. Their standard-bearer lowered the ship’s colors, and Ms. Borgia attached the new streamer.
The presentations made, the two COs escorted her back to the stand, then marched back to their position in front of their units.
“So, once again, I thank you for your service and a job well done. The counsel general wanted me to relay his personal thanks as well. And so now, as an assistant vice-counsel and acting as the senior Congress of Humanity representative on Cat Scratch, I release you from your mission.
“Godspeed on your way back to the home system.”
And that was that. There was muted applause from the stands. Peace might have been maintained, but not everyone was a hundred percent happy with the results.
Happy or not, for the troopers and sailors, their mission was over. The commanders marched their companies off the makeshift parade deck to the LZ where two shuttles waited to ferry the first loads up to the ship.
In twelve hours, give or take, Rev would be heading back to the home system.
There was a tiny flicker, then the word <Congratulations> appeared as if floating in front of him.
“Correction. We’re heading back home.”
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