"Morning, Cadet. I was wondering where you were. Sleep in, did you?" Lt Moore asked with a smirk.
"No sir. I've been up since zero five hundred. I was in the medical clinic."
"Everything okay, Cadet?"
Lt Moore looked slightly concerned as he looked me over, and I nodded while fighting the urge to rub at my eye.
"Yes, sir. I was getting an optical lens inserted. Chief Wilson has told me I am to inform the officer who will be in charge of my group that I need to avoid rapid head movements and heavy exercise for twenty-four hours to allow it to settle and heal. He has made a note on my file, though I am unsure which officer will be leading my group."
"That would be me, Cadet,” Lt Moore said. “Don't worry, we don't have anything major planned for today. Let me know if you notice any issues with your vision or neural connection. If you need help to adjust your optical display, then you can ask Lt Barwick. He has an optical himself, right Barwick?" he added, turning to Lt Barwick who I recognized from my exams. He nodded, looking at me with a curious gaze.
"Cadet, you don't seem to be as visually distracted as you should be with a new optical. Already got your displays in order?" he asked, and I nodded and explained that my uncle had given me a set of protocols for the display.
"Good, though make sure you take the time to customize the protocols to your own needs. What your uncle feels is important to see optically and what you do may vary," he said.
I smiled, thanking him before I went towards the gate.
"No need to head outside, Cadet. We are about to bring them all in. Stay with me. You will all be split into squads straight away, so you can center the first line," Lt Moore said and inclined his head to where commander O'Hare was approaching the gate.
I followed Lt Moore as he moved away from the other officers, each of them spreading out in a line. Stopping a few meters away from the lieutenant, I stood at parade rest.
I could hear the commander direct all the cadets to enter and line up before the lieutenant indicated on their wrist display. Each lieutenant had a colored arm band on that identified them, and I saw that Lt Moore was wearing a green band. Remembering what Zander and the others had told me, I guessed that meant our training group would be residing in the green barracks for training.
Seeing the lines starting to form up, I did a small mental calculation. The commander had ordered seven rows of four, but each group had twenty-nine cadets. Glancing over at the other groups, I could see they all had one row of five and six rows of four. After my quick look, I stared straight ahead at Lt Moore again. Once all the cadets had found their lines, the commander strode past all the groups and stood in front of everyone, watching silently.
"Cadet Kelras, Step forward. Cadet Milner fill the gap in the line," Lt Moore said.
I stepped forwards fighting to contain my excitement as I did so. I saw from the corner of my eye the same thing happening with each group, just as Zander had told me it would.
"Cadets, I am Lt Moore. For the next two months, you will be training under my command. From this moment on, you are the green squad. You will barrack together, eat together, and train together. Standing before you is Cadet Kelras. She will be your squad leader," Lt Moore said before turning on his heel and marching away.
Stepping forward, I matched my stride to his and maintained my line of one. The other groups also began to move, and we slowly made our way through the campus. We marched for almost an hour, past the main wings and to the basic training facility, which was separated from the main campus.
As we passed through the gates, they closed behind us with a firm clang. For the duration of our basic training, we would be completely cut off from accessing the main campus. The idea was to forge friendships among the cadets of our own year and to prevent the older cadets from warning the newcomers of what was to come. Which didn't always work, although my family had told me very little of what would happen during basic training, Zander and the others had been kind enough to give me a heads up of what to expect.
I fought the urge to scowl as I heard small bursts of chatter behind me. It was obvious that some cadets in my squad had not read the cadet handbook. If they had, then they would know that talking during a march was not permitted. Mentally contacting Mo, who was flying alongside Lt Moore’s own drone, I ordered him to record which cadets were speaking so I could review it later. As I had been made squad leader, I would be in charge of keeping my squad in order. My performance as squad leader during this training would affect my chances of being named a squad leader in the first wing.
Marching past several buildings, we entered the one with a green door. The barracks building was comprised of a large room with seven rows of bunk beds along each side. Each bunk had a small locker on either side, and looking at the closest one, I could tell they had electric locks, which I knew would be set to only open to the cadet that coded it, and the officers. At the rear of the room was a single bed that sat a little apart from all the rest, which was clearly meant for the squad leader. Flying over and extending his servos from within the shell of his body, Mo proceeded to unpack my bag into the locker.
The green squad cadets all shifted about, looking uncertain and watching Lt Moore in confusion as he silently left the room. I was surprised by his actions, as Zander had said the man would give a speech once we arrived at the barrack. Clearing my throat, I waited until the majority of the group turned their attention my way before speaking.
"Pick your bunks and leave your bags here. You have five minutes, then we leave. If you are not outside when we leave, you will have to find your own way," I said and made my way out of the room.
Most of the cadets immediately started racing to choose a bunk. A few were slower to move, and some simply looked at me with irritation not moving. I could tell that not all my squad members would be willing to simply accept my role as squad leader. So, I decided to leave Mo in the dorm with orders to finish unpacking and to monitor my fellow cadets. If I was going to show myself as a capable squad leader and earn a place as a first-year squad leader, then I would need to work out the dynamics of the group, and fast.
I found Lt Moore standing in front of the barracks building, staring down at his wrist display. Stopping a few meters away from where he stood, I turned to face the door, waiting for my squad. Monitoring the small clock in the corner of my vision, I watched as the cadets slowly trickled out of the door and began lining up in front of me. At the five-minute mark, there were only twenty-five cadets lined up. Spinning on my heel, I looked at the lieutenant.
"Sir, Green squad ready to march," I declared, causing the man to look up from his wrist display. Running his gaze over the assembled cadets, Lt Moore raised a brow in silent question.
"They were warned, sir," I said in response to his look.
Nodding, the lieutenant led our group away from the building. We left the dorm area and marched down the main path until we reached a large building. Halfway through our march, Mo zoomed up to me, letting me know with a low trilling noise that the last three cadets had caught up to the group. I had him send me a picture of each cadet to my new optical lens. It was hard to focus on my march and the images in my lens, but I managed it with only a slight falter in my pace.
The three cadets were all girls and it appeared they had decided to wait for the other cadets to leave, then changed their clothes. I was a little annoyed by that. I understood that they may have been feeling a little sweaty from our march to the training complex, but that didn't mean they could intentionally waste time to change. We would be getting far sweatier during our training. Would they run off to change every time?
As we entered a large building that I recognized as the one we had used during the exams, I saw we were the first group to arrive. Lt Moore raised his arm towards the chairs, then walked away to the front of the hall. Seeing his gesture, I led my squad to the far end of the hall. Turning to the squad, I waited for them to come to a stop.
"Green squad, take your
seats. First line will sit in the seventh row, the rest follow on from there," I said and stood along the wall, watching as the squad moved to sit in the same formation they had marched in.
I had arranged it so the three blonde girls who had been late would be in the first row. They had been giggling and chatting from the moment they joined the group. Watching the girls, I saw them giving me annoyed glances. They would soon be in for a rude awakening if they thought my ordering them around was something to be annoyed at. One of the girls who had been late to join the march glanced over at Mo before looking to me.
"You’re not allowed to have activated AIs before you arrive at the academy," she said in a voice filled with superiority. "You won't be allowed to keep it. It was dumb to even try bringing it."
"My AI was activated after I arrived at the academy. It would not have been allowed on premise were it not," I responded blandly, focusing my attention on the other squads slowly entering the room, not willing to engage the girl in conversation when it was obvious her intention was to provoke me.
While some could complain that my activating my drone early was unfair, I was not the only one with an active drone among the cadets. I could see one other drone, floating above a brunette who looked to be in the red squad. I eyed the girl with interest, wondering how she had managed to get her drone activated early. Did she also have family on campus? Making mental note of the girl, I decided I would approach her later. Her drone’s skin was of particular interest, as it did not look like any I had seen when researching which to get for Mo.
Turning my attention to my wrist display, I sent a short message to Lt Moore.
‘@Lt Moore—Sir, are you able to send me the basic information for my squad members?’
‘@Aristeia Kelras—Data is attached. I expect to you to do well, Cadet. I fought hard to have you on my squad, don't disappoint me.’
‘@ Lt Moore—I won't. I want to be in the gold squad.’
‘@Aristeia Kelras—Then train hard and rank high, Cadet.’
Exiting my messages, I began scanning the information the lieutenant had sent me. I would need to study it more when we returned to our dorm. Sending the data to Mo, I mentally asked him to create a protocol to display the names of each cadet above their heads. I watched as my vision slowly filled with writing and grimaced. Thinking for a moment, I had Mo change the protocol to only show the name of the cadets when I directly focused on them and requested it.
My vision cleared, and I looked to each of the three chatty girls in turn. They were huddled together, whispering to each other, and shooting me quick glances. It was obvious what the topic of their conversation was. The one on the left was Cadet Raina, next to her was Cadet Kale, and Cadet Doyle. Looking at their manicured nails and excessive display of jewelry, I doubted they would last the week. Sighing internally, I decided to put a stop to the chatter. Their behavior was making me look like a bad squad leader.
"Cadets, you have not been given leave to speak among yourselves. You will sit silently and wait until you have been given further direction," I said in my best attempt to mimic my mother’s authoritative tone. They were silent for several moments before Cadet Raina, who had been the one to comment on my drone spoke.
"Uh, no, you can't just tell us what to do because you got made squad leader. We're all here as officers, so you don’t, like, outrank us," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Cadet Raina, you are here to be a cadet. Should you pass all four years here at the academy, then you have the chance to graduate as an officer. Attending the academy does not automatically make you an officer," I said, staring down at her with an expression that I hoped conveyed how stupid I thought her words had been.
"Whatever, it’s not like I actually want to be in this stupid place anyway," she muttered, turning away from me with a scowl.
I frowned, looking at the girl who sat with what I assumed were her friends. If she didn't be here, then why was she here? It didn't make any sense. Shifting my position, I moved back to stand against the wall, looking out across the room. The other twelve squads had all arrived, and the commander was standing at the front of the room and looking over at my group. Cheeks flushing red, I realized we had been speaking when he was about to begin his speech. Great, my first day and I was already failing. As a squad leader, I would be judged not only on my own conduct, but on that of my squad.
"Cadets, today marks the first day of your basic training. Today you will be free to settle into your squad barracks and will be issued with your fleet uniforms and training suits. Tomorrow, your training begins in full. Squad leaders, to the front," the commander said, and I walked forward, stopping in front of the gathered officers.
After a short speech from the commander, congratulating us on being the highest-ranked recruits in the examinations, the squad leaders were each given a data chip, which we downloaded onto our implants. Opening it, I saw a map of the training facility and a schedule for the squad. The green squad would be the first squad to leave for the supply room to get uniforms, training suits, and be issued with the academy datapad. After being dismissed by the commander, I returned to where my squad was sitting. Well, most of them. It appeared that while I was distracted, the three girls had decided to leave the hall. Looking at the cadets, I picked one at random to question about the girls’ whereabouts.
"Cadet Cormac, where are the other three cadets?"
"Squad leader, they said they were returning to the barracks to shower," the cadet responded, sitting straighter in his chair.
I scowled and decided that they could simply stay there, then. They could find their own uniforms and training suits, too.
"Form up," I said and watched as my squad formed what would be our standard formation.
Nodding in satisfaction, I spun on my heel and marched out of the hall with my squad following. With Mo flying in front to lead the way, we soon arrived at the supply building. There were two women who worked in the supply room, and they quickly located the uniforms for each member of my squad. We were also given a small green band to wear, which would mark which squad we belonged in. None of the women asked why my squad was missing three cadets, as it wasn't unusual for cadets to drop out during basic training. Already having my own uniforms, I was only given a datapad and a few green bands. As each cadet finished getting their items, they slowly reformed the lines outside.
"Squad leader Kelras?" one of the cadets spoke up, as we stood waiting for the last two cadets to finish in the supply room. I looked at the cadet and checked his name before replying.
"Yes, Cadet Orson?"
"How come you already have your uniforms and AI drone activated?" he asked, looking more than a little nervous.
"My family resides on campus, and I’ve been staying with them. I was permitted to activate my AI a few days ago after it received the fleet coding. My uniforms were provided early for the same reason," I said, not seeing the point in trying to hide anything since most people on campus knew who I was by now.
"Squad Leader, does that mean your family is part of the fleet?"
"Yes, all of my family except for my father are in the fleet." Seeing the last two cadets approach us, I looked at the squad before speaking again. "I may as well tell you all now, as you will find out soon regardless. My mother is Admiral Harra and my grandfather is Commandant Harra. Both my grandmother and uncle are also with the fleet, each holding the rank of lieutenant. This does not mean that the instructors will go easy on me, so remove any of those thoughts from your heads. If anything, my family's ranks in the fleet make it harder for me."
One of the cadets in the first row snorted and laughed. "That's true, my family's all fleet as well. It isn't easy living up to the expectations of family," he said, glaring at the ground.
"Then don't," I said, recognizing the boy as Cadet Cormac. He looked at me, a little shocked, and I gave him a slight smile in return. "Don't try to live up to the expectations of others. What they want doesn't matter, what matter
s is what you want. Your life is yours to live, so live it for yourself not for others," I said, looking at each squad member in turn as I spoke, again quoting something I had heard from my father. Several of them nodded, and there were a few barely audible murmurs.
"Alright Cadets, we will return to the barracks now. We will spend an hour there, so you may unpack. Any who wish to remain in the barracks after that may do so. After an hour, I will be leaving the barracks and will lead any who wish it on a tour of the facility and then to lunch."
Entering the green squad barracks, I frowned at the sight of the three blonde girls lazing around on the bunks. Cadet Doyle was painting her nails a disgustingly bright pink and the other two were sitting on the lower bunk opposite her, giggling and talking. They looked at me when I entered, and all three gave me snide looks as I walked past their bunks.
Ignoring them, I moved to my bed at the back of the room. Placing all but one of the green bands in my closet, I slid the remaining one onto my forearm. I had given Mo my datapad, and he stashed it away in his inner compartment. Setting a timer on my wrist display, I decided to spend the hour going through the optical lens protocols my uncle had given me. I had Mo create a few different protocols for the lens, as I wanted to be able to see through his camera like Lt Logan did with his AI.
While I worked on my lens protocols, I listened to the surrounding conversations. The girls had asked a few of the other cadets about their uniforms, to my surprise and amusement the cadets had chosen to ignore the girls’ inquiries. Cadet Cormac even going so far as to tell the girls that if they chose to leave without proper dismissal, then it was their own fault that they missed out on critical information.
I kept my head low to hide my smirk. Those girls would be in for a rude shock when Lt Moore would arrive tonight for his surprise inspection. Zander had already told me all about the tricks the officers would play during training. My goal was to leave training in the gold squad, and I wasn't going to let some stuck-up girls ruin that for me.
Striving for the stars (The Kelras Chronicles Book 1) Page 17