The instructors did have a certain gate-keeper duty. Their job was to ensure that everyone passing through their course graduated as the finest example of Marine Officer possible. So whether it was that sense of duty, a dislike of “mustangs,” officers who had come up from the enlisted ranks, or just bloody-mindedness, the instructors seemed to pick him out from day one as one of the candidates they were going to make quit.

So it had been a pain. Not as much of a pain as Force Recon qual or Operator Combat Training, but a pain nonetheless. And in his opinion, an unnecessary one. He’d proven from day one that he was as good as any of the other candidates, better really. But nothing he did seemed to be good enough.

On the other hand, maybe it was time to quit mentally bitching. He’d been Distinguished Honor Grad so maybe the riding had a purpose.

But to suddenly get a message from home, right after the Crucible, that several guests had been added to what he’d hoped was going to be a very small and unnoticed wedding…

“Okay, try to explain this to me in terms I can understand,” Josh said. “Who are these guys?”

Eric winced internally, again, and shrugged, again.

“Who’s the biggest bigshot you can think of short of the President or Marilyn Manson?”

“I dunno,” Josh said.

“That’s who these people are,” Eric replied. “One of the lower ranking ones is one of the very few guys alive to have gotten the Medal of Honor. Then there’s the rest…”

“Okay, that one I get,” Josh said, his eyes widening. “So why’s he coming to your wedding?”

“Because God hates me,” Eric replied.