Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Two Years Later
Six years in The Academy, and five years in the cosmos, primed and modeled him for this moment. Nothing was unexpected and nothing was held back in his Captain
Training Exams. If anything, the examiners seemed to test him harder, as if to see for themselves if the rumors and stories were true when it came to Lieutenant Aldrenn Anton.
Countless recommendations, documented events, test scores—it was an impressive resume and list of achievements from his space travels, all compiled into a perfect package.
The testing lasted two weeks—simulations, written tests and interviews, one after another.
It was a strength of will both physical and mental, placing him in the worst-case scenarios and impossible tasks.
In some cases, he was meant to fail, the true test being how he handled the aftermath when everything went wrong.
At the time, Renn couldn’t come up with a possibility the SEA leadership hadn’t already thought of to test a person.
He would find out sooner than he could have imagined just how wrong he was.
ONE MONTH LATER
The ceremony was long—too long for his taste. But when Captain Grey, now Admiral Grey, pinned the medal to Renn’s chest, he could have lived in that moment for an age.
“Aldrenn C. Anton, do you swear to honor the mission of the Space Exploration Society and to take the captain’s vow with full understanding and of your own free will?” Grey asked.
“I do,” Renn replied.
“Make your vow.”
Renn lifted his chin, ensuring his voice was loud and clear, then saluted as he repeated the vow he had memorized years ago.
“I, Aldrenn C. Anton, swear to guide my crew with clarity and courage, to safeguard every soul that is entrusted to my command, to honor the codes of conduct and laws of the SEA, and to respect the law of space and the worlds we touch.
“I take this vow to never conquer, but to seek and discover the mystery of the universe.
“Where I lead, I lead with purpose.
“My commands are spoken with pure intention and the well-being of what is best for my crew and my vessel, for the stars are not my own.
“This I vow, under every sky and stretch of space that my journey may lead.”
The admiral nodded approvingly and moved on to the next.
It was strange how a person could be happy with who they were, but feel incomplete all at once. Was there more he needed to prove? More he needed to discover about himself?
He gazed down at the captain emblem on the pin, thinking of the gold embellishment on his new cap and uniform, and all he could see was his father.
Renn had accomplished exactly what his father wanted—his son, a captain at twenty-five years old.
The other two lieutenants who had also passed—Captain Tessa Holmstrom and Captain Henry DeCruz—were not much older than himself, but everyone knew the great accomplishment that the late Captain Elias Anton’s son had done was something few had ever done before.
He tried to focus on the people who had helped him here—his grandparents—and as Nate promised, he was in attendance for the ceremony, front and center in the audience.
His best friend had vowed to him a big celebration with friends afterwards, but all Renn truly wanted was something he couldn’t place.
If he wasn’t standing in front of hundreds of people at that moment, he would have retrieved the necklace, hidden beneath his uniform. It had become a habit now to reach for it whenever he was unsure, or just missing his family.
He thought back on all the advice he had been given over the years—some he sought and others that presented themselves. But all he could think of was his Gran’s words.
“Find someone who can see all of you, Renn. The past, for what made you, and a future that they can see only with you.”
Renn couldn’t explain it then, but something in him stirred, reminding him of that feeling he first had when he looked at the mural for the first time. There was something waiting for him out there in the stars, and he was finally going to find it.