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bonus for what would have been a clear hit had the pirate been in range. At least, I learned then that it didn't matter whether or not it was in range. It only mattered that we chased it off or destroyed it. My actions got me recognized on review of the combat videos. I was moved to a more powerful gun, one of the hidden guns that were mostly the reason for our defeating the pirate ship before. Even though I suspected that we had more powerful weapons on board, I didn't know that we had anything like the Mark III duals on board.
    They were state of the art, dual-barrelled, swivel-mounted, high-powered, chargedparticle weapons, even for the Navy.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â My actions and the fact that the company was still getting both ships stabilized in personnel resulted in my new gun assignment. It also resulted in a pay increase to my normal salary, even though I was still in hydroponics. If nothing else, I was moving up gradually within the command structure, then being considered a gunner second class instead of third class, handling one of the older Mark II singles.

    ***
    We shipped out again after a week in port and went to Gabriel again. As before, the trip there was uneventful since the cargoes weren't anything all that valuable. Regardless of their value, we practiced diligently before we left.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â While we travelled to Gabriel, I went through some unexpected mail I received from the Sarge. He had sent me some textdisks to study with a short note explaining that if I wanted to eventually captain one of those gun ships, I should finish learning what I would have picked up in my last year and a half at the Academy. It certainly gave me something to do during my few off hours. The first few times I started going over the material, it almost seemed alien, since I had been away from the Academy for so long by then. It actually took me a couple of days to get back into the habit of studying and learning. I hadn't given it any thought until the package arrived, but the Sarge had been right about everything up to then, so I decided it was worth the effort to learn the material.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â It only took a few trips back and forth between Gabriel, along with the shore leave, for me to finish up the half-year I had been deprived of from my third-year classes. I even sent the lessons, that the work entailed, back to the Sarge for him to critique or grade, if he was so inclined. If nothing else, I wanted to let him know that I was actually doing the class work from the textdisks and trying to learn. He didn't send me any remarks about how well I was doing on the work until I finished that half-year of classwork. Then I got a note saying that the fourth-year textdisks would be forthcoming and encouraging me to keep up my efforts because I wouldn't be disappointed.

    ***
    Not too long after that, I got promoted to Gunner First Class and moved to a Mark III quad because of my gunnery skills. We had another skirmish with a pirate whom we destroyed. The combat videos revealed that not only had I hit the pirate, but that it was my shots that destroyed him. The bonuses I got were enough to swell my credits to where I could leave my job and not do anything else for the next two years. There was also another salary increase with the promotion. I was feeling real good about myself and applied myself even more to my books. It was starting to look very possible for me to someday be the captain of a gun ship. Certainly, the Sarge had been right in stating that I would see more action there than anywhere else. Not only that, I felt good about what I was accomplishing.

Chapter 3

    The Navy announced the discovery of a new planet along with the important discovery of the first intelligent alien life form. Because of the discovery, diplomats went into action. They soon started negotiations to put trade agreements into effect and work out various problems and such that diplomats normally do. If nothing else, the