Cruisers

By Michael Hill

Elliot Vancouver joined his high school cruiser team as a sophomore, partially to satisfy his dads desire he join a business leadership class, which it was, and his own desire to join any class that had video war gaming in its description.

By the time he graduated three years later, he will have fallen in lust and in love, experienced heartbreak and joy, alienated some teammates and earned the respect and admiration of the rest, gone from brash to humble, all while tipping the first of the dominos that could start a fundamental change in the education system of two countries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524559328

Michael Hill

Michael Hill is research supervisor at the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. He is editor of the Guide to North Carolina Highway Historical Markers and The Governors of North Carolina.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Michael Hill.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016919094

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5245-5934-2

                Softcover        978-1-5245-5933-5

                eBook              978-1-5245-5932-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 12/21/2016

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Chapter 1 - Maverick

Chapter 2 - Red Eye Reception

Chapter 3 - New school, and a new Cruiser team

Chapter 4 - Press Exposure

Chapter 5 - No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Chapter 6 - Subtle Changes for the Better

Chapter 7 - Breaking Ground and Revealing Secrets

Chapter 8 - Getting Closer

Chapter 9 - Put to the Test

Chapter 10 - They finally admit the obvious

Chapter 11 - Focusing and Prepping

Chapter 12 - New Cruisers get Launched

Chapter 13 - Slings and Arrows

Chapter 14 - Birds and Fish and Whispered Secrets

Chapter 15 - Elliot’s Attack

Chapter 16 - Aurora Defends

Chapter 17 - Abby in Command

Chapter 18 - Highs and Lows as Acting Seniors

Chapter 19 - National

Chapter 20 - Senior Party

Chapter 21 - Moving

Chapter 22 - Orientation

Chapter 23 - A New Pod of Orca

Chapter 24 - Secrets and Promises

Chapter 25 - Aurora

Chapter 26 - Changes from National

Chapter 27 - Orca Arrive at Ballard

Chapter 28 - Orca Attack

Chapter 29 - Break between Phases

Chapter 30 - Orca Defense

Chapter 31 - Between Sessions

Chapter 32 - Bellingham Arrives

Chapter 33 - Red Raider Attack

Chapter 34 - Break Between Phases

Chapter 35 - Orca attack Raiders

Chapter 36 - Raiders limp home

Chapter 37 - Thanksgiving, eh?

Chapter 38 - Anjo

Chapter 39 - Submissions

Chapter 40 - Overnighter in Spokane

Chapter 41 - The Orca Attack the Bear

Chapter 42 - Pause Between Phases

Chapter 43 - Orca Defense

Chapter 44 - Riding Home, Looking to the Future

Chapter 45 - Getting Ready for the Chargers

Chapter 46 - Charger Attack

Chapter 47 - Chargers Stunned

Chapter 48 - Orca Attack Chargers

Chapter 49 - Wasp gets Swatted

Chapter 50 - Thanksgiving in Fairhaven

Chapter 51 - Last Battle Before Christmas Break

Chapter 52 - Orca Attack

Chapter 53 - Break Between Phases

Chapter 54 - Bulldog Attack

Chapter 55 - Recovering from Victory

Chapter 56 - Christmas Gifts

Chapter 57 - Christmas and New Years

Chapter 58 - Orca attack Wildcats

Chapter 59 - Break Between Phases with the Wildcats

Chapter 60 - Wildcat Attack of the Orca Convoy

Chapter 61 - After the Wildcat Attack

Chapter 62 - Prepping for the Showdown

Chapter 63 - The Teams Meet

Chapter 64 - Playoff

Chapter 65 - Graduation

Epilogue

Book Description

Author Biography

Dedication

This work is dedicated to my wife Charlotte, and her patience in letting me clutter the office with reference books and charts for the six years this book took to complete, and to my two very strict readers, Sandra in Heartwell, Georgia, who kept me on track and pushed me to finish, and Larry in Grass Valley, California, who made sure it made sense.

Chapter 1 - Maverick

Elliot Vancouver lay on his bare back, the sand warm against his skin. Living in Honolulu was incredible. He was glad his dad had been transferred to the island of Oahu two years ago. His dad’s career in the Army had sent he and his mom around the world as the Army sent Thomas Vancouver to assignment after assignment. Thomas and Sheridan were looking forward to retiring in Honolulu soon. Elliot was enjoying the summer, anxious to start his Sophomore year at Kapahulu High School.

But Elliot’s thoughts of life on Oahu had to take a backseat to the pressing situation that was demanding his full attention. His friend Perry was sitting on top of him and pinning his shoulders down in the sand in yet another one of their all-too-familiar beach wrestling matches.

Elliot and Perry are avid board and video ‘war gamers’, and Elliot is the better of the two, having won far more simulations than Perry. Elliot realized early on that finding war-gamers his age was very difficult, so in order to get Perry to continue to game with him, and probably lose, Elliot would have to resign himself to a future filled with what they often referred as ‘fun-wresting matches’ with the taller and chubby Perry, who won nearly every match.

Elliot felt the fun-wrestling competitions were a small price to pay for keeping Perry around, even though Elliot had noticed lately that Perry had a tendency to enjoy remaining on top of Elliot for a few additional minutes, even after Elliot had already given up the fight.

As was the situation today. Elliot had run out of gas, but had continued to push at the sand with his feet as Perry remained straddling Elliot’s stomach, and after a few minutes, Perry moved his legs out and sat full weight on Elliot’s stomach, controlling his arms as he talked about movies he wanted to go and see. Elliot was still pushing against the sand with his feet, but was making no headway, only making the thirty-pound heavier Perry sway slightly as he remained on his stomach and continued to talk.

A short distance away, another teenager, Michelle Toyoda, was laying on the sand reading a book, but the one-sided wrestling match had caught her attention, and when the thin kid stopped resisting and the fat kid did not get off of him, she felt slightly jealous. The fat kid easily won the match, but remains sitting on top of the thin kid, not letting him up. The thin kid continues to resist, even though he is going nowhere. Interesting.

The next day, Elliot and Perry were again at the beach, their match completed. They lay on their beach blankets, reading, when Elliot noticed a group of young adults making their way up from the water, heading toward beach gear a dozen yards from he and Perry. He recognized his neighbor, Alex, amongst the half-dozen or so well tanned teens. Alex was about Elliot’s height, weight and age, and happened to be walking alongside a very striking bikini-clad girl. She was a few inches taller than Alex and built like a college co-ed. She also had an Oriental look about her, common to Honolulu.

Who is Alex with? Elliot asked Perry, not taking his eyes off the girl next to Alex. Elliot was fully aware that Perry had taken notice of the same group.

Michelle Toyoda, Perry answered quietly, "She is Alex’s cousin and is going to be a Junior at Kapahulu. She’s in the Cruiser Program. We’re going to their Orientation next week, remember? Alex says she’s pretty good at it."

He going to join? Elliot asked, still watching Michelle and her easy curves. Elliot was thinking: She is a Junior? With a body like that?

"Nah. Grade Point Average not high enough," Perry answered.

Michelle and Alex and the others were now at their gear and picking up their towels to dry off with, still laughing and carrying on as they seemed not to notice Elliot and Perry.

What do you know about Michelle? Elliot asked, careful that his voice did not carry, Since she is on the team we are going to try and join.

They where on their bellies gazing over at her. Elliot could feel his hormones reacting to Michelle.

Gonna ask her on a date? Perry smirked, also careful his voice did not carry.

I just think she is kinda intriguing, that’s all, Elliot replied, his eyes still on her, and glad he was laying on his stomach as it would have been hard to hide his excitement.

Intriguing? If she don’t get your juices stirring, yer gay, Perry snorted as he kept his eyes on her also, Her dad is Japanese, her mom French, and I’ll bet that is where she got that body. Got her attitude from her dad, though. All business at school. This is the first time I’ve seen her having fun.

By now, most of their friends were sitting or laying on the beach, while Michelle and Alex were still on their feet. Michelle was talking with someone and bent over her beach bag to get something when Alex moved behind her and reached around her flanks to tickle her stomach.

Michelle laughed and grabbed his wrists at the same time, and had the smaller Alex on his back in seconds, swinging one of her long legs over him, straddling him instantly. She happily settled down on his stomach and controlled his arms as she laughed along with all of their friends.

I don’t think she likes to be tickled, Perry whispered as they watched Alex try to get out from under Michelle, who looked to be five foot ten, taller than Perry, but had to outweigh Alex by at least twenty good-looking pounds. Elliot knew Perry outweighed him by thirty jiggly pounds, so appreciated what Alex was going thru.

For the next few moments, Michelle tormented Alex as he struggled to get her off of him, but Elliot could see she was not going to move unless she wanted to. He and Perry were at right angles to Michelle and Alex, so Elliot was able to admire what he would later be told were her easy curve’s, the parts of her body his eyes went to automatically, as she controlled her smaller cousin as the others were joyfully encouraging Alex not to give up on his hopeless fight.

Alex finally stopped struggling and opted to lie still rather than fight, causing his group of friends to ‘boo’ him light-heartedly.

Michelle responded by keeping control of his wrists as she smiled and sat back slightly, relaxing and sitting tall on his stomach.

Is that the best you can do, Cousin? Michelle smiled down to him, Elliot able to hear the slight Oriental twang in her voice.

Elliot couldn’t hear Alex’s answer, but the friends all ‘Oohed’ together, laughing.

Really? Michelle smiled, who pressed Alex’s wrists down on his chest as she moved her long legs out next to his shoulders, sinking deeper into his stomach, which seemed to bring him back to life almost long enough to get away. The sudden twist of Alex’s torso caught Michelle by surprise and she fell to her right, forcing her to let go of his left wrist. She instantly steadied herself by putting her right hand in the sand, spotting Elliot for a split second and smiling to him as she straightened herself back up onto Alex’s stomach, bouncing slightly as she concentrated on controlling Alex.

Hey, stop complaining. You’re the one who attacked me, remember? she smiled down to her again hapless cousin, Don’t attack unless you plan on winning.

Alex tried escaping again, but only succeeded in making Michelle move and bounce in response, causing more discomfort.

Poor Alex, Perry said as he went back to his reading. Perry used to wrestle with Alex until Perry got too heavy, so Perry knew Michelle was going to remain sitting on Alex for as long as she wanted.

Elliot, on the other hand, couldn’t take his eyes off of Michelle, who continued to sit on Alex’s stomach, even after he stopped fighting and lay still.

Michelle dropped Alex’s wrists, and did not get off of his stomach as she said something to him Elliot couldn’t hear while she put her hands on her knees and relaxed.

Elliot remained watching her, admiring her easy curves as she sat relaxed, at one time turning her head briefly to him and smiling.

He did not know why she did that, but he couldn’t help but notice the intentional, brief, smile. She is enjoying this, very much.

Still sitting on Alex, she started to talk with her friends as they carried on conversations about topics he could not make out. And that’s when Elliot recognized a parallel behavior shared between Perry and Michelle. Perry seemed to ignore Elliot whenever he had Elliot pinned, and Michelle seemed to be doing the exact same thing to Alex. What if I were in Alex’s position right now? I’ve been there with Perry. Michelle would certainly be sexier to look up at, that’s for sure. Would I dread every minute of it? Hell no. I’m sure I would enjoy it.

The longer Michelle remained sitting on Alex, and the longer Elliot remained watching her, the more Elliot realized he was on the verge of loosing control of his excitement, yet he would not look away, his eyes unable to look away from her modest belly roll as it moved as she was breathing.

Michelle finally got off of Alex, who rolled over on his belly and pouted as she sat next to him and continued with the happy and animated conversation she was having with her friends.

Elliot started to read again, and found he read the same page three times because he could not get Michelle off of his mind, seeing Michelle taking Perry’s place as they wrestled, until he finally realized she was going to be a Junior, while he was only a Sophomore, and would probably ignore him outside of their being in the Cruiser Program together.

If he graduated from Cruiser Orientation.

Elliot’s first day at Cruiser Orientation was very interesting. Besides he and Perry, there were six other Sophomores there, three boys and three girls. Of the eight, four were haole, or caucasians, and the rest Oriental of some Hawaiian-style mix. All were excited about being selected to enter the class, and all were friendly. Life in Hawaii.

Their Coach, if they passed this Orientation, would be Coach Yamaguchi, who was also a teacher at the school. But his primary job was Coach of the Cruiser team.

Coach Yamaguchi introduced two Cruisers who would assist him in this Orientation by presenting information at times, as well as helping him weed out those who would not qualify as good Cruisers.

His first assistant introduced was the Heavy Cruiser Squadron Leader, David Thompson. The second assistant introduced was none other than the Light Cruiser Squadron Leader, Michelle Toyoda. Elliot quickly sized up David, who at first impression, reminded him of a few Second Lieutenants he had met at some of his dad’s unit parties. Quite full of themselves. Then he watched Michelle closely for a few moments, trying not to be too obvious. He had seen her evaluate all of the new kids one at a time as they entered the room, giving only the slightest hint of recognition as Elliot strolled past her. He found her not like a snotty Second Lieutenant, but more an experienced Company Commander.

Wow, Perry whispered to Elliot, who was also busy looking over Michelle’s Cruiser Uniform: Beige Aloha shirt with light green epaulets and two maroon stripes near her shoulders. David’s uniform had three maroon stripes, so he must be a Senior. A Kapahulu ‘Warrior’ embroidered cloth shoulder patch was on each sleeve at the shoulder, and her name ‘Michelle’ was sewn in white thread over her left breast pocket. What he would recognize later as a Squadron Leader pin was under her name.

Coach Yamaguchi had pretty much the same uniform, except he had four maroon stripes, no Squadron Leader pin, and no name, just Coach over his left breast pocket.

He wasted no time in explaining to the group that each Cruiser Candidate would take a series of tests to determine their leadership qualities, and would learn the mechanics of the ‘ships’ they would operate, should they qualify to join this Cruiser team. Along the way, they would learn to communicate accurately, with brevity, and as a unit. Along with navigation, gunnery and torpedo skills. Classes will be for two weeks, Monday thru Friday, nine to noon, and all were encouraged to join Mister Thompson and Miss Toyoda afterwards at the beach for a review of what had been presented that day.

Elliot noticed the Coach never used first names when referring to someone, just Mister or Miss. We’re not being treated like kids. This is serious stuff. This is gonna be fun!

Michelle looked the Candidates over as her Coach was talking, and was pleased to see the skinny kid and his chubby friend from the beach were two of the Candidates she would be working with. The thin one did not give up when he was being sat on by the chubby one. Was that a fluke, or is that the way he is? It will be fun to find out, if he is serious about joining us.

As the days progressed, the Candidates got more familiar with the individual ‘ship’ they would use, which was essentially a computer console and chair configured to be the helm of a warship, with four monitors positioned around the console to give a 360 degree view of the ocean surrounding the ship, and other smaller monitors positioned to provide information to the student. When in use, the configuration provided the user the sensation he or she was on the bridge of a destroyer, or a cruiser.

The after-class sessions at the beach were just as interesting to Elliot because this was the same beach he had frequented since arriving on Oahu. The candidates would rendezvous for an hour, or more, after class and go over that day’s lessons with Michelle and David. When not in class, it was OK to drop the Mister and Miss. David continued to act as the group Stoic Senior counsel, while Michelle became friendlier as the days passed by. Elliot also learned Michelle spoke French at home with her mother. Elliot had picked up some French and German when his family had been assigned to NATO Headquarters in Belgium a few years back, and on occasion, he and Michelle would quietly speak French to each other when no one was looking.

One thing that David seemed to press almost daily was obeying orders: "You will be given orders during the Sessions that must be obeyed. The plans of your Superiors are depending on it. You will have to trust that your Superiors know what they are doing, because when you in turn are giving orders, your teammates will also trust that you know what you are doing. If you pass this Orientation, you will be a long way toward earning that trust."

Those few times when David was not around, Michelle would speak softly to the Candidates: "There will be times when the plans of our Superiors will not survive the first contact with the enemy, and those are the times when you will need to take the initiative to accomplish the mission. You may not have the time to contact your Superiors, and it will be at that time you will need to trust your gut as what to do. If you graduate this Orientation, you will find trusting your gut something that will become easier."

On their second Thursday, the day before graduation to those who passed, the Candidates had one last task. Regardless of their test results, to pass, each candidate needed to conduct a torpedo attack under fire. Each student would man a destroyer and make a torpedo attack on a freighter that was being protected by a light cruiser. Even after acing all your tests, graduation would be doubtful if you could not sink the freighter. On paper, the students thought it looked pretty daunting.

If you graduate, the coach reminded them, "you will be tasked to do this very thing, perhaps every time you sail. Get used to it. Today, Miss Toyoda will be in a U.S. Navy Brooklyn-class light cruiser, her mission is to protect that freighter. She is a good shot, and if any of you do not use what was taught to you here, she will have no qualms about making sure we do not have to suffer next year with a lackluster destroyer on this team."

He nodded to her, and Michelle got up, heading to one of the ships at the far end of the room. The Candidates would use a ship at the other end of the room, and the first name was called out. They were going alphabetically, so Elliot had to wait and go last.

Finally, Elliot got his turn. So far, all the freighters had been sunk, even as a few of the destroyers had been hit by Michelle’s guns, but not sunk. So far, everyone was relieved after sinking the freighter, even if they had taken hits. Elliot noticed neither David nor the Coach had smiled yet.

Elliot climbed in, found the seat still warm as he quickly made sure his controls are set for the British Tribal-class destroyer he would use. Satisfied, he checked his monitors, saw ocean to the horizon in each one. Checking the information monitor, he saw the freighter in the distance, and Michelle’s light cruiser far off to his left.

Mister Vancouver, are you ready? the voice of the coach in his headset.

Yes, Coach, he keyed his microphone, then put one hand on his twin throttles, the other on the ships wheel in front of him. Eying his indicators, he saw his eight 5" guns in four turrets were loaded and the reload was functioning. His four torpedo tubes were also filled.

Very good. Squadron Leader Toyoda, are you ready?

Yes, Coach, came Michelle’s voice in his headset. He had developed a crush on the lusty Squadron Leader, and going into a fight against her could be distracting, but Elliot knew this was business, and he would have no pleasure in attacking her as he planned to do. He remembered what she had said to Alex sitting on him after he had attacked her: Don’t attack unless you plan on winning.

Mister Vancouver, Miss Toyoda. Please start the exercise, came Coach Yamaguchi’s voice in his headset.

Elliot pushed his twin throttles to their stops, the built-in resistance keeping him from accelerating too fast. He steered slightly to the right of the now moving freighter in the distance. The vibrators and push-rods in the seat and console starting to thrum and hum, simulating a powerful ship approaching its full speed. The sight of the ocean passing by swiftly in the left and right monitors added to the sensation of speed.

Looking closely at the left monitor, Elliot saw Michelle’s ship faintly on the horizon, also approaching her full speed of thirty-two knots, hot on stopping the enemy from attacking her freighter.

Elliot had seen that Michelle was indeed a good shot, and did not want to get whacked too soon, so he kept nudging his wheel a bit more to the right every few moments as he closed on the freighter, keeping Michelle’s guns out of range as long as he could.

But this exercise demanded he come under fire, and he knew she would be able to fire on him pretty soon.

His torpedoes had a shorter range than his 5" guns, but this was a torpedo exercise, he had to launch his torpedoes toward the target, and hit it. One of the things he had learned as a war-gamer was that surprise can buy you time, so as soon as he was in gun range of the freighter, he opened fire with his two forward turrets.

This came as an unexpected surprise to Michelle. No one else fired on the freighter. After all, this is a torpedo exercise. Michelle smiled to herself. He is going for a quick kill without launching his torpedoes. Good for him, but now I have to make his life interesting.

Elliot saw one hit out of the four he had sent down range. He initiated his gun reload, noticing he was also approaching his maximum torpedo range and had time for one more volley from his guns before he had to make a decision on using his torpedoes on the freighter, or not. He pulled his twin triggers, heard the muffled crack of the guns in his headset, and started his turn to run parallel to the freighter, going in the opposite direction, toward Michelle.

Taking a risk, he spun his rear turrets to join his forward turrets, and watched his rounds fall on the freighter. Two more hits, and smoke and flames started to escape the big target. But the freighter was still making twelve knots.

Two mistakes at once, Elliot, Michelle thought as her own guns came within range of the Tribal, First you turn just as you get in range for your torpedoes, so your math better be spot on, and Second, you turned toward me. Are you going to attack me? You saw what happened to Alex.

With fifteen six-inch guns in five turrets, Michelle had more than enough firepower to eliminate Elliot. But, he had turned toward her, so she could only use two of the three forward turrets this ship had. Ranging out to him, she saw Elliot fire one more time at the freighter just before she fired at him.

After pulling his triggers, Elliot looked at his forward monitor, saw the smoke quickly dissipating from her forward guns. She’ll expect me to evade by turning toward the freighter so I don’t go out of torpedo range, so I will turn to the left.

He moved the wheel slightly to the left, then looked at his right monitor toward the freighter, saw geysers start to rise up next to the ship, then three more hits, these deep inside the holds, setting off things that explode, dooming the freighter.

Elliot looked back to the forward monitor as geysers started to erupt off to his right, where he would have been had he not turned left. The range between the two ships was decreasing at a very raped rate as he continued at thirty-six knots, and she at thirty-two.

The reload on his guns was now complete, even as he neared the maximum range of his torpedoes. He swung his turrets to the left as he turned his ship to the right to bring them to bare on the cruiser. They were within range when he pulled his triggers.

Michelle saw Elliot maneuver and fire, turning her own ships wheel hard right to counter his maneuver, waiting until he was closer to fire. You are brave, Elliot, but saw me humiliate your friend Alex on the beach for daring to attack me. Are you ready for some of the same?

Four of his small five-inch rounds managed to hit Michelle. At this range, five-inch rounds will penetrate some armor, start a few fires, but sink a cruiser? Nah. Annoy the cruiser? Yup.

Elliot armed his four torpedoes and linked the launcher to the range finder as they had been taught in class, traversed the launcher over the side of the Tribal toward the Brooklyn.

Michelle swung all five turrets toward the oncoming Tribal, saw in her rangefinder he was setting up for a torpedo run on her, knew he would have to hold this course to do so, so she aimed at a spot in the ocean she anticipated he would be in, and fired all fifteen guns.

Elliot saw Michelle’s guns bark at him, nudged his wheel slightly to the left as he pulled his throttles back a few knots, and held his breath as he felt his ship turn and slow down slightly. Seconds later a wall of geysers erupted ahead and to his right, between himself and the cruiser, which was where he would have been had he kept his course. Using the cascading wall of water as a shield, he launched his torpedoes and kept his launcher pointed at her after clearing the geysers, hoping Michelle thinks he had not launched yet.

Michelle watched the Tribal emerge from behind the falling geysers, saw the torpedo launcher still pointed at her. Very clever, Elliot, but the next volley will not be concentrated. I have you. When you finally launch, I will evade. She pulled her twin triggers, knowing she had him.

Elliot held his breath as he watched the time-to-strike clock unwind, holding his course and hoping Michelle bit on his deception. He saw her guns again bark at him, knew he had to evade or die. He spun his wheel and accelerated.

Michelle spotted the four torpedo wakes ahead of her. Very close. Too close. When did he launch! She pulled her power and spun her wheel hard right.

His timer went off as he was maneuvering, and a quick glance at the right monitor saw four geysers from torpedo hits rise up from Michelle’s cruiser.

She felt the four sharp jolts from four torpedo hits, saw geysers in front of and behind the Tribal, then hits on the destroyer itself, ripping it apart as her monitors went blank.

Elliot felt the jolts in his seat and console from the six-inch rounds ripping his ship apart as his monitors went black.

He sat in silence for a few seconds. His first experience of going from a pitched battle to suffering a deathblow to his ship. Where is the joy of a kill? I got her, but it cost me my ship. A few seconds later he took off his headset and set it on the ships wheel, like they had been taught to do, then pushed the left monitor out on its hinges, opening the ship so he could get out.

Michelle was at the other end of the line of ships, and Elliot saw Coach Yamaguchi and David were leaning over the monitors and speaking to her. Coach Yamaguchi pointed over to Elliot, then back to the rest of the Candidates before continuing to speak to her. David shook his head every few seconds. Elliot could not make out the words, but he recognized the tone, and it was not casual, nor jovial.

Elliot glanced over to the rest of the group, saw them sitting stunned at what had happened, and what was unfurling in front of them. Elliot walked over and sat next to Perry.

I think you are in trouble, Perry whispered to him.

Why? I sank the freighter, Elliot said quietly, still trying to make out what was being said at Michelle’s ship.

You also attacked Michelle! Perry hissed quietly.

Elliot turned to face Perry, who was looking at him, pissed.

Quiet, you two, one of their classmates hissed, Here she comes.

Elliot looked up to see Michelle walking towards them, and noticed she was wearing the sun glasses she normally wore at the beach. What is she hiding? Is she crying?

She stopped in front of the Candidates, facing them.

"What you just saw happen here should make you question whether or not you really want to be a Cruiser, she said quietly, We had hoped you would use everything you had been presented during Orientation, but you did not. We will meet at the beach as usual today, to go over what happened here today. If you are serious about remaining in this Program, I would hope you will be capable of defending your actions."

She turned on her heel and left before anyone could say anything.

What the Hell? Perry whispered, Who was she talking to?

I couldn’t tell because of the sunglasses, Elliot said quietly, It looked like she was talking to all of us.

All of us? Elliot, you were the one who attacked her! Perry hissed.

As the others remained in stunned silence, Elliot decided to take action as he stood and walked toward Coach Yamaguchi, hoping to ask him about Michelle’s cryptic message to the group. The coach put his hand up as Elliot approached, stopping him.

The beach. One hour. Be there. Aloha, was all he said.

Elliot was not sure if he saw a slight smile from the Coach, but doubted it.

Michelle arrived fifteen minutes late. On purpose, to see how they are reacting. She peeled off her beach shirt as she strolled up, sporting just her bikini top and low-slung cut-offs. The Candidates she saw were already in their bathing suits.

She came upon the group of Candidates gathered around what appeared to be a fight going on in the sand. The fight ceased the moment the Candidates knew she was behind them.

She was somewhat surprised to see the fighters were two of her top candidates - Perry and Elliot. Perry was atop Elliot, much the same way she had first seen them, only Perry was not talking happily to the pinned Elliot.

Perry, why are you fighting with Elliot? she asked as she stopped next to them, feet at shoulders width, her hands on her bare hips, in authority.

"Squadron Leader, Elliot attacked you without provocation today, Perry replied as he remained atop Elliot, his eyes still on him, and the displeasure of you and Coach Yamaguchi towards us was obvious. If we receive severe reprimands because of his actions, I want him to know that we are pissed with him."

So, in business, you would fight physically with a fellow manager who goes against the conventional wisdom of the group and causes you embarrassment? Michelle asked, her eyes on Elliot, not Perry.

Perry sat up straight, sinking down more onto Elliot’s bare stomach, and looked up to her, moving slightly as Elliot continued to try and free himself.

"I don’t know. I would do something, though, I know that much," Perry replied, still looking at her.

She gave Perry a small smile, Well, if anyone wanted to get revenge against Elliot for what he did today, it would be me. But, I need to turn this into a teaching moment, so I need you to get off of your friend and sit with the others over there, as she pointed to a spot in the sand a few feet away.

As Perry got off of Elliot, Michelle got out of her cut-offs, exposing her bikini bottom as the rest of the group started to sit in the sand where she had indicated.

Elliot stayed flat on his back, catching his breath as he looked up at her, watching her drop her cut-offs by his feet. He was also aware she wanted to say something significant to the group, but he could not take his eyes off of her easy curves so close to him.

"Restez s’il vous plaît comme vous êtes," she smiled down to Elliot in a soft voice as she squatted down and sat in the sand next to him, facing the others, her bikini bottom next to his flank, her feet stretched out toward the others. Michelle scooted back until she was pressed next to his swim trunks.

He was curious why she wanted him to stay where he was, but having her so close to him deliberately was also a pleasure. And her speaking to him in French meant it was a personal request.

He was also aware of his growing excitement of having her so close in a bikini, so he had to concentrate on not embarrassing himself in front of the group, and her.

"C’est important, satisfont aimsi prêtent l’allention," she smiled quietly to him, then turned to look at the others.

This was the closest Elliot had ever been to Michelle, let alone actually feeling her touching him. Gazing up at her smoothly tanned body, it was all he could do to say ‘OK’, without his voice cracking and giving him away. If it is important to her for me to just lay here, I will.

His eyes now settled on her easy curves, from breasts to waist. As she relaxed in the sand next to him, he heard her start to talk, but was only half-listening as his excitement continued to stir.

I am separating Elliot from what I have to tell you, but at the same time, he needs to hear this, Michelle smiled to the group in front of her, a few feet away from her outstretched legs, Even though Coach Yamaguchi is not mad at you, he is concerned. By now, you all should realize he does not smile very often.

Michelle saw the group relax and actually smile for the first time since the ending of the exercise earlier. She looked back and down her right shoulder to gauge Elliot’s reaction, but found him eyeing her body instead, seemingly paying no attention to what she was saying. Hormones one, Brains zero.

She looked back to the other seven candidates and smiled, This will just take a moment.

Elliot was daydreaming as he was looking up at Michelle’s easy curves and barely realized she was even moving until she put her hands on his chest and thigh and lifted herself up and scooted back, sitting sidesaddle on him in seconds. Her weight on his stomach and waist pushed his breath out as she sank down, but he was too startled and pleased to object. She is so much easier to look at than fat Perry. And not as heavy. Maybe.

Michelle smiled directly at Elliot, Do I have your attention now? this time loud enough for the others to hear.

Her tone was humorous, so the others laughed a short laugh, realizing she was taller and heavier than Elliot, and sitting on him.

Elliot instantly recognized that smile. She smiled that smile to me when she had Alex pinned. She is enjoying this.

Yes, Elliot strained as her weight pressed down on his stomach and excitement.

Michelle turned back to the rest of the Candidates, looking as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening, her feet still pointed to them as she continued, Where were we, oh yes, Coach Yamaguchi, David, and myself, were all actually waiting to see if any of you would do what Elliot did today.

Michelle paused to see what their reaction would be, saw them look slightly confused, and felt Elliot move slightly under her, but ignored him. He has not protested. He is doing as I asked. Good.

True, that was a torpedo exercise, Michelle continued, giving them a small smile as Elliot moved slightly again, "but at no time were you told that attacking the defending cruiser was strictly forbidden. We leave this little part out deliberately…to see if we have a Maverick in our midst."

The group looked at one another, hoping that at least one of them would stand up and speak in their collective defense of following the presumed rules, but no one stepped forward. And, the one who had broken those presumed rules, was being punished by the Squadron Leader he had sunk, so who was right?

"So, you’re saying that Elliot is a Maverick? Perry finally spoke up, jealous of Michelle right now, sitting so casually on his friend, Is that a good thing? Breaking the rules?"

Michelle looked down at Elliot, saw he was still eyeballing her easy curves.

"Is being a Maverick a good thing? she said as she looked back at the rest of the candidates, dutifully sitting on the sand, It can be. As a matter of fact, I was one last year, during my Orientation."

She let that sink in, saw them look worried as Elliot moved slightly, his movement causing her to also move slightly. She ignored him as she concentrated on their looking at Elliot with some concern.

Ignore the destroyer being attacked by the light cruiser, Michelle focused on them, You need to continue with the mission.

"Croiseur lourd," Elliot strained.

Michelle looked down to him and smiled as she looked back to his team mates, Elliot has promoted me to heavy cruiser.

The seven looked back to her, again laughed quickly, so she continued.

"Actually, we were quite disappointed we had to wait until the last run of the day to uncover our Maverick this year, she continued easily, enjoying the look of mild jealousy on Perry’s face, Last year, I went first, and did what Elliot did. The rest of the group saw I was not reprimanded for my actions, so they also attacked the freighter, then the cruiser. I would like to think that some of you would have done the same this year, all things being equal."

I thought about it as I was attacking the freighter, one of the Candidates offered, but I was worried it was not a part of the exercise, and wondered why it was not.

The others joined him in a chorus of agreements.

Did you think it would have been an unfair fight, going up against a light cruiser by yourself? Michelle asked after a few moments.

They agreed.

Remember when I told you about plans not lasting past the first contact with the enemy? she smiled to them, It looked to me today that Elliot knew the Mission was to sink the convoy, and the appearance of a light cruiser defending the convoy did not change the Mission, but added the destruction of that cruiser after the freighter, if possible.

She let that sink in for a few seconds, also feeling Elliot breathing under her.

As I did last year, she continued quietly, Elliot realized it would not be a fair fight, but one the light cruiser was probably not expecting.

Again she let that thought sink in for a few seconds.

She looked down to Elliot, saw he was still eyeing her abdomen, and had to smile to herself. Even under pressure, he remains focused, even if it is the wrong target.

Mister Vancouver, she said in her Squadron Leader voice.

His eyes immediately shifted to hers.

"Pretend you are a Squadron Leader, she continued, still looking down at him, her voice heard by the others, and you have attacked an enemy cruiser who now has you pinned down, cornered. What, if anything, have you accomplished, other than keeping your own destroyer out of the battle?"

He keeps his eyes on hers. She called me ‘Mister Vancouver’, so this is serious, yet she is also smiling her ‘I am enjoying this’ smile. We both are. How badly do I want to continue with this?

"Squadron Leader, I am tying up an enemy cruiser, keeping her from bringing harm to the rest of my Squadron, he strained, and the rest of my team."

Michelle waited a few seconds, then looked back to the rest, feeling Elliot move slightly as he moved and breathed, and ignored him, again.

"You will find that a good Squadron Leader will tell his Squadron whether or not to risk themselves fighting an unfair fight, Michelle said after a few seconds, and that a good Squadron Leader will not risk his Squadron doing something he is not willing to do himself. Do you agree with this?"

They agreed.

"Every Squadron needs a Leader who doesn’t shy away from an unfair fight when the mission may require it," she smiled to them.

Perry smiled to Michelle, I think we have one, and nodded to Elliot, who had gone back to eyeing her easy curves.

"Normally, once the Candidates graduate the Orientation Program, they can select their own Squadron Leader, Michelle smiled easily to the others, relaxing, Now, Coach, David and myself could select whom we think is the most qualified, but you have all worked and studied and been tested side-by-side, and you know whom you really are willing to follow into battle. You may not be willing to admit it now, but you do."

She waited as they looked to each other for a few seconds, then continued, "You have all passed your exams and evaluations and, yes, even the torpedo test today. You can consider yourselves the Scout/Destroyer Squadron as of this afternoon. You are now Cruisers."

They congratulated themselves for a few seconds, signs of relief reflected in their smiles.

Me, too? Elliot strained quietly.

Michelle smiled down to him quietly, "Particulièrement vous."

Miss Toyoda? Michelle? Perry asked as the noise subsided, "Can we select our Squadron Leader now?"

She looked back to him, "You may. Do you have a Cruiser you wish to put to a vote?

Elliot Vancouver, Perry smiled, and the others quickly nodded.

"You are all in agreement that Elliot Vancouver should be your Squadron Leader? Michelle asked, He is a risk taker, and won’t panic and back away from a larger threat. Are you sure?"

Yes, they said in unison, causing spontaneous laughter.

Wait, Elliot strained, loud enough for them to hear and quiet down and look to him, Don’t I get a vote in this?

Of course not, Michelle smiled to him and the others, "No one wants an egotistic leader who votes for himself, nor do they want a leader who doesn’t want to lead. So to keep things simple, you don’t get to vote. Congratulations, Squadron Leader Vancouver."

Oh, boy, he said quietly as the others gave him a quick applause.

OK, you all have accomplished a lot today, Michelle smiled to them, Let’s go get wet!

The all agreed and stood off the sand, Perry moving toward Michelle and Elliot, his hand out to lift her off of him.

Michelle smiled, but shook her head, declining the offer, "We will join you in a moment. I need to discuss something with your new Squadron Leader."

Perry nodded to them and joined the Squadron on their way to the water, still quietly jealous of Michelle still sitting comfortably on Elliot.

Michelle waited until the others were out of earshot, then looked down to Elliot and smiled quietly as he again moved slightly, You are enjoying this, aren’t you?

I was going to ask you the very same thing, he strained, smiling at the flirtation he felt was obviously establishing itself between them.

At least I know how to get your attention now, she smiled as she moved her legs and finally stood up off of him, I didn’t hurt you, did I? she asked as she put her hand down to help him up.

He found her as strong as she was sexy as he took her hand and let her help him to his feet, A good leader doesn’t complain when he is being taught an important lesson.

Which was? she raised one eyebrow as he started to swish sand from his back as best as he could.

Let your leader know when you are going to break protocol, he said as she turned him around and swished the rest of the sand from his back.

There will be times you may not be able too, she said as she turned him back around, "Don’t let that keep you from doing what you think is best for your Squadron. Now, seriously, did I hurt you?"

No, he smiled to her, Believe me, I’ll tell you when you do.

She did not miss the inference, and smiled back.

I would like to mentor you this year, she said as they turned to head for their friends in the water, We have a lot in common.

We do? he asked as they walked toward the water, Like what?

You’ll find out, she smiled, Anyway, since we have different class schedules, getting together during the week may be difficult. But we can get together during the weekend.

Will this mentoring take up the whole day? Elliot asked as they neared the water.

Depends on what we are working on, and how fast you grasp it, she said as they entered the warm water.

You will have my undivided attention, he said to her, also entering the water.

She turned to him and smiled, That is what I am counting on.

A few days later Elliot introduced Michelle to Thomas and Sheridan. She explained that she wanted to mentor Elliot while he was in the Cruiser Program, as his test results had shown he had a gift for the business side of the Program, as well as the wargaming/leadership portion, and that she wanted him to join her study group that would meet at her house on Saturday mornings for an hour or so. They trust him, so agreed.

On Friday, after the Cruiser Class, always the last class of the day, Michelle gave Elliot a thumb drive.

This has five short tests on material we have covered, but the questions are more difficult than the ones we were tested on this week, she said to him, Take them tonight and bring this back tomorrow morning to my house at ten. Dress for the beach because as soon as I have gone over your results and helped you make any corrections needed, we can go to the beach, if you like.

He agreed, and at ten the next morning, he was at her house in cut-offs and beach shirt. He was delighted to see she answered the door dressed the same.

Let’s go to the back yard, she said as she moved that way, his thumb drive and her computer in hand, in case anyone shows up and finds us alone in the den. If they see us in the backyard, they can see we are not fooling around.

Elliot felt a moment of disappointment as they moved out into the back yard, but he remembered what they had been told about Rule Number One, and what it represented, and this was his first taste of it.

Lay on the grass and relax while I get set up, she smiled to him as she took her beach shirt off and set it on the grass, then inserted the thumb drive into her computer.

He followed her lead and took his beach shirt off and lay down on the cool grass.

Michelle saw this and moved toward him, stepped over him and knelt down, straddling his stomach and sat still for a few seconds, making sure she was centered on his stomach, then moved her legs out straight and sat full weight on his stomach as she started to read the results of his five tests.

Elliot was surprised, but did not want to ruin this living fantasy by complaining, so he relaxed and rested his hands on her knees and watched her as she read the screen. He could not stop his excitement from growing immediately.

It took her a few minutes to read the questions, and his answers. He moved slightly to get used to her weight on his stomach, which was less than when Perry straddled him, but as the minutes went by, became very noticeable.

You did very well, Elliot, she smiled down to him, But, you also did make a few mistakes that I want you to correct, and in a way that will help you remember what you did wrong and not do it again.

She feels almost as heavy as Perry, but is so much nicer to look up to. I don’t know what she plans on doing to me, but I will enjoy it as long as I can.

I know this is a little unorthodox, but it worked for me, and it has worked for others in the past, Michelle smiled quietly down to him, enjoying the feel of Elliot’s stomach supporting her weight.

What will the neighbors think? Elliot strained, smiling up at her.

If they see us, they will see the big girl sitting on the slimmer boy, she smiled down to him, "and despite our adherence to Rule Number One, if they knew we are alone inside the house, they will think we are having sexual relations."

Cruiser Rule Number One states that if you become pregnant, or cause a pregnancy out of wedlock, you will be banished from the Cruiser Program for life, and once in the Program the students saw how devastating that would be, and abstention became a way of life.

Are you ever tempted? Elliot strained, as Michelle was now getting heavy.

She rested the computer on her outstretched thigh and smiled down to him, Yes, but I weigh the value of a moment of pleasure against a lifetime of obstacles being removed from a career. Am I getting heavy on you yet?

Yes, Elliot strained, still smiling up at her.

Good, she smiled, For this to work, you must be uncomfortable. I will read you the questions you got wrong last night, and the four responses. Tell me which one is correct, and if it is not we will discuss why it is wrong, and why the correct answer is what you should remember. Ready?

You are going to get off of me? he strained.

Nope, she smiled, I won’t get off of you until you know the correct answers to the questions you missed. Like I said, this is unorthodox, but it works for me. First question.

True to her word, Michelle did not move until Elliot had mastered the questions he had missed, and from that day on, he took great care in answering all the test questions in the future, and accepted her technique for correcting those he missed.

With Michelle mentoring him on the finer aspects of Cruiser tactics and leadership within the Cruiser Program, Elliot was able to quickly grasp and pass down everything Cruiser-related Michelle taught him, and by mid-October he and Michelle were looking forward to whatever fate had in store for them.

Chapter 2 - Red Eye Reception

Red Eye flights are never easy, especially when you’re leaving a paradise for the unknown. It was now the end of December, just four months after Elliot first started in the Cruiser Program, and his father had retired from the Army and accepted a position in the newly created Office of Continental Security. With that, the family now had to leave Honolulu for the city of Ventura, located somewhere on the coast of Southern California.

Elliot was used to moving every few years. His dad had been an Officer in the Army, and moving from place to place around the world was a common occurrence for the family in the military. Learning new cultures and meeting different kids in foreign countries was how Elliot had grown up.

But now, here he was. On a flight to California, hurtling away at hundreds of miles per hour from the only girl he longed to be close to. Michelle had been the first girl he had really gotten to know closely, and she was the first girl that had ever cared to be close to him, physically and emotionally, and now he was beginning to resent everything that had taken him away from her. Leaning back in his seat, Elliot closed his eyes and remembered how beautiful Michelle was, even when she had cried when he said he had to leave.

An announcement that the plane was on final approach into Los Angeles International came over the big jet’s public address system, and brought Elliot back to reality.

As fate would have it, another red eye, this one from Washington, D.C. had just landed ahead of Elliot’s Honolulu flight, and the passengers from that D.C. flight had just started disembarking by the time the Honolulu flight parked at the next gate.

A tall man from the D.C. flight, Gunnar Friberg, a Canadian of Swedish descent working with the Minister of Defense for Internal Security, had been assigned to work as liaison with the new U.S. Continental Security Operations Centre in Ventura, California. His wife Ellen, a Cree/Formosan Chinese Canadian is passionately reluctant about their family being forced to move to the United States. Their daughter, Aurora, has her mum’s exotic looks, and her fathers broad shoulders and sharp mind. Aurora is very nervous about going to High School in America. In Canada, when a child is in High School, they were expected to act as an adult. Aurora has no idea what an American sixteen year old acts like in a US high school. From what she has seen on the American TV shows seen on Canadian television, their teenagers seem to have little moral centre and even less respect for their parents. She is so glad her father made her join the Cruiser Programme Canada at her High School in Ottawa. Her Cruiser Coach had assured her the new teammates she would find in the U.S. school she was going to join would be a lot like the kids in her Canadian Programme, since both Programmes had high standards for their Candidates to meet.

As they started to make their way to the luggage carousel, Aurora and her parents got as far as the first set of restrooms before slowing to consider their options.

I think we should use the facilities before we get started on our journey, Gunnar suggested to his family.

All three were wearing the heavy coats they had needed in D.C. Aurora and Ellen had spent the day in the American Capital while Gunnar had spent one last day being briefed by the American Continental Security people on his new roll at the Operations Centre in Ventura. Aurora and Ellen walked around Washington to see as much of the American Capital as they could. They could not but help being impressed with the grandeur of the District of Columbia. They are used to cold weather, and it did not bother them, but they found the coldness of the people they met on the streets disconcerting. Being polite seemed not to be in their nature. ‘I hope you find someone polite in your new school, daughter,’ Ellen had said to Aurora as they walked back to their hotel. ‘So do I,’ she had replied.

I don’t need to, Aurora said quietly, taking in the sights and sounds of the airport around her, I slept the whole way.

Gunnar is just under six feet tall, and his wife Ellen is just a tad shorter, and starts taking her heavy jacket off. Well, I do, she chimed in, also taking in all around her as she folds her jacket over her arm. Ellen looks over to Aurora. Only sixteen and already almost as tall as me, she thinks, You are growing too fast, daughter, Aurora, wait over by that pillar. There is a security man over in that direction. Yell like Hell anything happen to you, eh?

Gunnar and Aurora made eye contact: Do as your Mum says.

Aurora smiled to her parents and moves the few feet to the pillar and leans her back against it as her mum and dad headed for the restrooms a few meters away.

At that time the Vancouver’s were walking toward the same restrooms. Elliot was a pace ahead of his parents, acting the leader, and wanting to be alone with his thoughts.

"Have you noticed the change in Elliot since entering the Program?" Sheridan, his mother, asked quietly to Thomas, his dad.

Yes, he answered quietly, "It’s like he is going from kid to adult all at once. Bypassing being a teenager. I was afraid his relationship with Michelle was going to turn out not as study-oriented as she said it would, but they were studying so much I never heard of any parties they attended. Couldn’t believe they didn’t, but had to believe Coach Yamaguchi when he said Cruisers don’t party, they study too much."

Good, Sheridan smiled, Oh, there are the restrooms. Wait for me.

Sheridan peeled