All the president's men

After President Micki finished with his speech everyone accompanied him to the dining area. It was a military mess hall but for this occasion, they would be served the finest cuisine on account of the importance of Initiation Day. And of course, because the president’s presence.

An important-looking man greeted President Micki in the mess hall. It was someone Brigham instantly recognized from this morning's TV debate. The CEO of the Solatium Corporation, Gargan Stunkovski. "Ah let me introduce you students. The Solatium Corporation is the sponsor of your initiation day. Gargan here, on behalf of the company has kindly donated the 3 ships you will be using on your mission."

Gargan was approached by the reporter woman for a statement and he said: "I deeply care about education and our youth…" He continued talking in boring PR platitudes. None of the students was really listening to what he had to say. Every word that came out of his mouth sounded like it was written by a computer. Brigham was quite surprised since he sounded so sharp and convincing this morning.

Another thing that caught Brigham's attention was how different Gargan was in person. Up close he looked tired and bitter, seemed like a miserable human being to be around.

As Gargan finished his PR ramble he spoke sounding almost like a person again: "My son is also a part of today's initiation. Come here." He called out. Everyone wondered who he was talking about?

Emidio was trying to hide behind Brigham. Gargan soon noticed Emidio's white hair behind Brigham and called out to him: "Come my dear Emidio. Don't be shy of the cameras." Emidio shook as his name was called. He moved slowly towards his father.

"That solves the mystery of why instructor Mok couldn't fail him on his physical," Ana whispered into Hitomi's ear.

"When your father is a sponsor you bet the school is going to bend over backwards for him. He is an even bigger loser than I thought." Hitomi rolled her eyes.

"Can't even work hard, has to buy his way into here. His father is a capitalist pig, I hate the little worm even more now." Ana clucked her mouth in disapproval.

Emidio reluctantly walked towards his father with obvious fear and resentment in his eyes. It was easy to deduce that something was wrong in their relationship. Gargan was furious. His brat of a son was about to embarrass him in front of the media. Tabloids were going to fill their headlines with this debacle if he didn't set Emidio straight.

"Son let's not keep the photographers waiting." Gargan gave Emidio a look of rage. It prompted his fragile son to recoil in fear even more but he picked up the pace and came to his father. The two posed for the photo-op with Emidio giving the most obvious forced smile Brigham had ever seen in his life.

Gargan was happy that a tabloid nightmare was avoided and quickly pushed his son away before anyone could dwell on his son's behavior for too long.

President Micki pretended not to notice this scene and said: "The next esteemed guest who will be dining with us today is someone you don't know personally but are familiar with" Micki theatrically announced: "Defense Minister Celio!"

Celio entered the room, he was the founder of the Military academy that bore his name. Despite being of similar age to both Gargan and Mok he looked a lot younger and took great care of his looks. He was devilishly handsome and walked with confidence and swagger. He carried himself like a rock star, the opposite of the boring politician type that occupied the high levels of government.

Celio was also naturally charismatic along with his good looks. If you were to run into him in the street and he smiled at you, it was nearly impossible not to blush. No matter your gender or sexual orientation, Celio was simply irresistible. As he walked he answered a few questions from the reporters.

Questions on the defense budget, the future of the academy, and further youth recruitment into the army of Nova Occasio. The defense minister spoke with quick, concise, easy-to-understand answers. Even cracked a few jokes which prompted laughs from the crowd and the students.

Celio gave the president, Gargan and instructor Mok an affectionate hug. The three were great friends. They were all pioneers and with long histories with each other. Celio turned to the students and said: "I know my son is here too."

Curro walked out of the crowd to the surprise of much of class Lupus. Celio ruffled his son's hair which made Curro a bit embarrassed. The two naturally posed for their photo-op with Curro giving a big smile. It was the exact opposite of Gargan and Emidio.

While Gargan was cold, forced, and had an obviously strained relationship with his son. Celio was warm, personable, and likable and he and Curro were genuinely happy to see each other.

"Damn Curro, you never mentioned your father was the founder of the academy." Hitomi tapped Curro's shoulder, still in shock over this new revelation.

"I just didn't think it was something important," Curro gave her an innocent and modest response.

I guess I should stop calling him a loser and nerd. His father can snap his fingers and I'm gone, Hitomi thought to herself agonizing over her previous behavior.

Brigham wasn't surprised since he had met Curro's dad before. You are allowed to see your parents only on Sundays. Brigham's family wasn't important or rich. They were regular middle-class citizens who emigrated from the UK to search for better employment in space after the 1970. economic crash on Earth.

Sometimes they were unavailable due to their employers demanding work even on a Sunday. Working in the private sector on Nova Occasio meant working on the weekends and holidays if your employer demanded it. On such occasions, Curro would invite Brigham to hang out with him and his dad.

Celio would take them to arcades and they played video games together. He also gave both of the boys plenty of money for arcades during weekdays. ‘As long as it doesn't disrupt your studies’, he would tell the boys. He took them to lunch, and sometimes to the cinema to watch cool movies they weren't allowed to watch yet.

Overall, Brigham had a very high opinion of Celio. He was a cool dad no doubt. He didn't think any less of his parents for not being 'cool'. They were hard-working people who just weren't as well off as Curro's family. Brigham was always full of gratitude for supporting him to pursue his dream of entering the military academy.

***

The initiation day moved forward and everyone was eating in the mess hall. It was a truly spectacular lunch, a choice from all corners of Earth's cuisine and some new cosmos-centric dishes. Most of the kids gathered around Celio asking him various questions and seeking approval.

Brigham, of course, sat close to President Micki. He asked him various questions about the government and the President's daily life.

"How does politics look like from the other side you ask?" Micki paused to chew on his food and continued. "It's honestly a lot more boring than fiction makes it out to be. Just this morning I was on an Intergalactic phone call with Washington D.C."

Brigham's eyes widened as he listened closely to every word Micki as he continued to speak: "I talked for 2 hours with the president of the US Walter Mondale about the details of a new trade deal we are to sign with the US concerning rare metals needed for spacecraft. Tonight I have also a scheduled call with the General Secretary of the USSR Gennady Yanayev. We have a security agreement with the Russian KGB to cooperate with various security threats in the galaxy."

Micki took another bite of his food and continued: "We are facing threats from various extremist cults who threaten the current order with terrorism. This sounds a bit more exciting but trust me it is also equally boring. My job is to balance relations with the Russians and Americans and maintain our neutrality. We could be in for a galactic conflict. The Cold War can turn hot fast. I want to keep us out of it and settle conflicts with diplomacy."

Brigham was over the moon over the opportunity for such a conversation and he took every piece of information like a sponge.

Another outlier amongst the students was Roy. He was the only person interested in talking with the CEO of Solatium, Gargan.

"You are Nova Occasio's greatest businessman and most successful entrepreneur. I watched your debate this morning I am a huge fan, sir. I would like to learn from you!" Roy bowed in admiration.

Gargan was taken aback by such praise. It was a long time since anyone said anything nice to him. Gargan responded: "Oh thank you. I am glad there are young people interested in this sort of thing. I realized a big problem in other space colonies was the climate inside their domed cities. It was either too cold or too hot and made life very uncomfortable for humans. I came in with a capital investment and the right innovators came up with a solution.

"It was the right place and the right time, now the Solatium Corporation is the largest corporation on Planet Spark. You have to, as an entrepreneur fill in a service that people need that no one else is providing, or provide it better than anyone else. That's the key to success. If you are interested in Solatium, here is my card. Maybe we can get in touch after you graduate and see if there is a place for you with us."

Gargan gave Roy his card which made Roy almost squeak with excitement. He never could have imagined that something like this could happen to him. It made Gargan for the first time today crack an honest human smile.

As the lunch came to its close the students made their way to their spaceships to begin their mission. A military parade was prepared for them to see them off and with great fanfare. The three spaceships were ready to embark into the sky.

The practical initiation exam was just about to begin.