Two Weeks Later. Sunday. 16:00 Lounge

Andern was asleep at the desk. He had just finished his first draft on his literature final. He had completely forgotten about the final paper, which was due at 17:00 on Monday. John was doing him a favor by proofreading his work. It wasn’t a great paper, and it did have a feeling that it was being rushed, but he had achieved all of the goals set forth by the instructor.

Alice came into the lounge and sat next to John. She had a few questions for John regarding the military tactics, “Did he do what I think he did.”

“If by freak the fuck out that he hadn’t started his lit final until yesterday, then yes. Yes, he did.”

Alice noticed the tablet; John had been looking at different places to go over the New Year’s holiday, “So, where are we going?”

John smiled, “Haven’t decided yet. Any ideas?”

“Oh, plenty. But I trust you.”

“Hey, you figure out who those mysterious visitors were?” Alice had noticed the previous day John was searching some phone records during lunch.

“Hoping to have that wrapped up soon,” There was no emotion in John’s response.

“Hey, can you help me with these questions?”

John agreed but first sent Andern his proofed report and then took a look at the questions Alice was needing help with. He poked his sleeping friend’s head to wake him up.

“Wha?” Andern was in rough shape.

“Sent you feedback. Make the updates, then send them to the professor. Get some sleep afterward.”

“Thanks, I owe you,” Andern got to work on

“Mhmm. Alice, pages thirty-six, two hundred seventy-six, and eight hundred fifty-six.”

Ten minutes later Andern had made the necessary updates to his paper and submitted it to his professor. He was heading back to his room because he desperately needed sleep. He looked like a zombie. Jessica and Theresa came in the other door and just missed Andern. They were reviewing some calculus questions and wanted John to help them out. John obliged them. The group decided to stay down and study until dinner was served. John was still reviewing vacation destinations.

The odd question was lobbed at John, which he answered and gave them the page numbers the information could be found from their books. Everyone understood why he could do that but felt a bit disturbed by how casually he gave them the answers. Kevin, Thomas, and Nathan walked in about thirty minutes before dinner and began studying too.

In between questions John was flipping back and forth between resort destinations and trying to figure out who had ordered the attack on the Robertson family. He was reasonably confident who it was, but he still wanted a couple more items confirmed. He didn’t want to act and then threaten someone and later find out it wasn’t them. That’s not exactly a good look. He also wanted to make reservations quickly because the holidays caused an influx of traveling to the resorts.

The group continued this studying, asking John questions, or amongst themselves, all while John looked completely disinterested in academics. A call went out over the speaker in their room, dinner was being served. He also had a lead he needed to research a bit more, then action could be taken.

“Good god I’m starving. Been studying too damned much,” Kevin said as he was putting his stuff back in his bag.

“Except John, you lucky fucker,” Thomas said.

“Can be a bit of a double-edged sword though, I remember shit I’d rather not remember,” John said nonchalantly.

“Anyone going to call Jacob?” Jessica asked.

“Jacob? Oh yeah, that’s Andern. He’s sound asleep, I’ll bring him some food when we’re done eating,” John said.

No one called Andern by his first name. Alice knew Jessica had already kissed Andern. But no one else did though. This was the first time they heard her say his first name. Theresa whispered something to her, which caused Jessica to turn a bright shade of red. They were walking at a pace significantly faster and quieter than John and the guys.

“What was that about?” Nathan asked.

“Stuff. Girl stuff,” Kevin said.

The boys laughed and stood up. The girls followed behind them as they walked to the food line. They were all a bit impatient as the workers were slow to make the food available to the cadets.

“John, same plan as mid-terms?” Alice asked.

“Yup. Gonna get the tests done tomorrow. Then do the PE final Wednesday morning. Then relax and catch an early evening flight to Miami on Friday.”

“You’re not going down on Wednesday?” Theresa asked.

In a flash, the food line opened, and people flew threw it. The group had their food and were walking back to their seats.

“Fuck no, that means I have to work this week. No thank you. I’ll probably hit the gym every day while I’m here. Sucks that the shooting range is shut down though.” John took two bites out of his calzone.

While John was eating, he was fiddling with his tablet. John had narrowed down the vacation destinations to three places: Cancun, Florida Keys, or the Bahamas

Some idle chatter and general worry about finals were discussed through dinner. Everyone was worried about Andern and his finals. The truth of the matter was he wasn’t in any danger of being placed on academic watch. In fact, Andern was higher ranked in the class than anyone saves John knew.

“Alright, I’ll go drop off some food for Andern. Y’all going to be down here in the lounge?” John asked as he was picking up the food tray.

“Yup,” Thomas said.

“Roger. I’ll be back in twenty or so.”

John got up and dropped his tray off at the return. He sweet-talked one of the employees to let him box up some food and bring it to a friend of his. They eventually relented and John left the cafeteria and headed up to Andern’s room. Twenty-five minutes later John was in the lounge sitting next to Alice.

“So, what’s his plan?” Alice asked.

“Well, he’s tired as hell. He said he was going to take the PE final in the morning. Then study for the Calculus final afterward and take it after lunch. Then he figured he’d take Tactics and History on Wednesday and finish the rest on Friday. He’s not happy about the paper, then again if he just read his damned messages, he wouldn’t be in this position in the first place.”

Everyone laughed at that. Andern was the living embodiment of chaos and forgetfulness. It didn’t seem like he was aware of what was happening at any point in the first semester. The rest of the evening was fairly quiet with very little talking. What little talking there was typically involved asking John questions. He didn’t mind though, John wanted to see his friends do well on the tests. One by one they had all left when all that remained was Jessica, Alice, and John.

“It’s 23:30, about time y’all stop and get some rest. Trust me,” John said.

“It is not that late,” Alice looked at her tablet and frowned, realizing that he wasn’t joking.

The girls were putting their stuff together when John asked Jessica a question, “So, I haven’t asked you anything since it’s none of my business but now’s as good as any time. What’s going on between you two? I saw you kiss him.”

“You saw that?” Jessica went pale and froze in place.

“Yeah, the two of us were on a date at the restaurant across the street. You know he stood there for two consecutive lights after you dashed off right?”

“Yeah, when he started moving, I just wanted to get back to the dorms and talk to you,” Alice said smiling.

Jessica was blushing, “It was so impulsive, but he was so sweet, so unlike his normal self around everyone. And I saw him looking at me and then bang. I kissed him. Then ran away like a scared idiot.”

John was laughing as he held open the door for the two girls.

“That’s not nice honey,” Alice gently put an elbow into his gut.

“So, you guys an item yet?” John asked bluntly.

“We’re still talking, but I’m not ready for that. I started seeing a therapist on campus a couple of weeks ago and the short story is my family seriously fucked with my head when I was growing up,” Jessica pressed the button for her and Alice’s floor.

John pressed his floor button, “Well, if you need anything the two of us would be happy to help. But we won’t get over eager to help will we honey.”

“I’d be lying if I wasn’t super excited for you, but don’t rush things.”

“How did the two of you get so close after what started out as a fling?” Jessica was just confused at how the two got so close to one another.

John busted out laughing at that, “Yeah, that was probably not the storybook start of a relationship. Usually, a physical relationship doesn’t beget an emotional one. But this time it did. If we ever have any kids, I sure as shit am not going to tell them the origin story.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Alice smiled at the sound of having kids, “Yeah, I mean I honestly wasn’t looking for anything more than to burn off some excess steam. And then I just couldn’t be away from him. Just happened.”

“Doesn’t mean that anything you choose to do will be any less or unimportant though. Taking it slow isn’t a bad thing, especially given all that you need to understand and work through.”

“Thanks, you two will be the first to know anything after a certain lovable idiot we all know,” Jessica was several shades of red now and was holding her book bag tight to her chest.

“Y’alls floor, cya in the morning,” John said.

Alice gave John a quick kiss goodbye. The doors closed and John went up three more floors. When the doors opened John walked down to his room and entered it. He left his backpack on the couch and grabbed his coat. He headed out of the room. He walked down to the elevator and pressed the ground floor button. It was late, but his target this night was still in his office.

0:45 Washington D.C., Militia Arms Corporation Headquarters

John walked into the lobby and walked to the elevators, bypassing the security desk. He called the express elevator. This elevator only made two stops. The first was the twentieth floor and the last was the forty-fifth floor which housed the CEO and Chairman of the Board’s offices and the Executive Board Room. John was heading to the Chairman’s office.

He opened up the door and walked in.

“Good evening, Chairman Olson,” John said as he walked to the chair in front of the chairman’s desk.

“Your message was a bit cryptic, but the threat was not,” William Olson responded.

“Yeah, the standard operating procedure for former spooks like me,” John sat down, “So anyways Bill, I’d like to understand why you hired the five men to attack the Robertson family.”

“Look, I go by William or Will, and as I told you...” the chairman was sweating profusely.

“Don’t waste time lying to me Bill,” John said sternly.

“They were there to steal some documents that Paul had taken home for the holiday relating to Global Electronics' future military bids.”

“There, honesty isn’t so hard,” John smiled, which only further unnerved the chairman.

John was looking at his tablet for financial information on the chairman’s family. John smiled as he found something interesting.

“Well, one of the idiots that attacked us got his shit pushed in by me for trying to murder Aaron’s daughter. I’d consider justice was dealt with rather lightly in that regard. That poor bastard got off lucky.”

“So, what do you want?”

“Excellent question Bill. Your company is pulling out of any bids that Global Electronics is in for the next two years. And if anyone here attempts any corporate espionage or attacks against either the Robertson family or Global Electronics then you and I are going to have a much less pleasant conversation.”

The chairman was thinking he may have gotten off easy. Sure, that was a hard hit against their bottom line by not getting any military contracts, but he’d live. He was certain he could reign in the CEO and other executives to keep them compliant with their agreement.

John got up from his chair and walked towards the door. He stopped before opening it.

“Oh, I totally forgot Bill, the executive bonus pool that you greedy fucks have been hoarding has been liberated. I took half, for emotional suffering or some such reason. The other half was transferred to the employee bonus pool this year. If y’all want bonuses this year, then issue stock options. You’d be wise to get the CEO in line in the morning. I don’t want to come back here.”

William sat back in his chair and breathed a sigh of relief. Their background check of John came back surprisingly empty, which typically meant they had connections with the planetary government or the military. As he was a cadet they opted for the latter option. But that virtually nothing appeared was worrisome, for military people that usually indicated special forces work. He was young but William figured he had the physicality for the work. He certainly had the confidence and intelligence to do. But one gnawing question bugged him.

“Why was he calling me Bill?” William shook his head.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead. He needed a bit more time to unwind before heading home after that terrifying encounter. He reviewed the financial records and could see forty-five million credits had been transferred out of the executive bonus pool.

John left the building and had the waiting car drive him to a twenty-four-hour pawn shop. The exterior cameras on the street were shut down so he could collect the credit chits that had the money he just stole from Militia Arms. He scanned the chits and had his financial VI begin cleaning the money.

Forty-five minutes later the car dropped John off in front of the academy dorms. He opened the door and dropped the crumbled-up pieces of the now destroyed credit chit as he walked back into the building. He sent Aaron a message indicating who was responsible for the attack on the way back to the dorms. He also informed him about arranging a deal with Militia Arms where they wouldn’t bid against them for any contracts involving the military over the course of the next two years. He just had to agree to let bygones be bygones.

Tuesday – Finals Week

John spent six hours on Tuesday and finished all of his finals. He finished the last one earlier than expected so at 15:00 he decided to run to the gymnasium and do his PE final. When he finished his PE final, he noticed a message that came in from Aaron thanking him for wrapping up the loose ends and that the deal was satisfactory. John had now earned an extra day to relax and lounge around before needing to head to Miami on Friday.

After dinner that evening the group went to the library and were studying again. John spent most of his time looking at different resorts or rental properties. He was asked the odd question here and there. From John’s perspective, his friends were over-prepared for the finals. They were ready for them.

Wednesday – Finals Week

The group took a flurry of Finals on Wednesday. Andern finished three finals and the PE final one that afternoon. Thomas and Nathan took four tests each. Jessica and Allice took the PE final in the morning and two finals in the afternoon. Theresa and Kevin took two finals.

The study session Wednesday night was much more laid back and there was a more casual conversation about what everyone’s plans were for the winter break. Despite their laid-back nature, they were exhausted, except for John. The stress was getting to them, and they were desperate for a return to some sort of normality.

Thursday. 09:30 Luxury Living

Thursday morning John walked to the upscale jewelry and watch store. Navy regs limited what jewelry could be worn on active duty. Diamonds were out, but not because of cost, it was to prevent any accidental loss of a stone due to incidental damage to the jewelry. John really liked the Bvlgari Anchor necklace. It was a stunning white gold piece with an anchor that was a near match to the anchor in the academy’s logo. In short, he thought Alice would look good with it.

He was also looking at men’s watches. He hadn’t purchased one in a while, so why not get a Christmas present for himself? There were entirely too many choices to choose from, but ultimately the watch that caught his eye was a Vacherin Constantine Universal Tourbillon with a skeletonized dial. It had a ceramite case, was completely non-magnetic, and was guaranteed to be accurate within a second a day in zero-g. It also came with three different bracelets and bands. He had them swap the ceramite bracelet for the rubber band.

He was so excited about his purchase that he took off his F.P. Journe Galaxy Tourbillon and placed it in the box. The new watch was just dead sexy and looked amazing on his wrist. John wasn’t about how much money he spent, but the recent ‘bonus’ he acquired more than covered his bill today.

Besides, he figured he could do some day trading while working during the winter break to make some extra fun money for himself. He flagged a cab to get back to the dorms and went back to his room to stash the gift. He’d give it to her later that night. He met the group for lunch. During lunch, everyone had basically decided to finish what finals they had left Thursday afternoon. The mood was much lighter, but everyone was exhausted and still feeling stressed from the week.

John and Alice went to the lounge after lunch and chatted. She had finished her finals that morning. She looked exhausted, but when her results came in it proved all that work was worth it. She was likely to finish in the top five of the class overall. John, unsurprisingly, was atop the class. That was a result that wasn’t subject to change. Everyone in their social group would finish no worse than the top twenty percent of the class.

Being in the bottom forty percent caused one to be put on academic probation, which was something no one wanted to be on. Leave was all but eliminated and they had to go to supervised study hall five times a week.

The couple watched TV and chatted. Eventually, other members of their social group appeared when their finals were done. Relief was almost palpable in the room. They were all now on holiday break, and it was time to relax and enjoy some time off. Except for John, of course, he basically got kicked in the balls by Intelligence.

19:30 John’s Room

“Hey, is that a new watch?” Alice noticed the new toy earlier in the day but didn’t get a chance to talk about it.

“Yup, I got it while I got you this. I’m not one to wrap presents or delay getting something or enjoying something before a holiday so yeah. Merry early Christmas.”

“Oh my god, thank you so much,” Alice was so excited her voice was almost squealing.

John put it on her. She held up the anchor and looked at it more closely. Alice couldn’t stop smiling.

“I am speechless. Really, thank you so much.”

John gave her a kiss, “You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.”

Alice pushed John down on the couch and straddled him, “You have no idea how badly I’ve needed this.”

It didn’t take long before the two lovers were naked and enjoyed the carnal pleasures that they both desperately needed. The second round of the evening moved to the bedroom. What seemed like an eternity had gone on, but in truth, only an hour had passed. The two were laying down facing one another on his bed.

“You know, I really wish you could spend Christmas back home. Turns out I’m going to be alone with Paul.”

“Ugh, now I honestly feel bad about having to work.”

The truth of the matter is the less time John had to spend around Paul the better. The rest of her brothers were fine, but Paul was a prick. But he empathized with Alice and didn’t want her to be alone for the holidays.

She laughed and kissed him, “Well, that week will have to do. The resort you picked in the Bahamas looks amazing. I cannot wait.”

“That makes two of us,” John rolled over and was laying on his back.

Alice was resting her head on his shoulder.

“So, I’ve been doing some thinking.”

“If you’re breaking up with me, I’m taking that damn necklace back.”

Alice pinched his arm, “You are every bit as bad as Andern. What’s the next step in our relationship? I’ve been thinking about this a lot actually and normally it’d be moving in, but that’s kinda difficult here.”

“Yeah, but not impossible to do. There’s the couple’s dorm on the other side of the quad. A co-ed dorm is across the campus, but its rules are, well bad. Way less forgiving than here. Living off campus is basically a no-go until you’re a junior, but then you spend two-thirds of the year up on the station and ships so it’s kinda like why bother?”

“So basically, what your saying is, the next step is get married around when we graduate, get an assignment together, and get a couples unit on whatever station our ship is assigned to.”

“Yeah, pretty much. If we’re married one will be on a station and the other on a ship based out of that station. Usually anyways.”

Alice was pouting, “I don’t want to wait anymore.”

“Well, as they say, good things come to those who wait,” John groaned.

Just then the standard announcement for that time of the day came over. Women had fifteen minutes to leave the floor and head back to their rooms.

“I hate that hearing that,” Alice said as she was getting up.

“Hey, I want the same thing you want. You know I’m impatient as fuck too so I’ll see what I can do about getting us into the couple’s dorm for next year.”

Alice leaned back and gave him a kiss, “You are the best. You know that.”

“Mhmm, sure do,” John got up and put shorts and a shirt on.

Alice was all smiles as John escorted her to the elevator, “Thank you so much for everything. The next two weeks are going to take forever. Love you.”

The doors closed. John walked back to his room when he saw Andern in the hallway.

“Sup bud. How’s it going?”

“Dude, thanks for all your help. I wouldn’t have been able to get through this semester without your help.” Andern looked like he had aged five years this past week.

“No problem, but seriously man, read your damn messages,” John laughed, “So, about your imposed deadline.”

“Pushed out to spring break. Going to work over the winter to pay for a trip that the two of us can go on over spring break. Well, hopefully anyways.”

“Let me know if you need any help. And I got some ideas about spring break, can’t hurt to have spending money though. Anyways, I’m off to bed. Cya next year.”

“Adios,” Andern turned around and went back into his room.

“Not a bad start to my career,” John said to himself.

John had something to look forward to over the break. At least he didn’t have to go back to the arctic-like Andern did. He laughed at the thought of snow as he entered his room. Tomorrow he was scheduled to head to Miami, the location of the worst base food known to mankind, and likely far too much boring ass forensic accounting work to do.