(The usual disclaimers apply. This snippet picks up from the last one.—ASG)
Four
“General Okafor, ma’am.”
Ashlyn saved her reply to Gataki’s response to her earlier email and motioned for Hernandez to show the woman in. Then she climbed to her feet and moved around her desk. As she did, she schooled her expression so it hopefully didn’t reveal her concern over this unexpected visit. Not that it stopped her pulse from beating a quick rhythm.
“Thank you, Maria. Please tell Corporal Tscherny to hold all my calls and make sure we aren’t interrupted.”
Hernandez dipped her chin and braced to attention. The moment Ash dismissed her, she backed out of the office, closing the door behind her.
“I hope I’m not making too much of a disaster of your schedule this morning, Ash, but something’s come up and I wanted you to hear it from me.” Okafor sat in one of the chairs in front of Ashlyn’s desk.
Ashlyn turned to pour them both coffee from the carafe resting on the edge of her desk. As she did, she gave herself a moment to deal with her concern at the general’s words. A cold chill ran down her spine and she stopped herself from inhaling deeply.
“Not at all, ma’am. Though I will admit I’m more than a little concerned.” To say the very least.
“Sorry, some of what I need to discuss with you couldn’t be handled over the comm.” She lifted her mug and sipped. “But first, how are the preparations for graduation and the commissioning ceremonies coming along?”
“On the whole, very well. You know how it is. Some of the cadets forget they still have to make it through their finals with a passing grade. Others are ready to meltdown from the pressure. Then there are the underclassmen who think it would make their reputations to pull some sort of prank during graduation. Add in the service branches doing one last push for information about the seniors before confirming who will be receiving their commissions on graduation day.”
“And?” Okafor balanced her mug on one knee as she cocked her head to one side and waited for Ash to respond.
“Let’s just say not all the service heads are happy with their placement in the commissioning ceremony.”
Okafor chuckled softly. “Don’t tell me. Let me guess. Last year, Navy was the first to commission the new graduates. Army was the year before. That means the Marines should be first up this year.” Another pause and she drummed the fingers of her right hand against that thigh. “Since I’m not upset with where we fall in the order and I know Miranda, who is administering the oaths to the Naval cadets, is fine with the plans, my guess is Gataki’s the one giving you grief.”
“Got it in one, ma’am.”
“Helen,” she corrected. “We’ve known one another long enough and we’ve been friends long enough for you to call me by my given name, Ash.”
Ashlyn laughed softly, remembering her earlier conversation with Hernandez. When Okafor arched a brow in question, she quickly explained. The general’s eyes sparkled in humor.
“It’s hard, isn’t it, when the two roles converge as they have with you and the captain or as they have with the two of us?”
“Not really, except when there are times like now when I have a feeling this is much more an official visit than it is one between two friends.”
“Then we’ll get to the official part of my visit after you tell me if I need to have a word with Gataki for you.”
Ashlyn shook her head. A moment later, she called up the draft of her response to Gataki’s last email. With a couple of quick commands, she sent a copy to Okafor’s comm. A soft ping confirmed delivery and she waited as the general called it up and reviewed it. Seeing the frustration cross the woman’s face, Ash waited, wondering if she’d gone too far with her response.
“Marcus Gataki is a pain in the ass, and I will confirm I said it if you repeat it to anyone.”
Ashlyn’s right brow winged upward at the comment. Rarely did Okafor let her personal feelings for another officer show. Whatever happened between the two of them, it left a sour taste in the woman’s mouth and she had little use for him now.
“But your response to him is perfect. He has never respected the autonomy of the Academy commandant, no matter who they happened to be. Too many of them caved to his demands because it was easier than fighting him. I don’t want you to do so. If he refuses to accept your decision, you are to send a message to SecDef, copying not only Gataki but myself and the Miranda, outlining his demands and your responses and your reasoning for them.”
“Aye, ma’am.” Having the brass on her side made it easier.
“Good.” Okafor gave a decisive nod and leaned forward, placing her mug on the edge of Ashlyn’s desk. Then she climbed to her feet. Ash waited, watching as she crossed the office and looked out the window. With her hands clasped behind her back, her shoulders stiff, something obviously bothered her. “Ash, have you given thought to what you want to do next? Do you want to stay here, return to Reserve status, or something else?”
The question, while expected, didn’t explain the tension Ash saw in the general.
“I’ve given it a great deal of thought, ma’am.” She might not be able to see Okafor’s face, but she had no doubt the woman arched a brow at the ma’am. Shifting mental gears, she continued. “Helen, I’m not going to lie. I’ve enjoyed my time here much more than I ever expected. You know I agreed to take the position because I felt I might have something to share with the cadets but also because Jake was starting his time here as a cadet.”
Okafor turned back to face her. “I do and I know you’ve done a remarkable job where both are concerned. I’ll also tell you right now that the position is yours for as long as you want it.”
“But?” She had no doubt there was a but and that worried her.
“Before I answer that, do you want to remain commandant here?”
“Part of me wants to say yes. This posting has been much more fulfilling than I expected. But another part—and I have a feeling you at least suspect this part—wants something else.”
“Active duty?”
She nodded.
Instead of responding, Okafor returned to her chair. Then she swiveled enough to face Ashlyn. She studied the younger woman and Ashlyn didn’t doubt she saw every faint scar, every grey hair she refused to color and much more. Nor did she have any doubt Okafor had pulled her medical records and even her training records.
“Are you sure?”
Ash shrugged.
“No.” Before Okafor could interrupt, she continued, “Helen, I’m not a fool. It’s been more than a decade since I’ve been on active duty. Hell, I know how lucky I am to have survived my injuries at the end of the war. You know what those first two or three years were like between the surgeries, the therapies, the rejected implants and regen.”
Now it was Okafor’s turn to nod, her expression grim. “I do.”
“You also know the damage was more than physical. I needed time to heal mentally and emotionally. We all lost so many people we cared for, people we commanded. I’m not going to say I lost more, but the circumstances of some of those losses are what hit me so hard, especially when I could do nothing more than lie in bed and think.”
Lucinda Ortega. Kevin Talbot. So many others who were more than Marines under her command. They were her brothers and sisters in arms. Ortega and Talbot were family in all but blood. She mourned them still and would until the day she died.
“Ash, no one blames you.”
“I know. But that didn’t stop me from blaming myself.” She leaned forward, elbows on her knees. Then she drew in a shaky breath as she shook off the memories. “That’s behind me now. I will never forget my dead, Helen, but they don’t haunt me like they used to.”
“And?”
“I might not have access to the Intel briefs like I used to, but something’s going on. I’ve seen the records for Academy admissions and commissioning of graduating seniors to both Active and Reserve Duty status. Since the war, admissions have been well below what we saw during the war. That’s to be expected. The commissioning numbers heavily favored Reserve status. Again, expected. But this year, we’re being bombarded with requests for additional information on the graduating seniors from all branches, with a focus on those ready for Active-Duty status. Rough guess? The percentage has flipped from previous years since the war. That tells me something’s going on, or at least that the service heads are expecting something and it isn’t good.”
Okafor chuckled softly and stretched her legs out before her, crossing them at the ankles. Hearing it, Ashlyn looked at her in question. Why wouldn’t she get to the point?
“Ash, you’re right. My counterparts and I have been waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. We’ve been seeing an uptick in certain activities in certain sectors. It’s not been enough to cause our allies or our own government to become overly concerned until recently. But that concern has been there and it is something the President felt as well.”
“And recently?”
“That’s why I’m here. . . .”
(to be continued on Friday.)