he adventures of the Star Traveler Andromeda that started in Among the Stars, Beyond the Farthest Planet, and So Far From Home, continues in the final chapter The Voyage Home.
Kate stood, straightened her tunic and walked up to the stage. The President picked up a box from under the podium which she opened. She pulled out the hat first which she handed to Kate. The Admiral's emblem shone above the gold braid across the visor. Kate put the hat on. The President opened a smaller box. "Captain Jensen, it gives me great pleasure to promote you to the rank of Admiral in charge of the Office of the Department of Military Personnel." She pinned the Admiral's insignia next to the pips on her collar. She shook Kate's hand. "Congratulations Admiral Jensen."
"Thank you Madame President." The crowd surged to their feet again. Kate stood next to the president as bulbs flashed as pictures were taken. The President waited until the cheers dies down before she spoke again. "Admiral Kate Jensen, you are invited to join the Joint Chiefs." The cheering started again. Kate shook the President's hand again before she walked off the stage. She shook the hands of their friends, hugged and kissed Anya and her family before she sat down.
The president walked back to the podium. "We have one final piece of business to take care of. General?"
General Millhouse took the microphone, "Colonel Kirsten Campbell O'Malley, would you please come to the stage."
Kacey felt her jaw drop when the General called her name. Natalia had to nudge her to get her to move. Like Kate, she stood, straightened her tunic, placed her hat on her head and walked onto the stage. The President removed a second box from under the podium. She pulled out the gold braid that she fixed to Kacey shoulder. She then pulled out the General's hat with a single star. "It gives me great pleasure to promote Colonel Kirsten Campbell O'Malley to the rank of Brigadier General. The youngest person to hold this rank in the history of the Marine Corps." Kacey removed her hat and placed the new one on her head. The president removed the stars from the smaller box and fixed them on Kacey's collar next to the Colonel's insignia. "I am also happy to inform you of your next posting. General O'Malley you have been chosen to head up the Ridgefield Flight Training Base. Your exploits in space with your officers are legend. Who are we to break up such an incredible team." She shook Kacey's hand. The crowd jumped to their feet again cheering. They stood side by side as once again flashes went off. Once the noise level died down the president continued. "General O'Malley is also invited to join the Joint Chiefs. Congratulations General O'Malley." She shook Kacey's hand again.
"Thank you Madame President. It is an honor."
More flashes filled the room. Kacey stood next to the President. They shook hands again before Kacey walked off the stage.
"Kacey has the same shell shocked look Kate and Patricia had." Anya stated.
The orchestra took their places and started playing. No one move to dance.
"Katie, I am thinking they are waiting on ye." Liam stated.
"Then I shall not make them wait any longer." Kate led Anya to the dance floor as they stated dancing. Shortly after Kacey led Natalia to dance. For several bars they were the only couple on the floor. More couples joined them as the dance floor filled.
"Admiral, Kate, I am so very proud of you." Anya stated.
"Thank you my darling."
"And a member of the Joint Chiefs. I am very impressed. I know all this is a surprise, but do you have any idea what your duties will be?"
"Basically I or rather my office will be responsible for placing people where they are needed and can do the most good. A big part of my duties is to decide which pilots are sent for advanced training at Ridgefield. So Kacey and I will still be working closely together."
"At least until she gets the base up to full strength."
"The base will have a constant turnover as the pilots are changed out every six months."
"At least you and Kacey will have no reason to get testy with each other."
"What? Do not say that it would spoil our fun." Anya laughed. She removed the hat and kissed the top of Kate's head before she put the hat back on.
"I have to admit my Kate, you look damn sexy in that hat."
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Natalia laid her head against Kacey's chest as they danced. "Well General, how are you feeling?"
"General, that will take some getting used to."
"You will. I have complete confidence in you. Do you know what your new duties will be as Commander of the new base?"
"All the services will send their pilots there for intense and advanced training. I think most of my duties will be dealing with the big egos of the pilots who think they know everything. And they probably do to a certain degree. At least until my people show them just how little they really know."
"Will you do any flying?"
"Probably. I can not train people unless I learn the new ships first."
"Here I thought it would be mostly administrative."
"Most of the time it will be."
"Will we have to live on the base?"
"Not at all. Over a certain rank, officers have the option of living off base. It saves them from having to build a separate bar for all the big shots." Kacey joked.
"Is it far from home?"
"Less that thirty minutes by flyer. When we left Earth four years ago they were just starting to build the base."
"So that was not where you trained."
"I wish. This base is said to have state of the art equipment. Back when I was in training ,each service trained their own pilots and will still do that. The base is where the best will come for further training." Kacey stated. "I may have to go out to check things out before I start so I do not look like a doofus. I need to at least find out where my office is."
The music ended and they walked back to their table. Anya took Kacey back to the dance floor.
"How does it feel to be the youngest Brigadier General in the History of the Corps?"
"To be perfectly honest I am still in shock and can not believe I am wearing a General's Etiguerre."
"You just remember not to get too big for your britches General O'Malley."
"I will try not to Anya."
"Kate said you will still be working closely together."
"Yes we will. She makes the decisions as to who gets sent to me, but I imagine I will have some input."
"And you are both members of the Joint Chiefs. It is incredible."
"I think General Millhouse and Admiral Tacher expect us to shake up the old soldiers."
"There is no doubt in my mind that you two will do just that." Anya joked. "Has Natalia said anything about returning to the throne?"
"We have discussed it, but she has come to no decision yet. To be completely truthful, I think she will reclaim the crown. It is a figurehead position and will only take up one or two days of her time a month. So she is still free to continue with your plans for the restaurant. But I honestly think she will base her decision mainly for Caitlyn. Becoming Queen is her birthright."
They walked back to the table. Mike stood next to her. "Congratulation to you both." She stated.
"Thank you General."
"Kacey please. So you finally plucked up the nerve to ask Maggie to marry you."
"I had to. Especially after you had Kate and Anya tossed the bouquet and garters at us. We could not disappoint you both."
"Have you set a date?"
"Not yet, but as soon as we decide we will let you know."
"I expect an invitation to the wedding."
"That I can guaranteed, Kacey. Mike told me to put your name at the top of the list."
Kacey sipped her brandy and led Natalia back to the dance floor.
"Kacey, I think I want to accept the crown again. Do you mind?"
"Of course I do not mind sweetheart. Whatever makes you happy. Those are still your people. I will be at your side. What made you decide?"
"I owe it to Caitlyn and if one of both of the babies are girls I owe it to them also. As our first born girl Caitlyn is next in line for the throne. It is her birthright especially when Minister Carmelo told me that ninety two percent of the people want to return to a Monarchy."
"The lines of succession is confusing. What if one or both of the babies are girls, where do they fit into the scheme of things? What about Patrick?"
"It can be very confusing. Caitlyn as the oldest girl is next in line. If for some reason she turns it down it would go to the next girl and so on. They would still be considered princess and princes."
"But Patrick could never be King."
"He could. All it would take is the change of a few words in the constitution. He would only ascend to the throne if all the girls turned it down."
"That is just the opposite of some of the royal families on Earth. When would the ceremony take place?"
"It is called a coronation. I will see about having it done before your vacation ends."
"Do you want to tell the family tonight?"
"No I do not want to steal yours or Kate's thunder."
"You would not do that, but if you want we can invite them over tomorrow and tell them."
"Let's do that. How do you like that rock Maggie is wearing?"
"It is beautiful. But getting back to the coronation, Will it be short and sweet like when you made Minister Carmelo the boss?"
"I am afraid not. It is a bit more involved. You will actually have a part in it. I will take you through everything tomorrow."
Dressed in her formal uniform, Kacey waited for Natalia to finish. She paced the length of the room they were staying in. She looked at the royal blue robe with a deep crimson ermine collar that hung on the door. That was the robe Natalia would wear for the coronation.
Kacey went over the part she would play. Her nerves jumping and she could only hope that she would remember the words she would have to say. She took a sip of her coffee and resumed pacing. Her greatest fear was that she would mess up and embarrass Natalia. She tried to remember the sequence she would say. Sword, hands, body, heart, she thought and repeated the words to herself, sword, hands, body, and heart.
She jumped when the door chimed. Kate, Anya and their children walked in. They would all be part of the ceremony.
"You look like Hell little sister." Kate stated.
"I was not this nervous when we were married or when the children were born."
"How is Natalia holding up?" Anya asked.
"I am not sure. I was kicked out of the bedroom an hour ago, while Talia and the Prime Minister Carmelo go over some last minute stuff. Mom and Dad came to get the children thirty minutes ago." Kacey said. "Shit what if I mess up what I have to say? Will it void the coronation?"
"Kacey relax. You will be fine. I have never known you to forget something once you have learned it."
"This is different Kate."
"No it is not. You will do fine and pull this off without any mistakes. I have confidence in you."
"I wish I did."
The door opened. Natalia and Minister Carmelo walked into the room. Natalia's dress was a light blue floor length gown. The long sleeves ended just past her wrists. The royal blue sash with crimson piping ran from her right shoulder to left hip.
"General O'Malley, what is the protocol about you wearing an identical sash over your uniform?"
"I checked with the Joint Chiefs. The sash is allowed over the uniform for ceremonies like this." Kacey took the sash and slipped it over her right shoulder to drape across her body. She made sure her medals hung free and that the sash did not cover her saber grip.
"The coaches will be here in ten minutes so we should finish getting you ready, Natalia." Minister Carmelo stated.
Kacey removed the cape from the hanger and draped it over Natalia's shoulders. She took the bouquets the girls would carry from the cooling unit. If their children were older they would also be part of the ceremony. She pulled on her gloves and put her hat on. She held out her arm. Natalia placed her hand on Kacey's as they left the room.
The open coaches carried them through the street as cheering crowds lined both sides. They waved to the people. Bright blue and red banners hung from every window and fluttered in the slight breeze. With the islands being a territory, a squadron of service people walked along side the coaches.
The coaches stopped. Marines lined the stairs leading up to the Ceremonial Hall. The members of the Central Committee lined up in their robes for the ceremony and started up the stairs. A footman opened the coach door. Kacey stepped out first and held her hand out to help Natalia. The girls followed Minister Carmelo up the stairs. Kate and Anya in their formal dress whites walked behind the girls. They carried the orb and scepter which would be given to Natalia.
Kacey and Natalia waited at the bottom of the stairs. Natalia leaned over and whispered, "Remember not to lock your knees." Kacey nodded and swallowed. They walked between the Honor Guard. The guard fell into line behind them. Kacey and Natalia walked the length of the hall where the two thrones waited for them. The committee members separated and walked to their seats. Minister Carmelo stopped turned and waited. Kate and Anya walked to the left. Kacey and Natalia stopped in front of the Prime Minister. Kacey walked to the right. Minister Carmelo escorted Natalia the rest of the way to the thrones where they turned to face the people.
Anya walked forward with the Orb that she handed to Minister Carmelo who placed it in Natalia's left hand. Kate walked forward and handed the Scepter to Minister Carmelo who placed it in Natalia's right hand.
"Natalia Esperanza O'Malley, by accepting the Orb and Scepter, you assume the responsibilities of Queen." Minister Carmelo started. "Do you, Natalia Esperanza O'Malley take the oath to uphold the laws of country and people? Will you solemnly promise and swear to take care of all your people equally regardless of station?"
"I solemnly promise so to do." Natalia responded.
"Will you to the best of your ability, cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in your care of all your people?"
"I will."
Minister Carmelo picked up the crown from the velvet pillow and held it just above Natalia's head. "Will you wear this crown as the symbol of the family you belong to, and as the symbol of your country and people?"
"Yes I will."
Minister Carmelo lowered the crown to Natalia's head. "Welcome Home Your Majesty." She said softly and turned to face the people. The Marines lined up. They drew and crossed their swords. "Ladies and gentlemen, Her Royal Majesty Natalia Esperanza O'Malley, Queen of the Marcus Islands." Everyone stood as Natalia walked under the arch to the back of the room. She turned and walked back to the throne. She gently placed the Orb and Scepter in their holders on both sides of the throne, before she sat down.
Minister Carmelo walked to Kacey and nodded. Kacey took a deep breath as the Minister stated. "Your Majesty your subjects would like to swear their allegiance."
"Please bring them forward." Natalia sated.
Kacey walked forward. Her heels sounding loud in the sudden quiet. When she reached the throne she stopped, turned sharply took two steps, bowed, drew her saber and went down on one knee. She held the saber in two hands and offered it to Natalia.
"I, General Kirsten Campbell O'Malley legal consort to Queen Natalia Esperanza O'Malley pledge my fealty to Her Royal Majesty. I pledge my saber to forever protect her from all forces foreign and domestic who wish to do her harm." She handed the saber to Natalia. "I hereby pledge my body to stand at her side as you care for your people. I pledge my hands to help Her Majesty build a better life for everyone in her realm, and I pledge my heart, to forever love you and our people."
"I accept you pledges General O'Malley. Rise and take you place at my side."
Kacey stood. Natalia handed her back the saber which she resheathed. She bowed again and walked to the throne next to Natalia. Natalia smiled as she heard Kacey release a breath of relief.
She leaned over and whispered, "all that worrying for nothing. You remembered everything you needed to say."
"Did I sound nervous? Because I certainly was."
"Not at all sweetheart."
The members of the Central Committee lined up to make their pledge of Fealty. Each bowed, went down on one knee as Kacey had. Natalia smiled and accepted each pledge.
When the last committee member had finished, Kacey stood and held out her hand to Natalia. They walked to the doors which opened as they approached. They walked to the top step where they stopped and waved to the crowds who watched the coronation on large screens around the outside of the hall. The crowd cheered the return of their Monarch.
Their children were brought out. Each was dressed in the same color as Natalia and wore small sashes and crowns. The crowd cheered louder for the royal family.