The rest of that night was peaceful and the next morning as we left the barracks to go to chow, Wilks was packed and heading to the administrative office. He glanced over his shoulder and we locked eyes briefly before he was gone. That's the last time I ever saw him.

I recollected about that moment many times over the last week and all through graduation. I hadn't been able to let it go for some reason and it distracted me as I mingled with my men and their families at the post graduation party.

I was sitting at a table alone in a corner, a half empty bottle of water was perched forgotten between my fingers when I heard "Jonny!" I looked up and dropped the bottle into my lap. I shot to my feet as the cold water poured out all over me.

"Jenny? Shit!" I cursed as I used a handful of napkins to dry myself.

Jenny ran over and wrapped her arms around me, laughing both at the accident and the excitement of seeing me. "Oh god Jonny, I missed you."

I returned her embrace and asked, "Jenny, what are you doing here?"

She pulled back and held me at arms length. "Sam had some vacation time coming up, and it'd been awhile. Plus we wanted to be here for your graduation."

Sam walked up behind Jenny and rested his left hand on her shoulder, holding his right hand out to me to shake. "You looked real good out there Jon."

I smiled and shook his hand. "Thank you." I looked around, "where is Kayla and Tyson"?

"They are staying with my parents back in Ohio." Sam said

"I can't say I like the hair, but Jonny, you do look happy." Jenny said, digging her hands into what I had of hair.

I swatted her hands away and smiled. "I am. I got to do some flying last week and tomorrow I'll be headed to Olympus, then on to the moon." A grin filled my face as I said it.

"What did you fly?" Jenny asked me.

"It was just a small shuttle, but it was exhilarating all the same. The moment I pushed the throttle forward and got pushed back into the seat. It was like a drug."

Sam laughed and sat down at the table I had just been ruminating at. "I'm glad it's working out for you," He said. Taking the queue, Jenny and I sat down next to each other across from him.

“Jonny.” Jenny said and I focused my attention on her. “I wanted to apologize for being so reluctant to let you join the StarForce.”

“Jenny, you don’t need to do that.” I interrupted her. “I totally understand. Mom and Dad’s deaths were very traumatic for you.”

Jenny hugged me. “I know I was wrong.” She said, holding me at arms length. “You look so much better than you did back home. You look like you’re full of life, like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders.” Jenny eyed me as she spoke.

“She’s right.” Sam said “You look more alive than I've seen you in years. I remember the conversation we had the night you got your orders, but I do think what you said.was right.This is something you need to do.”

“You guys really mean it?” I was dumbfounded by what they were saying. “Never in a million years did ever expect that you would come to accept my decision to join the ASFC.”

“Yes we mean it Jonny.” Jenny said. “It took me all of two minutes of seeing you out on that graduation stage. You looked so proud and handsome. You looked like you belonged.there. You looked more at ease there on that stage with all the other uniformed guys, than you have at home in a long time.”

“Jon, anytime you get some time off make sure you come and see us. That house will always be a home for you and you will always be welcome there.The kids are gonna miss the hell out of you.” Sam said.

I was bursting with joy over their acceptance and just hugged Jenny again. The rest of the evening was wonderful, I was able to introduce my friends to Jenny and Sam. I found out that Basher’s wife was a hugger and so was his tiny daughter. Christian was the spitting image of his dad and Michael's girlfriend Lily was downright evil despite the sweet high-pitched voice she spoke with. But, by the time I was laying in my bunk trying to sleep, I'd completely forgotten about Wilks.

******

"All set Cadet Kaine?" Captain Mcgillicuddy asked me. He was about to take a train along the Xing Qiao Arm to the Equatorial Ring of Olympus. He was in civilian clothing, carried a backpack over one shoulder and pulled a large suitcase on wheels.

I reflected on the fantastic ride up here. It was hard to believe I was in space now. Several hours ago everyone bound for Olympus had loaded up in the Captain's personal shuttle and he had let me fly it to the space elevator at the north pole. That's a little misleading seeing as the shuttle was mostly on autopilot the whole way. But, I programmed it, set the course, lifted off and landed the shuttle all on my own. The Captain only manned communications.

Coming across Europe and into the Arctic Sea was a surreal experience. Seeing the dense forest and wide farmlands give way to rolling fields of snow and ice, and then onto miles of ocean before finally reaching the frozen and shattered landscape of the glacier; it was unlike anything I've ever seen.

I was able to see the pillar of the orbital elevator from far off. It started as a hazey object that grew slowly in my vision. Once I finally reached it I understood just how large it was. The pillar itself was thirty miles wide. And where it met the ground was an anchor, giving the base a forty-five mile wide diameter. Around the anchor was North City. A massive city that supported and maintained the lower half of the orbital elevator.

During the flight north I'd noticed the temperature in the cabin gradually grow colder. And upon landing the Captain made an announcement that everyone should put on their heavy coats before the doors were open.

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Outside the air was frigid. It was cold enough that the thermometer read negative numbers. But I was astonished that there was no snow or ice on the landing platform. It was wet, and snow was falling, but it wasn't freezing. The Captain explained that the entire city was wired with electric heating coils because of how much power the elevator transferred from Olympus to the ground.

We quickly entered the airport and everyone had their orders checked. Afterwards, we made our way to the subway and took an underground bus to the nearest Lift Train station. There our orders, IDs, and our bags were all thoroughly checked and we finally boarded the Lift Trains themselves.

The pillar has an incredible design. It's connected to both the anchor on the ground and to what they call a sky joint. Olympus has an equatorial ring. Four arms extend from it at equal distances and connect with the orbital elevator at the sky joint. There is one at the southpole as well.

The elevators connect to the earth and the skyjoint, but Olympus rotates faster than earth so it can simulate gravity. To prevent twisting of the elevators they actually exist in three pieces. The lower section is anchored to the ground and the upper to the sky joint. But the central section speeds up and slows down. The pillar itself has one massively large freight elevator in the center, large enough to raise a starship into orbit. Then outside of that is a conductive ring, this is where electricity is passed to the ground.

On the outside of the pillar are Lift Train tracks that run up and down the elevator at forty-five degree angles. When a train departs and climbs the pillar it will climb until it's in the central section. Then the central section will begin to increase its rotation until it matches the speed of Olympus. The process takes time, but the train never has to stop. Even at two hundred miles an hour, it takes over four hours each way. The ride across the central section is so long the train will never need to slow down as the central section changes speed. Several trains go up and down at the same time.

As we boarded I marveled at the odd design of the Lift Train cars. They were cylindrical and gimballed at multiple joints. The reason became apparent as we ascended the elevator. As the central section spun up to match the rotation of Olympus, the gravity inside the car changed and the cabin rolled to account for it automatically.

I shared a cabin with Michael and Christian. Basher’s next training base was in Japan, he was going into tactical security, or he would have joined us, no doubt. Both Michael and Christian were headed to Mars to join the Research and Development core. It didn't surprise me. They were both geniuses and constantly argued about things I didn't have a clue about. I was headed to Luna for pilot training and I couldn't wait. When we weren't chatting we were staring out the windows at the incredible view of the earth falling away.

"Jon?" The Captain's words snapped me out of my reflections.

"Sorry, no no, I'm good. Enjoy your vacation Captain Mcgillicuddy, and thank you for everything." I said to him, I was just about to turn away from him and head to my shuttle gate when a Lieutenant in uniform rushed up.

"Excuse me, Captain Mcgillicuddy, Cadet Kaine. Admiral Wilks wanted to see you both before you left." The Captain and I exchanged looks of bewilderment. "He's in the officer's lounge on the next floor. Please, follow me."

******

I entered the lounge behind Captain Mcgillicuddy. The lights were off but the sunlight reflected off of the earth and shone brightly through the windows giving the room a blue glow. There was a man with salt and pepper hair dressed in full uniform standing at the window with his back to us as he gazed out of it.

To my left Captain Mcgillicuddy stood at attention and said "reporting as ordered". I followed his example and stood at attention.

"Eight hundred billion humans and another two hundred million aliens live in the Sol System. How incredible the odds must be that my only son was in basic training with you," he turned around and looked at me "Jonathan Kaine." He finished in a strong, clear and crisp British accent.

I studied the man. He was in his late fifties with a strong chiseled jaw, sharp nose and pronounced cheekbones. He was slender and tall, standing straight, he projected an aura of regal authority; made more intimidating by the hard iron grey eyes that bore into mine. Admiral Wilks took several steps toward us, cutting the distance in half. "At ease."

Captain Mcgillicuddy and I both assumed an 'at rest' posture as the Admiral continued to talk. "Believe it or not, I knew your father." When my eyes shot wide he smiled. "Yes, we were actually quite close for a brief time. When I was captain of the Hephaestus your father was my second officer. He was a man with several, unique, talents. Even used those talents to save my life once."

He paused and looked me over for a moment then turned to Captain Mcgillicuddy. "Captain, about my son. Surely there is something that can be done, as to allow him to retain his position in the officer candidacy?"

The Captain squirmed but finally said "with all do respect sir, your son was responsible for several critical injuries and many minor ones to himself and those that were under his command at the time. He disobeyed multiple direct orders and was caught cheating in multiple wargames."

"Yes, I read your report. I understand there should be repercussions, but expulsion is a bit extreme don't you think?" Admiral Wilks asked.

"Again, with all due respect sir. Your son is lucky he got off with only a dishonorable discharge. He was almost brought up on charges." The Captain said.

The admiral made a low unhappy sound in his throat and turned back to me. "Cadet Kaine, will you please give me your personal opinion about the nature of my son?"

The question caught me off guard. When my face screwed up in confusion he continued. "I want to know what you think about my son. Don't worry, be honest. If you don't say anything positive I won't hold it against you."

"Sir, I found that dealing with Frank was a toxic endeavor. He was wholly self-entitled, he believed himself to be grander than his capabilities and above everyone else. Highly arrogant, he refused to take suggestions or criticism. Worse, he bullied the men he was in charge of leading. I do not believe that he was officer candidate material personally." While i had started talking about his son with a timid voice, his neutral expression seemed to be honestly curious and non-judgmental. So as I spoke I gained self-esteem and finished speaking with conviction.

Admiral Wilks grunted softly, crossed his arms and lowered his head. His expression was one of pure thoughtfulness. Then he raised his head and held out his hand for me to shake. I took his hand and shook but he didn't let go as he began speaking to me. "Thank you for your assessment. There has been an Admiral Wilks in High Command continuously. Me, my father and his father going back over three hundred years. Unfortunately my son is a moron, but he is my son all the same and I cannot allow the chain to be broken." He was still holding my right hand with an iron grip.

He continued in a rush. "As for you, Jon. I don't know if you have the same, abilities, as your father but I can't afford to find out. Your father did save my life once, and in respect of that, I will spare yours; though you may wish I hadn't." I was so stunned by his words I couldn't move or even process what he was saying.

Suddenly something hard and metallic was pressed into my hand, there was a loud bang and Captain Mcgillicuddy's head snapped back before his entire body fell over backwards. Wilks took a few steps back and I looked down to see I was holding a gun. My eyes grew impossibly wide as I stared at it. I looked up at the Admiral just in time to watch his smug expression transform into a mask of fear as the doors opened and four security guards rushed in.

"Help, he shot the Captain." Wilks screeched while pointing at me.

I looked back down at the gun in my hand and cursed just as two men slammed into me, tackling me to the ground as a third wrestled the gun from my hands. I fought to free myself as the men grabbed me. "Wait, no, I didn't do it, he did." I shouted but I was ignored. An electrical surge coursed through my body and I went numb as the world faded.