I fought the urge to laugh as Cadet Raina tripped on her high heels, almost falling. Lt Moore stared down at her shoes, and I could see the shock in his gaze. I had to clench my jaw to contain my increasing need to laugh, as he looked the girls over with a slightly disgusted look.
"Cadets, what in the blazing suns are you all wearing? This isn't a fashion show," he snarled at them, spittle flying from his lips.
I turned my attention away from Lt Moore as the door to the male ablution unit slid open and the sleepy cadet stumbled out. Yawning, he scratched at his backside as he stumbled clumsily back to his bunk. We all watched in shocked silence as he walked past everyone as though he didn't even notice us, and flopped face first onto his bunk.
Lt Moore gazed at the sleeping cadet for a few moments before looking back to the girls. It was obvious he was trying to decide who to deal with first. Stepping forward and drawing his attention to myself, I jerked my chin at the boy and tapped my chest to let him know I would wake the boy. He nodded and turned to the girls, returning to his tirade about their appearance.
Thinking for a moment, I decided to give the squad a small example of the kind of wake-up calls they could expect in basic training. Mo flew off his dock, zooming towards the sleeping cadet. A loud siren blared from him, causing the cadets in the barracks to flinch and cover their ears. Even Lt Moore cringed a little. I knew it was an extremely unpleasant way to wake, as my uncle had woken me in much the same way more then once. He claimed it to be preparation for the academy, but I knew it was purely for his own amusement.
I watched as the cadet shot upwards in a frantic motion and fell off the bunk. Mo stopped his siren, and I strode over to the cadet with my mother's patented glare. Lt Moore had resumed yelling at the girls once the siren stopped, with all of them sobbing and trembling before him.
"Cadet Higgs, why are you not at attention like every other cadet in this room?" I stared coldly down at the boy sprawled out before me on the floor, and he stared up at me with glazed eyes, his brow covered in sweat. Frowning slightly, I stepped closer to him and pressed my hand to his forehead. It was burning hot. His cheeks were flushed, and he could barely hold himself upright.
"Cormac, grab him and pull him back up onto the bed," I called out to the cadet nearest to me and spun towards Lt Moore. "Sir, we need medical," I yelled to cut across his own yelling. "Sir, Cadet Higgs is sick. He is burning up, we need medical," I yelled again, and Lt Moore jogged towards me, looking concerned.
Cadet Cormac had dragged the boy back onto the bed, where he had started shivering slightly. Lt Moore looked him over with worry, and his drone flew over, hovering over his body slowly as it performed a scan. I guessed his drone skin probably had a medical scanner built in. It would make sense considering he operated the gauntlet, and it was likely cadets got injured there more often than not.
"Kelras, how long has he been like this?" Lt Moore asked distractedly.
"Sir, he was with the squad to collect his uniform. When we left to tour the grounds and get lunch, I noted he did not join the squad and appeared to be sleeping. He was still asleep when we returned. I had not approached him and thought of him only to be sleeping. I am sorry sir. I should have checked on him," I said and stared at the floor. I was squad leader, I should have noticed something was wrong but I thought he was just being lazy.
"Kelras, lead your squad to dinner. I will wait with the boy until medical arrives."
"Green Squad, form up," I yelled and led the squad out of the barracks.
I walked past the sobbing girls without a glance, leaving them with the lieutenant. As we left the barracks, a medical transport arrived, and my grandmother leapt out with another medic. She looked at me about to speak, but I shook my head and pointed to the barracks.
"Inside with Lt Moore," I told her, and they ran inside. I led my squad to the dining hall and informed them we would be leaving in thirty minutes. Each squad had a set mealtime for each meal and were given only thirty minutes to eat. The cadets all entered the room and made their way quickly to the food. Turning away from the hall, I jogged back to the green squad barracks. I couldn't eat now, not with the worry and regret tying my stomach into knots.
The transport was still there when I arrived, but my grandmother and the other medic were loading Cadet Higgs into the back on a floating stretcher. Lt Moore saw me arrive and walked over to meet me.
"Cadet, you should be at dinner," he said, and I shook my head looking over to where my grandmother was getting into the transport.
"Sir, I'm sorry. Green squad is my responsibility and I—" Lt Moore scowled and cut off my words, his voice sharp as he spoke.
"Cadet, this is not your fault. You did nothing wrong. Cadet Higgs’ condition is not something that you have been trained to identify. Kelras, Higgs is suffering from a combination of heat stroke, and gravity sickness."
"Gravity sickness, sir?" I asked. I had heard that some people found it difficult to adapt to changes in gravity, but any sickness generally passed after a few days. If the boy had been here since the exams, then wouldn’t he already have acclimated to Velante’s gravity?
“Higgs is from Busan Three, they have a low gravity of only .5g. Those who have lived on Busan Three since the first colonies have physically adapted to that environment and often have difficulties on higher gravity planets,” Lt Moore informed me, and I nodded in understanding.
Hearing raised voices from within the barracks I glance towards the open door.
"I don't understand how they can be so dumb and get past the exams," I said, and Lt Moore snorted, giving a shake of his head.
"Their daddies are high up in the government. We get a few every so often. We let them have a handful of spots and then send them home crying in the first few weeks. Sometimes they make it past basic, and very rarely some might graduate, but by then we have fixed them into proper cadets. Most don't make it, though," he told me, derision clear in his voice as he spoke. I scowled in response to his explanation and he shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it, Cadet. The bought spots are always ship ops. They want anything more, they have to earn it. Why do you think ship ops has more open places?"
Scuffing the toe of my boot across the ground, I gritted my teeth. So many people worked hard to gain a place in the academy, yet these girls simply got their places handed to them. Did they even take the exam at all? Even though my mother was highly ranked in the fleet, I still had to earn my place. She had made it clear she would not aid me in any way regarding my entry into the fleet—not that I ever wanted such a thing. Sure, she had helped me in a way by giving me early access to some of the academy’s learning modules, but nothing I had been given was covered in the entry exam.
"Sir, I'll lead the girls to dinner and then take the squad to the lecture hall early. We will wait there until the welcome presentation," I said stiffly, glancing at the barracks door as the group of girls exited, having changed out of the high heels and removed their jewelry.
"Very well, Cadet. I need to speak with the commander, message me if you have any issues. Oh, and Cadet, you will be running extra laps in the obstacle course tomorrow," Lt Moore said before striding away. Looks like he hasn’t forgotten about Zander's ‘sadist’ comment in all the fuss, I thought with a groan.
Walking with the girls to the dining hall, I couldn't help but feel annoyed as I heard them whispering to each other behind me. Focusing on them, I could only catch part of what they said, and it left me completely confused.
"Sorry, I thought that would work," Cadet Tarle said, sounding apologetic.
What did she think would work? Why was she apologizing to the others when it was clear they were the instigators? Tarle had been behaving perfectly fine until she joined the girl’s little group. We arrived at the dining hall with only ten minutes left in our allotted eating time, and I left the girls to grab myself a tray. I decided on a rice dish from the remaining pre-prepped RMPs, and settled at a table that had a few other cadets.
"Is Higgs okay?" one of the cadets asked, and I held up a finger to signal him to wait and kept eating. I didn't have time to talk. I needed to finish my food before we had to leave and make way for the next squad.
"Let her eat, Noah. I'm sure the squad leader or the lieutenant will tell us what happened later. Dinner is almost over," Cadet Cormac said, and I made a thumbs up gesture, still shoving food into my mouth.
Finishing my meal and taking a big gulp of water, I glanced at the time. We had four minutes left. Standing, I disposed of my rubbish and stacked my tray with the other dirty ones. The cadets from my table followed me and the rest of the squad slowly did the same. We formed up outside, and I addressed the squad, informing them that we would be going to the lecture hall and that I would speak with them regarding Cadet Higgs when we arrived.
Entering the hall, I was relieved to see it was empty aside from a few officers at the front of the hall. As we got closer, I saw it was my grandfather, along with the commander and a few other officers, talking softly, and we saluted them as we passed. There was still another hour before everyone had to be here for the presentation. I led the squad to the same area we had been in before, and they all sat in the same formation I had first told them to.
"As you all observed, Cadet Higgs showed symptoms of being ill during the barracks inspection. Due to his being a native of a low-gravity planet, he was feeling the effects of gravity sickness. He is currently being treated by medical," I said, keeping my voice calm and steady as I spoke.
I stared at the members of the green squad, feeling a pang of guilt. These cadets were meant to be under my leadership and care, yet I had not even noticed when one of them had taken ill. I could not even deal with twenty-eight cadets. How could I ever hope to help run a fully crewed ship?
"In half an hour’s time, there will be a presentation by Commandant Harra. Until that time, you will remain here and will study chapters five through eight of the cadet handbook on your display. You will keep any conversations to a minimum and your voices low," I told them and took a seat in the first row.
Keeping my head bowed low, I read over the chapters of the cadet handbook that I had directed my squad to read. Chapters five to eight covered basic behavioral expectations and the dress code. I twitched slightly as I heard the girls begin whispering loudly among themselves.
"Enough," I snapped in at the girls in low whisper, unable to stop myself. "If you want to keep your places in the academy, then you all need be silent and read the parts of cadet handbook that you so obviously overlooked"
"We didn't overlook them, I read the stupid book," Cadet Raina hissed back, glaring at me.
"Then you should know that your clothing was a breach of the dress code, so why—"
"Aren't you like supposed to be smart or something to be a squad leader? We don't want to be here." Raina sneered, interrupting me.
I frowned at her, about to respond when I noticed the gathered officers looking in our direction. Sitting back in my chair, I ignored the girls, turning my attention back to my wrist display, pretending to read while I tried to make sense of the other girl’s words.
The presentation that was meant to be a short thirty-minute welcome and orientation speech felt more like it went for hours. The droning voice of my grandfather as he spoke about the fleet and its proud history almost lulled me to sleep. It wasn't my first time hearing one of these speeches as my grandfather was prone to giving me similar lectures after dinner each night, and I was pretty sure I'd heard this exact speech more than once now.
Once the presentation ended, I led the squad back to our barracks. Standing outside, I turned to face the assembled cadets.
“Tomorrow is our first day of training. Each day begins at zero six thirty and Lt Moore will arrive at zero six hundred for a wake-up call. I suggest you be dressed and formed up outside by no later than zero five fifty hours. For those of you who wake early, I will be going on a jog at zero five thirty hours and you are welcome to join me. Be warned, I will not be waking you up, I am not your babysitter." With that final statement, I walked into the barracks.
Chapter 25
The next morning, I stood before my twenty-three squad members at zero five thirty. The girls had not woken with the rest of the group, and neither I nor the other cadets had made any attempts to wake them. It seemed that Cadet Tarle had fully integrated with the three blondes. The group of four had even strung up makeshift curtains around their two bunks. The curtains had not been up when I’d retired the night before, and I’d spent a good few moments gaping at their construct in shock when I’d noticed it after my morning shower.
Did these girls think the quarters on a escort cruiser or a scout ship had enough room for such privacy? Sure, the beds on most ships would have dividers similar to the ones back in my father's residential unit, but they would still be mixed in regard to gender. The point of the squads barracking in such a manner was to get us used to being in proximity to others.
Leading my squad on a jog around the basic training facility, I ensured we passed the officers’ dining hall and accommodation block as we did so, my intention being to show off my squad. The commander was standing outside the dining hall when we passed. So I saluted him as we passed and saw him nod in response before turning to Lt Moore, who stood beside him, arms crossed.
Having achieved my goal, I proudly led the squad back to the barracks. I could hear soft panting behind me as the cadets struggled to catch their breath. We hadn't even been running that fast. That small jog was nothing compared to what lay ahead. It didn't take long for Lt Moore to show up, and I called for the cadets to stand at attention. We all wore our training suits, a specialized jumpsuit designed for physical training. It would monitor our vital signs and would also track how many times we ran the obstacle course and how fast we did it. There were dozens of different features in the suit, all designed to track and assist in our training.
"Cadets, today begins your first day of training. By the end of the week, I expect half of you will be gone. Each morning, you will form up in front of your barracks at exactly zero six thirty. Fail to do so, and there will be consequences," he said, his face hard and devoid of emotion as he tossed a small silver ball up and down in his hand. I eyed the ball in trepidation. Would he still gas us just for the fun of it?
“Cadet Kelras, I can't help but notice you’re missing a few squad members,” the lieutenant drawled, eyeing our lines with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
“Yes sir,” I responded, giving no explanation as to the girls’ absence.
Lt Moore would have already known my intention to leave the girls this morning, having read my messages with Zander. I watched along with the assembled members of my squad as Lt Moore sauntered towards the barracks doors. The doors slid open with a soft whoosh, and the lieutenant casually tossed the silver ball he carried into the room. Soon, four disheveled girls came running from the barracks, choking and coughing as they fled the tear-gas-filled room. My amusement turned quickly to shock however as I saw what the girls were wearing—or not wearing, in Cadet Doyle’s case. A few jeers sounded from the boys in my squad, and I felt a flush creep up my cheeks.
Even Lt Moore seemed to be shocked as he turned his back to the huddled group of girls. Seeing me, he strode over to our group, trying his best to maintain a neutral expression.
“Kelras, wait here for the final members of your squad to dress then lead them to the obstacle course,” he said inclining his head in the direction of the girls who were now retreating into the barracks, after Lt Moore's drone had removed the tear gas grenade and reactivated the buildings filtration system to clear up any remaining gas.
“Yes sir,” I murmured, a little reluctantly, as I moved away from my squad, heading for the barracks. I could hear the lieutenant address the group behind me as he instructed them before leading the squad away.
Entering the barracks, I found it empty and guessed the girls must have already made their way into the ablution unit. I
leaned against the wall next to the door and waited for them to finish their showers. Almost an hour later, despite my continual prompting for the girls to speed up, we finally joined our squad at the obstacle course. I was beyond relieved to see the lieutenant, as I was extremely close to my breaking point by the time we arrived. Cadet Doyle had been tossing insults my way from the moment she saw me waiting for them, and I was very much done with her attitude.
The girls had decided to ignore my instruction to put on their training suits and instead wore their dress uniforms. Doyle and Raina had even gone so far as to wear their black high heels. Watching the lieutenant’s expression as he saw us approach, the girls chatting away behind me, I felt a pang of glee at his barely contained annoyance.
“Kelras, join your squad on the obstacle course,” Lt Moore said, not even looking in my direction as he stalked past.
Hearing him begin to yell at the girls behind me, I dashed forwards, running for the first obstacle. I cleared the hurdles and the beams with ease and ran past a few of my squad members as they exhaustedly trudged along the course. By the time Lt Moore called the group to a halt, I was a sweaty and panting mess. I had not seen the girls on the course and looking around, I could not see them anywhere nearby.
Breakfast was a silent affair, with everyone focused on devouring their food. As we returned to the barracks to shower and change into clean uniforms in preparation for our lessons, I noticed the bunks the girls had been using had been cleared of any personal items. I almost smiled at the sight and had a strong urge to cheer at the knowledge that those annoyances had left.
Leaving the barracks, I led my squad to our appointed classroom, which was the one we had used for our exams. We were also joined by the red squad, who sat on the right side of the room. The instructor, Lt Barwick, spent the time talking about the different vessels used by the fleet. From the small scout ships to the colossal battle cruisers, each ship had its part to play. The screen behind the lieutenant displayed images of each ship as he discussed them, and the smaller screens embedded into the desk before us also showed the same images. Interacting with the screen on my desk, I was able to zoom in on parts of the vessel displayed and even see the internal layout of each ship.
Striving for the stars (The Kelras Chronicles Book 1) Page 19