Kate Returns Home Ch. 21

She then explained that inquiries had been made about securing a direct commission for Nicole so that she could be named the next Commandant of Hergolia Camp. Kate noted how Nicole had direct experience there and would bring incredible expertise to the post.

"With your consent," she added, "we would also get a commission for SFC Cynthia, so she could be your deputy."

Nicole, despite her cool exterior, was in a mild state of shock. She thought quickly that this must be a dream, or else that Kate might be setting her up for a major fall. Then she came to her senses and responded that while she was overwhelmed by the sheer incredible nature of this development, she would of course be delighted to accept it.

Kate smiled and told her that she suspected this would come to pass since "a lot of groundwork has already been completed to make it happen." She told Nicole to stay while Cynthia was called up to join the meeting.

When Nicole's colleague, friend, and roommate appeared, looking dazed by being with her in the Lieutenant Colonel's office, Kate explained what this was about.

"Wow," Cynthia responded, "this is absolutely amazing! Even though I've not heard much good about Hergolia, I'd be honored to support SFC Nicole."

Kate now told them that they did have to go through a two-week Officers Training session. "As you know, we give this here over two weeks, and your colleagues will be putting you through your paces and the wringer, so I'm hoping you can deal with that," Kate declared. "If it's any comfort, I can tell you that I went through this training myself and when I emerged, I was named to be LTC Rachel's first deputy here."

Kate told them that they would be contacted by 1SG Wendy, who would go over what they needed to do to prepare for the training which would start the following week. Then she told them that they could go. Both Nicole and Cynthia stood and thanked LTC Kate profusely for her confidence in them.

Soon, they found themselves in 1SG Wendy's office.

"I must admit, ladies, that I'm somewhat taken aback by the audacity of this development," she told them. "I'm proud that noncoms in our unit have been chosen for these major responsibilities. You two should be grateful to LTC Kate, because this has all happened entirely through her doing. I'm going to be the one to tell you, because no one else will: don't fuck this up. You will be given a tough time for two weeks because it's to prepare you for what you will encounter out at Hergolia. Stick with it. I'll be there for you, but I know you are big girls and won't come crying to me."

Wendy decided to be even more direct with the two.

"Nicole, you got into trouble when you were at Hergolia," she declared. "This time, you'll be in command. It's a hefty responsibility and I think you're well equipped to exercise that. But don't give in to sudden impulses to crack down on either cadre or retrainees. You're too capable to fall into that trap."

Nicole and Cynthia thanked her and promised to make her proud of them.

Wendy smiled and almost shed a tear, which would have been quite a rare event for the long-serving First Sergeant.

They returned to their quarters where Nicole took Cynthia in her arms. They hugged and kissed and told each other how lucky they were and then fell into bed together and stayed there until morning.

They were not surprised by how things started at Officers Training, but it was a comedown. SFC Denise was in charge after 1SG Wendy led off the greeting and outlined the program. Denise was all business as she knew she had to be under the circumstances. She called on SFC Linda to outfit the new trainees.

Linda summarily ordered Nicole and Cynthia to strip. When they did, she handed them the infamous black vinyl panties that trainees and retrainees had to wear for at least the first two or three days of training. When she joined the cadre, Nicole had recommended that the locked panties she had been made to wear should suffice for the retrainees. Now they were reserved for the Officer Training Class, where it was felt that the more severe experience of wearing panties with vaginal and rectal dorks was appropriate.

Nicole and Cynthia watched as the insidious vaginal and rectal dorks were attached to the fasteners in the panty crotch for each of them. Then SFC Linda helped them pull them up and ensure that each dork went into the proper orifice.

"You'll come to the duty sergeant when you need to use the latrine," she told them. "And you know that you'll get no special treatment because we have to enforce the same regimen for all the officer candidates.

The two--Nicole and Cynthia--smiled wicked grins at each other. They were both thinking about how many retrainees had been fitted with these awful panties by them when they were cadre at the unit. They also realized that SFC Linda would like nothing better than to apply her whip or cane to each of their bared bottoms, so they made sure to follow every direction to the letter.

It was about 5:00 P.M. and SFC Denise came into the assembly room where the dozen Officer Training candidates were relaxing and told them they were getting an early bedtime that day.

"You mean we have to go to bed right after dinner?" a young woman named Betty asked.

"No, you're going to bed right now," Denise snapped at her.

"Betty, go to the dorm, change into your pajamas, and get into bed," Denise ordered. "You will neither read nor watch TV," she added, "and no conversations."

"Anyone else want to get a really early bedtime?" Denise asked the group, who were totally silent.

"That's really unfair," one of the officer candidates erupted.

Nicole looked at her, trying to decide whether she was brave or stupid.

"We decide what's fair here, PFC," Denise answered. "Now step up here."

When the young woman, whose name was Danielle, stepped forward, Denise had her bend over a chair. Then she motioned to Linda to take charge.

Linda unlocked Danielle's vinyl panties and heard the dorks pop as they came out of her orifices. Then the panties were pulled down to bare Danielle's bottom. Linda unhooked her cane from her belt and stood behind Danielle, laid the cane on her bottom, drew it back, and fired two real stingers on her bare bottom.

Denise thanked Linda for handling this disciplinary event. She told Danielle to pull up the panties and make sure the attachments went where they belonged. Danielle felt shamed at having to insert the dorks into her pussy and asshole. Then Denise locked the panties and sent Danielle to an early bedtime, too.

"That could've been you a while back, couldn't it have been, Nikki?" Denise asked her with a grin. "Don't get the wrong idea," she continued. "We're really happy that you two are up for a major promotion and assignment. Frankly, it makes it better for all us noncoms. But Wendy told us she'd ream us out if we let up on you. So, take these two weeks in your stride. We know it's hard to be back on the other side. Despite what that dumbo said, we will be fair. And you know what that means. We've all been there."

"Thanks, Sergeant," said Nicole, who along with Cynthia, had been demoted to PFC for the two weeks of training. "We know you need to do the work you've been assigned and which we would do if we were in your position. Isn't that right, Cyn?"

"Yep, thanks, SFC Denise," Cynthia said with a pleasant look on her face.

"You both have all the tools to succeed as officers," Linda chimed in. "You've done just what we do here, and I hope you bring Hergolia up to snuff."

"Tomorrow, don't be surprised if we find a reason to whip both of you," Denise added. "We have to show your peers in this class that you aren't being given an easy ride. So, as you've heard so many times, go with the flow."

"Thanks for the info, Sergeant," Cynthia said sincerely.

Nicole and Cynthia had no trouble adjusting to going to sleep in the retrainee dorm, where the officer candidates were assigned beds. Denise was as good as her word, too. The next morning, all the candidates lined up to get to use the latrine. Denise and Linda were on hand to unlock the vinyl panties, watch each candidate do her business, and then relock them.

Some of the candidates did not have experience going through the retraining unit and took umbrage at the sergeants monitoring their toilet use. It was hard enough for some to be able to pee sitting on a toilet right there in an open row of a half dozen women peeing or shitting. When one woman, PFC Megan, told SFC Linda that she had never peed in front of anyone before, Linda made her stand up and pee into the bowl while standing.

Megan began to cry but just as she did, she managed to release her pee stream. Linda signaled everyone to applaud, which made Megan's tears flow as fast as her pee was streaming. Denise focused on Nicole and Cynthia. Inspecting them while they were using the latrine, she saw that they hadn't bothered to wipe so after they pulled up their vinyl panties, she came over to them and yanked the panties down again. This time, she saw the urine stains they both left, and Cynthia had left a brown streak where she must've sweated during the night.

She brought Denise over and loudly announced that these two had dirty panties. After tsk-tsking Nicole and Cynthia, Denise lined them up in front of the now-empty toilets in the latrine and had them bend over with their panties still down. Linda moved behind them, staring at their bare bottoms, and wielded her thin cane, aiming where their thighs met their bottoms, and even experienced noncoms like Nicole and Cynthia gave in to screaming.

This served Denise's purpose of ensuring that the other candidates didn't think the two were getting preferential treatment. Both felt the pain when Linda helped them pull up the nasty panties and made sure the dorks went back inside their vaginas and rectums.

That night, Cynthia managed to get a chance before lights out to chat with Nicole.

"I just hope, Nikki, that we don't end up in that toilet box," she said warily to her friend.

"That's the worst they can do to us," Nicole replied, "and I don't think LTC Kate would sign off on that for us unless we shit on her desk or her bed. Come to think of it, that would be a lot of fun!"

Cynthia grimaced, but she was glad she was accompanied by Nikki during this ordeal and looked forward to working with her even as her subordinate at Hergolia.

There were a lot of lectures, including one from WO3 Kathryn, who reminded all the officers-to-be that they were responsible for the ledgers and books being in order. COL Claudia spoke on how officers were evaluated for their fitness reports. After a lot of this, Nicole and Cynthia told each other that they were glad LTC Kate had made them go through the course in lieu of just putting their direct commissions through.

They knew that this would be different for them, and in some ways, they knew too much from being smart noncoms, but knew now that they had to learn about the responsibilities of leadership.

There was no great ceremony at the conclusion of the course. LTC Kate and MAJ Elaine were on hand to commend them, and Cynthia won the prize for best candidate. Some of the others were recognized: Danielle won for best spirit and Megan for accomplishing the greatest improvement.

Kate was very pleased to pin First Lieutenant bars on Cynthia and Nicole as well as the others. She had told Nicole that when her appointment to be Commandant of Hergolia Camp came through, and both Cynthia and she received their orders, Nicole would be named as Acting Captain until she was eligible for promotion. This way, she would have that authority as the Commandant from the start.

Then, Kate asked them both to join her in her office. At this point, Nicole had begun to lose her fear when called to the Commandant's chamber. When they were seated in her spacious office, MAJ Elaine joined them.

"MAJ Elaine and I brought you in here to emphasize that now you are going to be leaders in the Service," Kate began. "This means that you have to set your own behavioral standards at a high level. You have to inspire others to follow you. It's different at this level. You're responsible for people on whom you will have to rely but whom you cannot supervise 24/7/ As a leader, you need to get them to want to do their best."

"I just want to reiterate what LTC Kate has just said," Elaine now added. "I worked my way up back when it was both unusual and difficult to do. I of course held the position you will be moving to, Nicole, and it was plenty lonely out there at Hergolia with only a small number of commissioned officers with me. But I put myself to the task and as you know, Hergolia acquired the reputation of being both the toughest and the best-run camp in the Service."

"She's right," Kate interjected. "You have the advantage of having worked well together. Trust each other and see who you can really rely on, but now people will see that it is fertile ground for advancement."

"When you get out there, you'll be on your own," Elaine observed. "Take advantage of being given the chance to lead and show your stuff, but don't get full of yourselves. You saw in your training that the Service has limited tolerance for fucking up. And, if you find it might help, consult us at any time. If you find learning how to review the ledgers and all that, call WO3 Kathryn. She will really be happy to help you and she knows everything there is to know about that."

She stood, and all the others followed. Kate walked to Nicole, hugged her, and gave her a kiss; she then did the same with Cynthia. Elaine smiled and said she really wished them the best.

Kate said that she had received the formal orders appointing them Commandant and Deputy at Hergolia as well as the papers appointing Nicole as Acting Captain. They would pick them up from Wendy, she added.

Nicole seemed moved and said, "LTC Kate, MAJ Elaine, we owe you a lot for having confidence in both of us. This is an incredible gift, but we will take it on the way you expect. I hope you hear good reports about our performance."

When they reached Wendy's office, the First Sergeant seemed unusually open.

"You've come through in the way I'd hoped," she said. "I'm confident now that you will reflect well on the training we've provided. I also want to thank you for the service you've performed here, both of you. You complement each other well. Don't ever let it get to you. I'm expecting great things from you."

Wendy took them both in her arms and barely managed to avoid losing her strict composure. She bid them well.

* * *

It was a different arrival at Hergolia for Nicole and a first visit by Cynthia. This would now be their place to run, and it seemed formidable. Nicole started out by calling in her old comrades, SSGs Penny and Louise.

She was delighted to see them, introduced them to 1LT Cynthia, and told them how honored she had been to be named Commandant.

"We always felt you had it in you, dear Captain," Louise began. "And we're happy we were able to help start you on your way here," Penny added.

"I'm really going to rely on both of you," Nicole now told them. "You know how the place should run and I want you always to feel able to come to see me. I know I'm an officer now, but I won't stand on ceremony. I have to maintain my position but that won't keep me from meeting with you as often as we need to make things work right."

"I intend to name you both to senior noncom positions," Nicole declared. "Keep it to yourselves for now because I need time to see how everything is working here. But I want you in those posts and now I can make it happen. I want to make transition on all levels nice and smooth here."

"Thanks for your show of confidence in us," Penny replied. "We are determined to help you make this camp run better than ever."

"That's just what I want," Nicole responded with a wide smile. "It's good to be back with you." She stood, then they all did, and Louise and Penny saluted here. She returned the salute, and they left the office.

"We're going to share the Commandant's quarters here," Nicole now mentioned to Cynthia. "You're entitled to your own quarters, of course, but if you later want that, it'll be fine. I like the way we work together, and Wendy was right, we complement each other. I hope this is ok with you?"

"It is, Nickie," Cynthia laughed. "I'll never call you that in front of anyone, of course, but I hope it makes you feel just a little down to earth when this place gets to you."

"It does, Cyn," Nicole answered, smiling again. "I can't tell you pleased I am that I'm in this office and you're here with me. We'll make this place hum.

The first opportunity Nicole got to show herself came with the arrival of a new group of male retrainees. The fifty men were assembled in the training area when CPT Nicole was introduced.

"You are all new here," she began, "and I'm the new Commandant. You should know that I have experience here at the barracks sergeant job, so I know what's what and how things should work here. You were not sent here because you were good boys so accept that you're going to go through some challenges. When you're done, your responsible women will be proud of you.

"Don't try to test me or the cadre," Nicole continued. "I don't put up with that. You can discuss this with your barracks sergeant. You screwed up, and that's why you were sent here. If you don't cooperate, we'll extend your stay for as long as it takes. If for no other reason, get with the program."

She then asked if she were understood and the barracks sergeant encouraged roars of "Yes, Ma'am!"

A few days later, Nicole called Louise and Penny back.

"I've completed the orders," she announced. "Louise, you will now be our First Sergeant and Penny, you're the Field First. I want you to know that I have complete confidence in you both. So does 1LT Cynthia here, although she obviously is still just getting to know you. She speaks for me so follow anything she tells you as if it came from me.

"Also, I've entered orders that authorize you both to determine punishment levels," Nicole continued. "You may authorize noncoms to use their canes and whips in their discretion. Emphasize that they are expected to behave reasonably. I don't want injuries requiring hospitalization. OK?"

Both Louise and Penny smiled and said they were definitely ok about Nicole's orders. After they returned to their barracks, they got together and prepared informal guidance for noncoms on applicable disciplinary standards.

Louise called the barracks sergeants into her office as First Sergeant and went over the guidance with them.

"You all know that this is a retraining camp and discipline is part of the program," she began. "Stick to these standards and we'll do fine. Anyone who makes trouble, send them to me and if necessary, I'll send them up to the Deputy."

A relatively new barracks sergeant, SGT Geraldine, asked if this meant that any misbehavior should result in use of the cane or whip.

"Not necessarily," Louise answered. "Use your discretion. You'll get to know when the cane is needed. Even though these guys are in pink panties when they arrive, some of them think they can out tough the cadre. You'll recognize them. Not only have Penny and I disciplined more guys than we can recall, but we have a secret weapon. CPT Nicole was our colleague as a barracks sergeant. If we do things right, even if some people don't like it, she'll back us up. Don't get yourself and all of us into trouble by being impulsive.

"And lastly, I hate to have to say this," Louise added, "but let me be very blunt about this. In the barracks and the field, keep your own panties up. In other words, don't fuck anyone. And one more word to the wise, the Commandant has let us know that if anyone gets obstreperous and acts up, either more than once, or totally off the charts, we will be using the toilet box.