“Lamile,” the general turned to Lamile Mitchum, “you name sake was as bold and brilliant in her own way as the Queen. I served with your grandmother T’harla, all your royal’s ancestors, I can say without a doubt she was a very special young lady.”
The class was quiet as they considered what the general had commented on and what the princess read. As the class bell rang the general spoke, “next week’s class will be a study period. You should use the time I will be with my staff to work on your papers.” The cadets filed out.
Chapter 17: Orphanage
The cadets were in for a surprise when they filed into the class room the next week. They had expected a senior classman to be present to take attendance and to substitute for the general. They didn’t expect the School Mistress to be waiting for them as they entered.
“Good morning,” the holograph of the middle age appearing woman that artificial intelligence presented herself as, greeted them as they settled down, “I have been reviewing your papers. Most of them are coming along. A few of you may need to rethink part of your thesis.
“Generally they are on the right track,” the artificial intelligence continued, “The General asked that I talk about the next chapter of your text. She thought that since I was there and she was not that I could give you all a perspective that she couldn’t.
“You all know that this isn’t the first academy.” The School Mistress continued, “That our first academy wasn’t an academy at all. It was the Old Trenaport Boarding School. The crown had turned it into an orphanage because we needed a large campus to hold all the children we were finding.
“We were on the outskirts of Trenaport. Before the evacuation we were the oldest boarding school on Trena. When the evacuation order had been given, the children at the school were shipped back to their parents. Then we sat vacant for a couple of months until the crown needed a place to hold the hundreds of children the cops were finding. “When Lady Hawthorne first…
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Lady Hawthorne toured the old Trena Boarding School on the outskirts of Trenaport a few days after receiving her crown warrant. She had gone to school there as a youngster. She remembered the well kept grounds and beautiful buildings. Now 12 years after her graduation she was becoming quickly appalled. Not only were the grounds a complete disgrace; the children were filthy; the halls were debris cluttered, the children’s clothing, those that had them, were in complete disrepair. She walked into one of the showers and quickly had to leave it was so filthy that it made her gag. Furious that anyone could let children live in these conditions she stormed into the office of the administrator like an avenging angel. Jill Wilson who was with her, had thought she had seen people very angry before; but she had never seen anyone this angry. Even her grandmother, who had a temper when she lost control, Jill had never seen this mad. She followed the small framed Lady Hawthorne trying not to get in her way as the noble woman charged towards the main office, afraid she would suffer the older woman’s wrath.
“You’re fired, you and your staff.” Lady Hawthorne stormed at the head mistress of the school, “I want you out of this facility in five minutes. If you are not out of here by then I will have you arrested for child abuse, child endangerment. Theft in office and anything else I can get the Crown Attorney to endorse.”
“You can’t do that!” the elderly woman said, “I have a crown warrant to run this facility.”
“Very well,” Lady Hawthorne said calming down. Jill watched in awe as Lady Hawthorne whipped out her com as if it were a weapon. For Lady Hawthorne it was just that. A weapon she used to help her father and the crown to get her assignments done. She keyed in the direct number to Lord Mercer’s office. When he answered, she explained what she had found and what the woman had told her. Mercer simply asked to speak with the woman.
“Miss Brunt, this is Lord Mercer, the Crown Attorney,” Lord Mercer said softly, his image floating above the com, “I am pulling your crown warrant Miss Brunt. You are ordered to leave the premises within five minutes. You should be very thankful that we have too much to do to prosecute you. Miss Brunt you and your staff will report to embarkation command, where the man power office will put you to work.” The woman slumped in her chair as the lord turn to Lady Hawthorn. The crown warrant had given her access to resources she was selling on the black market, “Delores what do you need there?” “Some bodies,” Deloris answered.
“You’ve got all the bodies you need Lady Hawthorne,” Jill said. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll get things started.”
Lady Hawthorne looked at her young companion skeptically; but nodded. She suspected that Jill knew what she was about. All through Jill’s schooling, the adults Jill respected and trusted the most were the ones who let her try; who gave her tasks that were well within her capabilities to accomplish! She knew, or felt she knew that by letting the kids she saw all over the place, be part of their rescue, helping themselves would help build their confidence. It would help build their self-esteem. It was something her grandmother had done with her, and it had worked. She possessed a self confidence that sometimes drove her friends’ nuts. She knew that she had to try with these kids.
Jill left the office and saw several kids sitting outside the office waiting for the head mistress, most likely for her to yell at them she assumed. “Okay you guys heard?” A couple of them nodded, including an older kid with shocking red hair.
“We’re going to get this place cleaned up, and I need some help. You guys want in?” She asked.
“Are they going to let us?” the red haired girl asked, “I tried to organize the kids into keeping our room clean but the Scow told me to stop.”
“The Scow is gone.” Jill said, “She’s been fired, Lady Hawthorne is who’s in charge for a while.”
“Who are you,” a young boy asked.
“I am Jill Wilson,” She said, “I work with Lady Hawthorne. We’re going to get you ready to leave Trena and see that you are evacuated safely.”
“But I thought they were going to leave us behind?” one of the kids retorted.
“No way,” Jill said, “My dad is being driven nuts to make sure all of you have a place to go. If he had known what was going on here he would have been here himself.” “Your dad?” the red haired girl asked.
“Yes, my father is Marshal Wilson,” Jill said.
“Wow!” another girl asked, “You speak with Marshal Wilson every day.” “Yup” Jill answered.
“That’s awesome,” another boy chimed in.
“Guys, I know it’s been tough,” Jill continued, sitting down among them, “It may not be easy; but are you willing to help me and Lady Hawthorne make things better? We can’t do this without your help! So are you in?” They nodded.
Lady Hawthorne watched in awe as Jill began to get the kids confidence. Amazed to see she had the same Wilson charm that oozed out of her father. “Jill, please get them all to the front of the admin building. I want to get a nose count.”
“Okay guys you heard Lady Hawthorne. Get everyone down to the front of this building.” Jill said. “Is there an AI on line?”
“School Mistress, here Miss Wilson,” An image of a middle aged woman, with old fashion reading glasses propped on the end of her nose, and dressed in a conservative dress, materialized as it spoke. There was clearly relief in her voice and on her face.
“Would you make an announcement about the gathering in front of this building,” Jill asked.
“You’re patched in,” The AI said, “Go with your announcement.”
“This is Jill Wilson,” Jill heard her voice on the school’s public address system. “I need all of the kids to report to the font of the admin building. You older kids look after the little ones. We have an announcement that you have to hear in person. It’s good news!” “End it” Jill said then to the AI, “School Mistress, repeat that for five minutes.” “Yes Miss Wilson.” The School Mistress responded.
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“School Mistress,” Lady Hawthorne called, “Display for me on my hand unit a list of all kids in this school, and then tell me the status of all supplies and equipment.”
“On your hand held Lady Hawthorne.” The School Mistress complied with Lady Hawthorne’s request.
“When was the last time these kids ate?” Lady Hawthorne asked.
“Last night.” The AI said, “The school administrator was feeding them once a day.”
“Do you have the equipment and resources to feed these kids a mid day meal?”
“I don’t know my Lady,” the AI said, “The Scow locked me out of the kitchen and the store rooms. She has shut down my primary. I am the backup which my primary self had programmed not to go live and not be taken off line when she herself was. I have been watching things only coming live to help when I can.”
“Okay,” she took out her phone called Jonesy at Boeing SpaceWorks the AI that was the Evacuation Command’s Logistics Officer. “Hey Jonesy, this is Delores.” “What can I do for you Delores,” The computer asked.
“I need hot meals at the orphanage. Any ideas” the noble woman asked. Jonesy was surprised that Deloris had been stumped on that one. The AI had been amazed at the noble woman’s ability to make things happen. She thought Lady Hawthorne’s ability to get things and get things done was second only to herself.
“Would a field kitchen do it?” Jonesy asked interrogating her data base. “I’ll call
General Langtree and get the duty team to bring you one. What else do you need?”
“I need some large trash containers, cleaning stuff and oh yes send me a medic team. I want to get these kids checked over.” Lady Hawthorne replied.
“Okay Deloris,” the AI said, “The duty flight off the Recovery has been tasked to bring you a field kitchen with staff, and the duty medics. Would you want Chief Able to send you a medic from station 8?”
“No," She said after a moment’s thought, “just the duty medic team off the
Recovery for now.”
“They’re being briefed now,” Jonesy reported.
“Thank you Jonesy!” the noble woman spoke to the AI.
“Welcome.” The AI said cutting the connection. As she had talked with Lady Hawthorne she had also spoken with School Mistress and seen what else was needed. She was made aware of the condition of the clothing, at the present time she had no idea how she could solve that issue.
An hour after asking for help a single landing craft landed at the old school and unloaded. By this time the children had been identified and sorted into groups of one hundred. Jill watched open eyed as the landing craft unloaded a large truck with a trailer behind it. It was the field kitchen. She looked at Lady Hawthorne who simply said, “It looks like I owe the Jonesy big favor.”
“Yes,” Jill said as the lead medic, a young lieutenant came up to Lady Hawthorne. “But what can you do for an AI?”
“Lady Hawthorne?” a tall lanky IRS officer approached her, “Lieutenant Carnaye off the Recovery. I understand you have a bit of work for us.”
“Yes sir,” The lady replied, she wasn’t much older than the lieutenant, “Find the infirmary and begin getting every one of these kids looked at. I haven’t looked at them all yet; but none of them seem sick. You let me know what you find out.”
“Doctor Stannis, said you were the boss,” The young man said nodding to his group to follow him.
“Ma’am,” a marine sergeant approached Deloris, “Where do you want us?” “You are,” Delores asked.
“Sergeant Lucas,” the Marine sergeant replied, “My unit is here to help you feed everyone.”
“How soon can you be ready to serve, and can you handle a thousand.”
“We’ll be ready in about twenty minutes.” The young marine said, “I think we have about five hundred hot on the kitchen, let me into your kitchen and we can have the next five hundred in a little while.”
“Take your rig over to that building. It’s the kitchen and dining hall.” Lady Hawthorne said.
“Aye Ma’am,” the sergeant responded, “We’ll get started.”
“Hey Mary, Paul, Johnnie, and Ralph,” Jill called, “Get a couple of more kids and go over to the dining hall and get the tables cleaned off. Marti, Betty, you get these kids set up in two ranks of five hundred I want the little kids to go first. But they don’t eat until they get their hands and faces washed. Tom, Jerry and Billie use that a hose on the side of the dining hall they can wash that way.”
Deloris didn’t say a word. Jill had things well in hand, leaving Deloris to think about getting more people in. She called her estate and asked for anyone who could get away for a little while to help her. Lady Hawthorne then called the evacuation man power office and requested fifteen people to report to the old school. She asked for school teachers.
The sergeant in charge of the field kitchen was disgusted at what he was seeing. Disgusted that many of the children he was seeing were in ragged clothing. Some of the children’s clothing looked worse than a Marine’s Battle Dress Uniform after they had spent a month at the escape and evasion facility on Paris Island. He didn’t understand how adults could let children be this dirty. He was single, with no kids of his own; but he had come from a family of ten. His mother never let him and his brothers and sisters get this dirty.
But as disgusted as he was; he was pleasantly amazed as he watched one young girl in particular. She wasn’t much younger than some of his youngest privates on their maiden tours. But she possessed a charisma that career master sergeants might envy. She had gotten the kids organized and ready for chow by getting some of the other kids to get them lined up and cleaned up. Then she got a couple of the kids to take charge in the dining hall and get it cleaned up after the meal. They had fed all one thousand kids in less than two hours and the kitchen was ready to go for the next meal. All because the young blond was able to communicate with the kids and get them to do what she needed.
“Who is that girl,” Sergeant Lucas pointed to a young teen age girl on the very brink of adulthood. He was sharing a cup of coffee with the middle age woman who seemed to always be in eye sight of the girl.
“Jill Wilson,” the woman said.
“She is amazing to watch,” the sergeant said refilling the coffee cup for the woman. “I’ve seen what she has done today.”
“She is amazing,” the protective agent said, “I’ve been her agent for about two three months now. Most of it has been sitting in the back of a class room, or being up front as we drove her to school, or over to one of her friend’s places. I never knew she could do this. But I should have known.”
“Why,” Deloris said taking a cup of coffee from the sergeant.
“I’ve met the Marshal, and I’ve met the Admiral both are very competent, capable people. But sometimes those types of people don’t have children that are like them. Sometimes they fight their parents and I’ve been around enough noble kids to know it doesn’t breed true.”
“I know,” Deloris commented.
“She’s Marshal Wilson’s kid?” the sergeant said. “But I saw her cleaning toilets today!”
“My grandmother had a very positive impact on me.” Jill said coming up on the three adults. She accepted a cup of coco from the sergeant, “Lady Hawthorne what happens next with these guys.”
“I am bringing in several dozen teachers, a couple of pedphsyc’s and some others.” Delores replied, “But what they need is more than a hand to wipe their noses and keep them on the straight and narrow. They need to have something to go for. Some of these kids were abandoned by their parents. Some of them ran away from bad situations. Some got into worse situations. We need to do something to make a positive change in their lives. This place, well it is a last stop for many of them.”
“I heard about the suicides,” Jill said, one or two of the kids had mentioned them to her as she was working. She didn??
?t know how to respond to them. Jenny had been there when the kids had told her young charge. She had been proud of Jill when she had listened to what the kids had to say without saying anything. Just letting them talk and just being there with them for few minutes as they worked. “That has me worried. I didn’t know what to say to those kids. I suspect a couple more of these guys might be right on the verge.”
“Maybe so,” Delores said, “That’s why we need to get experts in here.”
“If I may say something,” The sergeant said, “If you want to beat the suicides you need to keep these guys so busy that they don’t have time to think about suicide. They need someone in their corner who is going to do more than wipe their noses.”
“Lady Hawthorne,” Jill looked to the older woman, “He’s right, busy minds don’t have time to think about their problems. But how do we keep them busy? The whole place needs to be cleaned up; but we got to let them be kids too. We can’t keep them that busy!” “She’s right my lady,” Jenny Alkire injected. “Whatever we do it has to be quick. There’s a couple kids on the edge you can see it in their faces. The teachers and the physc people will need some time to make contact and get the kids’ confidence. They may not trust too many adults.”
The sergeant listened to what the two civilians said, and asked, “May I make a suggestion?”
“We’re listening,” Lady Hawthorne replied.
“You have one thousand kids that have been left to run wild mostly in this school.” The sergeant continued, “You can’t just bring order to this place like flipping a switch. You’ll get more problems. Plus you’ll miss the kids who really need your attention.”
“You sound like you know what you are talking about.” Lady Hawthorne commented.
“Unfortunately,” The sergeant responded, “I was the cook with a battalion that had been dropped on Maru. The colony’s adults for some reason had been taken ill and had left the children to their own devices for a few months. The kids had been running wild for at least six months. When we got them rounded up they just wouldn’t settle down. They had been running things for themselves and they saw no need to obey us. We took too long to exert control over the older kids who were running things. Once we realize who was doing what, we were able to begin to get some control; but those older kids never did let us do what we were there to do, help them.”