To Be Continued
I trained as an infantryman. Much to the chagrin of my parents, I assure you.
Admiral William McKenna, ACSN, and Vice Admiral Eilidh McKenna, ACSN. My parents, also hereditary rulers of Donegal, in the family for going on ninety-three generations. Since well before the Alliance, before even reliable data records.
Not all of us have been mariners, of course. There have been great diplomats, great cartographers, great scientists, and the frequent lapses into mere respectability in whatever field called us. My parents, and their parents however, were great mariners. Great Admirals.
So what did I do? I joined the Army.
Me, the eldest son of two of the most respected Navy admirals.
I admit, part of this was rebellion. Rebellion against both familial expectation and aristocratic tradition. But, there was more to it. While I stand in awe of the stars, the incomprehensible vastness of space, I am more Earth than anything else. I love Land and Air and all it entails. The Universe is vast, to be sure, but a World can be a Universe unto itself.
So it was. Infantry training, a harsh boot camp in the wet, unforgiving reaches of Tamar and, later, the blasted, irradiated plains of Chara. But I desired more, first testing out as a Special Operations specialist, then being bumped into walker training. It required a significant shift in mindset, piloting a walking avatar of war. At once very different from the unrelenting closeness and discomfort of infantry work and similar in its approach. To my own surprise (and secret dismay), I did so well I graduated with lance command in the 101st Reserve Cavalry.
That, at least, pleased my parents.
Admiral William McKenna, ACSN, and Vice Admiral Eilidh McKenna, ACSN. My parents, also hereditary rulers of Donegal, in the family for going on ninety-three generations. Since well before the Alliance, before even reliable data records.
Not all of us have been mariners, of course. There have been great diplomats, great cartographers, great scientists, and the frequent lapses into mere respectability in whatever field called us. My parents, and their parents however, were great mariners. Great Admirals.
So what did I do? I joined the Army.
Me, the eldest son of two of the most respected Navy admirals.
I admit, part of this was rebellion. Rebellion against both familial expectation and aristocratic tradition. But, there was more to it. While I stand in awe of the stars, the incomprehensible vastness of space, I am more Earth than anything else. I love Land and Air and all it entails. The Universe is vast, to be sure, but a World can be a Universe unto itself.
So it was. Infantry training, a harsh boot camp in the wet, unforgiving reaches of Tamar and, later, the blasted, irradiated plains of Chara. But I desired more, first testing out as a Special Operations specialist, then being bumped into walker training. It required a significant shift in mindset, piloting a walking avatar of war. At once very different from the unrelenting closeness and discomfort of infantry work and similar in its approach. To my own surprise (and secret dismay), I did so well I graduated with lance command in the 101st Reserve Cavalry.
That, at least, pleased my parents.