turned to what she would do when they met again before being hit with the disappointment that such a meeting was likely a long ways in the future, if it happened at all. She would compose an email to him tonight, as soon as she finished with the day's business and the Academy officials returned her wrist computer.
This somewhat depressing chain of thought was mercifully interrupted by the return of the missing graduate. The noise level went up as the other five left their seats and gathered around their colleague to congratulate her and find out what her new post was. One or two of them might have looked a little jealous when the new graduate excitedly told them her destination but they shook her hand anyway. The small celebration was interrupted by the secretary who announced: "Ensign Massa Sukamoto? You're next." The young man in question swallowed nervously and asked his colleagues to wish him luck before heading into the Admiral's office and closing the door behind him.
And so it went. Carlisle had no choice but to wait as patiently as she could as each of the remaining graduates was ushered into the Admiral's office for his or her exit interview and assignment. After nearly two hours, the last of them came out of the office. They left as a group, presumably to head for the nearest bar to talk things over and make their farewells as each was scheduled to depart for his or her new assignment sometime during the next few days. At last it was Carlisle's turn.
"Dr Tamara Carlisle?" The secretary looked at Carlisle over the top of the computer monitor on her desk. "Admiral Loftgren will see you now."
Carlisle smiled slightly at the unfamiliar "Dr." in front of her name and swallowed nervously as she got up and headed for the Admiral's office. Carlisle had been a very bright but somewhat problematic student herself. Had she been a "normal" student, she would have almost certainly been a member of an elite group, like the one she had just observed, some three years earlier. Her Spacer origins had been a source of friction between her and some of the students from more traditional backgrounds. Most of Carlisle's "difficulties" at the Academy had been due to the actions of these traditionalists who had missed few opportunities to make her look bad.
She closed the door behind her and walked up to the Admiral's desk where she stopped, came to attention and saluted.
"Ensign Tamara Carlisle reporting as ordered, Sir!" she said, surprised to have gotten the entire phrase out without a "speech" incident.
Admiral Loftgren looked up from his computer monitor and met her eyes.
"Ensign Carlisle," he said, nodding his head. "At ease, Ensign. Please, have a seat. We have a lot to discuss."
Carlisle became even more nervous as the Admiral turned his attention back to his computer terminal for several minutes and rubbed his chin in thought as he considered the information on the display. Finally he turned his focus back to the Ensign.
"That was some pretty good work you did out at New Ceylon, Ensign. Very impressive."
" ...Scrapyard ambush...Succession destroyer...Veritian Brotherhood...um thank you, Sir."
The admiral waited patiently for her to get the reply out before continuing. "And you've just finished a Ph.D. on a controversial subject concerning the Succession War. Congratulations, Ensign, I thought your exam went pretty well yesterday."
" Really? Um...Thank you, Sir."
"You're probably wondering just what we're going to do with you next."
"Ah...That thought had crossed my mind, Sir."
The Admiral paused for a moment to collect his thoughts and compose an explanation. He frowned before he spoke. "To be perfectly candid, we still aren't sure what you're suited for. You've always had excellent grades and you seem to be a pretty decent tactician as well as a gifted pilot. However, outside of this one isolated incident out at New Ceylon, you seem to do very poorly with any kind of team activity and then, of course, there is your
This somewhat depressing chain of thought was mercifully interrupted by the return of the missing graduate. The noise level went up as the other five left their seats and gathered around their colleague to congratulate her and find out what her new post was. One or two of them might have looked a little jealous when the new graduate excitedly told them her destination but they shook her hand anyway. The small celebration was interrupted by the secretary who announced: "Ensign Massa Sukamoto? You're next." The young man in question swallowed nervously and asked his colleagues to wish him luck before heading into the Admiral's office and closing the door behind him.
And so it went. Carlisle had no choice but to wait as patiently as she could as each of the remaining graduates was ushered into the Admiral's office for his or her exit interview and assignment. After nearly two hours, the last of them came out of the office. They left as a group, presumably to head for the nearest bar to talk things over and make their farewells as each was scheduled to depart for his or her new assignment sometime during the next few days. At last it was Carlisle's turn.
"Dr Tamara Carlisle?" The secretary looked at Carlisle over the top of the computer monitor on her desk. "Admiral Loftgren will see you now."
Carlisle smiled slightly at the unfamiliar "Dr." in front of her name and swallowed nervously as she got up and headed for the Admiral's office. Carlisle had been a very bright but somewhat problematic student herself. Had she been a "normal" student, she would have almost certainly been a member of an elite group, like the one she had just observed, some three years earlier. Her Spacer origins had been a source of friction between her and some of the students from more traditional backgrounds. Most of Carlisle's "difficulties" at the Academy had been due to the actions of these traditionalists who had missed few opportunities to make her look bad.
She closed the door behind her and walked up to the Admiral's desk where she stopped, came to attention and saluted.
"Ensign Tamara Carlisle reporting as ordered, Sir!" she said, surprised to have gotten the entire phrase out without a "speech" incident.
Admiral Loftgren looked up from his computer monitor and met her eyes.
"Ensign Carlisle," he said, nodding his head. "At ease, Ensign. Please, have a seat. We have a lot to discuss."
Carlisle became even more nervous as the Admiral turned his attention back to his computer terminal for several minutes and rubbed his chin in thought as he considered the information on the display. Finally he turned his focus back to the Ensign.
"That was some pretty good work you did out at New Ceylon, Ensign. Very impressive."
" ...Scrapyard ambush...Succession destroyer...Veritian Brotherhood...um thank you, Sir."
The admiral waited patiently for her to get the reply out before continuing. "And you've just finished a Ph.D. on a controversial subject concerning the Succession War. Congratulations, Ensign, I thought your exam went pretty well yesterday."
" Really? Um...Thank you, Sir."
"You're probably wondering just what we're going to do with you next."
"Ah...That thought had crossed my mind, Sir."
The Admiral paused for a moment to collect his thoughts and compose an explanation. He frowned before he spoke. "To be perfectly candid, we still aren't sure what you're suited for. You've always had excellent grades and you seem to be a pretty decent tactician as well as a gifted pilot. However, outside of this one isolated incident out at New Ceylon, you seem to do very poorly with any kind of team activity and then, of course, there is your
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