Civilian Assumptions
ShortStory 1,346 words Recommended by 2 award/anthology sources
"Like their battleship, Maddox was born for war. They emerged from the nursery with one purpose alone: to expand the Consortium’s borders, a bloody mission that had lasted generations, and would last generations to come. Any civilian raised in the Consortium would know a few things about Maddox: That Maddox goes into battle unafraid."
Quasar links out; the story lives on Lightspeed, where the author gets the click.