Somewhere near Arcturus, a massive fleet was slowly getting into formation. Hundreds of grey and white starships, the components of the United Terran Republic Third Fleet, were preparing to hyperspace. The engines of some were not clearly on, as they had taken their position in the formation, while others flew up beside the ships in their flotillas and battle groups. Finally, the last small frigate had positioned itself.

Communiques flew across the fleet, giving them final confirmation for a hyperspace jump.

Then, suddenly, the were gone, leaping into faster-than-light travel.

Aboard one of those ships, the Enforcer-class frigate T.R.S. Valorous Squire, was a particularly young officer in a dress uniform, peering at a computer screen. He was poring over the details of the mission he had already been told his unit was going on. Footsteps came up behind him.

"Lieutenant."

The younger officer immediately rose and snapped to attention, saluting the older one.

"Colonel!" he said. He had clearly been taken by surprise by his CO's approach.

"At ease." the colonel said, and the younger officer dropped his salute.

"So...you're a result of that program...the "Youth Commanders Initiative"..." the colonel said. "They think you're up for this?"

"Perhaps not, sir," replied the lieutenant. "But I graduated from the academy, they decided to test me now."

"Indeed..." came the reply. "...the Terran Military Academy on Earth is indeed a fine educational institution...and it takes a special something for a kid like you to graduate from it. I've read your file, and it's alright, I just came to look you over for myself. Edgy?"

"Of course, sir."

"Good. That's how it should be before you go into combat. At least, before your first mission. Remember: overconfident officers get their men killed fast. On the other hand, overcautious officers never accomplish the mission and lose their men half the time anyway."

"Yes sir. Thank you, sir."

The colonel scrutinized the lieutenant silently for a bit.

"That will be all, lieutenant." he said.

"Yes sir, Colonel Hurlyn." the lieutenant replied with a salute.

The colonel returned it, and left.

***

In the barracks aboard the Valorous Squire, the lieutenant had a unit-his unit-gathered around him. They were all older than he, and some of the enlisted men were looking at him with less-than-enthusiestac glances.

"Aw, man. He's just a kid! That's our new CO?"

"They want me to take orders from him? Look at him! If it weren't for that program he went through, he'd be too young for service!"

"How much you wanna bet? He gonna wuss out once the shooting starts."

The lieutenant heard these remarks, but he let them slide. It was to be expected, they'd be skeptical about his prowess as a soldier and an officer, he was so young. Indeed, youth officers, once who had gone through the Youth Commanders Program, were rare.

A sergant called order over the unit, and they all snapped to attention and saluted the lieutenant.

"At ease." he said,"You can call me Lieutenant Didymus. As you probably guessed, I've been assigned as this unit's commanding officer for the time being. Now, a question. All of you-why are you here? Did you sign up?"

"Well, yeah, yes sir." came a response.

"All of you did, right?" he asked.

"Yes sir!" came a reply.

"Indeed." he said. "You all signed up. You weren't forced, by law, at least, to join. The Youth Commanders Initiative has been active for years now, so even if you didn't think you'd be under teenage command when you did sign up, you've at least had time to brave yourself for it. Please, remember that. With that said, know that I intend to learn your names in time, but for now, your I.D.'s in our helmet H.U.D.'s will have to do, as we'll be coming out of hyperspace in hours."

A hologram appeared, showing a pristine-looking planet. As Didymus talked, the hologram zoomed in on the planet until it was trailing along its landscape with his words, indicating the areas he did.


"This is planet Melar. The fleet will be arriving in the system it's in, and the pirates hit it hard. They've actually been trying to set up shop in one of its major cities, here. The fleet'll be launching an op to dislodge them, and that's where we come in. There's a small town the pirates have taken and are trying to set up a supply depot and black market in. Our job'll be to clear 'em out. We'll have light air and vehicle support, and enemy presence is expected to be light. We'll land here, march about a half mile, and assault the town from these approaches. We'll have a seperate sniper team covering us, so we'll be on clearing duty. Building by building, we'll be sweeping the pirates out. Tactics may change on the fly. Any questions?"


The unit was silent.

"Very well." Didymus said. "We roll out in 3 and a half hours. Dismissed."

---

Yeah, I don't know how far I'll go with this.